"Waybill" to $150,000 in Jesse James Loot?

(A young Jesse James.)

"Waybills" Point the Way to Treasure

There is a staggering amount of information out there these days about possible treasure troves relating to Jesse James, his brother Frank, and the James Gang as a whole. Included in this information are a number of "waybills" that may point the way to treasure caches or troves buried by Jesse and the boys.

Metal Detectors

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a waybill is reliable information or documentation that provides direct leads to potential treasure caches. The late, great treasure hunter Karl Von Mueller used the term quite often in his books, but I suspect it is not used as much by modern treasure hunters as it once was by the old timers like Karl (and myself for that matter!).

At any rate, this waybill is one I came across recently that may provide decent leads to a possible Jesse James treasure cache in Oklahoma:

"Gold and Silver Coin"

"A elderly gent named Conley (don't know his first name) claimed in his final years that he had ridden with Jesse and Frank James and the boys when they committed some of their most famous (or infamous) robberies. According to Conley, over $150,000 in gold and silver coins was cached in Comanche County, Oklahoma in or near an area known then as Cutthroat Gap."

"According to Conley, both Jesse and Frank had hand-drawn maps in their possession that showed the exact location of this treasure trove. Eventually they planned to recover the loot when John Law wasn't so hot on their trail."

"Key Elements of a Treasure Map"

"Conley claimed he was shown one of the treasure maps by Frank James who told him that in the event of his and Jesse's untimely demise that Conley was to recover the loot and use part of it to help the James Family. Conley agreed and memorized the key elements of the map."

"These included the following:" 

• "stone corral near a small log cabin"
• "old rifle affixed in the fork of a nearby tree"
• "sealed cave"
• "nearby terrain feature known in the day as Mount Pinched."

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"These key elements on the map are supposed to help you 'triangulate' the trove with the rifle acting as an arrow or pointer sign."

 (Frank James in his younger years.)

"Conley says he did, in fact, try to locate the stashed loot on many occasions but came up empty each time. He said that although he was able to locate Mount Pinched, the stone corral, the ruins of an old cabin, and even the rifle in the tree, he was never able to find the sealed cave. In fact, Conley said that he could find no trace of a cave in the area at all."

"Find that cave and you may end up rich."

A Treasure hunter Comes Forward

Comanche County, Oklahoma lies in the southwestern portion of the state and is, along with the existence of a certain old desperado named Conley, one of the likely starting points for your research.

 (Comanche County, Oklahoma.)

I have received some interesting information since I first wrote this tale from a treasure hunter who came forward and contacted me. He stated that he actually found the remnants of an old rifle in a tree in the general area.

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However, this person told me he was unable to locate the cache itself.. Do I believe this treasure hunter? Let's put it this way...I have no reason not to believe him.

Good hunting out there.

If you liked this post, you may want to read: "Library of Congress Treasure Maps (List 3)"

(c)  Jim Rocha (J.R.) 2012

Questions? E-mail me at jr872vt90@yahoo.com