Treasure Tales and Treasure Stories About Mississippi from the Archives of Lost Treasure Magazine

The Proverbial Pot O' Gold

Somehow he had disturbed the pot's resting place, and it began to sink deeper into the mud until it finally disappeared.

The state of Mississippi, with its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River, has probably seen more people pass over her soil than any other state in the Union. Indians, Spanish, French, English and Americans have lived, fought and died in exploration, colonization and wars there. All these people, in the course of more than 400 years, have left treasure in one form or another which is of interest to the modern-day treasure hunter.

In the back country of Mississippi, 20 miles east of the old Natches-under-the-Hill settlement, the farm of Reber Dove lies near the edge of Homochitto Forest. A pot 4 feet in diameter and 4 feet deep is buried close to the house. It is filled with $100,000, loot of the Mason or Harpe robber gangs (the identity of the person or persons who actually buried the treasure has never been verified), which preyed on travelers in the early 1800s.

It was quite common for outlaws in that time and place to band together for protection from other bandit gangs. And whatever they stole and didn't spend themselves was not put in banks. Instead, it was put into the ground.

Old records indicate that these particular bands of thieves met at this farm and buried a pot of loot near an artesian well. While the size of the pots seems unusual, pots this size were often used on Southern plantations to cook sugar cane into syrup, and were easy to obtain.

A great many well-financed attempts have been made to dig up this particular pot, but every attempt has met with failure. In 1927, Reber Dove purchased the farm, moved his family into the main house and started digging for the bandit treasure. He told his neighbors, "I'm going to find that money if I have to dig down to China."

By process of elimination, Dove decided the only logical hiding place for the treasure was the spring. Methodically, he kept digging and finally saw the top of the massive kettle. But somehow he had disturbed its resting place and the huge pot began to sink deeper into the wet mud. Reber dug frantically to retrieve it, but the kettle finally sank out of sight. After this failure, Dove stopped trying to retrieve the kettle.

If anyone cares to go and look over the treasure site, Reber Dove's farm is about 20 miles east of Natchez. Ask any local resident where the "Gold Hole" is, and they'll direct you from there. You must obtain permission to attempt a recovery of this treasure.

Author's Note: A United Press dispatch out of Natchez on August 28, 1952, credits the following statement to Mrs. A. E. Bond, mother of Reber Dove: "I do not recall the details of the background that led to the belief that a pot of gold was buried here. I do know the site was located by my son. I was told that this pot was one of six that was brought from an island where it had been hidden."

The item goes on to say that the first clue to the treasure came from some old papers found in an attic Meadville, seat of Franklin County. That story credited the burial of the gold to a crewman of Jean Lafitte's.