Frequenting the lower arid desert floor and the region near the base of the escarpment that leads to the higher elevations of the Guadalupe range I had many encounters with the western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox), the largest of the snakes found in this area. Other species I crossed paths with included the prairie rattlesnake, the rock rattlesnake, and the common black-tail rattlesnake.

Rattlesnakes generate an innate fear in most humans, and many people hold to the belief that the only good rattler is a dead one. To that end, snakes, poisonous or not, are often killed on sight. Snakes, both poisonous and nonpoisonous, normally consume rats and mice, and are useful in keeping rodent populations in check. Knowing this, I never shied away from these fascinating reptiles, but rather often indulged my private curiosity by studying their habits and collecting their dried shed skins.

In the Guadalupe Mountains, there are many stories concerning rattlesnakes inflicting serious bites on livestock and sometimes on people. Though most bites are not fatal, the victim often suffers loss of movement of the affected limb and sometimes the limb itself. While hiking in the backcountry I always carried a snake stick, but in most cases I found that the snakes are eager to retreat from the path of the oncoming humans.

Stories of large snakes abound throughout the folklore annals of Texas and are regularly heard in the vicinity of the Guadalupe Mountains. Professional herpetologists routinely dismiss claims of oversized rattlesnakes found in this area but, as one rancher told me, the scientists aren’t usually around when the large snakes are found. The ranchers don’t keep them; they kill them.

An adult diamondback rattlesnake is normally between four and five feet long, with the official record being six feet, eleven and seven/eighths inches. History, however, is filled with reports of giant specimens. A book, published in Europe in 1858, related the activities of a French missionary in Texas and recalled an incident where a hunter killed a seventeen foot rattlesnake that possessed on its tail twenty-five buttons, or rattles, the “horny interlocking joints at the end of the tail that make a sharp rattling sound when shaken.” A July 28, 1877, issue of the Dallas Weekly Herald carried the story of an eighteen-foot rattlesnake recently killed in Indian Territory. The snake reportedly had thirty-seven buttons on its tail. The story prompted the recollection of old-timers in the area of a ten-foot-long rattler that was killed near the Colorado River that supposedly had fifty buttons!

My friend Jack Kincaid, while working on the Guadalupe Mountain Ranch, often encountered rattlesnakes in Dog Canyon and near Sitting Bull Falls in excess of six feet in length. Tony Armijo, a nearby resident, once owned a café which catered to workmen from the El Paso Natural Gas Company pumping station. When the station became automated, the workers were forced to move away, prompting Armijo to close his business. Before shutting down the café for good, Armijo decided to throw a party for the gas camp workers, and spent many hours cleaning and readying the café. As he was raking debris that had collected around some abandoned gasoline pumps, Armijo was startled by a large diamondback rattlesnake coiled in the sun. Finding it too large to kill with his rake, Armijo retrieved a shotgun and dispatched the serpent. Measuring the snake, Armijo discovered it was just over seven feet long with a head the size of a saucer. He found twenty-four buttons on the rattlesnake not counting several that had broken off the end.

I have photographs of two large rattlesnakes taken near my home in Llano, Texas. One is at least ten feet long and the other is close to twelve feet long.

While there will likely always remain an intrinsic discomfort between humans and rattlesnakes, people are becoming more educated about the value of these reptiles and their role in the complex ecological patterns that exists in the desert environments. This is something I routinely tried to teach my students in field expeditions to the Guadalupe Mountains. Once when standing under a tree near the mouth of a cave I was lecturing about this exact topic when a large black-tail rattlesnake dropped from a branch at my feet. It startled the group to the point of near hysteria, but I never moved or even blinked. The snake slowly tested the air with its tongue, scented me, and moved away into the rocks. The students later accused me of staging the entire event to which I replied, “I admit to communing with rattlesnakes, but I have never found a way, yet, to train them to appear on command.”

For more stories of rattlesnake encounters related to treasure hunting expeditions in the American West and Mexico, see W.C. Jameson’s Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses and Deadly Confrontations (Seven Oaks Publishing Company, 2011).

    Normally reticent and reluctant to consent to do  interviews, Jameson has agreed to respond to a set of questions for this site. The questions posed here came from The History Channel production team as well as one of his publishers.

Question #1

How did you first become interested in Billy the Kid?

First of all, I grew up in West Texas and not far from what the state of New Mexico calls “Billy the Kid Country,” so there was always a geographical connection.  Growing up in this region I often heard tales about outlaws and lawmen from a lot of old-timers who actually knew some of them. The stories captivated me and made me curious about the lives of such men.
Second, as a youngster I was fascinated by men who became outlaws, not so much for their reputation or deeds, real or imagined,  but more for the fact that they had little use for the absurd rules imposed on them by the political systems of the day. Many men were branded outlaws simply because they made the existing political regimes uncomfortable. The laws, often designed to benefit the men who made them and not the people they were supposed to protect, turned a lot of otherwise honest and decent men into outlaws. This remains true today.
Third, when I was in school at Texas Western College (now the University of Texas at El Paso), I took a class from Dr. C.L. Sonnichsen, the Harvard-educated scholar, writer, and folklorist, who wrote the first book about William Henry a.k.a. Billy the Kid. Sonnichsen and I had many long discussions about Roberts and the Kid. He encouraged me to continue pursuing the truth, and I did so with zeal and considerable success. We continue to learn more about Roberts’ life as Billy the Kid all the time.

For more information, see Billy the Kid: Beyond the Grave (Taylor Trade Publishing) and Billy the Kid: The Lost Interviews (Garlic Press Publishing). The books are available at any good bookstore or www.amazon.com. For personalized copies, order from Seven Oaks Publishing Company, P.O. Box 989, Llano, Texas 78643. Beyond the Grave = $19.00 postpaid, Billy the Kid: The Lost Interviews = $16.00 postpaid.

Because of the overwhelming response to my latest book, Treasure Hunter, Caches, Curses, and Deadly Confrontations, there has arisen talk of a sequel and I have been asked several times if I am planning one.

At this point I am considering one but remain uncertain. To be sure, there are a number of additional treasure hunting accounts and adventures I could write about, but I am not sure how much I want to reveal about locations, sizes of caches, recoveries, and my role in what are likely illegal activities. I need to be careful about such things.

In the meantime, while I am thinking about whether or not to write a sequel, I am working under the schedules and deadlines of at least six book contracts. This has all been a great deal of fun and I look forward to each day of writing. The projects include:

• Lost Mines and Buried Treasures of Missouri

• Florida’s Lost and Buried Treasures

• Lost Mines and Buried Treasures of Tennessee

• Lost Mines and Buried Treasures of the Civil War

• Lost Mines and Buried Treasures of the Big Bend

• The Ultimate Field Guide to Locating Lost Treasure

 I’ll do my best to keep you posted on their releases over the nest several months.

*     *    *

I have received several requests to produce and e-mail Professional Treasure Hunters Newsletter. People have suggested I get involved with such a thing so they can keep up with my projects (including book releases, television appearances, expeditions, etc), important discoveries and recoveries, and the latest goings-on in this strange business of treasure hunting.

If you are interested in receiving such a newsletter, drop me a note with your e-mail address along with suggestions on topics you would like to see treated. My e-mail address is jamesonwc@gmail.com.

If one finds and removes an historic treasure cache from private or government owned property without permission, it is technically stealing. For example, many lost and buried caches in this country are now located within the borders of national and state lands such as parks, wildlife areas, and historical sites. In almost every case, treasure hunting on these lands is illegal and fines and punishments are severe.

If one locates treasure in a foreign country and returns with it to the United States without declaring it, it becomes smuggling. The chances are if you declare what you find and recover, it will be confiscated. Other countries do not want their wealth, historical or otherwise, carried away to some other nation any more than the United States wants its treasures taken elsewhere.

Question #1:

Your latest book is Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses, and Deadly Confrontations, a memoir of some of your most memorable expeditions. Why did you write this book?

At first I did not want to write Treasure Hunter. The principal reason is related to the fact that one of the best advantages a professional treasure hunter can have is that of anonymity. The truth is, most of what I do as a professional treasure hunter is illegal, therefore the less that is known about me and what I am involved with, the better.

My wife has encouraged me for years to write about my adventures as a treasure hunter. I finally gave in a few years ago for a couple of reasons. Because of age and increasing obligations relative to writing, speaking, and other things, I am no longer as active as I once was. The partners I worked with for years are either dead or have moved on to other things. Most of my recovery expeditions required the cooperation of several men – since they are no longer active, I have cut back on my own my involvement.

While I still have a couple of treasure recovery projects on the burner, neither is likely to be affected by the release of this book.

    Published over two decades ago, this book is still in print and still selling well, and is the most popular of the W.C. Jameson’s Buried Treasures of America Series. For this, I wish to thank my readers. This has been a writing and publishing adventure filled with joy and satisfaction, and you have been responsible for most of that. Thank you very much.

    Other books of the series with impressive numbers include Buried Treasures of the Ozarks and Lost Treasures in American History. A couple of reasons have been advanced for this. With regard to the Ozarks book, professional and amateur treasure hunters alike hare discovering the possibilities of some great treasure finds in the Ozark states of Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. These states have not been picked over like others have and reports of some impressive discoveries from people who are using my books as a starting point for their research and expedition planning are coming in. Keep me posted.

    As you may recall, Lost Treasures in American History led an intrepid treasure hunter to the discovery of a huge Spanish treasure in gold and silver coins and ingots in a tributary to the Gulf of Mexico. The discovery generated weeks of national news and numerous interviews. Others are using the book to try to locate other treasures, and initial reports are encouraging.

    If interested, you can order autographed copies of these and other treasure books from this site. Or, go to www.amazon.com for some excellent deals.

First of all, the stories included in my book represent twenty-seven of what I consider the most compelling tales, those with some significant level of documentation, and those which stand a great chance of discovery and recovery. I have learned through the treasure hunting grapevine that at least two of the treasures I wrote about have been found. It id also my understanding that several treasures not included in the book have been located and many more being searched for.

It is possible that more have been found. Professional treasure hunters who make significant discoveries are generally careful not to announce their finds. None want to attract attention to their new-found wealth or to the location from which it came. The chances are great that some law was likely broken during the recovery of the treasure (trespassing, historical artifact. etc.) and most don’t care to alert the Internal Revenue Service and other pertinent agencies until they are ready.

Mountain man closed his communication with an important caution: When hunting in Colorado, particularly in the summer, be watchful of poisonous snakes.

This book is a collection of twelve incredible essays by some of the finest writers to call Colorado their home. I have compiled and edited four or five of these kinds of books. All were enjoyable in more ways than I can describe, but this one was the most fulfilling and satisfying. Much if this had to do with all of the fine writers involved. They included David Mason (Poet Laureate of Colorado), Mara Purl (author, publisher, actress, musician). Susan Tweit, Joe Stone, Larry Meredith, Mark and Kym Todd, Margaret Coel, Mario Acevedo, Laurie Wagner Buyer, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, Kathy Brandt, and Dan Guenther. This is one of the most impressive line-ups of writing talent anywhere.

Most of the contributors to An Elevated View showed up at the readings and signings at Denver’s Tattered Cover, Woodland Park’s library, Salida’s The Book Haven, and at Western State College in Gunnison. The event at The Book Haven was catered, a local vintner provided wine, and David Tipton, an accomplished musician, supplied the entertainment. The crowds at all of the venues were great, response was tremendous, and everyone wants us back.

Not only are the contributors to AEV some of the best writers in Colorado, but they are some of the nicest people.

An Elevated View: Colorado Writers on Writing is enjoyable reading for anyone interested in writing, in books, or in learning something about these talented and remarkable authors.
To order a copy, send just $14.95 plus $3.00 s/h to Seven Oaks Publishing, P.O. Box 989, Llano, Texas 78643 or go to www.amazon.com.

The fact is, I have been so busy with concert bookings that I have not had the time to plan participating in a workshop of any kind. I like doing them, so perhaps in the near future we may get an opportunity to do so. If you want me to conduct one in your town, email me and provide some specifics. In the meantime, there are some books you can read and enlighten yourself on this whole business of writing for a living. You can order these books from www.amazon.com or go to my website and order them from me (www.wcjameson.com).

Notes from Texas: On Writing in the Lone Star State (TCU Press) is a compilation of essays by noted Texas authors on why and how they got into this business and how they make their living at it. This book is used in some university writing courses.

Hot Coffee and Cold Truth: Living and Writing the West (University of New Mexico Press) is another collection of author-penned essays on a number of writing-related topics including: How they achieved their success; how they were inspired; what it takes to get published. In addition, this book offers a number of pertinent observations on writing and the publishing industry.

Ozark Writers on Writing: Essays on Creativity is an excellent collection of essays by some impressive writers who provide advice and insight worth far more than the price of the book. This book has been used in college and university classes and several of the chapters have won individual awards. There are only a few copies of this book left. If you order them from me, you don’t have to pay the $13.95 price; you can get it for only $10.00 plus $3.00 shipping/handling.

You can send orders to me at 208 West College, Llano, Texas 78643.

Good luck with your writing. I’m always anxious to hear about your successes.

Fuel is located 1t 106 East Main St. in Llano, Texas. It’s logo contains the words “Coffee – Music – Community.” Two years ago, a decision was made to organize a Songwriters in the Round performance on the third Thursday of the month as an opportunity to feature some of the finest and most prominent professional Texas songwriters. The program became an instant hit in this little town of about 3,500 people. In a short time, word-of-mouth made the rounds of most of Texas’ songwriters and soon we were getting calls about performing. In a short time, SIR shows went to twice per month; every first and third Thursday, with occasional special shows booked on the open Thursdays, as well as some Saturdays and Tuesdays.

SIR has featured, not only prominent Texas songwriters, but also artists from Nashville, Canada, and Europe. Among the great songwriters that have appeared in recent months include:

Mike Blakely, award-winning songwriter whose tunes have been covered by
several noted performers,

Walt Wilkins, whose songs have been covered over 100 times by major
recording artists,

Buzz Cason, who has written songs for Elvis, the Beatles, U2, Jerry Lee Lewis,
Brenda Lee, the Oak Ridge Boys, and dozens of others,

Susan Gibson, whose song “Wide Open spaces” was a number one hit by the
Dixie Chicks,

Shake Russell, who songs have been recorded by Waylon Jennings and
several others,

Bob Livingston, legendary sideman and songwriter who has performed with
Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Martin Murphey, Ray Wylie Hubbard, the Lost Gonzo Band, and others,

Danny Brooks, top Canadian blues singer and instrumentalist, and dozens of others.

Thanks to all of these great songwriters, the Famous Fuel Coffee House holds down a solid place on the map of favored venues in Texas. And it keeps getting better.

If anyone wants to be placed on the email newsletter to keep up with the songwriter performances at Fuel, just send me your address and we’ll see that it gets done.

Even better, the next time you’re in Llano, Texas, stop by for an evening of great Texas music.