LOST TREASURE USA

THE TREASURE HUNTER'S NEWSLETTER

( Delivery, twice-monthly, to your computer screen ! )

My story is long.  It covers many decades, so please bear with me. :-)

In 1966, when my grandfather's land was being prepared for partition, two of my uncles (I'll refer to them as S and J) were grading a road and noticed a grid pattern of holes. They asked two friends with a metal detector to check the holes and it rang over each one. They then noticed patterns carved into trees and asked the friend to check around them. The detector rang over some spots. After the friends had left, they dug up one of the spots and found a body. It was a skeleton in old Spanish armor. The armor was very corroded. They also found an old wagon axle with three marks cut into it. All of this was kept secret to the rest of the family for many years.

One day in the mid 80's, my father paid a visit to J and found him drilling holes all over his property. When he asked why he was doing this, J became evasive until the driller urged him to tell the truth. He told my father about the body, the axle, and the marks. After learning of this, S and J's previous actions made more sense.

Shortly after my grandfather's land was partitioned, both S and J approached my father, and attempted to make deals involving his land. S wanted to lease it for fifteen years, and some of the terms of the lease were that he could dig holes wherever he wanted, and my father would be forbidden to be there. This of course, was rejected. J offered to trade the eight acres at the back of my father's tract (which contained the old oaks) in exchange for 5 acres of frontage. At the time, these were the only trees on my father's property, and so he refused that offer also. The more glaring thing that stands out regarding the partition of the land is this - in a supposed random drawing, S and J not only ended up with land right next to each other, they ended up with the land where the body and axle were found.

We wondered if our old oak trees had markings also, and after examining them we found they had quite a few. We wanted to learn more about what these meant but S and J were of no help. In fact, J would explode into hysterics and urge us to give up our search on our land. He even tried to run off people who tried to help us. It made it very difficult and ruined the fun of it, of just enjoying learning more about it. Still, we tried to learn more about what the markings meant and wrote to experts, who gave us some ideas.

The oaks are very old.  Until the 1950’s they were surrounded by a large rose hedge.  It was at least 3500 ft. long and 300 ft. wide.  Only the tops of the oaks could be seen within it, so it must have been at least 20 ft. tall.  It had been there for years.  When my great-great-grandfather settled here in 1858, he saw the hedge wall and asked how long it had been there, his wife’s family, who had settled here in the 1830’s, told him that it had been there for as long as they had known.  No one knew who had planted it.  There is a local legend of an old rancher named Shanghai Pierce bringing the roses to this area and using them for windbreaks, but this hedge obviously predates him.  In order get to that size it must have been here for decades before 1830.  So...who planted it, and why? 

Most of the markings are straght lines or dots, or curved lines. Sometimes there will be one mark, other times a series of them.  From what we have read, they have various meanings. One marking, that looks like a hook with a "t" next to it, looked similar to a hook with dots and other symbols that meant "treasure in a triangle of trees or rocks." We were not sure what "triangle" the marking referred to, except that an oak near the edge of our property had triangle-shaped markings on it.

After more rude behavior from J, including him inviting people to look at our trees without our knowledge, we decided to take pictures of the markings on his trees, and try to figure out what they meant. We found a set of dots that was arranged in the same pattern as our oaks - a square. As my dad put polish over them, in order to them stand out in a photo more clearly, I took a step back and noticed more dots above those. There were three dots, in the shape of a triangle. If the square of dots represented our trees, then the triangle, or part of it, would be across my dad's property.

Apparently S and J had seen those dots (much earlier), and had reached the same conclusion - there might be something buried here. I think that in recent years, they're belief has grown more certain. Since my father has owned his land, various seismograph crews have run tests across it, for oil exploration. Sonar can also be used to detect other features beneath the surface. Lines have been run across here at least three different times. and it was after a fourth pass (near our land), that a lot of pressure has been placed on my father financially - we think in an attempt to cause him to lose his land.

For example, we have tried several times to have my family's estate mineral interests (in a trust) produced for oil, but everytime we would almost have something ironed out, S and J would ruin it.  J has exhibited some exceedingly "boneheaded" behavior, so much so that it can't be just due to ineptness. Millions of dollars in revenue have been lost and they don't seem to care. What could be worth more than oil to them?

Recently, J's  behavior has grown even more erratic. For years he made claims that "someone" was stealing his treasure, and would often hint that he believed it was us. Last year he confronted me directly and I told him that he knew it was not true. I think the whole matter has driven them nuts - "gold fever" perhaps.

Another thing that makes us suspicious that something is buried here is this. Another uncle, who tried to help us in our search, used a dowsing device that reacted very strongly to a spot on our property. It was a rod with a canister at one end. It began to bend and swing wildly, until my uncle could no longer hold it. We didn't find out exactly where it was pointing to, just that it was something nearby. We didn't think much about it at the time, but with all that has happened since (finding the triangle markings, etc. etc.), it makes us take it more seriously.

Below are links to some of the markings.  Some of the photos were taken with a digital camera, and others are scans.  We added shoe polish to some of the markings, since they are difficult to see in a photograph.

I will add more photos later, as well as more details of the story...

http://users.wcnet.net/roblb/markings/01.jpg

http://users.wcnet.net/roblb/markings/02.jpg

http://users.wcnet.net/roblb/markings/03.jpg

http://users.wcnet.net/roblb/markings/04.jpg

http://users.wcnet.net/roblb/markings/05.jpg

http://users.wcnet.net/roblb/markings/06.jpg

http://users.wcnet.net/roblb/markings/07.jpg  

http://users.wcnet.net/roblb/markings/08.jpg  

http://users.wcnet.net/roblb/markings/ftree1.jpg

http://users.wcnet.net/roblb/markings/ftree2.jpg

http://users.wcnet.net/roblb/markings/ftree3.jpg

http://users.wcnet.net/roblb/markings/ftree4.jpg

http://users.wcnet.net/roblb/markings/j_tree1.jpg

http://users.wcnet.net/roblb/markings/j_tree2.jpg

     South Carolina, the Palmetto State, is alive with rich pirate legends that stretches one's imagination and turns attention to the start of Little River down to Hilton Head Island. Along these stretches of beaches, lies a bounty of loot that many a pirate took the time to bury amid the surf and sand.  Buried chests have been unearthed on Hilton Head Island, Folly Beach, James Island, Murrells Inlet and Myrtle Beach.  Charleston is also included in this tour since much history about this city still remains a mystery and fuels the fire of imaginations run wild. Yes, South Carolina was a pirates haven and has held a secret for many years, the secret of this state can be found here at Palmetto Gate.

     Once upon a time, when pirates roamed the Atlantic Coast and land pirates terrorized the countryside, Edward Teach, aptly known as Blackbeard, made his way to Charleston Harbor. Charleston was founded in 1670 at Albemarle Point on the west bank of the Ashley River, about 4 miles from where the river joins the Cooper to form Oyster Point. Over time, Charleston became the fourth largest city in the colonies at the time of the Revolution and saw major action during that time. The city suffered a great deal during the Civil War and was heavily damaged during a devastating earthquake in 1886. Over 100 ships have been lost in the harbor and many Confederate blockade runners ran aground to avoid capture.

     During the height of his piratical forays, Blackbeard sailed into Charleston Harbor. He had a very devious plan. Under the shadow of a quarter moon, Blackbeard rushed his men through Charleston and spent the next few weeks building a large timbered fortress near a mosquito-infested swamp west of Charleston which offered a perfect hiding place for his many casks of seized treasure. It took his men two days to dig a hole, move the casks into it and then cover it up. It was a large haul to say the least. Blackbeard was very confident no one could rush his fortress and fight against his army of cutthroats. During this time, Blackbeard entertained many other pirates who visited his site and also deposited loot in his fortress. Major Stede Bonnet buried a large hoard here and later was captured and never returned. The lady pirate, Mary Ann Townsend used the fortress as well to bury her loot.  All in all, this swamp land held some of the biggest caches of the pirate era.

     Palmetto Gate, the fortress, was a name given by Blackbeard. The people of Charleston feared this man and his crew and no one attempted to gain entrance here. The swamps were filled with reptiles, alligators and mosquitos. It was a place where hell met the Earth and man lived on in the simmering heat.  Estimates have ranged from $2-$15 million in loot and I feel that number falls short.

     Once, upon a full moon night, a gang of pirates sneaked into Charleston and rounded up some pretty ladies and brought them back into the fortress. Blackbeard selected four for himself and the others were turned out to his waiting men. The women were raped with brutal force and rum was the igniter for this foray. Once used up, the women were tortured and some were beheaded. Blackbeard knew the ways of piracy and women were considered very low on his list of priorities. These acts brought about a dead zone where the living dead walked about in shadowed sequence.

     Growing tired of his land antics, Blackbeard gathered together his men and torched the fortress. Stakes were driven into the ground near the entrance to this swamp and heads were displayed there warning others never to enter. Under the cloak of a darkened sky, Blackbeard led his men back to his ship and left Charleston harbor for good. The swamp became silent and the fabulous wealth from many pirates stayed in the ground with a few dead corpses guarding them. Shortly after, Blackbeard met his fate up in North Carolina and lost his head to his captors.

     Once upon a time at Palmetto Gate much pirate loot was secreted away for better days that never came about for those who did the hiding. The spirits of those who met a brutal fate still roam about the ground in this swamp area in search of an eternal life that never seems to greet them. They are the lost souls of Palmetto Gate, a place where hell once greeted the Earth and the darkened images of pirates roamed wildly.