Resources... ?

[Rebel - KGC]

Yo! Rebel here Gonna start off by asking for MORE resources... book, I am reading
now is SWIFT'S SILVER MINES, AND OTHER APPLACHIAN TREASURES by Michael S. Steely.. the BEST for me, so far!!!

 

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[Rebel - KGC]

MORE!!!

I'm baaaack!!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swift's_silver_mine http://www.dickensoncounty.net/swiftsilver.html 8)

 

[Rebel - KGC]

MORE info, from another THer's "site"... ROCKHOUND - MORE MYSTERIES... "Swift's Mine(s) in the Mountains" JUST "GOOGLE" IT...

 

[AnOldPro]

Hey Rebel,

"More resources" are really not needed. My dear departed friend, Michael Paul Henson published all the info you need to find Swift's upper mines, which I was able to do several years ago. I was able to show him the evidence of my finds shortly before his death so at least he knew before he died that his publishing of the journal had led to the discovery of the mines. His version of the journal is the correct one.

The mines are in the steep mountains and rugged canyons of Jackson County, Kentucky. One of them is located in Wind Cave. They are all within a few miles of the junction of South Fork, Station Camp and War Fork creeks. All the landmarks mentioned in the journal are there. The "lighthouse" is called the "pretty house" by the locals who live there and showed it to me. You could drive a semi through it, it is so big! I found the Buffalo Rock with Alexander Mundays name carved on it on my own close by... exactly where it should have been if the "pretty house" hole in the cliff was indeed the "lighthouse of Swift's journal. Also found other landmarks mentioned in the journal and 3 smelters that he used to melt the silver ore. I even have a piece of melted silver found near one of the smelters.

I also found the burial site of one of Swift's men killed by Indians and the rock house that the miners lived in with their initials and a strange map (not yet deciphered) carved into the wall.

Unfortunately the land the mines are on has all been neatly incorporated into the Daniel Boone National Forest (Deliberately, I assure you.) and the Feds found and removed some of the caches there though they are not working the mines which still contain a lot of silver to my knowledge.

I have strong reasons to believe that another man, Arthur Wombles by name, removed over a half million in silver ingots from one of the caves about 20 years ago. I talked to the two brothers that helped him pack the silver out and they were still hopping mad when I last spoke with them because he cheated them out of their share. I personally found two of the cache sites... and the neat 4' x 4' x 4' holes the person who beat me to the sites had left when they dug them out.

I found 4 of the 6 mines and know which hills the other two are in but the camoflage that Swift did to the entrances is still holding up on those two.

On down War Fork Creek the French were mining silver also and Swift & company had some limited contact with them. The topo map of the area (Wind Cave quadrangle) shows a place called "Silver Mine Hollow" on the west side of the map. It was there I found a 1700's French military button with my detector that probably came from one of Swifts men... haven't found the mine in that hollow yet. Last time I was there there is an old stone chimney at the bottom of the hollow that is built from the blocks that Swift once had hewn to make a smelter.

I will see if I can get my pictures of some of these sites put on CD and if I can I'll try to post some of them on this thread in a week or 3. I don't mind revealing the site now as there is not much more that I can do with it due to the good stuff that is left being on Federal land. The easy to find caches are gone but there are probably some of the more difficult ones still buried in the area. I never got rich off of Swift but I have had a heck of a good time tracking down his clues and seeing the incredible country where he worked.

DC

DC

 

[OldGoldMan]

I have never posted a message until now,
Yes Those mines were found several years ago,WHy? It is Goverment Property, alot of things are being found,,WHY?
GDFIRGPRSS,Global Direct Forward Infrared Ground Penetrating Radar Satellite System, USGS Survey, isnt that a mouthfulll? This system can read a postage stamp laying on top of the ground,or Penetrate very deep into the Ground, it Shows Gold-Silver up with pretty colors
USAF/Nasa GRARSS, Global Research and Recovery Satellite System, guess the Feds finally found out that Treasure hunting can be profitable, Dont do a internet search it isnt there, You would have to Work for the Goverment of course to even know these things. Do you know what Global Positioning Sensors are being used for? They are Tiny Sensors that are placed in the National Forest to tell the Forest Rangers when anyone enters the Forest and Where , Which means, people get caught!! This Will be my one and only message.
PI. K.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Yo! THANKS guys! GREAT update... putting "pics" on CD like that is a BEGINNING of a BOOK; by All "means", "post" the "pics", and show the "signs", etc. WOW!!!

 

[swiftsearcher]

Actually you guys are right and wrong - wrong location. I have so far found TWO of Swift's Mines - the first one they mined and the WEST mine. I have also walked the poles from the furnace rockhouse (which I found after the first mine) and the cache sights are STILL THERE - only missing the silver! In fact, the tree with the large limb is still there, as it is near furnace creek and was never cut - I have pics of it that will be in my book next year on finding the mines. On the South side of this tree however, was a "dip" in the ground about 8 feet in diameter, where someone dug up the crowns years ago.

As of now, I am CLOSE to finding the Great Shawnee Cave and actually have an old Indian map showing its location! So, I will probably NOT look for the Rich Mine or the Middle Mine until after I write my book, as I would rather find the Shawnee Cave.

I believe ALL of Swift's treasure has been found, except for the cache in the Shawnee Indian Cave and MAYBE the cache inside the cave entrance leading to the main mine. I also KNOW that ALL OF THE CACHES BURIED ON THE CREEK FLOWING SOUTH HAVE BEEN FOUND AND WILL NAME THIS CREEK WITH DIRECTIONS IN MY BOOK AS WELL.

At the furnace rockhouse, I found a Silversmithing "Chasing" Hammer from the 1700's with a metal handle. It is 12 inches in length. I also found an old horseshoe and file at the creek below the first mine (also from the 1700's). I will go ahead and post a pic of the Chasing Hammer below, as I have reburied it in the forest, as it was on National Forest Land - I only took pics of it after finding it.

Also, I have found all of the landmarks Swift mentioned EXACTLY where he stated they would be except for the following (that I will find when I continue my search for the rich mine next year) - chestnut bur rock, haystack rock, buffalo rock and the teakettle rock. I know the precise area where all of these are, but due to my health and search for the Shawnee Cave, I have not searched for these yet. I found all the other rocks and the balanced rock at the West Mine. Also, at the West Mine is a rock in the shape of a face that points directly to the saddle gap (where the rich mine is - 3 miles away). I found out why the West Mine was called the West Mine also - the drain it is on heads WEST! The drain is exactly 50 poles from the furnace rockhouse, like Swift stated. Also, the large rockhouse Swift and his party lived in is exactly 100 yards above the furnace rockhouse and waterfall! I have pics of all of these, including the lighthouse rock - this is NOT an arch, like Henson showed, but an actual rock formation west of the mine areas that comes up over the cliff in the shape of a lighthouse, just as Swift stated! The turtle back rock is HUGE - with small caves inside of it! Also, across the cliff from the West mine is an AWESOME cave with a "spiral staircase" going down! I will have pics of all of these in my book next year and give EXACT locations, so everyone can go see these wonderful sights for themselves!

Below is a pic of the Silversmith "Chasing" Hammer from the 1700's I found and reburied. The gun in the pic is my 50 caliber Desert Eagle with ten inch barrel - used so one can better tell the size of the hammer.

 

[Oroblanco]

HOLA mi amigo REBEL!

Sorry for not catching this sooner, didn't know you were interested in Swift's lost mines. Here is an article that ran in a Colorado newspaper
<Publication: Aspen Daily Chronicle (Aspen, Pitkin County); Date: Sep 16, 1890; Section: None; Page: 4 >
_________________________________________________
LOST KENTUCKY MINE
Stories of Large Amounts of Silver Taken from the Mountains

One of the most persistent, and yet one of the most elusive traditions of Kentucky is that of Swift's Silver Mine, says the Louisville Courier-Journal. Half a dozen mountain counties claim to have within the borders of each the original mine, but as no search has ever revealed the existence of argentiferous ore in any of them, half a dozen other counties claim that a mistake may have been made, and hope the wonderful mine may be within their own limits. Every now and then some person crazed on the subject makes his appearance with a map or chart, assuming to show by actual survey the location of the long lost mine.

John Swift was in East Tennessee and Eastern Kentucky as early as 1761, accompanied by two Frenchmen, and somewhere in that region they coined, or pretended to coin, large quantities of silver money. There were no mints in the United States then, and Swift was arrested upon the suspicion of being a counterfeiter. This was in Noth Carolina. The coin turned out to be purer silver than that of the British mint, and he was released. Swift left Bell County, Ky, because the Indians were troublesome, and he gave a lady of that county the journal of his wanderings. His journal gave a vague account of about $54,000 and "crowns" which he and his companions concealed at various places in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky to facilitate their journey and secure safety. Ever since that journal became public search parties have hunted for the hidden wealth as persistently as ever Eastern people hunted for the hidden treasure of Captain Kidd, or the Southern people searched for the secret treasure-cave of Captain Blackbeard.

It goes without saying that nobody has ever found any signs of the treasure. True, there are more or less plausible traditions in various localities. For instance, in Carter County ancient tools and instruments used to coin money were found at the foot of a cliff many years ago. The crumbling away of a ledge of the cliff had allowed the tools to fall from their concealment. It is claimed, also, that one of the first settlers of Carter County found near his pioneer cabin a quantity of peculiar cinders so heavy as to cause him to have them tested. The result was the extraction of sufficient silver to make several silver spoons, which, it was said, were as late as 1870 in possession of members of the family. Crucibles, furnaces, cinders and other relics of mineral smeltings, upon a small scale, have been found in several counties and attributed to a vicinage of Swift's silver mine. . In 1871 three Cherokee Indians visited Wolfe County and carried away two sacks full of some weighty substance, which the residents in the neighborhood united in believing was some of Swift's silver. The presence of the Indians was well known, their object plainly guessed, yet nobody watched them closely enough to discover the place where they procured their treasure.
_________________________________________________
I hope this is helpful amigo. It might be possible to locate the actual arrest records of Swift in NC, as this would have been a matter of public record, but would not help to locate the mines only help to prove there actually WAS a Jonathan Swift who was caught passing home-made silver coins.

Good luck and good hunting buddy, I hope you find the lost silver mines and treasure of Jonathan Swift! (Hey silver was over $11 at closing today!)
your friend,
Roy ~ Oroblanco (I am off to get more coffee... )

 

[Rebel - KGC]