The Ticking Tomb Cache Mystery Cache
Harthausen: I'm going to have to let this one go.
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In order to find this cache you will need to visit a particular
tomb in the cemetery surrounding the London Tract Meeting House.
Back in 1764 when Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon were surveying
this area in order to figure out the border of Pennsylvania with
that of Delaware and Maryland, the English King held a contest to
see who could develop the best device to measure longitude. Charles
Mason developed this device, a chronometer, but legend has it that
it was swallowed before it could be submitted for review by Fithian
Minuet, who was an infant at the time. He grew up to be a
successful clock maker and he and his wife Martha lead a happy life
and had many friends. It is said that you could hear the
chronometer ticking in him his whole life and that it STILL ticks
in him to this day. Many people have put their ears to his
tombstone and heard the ticking. Edgar Allen Poe heard the ticking
and was supposedly inspired to write "The Tell Tale Heart." George
Alfred Townsend told the story in "Tales of the Chesapeake." And
most recently, Ed Okonowicz included the tale in his book "Up the
Back Stairway (Spirits Between the Bays)."
The coordinates are for the parking area near the London Tract
Meeting House. From there enter the cemetery and locate the
tombstone inscribed with the initials “RC.” It is flat, the
inscription is very faint, and it is located near a grave with a
heart -shaped stone. This is the ticking tomb. Why the tomb bears
the initials RC, when Fithian Minuet is buried there remains
unknown. However, it may have something to do with the fact that
there are several versions of the legend. The one that I have
recounted is the most popular.
In order to figure out the coordinates for the cache you must
gather the following information, do some simple math, and plug the
answers into the coordinates below:
• Find the tomb of a man with a Latin first name near the ticking
tomb. The number of letters in this Latin first name minus 1 =
A.
• There are 26 letters in the alphabet. The letter “R” corresponds
to what number? Take this number and add 11. This gives you
BC.
• The letter “C” corresponds to what number? Add 2. This gives you
D.
• William H. Crawford, who lies close to RC, died in what year?
Subtract 1880. This gives you E.
39° 44.ABC
075° 46.D0E
Extra Credit: Put your ear to the tomb. Hear anything???
The cache is located nearby. Please take care in finding it and try
not to create a path leading right to GZ.
I hope that you enjoy this cache – it contains some nifty FTF
goodies!
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)
Treasures
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