Think You Know Gardner (TYKG) #4
The Kneeland Murders
The caches themselves are not at any of the locations that are mentioned in this series *OR AT THE LISTED COORDINATES*
Each of the cache locations can be found by completing the puzzles for that specific cache. Once you have found the coordinates (you can use the Geochecker if you would like) you are ready to go and find actual caches. The final bonus cache can be found by making sure that you write down the information that is located in each of the 6 caches (make sure you have the coordinates handy and the symbols that are on the tops of each of the logs) in the series.
Each of the caches are different. They are solved differently, they are hidden differently, but they are all micros or smalls and some are hidden harder than others. The final bonus cache is the standard lock and lock type container with enough room for swag. Please bring your own pen since the other caches will only hold a log.
The caches are all located in Gardner Forest. There are several other caches in the area (with one along the way.)
On Wednesday March 7th, 1855 two aged sisters, Miriam Kneeland (85-born May 1st, 1769), a maiden woman, and her sister, Mrs. Sarah Phinney (75-born March 26th,1779) were found brutally murdered in the home that they shared.
Some unknown party (or parties) entered the home and murdered the two elderly women in their beds with a heavy chair post.
The Murder scene was not discovered until the afternoon of the next day when a neighbor saw cows belonging to the sisters wandering about uncared for. A window found broken was presumed to be the entry point for the intruder.
The news of the crime so shocked Gardner that a $500.00 reward (a small fortune in pre-Civil War New England) was offered for information leading to the conviction of the murderer(s). Legend has it that a Mrs. Shattuck went blind from excessive crying over the untimely passing of her two friends.
The town of Gardner held a collection to purchase a proper gravestone for the beloved sisters. Attendance for the church service for the Kneeland Maids was so great that alternate services at the town hall were held to accommodate the overflow of mourners.
While a man named George Stacey was arrest for the murder a Grand Jury acquitted him. However to this day some still believed him to be the culprit.
Mysteriously, the Kneeland Maid's home burned to the ground a month after the murder. Some whispered that the fire was arson perpetrated by the murderer to destroy evidence...but nothing was ever proven.
To this day the Kneeland Maids Murder remains a topic of debate and speculation. A morbid curiosity about this century and a half old murder still exists in Gardner much in the same manner that many unsolved crimes still fascinate many.
The Kneeland Maids murder has been the subject of multiple newspaper articles, is mentioned in several books on Gardner's history and was the subject for historical fiction E-novel "Across Lots" by Carla J Charter.
Even today the Gardner Museum has a display regarding the Kneeland Maids consisting of a wanted poster with a $ 500 reward and a bedside table taken from the crime scene.
(From http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10281232)
Since this murder was never officially solved, this cache must be the hardest of the series. Be prepared for many steps and some head scratching. First, solve the riddle. You will need to use the answer to ultimately solve the puzzle.
Forward and forward I go, never looking back. My limit no one knows, more of me do they lack. Like a river I do flow, and an eagle I fly. Now can you guess, what am I?
Then, use your answer to solve this one...
TXBxIFIgNDIgMzQuNjg3IHZpb2x4IHFlIHBoa214eGwgbXgg Z3dkeGEgbmF2bWcgZmFoIGxxa2ttcXcgbXB1dm1nIGVtcSBsYXggbWVh IHhhenFpIHlxaGkgUCA3MiAwMC44NDcgZXF3bSBhcXp4dmZjIG1lYSBke HphIGR4emEgaGhiIGZhaCBudWptZyBmbGttcS4gIEZuYiBrc24gdWd3bS Bxc3JoenEgeGFtIGZseCB2Z3F1bWR3IG1wbXggdHpxIGFrcWZ4eHYgbXJ 3IHZheCBseHFwZW1wIHNuYi4gICA=
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.
Congratulations to DanceMan for the FTF!