Civil War Payroll gold may have been found in Elk County PA

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Tedyoh: The Central America is an interesting example. It was well known she went down with a large fortune in gold coin and bar. The newspapers of the day often published how much treasure was aboard a vessel when it set sail from San Francisco. I can point to half a dozen examples just off the top of my head. The cargo aboard the Central America was well documented.

As to where she went down? That was quite another story. And it speaks to Tommy Thompson's genius that his research was so meticulous that when he went out to find the hulk it really didn't take that long. Not the 17 years of sacrifice Mel Fisher put in. The Atocha documentation was very complete - within the confines of the smuggling that went on to avoid paying the King's Fifth. And the wreck proved to be where the contemporary records said it was. The modern treasure hunters were looking in the wrong place for many years because over times the names of cays changed. Or the years that Burt Webber spent - until "Black Jack" Haskins went off on a paddle board and found the remains.

Regarding the yarn about a wagon load of gold bars lost in the woods of Pennsylvania - who lost it? Why were they there in the first place? The story, as presented, just doesn't make sense. And even if it did - why wouldn't the Federal government have gone out and recovered the treasure right away? The Spanish lost many galleons on the rocks and reefs of the New World. They also salvaged a great deal of it. "Pieces of eight! Pieces of Eight" ~ Cap'n Flint.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo

The Central America: I first read John Potter in the 60s, and it was a good wreck (but hard to find). So, when Tommy Thompson's book came out, I read it with fascination. It was spectacular.

Mel Fisher's Atocha: I was fascinated by this one in the 60s. I actually kept a card file on good wrecks and this one was in there. Been to Florida many times since age 4. Mel got turned around by an account that it went down in the Matecumbes, now specific keys, but then a generic name for all the keys themselves. I'm sure he kicked himself many times for not looking enough at old maps, but they were hard to find in those days and required world wide travel. Worse yet, the answer was staring all of us in the face the whole time - it was found in the Marquesas, named after the Commander of the Guard fleet, Lope Díez de Armendáriz, the Marquis of Cadereita that went down - if only we'd made a connection, but Mel was the one that did, and scored. I was asked by Mel to work with him, a real honor.

"a wagon load of gold bars lost in the.........": Google that up and see how many hits you get, or check out the http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/treasure-legends/11712-swamp-gold.html thread here on Tnet, all 118 pages. They sure sound the same.

Karl Muller said, "Do your research". Just sayin'.
 

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That machine is called a track-hoe. It can dig to a depth of about 22 feet. At least that is as far as we got with one the same size, but we did have to dig the track-hoe in the ground about four feet. So it can maybe go 18 feet deep. A back-hoe can go about 14 feet deep.
 

Ok my question is this. Back in 1863 with only hand tools how deep do you think they could dig . I also realize could have put in a cave or cavern .
 

Tedyoh, I;m going out this morning and taking a picture of an excavator, any old excavator and posting the picture. This character doesn't know what one looks like.

Excavators (hydraulic) are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, dipper (or stick), bucket and cab on a rotating platform known as the " house". The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks.

See rock hammer attachment in bucket. 20180317_080855.jpg
 

Excavators (hydraulic) are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, dipper (or stick), bucket and cab on a rotating platform known as the " house". The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks.

See rock hammer attachment in bucket. View attachment 1565312
FBI excavator, I asked operator if news was good and he indicated yes with head nod in front of FBI police. FBI had complete forensics team on site and US Army convoy on standby at Sheetze, Falls Creek, PA. FBI loaded boxes out but never sent convoy to site. Legend says more to come on this soon and it will be big.View attachment 1565230View attachment 1565231View attachment 1565232
Good deal.....2 or 3 naysayers here will not believe you though......i shot 3 crows this morning for them.....9 more to go.....
 

These are the two pieces of equipment we used in our December 2016 dig. The small one we called a mini track-hoe, the big one we called an excavator. Did we misname them?

DSC05780.JPGDSC00290.JPG
 

Track hoe, excavator, same thing,you are correct, the one in the news footage was a (mini)why is there a debate about a excavator
 

These are the two pieces of equipment we used in our December 2016 dig. The small one we called a mini track-hoe, the big one we called an excavator. Did we misname them?

View attachment 1565314View attachment 1565315

Track hoe naming came on with the development of smaller tracked machines to replace rubber tired "back hoes" that historically were used in light or tight projects. The descriptions I know of:

Track Hoe
1. A hydraulic excavator, used in construction to dig holes or trenches for infrastructure.

2. A prostitute that works the street, or "track".
 

Track hoe, excavator, same thing,you are correct, the one in the news footage was a (mini)why is there a debate about a excavator

Because a member on Tnet, who is involved in this discussion-1320- insists that I take a picture of the excavator to prove I was was at the dig site a couple days ago.
 

Because a member on Tnet, who is involved in this discussion-1320- insists that I take a picture of the excavator to prove I was was at the dig site a couple days ago.

Uh no, I never doubted that you were at the site. I simply questioned the images that you posted that represent where the FBI dug, especially the cave image. I can see some disturbance in the dirt in a few pictures but you’ll have a hard time convincing anyone that the cave was excavated. Perhaps I misinterpreted your post. As far as excavators are concerned, I see no evidence of heavy equipment which is what has been implied. Yes, I can see disturbance that may have been created by a mini.

If I have misinterpreted you, please accept my apology. I have no doubt the FBI was there and did something however the impact was minimal. Looking forward to the rest of the story as I’m sure others are as well. I hope that some small disagreement between a few of us will add clarity and not distract from what’s become an interesting event.
 

I can be there in 45 minutes, I live just south of the site,I. Actually worked on a historic,prehistoric site with a CRM firm just south of there (sr 0879, irwin site) and I often joked about going up and poking around dent's run,but treasure hunting is frowned upon in those circles,but was a hot topic on site, this is why I know that there must have been evidence of historical value witnessed by authority's other than finders keepers,to justify the dig,having said that, I doubt any gold was found, but historical evidence of the ambush maybe,something took place there,or this investigation would not of taken place, this is a wildlife management area,the last natural wild elk herd in pa,no way in ##l would this take place without evidence supported by authority's
 

Ok my question is this. Back in 1863 with only hand tools how deep do you think they could dig . I also realize could have put in a cave or cavern .

The Templars dug down 200 feet on Oak Island with hand tools if you buy that
 

I can be there in 45 minutes, I live just south of the site,I. Actually worked on a historic,prehistoric site with a CRM firm just south of there (sr 0879, irwin site) and I often joked about going up and poking around dent's run,but treasure hunting is frowned upon in those circles,but was a hot topic on site, this is why I know that there must have been evidence of historical value witnessed by authority's other than finders keepers,to justify the dig,having said that, I doubt any gold was found, but historical evidence of the ambush maybe,something took place there,or this investigation would not of taken place, this is a wildlife management area,the last natural wild elk herd in pa,no way in ##l would this take place without evidence supported by authority's

See if the 2 porta potties are still there. If they are still there, we know they are not done with the site. If they are gone, well??
 

Ok my question is this. Back in 1863 with only hand tools how deep do you think they could dig . I also realize could have put in a cave or cavern .
People are way too lazy now days, they used shovels another 100yrs from now nobody might know what that even is. That is really nothing as far as depth, just think about the old mines dug hundreds of feet deep in solid rock. They were made a lot tougher back then compared to most people these days. HH
 

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Bum Luck:

Great post! You have a firm grasp of the facts. My parents gave me a copy of The Homewrecker for my birthday when it was first published!

The foundations for the finds we hear about on TN next summer are being laid right now, as winter-bound treasure hunters do their homework, hoping to become treasure finders.


Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo
 

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.... but never sent convoy to site. Legend says more to come on this soon and it will be big.....

Ok, so the convoy was never sent to the site to load treasure on to trucks. The average person would say "ah, no treasure" and be done with the story. But to the believer, .... no .... this doesn't prove the legend wrong. The starting point of their whole enterprise is:

A) the legend is true, therefore

B) all other observations/facts that come along merely get molded to fit the starting premise. (Rather than added facts informing the starting premise), thus

C) The treasure is still there, and it will be big

If it's not there today, it will be there tomorrow or next week. If it's not in one hole, that merely means it must be a little more to the left or right. If it's not at 5 ft. , that merely means it must be at 10 ft. And so on, and so forth, till infinity. But at no point is the treasure not most certainly there. Eh ?
 

Hope the run the FBI out of there. They have no business there and need to look to themselves right now. If they were to find something it would be a nightmare of trust.
 

....."a wagon load of gold bars lost in the.........": Google that up and see how many hits you get, or check out the http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/treasure-legends/11712-swamp-gold.html thread here on Tnet, all 118 pages. They sure sound the same.....

Good observation. Notice how .... after awhile .... all the yarns start to sound the same. They've all got to have a skeleton or two in there. There's got to be some sort of suspicious activity (government, or suspicious men-seen digging holes, etc...). And it's going to be insane amounts of gold, enough to fill rooms or wagons. And it's an ambush, with a lone survivor. And it always involves insane depths (the bigger the treasure, the deeper it will be).

Ever notice that ? Like all the ones that appeared in the Treasure mag's of the 1960s and '70s started to sound the same: "The dying miner drags himself into the wild west saloon. The lone survivor of an indian attack. Curious patrons gather around him as he spills the details of fabulous wealth back at his mine. But he dies of his injuries before being able to reclaim his fortune. Here's the 5 clues to the location ....."
 

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