Find BadBird's Treasure

At the 9/5 Meeting of BadBirds Treasure Hunting Society we discussed the brevity and mystery of the message from "Mate" (written by J.T. Bell for the mate). The message, written on a deposit slip for S.S. Jones (or Jonas) simply reads:

"I’m writing this one for the Mate. He’s patriotic as of late. Bell for X"

One society member had investigated the possibility that "S.S. Jones" or Jonas might have been a ship name. USS is the prefix for a military naval vessel and SS would indicate a civil registry. Records searches failed to identify any such vessel. It was determined that an S.S.Jones had operated a grocery with his brother S.A. Jones on Delannoy Ave around 1910.

The first line of the message simply indicates that Bell is writing the note for Mate. But how could a "First Mate"
be illiterate? (As indicated by the comment on the first line of Deposit slip #2 in the first clue found).
First Mate duties would involve a variety of tasks (duty schedules, navigation, etc.) requiring reading and writing skills.

Why would Mate hide his literacy? Other suggestions included that he was a politician or very public figure whose handwriting would be instantly recognizable to many people.

We then discussed how a person gets to be a "First" Mate. One must progress from a simple seaman through a variety of career ladders such as armorer, bosun, carpenter, etc. until one became the senior, most experienced, skilled, intelligent, and most responsible sailor on board, appointed by the Ship’s Captain.

As we scanned the list of possible careers, one stood out "Pharmacist Mate" - the medic on board smaller vessels that do not have a Doctor on board. A pharmacist’s handwriting would be very well known by many people.

A quick search of the records showed that 313 Delannoy had been built as a pharmacy in 1907 and that the family lived above the shop.

We hurried to the site but were immediately discouraged by the evidence that another team of treasure-hunters had beaten us. A "Patriotic" Pharmacist had installed a flagpole on the North East corner of the building. The Flagstaff was long gone and had been rendered useless after the canopy was installed over the sidewalk in the 1920s. But the mount for the staff was still there.

Beneath the flag mount, the sidewalk bricks had been pried up. A person or persons unknown had torn up the sidewalk and excavated the area.

Once again the BadBirds Treasure Hunting Society does NOT allow or condone the random digging for clues or the actual treasure. Your metal detector will pick-up copper pipes all over town. If you have an idea, visit and study the clues.

A member investigated the flag staff bracket and realized that it was hollow. Deep inside was a sealed aluminum tube with 2 deposit slips and 2 old coins.

6th CLUE – FOUND HIDDEN IN THE FLAG-MOUNT at 313 Delannoy Ave

TRANSCRIPTION of Deposit Slip 9

At the end of the day here we would meet,
and I’d take a load off of my feet.
We saved it up for a rainy day
in case that we had to run away.

Bell built our own little treasure chest,
where most of our treasure came to rest.
With hidden drawers it looked quite plain, 18 x 10 x 12.
He made it look like a tool kit and stored it on a shelve.

But the loot was getting heavy,
and it crashed down from the wall.
The maid too hard a-dusting,and she seen the treasure sprawl.

Bad luck for us, she was in the room.
When Women see your treasure,
it is sure to spell your doom.

BadBird

10

P.S.

By now you are probably hoping,
that I’ll give you another clue.
But get you back to the starting point…
To hell with this, screw you!

END OF TRANSCRIPTION

We admit that we are stumped by this message. If you have any idea or suggestion as to what the message means, please contact me via email at kak@dol.net

BadBirds Treasure Hunting Society will meet again at 6:00 PM, on Friday the 12th of September, to discuss progress in the search for BadBirds Treasure.

As always, the public is invited to attend.