Believe it or not, Curtis, your wish has come true...
I am breaking my many years silence on my work on the John Swift Silver mines to tell you and anyone else interested that over a period of exploring a VERY rugged mountain area in Jackson, County, Ky I did definitely find two of Swift's mines and probably a third of the six that were close together. I also found two of his silver coin cache sites... one by a huge beech tree on South Fork Creek and the other on top of a nearby mountain. Unfortunately, someone had beat me to them and I found only two neat 4' x 4' x 4' deep holes. Swift's initials carved backwards ( as was his "trademark") and the Masonic symbol were carved into the 4'diameter beech tree just about 6' from where the cache had been buried. The mines cannot be worked without a lot more political pull than I have as they are in the Daniel Boone National Forest now. I also know for a fact that a man from Indianpolis by the last name of Wombles removed a huge amount of silver bullion from a cave in the area with the help of two local men (brothers, whom I knew personally) back in the 1970's. They thought it was at least a half million dollars worth but I think they were not qualified to make an accurate judgment on how much was found. It was no doubt, however, worth at least many thousands because it took a one ton truck to haul it all. This man Wombles stiffed the brothers on their share and they would get red in the face and really angry everytime they spoke of it to me. I have found 3 smelters...one with a very old pile of charcoal nearby it in this same area. I have found many of the landmarks Swift mentions in his journal... the one published by Michael Paul Henson IS THE CORRECT ONE. Michael Paul and I were close friends and he told me that I was the only person he ever knew who matched the map in his book to a geological survey map. I am sorry he died before I could show him the mines I found.
I know exacty where Munday drowned after being shot by the Indians. I know where the "LIGHTHOUSE" is... near the Buffalo Rock with Mundays name carved into it and still readable, etc, etc, etc. The heart, or center of the area where Swifts 6 best mines and many of his caches were hidden would be the junction of South Fork Creek, Station Camp Creek and War Fork. I found many of the other landmarks and have pictures that of all that I mention that will make your heart race if you are a "SWIFT-O-PHILE". The rock house that Swift had his main smelter in was on War Fork. The smelter in the house was deliberately destroyed by a Swift hunter 20 years ago to throw others off the trail of which rock house was the correct one. I am pretty sure that Boomer knows exactly where it is.
NOW... GET READY... HERE COMES THE BIG ONE... Everybody wants to know where "THE GREAT CAVE OF THE SHAWNEES" is. It is WIND CAVE... the single largest cave in Kentucky (Mammoth Cave is a CAVE SYSTEM... NOT a single cave). Entry is now forbidden into it because of a trumped up story about protecting the bats from humans carrying in disease to them. i am personally convinced that the huge cache of silver and gold that Swift hid in the cave is still there and I am pretty sure that I know where it is. There is a very big room way back in the cave (1/2mile or more)
that has an anomaly in it... a huge cone shaped pile of dirt and gravel in the center of it and yet a solid stone ceiling above it with no openings to the surface. So... just how did this huge pile of dirt get there
Very likely it was displaced from the cave floor by being excavated and its place being taken by things being hidden. It had to be piled up by men... it is NOT natural to the cave! Even if you could excavate it legally there is no way to get power digging equip. to the site. It would have to be dug by hand and that would take a crew of men with shovels and wheelborrows at least two or three weeks of solid work. That one was meant to be difficult to recover because it was so valuable.
I think I have one more coin cache site pinned down in the area... maybe... just maybe... this one will still be unfound when I get to it. I hope to make a crack at it sometime in the near future before old age denies me the privilege of tramping over the mountains and down into the canyons in this beautiful but really rugged area.
AnOldPro
that I have found interesting. Maybe I'll work on those this season, in the hopes of finding more clues. And maybe a few goodies for my 
metal detector too!! What about you guys
rm.
