Columbus, UNITED STATES: 8/9 US-IMMIGRATION-MINUTEMAN PROJECT A Minuteman Project volunteer inspect the horizon for any illegal immigrant crossing activity in an observation post in the desert near the border town of Columbus, New Mexico, 14 April, 2006. The Minuteman Project has reached some 7,800 volunteers across the US. They patrol the US borders with Mexico and Canada in order to stop the flow of illegal immigrants. Following the implementation by the US Government of Operation Gate Keeper in Southern California and a similar operation in Texas, the majority of border crossing activities have moved to Arizona and New Mexico, areas with large deserts and mountains forcing the border-crossers to be exposed to harsher weather conditions. The number of illegal immigrants in the US has grown to as many as twelve million people and they now account for about one in every twenty workers following a recent report by the Pew Hispanic Institute. Efforts to curb illegal immigration have not slowed its pace with an estimate 850,000 crossings last year the report said. AFP PHOTO/HECTOR MATA (Photo credit should read HECTOR MATA/AFP/Getty Images)



Photo Courtesy of Forrest Fenn

What's a mere $100,000 compared to a treasure trove well over $1 million? Remember when Canadian Club hid cases of whisky and consumers competed to win $100,000.?

Forget that. Forrest Fenn, a legendary 80-year-old Santa Fe art dealer and collector, has written a memoir in which he gives clues to finding a real treasure chest (worth well over $1 million) that Fenn has hidden in the mountains north of Santa Fe. The treasure includes gold coins, nuggets, pre-Columbian gold animal figures, a Spanish 17th century gold-and-emerald ring and an important bracelet with turquoise beads excavated in 1898 from Mesa Verde, which Fenn won much later playing pool.

"Lost treasure" books he read as a boy influenced Fenn, who has always loved mystery, intrigue and adventure. But the real reason he buried this treasure is because he developed cancer, and after a long bout of chemo and radiation, the doctors told him the cancer could come back. Fenn, worried the cancer would recur, said to himself, "If it comes back, I'm going to grab a pocketful of sleeping pills, take a treasure chest filled with treasure and a copy of my bio; and I'm going to walk out into the desert. Sometime they'll find my bones and the treasure, but my bio will be inside the box, so at least they'll know who I was."

The cancer remained in remission so Fenn, who said, "I just got tired of waiting," decided to go ahead and bury the treasure somewhere in the mountains north of Santa Fe. Fenn won't say how much the treasure is worth because the price of gold fluctuates. Some insiders have said it's worth much more than one million dollars.

The treasure has not yet been found. Says Fenn, "It's difficult so it won't be found right away, but it's easy enough so that it's not impossible to find it." Fenn chuckles and says, "I want sweaty bodies out there looking for my treasure -- they just have to find the clues." The clues can be found in Fenn's self-published memoir, The Thrill of the Chase, available only at Collected Works Bookstore in downtown Santa Fe ($35).

The book not only tells the story of Forrest Fenn's life, but offers clues to the treasure's location. Fenn is donating all the proceeds from The Thrill of the Chase (as well as a substantial private donation) to help cancer patients who can't afford their treatments.

Forrest Fenn, who flew more than 300 missions in Vietnam, retired from the Air Force in 1970 and created an art gallery in Santa Fe that he and his wife ran for 17 years. Fenn's friends and clients included everyone from Jackie Kennedy (who stayed in one of his guest houses) to Robert Redford and the Rockefellers. In 1988, Fenn retired from the art gallery and re-directed his energies toward excavating a large Indian pueblo and writing books about art and exploration. The Thrill of the Chase is his eighth book.

I emailed Forrest Fenn, who sent this poem, which he promises gives NINE clues: