(Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above..(New link to Video)

Re: NEW pics Shawnee Indian cave ... mine ... tomb ???

who cut the trees in the one pictures
 

Re: (Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above

Hey all. Thought i would point out something important in the second pic of the opening. On the left handside on the wall you'll see the name ELI. It is wrote in suit from a chared piece of wood. I found a section in Mike Steelys "Swift silver mines and related appalachian treasures" about a Eli Cleveland. Steely states, "several men who knew Boone in the later days of the Ky settlement also knew of Swifts or his mines, and these included John Filson, Robert Breckenridge, Eli Cleveland, John Morton, James Callaway, and James Harrod". Surprisingly enough there are other name carvings around this area of men from that era.
Also i have been doing research on this mine i found.. I have been reading on and going to saltpeter mines in my supposed area. I have proved this mine i found is NOT a nitre "saltpeter" mine. Another mineral in question is iron ore, this looks to not hold water either. This is great news for me, this mine could or could have held something very valubale. Then of coarse the Swift landmarks all seem to match this area, and plus taking in to acount of how much the land has changed over the last 250 years due to settlement of moden day. All these names fit the bill of my area...........ttyl -Ki-
 

Re: (Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above

This is a nice cave find. However, Swift's Rich Mine (the one with the chestnut bur rock above the opening) is only a "Bear's den", with an opening the size of a Hog's Head Barrel in red sandstone on the second ledge (which I have pics of - everything is EXACTLY as Swift stated in the journals). In front of the opening (again, the size of a Hog's Head Barrel), is a rock that looks as if it fell from another rock - directly behind this is the Rich Mine opening. Also, at the head of the next drain is a haystack rock.
 

Re: (Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above

I never posted pics of the outside of this opening, This is in a second ledge, and the opening is the size of a hog's head barrel (keg) in red sand stone. What one must consider with the many many versions of the journal is that the journal these days are wrong! ALL OF THEM!!! They have been added to, or things have been taken out. The KEY these days is HISTORY!!! You may find clues in the journal, but its not going to lead you to these mines, they just won't!!! Sure there are the same land marks all over these parts, many places have these key landmarks all in the same area. So who's to say who is right or wrong when it comes to these mines... sure anyone can claim to have found them, what i ask is where's the proof, where is the history backing ur claim...sorry to say i still wont believe it by being in a book, ive read to many books about people claiming to have found the mines in books... they were all wrong.... history is the key to unlocking this secret sorry to say!!! In the picture below i crawled back in this opening about 30ft, to explore for future research and to take some pictures, what i found inside was amazing!
 

Re: (Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above

You are correct, many have stated they have found the mines. However, even though the journals have been copied and added to/deleted sections several times, over 90% of the journals agree with the specifics about the Rich Mine. It IS a Bear's Den with two seams of Silver ore that go back. Also, there is an opening where Swift and Co. had hid their molds and tools (which have been found and taken out). Swift placed a rock and masonry over the opening (as well as the opening of the Bear's Den itself). Bits of the rock and masonry are still there inside the Bear's Den (in fact, I used a big chunk of the rock to tie a rope to. Also, the actual mine has been filled in with locust and dirt (which I have several pieces of the old locust and have had them dated to Swift's time).

All I have to do now (I am waiting on a friend from FL to come in and help me) is to dig out about ten ft. of dirt and I should be at the two seams of Silver ore. This is the ultimate key - finding the rich Silver veins at the rich mine (of course, there are some older obscure journals that state it is Gold and not Silver - the only way to find out is to uncover the seams).

I have been busy working on a KGC depository and have not been able to finish up some of my Swift research. Starting next week, I will be looking for the "Great Cave", as I am tired of chiseling stones at the KGC site and the person helping me there cannot come back in until November. I plan on hunting for 2-3 weeks for the "Great Cave". Then, if I find it or have no luck, I plan on excavating the Rich Mine (with or without help). After these things are accomplished, I will finish my book within a month and let everyone know where everything is, so they can see for themselves (BTW - the three major mines in the gap are within three miles of one another just as Swift stated).

My friend, Ralph, and I have spoken about your find. I think you mentioned there was a V and an upside down V carved near the entrance. If this is correct, I know exactly what you have found. While it is not related to Swift, it is a GREAT FIND! Congrats on it btw! :thumbsup:

One last thing, there is the half moon rockhouse to the West of the Rich Mine, where Swift also melted ore (in fact, there are still holes in a huge rock there where Swift and Co. poured the Silver into to make pigs. Also, there is a Buffalo Rock over the hill or slope (as Swift stated), with the table top rock on the clift above it. West of the Rich Mine is also Needle's Eye Rock. And, last but not least, West of the mine are the sinking creeks and the Indian Bead Spring! I have found all of these and have pictures of them. The most intriguing part is they are EXACTLY where Swift stated they were in relation to the Rich Mine! :thumbsup:
 

Re: (Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above

All im saying (" im not bashing anyones books by the way if your reading this") is people can claim to find swifts mine, but never show i picture, and always go on like they'ed solved the puzzle in books. I know its good to keep somethings secret, in some cases seeing is believing. Swiftseacher it might be best for your book to show some pictures in this forum, get people interested in what you claim to have found!!! ... Im sure some pictures will not give away your location, or the location of any landmarks. Im a photogragher, my friend you can always take a picture of just the subject, without giving away the subjects surroundings. Like carvings, rocks, trees, ex. Just a thought happy hunting n wish you the best on your find
 

Re: (Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above

I have shown some pics Ki. The one I am not showing is the chestnut bur rock however, as I want it, the rich mine opening and a few others to be a surprise. I have stated before, I am really do not think I will make a fortune on selling books and don't care about it. I am just putting everything in book form to show people where everything is and tell the story about how I found Swift's mines (the four primary mines he mentioned) and that the journals all have a bit of truth to them (although some things have been changed/altered and I will point those out as well). It has been fun and will continue to be fun until I find the Great Cave (as I will NOT publish my book until I prove to myself that the Great Cave is or is not where I believe it to be).

Unfortunately, I stumbled across a large KGC depository in my adventures and have spent too much time there, although my partners and I are close, we still have a lot of work to do there as well, as the KGC certainly made it time consuming to enter this depository! I believe I will take a break from the KGC site for a few months and concentrate on the couple of Swift places I have yet to find - the Great Cave and the teakettle rock (I know where both are, the terrain is rather rocky and dangerous and it will take me some time - especially for the Great Cave, as the entrance is going to be hidden and small - like finding a needle in a haystack).

Ki - sorry I haven't had a chance to answer your PM's yet. I will do so now (before I meet my daughter for lunch at school). You seem interested in Swift and these legends and we might schedule a meeting to see if you want to help me on the Great Cave or excavating Swift's Rich Mine, as you seem to be a Mountain Man, like myself (although I am a disabled veteran and don't get around as quickly as I once did in the mountains). I will go ahead and PM you now. I look forward to speaking with you. Who knows, you might get a "sneak peak" of the Rich Mine and some sites before my book comes out!
 

Re: (Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above

Joe, i have not explored this hand dugg cave much, i only went back around 30ft. It seems to have been filled in with dirt at one time. I plan to go back very soon, it is a mine of some kind, now just figuring out what kind...
 

Re: (Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above

Ki,

I sent you a PM about the cave. You are correct - it IS a MINE! Rumor has it that the Indians mined and hid silver ore there! Also, several Indians have looked for it over the years, but were unable to find it. Congrats on finding it and good luck recovering anything in/around it!

Scott Elkins
"Swiftsearcher"
 

Re: (Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above

Thank you swiftsearcher :thumbsup: I have also heard other storys about this place as well. I knew it was indian, just by its location close to indian graves, and the carvings at the place! I plan to get a md, and hand held md up there asap. only thing, this place has seemed to have been filled and closed off at one time, and then reopened. There is also a rockhouse/cave in the adjasent ridge, im thinking this may have been a store house for their ore.
 

Re: (Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above

Again, there are others on here with more knowledge about general treasures than myself (I have mostly concentrated on Swift over the years, though I have been into studying the KGC quite a bit as well since my find), but I would say that any cave the Indians might have hid something in would have been covered. I know the KGC site I am at was covered by rocks and mortar to make the vault look like the rest of the clifts. There is no way anyone could tell what was there from any distance (until you are standing on the ledge at the vault). The ONLY way I found it was that I was lucky enough to stumble across a rock map at a cave entrance. The map led me away from that cave and I started finding carved rocks and symbols cut long ago on trees (as well as a couple of old grafted trees). I followed a carved arrowhead rock to a couple of trees with hearts carved at the bottoms and directly behind them I noticed some carvings on the "clift" that were crosses (the same that were carved on the rock map at the cave). I had walked by that clift section several times hunting for a Swift cache and never noticed it until I was right upon it!!!


Long story short - the "valuable caches" were hidden - either by dirt, rock, mortar and made to look like the rest of the landscape. So, unless you stumble across a map somewhere, you will probably have to detect everything (or, at least I would). :thumbsup:
 

Re: (Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above

Awesome you mentioned a map... believe it or not but on the same ridge that id found the rockhouse/cave, i found a map carved in stone. It looks to be alot older than the other carvings that are there. When i found it, the first thing that poped in my head was it was probally a map indians had left to tell other indians to where to find things that were hidden. I wish i could give more info cause there was alot of indian and french activity in this area. I to plan to write a book about this find, from what ive learned so far there is really no historical record of this place, i plan to change that! The awesome thing about this map, is it shows the mine, and the rockhouse/cave excactly were i found them... there seems to be another place the map points to as an X or M, it may take me until the weather gets cold again, and the leaves fall back off the trees for me to figure this last clue out... I will keep everyone posted about this.
 

Re: (Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above

In the second picture in my first post on this topic, you see the name Eli.... I found this land grant just the other day, funny i seemed to over read this in Mike Steelys book!

A land grant id found states : Made on January 5, 1791 "Eli Cleveland and John Morton enters 1483 acres of land on two treasury warrants No. 15232 and 12128 on a branch of Red River to include an Old camp in the center where there is some troughs at said camp on the branch side. The said camp is a place difficult to access supposed to be John Swift's old camp and others including a Mine said to be occupied formerly by said John Swift and others".
 

Re: (Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above

This picture is About 20ft back
 

Re: (Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above

;D :icon_study: INTERESTING... I "see" the "marks"; COULD be "Mason Marks" ( "google" it...); looks like a "YAM", in the second
"pic"... COULD be someone's "initials"; JOHN MORTON? JAM? GREAT "FIND"! :wink:
 

Re: (Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above

In the one picture of pointing out the diffrent rocks i found this carving on the wall, it is a carving, it shows in two diffrent pics i took inside this mine. It kinda looks like a bell, and then again it kinda looks like an arrowhead... I know in some swift journals there is a bell mentioned, it also could be pointing the way...

Thanks Rebel, it very well could be JAM (John Morton) if so this would be the mine they mention in their land grant... I plan to get back up there in the next week and take more photos.... -Ki-
 

Re: (Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above

:coffee2: :tongue3: :thumbsup: The "arrow' is known as a "POINTER"... found "pointer-rocks" also; they are arrow/spearheads
without "shaft-piece" (local slang). Usually to "point" YOU in the "direction", YOU should go (CAREFULLY). The "bell" is usually an "ALERT" sign... like a dinner bell... DANG! NOW, I am hungry... LATER! :D :wink:
 

Re: (Pics) mine w/ chestnut burr above

zip zip
 

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Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

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