Too Little Too Late - Treasure Found!!

Guess what?

One of the treasures I mentioned in previous blogs has been essentially located...or, rather, there are some researchers/treasure hunters already ahead of me, hot on the trail of the cache.

I mentioned this lead in my posting here.

I can give more details now that there is someone else on the case, and are advanced in their seeking what is literally a mass of over 200 antique weapons, including antique guns, knives, trade axes, etc.!!!

This is a historic find, and literally is a part of Western Canadian History.  Now, due to the location of this find, should I have gone after it and gotten there before the current researchers, I would have been only the finder, not the keeper of this historic weapons find.

Instead of me simply regurgitating information, I suggest you read the article here.

And that is what can happen when you do not follow up your leads in a timely fashion!

Treasure Leads You Can Find

Been awhile since the last post, and being that I am in Facebook Jail (suspended until 5PM today from posting in any groups) for some unknown reason, I thought it would be a good time to blog.

Anyways, treasure leads are easy enough to find, if you know were to look, and how to go about finding them.

For example, during the fur trade era, to my understanding, every capsized canoe belonging to the HBC of bales of furs and goods was recorded.  (I am not sure about the canoes of other companies, nor independent traders.) Those bales of goods and furs are now sitting in the middle of various rivers. Due to the fast moving water in some of these rivers, the bales are sitting on rocks, as the rushing water tends to clear silt away, and the fur bales are packed thus that they remain intact. 

So, theoretically, if you were to search the HBC archives, as well as archives for the North-West company, as well as do a ton of reading of various true fur trade tales, you may well be able to find the location of those lost bales. 

Some time ago there was a Manitoba University prof who that did just that. He ended up diving for one or some of these bales, and recovered at least one, if I am recalling correctly. 

Imagine finding a bale of trade goods, all of which are highly collectible and worth some good money! Even a bale of furs would be a real find, a solid piece of history you can touch. 

So, what are you waiting for? 

Get researching!

Guns, Guns, Guns - Treasure Lead #13

Imagine a great battle.

One side wins this particular battle, and seizes all the weapons of the other side.

What to do with these excess weapons?

Dump them in a river.

And the general location of all these now very antique weapons is now known,

So, #13 might be lucky for me, we shall see.

Hagar the Horrible Would be Proud - Treasure Lead #5

As the title of this posting indicates, this lead has to do with VIKINGS!

No, not the football team...

Actual, real VIKINGS!

Yes, some may find this lead hard to believe, being that we have been taught for generations that the Vikings never made it inland. 

This has proven false.

There have been too many discoveries of Norse artifacts dating between 900 and 1400 AD on Canadian and American soil...actually FROM our soil. These are artifacts that line up and fit together (forming a perfect path down through to the Kensington Stone) all too well for the naysayers....but, the whole debate about Norse incursion into the interior of Canada and the USA is an entirely separate topic, though it is intertwined with this lead.  I won't bother debating the whole Norse in Norther America subject here, as I don't wish to bore some of you with the hows, whys, whats, wheres, etc....but, be forewarned, I have a couple leads of this nature.

In this case, the items in question consist of a Norse helmet and sword, hidden in a cave in a wilderness area of Manitoba.

The lead was given to me from the person who saw the items as a child, who stumbled upon them due to his curiosity about the contents of said cave which was in a rock face. He and another child climbed said rock face to check out the small cave, and looked in, seeing a helmet with a spike on top, as well as a dagger or sword.

This was over 50 years ago, but, being in the area it was/is, I suspect the artifacts are still sitting in the cave untouched.

The description of the helmet as having a spike on top initially gave me the impression that it sounded like an early militia type helmet or a perhaps a German Pickelhaube. 

However, the location made no sense if it was a German helmet, and unlikely, though not out of the realm of possibility, of being a early militia helmet of some sort.

Considering the general location, it would make perfect sense for it to be a particular styles of Norse helmet, which was made in such a way that there is a point on the top. (On a side note, the typical horned "Viking helmet" seen in movies, etc, is essentially an Operatic/Hollywood fabrication) 

But, I will not know for sure it is Norse, of course, until I am able to see for myself.  Even if it is another type of helmet, it certainly does not belong in the middle of the wilderness.

What ever type of helmet it is, it is sure to be a treasure, and bring up a new mystery of how it and the dagger/sword got there.

Go Vikings!

Actual Norse helmet.

From the article on "Viking" horned helmets

Oak Island Treasure! - Treasure Lead #1

I said I'd reveal some of the leads in future blog postings, and I will reveal one in this posting.

Treasure comes in various forms, though typically people generally first think of pirate treasure chests overflowing with golden doubloons and precious jewels.

Being that I am landlocked, finding pirate treasure is unlikely. Yes, even though I am a 15 minute drive from Oak Island, I am nowhere near potential pirate treasure....  

Mainly because it is the wrong Oak Island. I am nearly 4000 KMS away from the right Oak Island, where the Oak Island Treasure is purported to be, and the location where "The Curse Of Oak Island" is shot. 

Don't get me wrong, there is potential to be some sort of treasures around the area of the nearby Oak Island...but certainly no pirate treasure. There is a prehistoric buffalo jump near there, and it was a Metis stronghold where Louis Riel may have stayed on his journey across the province.

History is important in the search for treasure.

 It is entangled with every treasure.

And one of the treasures I seek is part of history.

Specifically, part of the early history of the Canadian Pacific Railway's venture to link the country together with many miles of cold steel. 

As some not well known local lore states, there was a steam locomotive travelling down the tracks, and it hit a spot where the track had been built over what turned out to be quicksand once the ground thawed. Reaching this point of the tracks, the locomotive lurched to one side, tipped over and slowly sunk into the quicksand. 

I believe I have identified the most likely location of this long lost piece of important railroad history.

My research indicates the rail line was moved somewhat from it's original position in the area, which puts the age of this locomotive at about 125 to 131 years.

Now all I need to confirm or disprove my hunch is GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar)....not a cheap device.

So, without that equipment, proving the locomotive's location is not within my grasp.

Anyone happen to have some GPR lying around they'd like to contribute to the cause? 

What Would I Do With My Time?

The title is the question. 

What would I do with my time if I did sell the business?

Oh let me count the ways I would use my time....

Hmmm...................................

Harder than I thought to answer that.

Yes, as I mentioned in the last post, I would get to writing, but that wouldn't be all.

I would be doing more research connected to the writing, even get some road trips planned and executed.  Things connected to Albert Johnson  (aka The Mad Trapper of Rat River), a buried steam locomotive, an ancient dugout canoe, Viking travel through Manitoba, and a number of other areas of research I have interest in.

I think I could well be kept very busy by those pursuits if I was unshackled from my business.  

 How to make a living would be another matter all together, though.

I'd likely need to have a book contract in place, something that would have an advance, to support me in groceries and other "life expenses" while I do my thing in creating a book...

Or....

A reality TV contract, perhaps? 

 The problem with most reality TV contracts is the first season is pretty slim when it comes to real money.   

I am sure I will find enough to do with my time....IF the business were to sell....but until then I need to sell, sell, sell.

So, ready, set, SHOP!

My ETSY page

My Facebook Shop Page

My Facebook Customer Group Page

General Store Pick - July 2017

Been awhile since I was out on what I consider a true "pick"....for reasons outlined in my previous post.

So, when I got a call to look at some items from a location I was familiar with, I decided it was time to carefully get back in the saddle again.

The owners are wonderful folks, a young family. They have the same mindset for preservation of Manitoba's history as I do, which was great to encounter. 

They'd love to preserve the building, but financially they simply can't put the kind of money into it that it needs to be properly preserved.

Here is the grand old lady:

And in true picker fashion, I located a piece the owners didn't

 realize they owned!

 Here are some more "action shots", along with pics of some of the other items I purchased:

Pick safe folks!