Swift's Silver Mine: The Truth Behind the Legend

    If you are new to this blog site and perhaps just starting your research into the legend that has captivated people in several states for more than two hundred years then you should start with this video. Swift's Silver Mine, the Truth Behind the Legend was produced by Ross and Mike Steely and released earlier this year.

Video session at Cumberland Falls DuPont Lodge. Roy Price being interviewed with Ross Steely video taping

    The video gives a good overall background to the legend and variations and consists of interviews with many folks associated with the search today. It is a great starting point and though I linked this video in a previous post I believe it to be worthwhile to mention again here.

Swift People

     By now you know I have fond memories of the Swift legend and lore. Whether it is ever found or ever even existed is not the point to me. The point is basically in two areas and one of the main reasons I choose to write a historical fiction. My aim was to do basically two things. First, I believe this legend of lost mines of silver ore and hidden treasure in counterfeit coins worth millions to be the oldest known, recorded and kept continually "alive" passed down through the generations. It likely predates our countries independence and most certainly predates the formation of the state of Kentucky. Isn't it worth keeping alive for the next upcoming generations? I think so. Secondly, the searchers and dreamers of recent years and today are interesting and amazing people. Those who live in Eastern Kentucky will likely know or have known someone who searched for the lost treasure. I have met many over the years and can easily find hundreds on Facebook, TreasureNet and other online resources. I am listing here some of those folks that have impacted me the most in keeping this story in the back of my mind-always. Some I met in my childhood; some I have only had the pleasure to meet recently. All have an amazing amount of knowledge about both Kentucky history and the variations of the lost silver mine stories. Some here are now gone from us while others are a "new" generation of seekers and buffs that carry the famous legend forward to yet new generations to come.

Michael Paul Henson 

    So I write my book based on the best historical evidence of the real people of the time and the activities of modern day treasure hunters. Of course, I speculate my own personal theories throughout the book. We will never know the minds of the early pioneers and why such a story of riches was uncovered or contrived. Either way it absolutely makes for a great story.

    Most of my posts that relate to the Swift treasure and obviously promoting my book deal with various aspects of Kentucky history, places and landmarks. But those people, those wonderful and driven people who were not and are not afraid to follow their dreams if for nothing more than the pure pleasure of the hunt, they are worth mentioning as much or if not more than the story itself. The Swift hunters, as they are often called, study, evaluate, and scrutinize documents, clues and field sites testing their theories. They are not crazy or nuts as some skeptics and disinterested person have been known to say. They are providing the rest of us the service seeing this legend remains alive past our days. I think that is a nice thing and I hope you do too. 

    I would like to devote today's entry to a few that I have had the honor and pleasure to have met or been in contact with over the years. This is by no means an exclusive club. There have been thousands over the years to take up this strange chase or hobby, call it what you want. These are just the few I have encountered and I wanted you to meet them.

    Perhaps to the Swift hunters themselves, the "Dean" as they often refer to him, is Michael Paul Henson. Paul followed after the treasure tale for many years amassing a huge amount of information including about every variation of the "Swift journal" that was around. He published books ( the first books) on the subject and numerous articles for various magazines. Paul was the go to man for nearly every Swift hunter and was known all across the country. Also, Paul was my cousin. His books are still sought out in libraries today by people looking for confirmation and clues to their own search efforts. Since Paul's first books several others have written and published books on the topic and there are more coming out every year. So far as I can tell my book Swift is the only novel written with the Swift tale as subject matter for the fictional account.

Mr. Tipton and his mine workings on the South Fork of the Red River

   My dad and I were driving around the headwaters of South Fork of the Red River and happened upon Mr.   Tipton. He had excavated half the side of a mountain and told us on this visit he was pretty certain he had found the vein of silver ore that John Swift had mined. He certainly had moved a lot of dirt and rock. I can't say for sure whether he did or did not find any silver. He showed us a rock that looked to me to be galena (lead.) It was shiny like silver but I did not think is was the real ore. I never heard anymore whether or not 
     Back in 1992 I had the great pleasure of spending an afternoon with Reverend Charles Allen of Sand Gap, Kentucky.  Sand Gap is located in Jackson County.  I met Mr. Allen at his home and spent most of the day with him hiking back to an area he believed he had discovered the silver ore that Swift and company mined. Charles Allen was not your average silver mine hunter, though he had claimed to have found the workings.  He had carefully identified the correct light houses, various rock landmarks and creeks.  The area he  identified was, indeed like many areas, located under and around one of the many sandstone rock houses that exist all along the escarpment of Eastern Kentucky.  It was an enjoyable day to be sure and and he was remarkably fit. This man, in his 70's, nearly walked me to death that day and I recall having a difficult time keeping up with him. 

Charles Allen, claimed to be descended from Swift and to have found the mine

     Charles Allen was a silver mine hunter to be sure but his special gift; his uniqueness among all the rest of us was his claim to be a descendant of John Swift.  Yes, that's right, Charles Allen claimed to have very accurately traced his ancestry back to John Swift and beyond.

     OK, I know, this sounds like a wild tale and I have no way to confirm other than the paper he gave me that day when I departed, very tired and with samples of iron hematite-no silver on this visit.  Now the serious researcher can easily find that John Swift married a Virginia woman named Ann (Nancy in some accounts) Roberdeau.

  Charles Allen claims  John Swift married a Cherokee woman of the Red Cherokee Tribe living in the area that is now Jackson County, Kentucky.  Without going into a list of genealogy records, Mr. Allen claims that his great, great (I think four greats) grandmother was one Theina Renfrowe.   Theina, Allen insists, was the daughter of John and Dandelion Swift.

Mike Steely, author of books and articles about the legend

    Anyone these days should not go searching for any treasure in Kentucky, Tennessee or Virginia without taking along a copy of Mike Steely's great book, Swift's Silver Mines and Related Appalachian Treasures. Mike published this work back in 1995 and to this day is one of the best collections of treasure stories of the region to be published and one can still get copies from Amazon.com and other online sources.
    Mike also worked with others in the community of Jellico, Tennessee to put together a weekend devoted exclusively to the John Swift Silver Mine. It was not a festival, but rather an event that brought Swift searchers together in one place to share ideas. Sadly, the event is no more.
     During this past winter Mike and his son were in the process of filming the documentary      

Roy Price, well known researcher in the Jellico/Pine Mountain area

at Cumberland Falls State Park. Mike had invited Roy Price to be filmed telling about some of the early history and Swift information he had around Southern Kentucky and Northeastern Tennessee. This was the first time I had met Roy Price even though I was acquainted with some of his research and experience on the subject of Swift. I listened to Roy speak about the early history of the Falls area and realized Roy was a treasure of knowledge about the Swift legend. Now days I follow Roy's posts and adventures into the cliff country of Tennessee. 

Timithoy Belcher, historian and Swift  researcher in the Breaks area on Pine Mountain

    If you are ever near the Breaks in Pike County, specifically Elkhorn City and there is an event that Timithoy Belcher is attending and speaking, go see him. Tim is quite amazing in all the knowledge and information he has on the Swift legend as well as other lost treasures in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. I met Tim at a book signing in Elkhorn City a few months ago and had a most learned and enjoyable experience ever on the subject of treasure. The fact of the matter, Tim pointed out to me that more mysterious treasures have been found along the Pine Mountain than in any other area of the state.

Albertson Search Party 1960 searching in RR Gorge 

    Back in the sixties there were Swift hunters  from Virginia under the leadership of Eddie Albertson searching heavily in the Red River Gorge. This particular group spent several seasons and tremendous expense exploring the region on the headwaters of Chimney Top Creek in Wolf County, Kentucky. In fact they discovered what they claimed to be one of the furnaces prepared to smelt the silver ore. Present day Silver Mine Arch near the Koomer Ridge Campground takes its name from the fact it was discovered near the supposed silver smelting furnace was discovered.

Kiowa Scott Muncie searches in the Red River Gorge 

      One of the new generation Swift lore and treasure hunters is Kiowa Scott Muncie. Kiowa's primary search area is the Red River Gorge. He actively explores the cliff country, retracing every landmark and clue that is available. Kiowa has even posted some very interesting articles on this very blog site and I must say has come up with some pretty unique twists and ideas on the possible location of the mines. He also has a Facebook page devoted to the silver mine legend.
    There are many more of you out there and some of you I am friends with on Facebook. I do apologize for not listing you here and this listing by no means is an attempt to represent anything other than some of those hunters, researchers and dreamers I have had the good fortune to come into contact with over the years.
     If you have questions or wish to make contact with any of these fine people, just leave a comment below and I will be happy to forward to them. Perhaps you can share and learn from them or if this is all new to you  then join in the search and help us keep the legend alive!

  

Indian Stairway Video

    Back in 2011 I shot a short video (59 seconds) of my daughter and friend negotiating the famous Indian Stairway of the Red River Gorge. In all the versions of the Swift journals describing the terrain and landmarks, an Indian stair steps or stairway is mentioned. The site of this unusual, obviously man-made cliff access, is in the heart of some of the most breath taking landscapes anywhere. In Swift's journals the steps are supposedly near at least one of his hidden "mines."

    With that in mind, take a look at this climb "down" the stair steps. The music is a bit "cheesy" for the grand efforts going on but it was one of the first videos I made with my movie maker program and, well, the excitement of editing a complete video, overcame me. 

    Check out my book Swift which can be purchased in paper back or Kindle here.

Was John Swift a Pirate?

     According to the legend of John Swift, in his own words, claimed he was a captain of a ship and owned a company of sailing ships. He says he was a successful business man transporting merchandise from both England and the seas around Cuba. Though he never claimed to be a pirate there are some modern day Swift researches that believe he may well have been a one.
    In one version of the supposed journal Swift wrote down himself he gives a brief description that he and some others in his company sailed to Cuba. Now Swift worked off the Virginia and North Carolina coasts and though the so called golden age of pirates was several decades before this time, piracy on the high seas has never stopped even until this day. Swift never actually states under which flag he sailed but it would likely have been the British or Colonial flag. His venture to Cuba also meant that he was comfortable sailing into Spanish waters. The British and Spanish, though hostilities had been resolved between the two nations, still moved in their separate domains. The Spanish having taken control of South America and the British moving to take North America. Britain by Swift's time had become enemies with France. This resulted in the French and Indian alliances trying to hold back the westward expansion of the British via colonial expansion.

    Though this is a much simplified description of the times, Swift claims to have lived actually during these times. These were also the beginning times of the American revolution. In fact, John Swift says by his account to have found out about the rich silver mines from befriending a French prisoner captured by the troops under the command of British General Braddock. Daniel Boone and John Finley both were in this army as wagon team masters. At this moment of our history colonist and British troops fought a common enemy, the French and Indians.

    It has always been an amazing concept that one day a French man is a POW to the British and in a few years this same man is leading the American born British citizen to silver mines. And beyond that, instead of smelting the silver into ingots and moving the silver out, Swift devises a scheme to counterfeit the newly smelted silver into coins. He says the coins were English Crowns created under the skillful hands of former mint worker Seth Montgomery who joined Swift on his adventure. The idea, of course, was that British money was the money for the colonies. 
    Strangely enough, most of the larger treasure discoveries of the Appalachia country actually turn out to be Spanish silver coins, the ones like found on so many ship wrecks of the Spanish ships that ferried the riches from Columbia and Peru. Some of the finds have be quite impressive. These coins were the type most commonly captured by pirate ships marauding the American coastline all the way to the Florida Keys.
    Bill Gibson of Elkhorn City, Kentucky made an astonishing discovery several years ago. While searching, following clues and by pure chance Bill stumbled upon a cache of buried coins somewhere on the Pine Mountain in that region of the state. The coins are not British counterfeits. They are Spanish pieces of eight and some think they are counterfeit. Whether they are or not, the fact that real coins of silver were discovered hidden in a rock shelter/cave somewhere in the very region that Swift says he was during the mid 1700's is truly amazing. 
    One thing we all seem to forget about in the drama and excitement in following the Swift legend is that Swift and his party of men were certainly committing a high crime. So one can logically conclude that perhaps Swift, if he really existed, was not a very truthful person and capable of other crimes beside this obvious one. Perhaps Swift and his company of men acquired their silver from Spanish ships and simply escaped into the mountains to hide their plunder and not be hanged. Of course, we will probably never know about this and perhaps I and others are simply over extending our imagination regarding the Swift lore. One thing is for sure, Bill Gibson found buried treasure and those silver coins never got there by themselves!
    If you are new to this blog site, I invite you to take a look around in the archives of previous posts located over here on the right side this page. You will find lots of great information and photographs. The subjects are varied and not all Swift related but are uniquely  Kentucky. 

    And if you would like to read my novel based on the Swift legend you can get your copy here. It's a fun and adventurous romp through history and modern day Kentucky. 

    

Walking Thunder

 

   I am writing this entry on behalf of my friend Ed Whiting of the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota.Ed, also known as Walking Thunder, is a Dakota and craftsman of the traditional items of the Dakota people of the plains. I had the good fortune to meet and become acquainted with Ed and his lovely wife, Bea who is a Lakota Native American. Ed is a true Dakota that has great talent and great insight. Utilizing his skills passed down through his ancestors I was surprised a couple of Christmas's ago with an amazing handcrafted bow complete with quiver and arrows. He carefully crafted the bow from  Osage Orange wood, while the arrows are made from cherry saplings, with bone points. The quiver is made of Buffalo hide and the sheath for the bow is made of tanned Elk hide. Ed makes a few items to sell occasionally by special order. This is a supplemental income for him as they, like most reservation people live in an area with little opportunities for employment.

Ed and Bea Whiting with my daughter Allison on the right

   Here are a few examples of some of the traditional crafted items that are unique to the plains people. If you would be interested in having something made by Ed, I am sure he would be willing to work with you to produce the item for you.  With that said, it could be awhile before Ed can do any work for you now. He has been in the hospital for many months trying to recover from a serious surgical mishap earlier. This has been both exhaustive and costly on him and Bea. They have endured a great hardship for that last few months.

    These are some scanned photos of a variety of authentic Dakota items that Ed handcrafts himself. Forgive the pictures details as I had little time to scan the items to my computer.  Items vary from drums, bow and arrows and many other beautiful handcrafted items. Each one is one of a kind and assuming Ed returns to his normal routine he would be able to make any of these items upon request. Hopefully, I can send you an enlarged photo should you be interested. Just contact me at my email address of eh648@yahoo.com.

    Ed  spends many of his summers on his farm providing camps for young people who wish to learn the ways and traditions of the Lakota and Dakota peoples. He has missed last year and this year is not shaping up to well either as Ed recovers from the many surgeries he has bravely undergone.

    I know this; Walking Thunder is a wise and talent man that truly represents the best in all people. If you ever plan a trip to South Dakota and would like to visit Ed, let me know I will let him know you're coming and give you directions. In the meantime, take a look at these items and if you are interested why not get Ed to make you something truly amazing.

Primitive Skills

Hand, coiled pottery-without a wheel

    I haven't been in the habit of posting or promoting special events on this site. For one thing, there are so many great events across the state it truly is hard to pick an event to rate above the many. Like most of you I have my favorite subjects and enjoy most festivals that I get the chance to attend.
    I do have an exception to my very general and not so strict rule. In one of my favorite places, the Red River Gorge, at the mouth of Gladie Creek on the Red River on September is the annual Living Archaeology Weekend. The event is held on the grounds of the US Forest Service Visitor Center and is At the annual primitive crafts weekend held each year at the Visitor Center area on Gladie Creek in the Red River Gorge visitors can really see some amazing skills and crafts. I found it very interesting of all the different types of primitive and pioneer crafts that are demonstrated and exhibited. This is an annual event I am adding to my list to attend this year. Here are a few that caught my eye when visiting a previous event.

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    Many different types of wares are both made and sold right on the spot. Some of the items are downright unusual and all take a lot of practice and skill to master. One such example is the pottery maker shown above. This is pottery without the benefit of a potters wheel.  The same method employed by peoples for thousands of years until the pottery wheel was invented.

Primitive drills using chipped flint would drill through rock!

     One item being demonstrated was of particular interest to the kids. Primitive drills made from a sharpened piece of flint attached to a straight stick used with a string of leather or sinew would easily drill through wood and stone-just like a modern electric drill. This type of drill was around and used by Natives for centuries. I had never actually seen one used and here at this event kids were using them quite effectively.
                                                                           

Baskets of excellent quality

Demonstration of the Cherokee thistle dart

Flint knappers chipped away

The quality of the chipped stone tools was excellent

This point was made from quartz from North Carolina

Leggings for dances and ceremonies were made

Tanning and hide preparation

Nearly every exhibit had demonstrations going on continuously

Medicinal plants anyone? They had them.

One of my favorites was the on going construction of this cattail  shelter  constructed with  bent saplings and cattail
mattes.

    This years event is coming up September 22 and will be held at the Gladie Visitor Center in the heart of the Red River Gorge. 

    Demonstrations are on going all day long the days of the event. Some exhibitors do sale some items that they demonstrate or are making right there on site. 









    There were baskets made from willow bark. All sizes and shapes and the bark had been dyed using natural dye substances to produce different colored materials to be woven together.









     The Cherokee people from North Carolina were making thistle darts. The ripened thistle head from a bloom produces a light fluffy cotton like fiber. These fibers are woven around a sharpened slender stick. The fiber expands to loosely fill the cane dart gun and can be blown several yards with deadly accuracy.






    Of course one of my favorites are the flint knappers.

This and That

    I'll be taking a break on this blog post this Labor Day Weekend but will be back on a regular bi-monthly schedule starting September 16th. We hope that you enjoy the blog posts and photographs we gather from around our beautiful state. There are so many things to see and do and it is the upcoming fall festival season.  Practically every weekend from now until Thanksgiving communities are having their annual festivals. These are a lot of fun and some are quite unusual. Here is a link to give a preview of upcoming events.

    If you enjoy reading my blogs and have suggestions or ideas of places and people, please tell me in the comment section below. I promise I will get back to you and keep in mind all comments must be approved before they are actually posted. So, if you don't want you comment posted,  but would like to contact me, well, the comment section is the best way. 

 My book is still available from  this secure link.  

   Kiowa Scott Muncie who guest posts on this site will have a new article with photographs in the days ahead. He has an amazing collection of rock carving photos. You can visit his Facebook page here.

Coming up in the next blog post will be devoted to a very unusual special event held annually in the Red River Gorge and the heart of Swift country!  Coming September 16! Also, I will be signing books Friday, August 31 at the Salyersville Public Library from 10-2. If you are in the area stop by and say hello.