Thank you for participating in the first ever
Treasure Hunt by The Sweet Escape!
The Backstory: Life on the Wade Plantation
-
The Owners and the Land: They were held by Master Thomas Wade, a wealthy cotton and rice planter known for his cold, transactional cruelty. Silas was a trusted blacksmith's assistant, while Charity was a seamstress and spinner. They lived in the "Quarters"—a row of drafty, single-room log huts with dirt floors situated a quarter-mile behind the main Great House.
-
How Silas Learned to Read: Silas’s literacy was born in secret. A traveling Methodist minister, a white man sympathetic to the anti-slavery cause, came to preach a sermon to the hands behind the old chapel. Risking the gallows, the minister noticed Silas’s sharp mind and secretly met him in the woods over three moonless nights, using broken slates to teach him the alphabet and how to form basic letters.
-
Their Meeting and Marriage: Silas met Charity at the plantation well when she was carrying water buckets to the weaving house. They fell in love over whispered conversations during late-night corn-shuckings. They were married in a secret ceremony under a massive "Hanging Oak" in the deep woods, jumping the broom in front of their fellow hands, vowing a holy covenant before God that no human master could break.
-
The Catalyst to Flee: In August 1854, Silas overheard Master Wade in the blacksmith shop finalizing a contract to sell Charity down to the brutal rice swamps of the low country to settle a gambling debt. Faced with permanent separation and the destruction of their marriage, they decided they would rather die running than live apart in chains.
-
The Preparation and Secret Help: Over four weeks, they hoarded parched corn, dried beef, and stolen matches. An elderly slave named Uncle Abram, too old to run but wise in the ways of the woods, gave them a heavy wool blanket and a brass compass he had kept hidden in a hollow tree for ten years. A free black teamster passing through Atlanta slipped Silas a crude, hand-drawn charcoal map of the Appalachian mountain gaps leading to Tennessee, then Kentucky and across the Great Jordan - The Ohio River to get to freedom. Unfortunately this is just the beginning. Follow the route Silas and Charity took on their way to Freedom. Read the Journal entries made by Silas along their route. Decipher the clues. There are three puzzles in each set of journal entries. One will lead you directly to your location if you can figure it out. The second will give you extra clues to find your way, the third will give you names of real people, places or things along the way to help you get closer to the destination.
THE CLUE: The Conductor's Prequel Letter
This letter is written from the perspective of Brother Christian, the traveling Methodist minister who secretly taught Silas to read and write. It can serve as the very first artifact your players discover, setting up the prequel phase of the campaign.
A TESTIMONY IN THE WILDERNESS
“The truth shall make you free.”
To the One who uncovers this scrap:
If these loose pages have found their way into your hands, then the Lord has smiled upon a righteous cause. My name is Brother Christian, a traveling servant of the Word. I courted the gallows down in the red clay country of Georgia, secretly showing a brilliant blacksmith's hand named Silas how to scratch out his letters behind the old chapel while the masters slept.
Silas and his sweet wife Charity have fled the Wade Plantation to save their holy marriage from the auction block. Before they struck out into the dark, I helped them pack their small bundles, and a faithful brother slipped them a compass and a charcoal map. Silas swore to keep a hidden ledger of their trials, burying his thoughts on loose shingles beneath the dirt floor of his cabin until the hour of deliverance arrived.
To find the name of the master they fled, or the city where their long trail toward the North Star began, you must read his prequel logs with a seeing eye. Trust the double path:
-
The Plantation Mark: Scan the very first word of each main narrative paragraph across the four days. Gather those initial letters, and they will spell out the name of the tyrant whose chains they shattered.
-
The City Threshold: Look closely at the italicized midnight weather descriptions. Silas noted the shift of the seasons, but he also hid the city of his bondage there. If you take the very first letter of the first word from each separate italicized block, they will give you the remaining pieces to spell out their starting ground.
The midnight hour is drawing near. Trust the needle, watch the Drinking Gourd, and pass them along the line.
— Brother Christian
Silas's Prequel Journal Entries - Still at the Plantation
​
September 12, 1854
With a heavy heart, I watch the red dirt of Georgia burn like a furnace today, and my chest feels so tight I can scarce catch my breath. I am sitting in the dark corner of the blacksmith shop, my hands covered in charcoal soot, holding this sharp piece of iron lead whilst the overseer's whip cracks out in the cotton rows. Yesterday, I heard the master talking to a strange slave-buyer by the carriage house. He signed the papers to sell my sweet Charity down to the rice swamps before the pickin' season is over. My heart like to broke right out of my ribs when I heard them counting out the gold pieces for her flesh. We done jumped the broom two winters ago under the big oak tree, and we swore a holy vow before the Great Master in the Sky to never be parted. I walked out to the well tonight and looked into Charity’s eyes, and she didn't have to say a single word. We are going to break away from this bondage land, even if the hounds catch us and tear our skins to pieces. God help this poor servant,
but I will not let them take my wife.
​
September 15, 1854
Always the evening star hangs low and bright over the pine ridges tonight, looking like a silver spark right above the western sky.
The heavy, suffocating heat is rising off the bottomlands, and the crickets are crying in the tall grass like a choir of warning spirits.
​
All through the deep woods past midnight, I walked to meet old Uncle Abram by the twin sweetgum trees. He took an awful big risk, reaching deep inside a hollow root to pull out a heavy brass compass that he kept hid from the drivers for near ten years. He put his old, shaking hands on my shoulders and whispered that the needle will always point true toward
the North Star, even when the night is dark as pitch and the briers are tearing at our legs. Charity has been secretly sewing a small canvas sack into the lining of her heavy woolen petticoat to hold our parched corn and dried meat. Every time the master looks at her, my blood turns to ice, but we must keep our faces smooth as stone so the driver don't smell the fire burning in our bosoms. Only thirty days more until the moon goes dark and the corn is high enough to hide our tracks.
​
September 19, 1854
Long before the morning broke, a pale and thick yellow fog wrapped the Great House and the slave huts in a damp shroud so heavy you can't see the cotton press.
All across the timber, the old crows are making an awful racket, and the air smells of wet clay and wood-smoke.
​
Down in the yard today, a free colored teamster who drives the heavy grain wagons from the western counties passed through to fix a broken axle. While the driver was inside the stable drinking his cider, the teamster secretly slipped me a scrap of coarse brown paper with a map scratched out in charcoal. It shows the jagged gaps through the limestone mountains leading toward the big river town in Tennessee. I buried that paper deep beneath the dirt floor of our hut tonight, right under the corner where Charity and me lay our heads to sleep. We are hoarding every single scrap of food we can save from our weekly rations, hiding the parched corn inside an old hollow pumpkin behind the pig pen. The anticipation is making my hands shake so bad I can scarce hold the tongs at the anvil, but I looks across the yard at my gal spinning the cotton, and it makes my back feel firm as a rock.
​
September 26, 1854
North winds have done turned today, bringing the very first touch of autumn chill to the Georgia hills.
The sky overhead is a hard, bright blue, and a ring has formed around the midnight moon—a sure sign that the seasons are shifting fast.
All through the quarters, the shadows look like watchers hiding in the dark as the time draws down close.
​
Every single morning, Master Wade comes down to the shop, complaining that the rice crops down south are waiting and that the traders will be coming to fetch Charity right after the first frost hits the leaves. I had to look him straight in the eye and nod my head like a faithful dog, all whilst my fingers were clenching the hammer till the knuckles turned white. Charity and me met behind the old chapel when the rest of the hands were sleeping, praying to the Lord to give our feet the swiftness of the deer when the hour strikes. We have our small bundles packed, our compass oiled, and our charcoal map memorized in our minds. In a few short weeks, we will leave this red clay plantation behind us forever, striking out into the black wilderness to find out if the Lord truly meant for Silas and his Charity to be whole folk under a free sky.
HOW TO USE THE CLUE:
You can keep your own Player Tracking Worksheet (Remember each set of journal entries will contain different types of puzzles such as clues, ciphers, anagrams, etc)— The Prequel Phase
Create a log, such as the one below, to piece together the beginnings of Silas and Charity’s flight. We have created this one as an example to show you how the hunt can be solved. By analyzing the structural thresholds of his diary entries, you will uncover the name of the master they are fleeing and the city where their journey began.
TRACK A: THE PLANTATION MARK (PARAGRAPH ACROSTIC)
Go to the main narrative text blocks where Silas describes his daily life at the forge. Isolate the very first letter of the first word of each day's entry. Write them in chronological order to find the name of the tyrant holding them in chains.
-
September 12 Opening Letter: _____
-
September 15 Opening Letter: _____
-
September 19 Opening Letter: _____
-
September 26 Opening Letter: _____
THE PLANTATION OWNER: __ __ __ __
TRACK B: THE CITY THRESHOLD (WEATHER LINE ACROSTIC)
Isolate only the italicized midnight weather logs across the entries. Look closely at the very first letter of the first word of every separate italicized line. List them in order to map the exact city where they began their trek toward the North Star.
Weather Log Location: First Letter of the Line
September 15 — Line 1_____
September 15 — Line 2_____
September 19 — Line 1_____
September 19 — Line 2_____
September 26 — Line 1_____
September 26 — Line 2_____
September 26 — Line 3_____
THE CITY OF ORIGIN: __ __ __ __ __ __ __
Guidelines for the Search: Deciphering the Freedom Trail
The fragments of the hidden ledger left behind by Silas hold the complete blueprint to their flight. To trace their path toward the North Star, you must look upon his testimonies not as mere stories, but as a map guarded by a silent covenant.
Keep these principles close to your heart as you interpret the text:
-
The Weight of the Words: Silas wrote in the guarded tongue of the Underground, using the vocabulary of a field hand who only just learned his letters on broken slates. Pay strict attention to the specific agricultural, geological, and celestial words he chooses, the sequence in which his thoughts unfold, and how he tracks the changing of the seasons.
-
The Layered Locks: No two stages of their journey are secured in the same fashion. Silas has altered his methods at every station to confuse the slave-catchers. A single page may hold multiple hidden pathways, combining direct topographical descriptions with alphabetical shifts, structural acrostics, geometric grids, and numerical word tallies.
-
The Voice of the Midnight Sky: Do not overlook the dark, italicized weather logs at the turn of the days. What appears to a bounty hunter as a simple description of frost, wind, or stars is often a clever clockwork mechanism hiding letters, numbers, or phonetic anchors to verify your positioning.
-
Follow Every Trace: Trust the compass needle of your own intuition. Explore every peculiar spelling, unusual capitalization, or mathematical count you strike within the text. On this road, the smallest, most innocent mark scratched into the ledger can break open a lock and point the way to a sanctuary.
Rules & Regulations
Don't get Disqualified!!
Freedom Seekers of the 1850s Treasure Hunt
Official Rules, Regulations, and Terms of Participation
Welcome and Event Overview
Prepare to engage with regional history through a uniquely captivating and interactive expedition.
The Freedom Seekers of the 1850s Treasure Hunt centers on the courageous individuals and pivotal
landmarks tied to Indiana’s historic Underground Railroad network.
This adventure is engineered to be highly accessible, intellectually stimulating, deeply absorbing, and above all,
profoundly entertaining for all ages. Use it as a teaching tool for younger players if you wish.
The design features an 80% armchair deduction framework, allowing teams to unravel complex mysteries from
home. However, completing the quest requires real-world exploration. To advance, your team must visit the
physical locations and document your discovery with a group photo featuring your team members alongside
the specific landmark solve. Explore while you are there. Take in the rich, captivating history in your own backyard.
The Hunt!
Upon receipt of your entry form and registration fee, your team will receive an introductory sample hunt.
This material establishes the historical backstory and foundational lore for the entire journey. Supplementary
guides are provided detailing diverse methodologies to decipher the puzzles.
Each tier utilizes uniquely encoded patterns, ensuring that no two challenges are alike.
The preliminary sample serves as your operational blueprint, illustrating the types of hidden puzzles you will
encounter. The official journey commences on August 1st, this is when all registered teams will receive their
first genuine clue. Please monitor our official Facebook page closely, as critical operational updates and
occasional cryptic hints will be shared throughout the competitive window.
THE FINE PRINT:
Section 1: Eligibility and Team Registration
-
Registration Fee: A non-refundable, non-transferable $30 entry fee is required per team.
-
Team Capacity: Formed groups can have up to six (6) participants per team (not including minors).
-
Rolling Registration: Teams can officially register at any point until the final prize is successfully claimed.
-
Age Requirement: Primary participants must be 18 years of age or older.
-
Minor Consent: Minors are permitted to participate only with signed parental or legal guardian consent forms.
-
Identification: Government-issued photo identification (to claim the reward) is required at prize verification.
Section 2: Gameplay, Clues, and Boundaries
-
Geographic Limits: The hunt occurs strictly within the boundaries of Southeastern Indiana.
-
Hybrid Structure: Gameplay consists of 80% armchair research and 20% field exploration (boots on the ground).
-
Launch Date: All properly registered participants will receive the inaugural official clue on August 1st.
-
Field Verification: Teams must travel to the physical site to capture a verification "team selfie."
-
Photographic Criteria: Images must clearly display the team participants alongside the verified landmark solve.
-
Progression Timeline: Subsequent clues are dispatched within no more than 72 hours of validating a correct solution and photo submission. Submissions will be processed in the order they are received.
-
Social Media Alerts: All updates & occasional bonus hints will post exclusively on our Facebook or Instagram page.
-
Clue Deciphering: Sharing clues, solutions, or ciphers outside your registered team invalidates your registration.
Section 3: Safety and Prohibited Conduct
-
Private Property: Trespassing on private land is strictly forbidden.
-
Public Lands: Participants must respect & adhere to all Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) rules.
-
No Alterations: Do not dig up, deface, or alter public parks, structures, historical markers or private property.
-
No Destruction: Breaking, cutting, or damaging property or vegetation will cause immediate disqualification.
-
Weapons Policy: No weapons of any kind are permitted during event activities or on-site visits.
-
Substance Use: Alcohol or illegal drug consumption during hunt activities disqualifies the entire team.
-
Harassment: Verbal abuse, physical abuse, or unsportsmanlike conduct causes immediate ejection from the event.
-
Interference: Sabotaging, misdirecting, or interfering with other teams results in an immediate, lifetime ban.
-
Traffic Safety: Participants must fully obey all Indiana traffic safety laws and parking regulations.
Section 4: Prizes and Tax Obligations
-
Starting Grand Prize: The base grand prize pool is guaranteed at a minimum of $1,000 to start.
-
Progressive Prize Pool: The total cash payout increases dynamically based on the total number of entries received.
-
Prorated Scaling: The final total prize value depends on the paid registrations collected up until the solve.
-
Final Pool Announcement: Organizers will announce the final, total progressive prize amount before upon a successful solve or during the hunt via our Facebook and Instagram page.
-
Single Claimant: Only the designated team captain may legally claim, sign for, and receive the final prize payout.
-
Prize Splitting: Organizers distribute prize money to the captain only; internal team splitting is the team's responsibility.
-
Winning Criteria: The first team to successfully submit the final verified solve & matching landmark photo proof.
-
Verification: Judges must verify the solve authenticity and photo criteria before funds are disbursed.
-
Tax Liability: Winners are solely responsible for all applicable federal, state, and local taxes.
Section 5: Liability, Media, and Disclaimers
-
Media Release: Submission of team verification photos automatically grants organizers full promotional rights. (We love creative photos!)
-
Opt-Out Clause: Participants must submit an explicit written request to the organizers at the time of photo submission to withhold their images from public marketing materials.
-
Assumption of Risk: Participants freely & voluntarily assume all risks of personal injury, illness, or property loss.
-
Liability Waiver: Signed liability waivers are mandatory and must be completed during the registration process.
-
Property Damage: Participants are solely and legally liable for any property damage they cause during the event.
-
Force Majeure: Organizers reserve the right to delay, postpone, or cancel events due to severe weather or other emergencies.
-
Governing Law: Indiana state courts hold exclusive legal jurisdiction over any disputes arising from this event.
