Still on the hunt

[cannibalfromhannibal]

Well, yesterday I returned to the yard where I dug the ruby railroad globes to open up what seemed a likely spot for the earlier privy, still with visions of mossy green Hostetters lining the pit instead of only the base half I found. I get to opening it up and quickly discover it is what I thought it was.....an early (looking) stone liner. I get serious on the shovel but stopped when I felt something was wrong. I know I probed something out where I was digging with my 6 foot probe a few days ago, but the stone lined wall was curving AWAY from me! HUH? I re-probed the other side with my shorty 4 foot probe and almost fell on my face. So I switch sides and get serious over there. After about an hour or so at the 3 foot level, I dug my first whole bottle after finding a mix of shards from tool top sodas. I pulled out an extra large extract, slick and machine made!? HUH? UGH! Not the start I was looking for, but then I'm only 3 foot deep. These stone liners always go 8 foot +, so I'm not too concerned. I keep digging and find a pocket of tool top slick pharms and a smattering of sodas, both tool top and machined crowns. Not impressive, I think. At around the 5 foot level I hit a bottle that looks like a Kilmers backside. As I pulled it out I was not surprised to discover it was. Turned out to be the cleanest one I ever dug. Looks brand new. So at this point I decided to give the probe a gentle try to see how much deeper it goes. CLUNK! I could not believe it! Clunk! I stick my shovel blade under the stone wall and sure as sure, it went underneath! Bottomed out at 5 foot?!! Stunned, I kept digging in a circular direction and same story, until I get to about opposite where I had hit bottom, and wham! Suddenly I hit a soft spot and down I went, 1 foot, 2 foot. No glass but plenty of old rust and some ash. I decided to cover it for the night and return this morning to unravel the mystery. As I began digging the soft side, I discovered another stone lined wall inside the stone lined whatever it was I was already in! I puzzled over it in my sleep last night and had a couple thoughts. Since there was no evidence of any lime or poopage, seeds, etc, I was left with the impression it could be a weird cistern of sorts though I never saw or heard of a stone lined cistern, only brick lined. Well now this odd "hole in a hole" really has me going in circles, literally! It probed down to the 9 foot level and though there was old looking rust and ash, the only glass was a Horlicks malted milk smooth lip! YIKES! So I get to filling it in and re-probed the spot where I first started to dig with my 6 footer and it shows some lime, so that is my "last chance saloon" for this yard as I have probed it to death looking for the 1870-80's hole. Hope to open it up this Wednesday so I am hoping to post pics of green Hostetter's then. Even though this hole was another first, it wasn't the kind of first I was hoping for! I guess my question is, has anyone ever seen a weird hole like this or heard of a stone lined cistern? Doesn't seem like it would hold water so it kinda looses me on that note. Jack

 

[hemihampton]

Sounds like the same luck I had today. Dug a dud with only shards. Maybe we'll both do better tomorrow? LEON.

 

[botlguy]

Jack, Another great story told with true writer's talent, I am truly an expert critic. Thank you for continuing to bless us with your talent, having dug dozens of privies myself, I am sincerely now living my bottle digging life vicariously through you. Please keep your stories coming. Jim

 

[Bass Assassin]

Jack, never heard of a hole within a hole. If I'm reading correctly, you have a stone lined hole within another stone lined hole?

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

Jack, never heard of a hole within a hole. If I'm reading correctly, you have a stone lined hole within another stone lined hole?

Correct! But it gets stranger.....after filling in this hole (both), I started digging on the OUTSIDE of the larger stone liner where I originally probed what I thought was the hole and discovered another shallow pit. This one had faint remnants of a wood liner but still 1890's stuff. Still bottomed out at 6 foot but once again discovered another smaller stone liner butted against the stone wall of the last hole next to it. I at first thought it might be the same one as the first but realized I was clearly outside the wall of the larger stone liner and also not nearly close to where the other smaller stone liner was. (I was thinking it might have been a well that got built over with two separate era privies, but with two separate smaller stone liners, it remains a mystery. I am currently 8 foot deep in this one and the 4 foot probe says there is a small glass layer at 10 foot and seems to bottom out at 11 foot. I'm heading back this am to finish it out to the bottom if it kills me! Due to the larger stone lined wall coupled with this smaller stone lined wall, it is cramped digging to say the least. I tried using a pry bar to open the smaller wall but was worse than digging cramped style! So far only one whole bottle for all this insanity, and it was a fairly common local 1880's pharmacy......Thinking next summer I take up fishing! HA! Here's a pic of the latest one......

 

[Bass Assassin]

Jack, you got me. I have no answer for what's going on there. ??? The only thing I can come up with is maybe they were cramped for space in the backyard. I dunno. That's just really weird. I hope you get something for your efforts. At this point, I think solving the mystery at hand is a reward in itself. Keep us updated on this one please.

 

[2find4me]

Good luck, may your work be rewarded.

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

Well, after hitting bottom at 12 feet, I suspect I dug what they call around here a "summer kitchen." Rather than heating up the house in summertime by cooking etc. inside, they would have a room outside detached from the main house to cook and heat water. Sometimes it was an attachment to the basement, but this is only what I have heard about and have no actual knowledge of. Only non-organic material I dug was an unusual amount of unidentifiable rust, a sparse amount of broken dinnerware and what appeared to be stove ash. The shape had a 90 degree angle in one corner but appeared to round out on opposite side. I had to quit when I accidentally knocked out some of the wall to the previously dug wall, affecting the stability as well as allowing the previously dug material to fall in where I was digging. Pretty sure there was nothing in the undug portion, in other words, I ain't gonna loose any sleep over it. Pretty sad to find one so-so bottle for all the effort. Still believe there is one loaded glass pit somewhere, but I'm gonna take a few days off after this goose chase.

 

[Bass Assassin]

Thanks Jack. Sorry things didn't pan out for you. Keep at it,

 

[David Fertig]

I have dug pits that were rebuilt on top of earlier pits. Around here, it is not uncommon for one or two of the stone walls to have either fallen in or are in the process of falling in. Sometimes they dipped them and laid up another couple walls. I've seen them offset by half or more.