Tales from Ted
Did you know about The Lost San Saba Mine in Texas


Well, Tales from Ted would not be complete unless we talk about buried treasure. According to many sources from the 1800s to early 1900s, outlaws from all over the states buried treasure here and there. Some discovered hidden mines and even went so far as to kill the owner of the claim to claim it as their own. If they could not mine the ore, they would hide the mines from prying eyes until it was safe to come back and work it. There was enough claim jumping to match Alaskan Gold Mining history!

   Sure enough, after checking some sources..the Lost San Saba Mine, is believed to be located somewhere within the Menard-San Saba-Llano triangle of the Hill Country, and has been the Holy Grail of Texas treasure tales for more than 250 years.

   According to legend and some historical information, in 1756, a dispatch reached Madrid from the region of New Spain known as Texas. The report was from Bernardo de Miranda y Flores, an agent of the crown, who had been prospecting for mineral wealth in what is now called the Hill Country-5,000 miles from Spain. Detailing the discovery of a massive, rich vein of silver ore, the document reportedly read, in part: “The mines which are in the Cerro del Almagre (a hill of red ocher) are so numerous that I guarantee to give to every settler of the province of Texas a full claim.”

   The Spanish established a mission on the western San Saba River, near what is now Menard, and a presidio was established a few miles away. The mining reportedly was very profitable until 1758, when several allied Indian tribes attacked and destroyed the mission, wiping out all but a few who escaped to the presidio. The mission was never re-established, and the presidio was abandoned a decade or so later.

   The lure of the silver continued, though, and many searched for the mine, or mines, or hidden caches of silver ingots believed left behind by the Spaniards. The most famous seeker of the treasure was Jim Bowie, who would later find glory in a crumbling mission called the Alamo. He, his brother Rezin, and nine other men left San Antonio in 1831 to retrieve the silver. According to some stories, Jim Bowie wanted to use the windfall to help fund the Texas Revolution.

   While meandering toward their goal, the adventurers were attacked by more than 100 Indians at Calf Creek in McCulloch County, in a skirmish reported to be about 30 miles east of the old mission and presidio. The greatly outnumbered troops took cover, and in the ensuing battle, the Texans lost one man, while 50 or so Indians were killed. The Bowie party made its way back to San Antonio, but subsequent historical events prevented returning to seek the fortune.

   Short-story writer William Sydney Porter, better known as O. Henry, worked in the Texas General Land Office in Austin in the late 1800s. Information he gleaned there led him to search for the Lost San Saba Mine, and to write the short story “Buried Treasure.”

Fact or Fiction? Heck, I don't know, but I am thinking of exploring it for myself. Early maps of Texas in the 1820s and ’30s, including at least one compiled by Stephen F. Austin, are clearly marked in the general area of the San Saba-Llano-Colorado river areas. The words “Silver Mines” are clearly marked on them. But The Handbook of Texas, an authoritative source on Texas history, calls the story of the Lost San Saba Mine a legend.

Just a note:
These tales may inspire treasure seekers of all ages to try to strike it rich. Hey pardner,  pull back on the reins a bit: The vast majority of lands in the state are privately owned, and access to them requires a property owner’s permission. In state and national parks, the collecting of artifacts, minerals and natural objects is strictly prohibited. With that in mind, grab an imaginary pick and shovel, metal detector and dowsing rod and mine the fabulous fortunes of your own fantasies

Social Media Woes- a continuation from Keeping It Simple (OLD WEST STYLE)


This exerpt taken from Toni Bowers at Tech Republic...hope this is OK Toni

By Toni Bowers

January 27, 2012, 6:15 AM PST

Takeaway: In this Friday rant, Toni Bowers talks about why she is sick and tired of social media.

So, OK, as a blogger whose emphasis is on career management, I have to tell people how important networking is for their careers. And a big part of networking in the times we’re living in is done online through social media.

And I was on board with LinkedIn (for making business connections), Facebook (for social purposes), and Twitter (for branding purposes). Then along comes Google Plus (which is being touted as almost a requirement for people in my business). You show me the person who has time to maintain all these entities and I’ll show you a person who has been cloned — more than once.

Who can keep track of all the groups and contacts and friends and lists and status updates andprofiles and still be able to do anything else in life? (And, again, thank you Google Plus for adding that extra layer of complexity with circles.) I mean, it would help to have some free time to work and actually live a life so you’d have something to put in the update box, wouldn’t it?

As a new author I am told it is imperative that I get on social media sites and develop a large following by blogging and just being a real sweetie-pie to the world...OK those are my words, but I am a very private person and I like my privacy. I also like to pick the friends I associate with. There are people on Facebook, TWITTER, YOUTUBE, MYSPACE etc. ad nauseum who have friended hundreds and thousands...WHAT KIND OF FRIENDSHIP IS THAT????

I mean honestly, can you actually get involved with someone on a meaningful personal level? Can you be there for them when they are in crisis and with that many friends, will you really give a rat's ass as to what they are going through? Pardon my french...but NO! No way in you know where will you have the time or inclination to be there for them. What has happened in this world to make people believe this kind of popularity is good for anyone? I can count the real friends I have on one hand! I guess that makes me a social RETARD! OH WELL, I LIKE IT THAT WAY! I can honestly count on them being there when trouble comes and if you are in the human experience...IT WILL! See ya next blog

Ted

Keeping it Simple (Old West Style)

Well, as I said, I love stories of the old west and that will include poetry( Cowboy Poetry as well). Everyone has at least one poem in them if they just sit down and think about it. I will attempt my own and that of others as I go along. My goal is to create appreciation for the old west and the things in it that shaped our country and even our thinking. So much of the Old West is still relevant today as we still fight the same societal battles that were prevalent then. Maybe by looking back at this time period in history we can find ourselves and our purpose for being, if we just happened to lose our way in today's pressure-cooker society. It was a simple time in many ways and folks mostly spoke very plain. We need some of that simple way of talking today, because just like in George Orwell's book, 1984 ,we seem to have acquired a taste for DOUBLESPEAK ( Doublespeak is language that deliberately disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words) in our society. Let's strive to keep it simple and say what we mean so that the person we are speaking to has no doubt what is on our minds.  I found this Cowboy Poetry by Marvin Hass and thought it really conveyed  what the old west really was all about.

WHEN CREATION WAS YOUNG
Marvin Hass

Take me out to the edge of creation
Where the land and the rivers are wild
Let me see forever and…then some
To the place where God rested and smiled.

Show peaks that reach to the top of the world
Turning pink as they greet the new day
Help me feel the way that it certainly was
When the West was “The West” as they say.

“Place me inside of the dust clouds
At the head of the great long horn herd
Astride a mustang just one step ahead
When “stampede” was the echoing word.”

Hand me the letters all written in love
As I ride from St. Joe to the West
Delivered come hell, or high water
The Pony Rider who never knew rest.

Let me throw in my lot with the miners
Where manhood was tested ten fold
Bacon and beans was the meal of the day
Just one in a thousand found gold.

I was born when the glory was over
With history all written and won
Just thinking aloud how it all must have been
In the West when creation begun.

May my ghost haunt the shadows at twilight
When my days in the west are all done.
Let my soul rest not far from the Western Star
Then I’ll always and ever be young.


How about a little Cowboy Humor?


Cowboy in Heaven

A young cowboy appeared before St. Peter at the Pearly Gates..

'Have you ever done anything of particular merit?' St. Peter asked.

'Well, I can think of one thing,' the cowboy offered...

'On  a trip to the Black Hills out in South Dakota, I came upon a gang of bikers, who were threatening a young woman.
I directed them to leave her alone, but they wouldn't listen.. 
So, I approached the largest and most heavily tattooed biker and smacked him in his face ...
I then kicked his bike over, ripped out his nose ring, and threw it on the ground.
I yelled, 'Now, back off!! Or I'll kick the shit out of all of you!'

St. Peter was impressed. 'And when did all of this happen?' He asked.

The cowboy sheepishly looked down at his boots as he scuffed one across the cloud he stood on, then answered....

'Why just a couple of minutes ago...'