tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80663684502267418112024-03-05T09:33:16.273-08:00SwiftThe Treasure is Still Out There...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-56189238973484458962016-05-14T13:41:00.000-07:002016-05-14T13:41:46.055-07:00Swift Interview Just a quick update as promised. The Swift interview will air May 21 at 8:00 PM on KET. The last entry on this site covered the interview and location of the taping. If you are interested in learning about the treasure and see yours truly yacking about the legend, tune in on May 21st.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-20391660167965535432016-04-27T16:12:00.000-07:002016-04-27T16:12:06.710-07:00Swift Interview It was a very interesting day April, 26. A production crew from KET (Kentucky Educational Television) taped a segment of yours truly discussing the background and lore around the famous legend of John Swift and his mysterious silver mines and treasure. I met up with the crew at Sky Bridge in the Red River Gorge and after a short hike down beneath the rock arch they video taped me discussing what I have come to know about the search and treasure.<br />
Basically, the short segment will focus more on the legends background and how long the story has been around rather than giving clues on searching for the supposedly hidden treasure. I hope that viewers will take away the importance of the history of the legend and not the debate whether silver and the mines ever existed. As I note in the interview, the beauty of the whole legend is just how long the search has been going on and how the legend originated at least as early as the first famous pioneers entered the wilderness that was to become Kentucky.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">KET production crew setting up for interview</td></tr>
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It could not have been a better day for being in the great outdoors. And it is always great enjoyment for me to get back into the Red River country. The spot chosen was interesting enough near the mouth of Swift Creek which takes its name from the legendary character and tale of lost treasure. It was a fun experience and certainly a chance to acquaint new folks with the oldest treasure legend in Kentucky. At this time I do not know the air date of the episode but was promised I would be notified in advance. Hopefully, I will have enough advance notice to pass along the air dates here to those who may be interested. <br />
And, of course, to all those serious and dedicated searchers out there that happen across this site I did the interview from the perspective that my interest and passion for the treasure story is the story itself. I admit that there are many out there still searching every spare moment and they know far more details and clues than I do. But, as I understand, this short episode will just provide and overview of the famous legend.<br />
Thanks for stopping by the site and please browse through past posts. Many of them give more details and clues about the lost treasure as well as many other interesting places in Kentucky. <br />
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And if your are interested in a good story about the legendary treasure, check out my book <a href="http://ed-henson.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-book.html"><b><i>Swift </i></b></a>at <a href="http://booklocker.com/books/5744.html">Booklocker.com</a>. It is a safe and secure place to by many great books that will promptly be shipped to you. You can also find the book at most popular online sites. The book can also be purchased through most bookstores. Thanks for stopping by.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-30963799346966210582016-02-01T06:59:00.000-08:002016-02-01T06:59:45.679-08:00The Book<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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Just a note that my book about the adventures of modern day explorers, lost treasure and murder all wrapped up in this historical novel. The book is available at all the usual outlets; Amazon, Barnes and Noble and most book sellers. But why not get it direct from the publisher <a href="http://booklocker.com/books/5744.html">here.</a> <div>
More about the book and many interesting places and people are available on this blog site.<br /><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-51660752077710071362015-12-09T14:05:00.000-08:002015-12-19T16:37:19.346-08:00Mound People It is perhaps one of the hottest days of the summer. And I am in western Kentucky and it seems to me to be even hotter. The trip is worth the heat and humidity though because I am visiting a very unique park. This park is devoted to the civilization that once occupied the Mississippi valley and central North America. Today's visit is to Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site.<br />
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Located on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River in western Kentucky the park is the site of a once thriving small community of people that lived at the site around 1100 to 1250 A.D. or about 750 years ago. According to archaeological evidence the small village lasted about 150 years. There are four main mounds that comprise the park and each one was for a different purpose. Some were for burial of loved ones, like our cemeteries of today Others provided platforms for houses of person of status such as leaders of the community. And other earthen mounds appeared to be for ceremonial and business purposes.<br />
Wickliffe Mounds has an archaeological excavations site of the apparently living areas of some of the community. Tools, foods they ate and how their homes were built and arranged have all been gleaned from the excavations of the site. These excavations were conducted in the 1930's by the then owner Fain King, an amateur archaeologist. Mr. King opened and operated the excavations as a tourist attraction. In 1983 the property was turned over to Murray State University which operated the site as a research center. In recent years Wickliffe Mounds was designated as a historic site and became part of the Kentucky State Park System.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artist rendering of how mound may have been used</td></tr>
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We know understand that this prehistoric village was part of the Mississippian culture that thrived in the central part of North America. The people that lived in this small settlement were part of a bigger society that occupied the entire region with the largest city of the Mississippian people living in Cahokia Mounds in southern Illinois. Cahokia mounds built the same type of earthen mounds as the Wickliffe people except on a much larger scale.It is thought that as many as 20,000 people lived in the city. Wickliffe Mounds was simply a small satellite community much like small communities today are arranged on the outskirts of large cities.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the museum at Wickliffe Mounds State Park</td></tr>
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The mound builders had developed an elaborate social structure. Agricultural practice of raising corn and other cultivated crops the Mississippian people were able to produce a surplus of food. With extra food being available specialized skills became possible just like our society of today. The mound builders transition their society from a hunter gatherer people to agricultural.<br />
The open excavations are protected inside the main museum building along with a variety of exhibits that explain many of the tools and materials used in the everyday life of the Wickliffe people. The site is unique among Kentucky State Parks in that it is the only park completely dedicated to a prehistoric culture. The park also includes a small gift shop and picnic shelter and facilities.<br />
While in the area on this visit a took a short ride over to the Ballard County wildlife management area and got a glimpse at some of the cypress swamps and waterways that are in this lowland region of Kentucky. As I am from Eastern Kentucky where the land is hilly to mountainous it is fascinating to me so see this totally different type of landscape in our beautiful state. Western Kentucky has a lot of interesting history and places to enjoy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cypress grove in Ballard County, Ky</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-56180108069264079612015-08-31T17:45:00.001-07:002015-08-31T17:45:13.975-07:00Swift Blog Update Hello to all. Thanks for stopping by my blog site. I hope you find articles and information that is interesting and helpful in your research or entertainment. I have not posted in some time now but rest assured I am working on some new posts for the near future.<br />
As you may have figured out by now my interest in the geology and unique things of Kentucky is the main focus of this blog site. There are many other great sites that equally showcase amazing things from around out state. Some of my favorites are listed in the column on the right side of this page. You will also find links to my book publisher. And there you go, another reason for this site. I do want to promote my book "Swift." I have from time to time promoted the book as a blog entry. Well, I am going to do that again in this post.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Book Cover </td></tr>
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"Swift" is a historical novel that is a treasure hunt for the legendary lost silver mines of John Swift. I believe this to be the oldest legend of Kentucky that predates statehood and is intertwined with known historic figures and events. For example, James Harrod, the pioneer who founded the first settlement in the Kentucky wilderness disappeared while searching for the mysterious silver mines. John Filson, who wrote the first book about Kentucky filed land claims that in the records declared that the lands he claimed contained the silver mine workings of Swift.<br />
From those days until this very day people have searched the lands of Kentucky and surrounding states hoping to locate the lost treasure. Some of your are among those that have been on this journey and perhaps that is why you visited this site. Thank you for stopping by and I hope that some of the information is helpful to you in your endeavors. Others are interested in various subjects that have been covered, and there have been a wide variety of topics.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mining Operation for Kentucky Diamonds</td></tr>
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From the only diamond mine every established in Kentucky to famous land marks such as the Indian Stairway in the Red River Gorge have been presented in past articles. Each another mystery and possibly the clue that keeps the devoted searching on. There are other stories, places and topics covered.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Indian Stairway steps</td></tr>
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So, please take a look through the archive pages located on the right of this page. You might find something that interests you and perhaps start you on your journey of exploration. And please consider purchasing my book "Swift." You can read an excerpt and securely purchase in paperback or E book from <a href="http://booklocker.com/books/5744.html">here</a>. The book is also available here at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ed-Henson/e/B005ZZD7Y6">Amazon.com</a> or through most major book stores.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cliff face that contains the Indian Stairway</td></tr>
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Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog. And a very special thank you to all that follow this site. New visitors, sign up and follow too. More great adventures coming soon!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-6624561911937030622015-04-07T11:00:00.000-07:002015-04-07T13:46:07.755-07:00Morel Mushrooms-Treasure of Nature<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">We have run this article during the last two spring seasons but thought that some newer visitors to our site might find some of the secrets to the success Kiowa Muncie has in finding these delicious natural treats.</span></div>
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Well, we've reached the time of year once again when the wind blows warm, trees awake and bloom and the mushrooms pop. Mushroom hunting is a a passion that resides deep inside me from my childhood days of watching my late papaw Woodrow Lacy. He would bring home huge yellow mushrooms from the oil fields he worked. Today I hunt my own though I never got the chance to hunt mushrooms with my papaw. But I feel he's with me every time I find one of these hidden "treasures." I've been hunting the illusive morel for the past eleven years and every season seems to offer a new challenge of the hunt. Each spring begins a bit different than the one before so in order to stay on top of them I decided to learn the ways of the morel mushroom. Nothing with mushroom hunting is set in stone but I'll go over some basic information about mushrooms that may be helpful to the beginner as well as the expert.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrN1_XHZw5eFEj_cHf44-ThNN7G8zYNnpB45I4C-wbdHI1Ck3EXLO219FlMvS0Nlhqd4hNOk5KBdxkw5OVZfNzlR4FRNqPNYWubVrSdxtf8rpHUk2vlJf2SPt46-AFqTSlZeRULJ-2yQ/s1600/MP3%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrN1_XHZw5eFEj_cHf44-ThNN7G8zYNnpB45I4C-wbdHI1Ck3EXLO219FlMvS0Nlhqd4hNOk5KBdxkw5OVZfNzlR4FRNqPNYWubVrSdxtf8rpHUk2vlJf2SPt46-AFqTSlZeRULJ-2yQ/s320/MP3%255B1%255D" height="320" width="240" /></a> The morel mushroom is a "fungus" and this plays into the most important behavior of the morel. There are a lot of things to factor into the conditions being just right for a morel to fruit. These include air temperature, soil temperature, humidity and rainfall. Mushrooms love rain and I've noticed they seem to get bigger with each rain. Have you ever heard someone say that a mushroom just pops up out of the ground? This has been a big question I pondered in my early days of mushroom hunting. On a few mushroom hunts I would find small mushrooms and decide to leave them until I hiked back through about a week later. When I did this I would always return to find them somewhat larger. This got me wondering, do morels grow? Turns out morels do grow! Research and time lapse video show that morels have a life span of two and a half to three weeks of growth given the right weather conditions. So if your out hunting and find small morels leave them and return later. This will make a difference in your overall yield. You can do this in places that most people do not hunt. If a lot of people hunt the area you pretty much have to pick them right away or someone else will. This is totally up to the one hunting at the time but really works well in less public places.<br />
In order to find and understand the morel mushroom I've included a few basic tips than may help you find these wonderful treasures.<br />
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Tip # 1 Perhaps the most important tip for anyone wanting to take up mushroom hunting is to learn your trees! Morels are always found around and under certain species of trees. The morel is thought to be "mycorrhizal." This means they form a mutual relationship with the roots of certain kinds of trees. The trees commonly associated with morels are ash, elm (dead or dying), poplar, sycamore, and apple. Black morels tend to show themselves first in the season followed by the yellows mid way through the season. The most important tip I give anyone wanting to take up mushroom hunting is to know those trees.<br />
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Tip # 2 Always carry your morels in a "mesh bag." Never use plastic bags! Morels asexually reproduce by a spore system and they spread by the dispersal of those spores. The more spores you spread the more morels you'll find year after year. By carrying the morels you find in a mesh bag you drop spores as you stop and go. Something else very important to do is never pick all the mushrooms. Leave the older more dry morels to spore out for the following years. It is possible to pick a spot dry which leads to my next important tip.<br />
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Tip # 3 Never pull a morel up out of the ground. When you pull the morels up you kill the root system. This root system can extend a few feet to a few hundred yards. This is why if your out hunting and you find one mushroom you will usually find a few more. They are all a part of this same root system or better known to the mushroom hunter as a "patch."<br />
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Tip # 4 Recognize the weather conditions as well as soil textures. These conditions in the soil have to be just right for the morel to fruit and our mountains here in eastern Kentucky are great for this. We have the right mixture of sand, clay and decaying organic matter. Remember, mushrooms are a fungus so we also have to have the right air temperature, soil temperature and humidity. The area needs to stay damp so always look on the wet side of the mountain. The spring "awakening" of certain trees trigger the mushroom to start it's life cycle and reproduce. When all these conditions are right watch for a good warm rain followed by a few days of 60-70 degrees for the highs and lows in the 40-50 degree range. When you get all these conditions in the right spot you'll likely find mushrooms. This is one reason why the mushroom is considered illusive, timing is everything.<br />
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Some great places to look for morels are old logging sites. They love places the ground has been disturbed in the past. Many of these places can be found in the forests of eastern Kentucky from the logging days of long ago. Also look for places that are disturbed by water. This could be run off from a mountain or the flood plains of a river. Just make sure you have permission before entering any property. Another great place to search for morels are in areas of past forest fires. Burn sites are great and produce the most morels of any site. One of my favorite patches was involved in a forest fire a few years ago and produced 15-20 pounds in one season! The black morels especially love burn sites and usually produce a bumper crop compared to the yellow morels which arrive a little later.<br />
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So after you find your morels it is time to prepare them. I use the most common method of frying them. I get asked quite often on how I prepare my mushrooms. I begin by washing them and cutting each one in half. I then soak them in salt water for about 30 minutes to an hour. Next, I roll them in flour or cornmeal/flour mixture making sure each side is coated good. Then I fry them in lard using a cast iron skillet. I fry them turning them until both sides are crispy. Sometimes I freeze and store the mushrooms for a treat later.You repeat all the steps mentioned above in preparation for cooking but do not cook them. Place them on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer. After they have frozen solid simply put them in a freezer bag and they will keep for months. They taste just as fresh as the moment you froze them.<br />
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The last thing I want to leave with you comes from my papaw. He always said watch the dogwood tree, once the leaves on the dogwood are the size of a mouse's ear the yellow mushrooms are up. I hope everyone has a great mushroom season this year. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them in the box below. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-62758521207169728772014-11-10T15:06:00.000-08:002015-02-15T11:38:22.139-08:00The Indian Givers <div style="text-align: justify;">
I rarely promote other books on this site since I generally promote my own book. I have a few from time to time because of their unique connection with my home state of Kentucky. But in today's post I want to make an exception. A book entitled the "<i>Indian Givers</i>" is the work of anthropologist Jack Weatherford.</div>
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Weatherford describes the transformation of the world as a result of the Natives of the Americas. Amazingly, some of the things, devices and ideas that we take for granted everyday had roots in practices and items acquired from the early Americans.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifoFZghavagIaljm_MqV5M0o8U25rZrQZPc6bIEYLg4Nw9lpTUioh1Q0WvBgmcfUKNzqqIYKVMrtmbwFKrfWezkNmVWcgaCT5gXN24XBGx2dygB0ESESphRFLnw4Jrx7iGVD1b9_0x6Q/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifoFZghavagIaljm_MqV5M0o8U25rZrQZPc6bIEYLg4Nw9lpTUioh1Q0WvBgmcfUKNzqqIYKVMrtmbwFKrfWezkNmVWcgaCT5gXN24XBGx2dygB0ESESphRFLnw4Jrx7iGVD1b9_0x6Q/s1600/download.jpg" height="400" width="256" /></a></div>
Though the book was first published in 1988, the modest 272 paperback is captivating for those interested in history and anthropology. We take for granted the effect the common potato had on the industrial revolution. Or the fact that only excellent cotton came from the Native Americans. It's a book about gifts to the world from the West. I've had the book a number of years and though it is older now, it is not out of date. I recently was reminded of it while having a conversation with friends about trade routes and items of the prehistoric people of our area. After digging the book up from its burial in storage and reading some of it again I just had to share it with those of you who have such interests. </div>
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"<i>Indian Givers</i>" is still available in paper back at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Indian-Givers-Indians-Americas-Transformed/dp/0449904962">Amazon.com</a> and a modest price I was amazed to discover. Of course my book is also available at Amazon.com <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Swift-Ed-Henson/dp/1614345198/ref=la_B005ZZD7Y6_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415558790&sr=1-1">here.</a> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turkey track carved into rock pointing up Swift Creek</td></tr>
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I would also like to invite you to visit other articles on my blog site here. For those searching for the lost silver mine treasure there is a lot of good information. Other articles cover some of Kentucky's unique places and history. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kentucky's Agate found only in four counties in the state is considered one of the most prized </td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-60303581251919122372014-10-21T13:45:00.002-07:002014-10-21T13:45:56.933-07:00The Salt Festival<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ByaEgf2xVySYmFS41r-X2bHyYNdEq0TIw5-ojwihc33xVGb9Ft5d6Dw6-8t9y7UqtRhBYoJdwjYE4IAMr0OcSrdtt_QgFTwNupg5iLKzo282pi_BhRXQ-eVSUxqSlbkgYk00etf9MA/s1600/photo+(12).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ByaEgf2xVySYmFS41r-X2bHyYNdEq0TIw5-ojwihc33xVGb9Ft5d6Dw6-8t9y7UqtRhBYoJdwjYE4IAMr0OcSrdtt_QgFTwNupg5iLKzo282pi_BhRXQ-eVSUxqSlbkgYk00etf9MA/s1600/photo+(12).JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mineral rich water is boiled off leaving the salt crystals</td></tr>
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Just like the gathering of the long hunters and pioneers two centuries ago, folks gathered at Big Bone Lick State Park near Union, Kentucky on October 17-19 to celebrate the making of salt. That's correct, making of salt or more appropriately the rendering of salt from the amazingly mineral rich waters that flow to the surface from thousands of feet beneath the ground in this unique place in northern Kentucky.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A music maker plays while merchants sell their wares</td></tr>
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The annual festival offers hundreds of school children on one day of the event as well as the general public, a chance to step back in time just for a few moments. The experience allows one to understand a little better of the materials, inventions and ingenuity of our ancestors. There are folks around the country that reenact the life style down to the cooking, type of food and tools required to carry out the daily activities of living in the 1700's. Entertainment is also provided in the form of music fitting for the times and the folks demonstrating their skills are eager to answer questions, share information as well as perform.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corn meal making demonstration</td></tr>
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Why a festival in honor of something that we scarcely consider other than checking the package of something to determine the amount of salt contained in the product. Well, life in our world of North American has not always been that way. There was a day that salt was one of the most precious commodities sought after in pioneer wilderness days. Without salt, we all know, we cannot survive. It is a basic mineral required by our bodies to live. In pioneer times is was also the main way to preserve foods and tan hides. Finding sources of the salt was a major concern for both Native Americans and the newly arriving colonials.<br />
There are a couple of other Salt related festivals I found by a quick Google search. One festival is in Norway and one is in Saline Texas honoring the Morton Salt Company. The Salt Festival at Big Bone Lick State Park is the only one that pays tribute to the life and times of early Kentucky pioneers. <br />
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Big Bone Lick State Park alone is worth the trip and is perhaps the most famous around the world in the for the paleontology of the site. Ancient mammoths, mastodons and a lot of other extinct species bones have been and are found at this site. You can learn a little more about the park in the article <a href="http://ed-henson.blogspot.com/2013/03/valley-of-bones.html">Valley of Bones</a>.<br />
The Salt Festival is an annual event held in October each year and has been held for several years. A good place to check for next years event would be at the <a href="http://www.kentuckytourism.com/events/">Kentucky Events and Festivals Official Site</a>. This is a great site covering all the upcoming scheduled events around the state.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-54500470776188186322014-10-08T15:02:00.003-07:002014-10-08T15:03:55.085-07:00Treasure and Mystery Hello to all those who visit this site. Welcome! Though it has been some time since I last posted, if your interest is in history, geology, treasure hunting or great places in the beautiful state of Kentucky take a look through the archives. There are many interesting topics to explore.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq3XU08waD9izAU47EoXLlhr7A6nDU7foEDUAIT2onlQNQCwMHJCx4TTwaRAagZktn5c8ohgrt9pjk-mHviqQNmXJCTsNYq_arknBc_N0kRu53pnbKFzr63_eBsVdUev0FqbLrZT95JA/s1600/img001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq3XU08waD9izAU47EoXLlhr7A6nDU7foEDUAIT2onlQNQCwMHJCx4TTwaRAagZktn5c8ohgrt9pjk-mHviqQNmXJCTsNYq_arknBc_N0kRu53pnbKFzr63_eBsVdUev0FqbLrZT95JA/s1600/img001.jpg" height="640" width="412" /></a> Of course, I also use this site to promote my historic novel that deals with Kentucky and mysterious treasure. Based on the most famous and oldest legend in Kentucky the novel is a thrilling tale of discovery and deceit. From the very beginning the reader is taken on two adventures, one of modern day treasure hunters and their fantastic discoveries as well has difficult choices. The second adventure covers much of Kentucky's early history from the days of Daniel Boone, John Finley and James Harrod. The historic records of the times and geographical locations are factual. Only the imaginative words depicting how things might have developed in the state in an alternate course have been added to the historical record.<br />
I invite you to order your copy in paperback or download to your reading device from your favorite book store or even easier, order right here from the publisher, <a href="http://booklocker.com/books/5744.html">Booklocker.com</a> and of course <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ed-Henson/e/B005ZZD7Y6">Amazon.com</a><br />
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I truly believe you will enjoy this book especially if you like treasure hunting and solving mysteries. Explore the unusual rock formations of Kentucky, the unique geology and the bountiful history in <i>Swift</i>.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-58159908394303799172014-03-30T09:43:00.000-07:002014-03-30T09:43:14.211-07:00Rock Art<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEFzy65SmCaIVPAFJG_WsWjORtcAyAw3ngxQbF54DxAhXEeGqIG7E2TP7XqWSfGxJfgu10qgxlXK5QcTGSUx4u61PoUBHLO4dZ6LkJUb7-SLuLvHM5JOhqqXzG5h7_2vAp19tt9v3Sg/s1600/IMG_0013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEFzy65SmCaIVPAFJG_WsWjORtcAyAw3ngxQbF54DxAhXEeGqIG7E2TP7XqWSfGxJfgu10qgxlXK5QcTGSUx4u61PoUBHLO4dZ6LkJUb7-SLuLvHM5JOhqqXzG5h7_2vAp19tt9v3Sg/s1600/IMG_0013.jpg" height="207" width="320" /></a> Rock carvings and markers are an important part of the Swift research. Countless hours of walking cliff lines and studying boulders have awarded many searches with another mystery or another clue in their search efforts. There are literally thousands of ancient markings, signs and doodles even carved into rock formations. Some have been lightly covered in this blog. Some of the ancient carvings are quite unusual and certainly interesting. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwqQ4MSkVZSC-XeRzfV_Pc5ToWtmEJs5bJZf_ouLZ-C5UyhhtzQxJuDNe2p-cQ8ftsBE4DUA0dMGlnURA9rwoATwKIGLIK1pw0CeaFvmC6vLCYBcg4XeN6ahI4tzbd_Bm_K4Wx9YqWg/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwqQ4MSkVZSC-XeRzfV_Pc5ToWtmEJs5bJZf_ouLZ-C5UyhhtzQxJuDNe2p-cQ8ftsBE4DUA0dMGlnURA9rwoATwKIGLIK1pw0CeaFvmC6vLCYBcg4XeN6ahI4tzbd_Bm_K4Wx9YqWg/s1600/003.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a> This coming weekend (April 4-6, 2014) a weekend event will be held at Natural Bridge State Park about such stone art. Presentation of papers on a variety of stone carvings will be conducted on Saturday. Field trips are planned for Friday and Sunday. Listed below is a sample of the type of papers and lectures to be presented. This is just the morning program. The entire schedule of information is too long to include here in this blog post. <br />
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There is an admission fee for the event but it is nominal. If you are interested in rock carvings, this one is the one for you.<br />
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<st1:time hour="9" minute="0"><b><span style="font-family: Palatino;">9:00</span></b></st1:time><span style="font-family: Palatino;"> -
Cornette, Alan <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Palatino;">The High
Rock Petroglyph Site (15PO25) in </span></i></b><st1:state><st1:place><b><i><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Kentucky</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:state><b><i><span style="font-family: Palatino;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #282828; font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">The very
unique image labeled The High Rock Petroglyph (15PO25) presently on display at
the Red River Museum at Clay City, Kentucky, is a face image and was created
for ceremonial purpose to propagate and sustain a Southern Death Cult
(sometimes called the Buzzard Cult) introduced from the southeastern United
States into Powell County, Kentucky. The face feature incised on one side of a
sandstone boulder (5ft x 2ft x 4ft) is one cohesive image identified as that of
a Southern Death Cult warrior/shaman. This image exhibits identified and
accepted iconic shapes related to earlier Mississippian and Central American,
Maya and Aztec cultures and has no connection to a common, laymen belief
related to the Paraidolia instructs of the human brain such as one may see in
clouds or cluttered wallpaper designs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:time hour="9" minute="20"><b><span style="color: #282828; font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">9:20</span></b></st1:time><span style="color: #282828; font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> – S</span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">ierra M. Bow (</span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Palatino;">University</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Palatino;"> of </span><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Tennessee</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-family: Palatino;">), Jan F. Simek (</span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Palatino;">University</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Palatino;"> of </span><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Tennessee</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-family: Palatino;">), Scott Ashcraft (</span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Pisgah</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Palatino;">National Forest</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: Palatino;">), Lorie Hansen (</span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Palatino;">North Carolina</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Palatino;"> Rock Art Project)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Portable
X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of the Paint Rock Pictographs, Appalachian Ranger
District, </span></i></b><st1:place><st1:city><b><i><span style="font-family: Palatino;">Pisgah
National Forest</span></i></b></st1:city><b><i><span style="font-family: Palatino;">, </span></i></b><st1:state><b><i><span style="font-family: Palatino;">North Carolina</span></i></b></st1:state></st1:place><b><i><span style="font-family: Palatino;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Palatino;">Paint
Rock (31MD379) is a well-known pictograph site located on the north bank of the
</span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino;">French
Broad</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Palatino;">River</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: Palatino;"> in Madison County, North Carolina. This painted
panel consists of a bi-chrome red and yellow rectilinear design high up the
vertical cliff face. While recording and documenting the site in 2006, New
South Associates collected three samples of pigmented rock and submitted for
AMS dating and physical analysis via Energy-Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS). We revisited
the site in 2013 to conduct a comprehensive, non-destructive physical analysis
of the red and yellow paints with a portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer
(pXRF). In this presentation we compare the compositional results between the
EDS and pXRF analyses in order to determine the efficacy of non-destructive
methods over the standard destructive analysis techniques. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:time hour="9" minute="40"><b><span style="font-family: Palatino;">9:40</span></b></st1:time><span style="font-family: Palatino;"> - </span><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Jan Simek (</span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">University</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> of </span><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Tennessee</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">), Sierra Bow (</span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">University</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> of </span><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Tennessee</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">), Mary White (</span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">United States</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Forest</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> Service), Wayna Adams
(</span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">United States</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Forest</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> Service), Randy Boedy
(</span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">United States</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Forest</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> Service)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Pictographs along a Section of Dog Slaughter Creek,
London Ranger District, </span></i></b><st1:place><st1:city><b><i><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Daniel Boone National
Forest</span></i></b></st1:city><b><i><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">, </span></i></b><st1:state><b><i><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Kentucky</span></i></b></st1:state></st1:place><b><i><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">In 2012, a series of black pictographs was
discovered by US Forest Service archaeologists in a sandstone rockshelter along
Dog Slaughter Creek in the London District of the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Daniel</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Boone</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">National Forest</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">. These pictographs
include images of various animal tracks, plants, and an anthropomorph that are
in keeping with motifs from other </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Kentucky</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> rock art sites,
although painted rock art is far less common than petroglyphs in the state.
Portable XRF analysis of the pictographs shows that liquid paints were used to
produce the images and that charcoal was the primary coloring agent. The paint
recipe used at Dog Slaughter is consistent with prehistoric paint production
further to the South in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Tennessee</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">, where rock art
pictographs are more common than they are in much of </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Kentucky</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:time hour="10" minute="0"><b><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">10:00</span></b></st1:time><span style="font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> – Faulkner, Johnny<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="background: white; color: #282828; font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">An Examination of
Eastern </span></i></b><st1:state><st1:place><b><i><span style="background: white; color: #282828; font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Kentucky</span></i></b></st1:place></st1:state><b><i><span style="background: white; color: #282828; font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> Rock Art Sites<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #282828; font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">This paper will
entail a look at some rock art sites here in </span><st1:place><span style="background: white; color: #282828; font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Eastern Kentucky</span></st1:place><span style="background: white; color: #282828; font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> and how
they were potentially manufactured by past prehistoric peoples. The majority of
petroglyphs in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="background: white; color: #282828; font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Kentucky</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="background: white; color: #282828; font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">, on sandstone rock contexts, appear to have been
manufactured by pecking into the rock, from both direct percussion and indirect
percussion techniques. My paper will discuss an approach for future
archaeologists to focus on the lithic debitage at prehistoric sites that have
petroglyph features, to potentially date when the petroglyph was
manufactured. If the prehistoric petroglyph manufacturing tools are
identified with associated datable artifacts within "in situ"
cultural midden deposits through excavations, archaeologists should be able to date
what cultural period the petroglyphs were manufactured. I have been doing
some recent research, focusing on making replicas of previously recorded
prehistoric rock art petroglyph motifs, using both both direct and direct
percussion techniques with a variety of lithic tools (hammerstones, bifaces
preforms and flake debitage). I will show through replication of
petroglyphs what tools I utilized to complete the process. I will have a
display set up at the upcoming conference, in conjunction with the Red River
Historical Society, with both the replica tool assemblage and lithic waste
debitage, and have several replicate petroglyphs that I have manufactured into
locally occurring sandstone rock slabs from rockshelters in the </span><st1:place><span style="background: white; color: #282828; font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Red River</span></st1:place><span style="background: white; color: #282828; font-family: Palatino; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> gorge
area. Hopefully by comparing both replication tools and replication
lithic waste debitage with similar tools and debitage from prehistoric sites,
archaeologists may start to get a handle on what prehistoric culture were
making the unique rock art glyphs.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-76879932223307569402014-01-03T05:00:00.000-08:002014-01-03T05:00:05.662-08:00Flint Types of Eastern Kentucky For those folks interested in archaeology and/or geology you no doubt have considered the flint (called chert by geologists) that all those arrowheads you've seen or in your collection are made from. The colors, textures and behavior of the amazing substance various greatly and for many years, in fact up until the early 70's only the major identified primitive quarries type of flint were recognized in archaeological research. Little effort or attention was paid toward the raw material of those beautiful and finely crafted tools. Geologist performed little better simply noting in their field work that some beds of lime stones contained chert though sometimes the chert was described in detail.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3n54Dhan4Bu8imSlTlfRVyZN1y4MLwTPZVB_1NDAO4YuKPOxKi0xh6E81Rc31CtO_Vy2Y-LWFg0vDVaAKwrYY4_tmqAXT-MJoOtMKxGtiT9sKqLnGI8BrFT1UentnGdT7OHL8tTD11w/s1600/006+%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3n54Dhan4Bu8imSlTlfRVyZN1y4MLwTPZVB_1NDAO4YuKPOxKi0xh6E81Rc31CtO_Vy2Y-LWFg0vDVaAKwrYY4_tmqAXT-MJoOtMKxGtiT9sKqLnGI8BrFT1UentnGdT7OHL8tTD11w/s320/006+%25284%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paoli chert in limestone -Menifee Co.</td></tr>
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That all changed in the early 70's as the result of pioneering work on flint classification for sources found in the eastern part of Kentucky. This undertaking was done by Larry Meadows, Garland Dever and Ed Henson. Yes, yours truly was fortunate enough to know these two very knowledgeable men. Back in the 70's Larry Meadows and I began to learn the skill of flint-knapping. That is chipping flint into arrowheads and other primitive tools using likely the same techniques that prehistoric people of the region used. It was not a great leap for us to become interested and noticing that not all flint chipped the same and that there were definitely differences in the <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbM_Qn54xvmA0SFq_OwZ4uwJa0C1OW8XZRn-3kq8V3Sy93Y7Zuq746RtXVHAMPfN24-P4YBlPoGcuvB5MZl2gF1osZcY4l8pYKodCUdRu67sCUOrKHgBl26qz3Ba1illrFbi40zdqtfw/s1600/IMG_1715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbM_Qn54xvmA0SFq_OwZ4uwJa0C1OW8XZRn-3kq8V3Sy93Y7Zuq746RtXVHAMPfN24-P4YBlPoGcuvB5MZl2gF1osZcY4l8pYKodCUdRu67sCUOrKHgBl26qz3Ba1illrFbi40zdqtfw/s320/IMG_1715.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paoli </td></tr>
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material. It wasn't long before we joined forces with what I would consider one of the best geologist around, Mr. Garland Dever. Garland was in the process of doing field work preparing one of the many geological quadrangle maps of Kentucky. And to our good fortune his area was in the same region of Kentucky that we were gathering flint.<br />
Moving forward in time, the three of us began to notice that a certain textured, color and type of flint was found associated with a single type of limestone. The first type that stood out was one found deposited in a formation of limestone named Paoli. The limestone had long been established as a particular rock formation generally exposed as outcrops along the edge of the Cumberland Plateau and also in Indiana.<br />
The flint (chert) was distinct in nature when it came to chipping. A very glassy texture but had peculiar requirements if shaped into a stone tool. And it seemed to be the same everywhere this type of flint was found either still in the limestone rock or eroded out into nearby creeks. After many tests and cross checks we felt comfortable enough to identify any stone tool or piece of flint that fit the criteria we established as <b>Paoli.</b> There were many other kinds but put them in a pile and the three of us could pick out flint that we called Paoli from that pile. It was a short step for us to reason that why not try to find sources and type the other flint types from our area. We knew that we could not type everything because some of the flint obviously was traded from outside the region. This, of course, made our quest all the more tantalizing as we could help understand trading routes, establish percentage estimates of trading by a particular site etc. So our first type was established.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7eFJUqtanJf5WvmGN6Z-KlcgzKp_QqM9U1mepy0-QwXJeOxMki-Id6jLbQLRARLILa4biB6n-Tsr9Pb7Mh4H5j6IPPpi6fPYDMYaFje1-nAYi9hZVg1yh7LfiN4ilrXqT1E-Md-dLA/s1600/IMG_1717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7eFJUqtanJf5WvmGN6Z-KlcgzKp_QqM9U1mepy0-QwXJeOxMki-Id6jLbQLRARLILa4biB6n-Tsr9Pb7Mh4H5j6IPPpi6fPYDMYaFje1-nAYi9hZVg1yh7LfiN4ilrXqT1E-Md-dLA/s320/IMG_1717.JPG" width="258" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Haney chert </td></tr>
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It was not long that we established another type we called <b>Haney</b> flint. Haney has a characteristic that no other flint type from our area exhibited. It contained tiny pseudo fossils called ooilites. With the use of a hand lens one could see the tiny round rings dispersed through out the stone. No other flint from Kentucky had this quality. The Haney flint was quickly tied down and perhaps the easiest type to identify. It also is rather scarce and found only in the Haney limestone formation which is limited in its outcropping. In recent years some reports appear that there is a Haney flint that does not contain ooilites. We never attempted to expand but certainly found many stone points made of material that we could not identify positively as Haney. We were confident that ooilitic material from the region was 100% Haney flint. Generally,only small artifacts have been found made of this material as it comes in small lenses or layers embedded in the Haney formation of limestone.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqExKuWQ_zno_Gsf8A3IHqifX-gC1EDiHSRMwNXl10rzTdbR8SywP0eJX8u8qjzAottqCmo61eavWB50o3FCsjsW1wUjQzHHNwk0yMKYFF33Mkqgittg5j3Rp3SZal7V6Cg1IDioOOw/s1600/IMG_1714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqExKuWQ_zno_Gsf8A3IHqifX-gC1EDiHSRMwNXl10rzTdbR8SywP0eJX8u8qjzAottqCmo61eavWB50o3FCsjsW1wUjQzHHNwk0yMKYFF33Mkqgittg5j3Rp3SZal7V6Cg1IDioOOw/s320/IMG_1714.JPG" width="184" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Louis green. This specimen has hole<br />
naturally formed. From Powell Co.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Next in our quest came the beautiful olive green flint that shows up in many arrowheads unique in the Red River country. In time we discovered after many trips to many rock outcrops that this beautiful flint only comes from the massive St Louis limestone formation. We called it <b>St. Louis </b>chert. Very hard to work but given the right effort, the end knapped tool would certainly be an eye catcher. There are other cherts associated with the St. Louis formation but this particular green, rounded nodules was the only variety we attempted to classify.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkxzeMvbCUqmRfOWdEZboRaPJ0Rp_4VREY-0BPnWbJtULXdi205XuQMKQDqD9_8liMLeDnyhKVuR90n3pKNUZXHT1cXej_5qDVNTKxsh-3Z3dnJlsdIFmIgrh19FaVWut5jqY9pqAn8w/s1600/IMG_1716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkxzeMvbCUqmRfOWdEZboRaPJ0Rp_4VREY-0BPnWbJtULXdi205XuQMKQDqD9_8liMLeDnyhKVuR90n3pKNUZXHT1cXej_5qDVNTKxsh-3Z3dnJlsdIFmIgrh19FaVWut5jqY9pqAn8w/s320/IMG_1716.JPG" width="195" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boyle Chert</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1IcEHkqYzIalxoxsHTLrNfXcz33WHw7q6kuvMnhN9B6ld787aC96mtW0GRbwuIt5_5VdF970b811pyhltGOJW4ja1wOFaAUxifN4BnGFiRp6VswAAP5Nd1R7mIbSVOPE0OJgOgv254g/s1600/IMG_1723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1IcEHkqYzIalxoxsHTLrNfXcz33WHw7q6kuvMnhN9B6ld787aC96mtW0GRbwuIt5_5VdF970b811pyhltGOJW4ja1wOFaAUxifN4BnGFiRp6VswAAP5Nd1R7mIbSVOPE0OJgOgv254g/s320/IMG_1723.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boyle Chert in Dolomite </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
At the very edge of the plateau of Eastern Kentucky the magnesium laden Boyle Dolomite limestone is exposed along the outer edge of the Cincinnati Arch which forms the central Bluegrass region. This dolomite produces a specific kind of flint we referred to as <b>Boyle </b>chert. It is characterized by its rusty brown to almost blue color and<br />
contains random fossil fragments. These days all the once good outcrops seemed to have been destroyed or simply worked out over the years. <br />
Artifacts made of the better quality of this flint type are often remarkably beautiful.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWjwtfgRFFsi0HgozkqNtd7VfmxLRUt2HwTtd09UwblAcYaAxWV1MqPKTs1Bo1RCIucHsjNEk55npwe1xz0pnS9ThGDDSNqEzzZCaiMVizTA_S_GA_pbv_a7YIoDBqZCClSQPO8PUueg/s1600/IMG_1727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWjwtfgRFFsi0HgozkqNtd7VfmxLRUt2HwTtd09UwblAcYaAxWV1MqPKTs1Bo1RCIucHsjNEk55npwe1xz0pnS9ThGDDSNqEzzZCaiMVizTA_S_GA_pbv_a7YIoDBqZCClSQPO8PUueg/s400/IMG_1727.JPG" width="300" /></a> The final type of flint and the last one we typed in eastern Kentucky was one we called the Breathitt flint. Of the the five we typed this one is the only exception to the limestone source rule. This flint was discovered to be found in the Pennsylvanian rock types of the coal fields of Eastern Kentucky. Massive formations of the flint were exposed for study from the strip mining in the area. Artifacts have been found made of this type but no one really understood the source material. The <b>Flint Ridge </b>flint was by far the most massive amount of layered flint of all the sources mentioned here. Now those massive outcrops are all gone being removed by the coal companies. Only eroded sources in the small streams can be found now. This type of flint was found in a variety of colors including shades of green, black and tan. The defining characteristic of this type was the grainy texture as well as its flaking behavior. The Breathitt Flint Ridge type was and still remains the most difficult of the five types to be identified.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBg-vZDxxF9rCO5Kbc_k9T_tgz3-TbaQRbWcnNi3BEejkBWT7bRyaIcuE79M0w4hbq48ifhgYb8-DqJ3B3Ix5VcJRkSkIR5BYQVenamaIwN4yxhaUZ-l9eB9aeoU_gCr1DFSQlSJl4Yg/s1600/IMG_1710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBg-vZDxxF9rCO5Kbc_k9T_tgz3-TbaQRbWcnNi3BEejkBWT7bRyaIcuE79M0w4hbq48ifhgYb8-DqJ3B3Ix5VcJRkSkIR5BYQVenamaIwN4yxhaUZ-l9eB9aeoU_gCr1DFSQlSJl4Yg/s320/IMG_1710.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breathitt Flint Ridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Our work was published in a section of an archaeological publication of the Cave Run Rock Shelter by the University of Kentucky under the direction of Dr. John Dorwin. Dr. Dorwin allowed us to apply our new classification system on the hundreds of artifacts recovered from the site the University was excavating. Subsequently, our report was included in a section of this complete study.<br />
From there other students and scholars began to seriously try to type various flints. Literally dozens of flint types have been identified in Kentucky alone and hundreds world wide. But to our knowledge it all "officially" started right here in Kentucky. Now-days no serious archaeological investigation would even consider leaving out attempts to classify flint types in order to identify possible routes and trading patterns. So much has been learned and much more yet to be discovered by simply understanding the sources of the raw materials used by the early peoples of any part of the world. We had a great time exploring this idea way back in the 70's!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-754061024711457782013-12-12T14:25:00.001-08:002013-12-12T14:25:28.945-08:00Lost Treasure and Christmas I will be posting a new entry in a few days about flint types of Eastern Kentucky. Not so much related to John Swift's lost silver mines but really of interest to those folks who enjoy geology and archaeology information. This site is still dedicated to the famous legend and promises new posts on the subject in 2014.In the meantime, stop by my publishing site <span style="color: red;"> </span><a href="http://booklocker.com/books/5744.html"><span style="color: blue;">Booklocker.com</span></a><span style="color: red;"> </span>and order your copy of my book,<i><b><span style="color: red;"> Swift</span></b></i>. It's a great story that includes all the famous Swift journal information available and some really neat perspective on early Kentucky history.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq3XU08waD9izAU47EoXLlhr7A6nDU7foEDUAIT2onlQNQCwMHJCx4TTwaRAagZktn5c8ohgrt9pjk-mHviqQNmXJCTsNYq_arknBc_N0kRu53pnbKFzr63_eBsVdUev0FqbLrZT95JA/s1600/img001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq3XU08waD9izAU47EoXLlhr7A6nDU7foEDUAIT2onlQNQCwMHJCx4TTwaRAagZktn5c8ohgrt9pjk-mHviqQNmXJCTsNYq_arknBc_N0kRu53pnbKFzr63_eBsVdUev0FqbLrZT95JA/s320/img001.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTt6UFd_vhtOV_bP7fMLQ-_e0-jeAneSp6oWPP6Qx9eLPfGLDFpCMRiK05rvNKm_nQBESwOU3ADuou3D89jOtFaDsR24rRb7ux4OdJYBHleTVAMI6ZomGpUeV2zwImaZzNS5a3leESzA/s1600/img002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTt6UFd_vhtOV_bP7fMLQ-_e0-jeAneSp6oWPP6Qx9eLPfGLDFpCMRiK05rvNKm_nQBESwOU3ADuou3D89jOtFaDsR24rRb7ux4OdJYBHleTVAMI6ZomGpUeV2zwImaZzNS5a3leESzA/s320/img002.jpg" width="207" /></a> The book is also available through <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ed-Henson/e/B005ZZD7Y6"><span style="color: blue;">Amazon.com</span></a> </span>and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/swift-by-ed-henson?store=allproducts&keyword=swift+by+ed+henson"><span style="color: blue;">Barnes & Noble</span></a><span style="color: red;"> </span><span style="color: blue;">com.</span><span style="color: red;"> </span> <i><b><span style="color: red;">Swift </span></b></i>makes a great Christmas gift for someone interested in Kentucky history and especially the lore surrounding the oldest known treasure legend in the state. Ordering is easy and secure on line at either of this sites. You can also purchase at most book stores. If they do not have copies in stock most will gladly order it for you and delivery is fast. But order now in order to get delivery before Christmas!<br />
<br />
In the near future I will be post an excerpt from my new book that is now in progress. Some of you have been asking about when my next book will coming out and wondering if it will be the sequel to Swift. In fact, I have started the sequel to Swift but my next story adventure is not on the subject of Swift. The title has not been determined yet but writing is well underway. I am targeting to get the draft completed sometime in 2014. Follow this blog to get updates and preview the excerpt.<br />
Also, be watching for the forthcoming new entry about flint types. This is pretty interesting, especially to those who just love Kentucky archaeology and geology.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-20272607610405732062013-10-27T06:40:00.000-07:002013-11-16T09:20:18.112-08:00The High Rock Petroglyph<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEFzy65SmCaIVPAFJG_WsWjORtcAyAw3ngxQbF54DxAhXEeGqIG7E2TP7XqWSfGxJfgu10qgxlXK5QcTGSUx4u61PoUBHLO4dZ6LkJUb7-SLuLvHM5JOhqqXzG5h7_2vAp19tt9v3Sg/s1600/IMG_0013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEFzy65SmCaIVPAFJG_WsWjORtcAyAw3ngxQbF54DxAhXEeGqIG7E2TP7XqWSfGxJfgu10qgxlXK5QcTGSUx4u61PoUBHLO4dZ6LkJUb7-SLuLvHM5JOhqqXzG5h7_2vAp19tt9v3Sg/s400/IMG_0013.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What do you think the strange symbols carved on this sandstone boulder represent? The High Rock Carving is certainly one of the most mysterious antiquity found in the Red River Gorge country. We did a previous <a href="http://ed-henson.blogspot.com/2012/08/high-rock-carving.html">post</a> about this strange rock in August, 2012. Discovered underneath a small rock shelter near the High Rock fire tower, the carvings were discovered on one loose boulder in the shelter. In the late 70's the boulder was removed from the rock shelter by the Red River Museum and Historical Society placed at the museum in Clay City, Kentucky. It was felt that vandals and artifact collectors would soon end up destroying the unusual carved stone. In fact some of the surface appears to have been chipped away, perhaps portions already removed by vandals. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The carvings have many varied, curved shapes including concentric circles and shapes that may represent animals. Additionally, there are numerous holes and other features. Some of the rock has been lost likely by the weathering of the rock itself. For example looking at the carving that kind of reminds me of turtle with all the circles and a head made of a circle within a circle, below that one appears what me another of the same thing but the bottom part has been lost to effects of relentless erosion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Did early stone age peoples occupying this shelter spend time doodling on this rock? Or perhaps a form of communication, a written language if you will, that has passed with the ages along with those that created it.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZp8VUTcJC53ipw614EwdaE3S6HQJt6JIIl708MUEfNsvPVqRTkq6vDDHqg4YW7pK-mBQ0Y7E9ig7gf1LyBYKLWZUJtCeneQ2AgeoYzEFkFZgPtEz4_N3y7cJWLWnj35fIdgmnJ8uVaQ/s1600/2009_0722worthtimebook0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZp8VUTcJC53ipw614EwdaE3S6HQJt6JIIl708MUEfNsvPVqRTkq6vDDHqg4YW7pK-mBQ0Y7E9ig7gf1LyBYKLWZUJtCeneQ2AgeoYzEFkFZgPtEz4_N3y7cJWLWnj35fIdgmnJ8uVaQ/s400/2009_0722worthtimebook0002.JPG" width="400" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Maybe these are the workings of our mysterious John Swift. After all, this stone boulder was found on the South Fork of the Red River in cliff country just like the Gorge. Perhaps, Swift and his company of miners and counterfeiters carved out a map on this rock that was used to locate their precious mines and caches of counterfeit silver crowns. As noted in a previous post one very interesting mine searcher conducted excavations a very short distance down the mountain from this rock. Though he never stated anything about this rock I often wondered if it was an identification marker that help him determine the place to start his actual dig for the ore. He did find some kind of ore on that mountain, I do not believe it to be silver but it was near this carved boulder.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Perhaps the carvings represent some group of humans that we have yet to discover their existence. Or maybe the carvings and symbols of alien visitors. The fact of the matter is that no one knows the meaning of these strange markings on this sandstone boulder. I invite you to share your thoughts and post in the comment space below. And you can see the boulder yourself if you drop by the Red River Museum in Clay City, Kentucky. The museum is open on weekends and has an amazing collection of historical artifacts representing the history of the region.</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-29842335973528730672013-10-09T06:49:00.000-07:002013-10-14T17:55:19.986-07:00The Bluegrass Railroad Museum Train Ride<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQqqTFs99ow6A6kCX_YLJnAngR4PM_MK_e-nCcgUXIEYwT0HI67BqlIhDpIrUZQ0VtIqe9CAebClldV641afqnrDux8YiTMugnhlGuXJADK36KTA8XsnLzI84iKTfqXUpQAxz0R6qtA/s1600/IMG_1382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQqqTFs99ow6A6kCX_YLJnAngR4PM_MK_e-nCcgUXIEYwT0HI67BqlIhDpIrUZQ0VtIqe9CAebClldV641afqnrDux8YiTMugnhlGuXJADK36KTA8XsnLzI84iKTfqXUpQAxz0R6qtA/s320/IMG_1382.JPG" width="320" /></a> So on my recent birthday my intentions were to climb the Cloud Splitter Rock in the Red River Gorge. Oh, I had climbed it many years ago but as a matter of self pride, dealing with the inevitable aging process, I had convinced myself to undertake this climb for the self satisfaction of saying I could still do it. My daughter Allison had agreed to accompany me on the trip, probably just to make sure I made it. That was my plan. That was until mother nature decided to create a 90 degree day on my birthday. Too much heat and I folded and withered from the macho cliff climbing attempt. </div>
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The Cloud Splitter is well named. One of the massive stand alone outcrops in the gorge it provides beautiful vistas of the Red River valley. Though not an official trail is marked, one certainly exists because of the many hikers that make their way up to the top of the cliff.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJVdsy2kr6XIqOt19ZNiVvOCe6UpmqJcpRwOBuGsyO8QGN9avSr7EwYcmw0De6lh2j_J63SKgEL43j6lRVIflbtdJmkt-T11SCUs3bp2z7_2xSGbBku_tvWa0R5vq9Qhyphenhyphen5Tb43WYRCA/s1600/IMG_1369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJVdsy2kr6XIqOt19ZNiVvOCe6UpmqJcpRwOBuGsyO8QGN9avSr7EwYcmw0De6lh2j_J63SKgEL43j6lRVIflbtdJmkt-T11SCUs3bp2z7_2xSGbBku_tvWa0R5vq9Qhyphenhyphen5Tb43WYRCA/s320/IMG_1369.JPG" width="320" /></a> So, instead I ambled on down to Versailles, Ky to the Bluegrass Railroad Museum. I specifically went to take the train ride that is offered each Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM. I spent a few minutes talking with the engineer (driver of the train) about the train and his background. Arthur Richie is the engineer and a very pleasant fellow that will try to answer any question about the locomotive and operation. Other nice conductors provide commentary as the train travels through beautiful bluegrass farms.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwaVOFdVOiiStdeIbr0dYdQiwJgW8SAjiK3bEG8afiVhGTf0mSDlHG7nTo3yX8Xklah3hgQsblVGNy3fsiUW4MJXl2pkYMS26k9neOr7daxvhfyWPaYMLPpo1QMVaBsKUfL-AnwDX8PA/s1600/IMG_1367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwaVOFdVOiiStdeIbr0dYdQiwJgW8SAjiK3bEG8afiVhGTf0mSDlHG7nTo3yX8Xklah3hgQsblVGNy3fsiUW4MJXl2pkYMS26k9neOr7daxvhfyWPaYMLPpo1QMVaBsKUfL-AnwDX8PA/s320/IMG_1367.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGqFcu4X7jNvgwOt1CU3WbGEURTq9j_5IXD3J-x_38y8qsbvqXovgn4JWXcsA5p2PYo1srN0Oek_Tu1y66tTBr-KbmRMFhLkz3vtLCaSJHj4ZMpmlEgh2vVNkUL3gveELH3K9z-MeVVg/s1600/IMG_1374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGqFcu4X7jNvgwOt1CU3WbGEURTq9j_5IXD3J-x_38y8qsbvqXovgn4JWXcsA5p2PYo1srN0Oek_Tu1y66tTBr-KbmRMFhLkz3vtLCaSJHj4ZMpmlEgh2vVNkUL3gveELH3K9z-MeVVg/s320/IMG_1374.JPG" width="320" /></a>After purchasing tickets we boarded the passenger cars that were built and operated in the 1920's and 30's.</div>
<br />
I found myself on a car was used to transport people to work in New Jersey and New York. The train left promptly as promised and slowly made its way down a 1 percent grade for miles traveling through bluegrass horse farms before arriving at the end of the high Tyrone bridge. The giant steel-trussed bridge is now long been closed to trains but still standing and really is quite the bridge to see.<br />
<br />
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The engineer and his brakeman successfully bring the train to a halt only a few yards from the end of the bridge. After a look about the grand overlook of the Kentucky River Valley with the famous Wild Turkey distillery on the opposite of the valley of our vantage point, we boarded the train to head back up the tracks to our starting point. This time the train is going in reverse but the old rail cars had ingenious designed seats that flip over and face the opposite direction. No passenger has to ride backwards.<br />
There are very few places in Kentucky that one can take a train ride and this is one that offers an enjoyable afternoon experience for the family. You can find out more about the scheduled times and seasons and the museum at <a href="http://www.bgrm.org/">Bluegrass Railroad Museum</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-81109580516792066712013-08-09T19:54:00.001-07:002013-08-09T19:54:53.021-07:00John Swift<span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Be sure to check out my book </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ed-Henson/e/B005ZZD7Y6" style="font-size: xx-large;">Swift</a> <span style="font-size: large;">and get your copy from Amazon.com today.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Pilot Knob looking west toward the Bluegrass. A story of John Swift, John Finley and Daniel Boone<br />all come together here at this famous landmark in this historical novel about the famous legend of<br />lost buried treasure in the Kentucky wilderness</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-2940290116454556122013-07-08T12:10:00.004-07:002013-07-08T12:10:55.284-07:00Broke Leg Falls<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsBLMXmFSfBEhqcDUQdFh0zPPLsmDKOOop6FVVde0N2yzxN6tt-X4Pr_etCSVA9FdqUeXZ4-Yi7xqPnIvQ7c-7fp3u6lAfTR2ycEl8DrZMLciu_4ZI5GdpogMLyjX50yQTvdmpMcN-jw/s1600/IMG_1309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsBLMXmFSfBEhqcDUQdFh0zPPLsmDKOOop6FVVde0N2yzxN6tt-X4Pr_etCSVA9FdqUeXZ4-Yi7xqPnIvQ7c-7fp3u6lAfTR2ycEl8DrZMLciu_4ZI5GdpogMLyjX50yQTvdmpMcN-jw/s640/IMG_1309.JPG" width="480" /></a><br />
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For sure one old landmark in eastern Menifee County Kentucky is Broke Leg Falls. The Falls has been a tourist stop along US Hwy 460 since the 1940's and before. It was a place for picnics and adventures into the rough rocky terrain the likes of the Red River Gorge. It's location on once a major highway along with the pristine beauty of the box canyon that the stream formed no doubt contributed to the popularity of the Falls.</div>
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The Falls is about 80 feet in height but much of the year has a small water flow. But over eons of time the Falls and stream have carved out a magnificent canyon retreating nearly to the crest of the ridge.</div>
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Located in Menifee County Kentucky, Broke Leg Falls has been a popular tourist spot for travelers of the US Highway which is located only a few yards from the falls. A popular landmark since the 1940's, the Falls was privately owned. Visitors could pay a dime and get to hike the short distance down into the box canyon to view the Falls and enjoy the coolness of the large overhanging ledge. Stair steps were provided for visitors to get down the very steep and dangerous cliff area. By the 1960's the state had acquired the land and made some improvements to parking and steps using concrete with steel handrails to provide a more permanent solution to the stairway access. Later the state sold the land to private owners again. Eventually Menifee County purchased the property to preserve as a park. The site has such a remarkable local recognition and folks remembering the popularity from the early days no doubt led to this undertaking by the county. New parking and access along with picnic shelters and improved trail system was added by the county.</div>
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How did it get the name Broke Leg Falls? No one knows for sure. It has always been called by that name and I can remember even as a child the famous Broke Leg Falls. A visit to the site and anyone can see a hundred different ways that one could be involved in the mishap providing inspiration for the name. Like the historical information sign on site these days, you will have to use your own imagination on how the Falls got its unusual name.</div>
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This site is also one that is formed of the same rock as the Red River Gorge. Though the waters from the falls do not flow into the Red River and thus the official gorge, the terrain and Falls is formed in the same conglomerate that the gorge is famous for. It is also probably one of the easiest places for one to hike into a gorge formation.</div>
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In 2012 some of the most destructive tornadoes in Kentucky's history passed through the area. Evidence is still very visible in the canyon of the destructive path of those series of tornadoes.</div>
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If you would like to visit Broke Leg Falls <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl">here</a> is a map for directions to the Falls. The neat box canyon is very noticeable on this Google map.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-57735740734041373292013-06-18T16:16:00.000-07:002013-06-19T17:34:57.988-07:00Behind the Scenes Getting the right photograph for the blog entry involves getting out and visiting some pretty interesting sights. Since the Swift Blog prominently features a collection of photographs related to each topic a lot of effort is required to get to the "right" spot to bring a photo that helps explain the topic. It is a fun adventure for sure and provides the chance to visit or revisit some wonderful places.<br />
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Since this site is devoted to the Swift Legend a lot of the places deal with geology and landmarks. But really it's what ever catches my fancy as I explore this great state. I have made it a practice to film video clips while making photos for the web site. Very amateur and random but the purpose was to video record the site visit and rather hastily since much of my time is devoted to make the actual photos used in the blog.<br />
I was looking through some of these clips and thought I would string some of them together and share with you here. It's not long and as I indicated very far from professional. So, go to the following YouTube link for a short adventure in <i><b>Behind the Scenes </b></i>of the <i><b>Swift </b></i>Blog: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX_Fhg00uuI&feature=youtu.be">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX_Fhg00uuI&feature=youtu.be</a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-23458643710901093082013-06-07T06:00:00.000-07:002013-06-17T16:15:17.317-07:00Swift- The Legend Continues... Hello everyone. Summer is in full swing here and I am currently working on some more (hopefully) interesting entries for the <i>Swift</i> blog site. I have received several emails from some of you regarding some of the very interesting finds and discoveries you have made. Perhaps I will be able to travel to some of the places you have shared.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq3XU08waD9izAU47EoXLlhr7A6nDU7foEDUAIT2onlQNQCwMHJCx4TTwaRAagZktn5c8ohgrt9pjk-mHviqQNmXJCTsNYq_arknBc_N0kRu53pnbKFzr63_eBsVdUev0FqbLrZT95JA/s1600/img001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq3XU08waD9izAU47EoXLlhr7A6nDU7foEDUAIT2onlQNQCwMHJCx4TTwaRAagZktn5c8ohgrt9pjk-mHviqQNmXJCTsNYq_arknBc_N0kRu53pnbKFzr63_eBsVdUev0FqbLrZT95JA/s320/img001.jpg" width="207" /></a> I very much welcome any topics you might wish to share on this site and extend an offer for you to post an article on this site. Now the site gets many visitors everyday. Some are serious treasure hunters and researchers and others simply stumbled upon the site. Either way, I am glad to have visitors and certainly welcome comments.<br />
In a few weeks I plan to post a short video of "out takes" at some of the sites covered here over the years. I have made it a practice to shoot some video footage along with the photos that go into this blog. The video is not professional to be sure, but does provide some fun background of the effort it takes to visit and record these interesting places. So watch this blog for the photos not included in the blog. Oh, and tell folks about my book and how to get it: <a href="http://booklocker.com/books/5744.html">http://booklocker.com/books/5744.html</a><br />
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Those who prefer Amazon.com can find the book at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ed-Henson/e/B005ZZD7Y6">http://www.amazon.com/Ed-Henson/e/B005ZZD7Y6</a>. And the price of the paper back is now $17.50 at Amazon.com. Better hurry though, only a few are in stock. Be sure to tell others about the book and this blog site. And thanks for stopping by.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-70310028306165170932013-05-11T17:24:00.000-07:002013-05-11T17:24:44.135-07:00Half-Moon<div>
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Perhaps no other rock formation in the gorge is as well known as the Half Moon Rock. It has been climbed, repelled, photographed and admired from every conceivable way possible. It is also mentioned in several versions of the Swift journal. The mention is casual to be sure and there are numerous rocks outcrops that could be claimed to be the Half Moon. The one I am familiar with is in the heart of the Red River Gorge.</div>
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The Half-moon rock is located on a ridge parallel to the Chimney Rock ridge spur with a small box canyon between the two massive rock outcrops. They are located at the mouth of Chimney Top creek where it flows into the Red River. This creek is one of the major streams in the heart of the gorge and is full of rock formations.</div>
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The Half-moon rock is mentioned in some of the more prominent Swift journals and some of the oldest versions as well. While a number on cliff formations can have the shape as described as a half rounded object, this particular one in the Red River Gorge certainly fits the bill.</div>
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Interestingly, a lot of other Swift landmarks are in the general area and certainly a lot of formations that could easily be interpreted as the specific ones that Swift supposedly recalled when recording his journal for the purposes of returning to his hidden mine workings. There is the adjacent Chimney Rock, perhaps the most notable formation in the Red River Gorge. In the distance is the Cloud Splitter. Nearby is the Indian Stairway, Haystack Rock and a host of others that could be the very ones Swift describes.</div>
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There is even a small arch at the Half-Moon which once again fits the descriptors in the Swift legend.</div>
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All these beautiful and amazing rock formations have for decades fueled the search for clues to solve the mysterious legend. This is one reason why the Red River Gorge area has been a prime target search area of the the years.<br />
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Though there is no official trail to the Half-Moon rock, thousands hike there every year and scale the backbone of the cliff and the only way to the summit without proper climbing gear. It is a dangerous climb up a bare rock face with nothing to hold to, so extreme care is required to make the summit. In the course of the trip one has to negotiate across the small arch mentioned before and appropriately named the Half-Moon Arch.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view of the back side of Chimney Rock across the canyon from the Half-Moon</td></tr>
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The Half-Moon rock has always been a favorite of mine and I only return there recently this spring. I must admit the climb seemed more difficult than it did more than 40 years ago. During my visit this trip a local search and rescue group were conducting training exercises at the Half-Moon rock. They said that they will make several rescues each year in the Red River Gorge. So, be careful if you decide to make the trip. But once you are on top of that mighty rock, the view is breath taking.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-50840750947842837252013-03-15T17:44:00.000-07:002013-03-15T17:44:43.749-07:00Jeptha's Knob and other Craters<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkaJYoEV_bbxxVM-vzvXQh-CcLyIW8jCga2bULq5_uFAdsVM8dH5BLYzA2FPEpej9y4kmQnU2nrx3H5QKs9cOVXmI6XyVv0842mzx26vGrL4PjCN4tv3LLsuR5_jiY9HPQ8GhGh3m9w/s1600/meteor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkaJYoEV_bbxxVM-vzvXQh-CcLyIW8jCga2bULq5_uFAdsVM8dH5BLYzA2FPEpej9y4kmQnU2nrx3H5QKs9cOVXmI6XyVv0842mzx26vGrL4PjCN4tv3LLsuR5_jiY9HPQ8GhGh3m9w/s400/meteor.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span> Perhaps 425 millions ago a meteorite nearly a half a mile in diameter slammed into the earth between present day cities of Shelbyville and Frankfort, Kentucky. The giant interplanetary traveler was traveling at an estimated speed of 10 miles per second. That is roughly 36,000 miles per hour! Needless to say, something the size of a small Kentucky town hitting the earth at such a speed was bound to leave an impact and that it did.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwOkJ7ZjAdBZ1hJZg-y5mPmDJUty0Z9HTChzI6dpt2hB5rn5UR4Qa5687IHktep3oWwZvHJucD2CS2xPrukSXE9XSK41eAWcpArOmFPoTuvVxOIn5QI3iBYzRyWhO0e8Trw-i1WSaSVA/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwOkJ7ZjAdBZ1hJZg-y5mPmDJUty0Z9HTChzI6dpt2hB5rn5UR4Qa5687IHktep3oWwZvHJucD2CS2xPrukSXE9XSK41eAWcpArOmFPoTuvVxOIn5QI3iBYzRyWhO0e8Trw-i1WSaSVA/s400/photo.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeptha's Knob near Clay Village in Shelby county Ky</td></tr>
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Perhaps some of you from Kentucky while traveling between Lexington and Louisville on I-64 have noticed the lone hill structure in the vast open flat landscape of the region. The hill is called Jeptha's Knob and is what is left of the ancient meteorite impact. What is now observable is not the typical crater that is most familiar such as on the moon or the famous Arizona crater. What you see actually represents the bottom, center of the crater. You see, geologist tell us that when the meteorite hit the earth the impact is so forceful that he causes the rock strata below to rebound upward and shatter. Over time the familiar surface crater has eroded away leaving only the more dense rebound materials that were once below the surface of the landscape and are still there today in the surrounding countryside. The Kentucky Geological Survey provide a very clear explanation of this effect <a href="http://www.uky.edu/KGS/education/meteorites.htm">here.</a> You can easily see the circular impact area on the geological map. This is Jeptha's Knob. For years geologists thought the unusual land uplift in the otherwise flat region was the result of volcanic activity. A historical marker nearby claimed as much. In recent times geologists have come to understand the results of an impact meteorite and have completely revised the cause of the structure. The marker is no longer in place.<br />
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A larger and more famous meteorite impact site is located in extreme southeastern Kentucky. The town of Middlesboro, Kentucky is built precisely in the center of crater created by the impact of a meteorite over a half mile in diameter. It was thought to have landed about 300 million years ago. The crater is over four miles in diameter. Little visible evidence is left today but there is some of the outer crater wall still detectable from aerial <a href="http://www.passc.net/EarthImpactDatabase/middlesboro.html">views.</a> The Middlesboro crater is unique in all the world in the fact it is the only known impact crater that coal has been mined. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje_UnxTX0aeEwndjCMBvlbVjG_Dm110nZA8T6B_p5H2az4R7OwrV_QjwDYW561txYSAp3L378gn1_kHYKLFCPDllMDk9dAcjE0HTTKVyl_4aAlPEeq2Hff-hob-i0shnJSFuVn1lHqRA/s1600/Camping+at+Cumberland+Gap+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje_UnxTX0aeEwndjCMBvlbVjG_Dm110nZA8T6B_p5H2az4R7OwrV_QjwDYW561txYSAp3L378gn1_kHYKLFCPDllMDk9dAcjE0HTTKVyl_4aAlPEeq2Hff-hob-i0shnJSFuVn1lHqRA/s400/Camping+at+Cumberland+Gap+007.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Middlesboro impact crater</td></tr>
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When you drive down into the noticeable flat plain that most of the town is situated you are in the bottom of the ancient meteorite crater. It is pretty obvious too, since a land area this broad and flat is rare to say the least in the mountains of southeastern Kentucky.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6iZ07TicLcpeJsBeEjOFrb8OATNaHkyPgugoAzTHRMDlVgC4oukrTj5OneIg_aJ42RTN2QZDDJup8tWLEmUj2-9zmZH0NkX2UHp1QbuEXsmMIfjKjrVcZ6rUaKy_2CU6qdnIQvLBeg/s1600/middlesboro+sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6iZ07TicLcpeJsBeEjOFrb8OATNaHkyPgugoAzTHRMDlVgC4oukrTj5OneIg_aJ42RTN2QZDDJup8tWLEmUj2-9zmZH0NkX2UHp1QbuEXsmMIfjKjrVcZ6rUaKy_2CU6qdnIQvLBeg/s400/middlesboro+sign.jpg" width="400" /></a> Though there have been several reported meteorite impacts with some recovered in Kentucky none compare to these large impacts from ancient times which include one more near Versailles, Kentucky. Here we find yet another <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=8EmKCdNUvN0C&pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&dq=Kentucky+Meteorite+Craters+versailles&source=bl&ots=P-vBh84CAN&sig=Uxim087vsDj872M3SqlfrYOgnpE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=78YsUYKgKoLe0gHsioGAAw&ved=0CE8Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Kentucky%20Meteorite%20Craters%20versailles&f=false">impact</a> site that for years was mistaken to be the remnants of a large sinkhole, something not uncommon in the central Kentucky region. As it turns out this is the ancient remains of another meteorite impact similar to Jeptha's Knob.<br />
Not doubt there have been others that have long ago succumbed to erosion and time. However, we do have evidence that we have been hit before and it has been a long time.<br />
What if one of those ancient meteorites contained precious metals such as say, oh, perhaps silver. Suppose it impacted the earth in some remote place and suppose our legendary John Swift happened to find that heavenly treasure. Of course, there is no evidence what so ever that has happened or even could happen. It does prove however, that pure sedimentary geological activity is not all that has happened in the amazing landscape we call Kentucky.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>We are now in the fourth year of this blog. There have been thousands of visits to the blog site from around the world. I appreciate very much the valuable time that everyone took to visit and look at this blog site. I am especially grateful to those that subscribe and follow. </div>
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As I have noted many times before, I started this blog site to promote my now not so recent book entitled 'Swift." My aim was and has been to connect real places and subjects related to the book and special history of Kentucky. As time progressed I found myself covering a lot of interesting topics.</div>
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Keeping a blog up and running requires a lot of time and work as any of you know that maintain your own blog site. It is enjoyable and keeps me constantly searching for new adventures and ideas around the state. In recent months the blog seems to have done little to generate book sales, which after all, was my main objective.</div>
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With that in mind I plan to take a break from the regularly scheduled bi-monthly posts. Instead, for the time being I will randomly post articles. This will be the last post for a time. Besides this blog I am involved with another one called B and E's Bee's that is associated with our excellent honey we sell. </div>
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This blog site will remain live and active. With hundreds of visits each week the blog is popular, especially with treasure hunters. I will respond to comments and will post in the future as well as monitor the site.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecmeuRBV-cOrLYxH9fDV2-wJg1AsSe5BLJ1BWBJf5IoEM2aZmuQmgbPcPwDzWt6WUeQw5Z_HQqSsyP6_KXLfnVeHpt2XglOM8HjxvLA4qzSWjUsc5AG8aozKvIntRc00InFyf0SLggg/s1600/Allisons+birthday++2010+046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecmeuRBV-cOrLYxH9fDV2-wJg1AsSe5BLJ1BWBJf5IoEM2aZmuQmgbPcPwDzWt6WUeQw5Z_HQqSsyP6_KXLfnVeHpt2XglOM8HjxvLA4qzSWjUsc5AG8aozKvIntRc00InFyf0SLggg/s200/Allisons+birthday++2010+046.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
With all that said this entry will mark the last one as I go on break from posting for now. Please share the contents of this blog to others. Thank you for visiting. Oh, the book is still available at most outlets.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-18850333946578674892013-03-13T15:29:00.000-07:002013-07-20T13:00:43.590-07:00Swift Synopsis <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXjhvOqZJvybrieixjsFtNKHOj0ZBS0DkhiNbj9n5yi_O5j5zlQi3AHdZQYr6b1C2kHUtCldtTy3a8vcDBNxvjH8MbAKGehWi8iw3ZJwt77x7JfTY94hh69rnJOdtBeyBn7HAVN1N3Ag/s1600/img001+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXjhvOqZJvybrieixjsFtNKHOj0ZBS0DkhiNbj9n5yi_O5j5zlQi3AHdZQYr6b1C2kHUtCldtTy3a8vcDBNxvjH8MbAKGehWi8iw3ZJwt77x7JfTY94hh69rnJOdtBeyBn7HAVN1N3Ag/s200/img001+%25283%2529.jpg" width="129" /></a> Now that the book has been out for a year, well it is old news. For those who never heard of the book or thought they might be interested in purchasing their own copy, I thought I would use this post to give blog readers a brief overview of the book.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZcokXO7-5z9yfwBomEkQ-zjT-CVx94RFh2Dua1gqcEDku2aTt4cGRvEPujtg-l6C1meaMboO4rRvG-DBW66YhwtWFwWZAtK6qAUi-ymKRRvgoA8VGT5RfXPw3hWEn12prNIeqcdEUg/s1600/220px-John-Filson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZcokXO7-5z9yfwBomEkQ-zjT-CVx94RFh2Dua1gqcEDku2aTt4cGRvEPujtg-l6C1meaMboO4rRvG-DBW66YhwtWFwWZAtK6qAUi-ymKRRvgoA8VGT5RfXPw3hWEn12prNIeqcdEUg/s200/220px-John-Filson.jpg" width="147" /></a> First, let me say the book is a historic fiction. It is however, based on historical events and places as well as famous pioneers of Kentucky. It is also based on perhaps the most famous and oldest legend of Kentucky often called "The Lost Silver Mines of John Swift." This legend has been around since even before Kentucky official became the fourteenth state in 1792. The Swift mine workings were mentioned in land grants as early as 1788.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZGQP5k2JRVtU6N7rhRbLZJDKgdrFHa89VWuQb_EWMMcs_IAu_gbgn4j-217QCE3FkLaHkOSlzsM4ZfvZdXW2Otl4naiW3CsD4_hvjcpcA8SI8PV1b3KI3p_7pYb6vjdJvG0Z1N3vzQ/s1600/img001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZGQP5k2JRVtU6N7rhRbLZJDKgdrFHa89VWuQb_EWMMcs_IAu_gbgn4j-217QCE3FkLaHkOSlzsM4ZfvZdXW2Otl4naiW3CsD4_hvjcpcA8SI8PV1b3KI3p_7pYb6vjdJvG0Z1N3vzQ/s200/img001.jpg" width="114" /></a> Since the legend claims that John Swift was in the wilds of what might now be Eastern Kentucky in 1769 and Daniel Boone was making his second exploratory trip that same year the two concepts come together nicely. So from the outset of my writing adventure I wanted to be central to the overall story was this important fact. Boone and others never mention searching for silver. John Filson does file the land claim in 1788 and specifically states that a man by the name of Swift worked the mines seventeen years earlier.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW0Lp62EukVCm8cQGZaoQu9ANG8Kcyghg3S_gnFtcWaqAWsx80P-U8UXVf3x-zcGWrHXJLGiDOM8lshmHz024X4uq-P2JH_-rFJXysJ41ObtOzYviJh9vs9DHX1-IR3b19XflymcwxLQ/s1600/011+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW0Lp62EukVCm8cQGZaoQu9ANG8Kcyghg3S_gnFtcWaqAWsx80P-U8UXVf3x-zcGWrHXJLGiDOM8lshmHz024X4uq-P2JH_-rFJXysJ41ObtOzYviJh9vs9DHX1-IR3b19XflymcwxLQ/s200/011+%25282%2529.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA2ufC9Ao8oZy6HQ995HHvmpeBtN7pOKleTLaZA6TfiyX0V8v_E5U5QeDDZRe7KAbirLECM626xoFeKZ4kW0YHzBH0r7fEFZl0C9QblqF0b88wgkk_LKwY6gcl0rk-9qwVAY3OWgs2HQ/s1600/013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA2ufC9Ao8oZy6HQ995HHvmpeBtN7pOKleTLaZA6TfiyX0V8v_E5U5QeDDZRe7KAbirLECM626xoFeKZ4kW0YHzBH0r7fEFZl0C9QblqF0b88wgkk_LKwY6gcl0rk-9qwVAY3OWgs2HQ/s200/013.JPG" width="200" /></a> The book is set in modern day and follows the adventures, discoveries and heartbreak of three pals, well a couple and a pal. Will, Jennifer and Ray are the three main characters and by chance make an archaeological discovery that leads to other clues and set them on a race to solve a mystery they are not sure of what it is to begin with. At the same time this treasure hunt is going on a parallel story is being told about historic events unfolding that left the clues in the first place. Although it appears as a flashback, this book is actually two complete stories being told at the same time. Either story could stand on its own without one word from the other. I had both a lot of pleasure and frustration in compiling this tale under those conditions but believe it is the very best way to tell the story in a novel form.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuv9o-S-tv71RxHtHIiL3DazEAnLQq_f2JPxu-2FEXf78C6vIMwux65QTrYTSryyBBgew-a7ebWEIByozb_SuhT1IDp7FcbCjhDIooH2bl3SU387ivFDcTsfha3-i46PlVHTNCZDz2wA/s1600/020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuv9o-S-tv71RxHtHIiL3DazEAnLQq_f2JPxu-2FEXf78C6vIMwux65QTrYTSryyBBgew-a7ebWEIByozb_SuhT1IDp7FcbCjhDIooH2bl3SU387ivFDcTsfha3-i46PlVHTNCZDz2wA/s200/020.JPG" width="200" /></a> The first part of the book is devoted to introducing all the characters and offering explanation of the early days of pioneer Kentucky and how John Swift made his way into the region. The Swift legend is explained and coincides with the early activities of Daniel Boone and John Finley, both recorded in early Kentucky history.<br />
I did not make up the history nor the legend information. Both have been around for hundreds of years now and much has been written about both. I did imagine, if you will, verbal exchanges, chance meetings and the assumption the Swift legend has some validity.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGJBQVr_SefTzpJg_S_HtwSOO6oad11O_gOqqkkzKIqPHzlYSrJ2U3ZoBhKV0MqnwqTvi88tXgyTDzQdIZP_Qk5CZjSW4ZlipjU82ez5mw7AOnYXBucQdxAjhwlm0Gr6bz6TpaxXjlw/s1600/ki+ko+hike+spring+07+033+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGJBQVr_SefTzpJg_S_HtwSOO6oad11O_gOqqkkzKIqPHzlYSrJ2U3ZoBhKV0MqnwqTvi88tXgyTDzQdIZP_Qk5CZjSW4ZlipjU82ez5mw7AOnYXBucQdxAjhwlm0Gr6bz6TpaxXjlw/s200/ki+ko+hike+spring+07+033+%25282%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a> At the same time throughout the book, the main story is being told which features our modern day characters and the hero of the story. In their blunder efforts they begin to uncover clues that they feel compelled to follow up on. The whole adventure begins with the discovery of a map carved into the rock wall of a sandstone shelter at a well known Kentucky landmark. Containing carvings not unlike many found today put there by early explorers and Indians three friends set out on a quest to understand what the carvings mean. After some efforts in research and inquisition on their part they come to the revelation that the carving represents a map with key markings that can be found actually on the ground if searched out.<br />
As noted Boone, Finley and others were historically noted to be in Kentucky in 1769. The legend of John Swift also places Swift in Kentucky the same year. Though just a legend this bit of information provided the backdrop for the fiction interface on history. Here is were I take great artistic license if you will.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRzuaIpENJoa4ojx3wRAGMTVPwkjLxl0Ca_SHlgSupOEtB4dCpP-QmpXuy-tzo0JJN_COocf4Wwlhz-lgsKLeFrB6evDySRIHTSDnQngv7AAhC-aw4iBVlBCLJ5B3G70ViVL2DJ1x8Bw/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRzuaIpENJoa4ojx3wRAGMTVPwkjLxl0Ca_SHlgSupOEtB4dCpP-QmpXuy-tzo0JJN_COocf4Wwlhz-lgsKLeFrB6evDySRIHTSDnQngv7AAhC-aw4iBVlBCLJ5B3G70ViVL2DJ1x8Bw/s200/021.JPG" width="200" /></a> In my version of the Swift legend I place Finley as a new found partner to Swift after Swift looses his old friend George Mundy. By the time that Finley arrived on the scene meeting up with Swift on a raft trip down the Ohio River, Swift and Mundy had already hidden their treasure. Will, Jennifer and Ray follow clues and figure out that the map seems to match the Warriors Path. They then learn of Shawnee Town and John Finley. There efforts really pay off when they discover more information in a mysterious cave in Lexington, Ky.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizyI8W6EaZPsgrkkKdWncG7LskwaiUHiemsPQQlkS9YDgdg5GGGvQoP4zaSmuJj5o5hZEM4Uf4gQHrA2thxhGd7sM6AG1eQY3FSi9AeExDeaPcv5q4Ufs2lKWN0yX9Ywq-xAbg2nRF3A/s1600/IMG_0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizyI8W6EaZPsgrkkKdWncG7LskwaiUHiemsPQQlkS9YDgdg5GGGvQoP4zaSmuJj5o5hZEM4Uf4gQHrA2thxhGd7sM6AG1eQY3FSi9AeExDeaPcv5q4Ufs2lKWN0yX9Ywq-xAbg2nRF3A/s200/IMG_0005.jpg" width="200" /></a> The whole time the trio are on their grand treasure hunt adventure, Roger Hampton follows causing them much irritation. Being more careful they try to elude his inquires. As the tale unfolds our hero's solve questions that have plagued treasure hunters for the past two centuries. Eventually the tale and history unravel at a fast pace resulting in mistakes being made by everyone involved and ultimately serious consequences.<br />
The ending is a surprise and will certainly not be what the reader expected. Now the book relies upon just about every version of the Swift Journal. Some of Kentucky's most interesting early history is included as well. The whole premise of the book really is a "what if" scenario. What if things had happened this way or that way. Swift, is an adventure into our past history and lore.<br />
You can review and purchase my book <span style="color: red;"> <a href="http://booklocker.com/books/5744.html">here</a>. Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog. Comments are always welcome so, please, share your thoughts below.. </span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-21503308683863979932013-03-03T06:00:00.000-08:002013-03-03T06:00:00.293-08:00Valley of Bones<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-GG3L9uPcuKmPtGTgJgZT8rxQeDW37uzxj7kWQYJa7FkrmLkzZQtWZk8FEw7C-H4QVU8ZR4m-DS6bVgn7d-z24n4JOVxuMqHdFJAL7Kv1xtQJPwYW1VSLX6sufzsFr7XWSEWnp2Mfg/s1600/photo+(8).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-GG3L9uPcuKmPtGTgJgZT8rxQeDW37uzxj7kWQYJa7FkrmLkzZQtWZk8FEw7C-H4QVU8ZR4m-DS6bVgn7d-z24n4JOVxuMqHdFJAL7Kv1xtQJPwYW1VSLX6sufzsFr7XWSEWnp2Mfg/s400/photo+(8).JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
One of the most fascinating places of National significance, geologically speaking, has to be Big Bone Lick near Union, Kentucky. Since historic times the place has been known to pioneers, presidents and paleontologist world-wide. Without much doubt the origin of the study of paleontology had its beginnings right here at this world known landmark. <a href="http://www.uky.edu/KGS/education/bigbonelick.htm">Thomas Jefferson</a>, while in the White House had bones collected from the site and shipped back east. Some of these bones are now distributed in museums around the world.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRftkRZdMV_Jr2yJkOlXMlRCGVtlla1joA4k6iJXztZxLTCvfNt4mhMq3q-SaZmJzkz47AXkksGrh4G76tBt911gmKE2SwRSbOb4LN4SqnwouGHwbgFUdkEOD6kj6sLKKRvys_1Abxpw/s1600/IMG_1060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRftkRZdMV_Jr2yJkOlXMlRCGVtlla1joA4k6iJXztZxLTCvfNt4mhMq3q-SaZmJzkz47AXkksGrh4G76tBt911gmKE2SwRSbOb4LN4SqnwouGHwbgFUdkEOD6kj6sLKKRvys_1Abxpw/s400/IMG_1060.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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In Jefferson's day the question as to the origin of these giant elephant like creatures bones had not yet been deduced. The greatest scientists of the day had not reconciled the idea of bones of a known tropical animal had somehow been uncovered in a region that was clearly inhospitable to such wildlife. Yet, here they were and in large numbers. To make matters worse, many of the bones could not be identified with any known, living creature on the planet at that time. Some, including Jefferson, began to conclude that perhaps the species had indeed vanished from the earth.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1IxlbACvnPSqcutOJq2PWbTN9Sd2e1hxIabtrgJvAwuO7oHzaunTRmISoFo0oypeUxo-k5N1_2eapu-9PQt3ru7gixex0gqctKSYss15jE_uG0UEsfg0mIgc9j0F8zg7durHLDISYA/s1600/IMG_1055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1IxlbACvnPSqcutOJq2PWbTN9Sd2e1hxIabtrgJvAwuO7oHzaunTRmISoFo0oypeUxo-k5N1_2eapu-9PQt3ru7gixex0gqctKSYss15jE_uG0UEsfg0mIgc9j0F8zg7durHLDISYA/s400/IMG_1055.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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There are lots of unusual factors related to the formation of the area that preserved the bones of ancient mammoths, mastodons, bison, horses, musk ox and sloths, all of which now are extinct. It seems conditions were created by the last ice age. As the giant ice sheet that covered North America as far south as the Ohio River area the gradual melt and retreat of the mile thick ice sheet left bogs and swamps behind along with a different landscape. All the melt water run off had to go somewhere. Geologist consider that the Ohio River itself was formed as the trillions of gallons of melt water flowed away from the rapidly melting glacier. The shear weight of the ice sheet pressing down on the earth compressed the layers of rock and water trapped in them.</div>
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The ice age mammals had been forced to move south but apparently they found suitable food sources in the cold climate near the glaciers. Evidence for that is that is that musk ox are found in the cold north even today and cannot live in a warmer climate. Deep down in the rock strata-thousands of feet down- below the surface of the earth then and today rocks formed from ancient seas that were once in the area hundreds of millions of years ago. Over time these sediments were gradually pushed down as more layers piled up. Somewhere down there are formations containing large amounts of salt, probably the result of the drying of a salt sea much like that of the great Salt Lake in Utah. At any rate my theory is that due to the tremendous weight and therefore compression of the rock strata, water was forced to the surface of the earth and carried along with it the salts and minerals trapped in those ancient strata.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Y8CH0bZlMmT2O05Vzv2jcs0ZEtvGS65PBIUofBb8ILjBhGHsYc_aSZjBXY27U7XnE_LR4RUQ4sTdbltsZI01jOb9hsieFq1DX-Gl90f_zj80KdzbbozAROxX2HA680FmKo0uMzWFHw/s1600/IMG_1065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Y8CH0bZlMmT2O05Vzv2jcs0ZEtvGS65PBIUofBb8ILjBhGHsYc_aSZjBXY27U7XnE_LR4RUQ4sTdbltsZI01jOb9hsieFq1DX-Gl90f_zj80KdzbbozAROxX2HA680FmKo0uMzWFHw/s400/IMG_1065.JPG" width="337" /></a><br />
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Large herbivorous need salt in their diet and would visit the place on a regular basis. They apparently came in such large numbers that they created a quagmire in the valley as they drank up the briny water that nature had uniquely provided under such unusual circumstances.So muddy and messy had the area become that some animals would simply get stuck in the mud and eventually died. It must have been a tormented place to see, yet the need for salt brought more and more some destined to die but most would move on in search for food.</div>
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Time changes everything. The animals decaying bones would sink beneath the mud and eventually fossilized by the very minerals supplied by the amazing springs. Moving for several thousand years the bones along with the dirt, rocks and materials have been covered over with new dirt and rock deposits. The salt springs still survived and continue to pour out the rich salt and mineral waters which come to the attention of some of the Native Americans that hunt and live in the region. </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSlQXyr1HpouzccW5ELLIQ1YryTmQgU6ko0uxxjHTW4wNs5pY9L-OOhvPHRBds4jkJVekTr_3HM5dcsYNHZH-gQgAJdZ3vkx1QiqU8iq9iBInKsoQ2PhyphenhyphenhYSP2RtYMPaBykM0nbq-wg/s1600/IMG_1067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSlQXyr1HpouzccW5ELLIQ1YryTmQgU6ko0uxxjHTW4wNs5pY9L-OOhvPHRBds4jkJVekTr_3HM5dcsYNHZH-gQgAJdZ3vkx1QiqU8iq9iBInKsoQ2PhyphenhyphenhYSP2RtYMPaBykM0nbq-wg/s400/IMG_1067.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
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Humans have a need and requirement for salt. It didn't take long for the people of the area to discover the salt springs and would collect salt by evaporating the water and collecting the remaining salt. The whole region was dominated by the Shawnee at the time of the first European contact. It did not take long for early pioneers to locate the salt springs and begin major salt collecting enterprises. Some reports that at one time as much as 60 bushels of salt were collected a day! This was done by boiling the brine water in large kettles. As the water is boiled off the salt is left as a thick residue. The amount of wood to keep such an operation going simply boggles my mind.</div>
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It did not take long for the pioneers to take note of the strange bones that were found washed out of the stream bank and strewn about. It would not be long that word spread back east and eventually to the inquiring mind of Thomas Jefferson. The sitting president was so mystified by the reports of the giant bones that he instructed Meriwether Lewis of the famous <a href="http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/lewisandclark/bbo.htm">Lewis and Clark</a> expedition to visit the site and ship back to Washington samples of the various bones. This was the beginning of a serious study of vertebrate paleontology. No one could explain why elephant bones were found at Big Bone.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWClXcqHLS-4ES0MhryF5dBJOHwr4h5JzSBXUbbaIdMSIisfTzvi6_vZ0JE_yR8D3TdPWnQrJlI9LQc__CIZ8oSeQ83EVzZAH-8H1NIBrD2JzDSGno3BdCU39xscHrawRWBHijT6C1Fw/s1600/IMG_1070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWClXcqHLS-4ES0MhryF5dBJOHwr4h5JzSBXUbbaIdMSIisfTzvi6_vZ0JE_yR8D3TdPWnQrJlI9LQc__CIZ8oSeQ83EVzZAH-8H1NIBrD2JzDSGno3BdCU39xscHrawRWBHijT6C1Fw/s400/IMG_1070.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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So the name says it all. Big Bone Lick was a salt lick, like many found around the region, most probably resulting from the same ancient geological events as previously mentioned. Big Bone, well this was the place the bones of the largest mammals to ever roam North America first came to the attention of the world and eventually led to the scientific study of extinct life preserved in earth strata. The science of paleontology had its origin right here in Kentucky at Big Bone Lick.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDL-eAUIDxb0o4K_9BwNUNS63ZVeAkFmTLXNTcHx0i5shF0HTXbmgcjZL66u0eAXZBVnHyn1T_0lfKavSGwh3tA4zdo4cANDUVZMAi9oYoey0Ka-AV5Yo0XJf-Q4OsuXZfxP9aoLKaSQ/s1600/Salt+Festival+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDL-eAUIDxb0o4K_9BwNUNS63ZVeAkFmTLXNTcHx0i5shF0HTXbmgcjZL66u0eAXZBVnHyn1T_0lfKavSGwh3tA4zdo4cANDUVZMAi9oYoey0Ka-AV5Yo0XJf-Q4OsuXZfxP9aoLKaSQ/s400/Salt+Festival+009.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Today the Valley of the Bones main source of the bone finds and mineral springs are preserved as a state park. A person can walk a well maintained trail through the area that contains, no doubt, many more bones below the surface of the ground. Visitors can also see one of the salt springs that is still pumping up the briny, sulfur smelling water. There is also a visitor, interpretive center with displays of bones from the site and information about the interesting history of the area. Don't expect to find giant mammoth bones sticking up out of the ground ready to be carried off. The surface area was picked clean decades ago. Paleontologists and archaeologists from major universities have also done extensive excavations and research over the years leading to much of the information we have today. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-57883904326286210972013-02-17T06:00:00.000-08:002013-02-17T06:00:00.931-08:00Eskippakithiki-Eden of the West<div style="text-align: center;">
<b> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> by Kiowa Scott Muncie</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlMdIa3xrCxj2frpur-U8HmK3p21rytCe7ODgnmfsDADlm1RCcZMIWnCf5UJHc8ZfDDfHK0sz_WpfR2OU8_c8jmmB0BCn4h81Sqv25KO4uULr40Msnqb3gDV6iQJVaM8iS_hRr8g1sQ/s1600/IMG_7098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlMdIa3xrCxj2frpur-U8HmK3p21rytCe7ODgnmfsDADlm1RCcZMIWnCf5UJHc8ZfDDfHK0sz_WpfR2OU8_c8jmmB0BCn4h81Sqv25KO4uULr40Msnqb3gDV6iQJVaM8iS_hRr8g1sQ/s400/IMG_7098.JPG" width="400" /></a> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is not your usual post concerning Swift, his mines or even his hidden silver, but better yet, about a treasure we all seem at some point take for granted. A certain tract of land here in Kentucky was called the Eden of the West by pioneers passing their stories around campfires describing the magnificent meadow lands of the Indians and the Blue Licks. It truly must have been a hunter's dream if one could brave both the Natives and hardships of the trip across the mountains. What an experience it must have been to explore and hunt the vast unknown wilderness. The history surrounding the old Shawnee village has always peaked my curiosity though I personally do not believe the area is related to the Swift legend. I do believe, however, more attention should be given to this area by state and local archaeological organizations. Doing so would help secure and preserve the history associated to this unique place. This is, after all, the place Kentucky gets is name from.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Many Indians had their own interpretation of the word <a href="http://www.foresthistory.org/ASPNET/Publications/region/8/daniel_boone/appa.htm">Kentucky</a>. The Wyandotte who traveled the Warriors Path called the area "Ken-ten-tah-teh" meaning "land of tomorrow." The Delaware called it a place "among the meadows." The Shawnee who actually claimed the area and lived here called it "Eskippakithiki" meaning the "place of blue licks." This described the many salt licks that were found in the area. I believe this to be one of the main reasons the Shawnee settled here. The springs sought out and much prized by the Shawnee. One spring named Oil Springs was believed to have healing and medicinal waters. These springs were used by the natives long before Columbus arrived and here within acre are located five mineral springs. It is said that these springs produce different kinds of mineral waters in claimed to be the only place in the world where this kind of geological condition occurs. Nowadays people seem to easily mistake the name Kentucky to mean "the dark and bloody ground." This can be attributed to the writings of Kentucky's first author and historian, John Filson. Filson mentions in this book that the place was known to all Indians by that term. Filson also informs the reader that this spot became an object of contention from which it was often called the bloody ground. The area Filson is referring to may have well been the meadow lands at Eskippakithiki or now commonly referred to as <a href="http://www.kentuckyexplorer.com/nonmembers/01-04020.html">Indian Old Fields</a>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXZL2_P0DNhyphenhyphenVzYHtGTMrbp1I_e28uuuDjovXRjGJAe93qFPNtXBaG8HPJnzPBbyJ1Q28aykA5MGLS6w4shyBzWcYd96hHYx2C8Yl-gY_LnE6TLMJU5aYUxYOVDW-6z8hQ1NpVu4w46g/s1600/IMG_7034.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXZL2_P0DNhyphenhyphenVzYHtGTMrbp1I_e28uuuDjovXRjGJAe93qFPNtXBaG8HPJnzPBbyJ1Q28aykA5MGLS6w4shyBzWcYd96hHYx2C8Yl-gY_LnE6TLMJU5aYUxYOVDW-6z8hQ1NpVu4w46g/s400/IMG_7034.PNG" width="400" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Cherokee chief Dragging Canoe told early pioneers at a council meeting at Sycamore Shoals in March of 1775 that a dark cloud hung over the land.The chief explained that there would be great opposition from the northern tribes. Another chief at this same counsel explained that the land they desired was a bloody country going back through the age-old disputes between different warring tribes that claimed hunting rights in the fame rich Red River valley.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Eskippakithiki (pronounced S-kip-pa-key-tah-key) was located along the well-traveled ancient Indian road known to them as the "Athawominee" or path of the armed ones. In later years up to this day the trail was more commonly called the Warriors Path. The trail crosses the Ohio River near present day Maysville and continued south across the Licking River near Blue Licks. Eventually the trail passes by and through the levels around Eskippakithiki. According to early records the trail divided into two separate paths, one led to the Red River and the other continued south toward the Kentucky River at Irvine. Eventually the Warriors Path passed through the Cumberland Gap.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The French had established a trading post at the Eskippakithiki site during the time the French claimed all lands west of the Blue Ridge mountains. Reports claim the trading center occupied a space of 200 yards in length by 180 yards wide.The entire trade center was surrounded by a stockade with gates at both ends. In the middle of the trade center stood a large post where criminals and captives were put to death. The Shawnee village houses were scatted and located northward for perhaps a mile to where present day Kidville is located. The Shawnee welcomed trade from both the French and English but would not permit any settlement on their hunting grounds. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yzHSyFyiBroKSWVrBeCqB5zFgCjY9UFxS-JD4xMSPrEmTjcFcLsSHpRtoVtL1S3U2c89er-eCFWgsYWe75d04E4h07R7Gg2MaVyzTnTXG702U0ksp4QmXxkbfg8C22tMgdyt0jbo3Q/s1600/IMG_7144.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yzHSyFyiBroKSWVrBeCqB5zFgCjY9UFxS-JD4xMSPrEmTjcFcLsSHpRtoVtL1S3U2c89er-eCFWgsYWe75d04E4h07R7Gg2MaVyzTnTXG702U0ksp4QmXxkbfg8C22tMgdyt0jbo3Q/s400/IMG_7144.PNG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> In 1750 Christopher Gist passed through the village area on his way exploring Kentucky. In my Swift research it seems likely John Swift could have been linked to trade with the Shawnee around 1752-53. If that were the case then Swift would have certainly known of Eskippakithiki. Another famous pioneer/trader the Shawnee welcomed was John Finley. In the early fall 1752 Finley was met by the Shawnee on the Ohio River near Big Bone Lick. They invited him to come trade at their village. By canoe they traveled from the Ohio up the Kentucky River to upper Howard's Creek, then a small path overland to the village. Here Finley built a cabin and a store. He surrounded the store with an entrenchment of palisades for additional protection. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkLqQjj486ELdpYdbV9WaiDSVD0dsX7TKg3yiO6B5kHPvcckK7nxVbSDSfCD1fAvy85rfLaVp2MdnRlHPo2ANHSMEtAEWjqLhUG_NKEBVS1IzpfqAto8mlqqQy8XQ96cH07seZD12sQ/s1600/IMG_3391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkLqQjj486ELdpYdbV9WaiDSVD0dsX7TKg3yiO6B5kHPvcckK7nxVbSDSfCD1fAvy85rfLaVp2MdnRlHPo2ANHSMEtAEWjqLhUG_NKEBVS1IzpfqAto8mlqqQy8XQ96cH07seZD12sQ/s400/IMG_3391.JPG" width="400" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> From my research I have come to believe that Finley most likely built his cabin and store away from the main trading center on the banks of upper Howard's Creek just below the scarp. During the winter of 1753 a large party of Iroquois and a few Frenchmen traveled down the Warrior's Path on what was commonly known as a war party. Three of Finley's friends who were at the village at the time of the attack were killed. Finley's property was plundered and destroyed. All of his valuable pelts and furs were taken. He fled back to Virginia. This battle fought at Eskippakithiki in 1753 marks the first battle on Kentucky soil between Indians and whites and is said to be the first <a href="http://hiddenancestors.com/clarkky/misc/winchester.htm">battle</a> of the French and Indian War.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA2ufC9Ao8oZy6HQ995HHvmpeBtN7pOKleTLaZA6TfiyX0V8v_E5U5QeDDZRe7KAbirLECM626xoFeKZ4kW0YHzBH0r7fEFZl0C9QblqF0b88wgkk_LKwY6gcl0rk-9qwVAY3OWgs2HQ/s1600/013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA2ufC9Ao8oZy6HQ995HHvmpeBtN7pOKleTLaZA6TfiyX0V8v_E5U5QeDDZRe7KAbirLECM626xoFeKZ4kW0YHzBH0r7fEFZl0C9QblqF0b88wgkk_LKwY6gcl0rk-9qwVAY3OWgs2HQ/s400/013.JPG" width="400" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Another state treasure is a peculiar landmark that is associated with Eskippakithiki is Pilot Knob named by <a href="http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6373/">Daniel Boone</a> to help pilot land grants during the early years of Kentucky settlement. Pilot Knob is a sandstone outcrop that towers nearly 1500 feet above the surrounding country overlooking the area of the old Shawnee village as well as the Warrior's Path. This landmark was called the pigeon roost by the Shawnee and viewed as a pleasant backdrop to the flat meadows against the foothills of Appalachia. I sometimes get lost in thought of what magic Boone must have felt standing on the same overlook taking in the same view that has always renders one breathless. It was here that history records Boone standing and describing the breath taking view in great detail. John Filson quotes Boone as saying "we found ourselves on the Red River where John Finley had formerly been trading with the Indians and from the top of an eminence, saw with great pleasure the beautiful level of Kentucke,for here let me observe, that for some time we had experienced the most uncomfortable weather as a rehabilitation of our future sufferings, at this place we camped and made shelter to defend us from the harsh season and began to hunt and reconcile the country." This camp Boone mentions can be found on the trail going up to the overlook. It's located on the uppermost knoll of the backside of the mountain, anyone who hikes up pretty well walks right through were Boon's camp was located. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The following day after reaching the knob Boone explored the area of the old Shawnee village finding that the trade center had been abandoned and burned to the ground. In the years since Boon's trip settlement has changed the area to a degree. The land has basically been combed over and over again by historians. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Resources have been found useful from the area of Pilot Knob. Millstones played an important role in the lives of early settlers. A millstone quarry can be found along the mountain of Pilot Knob. A branch of the overlook trail leads to this old millstone quarry. Millstones are made from cutting conglomerate sandstones into circular form for use in the grinding of grains to make flour and various meal. Another important resource was timber. In the mid to late 1800's timber was a big industry in the red river valley. Clay City was home to the largest sawmill in the world at that time. Many of the trees from the Pilot Knob area were processed through the mill destroying the virgin woodlands of frontier Kentucky.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Located on a ridge named Rotten Point just behind Pilot Knob stood an old lookout tower used in searching for smoke from wildfires. All that is left today of the old lookout tower is the concrete foundation. Two huge radio towers stand there today. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Although I do not believe these areas tie into the Swift legend one can hardly avoid studying the history of these places while researching the area. The history of this area is beautiful, colorful and fulfilling. I would encourage anyone who loves to hike to visit these enchanting places. Thanks for reading.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>*This article was written by Kiowa Scott Muncie. Kiowa is an avid Swift treasure researcher and hunter. He has contributed articles to this blog before and offers a unique perspective to some of the places that we take for granted. Though we have covered <a href="http://ed-henson.blogspot.com/2011/04/daniel-boone-at-pilot-knob.html">Eskippakithiki</a> before in this blog, Kiowa offers a more in-depth and personal conjecture on the subject. </i></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View in 1948 from end of Sky Bridge ridge looking down on Red River bridge under construction</td></tr>
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Back in the days after WW II my dad landed a job with the US Forest Service after his discharge from his service in the Army. He went to work in the Red River Gorge, though in those days the federal owned and managed land was called the Cumberland National Forest and the Gorge was simply referred to as the Red River country. The day I was born, dad was working on the concrete bridge at the mouth of Swift Creek. The bridge is still standing there today and as it turns out that bridge and I are about the same age it would seem. Anyway, dad went on to be the chief fire control officer in the Red River district and spent his entire working career devoted to caring for and managing the beautiful gorge area.</div>
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As dad spent many hours marking timber for harvest in those days he would discover new arches and more often than not would name them. Clarence Henson named many, many of the arches in the Red River Gorge area. There were no trails in those days and really few visitor hikers beyond the Natural Bridge area. Actually, the first and only automobile road was only constructed through the gorge in the late thirties. The region was remote wilderness unlike any other.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidwXdtd4kwbG64zMdfY9sRers0kiVZLzkrk61Y486rkgBgPhrH6w0hUaXSqO9CPHkmYw3YmDLjKbDFmJqzAMbhnHyBuGAH_e1wgM9Dn_0r-_RVI8MR3N8fqb71clTogwnqhOMs5Sk0vw/s1600/IMG_0010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidwXdtd4kwbG64zMdfY9sRers0kiVZLzkrk61Y486rkgBgPhrH6w0hUaXSqO9CPHkmYw3YmDLjKbDFmJqzAMbhnHyBuGAH_e1wgM9Dn_0r-_RVI8MR3N8fqb71clTogwnqhOMs5Sk0vw/s400/IMG_0010.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lady Rock is located on Whites Branch and is a little known oddity</td></tr>
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Dad also made a lot of photographs nearly all color slide transparencies of many of the unusual rock formations and arches of the area. Over the past few years since my father's passing mom has been passing along some of dad's slides to me. Recently, I have finally got around to going through some of his slides and have basically discovered a great archive of historical photos from the forties and fifties reflecting on the Red River Gorge country.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiReZVGS1GnMD3m0MtCBW5fnql7cGWHyhnPenaYnO_5MxAfdCbAJw8v2auIWmdC36zGvAi8fc_UuoDFpwybfD9eJDdcy8URcxNto_MlvvQrQGMj-TZkrcUHrJCj5pPDEzljtN_iLb6KBA/s1600/IMG_0015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiReZVGS1GnMD3m0MtCBW5fnql7cGWHyhnPenaYnO_5MxAfdCbAJw8v2auIWmdC36zGvAi8fc_UuoDFpwybfD9eJDdcy8URcxNto_MlvvQrQGMj-TZkrcUHrJCj5pPDEzljtN_iLb6KBA/s400/IMG_0015.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Star Gap Arch</td></tr>
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Through time some of the photographs have faded, collected dust or some are just plane rejects due to over exposure or some other cause. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original "balanced rock" or Teetering Rock at Natural Bridge State Park </td></tr>
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Another amazing thing that dad managed to do was photograph some of the arches and rock formations in the area. I recall on some evenings he would take his collection of slides and go to the state park lodge and present a slide presentation of some of these unusual, wild and remote places to the park guests. He would usually, during the summer months, present these programs on the big porch that wrapped around the original Hemlock Lodge, which is gone now destroyed by fire in 1969. As a little boy, I would often accompany dad to these programs and can still see them going on today. With that background in mind, I would like to share a few of dad's photographs. Keep in mind these photos were made as color transparencies in the late 1940's up through the 50's. Also, I have had to convert to digital and some of the dust and scratches are passed along. But this rare glimpse into what the gorge appeared like just a few decades ago is quite remarkable.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL24LiDMOYAcKE7l5ZHjK7N3racvs_lHShnqg5DkqjPlaKHbkaVekqovyQXmwShWMlBxdUqKzHWJzKdZ35SgrfGdBUcbL2tzz7OcqcfJmHmnCVhXc-44HEy8Rb1fXIo5pA0_Iz3A5zmw/s1600/IMG_0012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL24LiDMOYAcKE7l5ZHjK7N3racvs_lHShnqg5DkqjPlaKHbkaVekqovyQXmwShWMlBxdUqKzHWJzKdZ35SgrfGdBUcbL2tzz7OcqcfJmHmnCVhXc-44HEy8Rb1fXIo5pA0_Iz3A5zmw/s400/IMG_0012.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Narrows" or Whites Branch arch is the only arch that had a road and auto traffic. Now closed to vehicles</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbIPZizsJwC3eBijAh5UHDiG-3LSY5l4AwJd5mwlklbzA8mJH7edqon33mSoR2blTofcREOqpncT4QpOGt8lgs5LuWNRoE_XAumd172m5RSfjurnkGGlI88IbLxhM2yaV9h8TO9TZfVQ/s1600/IMG_0014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbIPZizsJwC3eBijAh5UHDiG-3LSY5l4AwJd5mwlklbzA8mJH7edqon33mSoR2blTofcREOqpncT4QpOGt8lgs5LuWNRoE_XAumd172m5RSfjurnkGGlI88IbLxhM2yaV9h8TO9TZfVQ/s400/IMG_0014.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Splash dam on Swift Creek a short distance below Rock Bridge in RRG</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGG6TdJ0yJiNON1LZdvtJuExU2ShnO9FwLsRLfmK-jqKtcq9UNf-jnC4pIgZ-UotHL812SZx6KM1uw42idmlt0l0HQMB9nJat4FIxZb4MYSFHfSkLtCppne3MBwzdIwS3dJA3KYQVLVA/s1600/IMG_0011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGG6TdJ0yJiNON1LZdvtJuExU2ShnO9FwLsRLfmK-jqKtcq9UNf-jnC4pIgZ-UotHL812SZx6KM1uw42idmlt0l0HQMB9nJat4FIxZb4MYSFHfSkLtCppne3MBwzdIwS3dJA3KYQVLVA/s400/IMG_0011.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original Hemlock Lodge at Natural Bridge State Park in mid 50's. Originally built by L &N railroad in 1927, burned in 1969</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU1obEuRICsvXr_wbAws2lbvgvKqIeEoxwY_UpYwqwnWGG451Hwbv4HOVqJmP955d7M6fxEoEanYE0WBdCHdEoE9gJNqTYqbeQ0svUACQM61dLVH2_ZINf0DRFXefnCWwEeqZ8MDAh_g/s1600/IMG_0013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU1obEuRICsvXr_wbAws2lbvgvKqIeEoxwY_UpYwqwnWGG451Hwbv4HOVqJmP955d7M6fxEoEanYE0WBdCHdEoE9gJNqTYqbeQ0svUACQM61dLVH2_ZINf0DRFXefnCWwEeqZ8MDAh_g/s400/IMG_0013.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waitress crew at old Hemlock Lodge mid 50's</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjGNKHwC48nvVcDbuPU6uLY1UfQpNU1znxbUNmLTlRMn_Rh-zfBbn6CPAUWvjttYqrvNdQZrBX1mdN7XXGN6fBohBh2PKBw9CRqwRFE-gihXoiftH4IsUGBZY3aO636IfZzc_4iEmWsg/s1600/IMG_0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjGNKHwC48nvVcDbuPU6uLY1UfQpNU1znxbUNmLTlRMn_Rh-zfBbn6CPAUWvjttYqrvNdQZrBX1mdN7XXGN6fBohBh2PKBw9CRqwRFE-gihXoiftH4IsUGBZY3aO636IfZzc_4iEmWsg/s400/IMG_0002.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Powder Mill Arch, late 60's. Largest limestone arch in RRG. Clarence Henson and Dr. Carl Clark in photo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjx-JJqT_PttNI1cC4N3OOSL1JnFe9oXPWQlqDvoGPaSJRTRL1ybql0faZV5FpAMTrx86hTNOKoZOURm7tdob-X0WoMAF-2GltK-iM07cCt2tu0fArDB3T6WPDNeyZgqk6tDhfFN-kw/s1600/IMG_0017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjx-JJqT_PttNI1cC4N3OOSL1JnFe9oXPWQlqDvoGPaSJRTRL1ybql0faZV5FpAMTrx86hTNOKoZOURm7tdob-X0WoMAF-2GltK-iM07cCt2tu0fArDB3T6WPDNeyZgqk6tDhfFN-kw/s400/IMG_0017.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sky Bridge from the road when it was still visible</td></tr>
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As I go through the hundreds of slides in my dad's collection I may from time to time post some that have relevance to the site and the Swift legend. The photographs provide us with a snap shot of the Red River Gorge country from an early time and reveal just how much things have changed in our lifetime.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066368450226741811.post-73409496173170446222013-01-20T06:00:00.000-08:002013-01-20T15:10:46.369-08:00 Swift Journal<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I originally started this blog for the main purpose of cross promoting the book I wrote about the Swift legend. I still do devote much of the efforts of this site to promote the sale of that book. However, the site has grown over the years to be more than just a collection of clues and discussion of the Swift legend or the book. I have found myself in one continuous adventure of discovering and rediscovering interesting places, things and people around my beloved state of Kentucky. Each day many people visit the blog site and hopefully go away with a bit more desire to make their own adventure of exploration come to life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> With that said, I do realize that a great number of site visitors end up here at this blog site in their search for Kentucky history and the quest for more information about the legend of John Swift's mysterious lost silver mines. So, this issue of my blog post I am devoting to sharing a somewhat rare copy of the Swift Journal that was passed along to my father in the early 1960's.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Keep in mind that there are many versions of the journal and they have many variations, some of which are unique to particular geographical area. Even in the 60's it was thought there were perhaps as many as 50 different versions. They all offered some common references, the most common being that none offer a specific location identified by exact coordinates. Some are tantalizingly close but none on the mark. Perhaps this was intentional so that a hoax or scheme could be continued and widely sold. Perhaps Swift himself intentional omitted coordinates in order to offer better security for his treasure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> My father, Clarence Henson, was given a copy of the journal in 1962. Dad was much sought after for his knowledge of places, landmarks and about anything concerning the Red River Gorge area in those days. I can only assume that the following version of the journal was sent to dad in hopes that he might study it and locate some of the landmarks mentioned. He later gave the journal to his first cousin, Michael Paul Henson who retyped and adding comments throughout the manuscript. Paul's notes are in red along with a brief heading. He later published portions of this journal and others in his definitive guide books on the famous treasure. I am sorry for the size of the text here as these are scanned copies of Michael Paul's original manuscript seen here publicly for the first time! Happy treasure hunting!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And a reminder to all our new readers my historic novel about this very legend is available from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ed-Henson/e/B005ZZD7Y6">Amazon.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and <a href="http://booklocker.com/books/5744.html">Booklocker.com</a>.</span></div>
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