Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-07-06
CAMPERS DIG UP
AN old ROMANCE
Life Mystery Of Hezedah
Thomas, Hermit, Brought
to Light.
HAS BEEN DEAD 80 YEARS
People I'm Vicinity Excited Over Pos
sfble Finding Of Buried
Treasure.


OF the days when much OF the state
of Michigan was wilderness was
brought to light today when boys
from the South Bend, Ind. 2. NJ.
c. A. summer camp, while digging
a hole for a flagstaff, brought up
rusty iron box containing two rusty
pistols of ancient pattern, resting in
a bed OF fax, a plain gold ring. ap-
parently o wedding pledge Of some
pioneer bride, a silver-cased watch
of Swiss manufacture, small dag
ger. a Tust-stained hunting knife.
leather bound books dating 1857 to
1919, among them q bible, Children
of the Abbey" and Book Of Pas
sion" There were several school
books, a number Of pennies bearing
date Of 1881 to 1856; samples of
silver, lead and copper ores, arrow
heads, a collection of pebbles and
deeds dating back as far as 1879,
relative to property in Plymouth,
Conn. An explanation of the mys-
terry is given in a letter left by the
owner. It reads in part:
VALUABLEs GUARDED.
"This chest is the property of
Hezekiah Thomas, formerly OF New
England. Michigan is a wilderness.
My spirit still roams over these lands
in full moon seasons, guarding all
my valuable deposited possessions.
for they are many and varied. God
gave me many wonderful secrets, but
because Of a great sin He took them
all away but one, the least of them,
the turning of sable stones into gold.
| have buried this secret by the body
Of old Duckwing in big swamp.
God rest my soul. God has filled the
earth with gold. Devils do not be-
lieve 1t, but has He not promised
seek and We shall find. The blue
heron is wise and the night owl, but
man is an ass, for he walketh not
in the ways of the most high" A
little of the story of the peculiar old
hermit, Thomas, is known here.
George Knevels, who lives in a por-
ton of house built by Thomas,
says that as boy he recollects
finding carefully secreted collections
of pebbles in the house.
DESERTED BY WIFE.
It is said Thomas wife deserted
him, and that the queerness became
noticeable about the same time. He
roamed the woods, talking to trees and
animals, and believed he could trans
mute certain stones into gold. After
selling his home here Thomas moved
to an island in the lake, to which in
one part of his letter he refers as
the abode OF seven devils" Accord
I IN hnx
there is another chest buried on the
island. map, which Is among the
contents, gives directions for finding
still another chest, the key to which Is
said by the owner to be hidden in a
tree. The whole neighborhood is ex-
cited and a search was Immediately
begun for the remaining chests. Other
parts of the letter, in which Thomas
revealed his secrets, read: "The island
is doomed forever 1t is the abiding
place of seven devils. Beware. Fish
died; birds drop as they pass, and men
disappear in the cavernous depths of
cave"
DIED FOR LACK OF FAITH.
Another excerpt from the letter pos
sibly refers to his recreant spouse:
THE luck stone saved her from the
evil one. The knife Is that which
drank his Iife's blood, and is cursed
forever. The books were her posses
sion from the older days before the
great shadow fell; Duckwing knows
how III came by them. He died for
lack of faith. The guns were his that
were found upon his body. He had
obtained the ring, but the spirits
bound him. The gold pebbles were
the product of my own genius. Place
them in q spring at midnight as the
blue heron passes the swamp-alI
believefns, nothing doubling, and
believing, nothing doubling, and I
win aid you. The spirit bids hasten.
as body was found in the woods so
years ago. He had been frozen to |