The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1873-03-27

ing individual to possess hlmselI OF Tile Im-
mense wealth said to be buried. Search has
been repeatedly made by persons depending
upon the yauge traditions of the country to
guide them, and many are firm in the belief
that their labors will be rewarded.
There is hardly a family in Northeastern
Kentucky but has heard of Swifts silver mines,
and in that portion of the country where they
are said to be situated, old men who have
grown gray in the belief that these mines do
exist in the immediate vicinity of their homes,
will point out objects which they aver were
used by Swift and his men to guide them in
their Journeys, and their dim eyes will grow
bright, their pallid cheeks flush with childish
eagerness, and their tottering steps become
firm, when the story of the hidden treasure is
mentioned. They live with the expectation
of seeing the shining metal dug from the earth,
and of sharing in It's profusion.
When the early settlers of Kentucky gathered
around the hearthstones in their 1owly cabins,
the stories that begniied che passing hours
were not of conquests in the ballroom, anluse-
.ments of the town, or sports of the metropolis,
but they were of q sterner or more exciting
character :of bloody encounters with the red
men of the forest, desperate struggles with
savage beasts, and thrilling adventures in the
trackless wilderness. The love for the strange
and marvellous often prompted them to draw
upon their imagination to weave story beflt-
ting the attention Of the brave and reckless
companions By whom they were surrounded,
and thus their children, eager to ELL their
memories with the fanciful stories of other
days, have brought down to US many traditions
that have no foundation exceptin the fertile
imagination of the first relator.
Not such tradition, however, is the one OF
Swift and his silver mines. 1t is supported by
evidences of later days, and an examination OF
testimony that time has revealed may not be
amiss in relation to this strange and romantic
story.
| When Swift was driven from the silver mines
of Kentucky by the approach of hostile In
dians he returned to his home in North Caro-
|ilina. The money which he had with him
created suspicion among his neighbors and he
was arrested asa counterfeiter.s In those days,
Lit willbe borne in mind, there existed no mint
in the United States, and the only test for the
circulating money was the purity of the metal.
Upon the trial of the case against Swift it was
proven that the coin in his possession was pure
silver, and the charges against him were dis
missed. -
The ancient TOOLS and Instruments used for
coming money which fell from cliff in Carter
county were seen and examined by men now
| Lying. These men are highly respectable and
entitled to full credit, and they vouch for the
truth Of the statement. One of the first set
tiers of the county found near his cabin q
liquantity of rcinderS of such unusual color and
weight asto induce him to have it tested by
an expert. This was done, aud the result was
considerable amount of pure silver, which,
at his instance, was converted into spoons, and
llthese spoons are still in the possession of the
family.
Several years ago couple of Indians from
the far West visited Carter county, and acted
in. such g. manner as TO excite the attention of
the citizens. They remainder for a considera-
BILE time, aud were continually. wandering over
the mountains and making minute examina-
;tions of the country along the small streams.
When about toleaNe they told an old gentle
man with whom they stayed that they were in
search of IS silver mine, which the traditions
of their tribe located in that section of Ken
|ltucky; but they,were unable to End it, owing
Ito the changed condition of the country.
|, At an early day silver money was in circula-
|ition in the eSsettiement of what is now West
Virginia, said to have been made by Swift. II
was free. from alloy, and of such description
as to indicate that it had never passed through
an established mint.
| A bar of pure silver was found many years
ago near q ST0dH n1fll III Garter SouHty, WuiCh
was thought to have been smelted. from the ore
obtained from the silver mines said to exist in
that county, And within the past few days q
piece of ore which has every appearance of
silver ore, and small quantity of metal which
is said to be silver, was shown by gentleman
of undoubted .yeracty, who testifies that he
got the ore in the mountains of Kentucky, and
with his own hands smelted the metal from ore
obtained in these same mountains. An emf
nent. geologist reports the formation. Of this
section of Kentucky as being problem of
the greatest interest, and if the traditions OF
these silver mines be true, and there Is reason
so to believe, Carter county is not only rich in
her forests of the most excellent timber, thick
veins of the finest of Goals and immense beds
of the best of iron ore, but has wealth, if
developed, that will make the pulse beat quick
and the mind grow wild I'm contemplating the
grand display Of Gods providence.-Greenap
lKy.l Independent.
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