Pirate Treasure-Trying to get a permit to dig up

[Bigdogdad]

I did not realize. I will try to do better. Thanks for reading.

 

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[Bigdogdad]

"Massive text dumps" Kinda harsh.

 

[Bigdogdad]

I tried to edit my old posts into proper paragraphs. It does not allow you to indent at the beginning of a sentence. I guess I just won't have as much to say.

 

[pops9653]

No massive text dumps isn't harsh. Very interesting stories here but very hard to read. This would be more enjoyable to read and follow if you wrote it like you are writing the book and use paragraphs. I don't think you would write the book you are writing in this manner.

 

[Minrelica]

I tried to edit my old posts into proper paragraphs. It does not allow you to indent at the beginning of a sentence. I guess I just won't have as much to say.

No need to indent

That won't fix anything

Press enter twice to put a space between text

EDIT: Maybe you are posting from a phone? I've had that problem before on forums, not being able to make paragraphs.

Anyway, please carry on with your good thread. I wasn't trying to derail it, sorry.

 

[Jay of MS]

Big you will come and tell us the result even if all you find is dirt right? I hope you hit the motherload but incase you don't at least let us know. I have a lot of my intrest invested in this story

 

[bingbong]

pirates didnt bury their loot they robbed and spent it and died early .
its a myth started by Robert louis Stephenson in his books.
do todays crack dealers put their money from drugs in a bank and save for their old age ?

 

[Hot zone]

I thought Big was crazy until he got around to the old man and dowsing. Now dowsing ain't crazy.

I can witch a well. Never tried gold or silver and I am old.

I need to make a magic plumb on my lathe with a compartment inside to hold a tiny vile of gold, silver or other in a solution of maybe hydrogen peroxide as a solvent. Heck, if I put a piece of rusy iron in it I could maybe map dowse McClellans lost cannon.

But then there would probably be more profit in selling my plumbs to all the other crazy old men.

 

[Bigdogdad]

I have written my book in proper form. I will take the advice given on here and seperate the paragraphs. You still cannot indent at the begining of a sentence.

I will tell exactly how this story ends no matter what happens. The overall story will continue. The silver location is 5 minutes from my house. I have put too much effort into this to stop. There are other people who will continue on with this if I stop.

Bingbong-After the pirates attack and rob a ship they may end up with tons of gold and silver. Where do you think they put it? Do you really think they could go out and spend it very easily. What, like maybe go down to the local boat dealer and buy a nice galeon. Maybe go to the gun show and buy some nice muskets and purchase a few fancy swords. Maybe they invested in the stock market or bought some real estate. Not likely.

Now I could see them investing it in a hidden account in the Cayman Islands. Of course there were no banks so where would they put it. Hmm, lets think about this. Inside a hollow tree? In a cave? Under their bed? In their attic? Hey, maybe they could dig a hole and put in in the ground. No that would be to simple.

I give up, you tell me how they would get rid of tons of gold. Do you know how much 1 cubic foot of gold weighs? Its over 1200 pounds. Maybe they could just carry it around with them. ! cubic foot of silver weighs over 600 pounds. That's pocket change. I think todays crack dealers have a lot more options on how to spend their ill-gotten gains.

Hot Zone-Try going to or talking to ANY old time plumber. Ask them if they have ever heard of or used L-rods of any kind to locate pipes. I will guarantee you that they will tell you that it works. Find a really big nasty plumber that says he can do it and then call him a liar. Make fun of him. Let me know how that works out.

My treasure stories have dowsing as only a part of the story. The treasure that got me into this was not based on any dowsing at all. It is the treasure from the U-853 submarine. It involves buried diamonds. They are now hidden in a yard in New Jersey and some are buried near the Montauk Point lighthouse. The story of just the sub is worthy of a book/movie.

 

[Hot zone]

Well Big, I did get a rise out of you a couple times. 90% of my posts, here and elsewhere are tong-in-cheek and not meant to cause real pain, but they don't always go as planned. Tough crowd, I don't get no respect, adjust the tie, I'm dying up here! I really do believe water can be detected with L rods and I have witched a couple wells, don't like plumbers!. To find treasure you need to look and what ever it takes to keep looking makes it possible. Good luck.

 

[pops9653]

I was pretty sure you wrote your book in proper form that is why I referenced it. I will read it anyway you type it. It will just be easier if you space it out a little. You have peeked my interest in dowsing will be making some L Rods and a plumb today from the info in the book I am reading. If I can actually do the dowsing thing I will invest in some more equipment. Maybe when you get ready to get this treasure I can come practice my dowsing just before you dig.

Keep us informed this is a really interesting story and when you write your book I want a signed copy!

 

[lastleg]

Enter button ? ? ? Where ?

 

[old man]

Bigdogdad, Have you received any word from the Officials in the State of Florida on whether or not they are going to let you Dig up anything at the site you posted about ?? Just curious.

 

[bingbong]

when pirates looted a ship they may have a cargo of material ,or tea or pottery ,all sorts of cargo could be found and not nessarilly bullion ,not something that could be burried .
people read what they want into cargos that were looted .
no pirate treasure has ever been found buried its all baloney .
tales of buried treasure came about when the felons had a rope round their neck and they cooked up buried treasure stories to save their neck.
over the centuries the stories have been embellished and embroidered ,just like robert louis stevenson wrote his book .

 

[Bigdogdad]

Bingbong-How is it that you know so much about what happened in Florida over the last 400-500 years? Did you get your "facts" from your computer, books, friends or do you have powers that let you know what happened in the past? Do you believe in any buried treasure? If not, why are you on TN? I will admit that the movies about pirates and treasure are so unrealistic that it would cause someone to be skeptical.

I am not going to come on to TN and start telling anyone that the treasure they are after does not exist. What kind of treasure are you looking for? Are you looking for any? Since you say that no pirate treasure has ever been found, I guess if I find some I will really be famous.

Old Man- I talked to the FDOT attorney Monday but he would tell me nothing. I talked to the second in command on Friday, and he would not say anything one way or another. What he did say was they had been looking for a precedent from the past on how a request like mine had been handled. He told me they could find no precedent. According to him, no one has ever attempted to get permission from the FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) to dig for buried treasure on their property. They have to be very careful how they proceed with my request.

I asked to be allowed to run any metal detector or GPR as needed. I asked to be able to do a half inch core sample with a drill and probe. I want all video rights. I want to split any treasure 50/50 with the state. I want controlled limited access throughout the entire dig process. I will provide security thru the local Sherriff's department. I want anything found to be immediately transported to our local museum which is directly across the street from the police department. Does anyone reading this have anymore suggestions?

They know how serious I am about all of this. They know that ignoring me will not make me go away. I put it in writing to them that I am prepared to contact every major news organization in Florida if my request is turned down.

I know it may take awhile for all of this to happen. I am prepared to wait. I have known about this exact treasure location for over 25 years. I have gone after other treasures, some over a 1000 miles from my home, all the while driving by this location everyday. I can see the digspot from the highway. I really do not have a good answer as to why I have not done what it takes in the past to make this happen. The past does not matter now.

Here are the facts. Three totally unrelated people/groups have told me that there is a 10 foot X 10 foot pile of silver buried in the EXACT same spot. Do I know for a FACT that I will dig up silver and that it was buried by pirates? No. I do know from having lived in the area for over 44 years that there have been numerous stories of people finding pirate related items in the same general area ie: guns, cannons, swords, chests and more. Have I seen any of it with my own eyes? No.

Sometimes you have to go with your heart or gut feelings. If you listen to the naysayers, you may as well sit in your chair and do nothing. In fact, you might as well try to talk others out of doing what you don't have the wherewithal to do. You have to have dreams. When I quit dreaming I hope I don't wake up.

 

[old man]

Bigdogdad, I just wanted to know how you were making out with the State. As far as I am concerned Life is made of Dreams. If you don't follow them you are missing something in life.
I'll pass on some advice that Mel Fisher once gave me as a young man. Mel said, " The reason most people fail to find treasure is because they give up."

I think you are a member of the same club that aquanut and I are in, along with some other good friends that I have made thru the years. We don't know what the words " Give Up " means. Good Luck .

 

[Bigdogdad]

The head of the District 1 Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) told me their response to my second attempt to get permission to try to dig up what I believe to be pirate silver. He said NO. I asked him WHY? He said they do not want to encourage people to hunt for treasure on FDOT controlled property. I quess no one has ever been allowed to do this. I was led to believe no one has tried to get permission.

I have discussed this dig with many people. Almost everyone has recommended that I do it illegally when no one is looking. Because the FDOT does not want to give me permission it seems to me that their denial is "encouraging" me to do it illegally. This is NOT the way I want to proceed. If that were the case it would have been dug up by me or others a long time ago.

In my meeting with them I believe I made it very clear that I would not give up in this quest. I have an interview Tuesday morning with a reporter from a major local newspaper. This may not be the smart way to go. Hopefully it will not backfire on me. I just know that I need to keep moving forward and keep up my momentum. I am hoping to get publicity that will help me get the permission I need to dig.

I may try to start a petition and get Florida residents to sign it saying they want this treasure dug up to be used for the public's benifit in some way or another. It will not do anyone any good staying buried in the ground. It does not belong to the FDOT. It belongs to the tax paying citizens of Florida.

There is the chance that there may not be anything of great value at this site. It is very important to me to find out if it is there. It will help lead to me to the discovery of many more treasures.

 

[airborne1092]

I would think the main hesitation from FDOT would be liability. Opinions are like you-know-what, so I'm gonna show you mine! Form an LLC as an excavation company for the license and the professional bond. Most importantly, The LLC will indemnify you, the individual, from any litigation and environmental issues connected with the operation of your excavation. The bond will reassure the State that you have the means to pay for any damages and in addition, the LLC will give their lawyers the hand-hold they need for any legal proceeding they feel are necessary. i.e. going after a corp. with a bond is easier than moving against an individual. Also, as a licensed and bonded Excavation Company (or environmental engineering firm?) you can propose projects and bid on them. Perhaps the bridge spanning said river might have some issues and you need to go in there and study the limestone to ensure its integrity? Good read, very interesting and I look forward to more! I always get excited hearing treasure stories, as I'm sure many others do.

 

[airborne1092]

O.K. - I give up. How DO you write a proper reply, with indention and paragraphs??

 

[Hot zone]

1. You could try numbering your paragraph, thus allowing the space to entered after the indent. That is a little cumbersome. So, perhaps just use a period, then a few spaces like a bullet outline.
. Anyway, it is not set up for the long winded and favors those who get to the point. The space in between paragraphs is probably the most benefit to the reader.

2. Getting back to the subject, I understand the last attempt, if that was the 2nd attempt to get the ok to dig failed; or was the last attempt simply not yet answered due to a slow response or hesitation of the Fdot.