Swamp Gold

[suwannee pirate]

Hey there Big Cypress, I have a real good lead on one in the swamp . A friend of mine spent some time down there ,Something about a big Bell ,He seen it.Do you know anything about a Really big bell that fell off a boat or raft? I belive that the area it was lost in is now drained and dry. Bob aka Suwannee Pirate

 

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[Bigcypresshunter]

No. nothing.

 

[RonS]

Remember the Everglades is a Federal reserve park. Its off limits to TRing. If yall get caught in there digging you will lose your equipment and your maybe your freedom.

RonS

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Yes, the Everglades National Park itself is off-limits to metal detecting, but you can camp and explore, and I do not condone doing anything illegal. The "Everglades" term is generally used to cover a large swampy area consisting of the park itself, the East Everglades, the Big Cypress Nat. Preserve with numerous private holdings within, two Indian Reservations, many State Parks, such as the Fakahatchee Swamp and Panther Preserve, Picayune Strand, The OK Slough, Devil's Gardens area, three very large conservation areas, Holey Land, Rotenberger, Loxahatchee, large water filtering and containment areas and many others too numerous to list. I believe it is the largest remote area outside of Alaska. Some of these places are legal to MD.

 

[grizzly bare]

BigC,
I don't think Cptbil's treasure is the half ton of gold. For one thing, it's just too small. What would that be worth? 9 million? Unless he is easily impressed, there's no way that could be considered the biggest haul.
I'm more of the impression that his treasure is that old tale from Lostmans River of the gold hidden there. Now if I could just find my notes...if you knew what my (laugh) filing system (laugh) was like you would know that that story will not surface until I'm looking for something else and find it by accident!
As to the original gold of this thread, there's no rule against looking around on those islands without a 'tector. If Rackam had a camp there, there should be stuff still showing. well covered but not impossible to find. A cache of that size MIGHT leave a depression as it settled over the years. A low=flying, slow-flying plane with infrared might pinpoint where digging had taken place.
It would be interesting to camp there for a few days, but it is off-limits right now. Katrina caused so much damage that the park service won't let us camp. BELIEVE ME, I'VE APPLIED AT SEVERAL LEVELS BUT HAVE GOTTEN NO WHERE!
Now the Park Service thinks I'm trying to get ta a drug cache.(more laughs)
When this mess gets straightened out, I'd like to arrange a camping trip with a few of our friends. STRICTLY LEGAL of course.
grizzly bare

 

[diggummup]

Does anyone know any history of Fort Mead during the Civil War? Anything at all could help.

Fort Mead(e) was not a active fortification during the Civil War. There were no Confederate troops stationed at the Fort (blockhouse), as there was no Union troop movement.

Hope this helps, Jim

Quote"Ft.Meade 1849-1850/1850-1854/1857/1861-1864.A Federal fort that was rebuilt 1 mile away from the original site in 1850.It provided protection for settlers during the 3rd Seminole indian war. The confederates occupied the fort in 1861-1864.But it was burned down by Union troops." SWR- What is all this about then?

 

[Rebel]

Yo! Rebel here: I think u r very close here... the Rebs May have been trying to get the GOLD, etc to Fla. Coast to "off-load"/"on-load" to a ship... taking "it" (part of CSA Treasury...) to Cuba, a part of the KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE "thingy"... Is "it" SWAMP GOLD or SWAMP GAS?

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

SWR, Thanks for posting. I will NOT turn away any clue. But I tell you, I found something. I even know where the Gold, with a troop detachment was coming from. Ft. Meade was a stopover destination before being taken to the coast to be loaded and shipped to Cuba. Probably via the same cattle loading port that was able to break through the Union blockade bringing beef to the Confederate soldiers on the West coast of Florida.
Confederate relics were found in the swamp by modern hunters. This might be their last campsite before being captured .(without the Gold.) I hope they didn't find it.
I like sharing information, and I have given our readers a little, and everyone has helped me, but I'm sorry I will have to be like our beloved Captbil, and I cannot say everything I know at this time. (I know very little. )

Yo! Rebel here: I think u r very close here... the Rebs May have been trying to get the GOLD, etc to Fla. Coast to "off-load"/"on-load" to a ship... taking "it" (part of CSA Treasury...) to Cuba, a part of the KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE "thingy"... Is "it" SWAMP GOLD or SWAMP GAS?

) Yes. They were successful in breaking through the blockade on some Fl.west coast makeshift ports. Swamp gas is an old myth that does not cause yellow fever.

diggemmup, do you know what month and year the fort was burnt down by Union troops?

grizz, you are right. Captbil's treasure would be bigger and must be something diff. If you ask for it, the Park Service will send you a nice color map of the Everglades with marked designated campsites, like the map I posted. You need to reserve a campsite so they will know where to find you if you don't return as scheduled. Some of these designated campsites are nothing more than an elevated wood platform, with a chickee hut, that will only fit one tent. But you can anchor your boat to it. 8) They will use any excuse to close the Park; such as high water, low water level, or storm damage.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I hear ya , Jim. I asked myself these same questions. One of the answers is beef. Enough to feed an entire Army. And in reply #2, I found an arcticle about beef.
If the Union didn't burn down these forts, who did?
I found nothing about a skirmish. Who said there had to be a skirmish? The gold may never have made it to Fort Meade.
And the gold, with it's detachment of troops, were not from Florida at all. My research tells me they came from somewhere much further North, and were pursued.
And what were Confederate relics doing deep in a South Florida swamp? This could use more research.
I cannot reveal everything I know, but there may be some truth to this legend. It, however, will be like finding a needle in a haystack.
SWR, your thoughts and opinions are always welcome.

 

[Mikemonster]

Okay here's the info collected from my meeting with elder members of the Seminole tribe this past weekend.
*A large quanity of gold and silver bars were recovered by a local restaurant owner in 1978 when he and a buddy just happened to see a shipwreck in shallow water as they were returning from a day of fishing.
The wreck was/is at or very near Gomez Point or Gomez island.
Now I don't know where that is but I'd guess near the shark river?
When i asked if any tribal member has ever found gold in the everglades they said YES!
It's called the Hard Rock casino!
*2 wooden barrels cut in half, each filled 1/2 way up with bars. This was told to me by a first hand eyewitness account.
Where the heck is Gomez point?

 

[Mikemonster]

Interesting web site

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gmdhome.html

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Mikemonster, Thank you very much for sharing this information. I don't know a Gomez Point. Sounds familiar. Could it be Lopez Point? There is a Lopez island by Lopez River just south of Chokoloskee. They could have been returning there. it would be interesting to know the ID of this wreck and why it wasn't salvaged in shallow water. It could have been sunk to avoid capture. Shark River is 90 miles south of Chokoloskee via the Wilderness Waterway.

 

[Mikemonster]

I bought some detailed charts of that area on CD the other day on ebay. Waiting on delivery. They ought to show me. I'll let you know once I get them loaded on my puter.

 

[Mikemonster]

Okay now I'm confused. You say the shark river is way south of this site. The current along the west coast goes north so there must be two wrecks. Now if bottles are washing up into the mangroves of the shark river during high tide with high winds then the decay of a wreck has freed them from a chest or cabinet allowing them to float to the surface.
It would then be a matter of retracing their route using wind. wave, tide, current and time with time being that hard part.
If a fella was to float a half filled bottle dropped at a location whereas it headed for the shark river area then he could draw a straight line from the river out and run a mag or side scan sonar along that route.
The bottle I think would have no choice but to head the way of the other bottles.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Mike, Shark River is South of Lopez Island. I don't know if this is the same as Gomez Island.. I don't see Gomez on the map. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist. They don't call it the "Ten Thousand Islands" for nothing. The Everglades is a vast region that may have several wrecks. We don't know if there is a connection to Calico Jack's Shark River treasure. Pirates may have tossed bottles overboard after drinking. But that means they were there.
Wrecks, Barrels of Gold bars, 1700 bottles, buried pirates treasure, currents, This is all valuable information. And after I sell my house, and the park reopens, I will check it out. I am catching a virus called GoldFever.

Where is Gomez point? Could they mean Lopez?

 

[Darren in NC]

Check around Panther Key. An old pirate named Juan (John) Gomez lived there. He lived to be about 120 according to the legend. He was born just after the Revolutionary War, fought in the Second Seminole War, and died around 1900. His story is popular with historians - I'm not sure about the locals' knowledge of him. Hope this helps.

 

[Mikemonster]

Thanks Darren;
I hope to get the fancy charts in the mail today. There's a side scan sonar on ebay but out of my price range. Wish I knew where I rent one.

 

[Darren in NC]

You're welcome, Mike.

Seems like a mag or pulse unit would be better for you in shallow water. I'm not sure sidescan sonar would be easy to interpret with all the years of trash and obstructions (unless it's a high-res unit where you can see the details of the object). How deep is the area you're searching?

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

When I was a kid, I rigged up a MD unit strapped to the side of my boat with the coil in the water and ran up and down the shallows. I soldered a long cord to my headphones so I could listen while I drive. I didn't know the good spots and i was searching on pure luck. I don't remember finding much. I do remember pushing the boat a lot, I was always getting stuck and tearing up the bottom vegetation.
I didn't do much research in those days and had some strange ideas. It was nice to be young though!

 

[RonS]

" It was nice to be young though! "

Ya back when we all use to chase rainbows and
thought we had a chance of catching them LOL