Finding Buried Treasure Whilst Hunting For Jesse James’ Lost Gold I Expedition Unknown

A new treasure hunter, a copper map, and
an unexplored location. We might actually
be onto something.
But I’m still trying to figure out the
code on the brass bucket. We will go to
the west side of the Kichi Hills, follow
the trail line coming through the
mountains just east of Lone Hill, where
he buried Jack—whatever Jesse was
talking about. Jaime thinks it points to
this patch of land across from Buzzard’s
Roost.

Okay, so who is Jack? Jack is not a person.
He’s not. Jack is actually something that
was laid out in rocks—the name Jack.
And how do we know that? I have a photo of it.
Really? Joe Hunter found it in 1933,
looking down from Buzzard’s Roost.

Let me see it.

And this is from Buzzard’s Roost?
From Buzzard’s Roost. If you look at this corner
right here, you’ll see “Jack” laid out.
Look at that!
You do!
That’s amazing! It’s right on the
hillside there. It says “Jack” plain as day.
If you look at the angles that the
letters were laid out, it’ll lead you to
this side of the Roost.

Jamie, I think you might be onto something here.
So, is this the one thing driving you here?
No, the copper map is what brings me here.

What’s the copper map?
The copper map’s what was found in 1932 by Joe Hunter
over on Buzzard’s Roost. Bud told me
about Joe Hunter back at Robbers Cave
and how he found the brass bucket, but
Hunter also dug up the copper map. And it
sounds like Jamie has a pristine copy.

This is the one that Jesse’s brother
Frank was looking for, and he said if he
could find it, he’d find stacks of gold
bars.

And have a lot of folks seen that?
No, not very many people have. And, uh, can
we take a look at it? Is that possible?
I don’t know if we should show this one
on camera. You want to think about it for
a second?

Yeah, let’s think about that.
Okay, take a second, think about it, let me know
what you want to do.

Last time someone’s seen it?
Part of it. I felt like—
I feel like this is not going to go my way.
That wasn’t a good deal because—

Hey guys, sorry not to bust you up, but I
have a compromise that has occurred to me.
What if we don’t show it on camera?
You can be sure as hell I won’t be able
to interpret it. I’m just a dumb TV host.
What if we kind of keep it from the
cameras a little bit so that the secret
doesn’t get out?

We’ll do that.
Yeah, that sounds good. We can do that.
Yeah, you sure?
Appreciate that. Thank you.

[Music]

Though we can’t show you the map, Jamie
and his team believe that it narrows
down their search grid to less than two
square miles, and we’re right at the
center now. This is a pretty complicated
looking map to me. It looks like chaos.
The map has to be worked in two separate
parts—north and south. South and north.
And that’s about all I can go into.
You guys aren’t gonna kill me at the end
of this, are you?

Look at this. This is a high-tech
operation here. Jamie and his crew are on
the cutting edge of the Jesse James gold
rush. Unleash the beast.

What is this?
This is a metal detector. It’s all electronic.
This one will take you 30 feet deep. It’s
not your grandma’s coin shooter.
This square is actually the sensor. This
is what finds the money. Is it
safe?
Sure.
That’s why you’re holding it, right?

I noticed that you’ve gotten 10 feet
behind us, and what is this? A shawn stat?
A shawn stat? That’s definitely a made-up
word. What is that?
It finds cast iron in
the event the treasure is inside of
something like a teapot or something
like that. Yeah, this is like some 21st
century treasure hunting.

Are you ready?
That’s ready. Let’s go. What do we do?
Walk that way.

Alright, I can do that.
We’re just going back and forth in
straight lines here?
Yeah, you have to
work it kind of like a grid.

Are you visually seeing data or—?
Yeah, I’m basically seeing data right now.

[Music]

What is that?
It’s probably the nails in your boots.
Oh yeah.

If it’s something more substantial, I
assume it makes a difference.
If the short one is probably your boots, if it’s
a really loud one, then we’ve got it.

I’m starting to realize that even with all
this fancy equipment, treasure hunting is
still a lot of walking. I can’t believe
how patient these guys are. It’s
basically like mowing a lawn. How long are
we gonna be out here doing this?
Do you have a tent?

Oh boy.
This is gonna be a long day.

Look at this.
What do you got?
I don’t know.
It’s right in there.
Yeah, it’s definitely detecting something.
This thing picks up iron, so maybe just
the rock.

Let’s get that shovel and try and take
that out.

Yeah.
Well, now what if—what if something’s
living out here?

Wait, what do you mean? Like what?
I don’t know, something lives in there.

Give me your top three things that
could be living in here. A snake, pack rat.

What’s a pack rat?
That’s a real thing? That’s an animal?
Yeah.
I thought it was just a hoarder.

Before I lose a finger to a pack rat, I
need to make sure the shawn stat isn’t
just picking up the iron in the rocks.
So we’re bringing out the big gun and
getting into position.

Hey, go back.
Something there?
Yeah, check that spot again. What’s it seeing?
Yeah, we got some kind of metal there.
Do it again.

[Music]

There you go. Got it.
So it’s just imaging something down
there.
Something kind of elongated. Yeah. Holy.

Okay, great. Let’s check it out. Come
on.

Okay, let’s get that shovel.
Wait a minute. What the hell?

[Music]

Jamie, get over here. What do you got?
Seriously, what is this?
It’s a bar.

Are you kidding me? A bar of what? Silver?
Maybe.

Are you… me?
Jamie, what is this? Some kind of bar?
It weighs a ton.

Yeah, it’s got weight to it.
Look, it’s got something written on it.
You have a brush or something?
There’s some water there. Be water.
Here’s some.

Lyman.
Lyman? What is that?
It’s gonna be lead.
Yep, that’s a lead bar.
They’re a lead manufacturing company.
Yeah, that’s what they make bullet
castings out of.

What year you think this is?
Man, it could be 100 years old. That is
unbelievable.

It’s not Jesse James’ treasure, but it’s still pretty amazing.

Well,
we know your machine works.

Yeah.
For a split second, I thought I was rich.
What’s the value of lead these days?
Not enough.
Yeah.

I was so close. Part of me thought that
just maybe we hit Jesse James’ lost gold.
It’s a rush, and now I understand why
people like Bud and Jamie spend their
lives chasing it.

Is there any doubt in your mind that that treasure’s still up
here somewhere?
That treasure’s still here.
It’s just gonna take a little more
searching to find it.

Too many clues have been discovered over
the last century to dismiss the treasure
as pure legend.
The brass bucket with the contract, the
cryptic markers, the copper map.

As for Jesse James, beneath the myth is a
man—and perhaps not a very decent one at
that. Though it’s easy to say he was a
product of his time, his tendencies for
brutal violence can’t be overlooked.
But the air of mystery surrounding him
is undeniable.

I think Jesse’s fame endures because we
see in him only what we want to see—
a thirst for adventure, a longing for
unfettered freedom.