Found Treasure Resurrects History of 49'ers in Death Valley National Park

It is rumored there is a cache of very old household and personal items found
in a cave in Death Valley. I emailed Dave Brenner, ranger for Death
Valley National Park, regarding this. This is his reply.

I also picked up a copy of the Ridgecrest Daily Independent last night
and found this line in a colum giving thumbnail sketches of recent
events. It pointed to the Sunday, January 17 issue with this line:

"A treasure trove filled with gold and silver coins -- some dating back
to 1700 -- along with a gun, hunting knife and hand-written journals was
recently discovered inside a Death Valley cave by archaelogists."

Email of Dave Brenner follows:

Yes, a trunk was found allegedly in the park....

However, due to the site disturbance, a time interval and a
incomplete detailed anaylsis of the the contents....no
offical determination has been made.

What is known....a citizen by the name of Jerry Freeman who
has for years now been recreating the route taken by the
49ers, specifically the Jayhawkers, has found what he
described as a chest with coins, a doll, hymnal, flintlock,
assorted other items....this was turned over to the park
service.

I have not seen the items except by digital photos...

As soon as I know more, I'll let you know....

Something to pass on....unfortunately, the site was
completely destroyed contextually, and physically. No
documentation photographs of high quality exist. The trunk
was opened and contents contaminated.....

I would like to believe that the entire story is true and
genuine....however, gaps exist in the inability to recreate
the site due to the disturbance, lack of original photos
will make it difficult to confirm or deny the placement,
ownership, timelines etc....this case will be forever
tarnished due to the lack of documentation....

Please spread the word.....if you find something....mark it,
guard it, protect it in place!!!! then get the park service
if on park lands or blm or me! I will get the proper
people.. All archeological finds should be treated as if a
crive scene for documentation and done by experts which I
will contact to retrieve the object(s). This will only
build confidence in the authenticity of a find.

Happy New Year!!!

dbrenner

--------- End forwarded message ----------

__________________
David A. Wright
Great Basin Research