The Secret (a treasure hunt) (2024)

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Litany of the Jewels

Pages 20 & 21 in The Secret present a list (a "litany") connecting the 12 jewels of the book to 12 groups of immigrants. By matching up the jewel in each painting with the immigrants in the list below, it's possible to find the "immigration connection" for each of the 12 images.

What are the treasures the Fair Folk bring?
Easily named, and lovingly told:
Fairies of England proudly bear
Gamet, crown-jewel of their Queen.
Brilliant as eyes of Celtic folk,
Cold moming green, their Emerald.
The Hadas of Iberia:
Sapphire, shy as a wild field flower.
Turquoise the Fays of France keep: stone
Rare as a blue midsummer's day.
Dwarves' treasure: purple Amethyst,
Imperial star of Germany.
The Opal of the Lowland Gnomes:
A cloud of shining, shifting smoke.
A Topaz is the Russian prize:
The royal sunstone, frozen fire.
Peridot of old Italy:
Antique, and olivine, and rich.
The Ruby out of Araby:
Scarlet of desert sky at dawn.
Africa's Diamond, earth-bom star,
Bright harvest of the midnight rock.
The Nymphs of Hellos cherish sweet
Aquamarine, spring-water clear.
From far Cathay, the dragon's Pearl:
Chaste, perfect as the silver moon.
Each jewel in its weird-wrought casque,
Gift of the Viking craftsmen Elves.
Wonder and glory thirteen-fold:
These are the treasures the Fair Folk bring.

Countries of Origin

Each of the images in The Secret corresponds to a group of immigrants coming from somewhere outside of North America, but the significance of that correspondence is still unclear. In some cases, the point of origin and the clues in the text appear to match up strongly with the city where the casque was found or is thought to be hidden. In other cases, the clues seem to point in a very different direction. The table below compares the immigration clues for each casque with the city where the search is currently focused.

Image
JewelPlace of Origin
Notes
Casque City
1
PearlChina

The book does not give much detail on the immigration by this group, but the North American city most closely associated with immigration from China would be San Francisco.

Connection: Strong

San Francisco, CA
2
DiamondAfrica

Because of the slave trade of the 1700's and 1800's, the region most closely associated with immigration from Africa would be the southeastern United States. The book hints that this group ended up near the Caribbean:

  • "the islands of the Carribees and the New World's eastern shore"
  • "the native Caribees"

Connection: Strong

Charleston, SC
3
GarnetEngland
The book doesn't give many specifics about this group. The most famous early immigrants from England might be the Pilgrims, who landed in what is now Massachusetts in 1620. The Pilgrims were preceded, however, by Sir Walter Raleigh, who established an English settlement on Roanoke Island in 1585.
Connection: Strong
Roanoke Island, NC
4
AquamarineGreece

The hint in this case tied the casque to a specific garden, rather than to a region or city. There do not appear to be strong ties that link Greece to Cleveland, but the book says that this group of immigrants went to "the Islands of the Blest - the Hesperides." According to Wikipedia, the Hesperides are "nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world." This casque was found in the Greek Cultural Gardens in Cleveland in 2004.

Connection: Strong
Cleveland, OH (solved)
5
EmeraldIreland & Scotland

The book says that the Irish and the Scots are members of the same tribe and share a single casque.The casque was found in Chicago in 1983 despite the connection to Ireland and Scotland being unclear at that time.

  • Chicago has a higher number of citizens of Irish descent than even Boston,second only to NYC. (Boston has a higher percentage but fewer number owing to its smaller population size).
  • Chicago's St. Patrick's Day Parade is legendary, as is its tradition of dying the river green for the occasion.
  • Most importantly, all of the monuments and many of the other locations in the puzzle have a strong connection to Ireland or Scotland.

See the Image 5 Verse 12 Solution Page for more details on the immigration links.

Connection: Strong
Chicago, IL (solved)
6
SapphireSpain

Spanish conquistadors were the first to explore the coast of what is now Florida, and Juan Ponce de Leon supposedly came ashore at what is now the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park in St. Augustine. The text repeatedly hints at that connection:

  • "the hot southern shores of the New World, amidst pink, long-legged birds and high, swaying palms"
  • "newfound Florida"
  • "Fountain of Youth"
Connection: Strong
St. Augustine, FL
7
TurquoiseFrance
The book says that the immigrants from France went to a "chill and rocky northern coast." Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer who traveled through what is now eastern Canada. In 1608 he established the French settlement that became what is now called Quebec City. The current search, however, is focused on New Orleans, LA (which also has strong ties to French immigrants).
Connection: Unclear
New Orleans, LA
8
RubyPersia

According to the book, the immigrants from Persia went to a "sunset land - crimson flowers, crystal fountains, sweet-scented winds - an Earthly Paradise":

  • "The fabulous carpet weaving techniques of the Djinn and Peri were admired and then mastered by the people who were their neighbors in the vast and pleasant desert regions of the New World's Southwest. (It was the sort of place to which the Spirits of Araby were naturally attracted)."

The description of the place suggests Arizona or New Mexico, but numerous clues in the image itself point to Houston, Texas.

Note that there is a region of Houston that is referred to as Little Persia. More on this region here.

Connection: Unclear
Houston, TX
9
OpalHolland

These immigrants are described as going to a place near the Catskill Mountains or New York City:

  • "among rolling hills by a wide river richly lined with cliffs and trees. Clear, running creeks they found there, and wildcats in abundance, wherefore they named their new home "Kaaterskill" (Wildcat Creek)."
  • "Consider a group of those frugal Lowland Dwarves, the Alven, hovering, invisible, and observing in economic agony while their old friends the Canarsie tribe traded Manhattan Island for a handful of trinkets!"

A Dutch settlement called "New Amsterdam" was founded at the southern tip of Manhattan in 1625, so it would be logical to tie this image to New York. Clues in the image itself, however, have suggested that this might be Montreal, which would be directly north of both the Catskills and Manhattan. No consensus has been reached on the city where the casque is hidden.

Connection: Unclear
??
10
AmethystGermany
There are no obvious hints in the text about where this group went, but Milwaukee has strong ethnic ties to Germany and a "German Fest" is held there every year. According to Wikipedia, "The first German Fest was held in August 1981. It is billed as the 'Largest German celebration in North America' and 'Milwaukee’s Original Haus Party.' It currently occurs during the last full weekend in July. As of 1993, Milwaukee had a 52% German population, which is the largest European percentage in a major U.S. metropolitan area."Connection: StrongMilwaukee, WI
11
PeridotItaly

The text of the book includes two references to the Italian immigrants. The first is a fairly obvious reference to Christopher Columbus:

  • "But most of the Fair People deemed the exploits of Alf and Brandan to be mere myth (even Legends, it seems, look down on legends) and attributed the Discovery of the New Found Land to the Italian fairy Colon Savanelli, an intrepidly nautical Folleto out of Genoa. Savanelli had been commissioned by the Queen of the Iberian Hadas (that is, the Spanish Fays) to seek the fabulous Spice Islands. Once found, she hoped that they would become a foster homeland for her subjects, and indeed, for all the Fair People of the Middle Kingdom whose Era, she feared, was coming to its end." (pp. 11-12)

This ties in with Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park in Boston, and the features of the Christopher Columbus statue used in Image 11.

Columbus never actually made it to the North American mainland, and he certainly never went anywhere near Massachusetts. However, Italian Immigration does have a strong history in Boston. It could be argued that Boston has the most distinctly Italian neighborhood in the USA. Unlike New York and other cities where Italian neighborhoods have become more culturally mixed (This is not to say that they have lost their Italian identity, just that these areas have become strongly influenced by other cultures as well), Boston's North End is compact, very definable (the area north of Long Wharf and east of Interstate 93), and almost exclusively Italian. Admittedly, there has been some migration into the North End by New Urban Yuppies, but the North End has not lost any of its Italian character. It is not the biggest Italian neighborhood in the US, but it's probably the most Italian Italian neighborhood.

The North End is also the best preserved of Boston's colonial neighborhoods, with many areas accessible only by foot. Boston overall is one of the oldest ports-of-entry for European immigrants in the USA, and the oldest among the USA's "major" cities (except if you consider the Norfolk, Virginia area a major city). Boston's believed connection to Italian Immigration could then be specifically a reference to the North End's age and condition as a colonial (and thus immigrant) neighborhood.

The second reference to Italians in The Secret appears to tie in with Image 12 and the New York City casque:

  • "There were, to be sure, some unfortunate conflicts and skirmishes. The Italian immigrant Falletti and the indigenous Powhatan engaged, briefly, in a sort of guerilla gang war over fishing rights off the peninsula of what is now called New Jersey." (p. 22)

The first Italian to reach the shores of what is now the United States was Giovanni da Verrazzano, who sailed from Cape Fear, NC, up to Narragansett Bay, RI, in 1524. Along the way he is thought to have gone along the coast of what is now New Jersey before anchoring in New York Bay. The Verrazano–Narrows Bridge between Brooklyn and Staten Island is the most notable structure named for him. Verrazzano never made it as far north as Massachusetts, so he has no historical ties to Boston.

Connection: Intermediate
Boston, MA
12
TopazRussia & Eastern Europe

The book only says that the Russian immigrants interacted with "the Mohicans" (a tribe of native Americans). The historic range of that group is centered on what is now the intersection of New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont. New York state has strong ties to Russia and Russian immigration. On the Wikipedia list of American cities with the highest percentages of people of Russian ancestry, 15 out of the top 25 are in New York state.

The map on page 10 shows that the casque associated with this group includes more than just Russia, and the two other countries specifically names are Poland and Hungary. Polish immigrants played a major role in Chicago, so this might be the group for that city.

Connection: Intermediate
New York, NY

Summary

If we ignore the content of the pictures and just look at the historical ties to early exploration and immigration, we are left with 6 good matches to the current search areas and 6 not-so-good matches to the current search areas. Of course, one image in the second group (Image 5) has already been linked to the casque that was found in Chicago. If that was a mix-up of some kind, we would need a different ethnic group tied to Chicago and the Poles, associated with Image 12, would be the logical choice. But it's hard to believe that the mix-up could have gone undetected for so many years.

Good Matches to Search Areas
Not-So-Good Matches (and possible alternatives)

China (1) --> San Francisco

Africa (2) --> Charleston

England (3) --> Roanoke Island

Greece (4) --> Cleveland

Spain (6) --> St. Augustine

Germany (10) --> Milwaukee

Ireland / Scotland (5) --> Chicago (maybe Boston?)

France (7) --> New Orleans (maybe Quebec City?)

Persia (8) --> Houston (maybe Arizona or New Mexico?)

Holland (9) --> Montreal (maybe New York City?)

Italy (11) --> Boston (maybe New Jersey?)

Russia (12) --> New York City (maybe Chicago? or maybe Albany? or Burlington?)

Magical creatures, origins and gemstones (as seen in paintings)

Page 10 ofThe Secretshows a map of the origins of the Fair Folk described in the book. The verse at the top of this page connects those groups to specific gemstones.

Most of the paintings contain an image of the species connected to their country of origin/gemstone:

Country/RegionMentioned in mapMentioned in LitanySeen in picture
1. ScandiaElves, Trolls, Grims, Nissen, TomtraElves(No painting- they 'made the casque')
2. Tartary/Russia/Hungary/Poland (Eastern Europe)Vazily, Lesy, Poleviki, Domivye, Vily, RuskalkiTopazLikely a Rusalka
3. GermanyDwarves, Withcl, Hutchen, Rhine MaidensDwarves / Amethyst? (Possible one of listed?)
4/5. Scotland/IrelandPeople O'Peace, Trows, Brownies, Selkies, Kelpies, Sidhe, Leprechauns, Fir DarrigsEmeraldLikely a Brownie, aka Dobby or one of many other names or variations.
6. EnglandFairies, Pixies, Hobgoblins, BoggartsFairies / GarnetFairy
7. LowlandsAlven, Klabautermanikins, GnomesGnomes / OpalGnome
8. FranceKorreds, Lutin, Dames Blanches, Loup Garoux'Fay' / TurquoiseLoup Garoux
9. HellasCentaurs, Nymphs, SatyrsNymphs / AquamarineCentaur
10. IberiaHadas ('Spanish Fay'), DuendeHadas / Sapphire?
11. ItalyFolletti, Farfarelli, Salvani, Aguane, LinchettiPeridot(Presumably one of listed)
12. Araby (Arabic countries)Djinn, Peri, DeevusRubyDjinn
13. AfricaTree FairiesDiamondTree Fairy
(N/A). Cathay (China)Prince Yi, Hsi Wang Mu, Shin-seen and the DragonDragon/PearlDragon

Throughout the book, 'Fay' seems to be used as a generic catch all for magical creatures (i.e. 'the Fay of France', 'the Spanish Fay', rather than a specific 'species.'

The Secret (a treasure hunt) (2)

Comments (11)

The Secret (a treasure hunt) (3)

Allegro said

at 3:04 pm on Nov 16, 2015

The "chill and rocky northern coast." tying to New Orleans makes sense, when you consider that the Cajun ancestors originally settled on the Eastern coast of Canada. They left after the British conquest of the area, and moved to the French colony in what is now Louisiana.

The Secret (a treasure hunt) (4)

Badwolfnine said

at 2:03 am on Nov 22, 2015

That is correct. The French Acadians came her through Canada, not directly to our shores. "The Acadians (French: Acadiens) are the descendants of the original French settlers and often Métis, of parts of Acadia (French: Acadie) in the northeastern region of North America comprising what is now the Canadian Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, Gaspé, in Quebec, and to the Kennebec River in southern Maine."

The Secret (a treasure hunt) (5)

spacemunkay said

at 1:22 pm on Nov 27, 2016

Regarding Irish/Scottish ties to Chicago, although not the majority immigration group, they had a strong influence in government. The city dyes it's river green for St Patrick's, which is a pretty notorious fact. And the street along where the casque was found is McCormick Pl. Not very strong ties, but it's at least something.

The Secret (a treasure hunt) (6)

Indigoone said

at 12:43 am on Jun 17, 2017

I think I may have found a connection to the Irish and Scottish immigrants for image 5. A 62 year tradition in Chicago, is their St. Patrick's Day Parade. Everyone is Irish for a day, and the downtown Chicago River is died green! I know it's not a connection to early immigration, but perhaps to the area? Similar to the Ohio find, that centered more on where the casque was buried. What do you think?http://www.spgenergy.com/blog/celebrating-st-patricks-day-in-chicago/

The Secret (a treasure hunt) (7)

Guardian said

at 11:52 pm on Jan 23, 2018

Houston’s Little Persia is a twelve block stretch of Hillcroft north of US-59. This is several miles west of Hermann Park. If there’s a connection, it means we’re waaaaay off.

The Secret (a treasure hunt) (8)

Guardian said

at 5:09 am on Jan 30, 2018

It turns out this is probably a dead end. First, it was only called Little Persia in the foodie article linked to above, which is 20+ years out of date. Second, its official name is Little Pakistan. And third, it wasn't officially named until 2010. It may have been loosely called Little Persia, but it wouldn’t have been well-known outside the immediate vicinity.

The Secret (a treasure hunt) (9)

Jaeden said

at 11:36 pm on Jan 31, 2018

I think the Hermann Park Zoo is the Immigration connection. This is because a Zoo supposedly contains exotic animals from around the World. Priess could've seen the Zoo as a metaphor for America which like a Zoo consists of various people from various cultures from all over the world.

The Secret (a treasure hunt) (10)

Jess said

at 10:40 am on Feb 16, 2018

I don't believe the 'Russian' topaz mentioned in the litany means that the (New York) painting is specific to Russia. I think the immigrant tie is to Eastern Europe in general, as defined in the book. Having finally gotten around to watching the Expedition Unknown thing, Preiss' daughters go to Ellis Island to find their ancestors names. I think the immigration tie is Eastern Europeans (especially, perhaps specifically Jews), not 'Russians'.

The Secret (a treasure hunt) (11)

Guardian said

at 6:00 pm on Feb 17, 2018

The Soviet Union owned most of Eastern Europe from 1943-1991, which may be what BP was getting at.

The Secret (a treasure hunt) (12)

Jess said

at 10:45 am on Feb 16, 2018

I also think the Emerald itself in the Chicago painting is a reference to the Celts; I don't think it was a mix up. Ireland is referred to as the 'Emerald Isle', even just 'The Emerald'. Celtic culture is synonymous with the colour green- just ask my local 'soccer' team...

I also really want there to be a secret Scandinavian casque linked to the title page. Hidden in Minnesota, naturally.

The Secret (a treasure hunt) (13)

Guardian said

at 5:56 pm on Feb 17, 2018

For some reason, when I try to edit, it won’t go right of “Seen in picture”. I tried to add that rhe “star” in Image 8 may be a Peri.

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