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You will explore local ruins searching
for clues which will lead to the Final Cache and the Logbook. To locate the
Final Cache you must find the missing artifacts and decipher their secrets.
This search is not for the casual cacher and
may take some time to complete.
Background information: You are heading to the ruins
of a forgotten town known as Belcoville, located in what is now known as the
Atlantic County Park
in Estell Manor. In 1918, Belcoville (short for Bethlehem
Loading Co.) was home to over 400 families, along with
a town hall, school, and even a bank. The town was built around the
Bethlehem Loading
Company where the US Army loaded and delivered 155 mm shells, 75 mm shells
and 8 inch shells. Despite the towns relatively safe location in Southern New
Jersey the Army deployed over 1,100 soldiers to guard the site. Your research
into the now forgotten location has uncovered an anonymous poem published in the
Belco News, in
November 1918. The last two stanzas in the poem make your heart race, could
the townsfolk have discovered the lost bible of the early Native American
Indians in the pines of Southern New Jersey while building their town? You have
studied the ancient history of Southern New Jersey and you know that the
Lenni-Lenape
Indians were the original settlers in the area and you had completed
research on their lost book of the
Walam Olum
(also known as the Red Record).
The last two stanzas of the poem in the newspaper refer to "Ancient Indian clues
on birch" and "warnings on the bark" - could this be the lost Walam Olum? You
have always speculated that the Walam Olum was not recorded until the early
1800's during a religious and cultural revival when the Indians realized that
their society was deteriorating rapidly with the invasion of the white man. Much
speculation has circulated about this ancient artifact, but what is known for a
fact is that it is made of twenty-two wooden tablets, each tablet is seven
inches long and two inches in width with ancient Indian pictographs written
vertically on each tablet. You know that when read vertically these tablets
describe the history of the Lenni-Lenape Indians, however, you have always had a
theory that this ancient document will reveal the real location of ancient
healing waters (also known as the fountain of youth) when the tablets are
correctly assembled and read horizontally, instead of vertically. If nothing
else, it is the oldest "written" history of Native Americans in existence, and
the most important Native American artifact ever to be discovered.
Your Research: After over a year of research you
believe your best chance of finding the Walam Olum and uncovering the secrets of
Belcoville lies in exploring a myth you have heard from several local
historians.
Legend says that Dr. Marquette moved to Belcoville in March of 1918 as the towns
practicing physician. Dr. Marquette was also a certified pharmacist whose
interests were studying the local geography, minerals and natural herbal
remedies available in the area. Dr. Marquette would often hike through the pines
looking for plants with healing properties to make his famous herbal tonic. The
legend says that one day Dr. Marquette found Lenni-Lenape artifacts while in the
area of Belcoville and by November of 1918 he quit practicing as the town's
physician and disappeared.
Not much more is known about Dr. Marquette, but you have learned of a local man
by the name of Mr. Samuel Marquette. Curious, you visit Mr. Marquette and learn
that he claimed to be the Great-Grandson of Dr. Marquette. After much discussion
about the Walam Olum and the similarity between the Mayan and Lenni-Lenape
number systems, Samuel tells you that in 1918 when his Great-Grandfather
disappeared from Belcoville he left behind all of his notes related to his
research. You ask to review the documents and are given what Samuel claims is a
copy of his
Great-Grandfathers Diary (Graphic Images
One /
Two /
Three). The
diary, however, is missing all entries from April 16th to July 1st of 1918.
Samuel tells you that the original was left in a secret hiding place in the
family home but he believes that his Great-Grandfather hid the missing pages in
the town of Belcoville. Unfortunately, the family home burned down soon after
Dr. Marquette disappeared. After prying for more details, Samuel reveals that
his Great-Grandfather often kept valuable items hidden in the chimney of the
family home. If the diary or any trace of the alleged Walam Olum still exists
this would be the best place to start looking. Mr. Marquette tells you the
location of the old family home (the coordinates posted above) and gives you a
Map
(click here) of the area.
Your adventure now begins.
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