Swamp Gold

[Bigcypresshunter]

We now have the smoking gun. The next step is to find the location. I dont know why it didnt occur to me earlier but they did not travel by foot. Cow Cavalry...duh...they could travel far and fast on horseback down a dry March trail. But what "stream" would hold water in mid-March?

QUESTION: I can see "Capt" Riley working for himself but why would the CSA Cow Cavalry sell to Cuba?


BDD Im just continuing the research in case you have an empty hole, someone beat you to it, its too deep...etc etc.. At this point nothing is certain.

 

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[ECS]

We now have the smoking gun. The next step is to find the location. I dont know why it didnt occur to me earlier but they did not travel by foot. Cow Cavalry...duh...they could travel far and fast on horseback down a dry March trail. 1. But what "stream" would hold water in mid-March?

QUESTION: 2. I can see "Capt" Riley working for himself but why would the CSA Cow Cavalry sell to Cuba?

1.OKALOACOOCHEE SLOUGH ?HENDRY COUNTY
2.Remember,the CSA COW CALVARY was separate from the cracker ranchers,even though Union Capt Henry A Crane considered them all as "guerillas".The CSA payments were most often in CSA script,while the Cuban payments were always in gold,and Jacob Summerlin would ONLY ACCEPT gold for payment for his cattle.Summerlin also owned the docks at Punta Rassa.By March,1864,it was obvious that gold specie had more value than CSA script.

 

[Bigdogdad]

BCH-I am reasonably certain that we are dealing with two distinct treasure stories.

The treasure I hope to recover is from a gold shipment that was to be sent to England and has nothing to do with the CSA COW CALVARY. My opinion is that the "Riley" gold is on the west coast of Florida and I have a "hunch" where it might be.

One thing I am sure of is that something is going to happen soon.

 

[ECS]

HISTORICAL RESEARCH DIG-PART 2

If you have read most of the sites listed in my previous post,you may have noticed the name-CHARLES GREENLEIGH McKINNEY,who served in the CSA at Fort Meade during that time period.
HTTP://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/l/a/n/Jen-S-Langman/GENE1-001.html
Read further down concerning his daughter,Lilly Lee McKinney and her husband,Charles Christopher Johnson.
Johnson was quite the character,a jack of all trades and a treasure hunter with vast knowledge of buried and sunken treasure in south Florida.Mel Fisher often consulted with Johnson concerning lost treasures.
Johnson also found a way to plate silver dollars with gold and pass them off at train depots as $20 gold pieces,and was wanted by the law for this crime,but he always stayed one step ahead.
So the question:Where did Johnson get the gold to plate the silver dollars?
Did his father in law have knowledge of the lost gold cattle payment and passed on that information to him?

 

[Jon Phillips]

QUESTION: I can see "Capt" Riley working for himself but why would the CSA Cow Cavalry sell to Cuba?

Easy.....The Spanish in Cuba paid in gold.....The gold went to England and France for arms.....Hence the use of British Enfields, and French artillery swords, etc., by the CSA.

 

[Jon Phillips]

If you have read most of the sites listed in my previous post,you may have noticed the name-CHARLES GREENLEIGH McKINNEY,who served in the CSA at Fort Meade during that time period.
HTTP://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/l/a/n/Jen-S-Langman/GENE1-001.html
Read further down concerning his daughter,Lilly Lee McKinney and her husband,Charles Christopher Johnson.
Johnson was quite the character,a jack of all trades and a treasure hunter with vast knowledge of buried and sunken treasure in south Florida.Mel Fisher often consulted with Johnson concerning lost treasures.
Johnson also found a way to plate silver dollars with gold and pass them off at train depots as $20 gold pieces,and was wanted by the law for this crime,but he always stayed one step ahead.
So the question:Where did Johnson get the gold to plate the silver dollars?
Did his father in law have knowledge of the lost gold cattle payment and passed on that information to him?

I don't think that getting ahold of gold coins in the Fort Meade/Peace River Valley area was much of a problem after the Civil War. After the war, the cattle trade to Cuba was very much still going on, and made many a rich man out of the former Cow Cavalry/rancher/ "guerilla leader". I doubt that there was much motivation (or need) to sell cattle to the occupying army after the war, and the contacts for the Cuban cattle trade were still there. Only now, there was no need (or obligation) to pass the money on to someone else. If you read any of Canter Brown Jr's books on the Peace River Valley area, it becomes evident that there was A LOT of Cuban gold floating around the area....so much so, that the people even became somewhat careless with it. That would also be a reason why the hidden money (if it exists) could still be hidden. After all....Why would you waste any time looking for the payment from one (probably small) shipment that happened during the war, when you are constantly shipping large shipments (un-encumbered by blockades) to Cuba on a regular basis?

I have written this on here before....

I was detecting on some land close to the former site of a Seminole villiage that was destroyed during the Second Seminole War around Fort Meade, when the current tennants of the property told me about some friends of theirs that had permission to detect on some land in the area, and found a "Spanish gold coin". They made the mistake of showing it to the landowner (that had previously said they didn't care what they found, and could keep it all), and were quickly kicked out by the now angry land owner! Nobody cares about what you find as long as they think it is just junk!

 

[Bigdogdad]

One of the places where I took my friend Ovid to was Ft. Meade. This was around 23-24 years ago. He had been there many years ago with an old man named the "Duke of Pahokee". While dowsing for gold they located a wooden ammo box that was hung up in some roots of a tree overhanging the Peace river. The river had eroded the tree roots and exposed the box. Ovid knew the gold would be too heavy and against Ovid's wishes the Duke yanked on it and it fell into the river. This was during the rainy season and the river was up. They never went back.

I took Ovid there and was able to get back to the spot. The river was up. I stripped down and went into the water. I found nothing of value. I have now been back a few times. It is a very interesting area. I have had a couple of dowsers do some photos and they have said there is gold still there. The river bottom is full of junk. I tried a detector but did not have the time or patience to do a proper search. I do not know the location of the old fort but I have a feeling it is close by. The whole area has the "feel" of treasure.

I would be willing to work with someone on this. It has to be someone I trust as I will be willing to show you the location of where the box went into the river. The odds are that it may have been found before it totally rotted away. I do think some of the coins are still there. Anyone interested and qualified can PM me. I live about 40 minutes from this site. You can get a permit to search for fossils and the river is known to have sharks teeth, so hunting would be allowed.

I am now going to work with an electronic expert on the Alligator Alley site. Years before on his own he had already determined the approximate location of the gold. He was not able to get anyone within the tribe to work with him. From what he has told me it will be in either the exact location Ovid said or no more than a stones throw. Of course I have not told him the exact spot. It should get interesting real soon.

 

[ECS]

The gold that I am after on Alligator Alley is from a completely different story as I have stated more than once. The gold that I am after was a shipment being sent across the glades to be sent out to England for arms payment.

The CSA had more cotton than gold,and the blockade runners would carry bales of cotton to the Bahamas or England for gold or credit so the CSA could purchase arms.The principle ports were Charles,SC and Willmington,NC,but also the ports at Norfolk,Va,Beaufort & New Bern,Nc,Sanannah,Pensacola,Mobile,New Orleans,and Galveston.
The CSA cattle calvary used Summerlin's port at Punta Rassa,and it was,like the other CSA ports, TO SELL goods for gold.
For futher info: Confederate Finance and Supply
After reading the information on the above site,the question still stands:Why would the CSA carry gold from where across the Everglades to what southeast Florida to be shipped to England to purchase arms?
Some legends are just that-legends!

 

[Rebel - KGC]

YO, ECS; that was an interesting "site"... it was at the "end of the CONFEDERATE WAR", and CSA GOLD was "IT". Paper currency had NO value... WORTHLESS; THAT is the WHY. The WHERE, you have already "touched" on... where the Odd Fellows Hall in Marion County was. BTW, DYK that Lynchburg, Va. was the LAST state capital of VIRGINIA, after Richmond, Va. fell... legends are that the Beale Treasure was a "cover-up" for portions of CSA "assets" of GOLD, SILVER (Bars), & JEWELRY from Southern Ladies... Confederate Treasure Coverup Stated to be a novel... it is REALLY FACTION... Fiction based on FACTS.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

BACK to Fl.; I think the Seminole Tribal Council "know"... in the everglades. VERY similar to the Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia... with MANY legends; CSA GOLD, Pirates GOLD, Outlaw GOLD, Maroons, LOST COLONY (BRITS) with friendly Indians settlement (which WAS found... INTERESTING artifacts), etc.

 

[Bigdogdad]

ECS-Please read what I am about to say at least a couple of times so that it will sink in. I really do not know nor do I care where the gold that I think is buried under "Cloud Mountain" came from or how it got there. Read the last line again. Ok now read it one more time. You and everyone else can research until your typing finger gets sore. While you are researching in front of your computer monitor I am out in the real world doing my own form of research. We will see who ends up finding the gold. Once I find the first cache all the others will be easier.

I have been holding back for many years. I have been amassing a large amount of treasure sites. Part of the reason for joining T-Net was to meet the right people to help accomplish my treasure goals. I now have dozens of people that want to help me. I have assembled an awesome team. We will be using all technologies available and doing everything legally. There is so much treasure waiting to be found I will have no trouble sharing it with anyone that helps in my quest. ECS-Maybe I will throw some gold coins your way just because I am a nice guy.

If I sound cocky it is because I am. Being in the military and working construction has made me have to prove myself to others time after time. I ALWAYS end up doing what I set out to do. Digging up a large cache of buried treasure has been my biggest challenge yet. I WILL succeed. We will probably produce a treasure show so that the world can share in our adventure. It will make Gold Rush, Jungle Gold and all the others look like the screwups that they are. If you don't think I am capable of this you might want to ask ANY of the people that have met me in person.

I will not share on here all the things that are going on right now. We will make things happen and when I feel like it will post some of it on T-Net.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

GOOD!

 

[Bigdogdad]

Something for the researchers to consider on the swamp gold. Did it ever occur to you that they may have traveled across Florida and when they got to the everglades (sea of grass) that they then went by boat. The place at "Cloud Mountain" was where they switched the gold from a wagon or horses to the boats. Not only do I do my own research but I also have numerous people helping me that do not post on T-Net.

This week may be a huge week for me. The stars are lining up. Hopefully the world won't come to an end just when I am about to get the gold.

 

[ECS]

I want to thank BCH for starting this thread and having the patience to keep it going... Thanks

By the way, ECS is one heck of a researcher and fortunately has thick enough skin to put up with my harrassment. I hope he keeps at it.

BDD,You are well aware that I do not use the historical record to make facts fit a legend,but rather to discover if a legend has historical validity.My posts and links are not meant to hinder you in your quest,but should serve as an aid in uncovering wether or not there is something buried at your "cloud mountain".
Otherwise,it would be as REBEL-KGC referred to as "faction"-fiction based on facts or facts based on fiction.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

FACTION... fiction, based on FACTS... HISTORICAL FACTS; CAN be used as a "COVER STORY" that you gotta know what to look for, to get the KERNALS OF TRUTH. Look for the "Essential Parts" of Cloud Mountain; you will find...

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

BDD,You are well aware that I do not use the historical record to make facts fit a legend,but rather to discover if a legend has historical validity.My posts and links are not meant to hinder you in your quest,but should serve as an aid in uncovering wether or not there is something buried at your "cloud mountain".
Otherwise,it would be as REBEL-KGC referred to as "faction"-fiction based on facts or facts based on fiction.

I believe the legend now has historical validity.

Of course if the trail ends on Federal property, its all over. The best hope of ever recovering this lies with the Indians. Of course what lies on Indian lands belongs to the Indians. I dont see how our goverment could have any claim. I dont know about state land. Im not looking that far ahead. Im still in the research stage lol but I know more now than I did in 2005 or whenever I started this thread..

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

The CSA had more cotton than gold,and the blockade runners would carry bales of cotton to the Bahamas or England for gold or credit so the CSA could purchase arms.The principle ports were Charles,SC and Willmington,NC,but also the ports at Norfolk,Va,Beaufort & New Bern,Nc,Sanannah,Pensacola,Mobile,New Orleans,and Galveston.
The CSA cattle calvary used Summerlin's port at Punta Rassa,and it was,like the other CSA ports, TO SELL goods for gold.
For futher info: Confederate Finance and Supply
After reading the information on the above site,the question still stands:Why would the CSA carry gold from where across the Everglades to what southeast Florida to be shipped to England to purchase arms?
Some legends are just that-legends!

It doesnt make any sense to me either and I have never came across that version in any treasure book. Too bad we dont have the author of Ovids book.

Harney was the first white man to cross the Everglades in 1840 (read under revenge and negotiations Second Seminole War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) and he started at Miami River and exited at a river now called Harneys River. If gold was coming from New Orleans, for example, it would seem a lot easier to sail around the Florida Keys. I think BDD wants to find it first and discover where it came from later.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

1.OKALOACOOCHEE SLOUGH ?HENDRY COUNTY
2.Remember,the CSA COW CALVARY was separate from the cracker ranchers,even though Union Capt Henry A Crane considered them all as "guerillas".The CSA payments were most often in CSA script,while the Cuban payments were always in gold,and Jacob Summerlin would ONLY ACCEPT gold for payment for his cattle.Summerlin also owned the docks at Punta Rassa.By March,1864,it was obvious that gold specie had more value than CSA script.

Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest in Hendry County. I once inquired while searching for the old town of Sears. http://www.floridaforestservice.com/state_forests/okaloacoochee.html The caretaker of the OK Slough told me it was NOT illegal to use a metal detector in his forest BUT it was illegal to remove anything. He questioned why I would want to search in an area, if I could not keep anything. I told him I was only interested in the history.

Hey, I love history. How can I explain that to him?

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest in Hendry County. I once inquired while searching for the old town of Sears. Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest: Florida Forest Service - FDACS The caretaker of the OK Slough told me it was NOT illegal to use a metal detector in his forest BUT it was illegal to remove anything. He questioned why I would want to search in an area, if I could not keep anything. I told him I was only interested in the history.

Hey, I love history. How can I explain that to him?

GREAT INFO, Bch; reminds me of the Shenandoah National Park, here in Virginia... MANY "lost" mountain communities found (LOVE it), with rumors of "Mountain Caches/Stashes" on FED-Land. Didn't care, as waterfalls, over-looks, etc. was enough for me... MISS IT!

 

[Rebel - KGC]

AND! As far as I know... FEDS would have NO claim on stuff found in Seminole territory; get "tight" with the Seminole Tribal Council, share what is found with them (WRITTEN on paper & dated, signed, etc). VIDEO-TAPE EVERYTHING.