"The Gold Bug" LbNA #43870 (ARCHIVED)

"The Gold-Bug"
(Replaced 7/10/09)

This letterbox, based on "The Gold-Bug", can be found on an island in the Cannon River in Dundas, MN. The original Sullivan's Island in South Carolina was the setting for Edgar Allen Poe's "The Gold-Bug" as well as the place where he wrote the short story. But it has become part of the Charleston sprawl so the one in Dundas is more appropriate now.

The hero in the tale, LeGrand, finds a map and an encoded message for a treasure hidden by Captain Kidd. To read more about the story, and especially to be able to crack the code, refer to a copy of "The Gold-Bug".

To find the letterbox, go to the Dukes of Dundas' ball field in Memorial Park. Directly behind centerfield at the river's edge you'll find the Devil's Seat; you'll know you're at the right place as there's a goldbug in a hole in the tree. From there, to reach the treasure, you'll need to have decoded the message below using the code found in the story. The decoded message will take you from the devil's seat to the death's head and hence to the treasure.

1 5 - 8 ) ) W 5 - ( + ) ) ; 4 8 W 5 ; 8 ( * + ; 8 ; W + 0 5 ( 3 8 9 ? 0 ; 6 ; ( ? * K 8 ! ; ( 8 8 ) W 6 ; 4 5 1 5 0 0 8 * + * 8 6 * 2 8 ; W 8 8 * ; 4 8 ! 8 5 ; 4 ) 4 8 5 ! 6 ) 6 * ; 4 8 9 6 ! ! 0 8 + 1 ; 4 8 ; + . 0 6 9 2 + 1 ; 4 8 1 5 0 0 8 * ; ( 8 8 3 + ; 4 8 ( 8 1 ( + 9 ; 4 8 ! 8 5 ; 4 ) 4 8 5 ! 3 + ;+ ; 4 8 2 5 ) 8 + 1 ; 4 8 9 ? 0 ; 6 ; ( ? * K 8 ! ; ( 8 8 ;+ ; 4 8 * + ( ; 4.

In the message, please note that not all letters of the alphabet are included, especially a few that occur infrequently. For those we'll let them stand for themselves. In particular, W remains W and K remains K. Similarly, due to printing restrictions, some deprecated symbols in the coded text have had to be replaced. Thus, the dagger has been replaced by an exclamation point (!) and the double-dagger by a plus (+). Otherwise the code is the same as in most copies of the story.

Caution: This letterbox should not be attempted where the river is high or fast!