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.