Please note: This cache is placed in the TVA managed lands beyond North Chickamauga Creek Greenway (Greenway Farms). The Park closes at dark. This cache is designed to be a specialized challenge with certain skill requirements that probably will not appeal to all people. If this cache doesn't sound interesting to you we encourage you to put it on your ignore list and seek out the other caches. The cache is at the posted coordinates.

THE LEGEND
OF VIRGIL HIXSON

        The legend of Virgil Hixson began back in 1876.  After spending most of his adult life striking it rich in the California Gold fields, Virgil took his money and moved back home to the hills of East Tennessee.  He was looking for a quiet place to live out his final days, enjoying the mountains and their beauty. 

        Here Virgil found his slice of heaven on earth.  He spent his days peacefully hunting the plentiful game, tending a few crops, trading with his few neighbors, and was content to be left alone at his cabin in his woods in northern Hamilton County.

        Everything was as perfect as Virgil could have dreamed, until the fall of ‘81 that is. His nearest neighbors had discovered coal on their land, and before long agents for the Tennessee Coal Company were buying up all the nearby land.  Many willingly sold, but Virgil wasn’t interested.  A few others felt the same way as Virgil, but he began to hear that pressure was being used to force them to sell.  After a visit from Mr. Black Bart, chief “enforcer” for the Tennessee Coal Company, many felt they had no choice but to sell their land.  Then one neighbor refused, only to be mysteriously gunned down. The law, bought and paid for by the Coal Company, turned a blind eye to the killing.

        Finally, the day the Virgil dreaded arrived as Mr. Bart came up the lane, and informed Virgil that he could either sell his land (for next to nothing) or “meet his maker”.   Virgil sold his land, and moved down to Chattanooga.

        Virgil became obsessed with getting even with the Tennessee Coal Company.  He spoke with current employees, ex-employees, and people who did business with them… anybody who could tell him about how the company was run.  He eventually learned that the miners were paid only once a quarter, and that the company delivered the payroll via the same wagon that delivered their supplies.  By befriending an office clerk, he saw a letter that contained the plans for the key to the Coal Company’s payroll strongbox. 

        He knew that the payroll was due to be sent out from Chattanooga for the mines in a few days, so he quickly made his own key using the specifications in the letter.

        The night before the supply train was due to arrive, Virgil set out to meet it. As luck would have it, the worst storm of the winter set in with heavy rain turning into sleet and ice.  He followed the wagon trail through the woods. Wet and cold to the bone, he carefully picked his way through the increasingly icy landscape.  Just as dawn was about to arrive, Virgil came across the wagon, camped right in the middle of the trail where they had stopped the night before. Virgil couldn't see anyone standing guard so he figured the mule drivers were huddled in the tent they had hastily put up to shield themselves from the storm. Slowly he made his way to the wagon and searched through the cargo for the strong box.  There it was, sitting under the driver’s seat waiting for him. As cold and tired as Virgil was, the sight of the strong box warmed and energized him. With a new sense of purpose he pulled the strong box from the wagon and started making his way down the slippery trail. The storm soon picked up again with rain, ice and sleet coming down so hard that his tracks were completely covered in a couple of minutes.

        From here, no one really knows what became of Virgil Hixson. Many different endings to this legend have been told over the years. Some have claimed that Virgil headed back to San Francisco and finished out his days living in grand splendor. Others have said that Virgil was blindly walking through the storm and fell off the bluff into the river.  One thing for sure, Virgil is the only one who knows the truth and he hasn't been seen since.

        Over the years many treasure seekers have searched the hills of northern Hamilton County for any sign of Virgil or the strong box, but it is only very recently that the box has been located. It was hidden deep in a remote part of the woods where Virgil must have stashed it during the storm.

        No one knows if Virgil emptied the strong box of the payroll or if he hid the box planning to come back after things settled down.  Either way, no one has been able to open the lock to find out what is inside.

        But now there is a new development that may shed some light to the end of this story.  Early last month my neighbor purchased an old picture at a yard sale.  After taking it home, he took the picture out of the frame to clean it, and he found a drawing that I believe that Virgil used to make his copy of the key.  Apparently, Virgil hid the drawing behind the picture, only to have it stay hidden there for over 130 years.

        Now if we can just find a skilled enough person to make another key and open the lock……….

FTF - Flagg2007 and CloudDog9

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