In Episode 460, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger chase a beast along Rattlesnake Ridge in Fair Haven, Vermont, searching for a cave full of skeletons, snakes, and lost treasure. Could there be more?
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Produced and hosted by: Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger
Edited by: Ray Auger
Theme Music by: John Judd
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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:
*A note on the text: Please forgive punctuation, spelling, and grammar mistakes. Like us, the transcripts ain’t perfect.
[HIKING IN WOODS]
RAY: There’s not too many summer days left for a hike in the woods, Jeff.
JEFF: Nope, before we know it, it’s going to be Autumn again. I’m glad we’re still able to get in an adventure.
RAY: We’re hiking north of Inman pond in the western Vermont town of Fair Haven.
JEFF: We are. We’re making our way up to Rattlesnake Ridge.
RAY: I don’t like the sound of that.
JEFF: I’m also not a fan of snakes, Ray. But this is where we have to go.
RAY: What are we looking for?
JEFF: We’re searching for a small cave. A cave where they say we may find snakes…
RAY: (gasp)
JEFF: Human skeletons
RAY: (GASP)
JEFF: And lost treasure!
[INTRO]
JEFF: I’m Jeff Belanger.
RAY: And I’m Ray Auger. Welcome to episode 460 of the New England Legends podcast. Thank you for joining us on the hunt for all things wicked strange, from ghosts to monsters, aliens to UFOs, roadside oddities, and strange bits of history, like this one. So many of our story leads come from you so please reach out to us anytime through our website. We love hearing from you.
JEFF: We’ll go searching for dead people, snakes, and hidden treasure in Fair Haven, Vermont, right after this word from our sponsor.
SPONSOR
RAY: Jeff, we’ve searched for lost treasure before.
JEFF: We have.
RAY: We’ve searched for pirate treasure, stolen loot from aristocrats fleeing invading armies, and even buried treasures guarded by vengeful ghosts.
JEFF: All true. With some of those stories, we didn’t have much to go on other than a general area. But there’s a lot to this one!
RAY: Here’s a little more background on Fair Haven, Vermont. The town was chartered back in 1779. Early industries included various mills that offered jobs to those who could work. In 1846, they began quarrying and manufacturing slate in the region. A lot of the slate was used to make book-sized writing slates used by countless students in schools all over the country. The population peaked at just over 3,000 people back in 1910. Today, it’s about 2,700 people. A charming New England small town.
JEFF: It is. And it was once home to a predator of a beast, that would lead to a startling find up in the woods. To find out what happened, let’s head back to the year 1899.
[TRANSITION]
RAY: It’s May of 1899 here in Fair Haven, Vermont. William McKinley sits in the White House, Edward Curtis Smith is the governor of Vermont, and life here in the town of Fair Haven, is bustling along. There’s plenty of jobs at the quarries, the community is thriving.
JEFF: Though the economy and life is good in town, some locals are a little spooked. There’s been stories of a wild beast lurking in the woods.
RAY: What kind of wild beast?
JEFF: That’s the thing. No one is sure what it is.
[HOWL IN THE DISTANCE]
JEFF: Some loggers were up near Bloody Ledge and heard the howl of something they didn’t recognize. The strange wailing noises were heard for miles around. It’s created quite a buzz in town.
RAY: It sure has. The idea of tracking down some mysterious monster has excited three buddies in town. There’s James Kelley, Fred Copeland, and Albert Austin. The young men see the nice weather outside and figure it’s the perfect day for a hunt. And who knows… maybe fame awaits if they can bag this beast that’s been scaring the folks in town.
[HIKING IN WOODS]
[DOG BARKS]
RAY: They carry their guns, and Copeland brings along his dog who soon picks up the scent of something.
[BARK BARK]
JEFF: The boys are racing to follow the dog near Bloody Ledge just a little west of Rattlesnake Ridge.
[RUSTLING IN LEAVES]
[GROWL]
[YIP OF DOG]
[RUSTLING IN LEAVES]
JEFF: Oh man!
RAY: Something attacked that poor dog. He’s cut and bleeding on his side. (BEAT) It doesn’t look that bad. And the dog seems more determined to find this beast… whatever it may be. (BEAT) I think he’s got the scent again!
JEFF: The dog is leading the boys up toward rattlesnake ridge.
[HIKING IN WOODS]
[DOG BARKS WILDLY]
JEFF: It looks like the dog has found the animal and has him hiding in those rocks over there.
[RUNNING OVER]
RAY: We’re standing near some large boulders. I can’t see much in the gaps between the rocks. If that beast is hiding in there, I’M not going in after it.
JEFF: Neither is anyone else.
[FIRE CRACKLING]
JEFF: The boys light a small campfire. They’re burning some branches and setting the smoking limbs into some of the nooks and crannies of the boulders. They’re going to try and smoke out the beast.
[FIRE CRACKLING]
RAY: For about a half an hour, the boys continue smoking out the beast. (BEAT) Hey… look over there.
JEFF: Yeah, I see it. There’s smoke rising up from another section of rock maybe 20 yards away from us.
RAY: It must be connected by some cave, and the smoke is coming out wherever there’s a vent.
[FIRE FADES]
JEFF: When the smoke clears, Copeland grabs a torch and his gun. He’s going to slip into the space between the rocks and finish off the beast.
[MAN GRUNTING]
JEFF: Okay, he’s in…
JEFF: Check it out.
RAY: Yeah, there’s room to stand in there. It must be some kind of cave system. (AWAY FROM MIC) Do you see anything in there?
JEFF: Nothing. The other boys are crawling in now too. You ready to get dirty, Ray?
RAY: Ready as I’ll ever be… Okay… I’m crawling in.
JEFF: I’m right behind you…
JEFF: Wow… The cave is maybe 20 feet wide. And… yeah… it keeps going. Let’s stay with the group.
RAY: I don’t see any animals down here. If the guys smoked it out, maybe it found another exit.
JEFF: Maybe. Uhhhh… Ray….
RAY: Yeah?
JEFF: What’s that over in the corner?
[WALKING]
RAY: Ohhh man… there’s some kind of iron kettle in the corner… and there are human skeletons leaning up against the wall!
JEFF: There’s five of them. Empty eye sockets and toothy grins are staring back at us.
JEFF: This is so creepy. The boys are just standing here staring.
RAY: James Kelley is getting closer with his torch. Oh wow… look at that!
JEFF: There’s a pile of old Spanish gold coins in the kettle. There’s a bunch in there! It must be worth thousands!
[RATTLESNAKE RATTLE]
JEFF: What was that?
RAY: Look… over there in the opposite corner of the cave.
JEFF: Are those?
RAY: Rattlesnakes. Dozens of them in a pile.
JEFF: They’re alive, but barely moving. They seem almost comatose.
RAY: The boys strip the rattles off of a bunch of snakes. There’s a bounty on these snakes in this county. Those rattles fetch a pretty penny.
JEFF: With the rattles and kettle full of gold collected, the boys make their way out of the cave.
[GRUNTING]
RAY: We never did see that beast the dog chased over this way.
JEFF: I think the boys caught gold fever instead.
[HIKING THROUGH WOODS SLOW FADE]
JEFF: Back in town, the boys learn their gold is worth $2,750 dollars, and those rattles from the snakes will fetch them another $765.
RAY: Not bad for a hike in the woods. Not bad at all.
JEFF: It’s the following day when the boys lead a large group back up to the caves on Rattlesnake Hill. The skeletons are carefully removed and brought back to town.
RAY: Professor Norman has made the trek to Fair Haven to inspect the skeletons. He believes they were local Indians. Professor Norman explained how in the year 1725, a group of white men came up from the Connecticut River Valley under the command of Captain Titus and slaughtered many local Indians in these parts. He suspects some of the wounded took refuge in the cave and were left behind because of their wounds.
JEFF: So Professor Norman believes the skeletons date back to about 1725.
RAY: That’s right.
JEFF: The Professor also examined the gold coins. There are dates on these coins, the latest being 1705. Professor Norman is not sure of the connection between the skeletons and the gold. If wounded were left here to die, why wouldn’t the survivors have taken the gold?
RAY: Unless these people WERE the survivors and tried to guard their treasure until the end.
JEFF: Good point.
RAY: Meanwhile, the town of Fair Haven is in a frenzy. Search parties are now combing the woods looking for more caves, skeletons, and Spanish gold. Sadly, those search parties will strike out. And that brings us back to today.
[TRANSITION]
JEFF: So these boys walked away with $3,515 in 1899. Converted into today’s money, that haul would have been worth about $141,000 dollars. Can you imagine being a teenager and splitting that three ways?
RAY: Not bad at all. Plus, a story to tell for the rest of your life. Monsters, dead bodies, a hidden cave, rattlesnakes, and lost treasure. This is a Goonies adventure 86 years before Goonies.
JEFF: I admit it. I’m completely jealous of these three kids. When I was growing up, their adventure was all I ever wanted.
RAY: I get it.
JEFF: Most of what we know about this story comes from the May 10, 1899 St. Johnsbury Republican newspaper. The story caused quite a stir that summer.
RAY: I bet it did.
JEFF: It’s stories like this that remind us that mysteries and treasures are still out there to be discovered. Sometimes… you just need to chase a monster to find them.
[OUTTRO]
RAY: And that takes us to After the Legend where we take a deeper dive into this week’s story and sometimes veer off course.
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To see some pictures related to this week’s story, click on the link in our episode description, or go to our website and click on Episode 460.
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Until next time remember… the bizarre is closer than you think.