Skip to content

Goose Dump Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

BoJaB: This one has been missing for some time. Archiving.

More
Hidden : 3/21/2010
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
5 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

You seek an ammo can along the Econ, between Hwy 50 and Cr-419.

This cache is available ONLY by boat. Since this area of the SJWMD land is not open to foot traffic, please, do not bushwack to this!

The Legend of Llednew:

First documented by explorer Ponce De Leon, in 1518, the Timucuan Indian tribes covered much of what is now called Florida. In researching this Tribe, I discovered an unusual legend, which came to mind as I was hiding this cache.

For all practical purposes, the Llednew was what modern scholars refer to as a Phoenix, in that it was of an avian nature, and practiced a version of reincarnation. What sets the Llednew apart is its method of reincarnation: As you know, the Phoenix, when it reached the end of its life, would burst into flames. The reincarnated entity would rise from the ashes of the fallen, continuing its existence.

The Llednew, on the other hand, resorted to what cultured peoples would call a far cruder form of renewal. The Llednew would defecate normally, as birds do everywhere, and would eventually die a seemingly normal death. Yet, that is not the end of the tale. From its most recent excrement would rise the renewed Llednew, to continue its existence.

When Chester A Arthur, 21 President of these United States, visited Florida in 1884, he was presented with an Indian headdress, which, it was claimed, was made entirely from the feathers of the Llednew. President Arthur's family donated the headdress many years later to The Smithsonian Museum, where it sat gathering dust for many decades. With the advent of DNA technology, many legends of history have been addressed, and the Llednew was no exception. The feathers were analyzed and determined to be from the Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides). Since the Swan Goose has never been sighted in this hemisphere, one must assume that the specimen whose feathers went into the making of the headdress must have been a wanderer, also known as a Stray Goose.

When you arrive at Ground Zero, you'll see a cypress stump that was the source of some debate during our paddle. In the late 1800's, Florida was home to a booming cypress harvesting industry, as indicated by the many ancient stumps seen protruding from the nearby swamps. Protruding from this particular stump is a single young sapling. The two leading theories regarding how this sapling came to emerge from the sapling are as follows:

1 ) When this tree was cut down some hundred odd years ago, it did not completely perish. A small cluster of cells on one side continued to cycle nutrients, and, like a Phoenix, the live tree rose from the corpse of the old.

2 ) At some point in the past, a passing bird, (maybe a Stray Goose?), having feasted on seeds from a cypress, flew by and pooped on this stump. The seeds, being nestled in natural fertilizer, eventually germinated, and the sapling grew.

Like Fox News, we report, you decide.

Additional Hints (No hints available.)