The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1906-09-23

So'hihCiSS. b01n'leEf co" AZ
ship that entered the Mexican gulf
during the nlreentn anu sixtseu..i Zen
turtles, touched at the old st. Marks
fort. The goal Of the Spaniard was
exploration, they combed the coast
or South America, and when they de,
sired to penetrate the unknown reg.
ions beyond the coast line of North
America they moored those ancient
galleons at the fort of old St. Marks
and with smaller craft assembled tn
small streams, it being then doubt
less we'll known that from st. Marks
the foothills were nearer than at any
other point, and they naturally map
| ped their route from that ancient
point.
Besides, there was a chain Of lakes
IN those days that do not now appear.
! There was much more water than
now, and it was possible to go from
st. Marks in quite large craft, by the
famous Wakulla Spring, one of the
! greatest natural wonders of the cont
nent, a crystal basin 200 feet deep;
thence by and through a chain of
lakes to Lake Jackson. some twenty
miles in length and north of Tallahas-
see about six miles.
Where Treasure Lies.
| The theory of the writer then is
that this Spanish treasure was not
left at st. Marks, but that it lies bur-
led at this day somewhere on the red
hills of old Leon county, north of Tai
lahassee on the banks of Lake Jack.
| son.
| To further bear out this theory, the
fact is that the abor; gines always
sought such points to build their an
clent mounds, in which they buried
their dead and yet hidden treasure,
These mounds are not only found on
= Lake Jackson, but only few miles
west of this locality is one of the larg
est Of these ancient mounds in Ameri
can, which was reached also by q
small stream, from the Chattahooches
river, now called Kolomokee Creek
at point q few miles above Blakely
Ca, where there is to this day one OF
the largest and finest pure white chalk
mines on the continent yet undevel
oped.
/ remember this ancient mound as
a boy 1t is pretty good size little
mountain. My contention is, then, that
II the mystery of the "Wakulla lie.
gend" is ever solved, as it may be
some day, it must be found at some
ancient point On the lower Appalachian
foot hill range.
The Treasure Hunters.
AS enchanting as this story is. the
half OF 1T has nor perhaps ever will be
told, except what the surface of this
ancient territory may reveal to us in
the light of modern deductions.
That the Spaniards of those ancient
days and the aborigines carried on an
extensive commerce at ST. Marks fort
cannot be refuted. What formed the
bulk of their commerce can only be
conjectured but one thing is certain
the Spaniards themselves were a ma
tion OF treasure hunters. They per
haps found no gold ON the foot hills
OF the Appalachian range, but the evi
dence Is irresistible that they did find
pearls Of great price and value in the
placid streams that ran from these
foothills into the Gulf. What l am
/ about to relate may sound stranger
than fiction, and perhaps it is, but it
is true nevertheless, as abundant evil
dence in the SopchOppy valley shows
to this day, for at points just below
I these foot hills, in W'aklilla county, On
the banks of the Sopchoppy, and some
of its tributaries, are great deposits
OF decayed pearl oyster shell. many
thousands of tons of them How did
they come there? There is, nor can
there be but one answer to that ques.
tion-they were ancient pearl fisher
les, for occasionally, now very rare
pearls are found and obtained from
the mussell-shell DIN this vicinity
Are Diamonds There?
Yet this Is not all. The Legend OF
Wakulla must unfold yet one more OF
its wonderful mysteries, before close
this article. l will give it for what it
may be worth, not that there is any.
/ thing in It. l am only drawing deduc-
tons in the premises, let the infer
ences be what they:may.
The foot hills of the Appalachian
range in the counties of Gadsden
Leon. Jefferson and Wakulla have
! within recent years revealed great
portion of their secrets. May they
not reveal more?
The greatest known present value
of their buried treasure is their fine
ClayS, pOrCeldiu, kdOliu, Cndrh, ScHISut
and fullers earth. 1t Is of these clays
that I desire now to speak, and / am
speaking not only from theoretical
deduction, but from facts as they ex
list, tangible in all respects. My CON
tention is that it is entirely within the
bounds of possibility, near to proba-
bility. that some of these most remark
able clays are pure carbon bearing
clays.
Quality Of cIays.
make this deduction from the fact
that all clays for commercial use must
be comparatively free from pebble,
therefore pebble bearing clays have
not heretofore been in demand.
1t is remarkable fact that some OF
these pebble clays have the same out
ward appearance of the South African
peninsular diamond bearing clays;
whether they are chemically the same
is yet to be determined; that they are
similar in appearance and consistency
Is true.
refer to the hard blue deep clays
Of this section and the pebble bearing