itmaiden
Hero Member
- Sep 28, 2005
- 575
- 7
A few years ago, I befriended a retired school teacher who owned a bit of historical property, which had a "famous" old spring, and bordered on a not so well known civil war camp. "Charlie" and I had a shared interest in history and treasure hunting. He gave me open invitation to his property for his dream was to find hidden gold. His property was close to an old Indian village, and the road the property came off of part of the "Trail of Tears", a a busy civil war transportation route...the spring made for good refreshing.
And of course, all the usual old log cabins and the like had been in the area. While the immediate property where he built his home had been altered by bull dozing, most of the property lay in original condition. Past metal detecting and "luck finds" had included a Confederate belt buckle, yankee buttons, old civil war bullets, a couple of old coins...and some Indian shell buttons, and small "colonial toys" such as a miniture clothes iron etc.
This civil war camp had many deaths by an epidemic and a number of soldiers were somewhere buried in the area.
The property had also been modifed to add "fishing ponds", and a natural pond occured from the spring that contained quick sand, some unfortunate cows, and a large bull dozer that got sucked into it.
Up off the creek however, there was a very steep pointed hill. Almost sharp enough to be a cliff. Charlie wanted to search that hill one day. Accessing it was most difficult and required us to gain permission to access it from a neighbors nearby property which contained a log cabin, and an extended area of "spring". After wading through soft wet property worried about quicksand, maneuvering the bobwire fence, brush and logs, we made it to the steep hill. Charlie old in years and his mind not at its best preceded to lead me up this hill that overlooked a creek well used by the local Indians. We tredged through centuries of packed leaves and fresh topsoil to find what appeared the color of driftwood....Petrified trees. One laying down that looked evenly cut in several places as if it petrified after being sawed, an other petrified wood pieces, and farther up the hill a huge ...well what looked like a large petrified tree stump. Well this was a puzzlement. Petrified trees were not a normal part of this geograpical area. And why just a few in this one spot on this strange shaped and very steep hill ? The large stump was over 5 ft in diameter, and it's placement and size attracted me. There was a large cavern like depression all around the stump and behind it, and underneath parts of it.
The ground seemed to "roll" at the edges as it folded down under the stump. This was unusual also. It looked like a dangerous undertaking to get too close at the time, (it looked like it would cave in and take us with it if we got too close) and we had no other party with us.
Behind it was a large depression leading at an incline down underneath the stump.
Now looking back at it, it appeared to have been dug under at some point in time. Not digging that is consistent in type and size with animal life. The Petrification still puzzled me. No other trees in the area were that way. There were no known volcanos, and the only rock that indicated heat level of the area was Chert. I do believe the trees to be natural to that hill.
So I question the petrification process which was unique to that County, and this huge stump on this caverness area, that was too large in tonnage for anyone to manually move.
What do any of you think ?
A nice cache was found on a neighbors property not too far down the road. Besides being one of the early busy areas and routes in America's westward expansion, it was also a county route to cut up through the state that bordered this county, and a well travelled area of Jesse James and gang (passed down mouth to mouth not book information). People in this region keep things "among the locals" only, but other "old stories" have proven true.
Trap or treasure perhaps ? Or maybe a freakish occurance of nature.
itmaiden
And of course, all the usual old log cabins and the like had been in the area. While the immediate property where he built his home had been altered by bull dozing, most of the property lay in original condition. Past metal detecting and "luck finds" had included a Confederate belt buckle, yankee buttons, old civil war bullets, a couple of old coins...and some Indian shell buttons, and small "colonial toys" such as a miniture clothes iron etc.
This civil war camp had many deaths by an epidemic and a number of soldiers were somewhere buried in the area.
The property had also been modifed to add "fishing ponds", and a natural pond occured from the spring that contained quick sand, some unfortunate cows, and a large bull dozer that got sucked into it.
Up off the creek however, there was a very steep pointed hill. Almost sharp enough to be a cliff. Charlie wanted to search that hill one day. Accessing it was most difficult and required us to gain permission to access it from a neighbors nearby property which contained a log cabin, and an extended area of "spring". After wading through soft wet property worried about quicksand, maneuvering the bobwire fence, brush and logs, we made it to the steep hill. Charlie old in years and his mind not at its best preceded to lead me up this hill that overlooked a creek well used by the local Indians. We tredged through centuries of packed leaves and fresh topsoil to find what appeared the color of driftwood....Petrified trees. One laying down that looked evenly cut in several places as if it petrified after being sawed, an other petrified wood pieces, and farther up the hill a huge ...well what looked like a large petrified tree stump. Well this was a puzzlement. Petrified trees were not a normal part of this geograpical area. And why just a few in this one spot on this strange shaped and very steep hill ? The large stump was over 5 ft in diameter, and it's placement and size attracted me. There was a large cavern like depression all around the stump and behind it, and underneath parts of it.
The ground seemed to "roll" at the edges as it folded down under the stump. This was unusual also. It looked like a dangerous undertaking to get too close at the time, (it looked like it would cave in and take us with it if we got too close) and we had no other party with us.
Behind it was a large depression leading at an incline down underneath the stump.
Now looking back at it, it appeared to have been dug under at some point in time. Not digging that is consistent in type and size with animal life. The Petrification still puzzled me. No other trees in the area were that way. There were no known volcanos, and the only rock that indicated heat level of the area was Chert. I do believe the trees to be natural to that hill.
So I question the petrification process which was unique to that County, and this huge stump on this caverness area, that was too large in tonnage for anyone to manually move.
What do any of you think ?
A nice cache was found on a neighbors property not too far down the road. Besides being one of the early busy areas and routes in America's westward expansion, it was also a county route to cut up through the state that bordered this county, and a well travelled area of Jesse James and gang (passed down mouth to mouth not book information). People in this region keep things "among the locals" only, but other "old stories" have proven true.
Trap or treasure perhaps ? Or maybe a freakish occurance of nature.
itmaiden
