Wichita eagle., 1889-01-23
HIDDEN TREASURES.
The Indian Tradition of the Sho-
hola Glen. Pa.
A Cave in Which Untold Mineral Wealth
Is Said to Be Concealed-The Highly
Sensational Stories Related by
4 An sold Settler"

DeidWdIS f62lty DcllCFC AiCS Al oANSA
the mountain somewhere between the foot
and head of Shohola Glen, wouldn't ask
to be Jay Gould's heir" said Valentine
Hipsman, supervisor, and for forty years
resident of Shohola township, Pike County.
According to the story that has come
down from time without date that cave
must be q treasure house of unheard-of
richness. We have found many prominent
openings in the rocky ledkes that tower
above the creek on both sides of the glen
for a mile or more, but they lead but
short distance into the mountain. Accord
ing to the legend the great treasure cave is
one that opens out into the subterranean
depths, aud has many chambers and gal
leries. 1t extends from the Shohola Glen
clear through to Panther brook, over half
mile, in a northerly direction. The Indians
who lived hereabout century and more
ago, or some of them, knew the secret of the
cave, and the stories told by the first white
settlers on this frontier, and which have
been handed down from generation to gem
Grafton of their descendants, about bullets
and arrowheads made of silver, which were
frequently used by the Indians in their bat
ties and raids on the settlements, are ac-
cepted as Gospel truth by many of those
descendants now living in the valley.
"The silver used in making these bullets
and weapons CAM rom TIE great cave in
Shohola Glen, the entrance to which has
been anxiously sought many times since
the Indians were driven from the valley,
not only by white people, but by descend
ants of the Indians themselves. At least it
is generally presumed that the Indians who
have appeared from time to tina at and
about Shohola, up to within nine years
ago, numbers of whom have only been dis
covered in the vicinity by accident, were
secretly searching for the legendary cave.
well-marked Indian path may be seen to-
day leading through the woods parallel
with thS Delaware river, and crossing
the Sbohola creek at the entrance of the
glen, within a quarter of a mile Of the
Erie railway track. l have followed it
for miles, and as the inhabitants of the
neighborhood never use it, it must have
been trodden more frequently of late
years by stealthy descendants of the orig
inal people than any of US hereabout have
any idea of. The trail certainly would
have been entirely obliterated by this time
if such had not been the case. When | first
came to sShohola the path was very plain.
1t led right up the face of the mountain,
and in following it we were obliged to con-
struct ladder to sur1nount the rocks at
one point, an obstacle it was evident the
Indians had easily overcome by the aid of
roots and overhanging branches. The trail
can be followed to-day from the Lacka-
waxen river over the Delaware highlands,
in this county, to the Neversink river, or
the old 'Minisink country below Port
.Iervis. The path shows the most evidences
of comparatively recent use where it ap-
proaches Shohola Glen.
have known of Indians visiting this
vicinity twice within the past decade My
three children were returning from school
one day through the old Lackawaxen stage
road on the hill back of the glen, when they
suddenly came upon three Indians stand
ing in the road. There were two men and
a squaw, and the two were in full Indian
garb, the children had seen them in
pictures. The children stopped in alarm,
but the moment the Indians saw them one
of the men uttered cry and the three
lodged into the brush at the roadside and
disappeared like magic.
about five years ago tall, straight
man, queerly dressed
but wearing a stovepipe hat, called at my
house, was keeping a tavern here then
and asked for something to eat. l thought
he was tramp, but as he had money to
pay for his meal | took his order. He
ordered eggs and said he wanted nine. |
thought he had a tolerable good appetite,
but told my wife to cook them. He ate the
meal, paid for it. and went out saw him
walk down the road leading to the glen,
and al the same time noticed that the
train we called No g on the Erie had Just
pulled out from the station. | thought no
more about the strange man, but an hour
or so later my wife casually remarked that
the man was an Indian who had come from
Canada, and who had told her while he was
eating his breakfast that he was going east
on No. 6. AS had seen him going toward
the glen and knew he hadn't taken the
train, believed that he was descendant
of the same Indian who had once lived in
this region and that he had come here to
look up the treasure cave. l rushed out
and followed in the direction he had gone,
but lost track of him.
by the way, the story told by the In
dian at Lackawaxen was curious one. He
says that an ancestor of his was in the bat
tie of Minisink, under Brant, the famous
Indian chief. That battle was fought in
1779, three miles up the river from here, on
the New York State side. Although the
Indians were successful in the battle this
ancestor of the reminiscent Indian saw that
ha 1aus nf fha rod in, tha a1
valley were numbered. He was one of a
few who knew of the existence of a cave in
Shohola Glen. After the battle he followed
the old Indian trail 10 the glen, entered the
cave at that side, walled the entrance up
from within, then passed through to Pan
ther brook, came out of the cave at that
side and walled up the entrance there. This
was TO destroy all possibility of the white
settlers discovering the cave and the wealth
of mineral it contained. This thoughtful
warrior subsequently went to Canada,
where all the Indians went when they were
driven from this and ad jacent valleys. He
died shortly afteTward, and only left mea-
ger directions to his family as to the find
ing of the hidden cave. In course of time
all traces Of the entrances have been de-
srroved, and if the cave, with its legendary
mineral wealth, ever existed, il viii proba-
bly, remain forever hidden. Almost every
year. though the glen has many visitors
who spend great deal of time in close in
spection of the rocks and ledges between
the mouth of the glen and the narrow
gorge at its head. They don't say much,
but am not the only one who keeps an eve
on them, for they are looking for the cave,
and we want to be there when it is found"