River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1886-04-29
A wltch-Hazed ROD orvalne.

In the year 1864 a man named Swart-
wood made his appearance in Mitchell
county, Indiana, claiming to point out
buried treasure by the use of a divining
rod. Several farmers employed him
to go over their lands, but he failed TO
turn up anything. There was in that
county, paying a visit to his married
sister, young man named Abner
Mills, who had served for two years in
an Ohio regiment and had been dis
charged on account of the loss of his left
arm. His home was near Urbana. Ohio
He had about $50 in money, and of
this sum he gave Swartwood $95 for a
witch hazel rod and set out to look up
buried treasure on his own account.
When the transaction came to be gen
orally known he was the laughing
stock of the vicinity, and the ridicule
| finally became so strong that he had
not the moral courage to appear among
a crowd who knew him. He after
ward asserted. however, that he had
strong faith in the rod from the very
outset, and that he looked upon il
| only as a question of time when it
would lead him to a fortune.
One day, after he had tramped over
fields ard through the woods for a
month without any luck, and when
ten or twelve miles to the north of
Salem. he sat down on bank of a
creek to rest. The rod began to point
to the northwest. and after awhile he
followed the creek down toward the
Ohio until he came to an old saw mill
in ruins. He entered this place to find
beams rOtted and roof about to fall in
As the rod refused to point to any par
ticular corner of the building. he laid
it down, took of his coat and began
to search, For two hours he hunted
up aud down, spying uut every nook
and hiding place, and was about to
give up his search when he discovered
on the plate between Two rafters, roll
of cloth. That the roll had been there
for some months was evident from its
widowed condition. When it was un
rolled Mills found himself possessed of
aleathern wallet containing $1,000 in
grecnbacks, gold watch. a locket set
with diamonds. and several valuable
diamonds which had evidently been re-
moved from their settings. The entire
find was worth to him over $4,000.
Believing that he had fallen upon the
proceeds of robbery, Mills went to
Louisville and notified the proper
authorities. They in turn notified all
the important towns along the river,
/ but not a trace of the owners of
the property was discOy red. BY
putting this and that together,
however, conclusion was finally ar
rived at About ten months previous
TO the arrival of Mills in Mitchell eoun-
4 ty, several soldiers enlstinG from that
county had been home ON furlough.
/ Among them were several hard eases,
aud il was believed that the property
/ found in the old mill had been brought
home by one of them and hidden away
against the date of his discharge
from the army. The iewelry was
probably the result of some forag-
\ ing expedition at the front, and the
\ greenbacks might have been acquired
/ by gambling or robbery. After few
months Mills came into legal pos
session of everything. and the sum was
sufficient to give the cripple veteran a
good start in life. Although the rod for
that one time certainly led him to Il
treasure, he made no use of it afterward,
much to the disgust of acquaintance,
who believed that fortune had taken
/ him in her keeping.