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The Story of Shaman’s Island- L'Histoire De L'île Des Chamans
The french explorers arrived on Jekyll Island in the winter of 1564 sent from Florida by Rene Laudonniere. One of these French explorers was a young wealthy lieutenant in the French navy named Mathieu Baptiste Laurent. The French explorers ventured to neighboring barrier islands and got to know the Guale Indians, native people of the region.
After six weeks on Jekyll, Mathieu Baptiste Laurent fell in love with a young and beautiful Guale woman on the island named Toso. Toso lived on the island with her family and her father was a Guale shaman. Lieutenant Laurent decided he wanted to take her back to France with him and marry her, though the young woman had no interest in him. He boasted of his intentions to everyone in the expedition party about how he had devised a plan to steal her from her family the night before they would leave Jekyll.
A Timucuan Indian who had traveled with the French from Florida heard about the plan and informed the shaman the morning before. As soon as the shaman heard this he placed a curse on Lieutenant Laurent. That night Laurent came to the small wooded sanctuary off Jekyll looking for her.
His friend Guershon Jolivet, a french merchant mariner, went with him that night, but felt uneasy about if for some reason and waited on the other side of the marsh for him to return with the Guale girl. As he waited through the night for his friend to return he heard horrific sounds traveling across the marsh. It was like some kind of wild beast, though unlike anything he had heard on the island before. He waited until first light, but his friend never showed.
As the sun rose Guershon returned to camp without Laurent. On returning he decided to go to the young explorer’s tent to notify one of Laurent’s colleagues. Upon entering the tent he discovered there was someone in each of the cots. When Guershon saw this, he thought to himself that his friend must have made it back, but by a different route than they had discussed. He was angry at the thought that he had waited until sunrise in the early morning chill, while here his friend laid covered up under a blanket and sleeping comfortably in a bunk.
Ready to scold his friend, he walked over to Laurent’s bedside and threw back the covers. While standing there looking upon his friend the frenchman’s face turned ghostly white. Guershon urgently tried to figure how Laurent had gotten back to his bed without waking anyone, much less his bunk mate, because he couldn’t believe his eyes. Somehow the young suitor Lieutenant Laurent had returned or had been returned by someone or something...in either case he had managed to arrive back at camp without his beloved and without his head.
This multicache follows The Story of Shaman’s Island
To start your journey:
You will take a land bridge which you can follow most of the way, then you can follow a deer trail through the marsh.
On the way out to the land bridge there are several downed trees beyond the bike path. There is a tall and prominent base of a tree still standing with the trunk part lying down on the ground stretched out towards the marsh. Use the trunk as a walking path...this is the trailhead waypoint. It will point you towards the area of the marsh where there is a land bridge with smaller trees that line it. Take the land bridge until you reach the cedar, then cross the marsh the rest of the way. Once the land bridge ends be on the lookout for a deer path through the marsh.
Be sure to wear old shoes or boots that can get muddy or wet and watch the tide. As always be aware of wildlife and wear bug spray.
The cache at the final stage is the shaman’s ceremonial jar.
You will find a bison tube attached to the outside of the jar. So BYOP!!
Since there is not room in the cache for swapping tradeables feel free to leave a shell or stone with your username at the first stage to add to the mystique
Please do not pick up the prop at the first stage, this will help preserve the cache for others to enjoy. If you want any selfies you will have to sit next to it.