Death Valley

["John Hofstetter" <hofs@domain.elided>]

Digesters,
I don't know if this got any media coverage in the East, South,  or
Midwest or not. If it did, please don't check me for accuracy. 

A sometimes substitute teacher who says he has a degree in
Anthropology heard the oft-repeated stories about one of the hidden
treasures in Death Valley. He and his daughter retraced the path of
some of the Midwesterners who were trapped in, and had to escape from
Death Valley in December 1849. This particular group of guys went
North in the valley a ways, turned West more or less where Highway 190
is now, and then Southwesterly through what is now known as Wildrose
Canyon. Those who visit us in the Panamints this Spring will see this
route. 

In a small cave sitting up on a board this guy, Freeman, found a chest
with 80+ coins predating 1850, a hymnal, some shoes with very well
preserved leather, a diary from one William Robinson, one of those
fleeing the Valley, a silver piece of some kind with "Made in Germany"
inscribed on the bottom of it, and some other stuff. The Freemans took
the chest, said nothing for a while, and then turned it into the Park
Service who threatened the Freemans with jail time, and brought in
their own experts to look for authenticity. 
 An article in the last couple of days creates quite a mystery in my
mind, at least. The Park Service has announced that the find was a
fake. Among other things, the chest was put together with glue not
available until this century, there was no Germany until 1871, the
leather in the shoes is not old, and more. The mystery to me, is why
Freeman or someone would have put 80 pre-1850 coins (worth a whole lot
of money) into the chest which was going to end up belonging to the
Park , regardless.  There are pictures of Freeman and his daughter at
the cave removing the chest, but personally, I have little doubt that
it is a fake. Thought that when it was first announced and I think so
now. 
Why did I think so?  Every square millimeter of the mountains of Death
Valley has been trampled, picked, inspected, fingered, etc. and none
of those thousands of prospectors looking for the Lost Gun Sight Mine
or any of the other real or imagined spectacular mineral deposits as
yet unfound, looked into that damn cave where Freeman found the chest?
Yeah right!
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this much abridged version.
John Hofstetter    aka Ol' Saline  (from the Saline Valley right next
to Panamint Valley which is right next to Death Valley)