Wild Bill Hickok Treasure Map
Cartographer:
Glaubke, Robert, 'Bob' & Penfield, Thomas 'Tom'
Date of Creation:
1952
The legend on the map states that it “locates many of the better known treasure sites of the United States. They are scattered from coast to coast… in the denseness of metropolitan centers, in the sands of a hundred islands and in the desolate canyons of remote deserts and mountains. The vastness of the treasure hidden within these boundaries is beyond calculation. Here’s pirate gold, bandit loot, hoarded wealth, Spanish riches – and buried fortunes for all who can find them. For the general locations of over 300 reported buried treasure sites, refer to your Secret Treasure Guide. Wild Bill Hickok”.
Tantalizing clues, and many “x”’s mark the spots where treasure of all kinds is presumed to have been buried, hidden or otherwise stashed. In California alone: “$80,000 holdup loot of ‘Rattlesnake Dick’ hidden in Trinity Mountains near here” at Cecilville; at Monterey “Part of the treasure from Drake’s captured treasure ship, Cacafuego, is supposed to be buried near here”; near San Francisco the “SS Rio de Janeiro sank off coast in 1911 with $2,000,000 aboard”; at Furnace Creek “the famous Lost Breyfogle Mine, searched for by thousands, is believe to be in this vicinity”; “Spanish treasure galleon sunk near San Miguel Island with thousands of doubloons aboard”; there is a “Pirate hoard supposed buried in Elysian Park, Los Angeles”; and “a treasure amounting to hundreds of millions is reputedly buried near the site of the old Santa Isabel Mission” near Julian. Jean Lafitte’s treasure may have been buried in Jefferson Island, Pecan Island, or Bayou la Batre, and many Spanish galleons were sunk off the coast of southern Florida.
The map was issued as a promotional mailer by the Kellogg’s cereal company, and is accompanied by the ‘Wild Bill Hickok Secret Treasure Guide’, which opens to reveal a further uncoloured map ‘Wild Bill Hickok: Guide to lost Treasures’, locating approximately 300 treasure troves, with an inset map centered on Atlanta, Georgia, based on information supplied by Tom Penfield; and the original mailing envelope. The guide is illustrated on the front cover with a portrait of Hickok as portrayed by Guy Madison (1922-1996) in the iconic TV series ‘The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok’ for eight seasons from 1951 to 1958. Kellogg’s was the national sponsor of the programme.
In addition to many pictorial maps, Bob Glaubke was a prolific illustrator of “adventure and wildlife”. He served in the Pacific while a U.S. Marine during WWII.