Dowsing- The average person can take two clothes hangers and with no experience or practice locate utility lines or pipes. I have seen this happen many times. I have worked construction in Florida since 1979. I learned about dowsing in 1987. Since then I have talked to every plumber I have met and asked him and his helpers if they dowse. The overwhelming majority of them either do or know someone that does. I too have watched county workers use rods instead of the electronic equipment provided them. To us believers there is absolutely no doubt in our minds that dowsing works. It is because of this that I take such offense when someone wants to write off my story as hogwash because so much of it is based on my experience with a dowser.
If an amateur can find wires and pipes, why is it so hard to believe that an expert can find a pile of metal?
My friend Ovid did not start actively dowsing until he was in his early fifties. He dowsed as much and as often as possible for the next thirty five years. He had many, many success stories. He got better because he was willing to test himself. With each success he gained confidence. Confidence is one of the keys to getting better at ANYTHING. By the time I met him he was a bonafide expert at dowsing.
He was the first person I had ever seen dowse. I had no idea at first of his experiences until we had spent some time together. Once I got to know him I knew that he had no hidden agenda with me and just enjoyed the hunt. He had gotten to the point where he was very wary of showing people what he could do. Upon meeting me he felt that I was an honest person and would not take advantage of him.
The problem was that I was in a hurry to dig something up and did not always have a good plan. On the original Englewood pirate chest dig I had a large construction company lined up that was going to do all the digging. They had clam shell cranes, back hoes, pumps, shoring material, and everything else needed to properly dig in Florida. I had set everything up for the dig as there were a lot of factors to deal with. Less than a week prior to the dig, the owner of the construction company told his crew that they could not work with me. He had originally ok'ed it but when he found out about the dowsing he backed out.
If I had been smart I would have cancelled the dig right then and there. Not one to listen to good advice ( still not good at this, but trying) I proceeded full steam ahead. Unbeknown to me the guy putting in the septic system (I had wanted to do the dig prior to this) had found out about our plans and tore the ground up in the location we eventually dug. All I will say is that it turned out to be a disaster for me. This was my introduction to treasure digging.
Fast forward 25 years. I drove by the site this morning. There was a large truck on site that had actually been there saturday. I had asked the guys driving the truck on Saturday what was going on. They did not seem real friendly and I let it go. This was also when I discovered that someone had snuck in and made a dig attempt. The two guys were marking spots on the ground with a spray can. This definitely got my attention.
I stopped in the road in my truck and asked them what was going on. They said they were looking for treasure and it was EVERYWHERE. Now they REALLY had my attention. I pulled off the road and got out to talk to them. When I asked what kind of treasure it was, they said it was cables. It was their job to locate the cables and that's what they were doing. They were only joking about treasure as they are constantly asked if they are finding any. I was relieved.
They did say there were some people there the day before. They were walking the property with electronic equipment strapped to their back. I looked and saw where many pink flags had been placed. My heart started beating fast again. I asked them what was going on and they acted evasive. I did not know what to do next.
I decided to call the head of the DOT in Sarasota. He had been my initial contact on this. I had tried to call him yesterday about the illegal activities going on over the weekend. I told him that someone had been on the property with heavy equipment trying to recover(steal) the treasure. He did not like hearing this. I asked him what all the other activity at the bridge site was. He knew nothing of it. He said he was going to look into it. At this point I needed to get to my construction project to try to make some money.
I told a friend about this. He asked me if I had taken any pictures. I told him no. This did seem like a good idea so I went home and got my camera (don't trust camera phones). I went back to the bridge. Now there was a FDOT truck with an empty trailer attached to it. I won't say how close it was to anything that I care about but it was uncomfortably close. There was no one in it. The big truck with the ground sucking equipment was sitting there with no one in it. It's lights were on, the motor was running and the two guys were nowhere to be seen. I took pictures of EVERYTHING and I do mean EVERYTHING!
I had to get back to work. I worked for a couple of hours and I just couldn"t stand it. I had to go back. The two guys were running their sucking/digging machine. On the prior visit I had looked in the hole they had made. They'd had to bust through SOLID limestone to dig the depth they were attempting. I had to talk to them. They were wondering why I kept coming around. I asked them if they could be hired. They asked me if I was looking for something there. They seemed like nice guys.
I asked them again about their treasure comments. They really were just joking about it. They said the plans call for some major changes in the area. Road widening, sidewalks, rerouting the creek and more. Their job was to locate the underground utilities. They said if I was looking for something to show them where it was and they would dig right to it. BOY, WAS IT TEMPTING. I told them good luck and went back to work.
One of top county officials called me. I had talked to him prior to this about a dig permit. I told him everything I had been through up to this point. He said he will do anything he can to help me. I am trying to get a coalition of support for this. I will list just some of the people supporting me.
Our county's most powerful commissioner. He has known of this story from me for over 10 years. He was interviewed for the upcoming newspaper article. The reporter told me that this commisioner said that he can't understand why the state won't grant me a permit. I have his full support.
Our local state legislator- I had an hour long meeting with him. His father is our county's sherriff. He is willing to help in anyway that he can.
Our county administrator- I have his full support
The head of aquisitions for our local museum-the south Florida museum. He is ready and eager to accept and curate whatever we find.
The head of the FDOT for all the surrounding counties. He and I have a great relationship and I intend for him to be onsite WHEN we dig to supervise.
A local state certified archeologist. She has worked with the FDOT on many projects and I think she is eager to see this happen.
The sherriff's department. I am requesting that they provide security in the event that we find what we are looking for. They have now stepped up surveilance.
My lawyer. He has been advising me on all the legal ramifications of this venture (adventure).
There are more that I could list. As you can see I am VERY SERIOUS about all of this. If someone thinks they are going to sneak in and dig I hope they get caught. This may not be what a lot of people on TN would want to hear. I have been given tons of advice on how to break the law. I am sure this is not what the people who run TN want put on here.
I had stated in the past that the treasure may be in a limestone cave. If anyone thinks they are going to sneak in with picks and shovels in the middle of the night and STEAL this treasure from my partners and I, the taxpayers, the state of Florida etc, it will take more than luck. The bozo with the backhoe did not know what they were doing or where to do it. I talked to the sherriff's again today. This site is in the relative open. If you think nobody is watching, you may be in for a surprise.
The decision was made at the begining to do this legally. It is hard to change course midstream. Some will question my methods and big mouth. My big mouth got me into this and I hope it will get me to the treasure.
This is all far from over. I know I talk too much but speech is free. This thread is becoming a book in itself. If you want to join the book, log on. Comments welcome.
BCH-Don't leave the thread. We all enjoy your comments and I have great respect for you.
