John Swift

                         

Be sure to check out my book Swift and get your copy from Amazon.com today.

View from Pilot Knob looking west toward the Bluegrass. A story of John Swift, John Finley and Daniel Boone
all come together here at this famous landmark in this historical novel about the famous legend of
lost buried treasure in the Kentucky wilderness

Broke Leg Falls

     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.

    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.

    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.

     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.

    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.

 

  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.

   If you would like to visit Broke Leg Falls here is a map for directions to the Falls. The neat box canyon is very noticeable on this Google map.

Behind 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.

    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.
    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 Behind the Scenes of the Swift Blog:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX_Fhg00uuI&feature=youtu.be

Swift- The Legend Continues...

    Hello everyone.  Summer is in full swing here and I am currently working on some more (hopefully) interesting entries for the Swift 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.
    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.
    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:  http://booklocker.com/books/5744.html

    Those who prefer Amazon.com  can find the book at http://www.amazon.com/Ed-Henson/e/B005ZZD7Y6. 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.

   

Half-Moon

  

   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.

   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.

    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.

    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.

    There is even a small arch at the Half-Moon which once again fits the descriptors in the Swift legend.

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.

     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.

The view of the back side of Chimney Rock across the canyon from the Half-Moon

    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.

  My novel Swift is available in both printed and e-versions.  

     Booklocker.com

        or

          Amazon.com

Jeptha's Knob and other Craters

    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.

Jeptha's Knob near Clay Village in Shelby county Ky

    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 here.  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.

    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  views.  The Middlesboro crater is unique in all the world in the fact it is the only known impact crater that coal has been mined.

View of Middlesboro impact crater

    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.
     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 impact 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.
     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.
    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.

  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. 

   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.

     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.

   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. 

    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.

     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.

Swift Synopsis

     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.
    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.
     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.
    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.
    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.
     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.
    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.
    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.
    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.
    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.
    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.
   You can review and purchase my book  here. Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog. Comments are always welcome so, please, share your thoughts below..