Question about the lost Elliot county natural bridge

[Curtis]

Some of you may be familiar with Mason's explaining what happened to the natural bridge on little sandy river. It used to be where the line of rocks are. If I remember right he mentioned that the Army Corp of Engineers blasted it down...safety thin? anyway i was hoping someone could find a picture of it. I have went thru all kinds of on line libraries trying to find it.

If it crossed to the point I think it did, there are some Indian stairsteps to the right of it. Not actual carved steps but a long series of rocks spaced apart and down like a big set of steps. I am trying to do the ol compare Swift with the Waybill again. Going to do it a little at a time. In the past I was always trying to make every little thing be exact. Well different people describe things differently, that is why no-one but me has found the "Rainbow" on the Waybill, that led me to all of his mines. The Indian, in his Waybill describes some barrels of silver coins, wonder where they got them? could they be from Swift? that's a lot of coins...not many around in KY in the late 1700s early 1800s. If you think of a place the pictures of the natural bridge might be please let me know. I would also like to hear ideals about the coins.

 

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[KY Hiker]

Wasn't there a description of it posted on here somewhere? Seems I remember it being a crazy scale of height for the area it was supposed to be in? Maybe that was a description of one near Carter Caves or smoke valley...? I would think the Army Corp of Engineers would have record of it if they brought it down, or maybe Frankfort has a photo buried deep in a filing cabinet? Ky natural history museum? Just throwing out ideas. Good luck, I will say there seem to be similarities with the two tales...doubtful that is a coincidence.

 

[Curtis]

Thanks KY,

I tried to get in touch with the ACE there at the reservoir but they didn't seem to know where to start. I'll try some others and the natural hist. museum...good idea.

Curtis

 

[KY Hiker]

Thanks KY,

I tried to get in touch with the ACE there at the reservoir but they didn't seem to know where to start. I'll try some others and the natural hist. museum...good idea.

Curtis

Another remote possibility is a geology dept either at U.K. , E.K.U. or even U. of L. . Geologic formations may have been documented by any of them as well.
Dealing with any Federal agency is going to be s l o w going at best, unless you can find someone you know working for them.

 

[Curtis]

I have a kind of log that I looked back into and this was part of it.

One other significant land mark is the India Stair Steps. He says they cross over the rock bridge and then go down a set of Indian stair steps. Indian stair steps can be identified as a place where Indians cut steps into the face of a rock to help climb it. There is another description of Indian stair steps, that is a set of smaller rocks (in a creek bed usually), that are more like our modern steps. Unknown to most Swift treasure hunters, there is a set of these Indian stair steps within 100 yards of where the rock bridge crossed the river. The coincidence of this would have to be astronomical.
The waybill says near here they buried 4 barrels of money. This Indian is very exact about everything. If he says they buried 4 barrels of money he doesn’t mean 4 kegs, barrels are larger than kegs! That is a lot of money. Barrels at that time could probably be varied in size, depending on what is to be put into them. Let’s say for argument they are 35 gallon, smaller than the flour barrels, but larger than wine? On line I found someone who experimented and found that 77 silver dollars would fit in a gallon. Using that 77 X 35, and that each coin (if silver dollar size) weights approximately 26.73 grams, we are talking about each of the four barrels weighing about 158 pounds times 4 is about 634 pounds, and about 2,695 coins.
Let’s think about that for a minute, how would these Indians in 1760s get close to 2,700 coins? More if they were smaller than silver dollar size. Trading? Probably not. Robbing, maybe, but that is a lot of pioneer to rob, a weeks’ worth of wages back then would be equal to one coin if an English crown (silver dollar size). I think they were given those coins as their share of the Swift proceeds, he made coins there in the wilderness. The journal states he took friends with him into the wilderness, one of his friends, Seth Montgomery, had worked at the Royal mint in London, and made the molds to turn the silver into coins. I have read that there is evidence that Swift was arrested for counterfeiting the English crown but the British government had to let him go as his coins had more silver in them than a true crown. I have also read that he minted Spanish coins.

 

[KY Hiker]

Unless it shattered there should be remains of the natural bridge still in the creek in large pieces? Dunno, since I have still have not been down there to look at things. Maybe someone else can help.

 

[EC.Mason]

Hey Curtis! It’s funny you mention that there are Indian stair steps close to the line of rock. My father took me to them when I was a kid though I haven't been to them in years. Pretty neat coincidence if it matches up with Swift. I always wondered as well how the Indians got the Coins. It would make sense that Swift gave it to them or perhaps they found a cache Swift had buried. Interesting stuff.

 

[Curtis]

Hey Mason, There are two sets of Indian Stair steps, the ones I mentioned that are natural, and a set of carved "Indian stair steps" on the trail that goes around the cliffs on the right side of the monument rocks. I posted a pic of them a while back, only like three or four foot holds or steps.

 

[EC.Mason]

Oh wow man I don’t think I’ve seen the carved ones. It’s been so long since I’ve seen the set in referring to. When you heading back to Caney again?

 

[EC.Mason]

You know, the Lake wasn’t built till the 1960s and that is when I was told they did a lot blasting and that the natural bridge was blew down then. There have to be some people who would remember what it looked like before then. Let me ask around the next time I talk to the old timers in that area.

 

[EC.Mason]

Another thought Curtis; maybe the line of rocks is the natural bridge as it was in the 1700s. Think about it. As your coming up the Little Sandy, the line of rocks seem to cross the river just as the manuscript says. We have to remember that that area of the Little Sandy was a lot smaller before the lake was built. Maybe it was considered a bridge as the end of it would have probably been very close to the other side of the river during that time. I know of a smaller natural bridge that is closer to Sandy Hook on the Little Sandy as well. I forgot about that one. A buddy took me to it a few years ago. People used to make moonshine under it lol