Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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| Pigeon Island, St. Lucia. Photo I took from resort across bay. |
It's the time of year when you might want to take a vacation and go somewhere else. Above is a photo that I took back years ago.
I made a number of personal firsts on that island. I don't know if it was in the eighties or nineties, but it was a good trip.
If it looks familiar, I talked about it before in this blog, but you might have seen it on the Sandals TV commercial that has been running lately. They show the island from almost the same angle.
Pigeon Island is now a National Park and there is an admission fee. When I was there it was virtually abandoned.
I found grape shot, musket balls, military buttons, musket parts, and some other neat stuff.
It always made me laugh to watch the crab pull in their legs in and roll down the hill.
At the resort, I didn't do as well as expected - a lot of coins, but not a lot of gold.
One lady at a restaurant refused to accept the coins I found. She said they looked like they had been burned. I did spend most of them though.
I found this picture on the internet and added arrows to some of the places of interest that I remember
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Aerial View of Pigeon Island From St. Lucia Commerce Web Site.
I added the arrows.
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A. Fort Rodney. There was only one at the time I was there.
B. Trash dump over the hill.
C. Steep hill where things were found showing evidence of battle.
D. Cave with indigenous carvings, supposedly also used by pirates. Must dive to enter.
E. Remains of old stone buildings.
F. Building now converted to restaurant.
G. Cannon emplacement on other side of hill.
The causeway was made in 1972. The red roofed resort in the photo wasn't there when I was.
Here is a little of the history.
Pigeon Island was first occupied by the Amerindians, mainly Caribs. The island was later occupied by pirates whose leader was a Norman Captain called Francois Le Clerc. He had a wooden leg and was known to the French as Jambe de Bois. The French who owned the island in 1778 declared war on the British, who retaliated by attacking them in Saint Lucia and capturing the island. The British then built a Naval Base at Gros-Islet Bay, heavily fortifying Pigeon Island. From there they were able to monitor the French fleet in Martinique which resulted in the defeat of the French at the Battle of the Saints in 1782. Pigeon Island was therefore a key factor in the Battles between the British and the French. In 1909 a whaling station was established at Pigeon Island. Legislation to control whaling in 1952 put an end to this operation. Pigeon Island was leased to Josset Agnes Hutchinson, an actress with the D’Oyle Carte Theatre of England in 1937. When the American established a Naval Base at Rodney Bay in 1940 she left the island. In 1947 she returned to establish a thriving yachting industry, entertaining many guests and giving the island the reputation of a paradise island. She relinquished the lease in 1970, finally retiring to England in 1976...
See https://www.slunatrust.org/sites/pigeon-island-national-landmark/
Here is a photo of a grape shot, which I left. I wasn't about to take a chance it being considered an explosive. It might still be snuggled between the roots of the tree where I left it.
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| Grape Shot Found on Pigeon Island. |
54th and 74th Regiment of Foot and some other buttons were found. I believe they came from the 1778 Battle of Morne de la Vierge, also known as the Capture of St. Lucia.
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| Pewter British Buttons. |
I know a lot more about it now than I did when I was there. I often find myself wishing that I knew then what I know now. I don't care how much it has been searched or excavated, I know where I'd go to find artifacts, metal detector or not.
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Same Dime Before and After Additional Immersion in Acid.
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On the left is the silver dime after about 12 hours in Muriatic Acid. After two additional similar periods of immersion, once with a strengthened solution (right), I can see no significant difference in the appearance of the surface. My conclusion is that leaving the dime in a Muriatic solution for a period of time will achieve results. Continuing immersion seems to produce neither additional results nor damage.
The difference in color of the two photos is caused by lighting, not a change in the color of the dime.
---James F. added his thoughts on the article I posted about the "comtemporary archaeology" of Woodstock.
Interesting to know that "Contemporary archaeology is a very big thing right now..," And I thought that I'd heard everything at this point. I have previously looked up the definition of archaeology in the past and find that it is defined as 1) the scientific study of historic or prehistoric peoples and their cultures by analysis of their artifacts, inscriptions, monuments, and other such remains, especially those that have been excavated. or 2) Rare. ancient history; the study of antiquity. Apparently "contemporary archaeology" meets none of those conditions. I studied archaeology as a minor course of study in college, and none of this new take on the subject really complies with the study of ancient or prehistoric cultures.
I find this sort of thing by the archaeological community as waste of time and resources...50-years later collecting surface samples from the Woodstock Festival. Seems like they are really reaching here, their scientific findings reveal Woodstock "...took on a life of it's own." All they really needed to do was watch a few documentaries in full color with sound on the festival, filmed by people who were actually there, most of whom are still alive today. Or type "Woodstock" in the little window on YouTube for all the sound and video you could stomach. This is the sort of thing that may bring about the un-funding of archaeological groups...and maybe it should!
James F.
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Here is an excerpt from a lengthy article on the D. B. Cooper skyjacking mystery.
… Eric Ulis has been researching the famous skyjacking for years. And like many amateur Cooper sleuths before him, he believes he’s solved the mystery. The Phoenix entrepreneur, one of the creators of the defunct poker-playing TV show “High Stakes Hold ’Em,” says he’s “98 percent” convinced that Peterson is D.B. Cooper.
That’s why he was hacking through thick foliage on Bachelor Island, near Ridgefield, Wash., last weekend. He believes the FBI misidentified Cooper’s “jump zone” and so searched the wrong stretch of forest in the weeks and years after the high-profile crime. This small isle along the Columbia River, most of which is part of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, offers pristine woodlands that have been largely untouched by humans for decades. Ulis has analyzed wind speeds, “free fall” data and other information that led him to conclude the skyjacker likely came down here...
Here is the link for more.
https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2019/06/db-cooper-search-leads-to-bachelor-island-ex-fbi-agent-says-suspect-will-get-away-with-it-unless-he-confesses.html
Thanks to Dean R. for that link.
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More of the same beach conditions. A lot of thunder early this morning, but just a little rain.
Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net
