An article from the Cass County Times-Courier, dated October 24, 1879 described the location of buried Spanish silver and gold in Cass County from 1772.  See the "Background" page for the article.

Old Rodman School House
So, what do we know? Well, the Old Rodman School House mentioned by A.I. is here...

Rodman School House (c.1929)

View Cass County Treasure in a larger map
View Larger Map
Approximate locations of the gold and silver are also shown on the map.

However, if he actually pinpointed the spot (if it exists) then why didn't he dig it up and keep it for himself? According to the story and Google maps, those positions are about correct compared to Crow's story.  You can plainly see the three forks of the stream that they would have crossed too by looking at other maps.



 Would these forks have been in the same place in 1772, however, or has erosion moved them slightly?



Native American/Spanish Records of the Attack
To verify we would need any Native American stories or Spanish records from this time period. Would it have been the Little Osage in this area around 1772? We found reference to Little Osages killing 5 hunters in the area in 1772, but that is hardly comparable to the hundreds of men in Crow's story.  Crow also said the attackers followed their party from the Texas.  What tribes would have been in this area, or would tribal alliances have made this several tribes attacking over the trail.  Would there have been 2000 Little Osages available for battle?  It seems like quite a number for one tribe. 

Local Maps c. 1772
Also, if anyone had any trail maps from the time period, perhaps we could see possible common routes they may have taken.

Similar Legends?
There are other stories in the area about a lost treasure, so perhaps there actually is one somewhere in the area and this story is just a variation. Or perhaps all the stories are based on the Cass County Treasure..

Jeff City Daily Tribune June 30, 1893 pg.4, col.5	Booneville Weekly Advertiser July 7,1893 pg.8 col.1 (same article)
"Legends abound throughout the area of Noble Hill that a cache of Spanish treasure is buried in the area somewhere. Noble Hill, is about thirteen miles north of Springfield, Missouri on Missouri Highway 13 on the Polk-Greene County line." http://www.legendsofamerica.com/mo-treasures5.html	An similar tale of an old man describing the location to a treasure in Reeds Spring, Stone County Missouri.  One of many links concerning the subject link
Joplin Spanish Treasure... http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php?topic=102282.0	There are many other similar stories throughout the Midwest and Missouri...

Bridges of Cass County
According to more stories, there were Spanish and Native American artifacts unearthed while excavating a bridge around 1930.

"More than fifty years later, a construction crew was building a bridge in 1930.  The location was several miles southeast of the old Rodman School.  During the excavation, the crew found evidence of a battle between the Spanish and the Indians, locating old weapons, skeletons, and part of old armor."



View Known Bridges Excavated Around 1930 in a larger map

Does anyone have a newspaper article that relates to this discovery? Perhaps this could lend a clue to pinpoint the actual treasure. Well, in Cass County there were three bridges built around 1930 (http://bridgehunter.com/, http://www.historicbridges.org/) but no information of artifacts could be verified.

Previous Expeditions
Finally, I'm sure the property owners and many others have already searched for the treasure. Since the land is on a thoroughfare named "Treasure Rd.," you know that a number of people have looked before. Did they find any clues? Has there been any investigation of the area with shovels or properly configured ground radar? If anyone knows, send us an email at treasure@kadsoftwareusa.com and we will put it on the site. Even if there is no treasure, it would be nice to have the whole story.

Reference

Maps

Regional Maps of the Revolutionary War
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/armhtml/armap.html

GNIS Geographical Name locator
http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=101:1:2262461946179126


Other Resources

Library of Congress Historical Newspapers
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/

1828 Geography of the US
http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.32:11.lincoln

Brief History of Louisiana Territory
http://www.archive.org/stream/briefhistoryoflo00smit/briefhistoryoflo00smit_djvu.txt

The Spanish Regime in Missouri Google Book
http://books.google.com/books?id=o2YOAAAAIAAJ&dq=spanish+in+missouri+1772&source=gbs_navlinks_

Digitized Historical Periodicals
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/newspapers

Missouri State Historical Society (For the Original Article)
http://shs.umsystem.edu/newspaper/newspapercatalog/casscounty.shtml


Treasure

What to do when you find a buried treasure...If it's buried deep enough, and it's old enough, then it is a historical artifact belonging to the government and you need an archaeologist on site to dig it up.
http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/mackintosh5/appa.htm
Link 2
http://www.nps.gov/history/local-law/FHPL_ArchRsrcsProt.pdf

TreasureNet Forums
http://forum.treasurenet.com/


Books

Missouri Treasures and Civil War Sites
Talham, Robert L
977.8 T187 REV

A Guide To Treasure in Missouri
Penfield, Thomas
977.8 P375

Index to French and Spanish Land Grants Recorded In Registers of Land Titles in Missouri
Williams, Betty Harvey
977.8 W672I