Camping!!!
Welcome to this weeks adventure. I had a little change in plan. I stated last week that I
was going trout fishing this week but ended up camping in one of the Army Corps campgrounds.
There is nothing like the peace and quite of a weekend spent outdoors. It is a time to enjoy
being with family and friends. So pull up a chair, sit by the fire, and tell us a tale....
My tale begins with a man that I met fishing the river one day. He was an older man,
probably in his late 50's early 60's. He started talking about gold and some of the adventures
that he had while searching for it. This peaked my intrest a little and I tried to devulge more
information from him. He told me of a place near Rome Ga., on the Coosa River, that was the
storage place for a large cash of Cherokee Indian gold. This really peaked my intrest and I laid
down my fishing pole to listen more closely to the gentleman. I asked if he knew exactly where
the gold was hidden and he said yes. "When the river's down" he spoke, "there is a trail marked
by carved rocks. On each rock is carved a bear claw. If you follow these, you will come to a
creek that contributes to the river. You will know this creek when you find it by the markings.
Follow this creek up and there is a large water fall. The fall is about 30 feet high. The gold
is in a small cave, just about 5 feet below where the water first starts to fall."
I began to get a little suspicious about the man's claims. If he knew where the gold was
then why didn't he go and get it. I asked him this and he replied..."I've already tried to get
the gold. I've seen the bear claw trail, why heck, I've followed it to the water fall. There is
a ledge on the side of the hill that I walked on to get to the gold. It was only about six inches
wide, so the going was tuff. I even knew I wouldn't make it alone so I turned back on my first
trip. The second time I went I took someone with me. We had about fifty feet of rope for safety
on the ledge. I tied one end around me and the other around him. As I eased out the ledge, he
fed me line. About 10 feet from the falls I slipped off the ledge and suffered a twisted ankle.
With me no longer able to walk the ledge, my partner decided to try. He was making a good effort
on the foothold. As he passed the point where I had fallen I was certain that we were going to find
something. My partner turned to me with a gleem in his eye and hollered back that he could see
some markings under the water. My heart pounded," the old man exclamed,"I knew that this was it.
All of a sudden, out from the ground erupted an enourmous cloud of bees!! They were yellow jakcets,
I could see that from where I stood. They began to sting my friend many, many times. He tried
to hold his ground but couldn't. I heard him screaming and was helpless. He fell from the ledge
and started to swell up badly. I, with my ankle starting to hurt more and more and my buddy with
his face starting to swell up with all the bee stings, decided to head back home. That was the
last time I ventured to the falls" he said. "The Indians have place a spell on the gold, and I
believe", the man stated, "that no one will ever find it..."
This is where the old man said that he enjoyed talking with me but it was time to get going. I
thanked him for the story and wished him well on his journeys. So weather to believe the old man
still lingers in my mind. I do know this, If there is a severe drout in Ga., You'll probably
find me along the banks of the Coosa River, looking for bear tracks....
Ahhhh, camp fires. What joy they bring. My advise, take a kid camping. Tell them storys. Have fun outdoors. Till next time, go outside, it's a great place to be.......
