The New York Solution

Shore Road Park, Brooklyn, NY.

Image 12                                                The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge

Verse 10

1)       In the shadow

2)       Of the grey giant

3)       Find the arm that

4)       Extends over the slender path

5)       In summer

6)       You’ll often hear a whirring sound

7)       Cars abound

8)       Although the sign

9)       Nearby

10)   Speaks of Indies native

11)   The natives still speak

12)   Of him of Hard word in 3 Vols.

13)   Take twice as many east steps as the hour

14)   Or more

15)   From the middle of one branch

16)   Of the v

17)   Look down

18)   And see simple roots

19)   In rhapsodic man’s soil

20)   Or gaze north

21)   Toward the isle of B.

The first clue in the verse combines lines 1 and 2:

1)       In the shadow

2)       Of the grey giant

The “grey giant” is a proverbial reference to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which is painted grey.  The treasure is nearby, in its proverbial shadow, which points to the south end of Brooklyn, where Byron grew up.

Notice the similarities between Image 12 and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.  Its long narrow arch shape resembles that of the bridge’s towers. They both also have water at their base and share the same greyish color of the bridge.

The next clue is arguably the most essential clue in any of Byron’s puzzles.  Many people see the New York puzzle as being the most difficult, and it is, unless you recognize this pivotal piece.  Figure this clue out, and the entire puzzle quickly emerges.

Most people read this clue as a combination of lines 3 and 4:

3)       Find the arm that

4)       Extends over the slender path

But the actual clue combines lines 3, 4, and 5:

3)       Find the arm that

4)       Extends over the slender path

5)       In summer

For many, this may seem like a distinction without a difference.  But the significance of adding those two simple words cannot be over stated.  “In summer” is a reference to the ‘Boys of Summer’; it is the only thing in this puzzle that reveals it to be about baseball.  Without this clue the reader has virtually no chance of recognizing that “the arm that Extends over the slender path” is that of the pitcher (see photo below), and the puzzle becomes almost impossible to solve.

Even with this clue, the reader must still be somewhat familiar with baseball.  While it used to be fairly common for ballfields to have a slender dirt path between home plate and the pitcher’s mound, Detroit is the last major league team to maintain such a path, for a look of nostalgia.  It is yet another example of Byron asking the reader to reach back in history to solve a clue.

The reason almost no one catches this reference to the boys of summer and baseball has to do with the next line, "You'll often hear a whirring sound".  If Byron was good at anything, he was a master at creating clues that could be used in multiple ways.  “In summer” could be used with the two lines above it, or with the one line below it.  And because it seemed to add nothing to the lines above it, almost everyone naturally attached it to the line that followed:

5)       In summer

6)       You’ll often hear a whirring sound

The popular interpretation being that it refers to the tourist helicopters that can be heard flying around New York Bay in the summer.  But for the astute puzzler, this presents an incongruity.  Byron’s clues either brought you closer to the treasure, or they led you to some historical site that he felt was worth experiencing.  Because those whirring helicopters can be heard from Staten Island to Central Park, they do neither.  Yes, he could have been talking about some other “whirring sound”.  But because “In summer” is such a critical piece of this puzzle, Byron likely added line 6 for no better reason than to camouflage line 5's critical meaning, a ploy that worked to perfection.  The fact that “In summer” is on a line by itself definitely adds credence to this supposition.

Pitcher’s Arm Extending Over the Slender Path in Summer

In the image below, notice that the domed area behind the lady has nine sections. They represent the nine positions in baseball.  The three largest sections represent the outfield positions.  They have a textured interior and a curved boundary because the outfielders play on grass against a curved homerun wall.  The six smaller sections all have solid interiors because they represent the infield positions, which are played on dirt.  Notice the one smaller section behind the bird’s wing; it has a solid interior and a small curved boundary.  The catcher plays on dirt with a small curved backstop.

Nine baseball positions shown in painting

It goes without saying that each of Byron’s puzzles is unique.  But there is much more to them than most people realize.  Entirely unrecognized and unappreciated in this puzzle is the fact that it is linked to another (kind of sister) puzzle.  Because he loved baseball, and the game’s greatest rivalry is the Red Sox and Yankees, Byron intertwined the Boston and New York puzzles.  He buried the Boston treasure under home plate and the New York treasure under the pitching rubber, and then crafted clues in each puzzle that connected it to the other.

The very first clue in the Boston puzzle speaks of Thucydides and Xenophon, referencing an 18th-century letter that compares them to Boston and New York.  The puzzle was solved without anyone understanding or realizing the New York connection.

Here in the New York puzzle the connection is more specific.  It speaks of “the slender path” that connects home plate to the pitcher’s mound.  Not only does it connect where these two treasures were buried, it eloquently symbolizes the link between these two storied teams.

When Josh Gates interviewed Byron’s daughters on an episode of Expedition Unknown, Blaire recalled that when they were little Byron had said “where would daddy bury a treasure?”  I believe he was hinting at his love for baseball, a passion the girls were likely already aware of.

7)       Cars abound

This clue speaks to the area near the treasure.  The picture below shows the Frank Schnurr Ballfield, which is located in Shore Road Park in south Brooklyn, not far from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.  Notice that just a few feet west of the ballfield is Shore Parkway, a six-lane highway where “Cars abound.”

This is why there are breaking waves at the bottom of the painting.  Waves break along the shore, a word that is well represented in the area of the treasure.  Frank Schnurr ballfield is in Shore Road Park, which is bounded on the west by Shore Parkway and on the east by Shore Road.

8)       Although the sign

9)       Nearby

10)   Speaks of Indies native

This clue refers to the Fort Hamilton High School sign that is right across the street from the park.  The school was named after Alexander Hamilton who was born in the British West Indies.

Picture of Shore Road Park in south Brooklyn

11)   The natives still speak

12)   Of him of Hard word in 3 Vols.

This clue pays tribute to a fellow Brooklyn author, Henry Miller.  “The natives” refers to the fact that Henry Miller was native to Brooklyn.  “of Hard word” refers to the fact that his work was banned in the United States until 1961 for obscenity.  “in 3 Vols.” refers to the trilogy he wrote about his life in Brooklyn, The Rosy Crucifixion.  The H in “Hard” is capitalized as a hint to the first letter in his name.  It coincides with the hint Byron gave in the Japanese version of the book, where he said that to arrive at this person, you should do a word play and start with chicken (i.e., chicken = hen, hen is the first part of Henry).

13)   Take twice as many east steps as the hour

14)   Or more

15)   From the middle of one branch

16)   Of the v

When Byron used the terms “paces” or “steps”, he equated them to the commonly recognized distance of 2.5 feet (30 inches), not so that anyone would measure it, but rather to establish an approximate distance to a particular object, which in turn would define the exact location of the treasure.  In this case that object was the pitching rubber in Frank Schnurr Ballfield.

In the above picture, Shore Road Park shows a V-shaped walking path that splits around the Frank Schnurr Ballfield.  It also shows the pitching rubber approximately 55’ east of the middle of one branch of that path.  The hour of the clock in the painting is 11. 11 X 2 = 22 steps, X 2.5’ = 55’, an exact match.

17)   Look down

18)   And see simple roots

19)   In rhapsodic man’s soil

If you look down from this location (atop the pitcher’s mound where the treasure is buried) you are looking at soil, where George Gershwin, the man who wrote Rhapsody in Blue, grew up.  Byron, Henry Miller, and George Gershwin were all authors who grew up in Brooklyn.

20)   Or gaze north

21)   Toward the isle of B.

Liberty Island, which features the Statue of Liberty, was once called Bedloe’s Island, hence “the isle of B”.  It is due north of the pitcher’s mound in the Frank Schnurr Ballfield.  In fact, this may be one of the most telling clues as to the treasure's location because there is very little else south of this island.

Aerial View of New York Puzzle Landmarks

Additional clues in the painting:

·        The bird’s head just above the lady is almost an exact match for the stone sculptures atop the Ferry Building on Ellis Island. 

·        The bulb-shaped spires just to the left of the lady can be found atop the National Museum of Immigration on Ellis Island. 

 ·        To the far left is what appears to be a door with no handle.  The shape around it represents the boat basin on Ellis Island.

What’s more, while home plate appeared in plain sight on the lady’s sleeve in the Boston painting, the pitching rubber can be clearly seen here as that door with no handle.

·        Mr. Palencar, the illustrator who created the paintings for THE SECRET, described how he represented a baseball diamond with the lady’s hair in the Boston painting. Arguably, an even better such diamond can be seen here in the New York painting, in the lady’s outstretched arms and draping sleeves, complete with a knot in her belt where the pitcher’s mound would be.

 ·        The clock face just to the right of the lady’s head indicates 11:00.  It represents the 11th month, November, the birthstone of which is topaz and the birth flower of which is Chrysanthemum.  The lady is holding a Chrysanthemum in her right hand and there is a topaz below her dress.

·        The lady’s face and part in her hair are a great match for the Statue of Liberty. 

 ·        Byron’s daughters also quoted him as saying that you can see all of the clues from where the treasure is buried.  The aerial photo above left shows how everything is visible from the pitcher’s mound on the Frank Schnurr Ballfield.

In short, absolutely every clue in this puzzle, whether from the verse, the painting, or Byron’s daughters, points to the treasure being buried under the pitching rubber in the Frank Schnurr Ballfield.

Current Status of the New York Treasure

The New York casque is still exactly where Byron buried it.  The complication with this casque is that the ballfield is now used for both Little League Baseball and softball, which means that the pitching rubber may no longer be in the same location as when Byron was there.  Satellite photos show that it has moved several times over the years.  The three best ways of dealing with this are:

1. Measure the proper Little League distance from home plate to the pitching rubber.

2. Use GPR along the centerline of the pitching mound.

3. Dig a shallow trench down the center of the pitcher’s mound.

The Charleston Solution

White Point Garden, Charleston, SC.

Image 2

Verse 6

 1)       Of all the romance retold

2)       Men of tales and tunes

3)       Cruel and bold

4)       Seen here

5)       By eyes of old

6)       Stand and listen to the birds

7)       Hear the cool, clear song of water

8)       Harken to the words:

9)       Freedom at the birth of a century

10)   Or May 1913

11)   Edwin and Edwina named after him

12)   Or on the eighth a scene

13)   Where law defended

14)   Between two arms extended

15)   Below the bar that binds

16)   Beside the long palm’s shadow

17)   Embedded in the sand

18)   Waits the Fair remuneration

19)   White house close at hand.

1)       Of all the romance retold

2)       Men of tales and tunes

3)       Cruel and bold

4)       Seen here

5)       By eyes of old

These first five lines are a reference to the Preface of Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson.  It hints at seafaring and piracy.  Charleston was a hub for pirates back when piracy was in its heyday.

 6)       Stand and listen to the birds

7)       Hear the cool, clear song of water

Byron would occasionally begin a clue with a hint to its answer, which is precisely what he did here.  That hint being “Stand”.  Not only is White Point Gardens a park located on the tip of a peninsula with many trees, but it has a bandstand at its center where people used to listen to concerts, and a fountain nearby with running water (see photo below).

Bandstand in background with running water fountain in foreground

8)       Harken to the words:

This line simply asks that the reader recall to mind the following events in history:

9)       Freedom at the birth of a century

This line refers to the U.S.S. Maine, a United States Navy ship that was sunk in Havana Harbor leading up to the Spanish American War, a war that was fought in 1898 largely over the independence of Cuba.  This clue takes us to the U.S.S. Maine Capstan Monument at the far east end of the park (see photo below).

10)       Or May 1913

This clue takes us to not just the Capstan Monument, but to the north side of that Monument, where there was a bronze plaque inscribed with “May 1913”, the date it was presented to the City of Charleston.

East side of U.S.S. Maine Capstan Monument (photo taken looking west)

11)       Edwin and Edwina named after him

This clue refers to Edward Blyden, a popular black educator, writer, diplomat, and politician in Charleston who had twin babies named after him, Edwin and Edwina.

12)       Or on the eighth a scene

13)       Where law defended

These lines refer to a historical marker that is about 100’ north of the Capstan Monument.  It describes an event where pirates were hanged on November 8th, 1718.

14)   Between two arms extended

This clue again refers to the Capstan Monument, which is positioned between two columbiads (cannons) that are extended eastward, toward the water (see photo below).

Moultrie Monument (where Capstan Monument used to be) “Between two arms extended” (photo taken looking north) with white house partially visible at far right

15)   Below the bar that binds

This refers to the long wooden bars that are inserted into the capstan and used as levers to turn it, to bind the anchor rope or other such lines on a ship.  Since these bars reach out at least 10 or 12 feet, this clue tells us that the treasure is somewhere within a 10-12-foot radius of the old Capstan location (see photo below).

16)   Beside the long palm’s shadow

This is a riddle within the puzzle.  How can the location of a stationary object (the treasure) be defined as beside something that is constantly moving (a shadow)?  Outdoor shadows do in fact continuously migrate across the ground – unless they encounter an obstacle that blocks their advancement.  At some point, the palm tree’s shadow goes from being on the ground, to being on the monument, which is key to solving this riddle.  During that transition, when the palm tree’s shadow is partially on the ground and partially on the monument, the part that’s on the ground extending past the monument begins to get narrower.  While its trailing edge continues to move, its leading edge is blocked from advancing by the monument.  This is the only time and place the treasure (a stationary object) can be “Beside the long palm’s shadow”, when the shadow’s leading edge is made stationary by the presence of the monument (see photo below).

Moultrie Monument (where Capstan used to be) with all clues shown

Also, at the time Byron was there, this particular palm tree would have been only about half the height it is in these photos.  Which means that even on the winter solstice (when shadows are longest) the "palm’s shadow" would not have reached the Capstan Monument, hence the need for Byron to add “long” to its description.

17)   Embedded in the sand

18)   Waits the Fair remuneration

These two lines tell us that the treasure is buried in the sand of the main east/west walking path.

19)   White house close at hand.

This line provides several clues.  It uses the wordplay “close at hand” to indicate that the “White house” is right next to The Palmer Home, a historic landmark (see photo below).  The other “close at hand” clue refers to the hands on the capstan bars.  To gain the most leverage, sailors would grab those bars as far away from the capstan as possible.  This clue refers to where the hands on the capstan bars would be closest to the “White house”, which is on the far north side (the same side as the “May 1913” plaque) and out away from the monument (along the north edge of the sand path).

This completes the precise location of the treasure.

• “Below the bar that binds” puts it within the swing radius of the capstan bars.

• “Beside the long palm’s shadow” puts it on the north side of the monument, immediately adjacent to the east side of the palm tree’s shadow.

• “Embedded in the sand” puts it between the monument and the grass on the north side.

• “White house close at hand.” puts it at the outer (northernmost) end of the capstan bar swing radius and adjacent to the stationary shadow, up against the granite curb stones on the north side of the walking path.

White house close to The Palmer Home

There is, however, one significant caveat.  Because the Capstan Monument and its base have been replaced by the Moultrie Monument and its base, the line from the east side of the palm tree to the northwest edge of the monument base, the line that determines the stationary edge of the shadow beside which Byron buried the treasure, has likely changed.  The good news is that the size and location of the two monument bases doesn’t appear to be very different.  Which means that the current monument base should produce a location within a foot or two from the original.

Like a number of Byron's other puzzles, the final solution is actually shown in the painting. The five-sided ornament depicts where the treasure is buried (see images below).

Puzzle solution as shown in the painting       Puzzle solution (enhanced)

The five-sided image above represents Fort Sumter at the mouth of Charleston Harbor.  The image to the left is as it appears in the painting.  The image to the right has had a grey line, a thin black line, and a small red circle added, to accentuate its pertinent details.

What appears to be hands of a clock represent a flagpole (at 12:00) and its shadow (at 4:00).  They also represent the palm tree near the Capstan Monument and its shadow.  The white point at the end of each is a reference to White Point Garden.

The mouth in this figure represents the Capstan Monument.  The triangles at each end of the mouth represent the Monument’s base.  The teeth represent where the bars are inserted.  The sand-colored background represents the sand path on which it rests.  If you look closely, you can even see the granite curb that borders the sand path.

In the image on the left, you can see a very faint line extending the top of the triangle on the right side, to the edge of the figure.  It has been enhanced with a thin black line in the image on the right.  This (top) side of that triangle represents the west side of the monument’s base.

Just like the actual palm tree’s shadow, the flagpole’s shadow in the painting falls short of the monument’s base.  However, when you extend it to the edge of the figure (the north edge of the sand path), it passes immediately adjacent to the monument’s northwest corner (see grey line in image above right), which is where the shadow would begin to be blocked by the monument's base.

All the details of this feature in the painting match perfectly with the clues in the photo of the actual site above.  In the image of the ornament above right, immediately adjacent to the extended shadow (grey line), at the edge of the figure (the north edge of the sand path), you can see a small white dot that has been highlighted with a red circle around it.  That white dot in the painting represents the location of the treasure.

Current Status of the Charleston Treasure

Contrary to popular thinking, the Charleston casque is still exactly where Byron buried it.  When the U.S.S. Maine Capstan Monument was removed and the new William Moultrie Monument was installed, the concrete base was also replaced, which required considerable digging for a new foundation.  But because this casque was buried not beside the Capstan base, but rather along the northern edge of the sand path (some five feet away), it was unaffected by that construction.

There is, however, one minor complication.  To locate the casque the palm tree must be aligned with the northwest corner of the (Capstan) base, which is no longer there.  Though the new (Moultrie) base appears to be approximately the same size and in approximately the same location, there is likely some difference.  The four best ways of dealing with this are:

1. Regarding any difference in the size of the two bases:  It’s relatively safe to assume that, because the capstan was round, its base was square (equal in both length and width).  Therefore, the plaque shown on the base of the Capstan Monument above, which is now in storage, can be measured and used in a proportional calculation to determine the dimensions of the Capstan’s base, which can then be compared to the dimensions of the base of the current William Moultrie Monument.

2. Regarding any difference in the location of the two bases:  A little research might turn up plans that show the precise position of each base.

3. In the absence of such research, the use of GPR near the granite curb in the area where the palm aligns with the northwest corner of the new base would likely be close to the treasure’s location.

4. In the absence of GPR, digging a shallow trench along the north edge of the sand path (immediately adjacent to the granite curb) in that same area would likely reveal its location.

The Milwaukee Solution

Lake Park, Milwaukee, WI.

Image 10

Verse 8

 1)       View the three stories of Mitchell

2)       As you walk the beating of the world

3)       At a distance in time

4)       From three who lived there

5)       At a distance in space

6)       From woman, with harpsichord

7)       Silently playing

8)       Step on nature

9)       Cast in copper

10)   Ascend the 92 steps

11)   After climbing the grand 200

12)   Pass the compass and reach

13)   The foot of the culvert

14)   Below the bridge

15)   Walk 100 paces

16)   Southeast over rock and soil

17)   To the first young birch

18)   Pass three, staying west

19)   You’ll see a letter from the country

20)   Of wonderstone’s hearth

21)   On a proud, tall fifth

22)   At its southern foot

23)   The treasure waits.

1)       View the three stories of Mitchell

The first line in this verse refers to Mitchell Hall, a three-story building located on the southeast corner of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus (far left in photo below).  It borders E. Kenwood Blvd. and serves as the starting point of the puzzle.

Mitchell Hall, Kenwood Blvd., Downer Ave., Hackett Ave., and Shepard Ave.

2)       As you walk the beating of the world

This line refers to Kenwood kitchen mixers, whose advertising slogan was “Kitchen WORLD BEATERS”. It prompts us to walk along Kenwood Blvd.

3)       At a distance in time

4)       From three who lived there

These lines refer to Downer, Hackett, and Shepard, three prominent citizens who lived there in an earlier time.  The clue being that Downer, Hackett, and Shepard are three streets that cross Kenwood to the east (see photo above), which tells us we should walk eastward along Kenwood.

5)       At a distance in space

6)       From woman, with harpsichord

7)       Silently playing

These three lines refer to Marietta Robusti in Europe, who painted her Self-portrait, which depicted her posed before a harpsichord.  The clue being that Marietta is the next street that crosses Kenwood to the east (see photo below), which tells us we should continue eastward.

Marietta Ave., Oak Leaf Trail, and Lincoln Memorial Dr.

8)       Step on nature

This indicates that in the next block we should enter Lake Park and step onto Oak Leaf Trail (see lower right corner of photo above).

9)       Cast in copper

This is a reference to our copper penny, which (until 2008) had an image of the Lincoln Memorial on the reverse side.  The clue being that we should follow Oak Leaf Trail alongside Lincoln Memorial Dr. to the east and then to the south (see photos above and below) until we reach the next clue (The Grand Staircase).  This clue also has a very cleaver second meaning, which becomes evident and relevant when we arrive at the location of the treasure.

Lake Park and Lincoln Memorial Dr.

10)   Ascend the 92 steps

This is a reference to The Grand Staircase of Lake Park.  The reader is to ascend all 92 steps and continue along Oak Leaf Trail (see photo below).

Grand Staircase and CC (200)

11)   After climbing the grand 200

12)   Pass the compass and reach

13)   The foot of the culvert

14)   Below the bridge

“After climbing the grand 200” refers to The Grand Staircase which contains the shape of double C’s, the roman numeral for 200 (see photo above).  “Pass the compass” refers to the North Point Lighthouse (see photo below).  “and reach The foot of the culvert Below the bridge” refers to the drainage culvert that empties into the South Lighthouse Ravine (see second photo below).  The fact that we are traveling south along Oak Leaf Trail and we “Pass the compass” (the lighthouse) means that we are necessarily dealing with the culvert below the second Lion Bridge (see photo below).

Grand Staircase, Oak Leaf Trail, North Point Lighthouse, and both Lion Bridges

15)   Walk 100 paces

16)   Southeast over rock and soil

17)   To the first young birch

“Walk 100 paces [from the foot of the culvert] Southeast over rock and soil To the first young birch”, which is no longer there (see photo below).  Fortunately, the precise location of that "young birch" is not important, just its general location, which is part of the next clue.

Foot of the culvert below the bridge, 100 paces southeast over rock and soil, & first young birch

Byron’s puzzles occasionally contained a single pivotal clue.  When they did, Byron would take special care to make that clue difficult.  Virtually everyone gets stumped by the next line because it is precisely such a clue.  Not only does this clue have multiple meanings, but it reverses the reader's perspective.

18)   Pass three, staying west

Bear in mind that from the time we left Kenwood Blvd. to “Step on nature”, we have been following Oak Leaf Trail.  This clue is actually as simple as “Pass three [lions, while] staying west” along Oak Leaf Trail, and arrive at the fourth lion, where the treasure is buried (see photo below).  But because that would have been way too easy, Byron did several things to make it more difficult.

1. He added an irrelevant detour off Oak Leaf Trail, to an irrelevant landmark (100 paces southeast over rock and soil to the first young birch).

2. He made sure the clue had two meanings, the second of which reversed the reader's perspective.

3. He waited until the last five lines of the verse, to reveal that it is a stone lion we are looking for.

Both Lion Bridges (four lions along west side of Oak Leaf Trail – pass three)

Regarding perspective, Byron’s clues generally take you from where you are, to the next location, in a progression that leads to the treasure.  So at this point in the puzzle, people were looking for a clue that told them where to go from the young birch.  But the second meaning of “Pass three, staying west” does quite the opposite.  It describes the young birch’s location looking back from the spot where the treasure is buried.

Byron used a clockface and a compass in most of his puzzles.  If you overlay them 3:00 equates to due east.  Which means that to “Pass three” [o’clock] refers to south of east (see photo below).  From the center of the clockface/compass (where the treasure is buried), the young birch can be seen by looking south of east (past 3:00), hence the second meaning of the clue “Pass three, staying west”.

Treasure location west and north of the young birch

Obviously, knowing that the treasure is west and north of the young birch does little to help locate it.  But that was not Byron’s intent.  Byron inserted the young birch as nothing more than a diversion, to make his “Pass three, staying west” clue not so obvious.

19)   You’ll see a letter from the country

20)   Of wonderstone’s hearth

The “wonderstone” is the lion, which was originally sculpted out of sandstone.  Because the sculptor, Paul Kupper, was German, the “country Of wonderstone’s hearth” is Germany.  The “letter” you’ll see “from the country Of wonderstone’s hearth” refers to the letter u in Kupper, which is cast into the base of each lion.

The reason Byron called attention to this particular letter is that Mr. Küpper spelled his name with a German ü, which is pronounced more like copper.  If you happened to catch it, Byron’s earlier clue, “Cast in copper”, isn’t entirely accurate with regards to the penny.  Pennies are not cast, they are stamped.  It was a purposeful word play that referenced both the copper penny and the base of each lion, where there is in fact a "Cast in" Küpper, which sounds like “copper”.

21)   On a proud, tall fifth

“proud” refers to pride, as in a pride of lions.  “tall” refers to the fact that these stone lions tower over the people observing them.  And “fifth” refers to Leo, the fifth sign of the zodiac, which is Latin for lion.

At this point in the puzzle, we know that we are dealing with one of the stone lions, arguably one of the most prominent features of the park. We also know that we must “Pass three, staying west”, which leads us to the fourth lion along the west side of the Oak Leaf Trail.  From here the clues are literal and self-explanatory.

22)   At its southern foot

23)   The treasure waits.

Fourth stone lion – photo taken looking northeast

Current Status of the Milwaukee Treasure

The Milwaukee casque is still exactly where Byron buried it.  The only caveat being, because the Lion Bridges were built on a foundation of granite rocks, to bury the casque, Byron likely had to remove one or more of those rocks, to make the whole deep enough. Which means that he would likely have put those rocks back in the hole on top of the casque.  The significance being, the casque is likely beneath one or more rocks.