Rattler’s Tail

According to legend, a vast treasure in gold lies waiting to be discovered, hidden somewhere in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona. Sometime in the late nineteenth century, German immigrant Jacob Waltz (incorrectly known as the “Dutchman”) discovered the gold mine, and kept the location secret, carrying it with him to his death, or perhaps confiding in one trusted friend. A parallel legend has it that the gold mines belonged to an Apache tribe, which were discovered by a man named Miguel Peralta, whose family was later massacred to keep the location secret. Strangely carved stones were discovered in those mountains, thought to have been left by the Peralta’s as an encoded map to the treasure. Many interwoven stories have ensued over time, and people have been searching for the “Lost Dutchman’s Gold mine” for over a century now.

Enter master puzzle storyteller Jesse Born, and his most recent tale of intrigue and adventure carved in a wood. The Rattler’s Tail is a return to Jesse’s true passion, which is telling a grand tale in a high end, intricate and complex puzzle box. The object is crafted from solid Wenge, and features carvings of Ipe, with Paduak accents, a Becote interior, and a “dash” of Katalox. There are a few copper and hidden PLA parts, and a real circa 1880s Indian penny. The box is slightly larger than two packs of playing cards, with finely detailed carvings of real places all over.  It is sturdy, finely figured, unusual and so interesting, with a nice heft and weight.  It’s lovely to admire, but that won’t get you very far, although you may be stuck admiring it for quite some time before discovering the first of many moves. Jesse relates the tale of this tale.

“I came up with the idea in spring or late winter of 2024. And at that point it was simply just a Wild West puzzle idea, like something some cowboy had carved out of wood. It was like a game and he would challenge you. “Here’s the bet”, he would say, “you have to mimic this” and he repeats a rhyme like “something something, you will fail, if you don’t whatever you’ll get the rattler’s tail”. And then you press a button and a door opens and there’s either a gold coin or a rattle snake inside. So then you have to mimic that, and move the game in the right way to copy his moves. So that was what it was at the time, and it evolved all the way into this final version once we started making that mechanism.”

Jesse notes there was a ton of designing involved in this creation. “Josh and I went back and forth on a lot of stuff.” Jesse likes having dramatic moments in his best puzzles, but they are usually not very practical. There was originally such a moment planned for the Sea Chest, which had to be left out. The Sundial, on the other hand, has a fantastic moment of surprise waiting. Jesse had something in mind for Rattler’s Tail as well, but in the end listened to his team of design partners. “We were like ok, what if we get a jump scare in there where you put your finger in a hole trying to get something and a snake comes out and actually hits you or something flings out of the box … but we let that go. Overall it wound up in a good direction. I’m pretty happy with it right now. Hours and hours and lots of banter between Josh and I. Occasionally when we hit a pivotal moment of a couple options I would ask Christina or Everett or Ben or my wife or somebody about what directions we should head and get feedback in that way and it was pretty helpful.” One of Jesse’s success strategies is having so many creative and practical people on his team throughout the process.

Another anecdote he shared relates back to Jesse James, who features prominently in their 3D printed Lost Vault puzzle. Jesse James was such a colorful character with so many great stories, and there seemed to be possible overlap with the Rattler’s Tale. “Jesse James actually got shot in the chest a couple of times and he survived. And I was thinking it would be fun to have a shot coin in the puzzle to discover. We bought a few replica coins, took them out back and shot them with a 22. They look really nice - but there would have been too much going on in this box with both Dutchman’s Goldmine and Jesse James, so we dropped that and the coin. Maybe it will show up in a future puzzle.”

The story motivating the attempt to open one of Jesse’s puzzle box adventures is often at the heart of his creations, so the final prize deserves a lot of consideration. “There were discussion that went into what is the point of the box, what do people want to find, what’s cool. We decided people are looking for treasure or gold most often and that would be the most fun thing to find as a prize. The Dutchman fit in well with the gold theme.” In true fashion, Jesse originally wanted the final prize to be something “really crazy” which would have been too much of a logistical problem to pursue. “We did figure out something that is stretching the realms of what we’ve done with puzzles before and I’m happy with what we put in there. And I hope everybody enjoys it and it adds something to it.”

What started out as a very small cowboy game quickly grew in scope and complexity. Jesse went back and forth on whether to pursue less expensive production options or continue with a very high end product, but “ultimately decided just to go big or go home” with an all wood carved box and “add everything in there we feasibly could.” Rattler’s Tail may be smaller in size than some of Jesse’s recent puzzle boxes but it is packed with surprises, hiding many steps and many compartments. Just finding the first step is a challenge, even though it is waiting in full view to be discovered. Once found, the adventure sets off in a familiar way for anyone who has experienced Jesse’s recent work, and the story begins.

Rattler’s Tale will be a stand alone box, rather than part of a series like some of Jesse’s high end creations have been. Once this (sold out) edition is finished he does not plan to make more. His team (Jesse, Josh, Christina, Kevin, William and Ben) are working hard on producing them now, along with finishing the remaining Captain’s Quest boxes, and designing their new 3D printed puzzle to be “just as good as Lost Vault”. He is currently spending a lot of nights up past midnight getting the Rattler’s Tales ready for customers, but once that is up and running, he plans to step back and start designing something for which many of his fans have been patiently waiting … the Alien Box!

“What I like is going deeper on a puzzle and making it really cool and really well carved with lots of hidden compartments and stuff going on. I was glad to get back to this. I don’t want to be just a surface level puzzle maker who never goes into more difficult things and the longer solves so this was the right choice.”

This Wild West themed treasure hunt deserves a fitting toast with something a bit more refined than the “rotgut” you might find at a typical saloon back in those days, when establishments would make their own whiskey in house, and quality wasn’t always on the menu. A fine rye whiskey is in order here. This classic drink is a whiskey sour, a guilty pleasure and most excellent way to enjoy such spirit, when made well, although I doubt many prospectors bothered with anything so fancy.

The Rattlesnake cocktail may well date back to the time of Jacob Walz’s lost goldmine or nearabout. It was first featured in Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930, which, granted, is about 50 years later, but who knows how long it may have been kicking around the Wild West before Craddock set it down on paper. At the Savoy, you would have been served a potent bowl meant for six, with the warning that it was “So called because it will either cure Rattlesnake bite, or kill Rattlesnakes, or make you see them.” What sets this drink apart from the crowd is the absinthe, present in a small dose just enough to make you notice. Modern day bar manager Will Elliott has updated the classic with this recipe, in which he ensures the absinthe is not lost by adding a spritz and serving it in a snifter, which forces you to nose the aroma. Don’t be rattled, though, it’s delicious. Cheers!

Rattlesnake c. 1930 adapted by Will Elliott

1 ¾ oz rye whiskey

¾ oz lemon

½ oz Demerara simple syrup

¼ oz absinthe

egg white

Shake with ice until chilled and foamy and strain into a snifter. Add a few more drops of absinthe or spritz with an atomizer. Trace a snake pattern in Angostura bitters on the foam for garnish.

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