The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1884-04-09
A Cave Filled with silver.

are negotiating for the purchase of
large tract of land in the town of
Jasper, Tioga county, somewhere on
which legend has from time out of
mind located silveI-mine, which
the parties hope to find. On the
tract is the ''treasure-cave," of
much local fame. The legend is
that during the French and Indian
war two Quaker brothers by the
name of Dickinson came into the
Coshocton Valley to trade with the
Indians. They gained their conf
dence to such an extent that the In
dams revealed to them the existence
of a silver-mine somewhere on Ben
nett's creek. The brothers had in
their employ an old servant who had
come with them from Philadelphia.
The Quakers worked the silver
mines, the ore of which was very
pure, and hid the treasure in a cave
known only to themselves, until
such time as they could convey it to
Philadelphia.
Near the close of the French
and Indian war stranger appeared
at the cabin of the Quakers, in the
deepest part of the wilderness. He
said he was deserter from the
French army, and begged for shell
ter and food. This was given him.
The first night he was in the cabin
he overheard the Quakers talking
about their treasure after they sup
posed he was sleeping, and learned
that it was secreted somewhere in
the vicinity. He also learned from
their conversation that they intended
to start their servant for Philadel-
phia the next day, and had given
him message for another brother
there which would inform him as to
the hiding-place of the treasure in
case anything should happen to the
brothers who were working the
mine. The diabolical thought en-
tered the mind of the stranger to
murder the Quakers in the morning.
pursue and overtake the servant,
murder him, and secure the message
revealing the place where the treas
ure might be found. He carried
out his plans, but upon getting pos
session of the message found that it
was written in cipher He was I'M
able to find key that would solve
the mystery, and haunted by his
fruitless crime, he fled to France,
taking the cipher with him. For
years he studied it in vain, and fin
ally died in a mad-house. This is
the legend the first settlers in
the region handed down to their
descendants.
In 1920 Gregory Harding settled
in the town of Jasper. He had been
there but short time when he
dreamed that near his place there
was cave, the opening of which
was covered by large fiat stone,
upon which was a copper kettle. In
the cave was stored enormous
wealth in silver, but is was guarded
by two ghostly sentinels. Harding
did not investigate the accuracy of
his dream. Shortly afterward a
twin brother joined him. This
brother had dream corresponding
in every particular with his brothers.
The two men searched for the cave
They found the locality just as they
had seen in their dreams, and dis
covered the copper kettle and the
fiat rock, but remembering the spec
tres that guarded the treasure be-
meath it, they did not venture to
disturb it. The next day Gregory
Harding was killed by a tree he was
telling, and his brother was thrown
from horse and killed. The secret
of the caves locality died with them.
In 1880 a Methodist minister named
Arson Green came from the Genne-
see Valley with woman who had a
glass by looking into which she said
she could see the secret cave where
the treasure of the murdered Qua
ker was hidden, and its exact loca-
ton. They went in search of it.
They found the spot the woman saw
in the glass, and then she was sud
denly striker blind and they were