Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1884-01-16
A Professional Hunter,

OF the writer, as he stopped the nO-s
and wagon TO let curious figure on tn
long drive on the south Staten Islant
shore slip by.
The individual IN question was ben
way over and when looking up sidewlsp
-howed a remarkable physiognomy. 4
fece b.sckened by exposure to the sur
and distorted until all evidence of inteIli
gence seemed to have disappeared. Owe
the low forehead and sunken eyes huns
great masses Of tangled and matted hair
protected by silk hat that was the origI
nal type OF The kinda head covering 81
dented, worn, and shiny, that 1t seemed tr
be part of It's owner. The rest of the old
san's apparel was Of the same lot and had
a flavor OF Evacuation Day.
"He's working the south beach, CON-
tInued my informant. 1--WE known him
for years. Hes mad on the subject OF
| finding buried treasures, Captain Kidd,
and what not. Looks as though he doesn't
know anything, but that's where you
would be mistaken. He IS really a man
OF more than ordinary intelligence though
outwardiy an idiot first met him on the
Maine coast, where he wis d gging for
some gold that he believed had been
slowed away but whether he found any or
not don't know. He has money | think
to live on, or else he finds something 10
keep Tim going"
An hour later the writer and his CON-
panion turned down a road that led to the
south beach, and, walking up the beach.
soon found the old hunter, who recog-
nized his acquaintance with a snort. I'VE
meet kinder, as 1t were, on the same lay"
Re said, shutting up one eye; "but know
ye amt, he continued, with = contortion
that passed current as laugh; lit don't
pay. What just started me ouil Well,
it's harG to say. IN a Down-E is;er, and
where was raised, on a creek that led up
from the mouth of the Kernebec, about
the first thing l kin remember was my
father a-ploughin' up pot and shout
$500. He bought a share III a schooner
with il, and died leavin' quite fortune.
and the last words o. sense he about said
to me was. there was jest as much money
buried as tha.e was IN Circulation.
Where said 70, - all the money they
used 500 years ago? It's somewhere.
that's sartin.'
"Well, that put met to thinkin'. and
got huntin' on the the old farm and aug
up another lot o stuff, and I've been at it
ever since. You might wonder low git
my clues. Well, they comes in all sorts
Of ways. had partner once Ne was
on cute sort o. lay. lie worsed 1t Kin Ter
like this He used 10 say: The average
thief has stowef something away. ana
can't git if until he gifts out if he's locked
up.' So be goes round 10 all the prisons
IN the country p7etendin' that he was a
minister of the Gospel, and all the time q
pumpin' the men. 4 good many said
they had stuff slowed away, b1S wouldn't
trust him, and then he'd out with refer
ences, and agree to get thsm out Of limbo
for share Of the proceeds.
swell, you gentlemen would hardly be-
lieve it, but when fust jined him he had
over fiftv clues of buried stuff -plunder's
the English OF It. About Oue-tnlrd was
generally bogus, but gave It up; it was
tsklh' too many chances; cost too much
How sol Well. here's Que. In Iail IN
OHIO the Preacher-jhat was the name he
went by-stIuck chap who Was in for
twenty years, and his ststemen. was that
he'd been smugglin' on the Canada line, |
and was arrested for msnslaughter while |
bringn' over $50, 900 worth oi diamonds. |
There was five stones. and where do you |
suppose they wert? Tue paper said thew |
were plugged IN the teeth OF q HamIitOnian |
mare called RoSe, that belonged to a |
stablemsn IN little Canada town near the |
river. He d hired her for the time. |
Well, We started after the mare, found the |
and he'd sold her to farmer |
IN pace called Lincoln, Vermont. When |
we got there the msn had sold her TO a /
New York city dealer for brood mare.
His name was Smith, and he lived in New |
y ork north of Tooth street. Il took about |
two months TO run HIM down, and when |
we did he'd sold the mare down in jersey, |
AMI there we found her. A sporun' /
farmer hal her. she looked pretty bad,
but we'd spent over 81, SEQ trac,n' her,
and my pal tried to buy her. But the
man wouldn't sell, SC we had TO brea
in. o the stable, and that put Us into the |
grip OF the law. But We want caught |
Oh, mol We got in all right, and held |
Lhe mares mouth open while he felt for |
.he stones with a dark lantern. Every |
one was gone but one. The filings had |
all been broken of by the bit probably. |
and the stones hal dropped out or been
swallowed; 30 We dlda't pay expenses.
"The tooth dodge is tolable, but the |
smallpox patient beats that. They never |
" Ant to examine him. It's been played |
ali along the line. As I was sayin', | got |
put of this aad went on my own hook. !
Most every town has yarns OF stones about |
buried things, and when ] made up my |
mind there was any truth in it, | located |
what thought was the spot and went to |
work."
"But now do you locate the TREASURED
asked one of his listeners.
"Well, that's a secret of the trade"
was the reply. cit took me ten years TO |
learn. and l reckon l won't give 1t away
In minute. Sometimes | don't locate
t. Yes, I've struck some curious thins, |
in trees. Now there's where II
.akes science. II you hide something in a
hole in u tree, when it grows over it most
n ways makes a bunch; sometimes Itleaves
A kind Of sit in the BARK, and then
seam. Over on Long Island i found an
InCian hatchet in a tree that the owner
had stuck in the bark and forget. An
lther time found the skeleton of man
"a a big willow. The man had either
been slowed away In the hole or had
climbed IN and been struck by hghtning
Or something. Anyway, the tree had
yrown over the old hole aud completely
covered the skeleton. No, COLDS scarce,
hough 1 have found coin in trees.
"Pve dug every county on the cols,
rom Maine to Florids," he continued.
There's been more dggIn' in Jersey
md less found than in any State. Some
arms has Ueen saltej, to my knowledge.
know an o'd bog of a place. worth
about $50. and one day chap came
along and paid 81, 600 for it. How was
i donel Why, the owner bjught up q
ot of old coin, put 1t IN an old box, aud
buried it. Thea he had party dig il up
aud show the coin 10 some parties, who,
.hlukiug that there was more there.
bought 1t Up as soon as possible, aud
reckon tnat old farm was well dug.
"Ive had better iucs," said the old !
hunter, ION the Maine coast than any
where. On All island, about a mile
around. l made my best find. was
sailin' among the islands, and seem
little harbor put in. and the first thing |
r..