There has already been a great deal of past discussion pointing out that image 12 appears to point to New York.  Just another observation about verse 12: In December (Picture 12) Ride the man of oz (The "Wiz" 1978, has a scene where the characters from the wizard of Oz dance under the Cyclone at Coney Island).

You mean Verse 11... Verse 12 is the one that goes with Chicago... Verse 12 Where M and B are set in stone Michigan and Balbo avenues And to Congress, R is known Congress parkway  -- R??? L sits and left Statue of Lincoln Beyond his Shoulder over his left shoulder is where the treasure is Is the Fair Folks Treasure holder The end of ten by thirteen Ten by thirteen ? Trees , bushes, fence panels? Is your clue Fence and Fixture Near a fence and light post? Central too Near the middle of the fence? For finding jewel casque Seek the sounds Behind Lincoln statue is a music pavilion Of Rumble Brush and Music and lots of trees and bushes… Hush

maltedfalcon claims M and B stand for "Michigan and Balbo," but these streets cross 4 blocks to the south and 1 block west of the casque site, and they are not really stone. Both johann and the 1983 newspaper article claim that M and B stand for "Man and Beast," a reference to the statues flanking the western entrance to the park. But that doesn't work either. The statues' titles are "The Spearman" and "The Bowman," and they are set in bronze, not stone. I think the appearance of "The Bowman" in Image 5 is merely to serve as a confirmer for Grant Park, not as a link to the verse (the link to the verse is the fence, which appears in both Image 5 and Verse 12). M and B must stand for something else. Preiss has said they stand for Mozart and Beethoven. Any other ideas?

Quite true with the "set in stone" problem.  They are indeed bronze.  It would have to be a liberal interpretation, a goof, or just plain wrong.

I will be in Chicago in a couple of weeks and will check out as much of Grant Park as I am able, with M and B in mind. I'll take pictures.

I don't know what the layout in Chicago is now, I know a lot has chnaged, but my memeory is from when I was in school there (1986-1990), the Congress was the name of the train route that ran north towards the loop. From my memory, the R may have been a branch running by the park. I have no memory of the sculptures there, except of course the fountain (Married with Children)

forest_blight, While you are in Chicago, I hope you take a photo of the fence that some have indicated links the image and the burial park! hxxp://thesecret.pbwiki.com/5_link It sounds like a fun trip, re-tracing the steps that lead from verse and image to the casque location.  I hope you come back with many new observations that we might apply to the other puzzles! Good luck! AnotherDoth

loph posted several pictures of the casque site and environs here: hxxp://community.webshots.com/user/loph78 Here are two featuring the fencepost: Eerie, huh?

A few different theories have been floating around out there about what M and B might refer to, including "Man and Beast" and "Michigan and Balboa," neither of which are completely satisfactory. I am now satisfied that the answer is just as Preiss said: Mozart and Beethoven. I took this picture about an hour ago. Along with Bach, Schubert, and Wagner, these names are carved in the Theodore Thomas Orchestra Hall, more or less directly across Michigan Ave. from the casque site:

I do believe you have found the "M and B".  They are definitely "set in stone".  And, if you look at pic 5, the arch that surrounds the fence post is a solid match with the arches in your picture of Mozart and Beethoven.  Note the staggered bricks to the top left of the Mozart arch versus the staggered brickes to the left of the arch in pic 5.  Good find!

Nice find Forest!  Hope you are having a blast in Chicago.

Wow Jam, I didn't even see that! This just goes to show that it pays to post pictures even if you don't think they are relevant. I have more pictures where that one came from, but they will have to wait a few days. I think we've got the Image 5 / Verse 12 references pretty much sewn up now.

Wikipedia has an entry for Symphony Center in Chicago, whose facade sports our Mozart and Beethoven: hxxp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_Center Here's a link to a particularly good photograph: hxxp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bb/Symphony_center.JPG

A layout of significant locations for the I5/V12 Chicago casque:

...to Congress, R is known ?

More pictures...

I've posted all my Chicago pictures at Webshots: hxxp://community.webshots.com/user/quantpsy/

Hey all, This post covers multiple verses (1, 3, 7, 12) and multiple pictures (5, 6, 7, 8 ).  There doesn't seem to be just one thread that was appropriate for this kind of post so I just posted it in all 8 threads.  So if you have read this post once you don't have to read the other 7 as they are all the same. Socrates, Pindar, Apelles Free speech, couplet, birch To find casque’s destination (Verse 4) (Lines 10, 11, 12) The word birch rhymes with verse so I think the line is supposed to read FREE VERSE, COUPLET.  Now separate the initial letters of each couplet that rhymes from the initial letters of the free verse(i.e. the lines that don’t rhyme).  You can do this for all the verses(although some of them are all free verse with no lines that rhyme), however, for reasons that I will make clear below I think the only verses that matter here are Verses 1, 3, 7, and 12.  In all the verses below I have highlighted the lines that rhyme. I will start with Verse 12 as we already know the answer for that one. Where M and B are set in stone And to Congress, R is known L sits and left Beyond his shoulder Is the Fair Folks’ Treasure holder The end of ten by thirteen Is your clue Fence and fixture Central too For finding jewel casque Seek the sounds Of rumble Brush and music Hush. So you end up with: WABTICBH which when you rearrange the letters and use the B’s as blank spaces between the words you get: CHI B WA B T or filling in the letters left out of the abbreviations and removing the B’s - Chicago Water Tower.  As we all know this is the tower in Picture 5.  This also explains the use of the word Hush in the verse, BP needed a word that started with H and rhymed with Brush. On to Verse 1 Fortress north Cold as glass Friendship south Take your task To the number Nine eight two Through the wood No lion fears In the sky the water veers Small of scale Step across Perspective should not be lost In the center of four alike Small, split, Three winged and slight What we take to be Our strongest tower of delight Falls gently In December night Looking back from treasure ground There’s the spout! A whistle sounds. So you end up with: NISPOILA which when you rearrange the letters and use the I’s as blank spaces between the words you get: NO I S I PLA or filling in the letters left out of the abbreviations and removing the I’s – New Orleans Spanish Plaza.  And there is a Spanish Plaza in New Orleans. On to Verse 3 If Thucydides is North of Xenophon Take five steps In the area of his direction A green tower of lights In the middle section Near those Who pass the coliseum With metal walls Face the water Your back to the stairs Feel at home All the letters Are here to see Eighteenth day Twelfth hour Lit by lamplight In truth, be free. This time use the letters that begin the free verse lines: INTANWWFYFAETL which when you rearrange the letters and use the extra WFA as blank spaces between the words you get: FT W WAYNE F LIN A T or filling in the letters left out of the abbreviations and removing the WFA – Ft. Wayne Lincoln Tower.  And there is a Lincoln Tower in Ft. Wayne Indiana built in 1929. And finally Verse 7 At stone wall’s door The air smells sweet Not far away High posts are three Education and Justice For all to see Sounds from the sky Near ace is high Running north, but first across In jewel’s direction Is an object Of Twain’s attention Giant Pole Giant step To the place The casque is kept. I first started anagramming this one using the same method of separating the letters that I used above and ended up with some wrong answers that wilhouse pointed out.  So I think for this one you anagram all the letters together: ATNHEFSNRIIOGGTT which when you rearrange the letters and use the G’s as blank spaces between the words you get HST G NATION G FRET or filling in the letters left out of the abbreviations and removing the G’s – Houston National Forest.  This one didn’t anagram to my satisfaction as you end up with an extra I but there is a Sam Houston National Forest in Houston. Now as cool as all that was this is the really cool part and the reason that I think that this particular solution only deals with the above 4 verses.  Going back to verse 4 and using the words Socrates, Pindar, Apelles, birch along with information that we already have from the pictures(i.e. the latitudes and longitudes) you can as BP put it, “wed one picture with one verse.” Birch = 5 letters, picture 5 we know is Chicago goes with verse 12 which gives us Chicago Water Tower. Apelles = 7 letters, picture 7 we are pretty sure from the longitude and latitude is New Orleans and verse 1 gives us New Orleans Spanish Plaza. Socrates = 8 letters, picture 8 we are pretty sure from the longitude and latitude is Houston and verse 7 gives us Sam Houston National Forest. (sort of) Pindar = 6 letters, by process of elimination picture 6 goes with verse 3 which gives us Ft. Wayne Lincoln Tower. So to sum up. Verse 1 goes with Picture 7 and give us a starting location of Spanish Plaza in New Orleans Verse 3 goes with Picture 6 and gives us a starting location of Lincoln Tower in Ft. Wayne Verse 7 goes with Picture 8 and gives us a starting location of Sam Houston National Forest in Houston. Verse 12 goes with Picture 5 and gives us a starting location of the Water Tower in Chicago. Just some further thoughts that might not lead to anything but are rattling around in my head so I will throw them out for your consideration.  Two of the verses (9 and 11) are all free verse, nothing rhymes but there are two additional verses that do follow the free verse, couplet pattern. The first comes right before the pictures and second right after the pictures.  It is possible that some information is hidden in these two extra verses. Also if you like the idea of the number of the letters in a word indicating a picture(or a verse) then you might find this interesting.  There is only on significant instance of a one letter word in all of the verses(I know that there are various A’s in the verses but I said significant) and that is the v in verse 10.  In addition there is only one 12-letter word in all of the verses, remuneration.  I know that wonderstone’s is also 12 letters but I don’t count that one because you need to add the possessive s in order to get to 12. digger7

Hi digger7, second time around I was able to focus better on this verse rhyme analysis.  I see you worked pretty well through a method leading to an image connection in the rhyme choices.  To me it looks to be unlikely.  Have you rethought this approach since posting this?  It looks very insightful.  What's your most current compelling interpretation? Eric

I think the last line, Hush, is the emphasis that supports the M and B of the first line, since the music hall is a most likely place where etiquette calls for quieted audience.  It helps jump to the music composers conclusion at least. I'm just now getting it.

The first line:  Where M and B are set in stone Initially sets us to finding Mozart and Beethoven's names written in stone, fitting with the Chicago Concert Hall. Eventually the casque is found in Grant Park.  The use of the agreement language "set in stone" fits with the word 'grant', to agree or allow something.

The alphabet letters M B R and L might be part of a supporting reason for recognizing three cases where an F follows an F: Fair Folks, Fence [and] Fixture, and For Finding. I wonder if the letter F is needed to define "the end of ten by thirteen" as 10 F by 13 F or 10x13 feet.

Here is a video clip about the guys who figured out verse 12, and it shows at the end where they believe the treasure was found. https://youtu.be/uXrK_DLFkVA

Looks like Eric is standing about 10 feet from the wall and 13 feet from the fence.

No new insights from this clip, but it sure is neat to see these guys in action. Note that they said the fencepost nearest the casque site DID have an arch over it at the time, which was a question we had earlier.

Is it at all possible that the line "Where M and B are set in stone" is a double entendre? There is the explanation of Mozart and Beethoven, which makes perfect sense, but is it possible that M and B could also refer to Minnie Miñoso and Ernie Banks? They are two hall of fame baseball players who played in Chicago and Miñoso is known as Mr. White Sox and Banks as Mr. Cub (the two baseball teams from Chicago) so they are both set in stone within the history of Chicago. Could this be a clue that informa you that this verse corresponds with Chicago? I wouldn't have brought this up though without one bit I found interesting. Ernie Banks hit exactly 512 home runs in his career (for those who are unaware hitting 500 home runs in baseball is a very exclusive club). Verse 12 paired with image 5. If M and B were indeed a double entendre could it have been a clue to pair verse 12 with image 5 to make 512, a number important to someone referenced in the verse?

MrSeabass wrote:: I'm sure you can come up with a thousand pairings with different people in any city with that ambiguity. It's quite clear 'M and B set in stone' refers to the two names literally chiseled in stone and nothing else. I tend to agree, quite strongly. I was in Chicago/Grant Park this summer. In my opinion, the beginning of the verse is extremely straightforward and linear. This seemed more clear to me when I was actually at the site. My only hang up is with the "Man and Beast" explanation, which also fits, regardless of the actual intention of the clue in the first place. When you are physically at Grant Park, If you can get to Congress and "R" (Roosevelt), which is a more blatant clue since he is giving you the full word "Congress", then you are not within range to physically see the M & B as Mozart and Beethoven, but you are staring directly at the Bowman sculpture. I admit I'm not sure what the signage looked like in the early 80's, but regardless, all three of those markers are in a stone's throw from one another. Once you have the Bowman, the M&B are largely irrelevant because "L" (Lincoln) is clearly in sight and you already have your Bowman match (along with Congress and R). The hard part for me is figuring out why M&B, is the "jumping off point" for the verse since nothing else is within visual range like it is every other step of the way. The map doesn't do justice to the reality of the scenery, but I freely admit it has greatly changed in 36 years. I'm just relying on what I experienced with line of sight observations in the summer of 2017 From the Congress and R stuff, this particular verse continues on a very linear path. There are/were multiple "Fence and fixtures" throughout the park. Hard to say what Preiss was actually getting at. If you are anywhere in Grant Park and have the luxury of the solution, you see those fence posts all over the place along the railroad. Again, I can't say how many posts had the arching "fixture" as the actual site and the image clue in the early 80's, but the posts were/are all over the place. Dammit, I know I'm rambling, and there's a much better explanation to what I saw on the ground. I just hope the above makes sense. Some thoughts I had while there: -Yes, these fenceposts are all over the place, but how do you get to grant park in the first place? By "Congress", probably, which is an east/west street that runs into grant park. The image has a clear illinois map, so you look at that, maybe you suss out the water tower, look at a map of chicago, find congress, take that to the end, see the bowman, and the fountain. Lincoln is clear as day from that particular point, you have the Roosevelt and Congress. Again, this makes the Mozart and Beethoven irrelevant. The way the whole verse and Image are set up, M&B being at the Symphony Center is very awkward based upon my visit. Agree/Disagree? I'm very much trying to encourage discourse on this, particularly with anyone who has actually been to the Grant Park treasure ground. Another example of Preiss being shitty at making puzzles?

A possibly new observation. These lines have been giving people fits for years: The end of ten by thirteen Is your clue The casque was unearthed just a few feet from the corner of Jackson and McCormick Place Busway . J = 10th letter, M = 13th letter.

That I don't know. Perhaps the 10 and 13 pull double duty as feet, or the (now abandoned?) theory about rows of trees. Or the spot where one is at right angles to the fencepost and fixture?

I respectfully disagree that these measurements/numbers were related to wordplay or the number of letters in nearby streets