The Silver Madonna and Other Tales of America's Greatest Lost Treasures

by W.C. Jameson

The twenty-four tales in this book are of the most famous lost treasures in America, from a two-foot statue reportedly made entirely of silver (the "Madonna") and a cache of gold, silver, and jewelry that was rumored to also contain the first Bible in America to seventeen tons of gold--its value equal to the treasury of a mid-sized nation--buried somewhere in northwestern New Mexico. What makes these tales even more compelling is that none of these known-to-be-lost treasures have been discovered, although modern detecting technology has made them eminently discoverable.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

205 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

W.C. Jameson is the award-winning author of 70 books, 1500 articles and essays, 300 songs, and dozens of poems. He is the best selling treasure author in the United States and his prominence as a professional fortune hunter had led to stints as a consultant for the Unsolved Mysteries television show and The Travel Channel. He served as an advisor for the film, "National Treasure" starring Nicolas Cage and appears in an interview on the DVD. Jameson has written the sound tracks for two PBS documentaries and one feature film. His music has been heard on NPR and he wrote and performed in the musical, “Whatever Happened to the Outlaw, Jesse James?” Jameson has acted in five films and has been interviewed on The History Channel, The Travel Channel, PBS, and Nightline. When not working on a book, he tours the country as a speaker, conducting writing workshops and performing his music at folk festivals, concerts, roadhouses, and on television. He lives in Llano, Texas.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, this was a fun, quick read, well-written and -edited compared to similar books I've read. My quibble is that the author often refers to "researchers" but there's no bibliography *at all*. The afterword simply tells the reader to do their own research. I get the impulse to say "Google it," but that works for internet arguments, not published volumes.

That said, this book is a good jumping-off point for research ideas, and while it mentions some old favorites like the Lost Dutchman Mine, there are plenty of new treasures mentioned. And if these stashes of gold, silver, and gems are cursed, it's hardly surprising given the enslavement, suffering, and murder tied to them.

[Holli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for research on a book I'm writing. The book is essentially a series of lost treasure stories all told in a campfire-style. A fairly short and occasionally repetitive read. Turns out a lot of the great lost treasures are things the Spanish left behind (mines, treasure ships, mines, buried church treasures, mines filled with gold, ect).
They are fun to read and I imagine a good place to start some research for people who might be inclined to search. The stories all have that level of detail that makes them feel plausible but since none of them have sources attached it's up to the reader to verify if any of it is true. The author explains that his sources is the years of experience as a treasure hunter and that isn't a bad credential. Just nothing that you can go and lookup for yourself at a library in order to learn more.

[Patti Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable

I enjoyed reading this book. I love tales of lost treasures. How I wish I could find one of these treasurers.

[Sky Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read, personally found it not as enthralling as Jameson’s biography Treasure Hunter, but well researched and contains a ton of historical information. Thanks again W.C.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting snapshot of possible treasure hunting opportunities in the United States, at least as of when it was written.

[Leona · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Silver Madonna and Other Tales of America's Greatest Lost Treasures
From goodreads.com
The twenty-four tales in this book are of the most famous lost treasures in America, from a two-foot statue reportedly made entirely of silver (the Madonna ) and a cache of gold, silver, and jewelry that was rumored to also contain the first Bible in America to seventeen tons of gold its value equal to the treasury of a mid-sized nation buried somewhere in northwestern New Mexico. What makes these tales even more compelling is that none of these known-to-be-lost treasures have been discovered, although modern detecting technology has made them eminently discoverable.
Paperback, 208 pages
Published September 6th 2013 by "Taylor Trade Publishing" (first published January 1st 2013)
ISBN1589798392 (ISBN13:9781589798397)

Leona's Review:

The Silver Madonna and Other Tales of America's Greatest Lost Treasures
by W. C. Jameson.
This is the first book I have read by W. C Jameson and one I really enjoyed.
The first of the book has a map, always appreciated, which identifies the locations of the Treasures in this book. I must say I was excited to find my hometown of Monahans, Texas and the Monahans Sandhills State Park. I have been going to the Sandhills since I was a child.
This is a fast reading book and certainly for the readers who like the treasure magazines and tales. The stories are short and interesting.
Other books by W. C. Jameson are Buried Treasure of The America Series ( 28 books) which include treasures in Texas, California, Missouri, New England and more. Beyond the Grave Series which are about Billy the Kid, John Wilkes Booth and Butch Cassidy. More series on food, poetry, fiction, books on writing, mysteries, ghosts and monsters.
Contents of The Silver Madonna stories are:
Map (before introduction)
Introduction (page 1)
1. The Silver Madonna (page 3)
2. The Lost Treasure Ship of the California Desert (page 11)
3. The Goat Herder's Lost Treasure (page 23)
4. The Lost Treasure of Shafter Lake (page 31)
5. The Lost Dutchman Mine of the Superstition Mountain (page 37)
6. The Huachuca Canyon Treasure (page 45)
7. Seventeen Tons of Gold at Lost Mesa (page 53)
8. The Lost Treasure of Cancino Arroyo (page 59)
9. The Lost Grierson Fortune (page 67)
10. The Red Bone Cave Treasure (page 73)
11. The Silver Bullets (page 79)
12. The Lost Gold Mine of the Cossatot (page 85)
13. The Lost Treasure Skeleton Canyon (page 91)
14. The Lost Yoachum Dollars: An Ozark Mystery (page 101)
15. The Beale Treasure (page 113)
16. Incan Treasure in Texas and America's First Bible (page 121)
17. Lost Treasure in the Monahans Sandhills (page
18. Chief Victorio's Gold (page 129)
19. The Lost Billy Bowlegs Treasure (page 137)
20. Gasparilla's Lost Treasure (page 147)
21. Colonel Dunham's Lost Payroll (page 153)
22. Cumberland Mountain Silver Mines (page 163)
23. Devil's Canyon Gold (page 171)
24. The Incredible Journey of the Confederate Treasury (page 179)
A Word About Sources (page 187)
About the Author (page 189)
This book is dedicated: For Laurie
The author lives in Llano, Texas. (If you get there, there are great Bar B Q places).
W. C. Jameson may be found at http://wcjameson.com/.
I won this book from LibraryThing.com. The opinions are my own. I give it a 5 star because of the interest and research.
Leona Olson
www.mnleona.blogspot.com

[Anastasia Kinderman · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book you will find 24 tales of lost treasure in the United States, most of them having to do with buried gold. The author explores both the history and legends surrounding each treasure and each chapter is an easy but interesting read. I found my own wanderlust kindled as I made my way through this book, I had no idea that there is supposedly so much gold still lying around, waiting to be discovered.

Overall, the author does a good job of setting each story in its historical context and bringing the people involved in these stories to life, as well as fleshing out the intrigue and double-crossing in some of these tales. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about the U.S.'s past or just wants to pick up something that will expand their horizons a little bit.

Note: I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be a history book along the lines of Howard Blum's THE FLOOR OF HEAVEN. While there IS some interesting history sprinkled here and there, it is mostly a sort of treasure hunter's wet dream, full of sentences like: 'There exists a compelling tale of dozens of gold ingots believed to be worth millions of dollars buried under a few feet of sand...' Well, okay--what are you supposed to do with that 'information'? If you are like the people in this book, you'll spend years looking for buried treasure and (surprise!), NOT finding any. There are twenty-four such stories in this book--different locations, but basically the same idea: they hear a rumor of hidden treasure but fail to locate any.

[Steven Howes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this book reviewed in my latest edition of "Wild West" magazine and thought I would give it a shot. While it was an entertaining and, in some instances, educational read; I thought it was somewhat lacking in detail. Personally, I would have liked to have seen some photographs and/or maps to provide some degree of reality to the 24 astonishing tales of lost treasures. I suppose too much detail in a book such as this may not be desirable as it may lead to wanton destruction of some of the locations involved.

[Jamie Bright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stories, but he tries to pass it off as a scholarly book without providing any citations for source materials, which I found off-putting. If you just want to read short tales of buried treasure, it's a good "fun" book, but definitely not a scholarly work and not enough details for actual treasure hunters to work from.

[Kim Bannerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greatly enjoyed these tales of treasure hunters… perfect bedtime reading.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of the stories read the same.