Lost Treasure of McKean County Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

PaRacers: I'm archiving this cache, but it's only so that it can return as part of the Allegheny GeoTrail on October 1, 2007. The Allegheny GeoTrail is perhaps the largest of its kind, encompassing ten counties throughout northwestern and north-central Pennsylvania. Within each county are between 10 and 20 designated geocaches which make up the “trail”. Find six or more caches in a county, and earn that county's unique geocoin. Find six caches in each of all ten counties, and earn a special geocoin that represents the entire trail.
For all the information on this project, check out the website: http://www.alleghenygeotrail.com
Even if you've already found this cache once you can log the new cache and stamp your passport. The new cache is called "Blackbeard's Lost Treasure" (GC165YE) http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=ada9c051-ce5b-49f1-bbb6-f78b30d8cc3f
and is part of the McKean County trail.

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Hidden : 11/19/2006
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

Part of Pennsylvania folklore for over a century, a treasure buried and then lost is said to be located somewhere near what's left of the tiny settlement of Gardeau, Pa where Colonel Noah Parker once lived.

Late in the summer of 1812, a booty valued then at one and a half million dollars was buried for safe keeping somewhere here on it's way to the British controlled waters of Lake Erie and Canada. A British Captain named Blackbeard, (not the pirate) raised the treasure from a sunken Spanish galleon off the coast of the Bahamas. His plan was to move his treasure from Baltimore up the Susquehanna River to Williamsport and from there to the Sinnemahoning River and on to Emporium, Pa. Here began a twenty-three mile portage over Keating Summit to the Allegheny River at Canoe Place (Port Allegany). From there it was to be easy going down the Allegheny to the mouth of the Conewango Creek near present-day Warren and on to Chautauqua Lake. From the mouth of Chautauqua Creek he could reach Lake Erie and support from his homeland Britan. Blackbeard's plan was sound but during his journey to Emporium, America declared war with England and word reached him that Fort Niagara had been blockaded and Lake Erie was swarming with American boats. His decision to hide his loot here at the portage of Keating Summit was political but also influenced by the many hardships he encountered in the icey watered, wolf and rattlesnake infested, treacherous terrain of Pennsylvania. Blackbeard returned to Britian emptyhanded and soon sent Colonel Noah Parker to retrieve his treasure. Parker seached for the treasure unsucessfully for several years during which Capt. Blackbeard died. The exact location of the treasure died with him and was forgotten about by all - except Parker. Parker was said to have exhibited a show of wealth at times during his life, but he denied ever finding Blackbeard's treasure. He built a hotel in Gardeau that was known as one of Pennsylvania's first mineral water health spas. Hundreds of people flocked to the hotel for it's healing waters and Parker always entertained them with stories of the fabulous lost treasure. Thousands have searched (without GPS) for the treasure and never found it, and if Parker knew of its whereabouts he went to his grave without telling anyone.

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Here's your chance to be a real treasure hunter and to look for The Lost Treasure of McKean County. Parking coords are for the most likely place to begin your hunt. The wolves are rare these days but rattlesnakes are not, and the terrain is abit steep near the cache. We found an old spring nearby (waypoint - spring) that may well be the famous mineral spring but we did not sample to find out. Permission has been granted for you to search here, but please be respectful of the area for obvious reasons.

Congratulations to jkrieg for F.T.F.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Qba'g or n "sbby", cyrnfr yrnir gur "tbyq" va gur pnpur.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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