20th Century Tales Forum

I think the year of record for the information I found on microfilm was 1898, but I may be wrong and it consisted of two pages. The room at the Express-News was in the basement. I also think I might of had to pay for the copies, maybe fifty cents each. Also, I believe that the land now belongs to the Federal Government...it was a long time ago when I did all this research. As mentioned, I have all my research papers stored in a box somewhere in the attic and if I find them, will share the information.

Some folks think that the mine was across the river in Mexico. I am of the opinion that there was an open mine or ledge on their property and also a gold mine across the river. I do wish you the best in finding out more about your great,great grandfather. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)

Debbie and I drove out to visit with some old dear friends today and I took the opportunity to see firsthand the damage being done by some developers in the area. While taking these pictures, I encountered two rattlesnakes, one too far to get a good picture and the other we heard but could not locate so we slowly backed out of the immediate area.Take a look at these five pictures I took of the area where I use to ride horses while helping a rancher look for stray mama cows and calves. Picture number two was taken from the same spot as picture number three, the peak in the pictures is approximately eight miles away, looking south. Picture number two was taken at 20X, and picture number three at approximately 4X telephoto power. That being said, many years ago I think that I may have found a Spanish treasure cave. I never really checked it out because it was full of rattlesnakes at the entrance to the cave. A short distance away was some Spanish signs carved on the face of a stone cliff. It is approximately three miles past the peak in the pictures, eleven miles from where I took this picture. There are no roads for at least twenty-five miles from where I took these pictures. Not shown are the ravines and bluffs because of the trees. The only way back to the peak is by horseback or on foot. These pictures were taken at around 2:00 PM and the temperature was over 100 degrees. While still visiting with my rancher friend, I drove over to Western Bexar County to check on the old military camp where I had found the Civil War belt plate, it has been destroyed by the developers, makes me sad. I also checked out an old boy scout camp and it is still intact for now. I need to get out there as soon as possible with a metal detectorI have found silver there. The scout camp was established in the 1940s and abandoned in the 1960s. I worked it a couple of times many years ago and I do remember finding several silver quarters, maybe a half dozen silver dimes, and even found an old Indian Head Penny there. I checked on another old scout camp too, but it has also been destroyed by developers, same with the site of the old beer tavern that was on the front of some ranch property, a new house sits on the site. I regret to admit that I never really worked the beer tavern site, just never got around to doing it like I should have. Sad to report that my legs are in bad shape due to this diabetic disease, and I had a very difficult time getting back to the first scout camp. I took Grant back to the ranch and picked up Debbie, and we came back to San Antonio. Sorry for the disorganized and rambling story, just hot, tired, and hungryI will endeavor to do better next time. Kelley (Texas)

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I also found lots of large rim fire rifle cartridges, part of a harmonica, metal buttons, a long piece of chain, a fork, part of a knife, a small rusted tin snuff can, and other stuff...I have it all in a box somewhere out in the garage. That site is now gone, the greedy azz developers destroyed it. Kelley (Texas)

Fred I was talking to a md club member a few days ago, and he said he found one up here in BC, It was not the one with the two letters CS? may be like yours? He mentioned the city but have forgotten apparently there is some civil war links in Canada. I have No idea how linked. Congrats on a great find Fred. oj

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That reminds me, I also found the gold tip of a sword scabbard at this old military camp site. Kelley (Texas)

in our Civil War, some fought for the North, some for the South. Kelley (Texas)

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Hi Fred,

That's some rugged country on foot or horseback especially with the heat and snakes!

It's a shame that developers have stripped away so much history and that governmant has allowed it to happen!

At least you were able to salvage a few artifacts from the flood of "progress".

That's a nice belt plate you found and I hope you are able to find many more rare old items to share with us,

CJ

that has only gone dry one time that I can ever remember...good, cool, drinking water. The most unusal thing that I have ever found was an old wagon wheel that was in the brush near a creek crossing. I have always wondered what it was doing there, and where did it come from. There are lots of good memories from my time spend riding back in these remote areas...I just wish folks would not come out there and build houses and shopping centers. Kelley (Texas)

A spectacular find. We have NOTHING like that up here.. Oh we have a few ghost towns, and maybe the odd mining site... but nothing like that. Our history only goes back maybe 125-150 years.. Your goes back to what? the 1700s ? or the 1600s?

The Alamo, Santa Ana, Jim Bowie, The Rangers, Sabine Pass............

There are times I am so envious of you folks who live in those environs!!

Many, many thanks for showing us.

Calm seas

Micheal

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"A dog is better than me, for she has love and does not judge"

"Surfing is not a matter of life and death...... it is much more important than that"

a great area to spend time looking for the things you mentioned. Very inviting pictures. The snakes would be something most north east coasters would have to be more careful about. Not really a big problem here. I would thing every shaded log or rock you stepped over would have the potential to have one there. Beautiful belt buckle.... I think I remember you asking about how to get the snakes out of the old cave at one time... They make it hard to explore those spots for sure...... Shame they are slowly turning it into housing.
People more to and area for the beauty of it, then ruined the very thing they moved there for, or at least the developers do.
How big is that area? That mountain or hill, is like a beacon to detector folks I would think... Would be to me.....

George-CT

I have gone weeks without seeing a rattlesnake, then may see two or three in one week...you just have to be aware that they are there. You probably have as many copperheads, but you do not know it because they do not make any noise like a rattlesnake. The nearest county road from where I took those pictures would be approximately 25 miles, but there are a few dirt ranch roads in the area. You can find arrowheads throughout the area, but the best spots to hunt for them are on the bluffs overlooking a creek bed. I have found the remains of a couple of small rock camp type structures in the area, but all I ever found around them were mainly old rifle cartridges or other junk type items, never any coins. The strangest find was an old rusted ax head embedded in an old Live Oak Tree. I tried to pry it out of the tree, but it was embedded too deep, must have been there a long time. I always figured that someone was probably clearing some brush and stuck it in the tree for safe keeping, then forgot about it. There is also a small Indian burial ground not too far from the peak in the pictures, but I consider it off limits, not to be messed with. If I ever catch anyone raiding it for artifacts, I will call the law on them. Talking about a Indian burial site, there was a large one that I found on the Tiller ranch when I was a young boy, maybe I should one day write a story about it. The Tiller ranch was over near Gonzales County, Texas, approximately a hundred miles from where I was yesterday. One of the Tiller boys was killed in Vietnam and that family was never the same after that happened. Last I heard, they had sold the ranch and moved to Houston, Texas. That was a strange family, always in trouble with the law for various things. The one Tiller boy, Jerry is over in Huntsville after being arrested several times for selling drugs. Even as a boy, he was mean tempered and I had several "run in's" with him...he was just a mean tempered boy, just evil in my opinion. Yes, I should write a story on that strange family. Sorry for getting side tracked. Kelley (Texas)

You have that lake site where the old town use to be located...you folks are finding some nice coins, as well as arrowheads at that site. In regards to the Civil War belt plate, one of these days I will take a brush and some brass polish, clean it to make it look like new. Mike, thanks for reading the story! Kelley (Texas)