W.C. Jameson - The Silver Madonna and Other Tales of Americas Greatest Lost Treasures

Introduction

The Silver Madonna, the inspiration for the title of this book, is a two-foot-tall statue fashioned from almost pure silver. It was stolen from a Canadian Indian village in 1759 and transported across the national border to a remote area in New Hampshire where it was lost. Its worthboth the silver and the historicalis inestimable. As a result of years of careful research, the location of this valuable object is likely known to within twenty feet. As you will discover, however, on reading about this and other lost treasures in this book, recovery sometimes offers greater challenges than discovery. As enhanced research opportunities and technology improve over time, however, the possibilities of locating and retrieving the Silver Madonna, as well as other treasures in this book, are growing.

For generations, Americans have thrilled at the prospect of mounting an expedition to go in search of some lost mine or buried treasure. Who has not longed to find a buried chest of gold coins, a cache of silver ingots, a stash of diamonds and emeralds? Who has never experienced the excitement of the quest for such things?

Tales of lost mines and buried treasures have captivated mans imagination since the dawn of civilization. A number of overland odysseys and dramatic sea voyages were initially undertaken as a search for riches of one kind or another. Many of the most popular myths and legends handed down over time from Greek, Roman, Scandinavian, and other cultures were about the quest for lost treasure. Dozens of the most enduring novels of the past decades deal with the search for lost and buried treasure: Treasure Island , King Solomons Mines , and Treasure of the Sierra Madre , to name a few . Contemporary author Clive Cusslers novels relating to searches for lost treasure hit the best-seller lists with each release. My own Buried Treasures of America series includes over thirty books that have enjoyed robust sales for over two decades. A memoir, Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses, and Deadly Confrontations , was named Indie Reader Best Book of 2011.

Hollywood has long capitalized on the publics fascination with lost mines and buried treasures. Some of the most successful films in recent years include the Indiana Jones series, National Treasure , Sahara , Fools Gold , and more. Additional films are being planned, as are a number of television series. There are five national magazines devoted specifically to treasure hunting.

Lost mines and buried treasures exist. I have made a career of searching for, locating, and writing about them. In recent years, significant discoveries have been reported: hundreds of millions of dollars in gold bullion from the sunken S.S. Central America off the Carolina coast; the discovery of thirty bars of buried gold ingots by an Arizona rancher; the amazing treasure recoveries from the Spanish vessel Atocha off the coast of Florida; 880 silver ingots found in a cave in the Mexican Sierra Madres.

For every lost treasure that is found, dozens, perhaps hundreds, more await discovery. Because of advances in detecting technology, research, and recovery techniques, more lost mines and buried treasures have been located in the past fifty years in the United States than ever before in history. The twenty-four tales included in this book are among the most famous and remain the most inviting to treasure hunters, professional and amateur. Not only are the stories compelling; the treasures themselves afford remarkable chances for discovery.

The Silver Madonna

One of the greatest lost treasures in the history of the United States is a two-foot-tall statue crafted from what researchers maintain is pure silver. The figure, representing a mother and child, was called the Silver Madonna and was looted from a Canadian chapel in 1759 by a group of Robert Rogers Rangers. While fleeing pursuit, the troopers carried the valuable idol to a location in New Hampshire where it was pushed into a river where, perhaps, it lies today. Between the silver content and the historical value, experts insist the Silver Madonna is worth several million dollars.