South Padre TV

Isaac and His Contraption

admin — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 03:34:10 +0000

By Steve Hathcock © 2013 We’ve all heard stories or have personal experience of not buying something when the price was right; and there are many of us here on South Padre Island who lament the fact that at one time they could have bought an acre of land for $500 or a large beachfront tract for as little as $2500. But opportunity is not always easily recognized. Our story begins in the spring, of 1851. William A. Townsend was a successful book publisher with a stable of writers that included such literary giants as James Fennimore Cooper whose “last of the Mohicans” inspired a slow building of recognition for the plight of the American Indians to Frank G Forrester a rod and gun writer whose exploits were told and retold all across the country. One day a tall burly man dressed in shabby clothes and carrying the model of his newest machine came to his office and to the intense irritation of Townsend, proceeded to extol the virtues of his new device which was an improvement on Elias Howe’s sewing machine. In its current design, the man, whose first name was Isaac explained, Howe’s machine was very unreliable and was prone to breakdown. He himself had redesigned the machine in such a way that it would become one of the greatest mechanical improvements of the age but he had not the means to secure the patent and put it in the market. All he needed to perfect his patent was $500. In exchange for the money, he offered Townsend a half interest in all the profits he (the inventor) was sure to make. Isaac was no stranger to Townsend. Just a few years earlier he had patented an improvement in the manufacturing of movable type made from wood. Townsend’s career had taken a great leap about that time due in part to Isaac’s invention which greatly enhanced the speed of production and also reduced the cost of printing. Townsend was not interested though, books were his business and besides, if the truth were known Townsend felt uncomfortable with the way the man was practically begging for the money. Stating he “had not time for such a project,” Townsend sent Isaac and his contraption away. Dejectedly, Isaac took his machine and left. He returned a couple of days later and asked Townsend to reconsider his proposition but Townsend was adamant, if the machine could not be used in the printing industry then he, Townsend was not interested. Pondering his dilemma as he walked the streets of New York City, Isaac miraculously found himself face to face with his long-lost brother, John Singer. After a great deal of conversation, Isaac said, “So there is my story brother. I am broke and to keep my share of the partnership, I must raise $500.” Reaching into a leather money belt strapped around his waist, John removed a thick sheave of bank notes and peeled off the amount asked. “Here brother,” John said, nonchalantly as he handed the bills to Isaac, “good luck to you for I am off to the Texas frontier.” (After the meeting with his brother John finished his own business in New York City and boarded the first steamer to New Orleans, There he loaded his wife and their new child aboard the Alice Sadell, a three-masted schooner and set sail for Texas. In the meantime, unable to reach a settlement, Elias Howe sued Isaac and his partners for patent infringement. The lawsuit revolved around one issue. Like Howe’s machine, the Singer Sewing Machine used thread from two different sources. Isaac Singers improvement consisted of a needle with its eye at the point which when the machine was engaged, would push the thread through the fabric, thus creating a loop on the opposite side. Then a sliding shuttle slipped the thread through the loop. The returning needle drew the thread tight which created a perfect lockstitch. The outcome of the whole affair rested in the hands of Judge Sprague of Massachusetts who announced his ruling one fine day in 1852, stating “The plaintiff’s patent is valid and the defendant’s machine is an infringement” A settlement was soon reached between Howe and Singer. All agreed that Isaac Singer was by far the greater promoter and the Singer Sewing machine, patent infringement aside, was the superior machine. Finally, the two sides agreed that Singer and Company would manufacture and distribute the machine and Howe would be paid a royalty of five dollars for each one sold. The new machine would aptly be called, “The Singer Sewing Machine.” Ironically, Townsend’s fortunes would wane while Singer’s soared. Upon his death Isaac Singer’s net worth was estimated to be somewhere around fifteen million while Townsend died almost a pauper. Prologue: New York City: 1853. A large wooden crate is delivered to the wharves in New York City where it is placed in the hold of a steamship bound for the Gulf of Mexico. The packing label reads, To Captain John Singer and wife, General delivery, Brazos Santiago, Texas. This was the first Singer Sewing Machine delivered to Texas. Several years later, John Singer received another packet containing a bank draft for $150,000. The money was from Isaac Singer and would not be the last such payment he made to his brother. John Singer and his lost treasure has become a Padre Island legend. (His story can be read in Behind the Third Dune by Steve Hathcock. Currently available at Paragraphs bookstore at 5505 Padre Blvd. on South Padre Island and at Rio Bravo Gallery next to the Library in Port Isabel.) Email steve@southpadretv.tv For more stories about South Padre Island and the rest of the world visit http://southpadretv.tv/ on facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/South-Padre-Island-Texas/281464795204953

And Then There Were Two. How North and South Padre Island got their names

admin — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 20:33:00 +0000

The Port Mansfield “Cut” is not visible on this map produced and distributed by The State of Texas.

And Then There Were Two

Arlis Kivistad emailed to ask, “Can you tell me a little bit of the history of the Mansfield Channel?”

In 1930, Port Mansfield, or Redfish Landing, as it was once called was an isolated fishing camp located on the sandy shores of the Laguna Madre. Newspaper reports from the time refer to giant redfish over 4 feet long and trout so numerous that a fisherman could walk from his boat to the shore without getting his feet wet. I don’t know about the size of the fish, but it was possible at that time to wade across the shallow nine-mile-wide Laguna Madre to the mudflats situated along the western shores of Padre Island. A short jaunt over the dunes and one could find some of the best surf fishing in the world.

In September of 1933 an unnamed hurricane hit near the mouth of the Rio Grande. The Island was inundated with a twenty-five foot tidal surge and the storm, which lasted for over thirty hours, dumped thirteen inches of rain over a wide part of South Texas. Eighteen people were killed and an estimated five-hundred were injured. Fifteen to twenty foot waves crashed ashore at Redfish Landing. Eleven people rode out the storm in several crudely built fishing shacks – only one person drowned. The road to the fishing camp was washed out and for a short while the camp was once again isolated from the outside world.

In late 1933, the Civil Works Administration, or C.W.A., was established. In addition to building bridges, schools, hospitals, airports, parks and playgrounds, C.W.A. funds also went toward the repair and construction of highways and roads. Soon after, in 1934, Congress allocated $7,000 for construction of a new all-weather road to Redfish Landing.

Redfish Bay remained fairly isolated during the war years, while the Army Air Corps used a good sized section of the Laguna Madre as a practice range by pilots training at the air gunnery school in Harlingen. About four miles south in the back bay, large round pilings were placed in the shape of an aircraft carrier with canvas stretched between the posts.

The Air Corps pilots used these targets for bombing and machine gun practice. One can only imagine how many shells and bombs litter the laguna here but old-timers will recall that for years when wade fishing, one had to beware of holes, up to ten feet deep, left by those exploding bombs. Hurricane Allen struck south of here in 1980 filling in the holes and washing away what pilings were left, but that area is still called “the targets.”

50 caliber bullets found by Steve Hathcock while using a Garrett AT Pro Metal Detector near the “targets”

In March of 1950 the Navigation District petitioned the court to condemn the 1,760 acres of land immediately surrounding the port facilities of “Red Fish Landing”. Siding with the plaintiff, the court ordered the District pay the American Legion three dollars an acre for the land it owned. The site was renamed Port Mansfield in honor of State Senator Mansfield from Columbus, Texas, who headed the commission that moved legislation through the U.S. Congress to have the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway extended from Corpus Christi south to Port Isabel. The new harbor at Port Mansfield was completed by 1956.

All that remained now was to open a jetties-protected channel across Padre Island to the Gulf of Mexico. This would provide the new port with recreational opportunities and enhance its commercial uses.

4 Reale Spanish coin (Carlos and Johanna)found near Padre Island Shipwrecks of 1554

The initial operation proceeded smoothly until the day the dredge ran its hoses right through an old Spanish galleon, the Santa Maria de Yicar, that had lain hidden under the mud since 1554. Suddenly there was a rumbling and the pumps seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then a twinkling of silver flashed in the afternoon sun as the hoses spewed a fortune in old Spanish coins into special holding areas built to contain the spoil banks. Work was briefly stopped as workers scrambled through the cloying mud gathering as many of the shiny orbs as possible but after a short time the hoses were once again lowered and the men resumed their task.

The first cut through Padre Island was completed by September of 1957.

Going against the advice from the Army Corps, local engineers constructed their jetty with oddly shaped concrete blocks called tetra pods that resembled toy jacks used in sidewalk games. The blocks were placed with three legs touching the sandy bottom and the fourth leg sticking straight up. The rocks of the north jetty were placed atop the shattered remains of the Spanish galleon. However, no other base was laid down that would provide a proper footing to support the weight of the massive stones. Several storms hit along the Texas Coast in November of that year and the erosive power of the waves washed around and beneath the three legged stones and with nothing below but Padre Island sand, the jetties soon sank completely out of sight. The channel itself was almost completely filled in. The Island might have healed itself if it were not for the intervention of the Army Corps of Engineers, which in July of 1962, re-dredged the channel and built a new stone jetty of granite boulders to protect the channel through Padre Island. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_rn=6&gs_ri=psy-ab&cp=9&gs_id=y&xhr=t&q=port+mansfield&rlz=1R2GPMD_enUS328&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.43828540,d.b2I&biw=1263&bih=901&wrapid=tljp1363460313188016&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

The government assumed maintenance of the jetties, channel, harbor, and navigational aids. Today, the Port Mansfield Gulf Channel, now known as the East Cut, serves as the dividing line between North and South Padre Island.

Steve Hathcock serves as chairman of the City of South Padre Island’s Historical and Preservation Committee, vice president of the South Padre Island Historical Foundation and past vice chairman of the Cameron County Historical Commision. IN addition, Steve Hathcock is a member of the Military Writers Society of America and has self-published several books about Local and Natural History of Padre Island and the rest of the world. His weekly column can be found in the Coastal Current Weekly http://www.valleymorningstar.com/coastal_current/

Email steve@southpadretv.tv or visit our website http://southpadretv.tv/

It’s History

admin — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 21:59:33 +0000

I was honored by the Port Isabel Press recently when they published this story about me and our plans for a museum on South Padre Island. Here is a link to the story that was written by DEBRA WINGER http://portisabelsouthpadre.com/?p=6642

The Straight Arrows of Padre Island

admin — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:59:23 +0000

Spokeshave

Stone scrapers are found in a wide range of sizes, shapes and forms. Depending upon its function, the scraping edge can be on either end or, in the center.

I received the following email and photo from Judie Somereset. “I was walking the beach at South Padre Island with a friend of mine. We were throwing flat stones and clam shells against the tops of the waves to see who could “skip” their stone the most times before it sank. It was only when I had this stone in my hand did I realize it was different. Can you tell me anything about it? Is it valuable?

What a great find Judie, the stone in the photo is a very nice example of a spoke-shave. For thousands of years, arrows were made from cane and wood. The arrowhead was fastened on with sinew; the other end had feathers, and was notched for a bowstring. Arrows were often decorated. Each hunter may have had his own design. In order to make the arrow fly true, it was necessary to have as straight a shaft as possible.

Stone Shaft-Straightener

Several tools were use to accomplish this end. First, a shaft-straightener was used. This was a stone with a hole or groove in it. Green wood was placed in the groove and bent to shape as the stone was heated. After the shaft cooled and seasoned for a few days, it was time to use the spoke shave.

With a pronounced concave working edge, the spoke shave was used for scraping and shaping arrows, darts, spear shafts and bows. It could also be used to scrape the meat from bones or to shave thin strips of bone for making fish hooks and needles. With its sharp edge a skilled craftsman could fashion buttons or talismans and a multitude of tools from deer antlers. Its intrinsic value would be around $150-$250 but its historical value is much higher. (I am vice chairman of the South Padre Island Historical Foundation and would love to see that item on display in our future museum. Please let us know if it becomes available.)

Today, we have modern tools to ensure perfect symmetry in our arrow shafts. Modern arrow-straighteners do an excellent job of getting aluminum shafts straight within .005 inch over the span. At worst, this may translate into a few thousandths of an inch of bend over the entire shaft length, certainly within the tolerable range. By slowly turning the shaft, the dial indicator on the straightener will show the severity and location of bends. A built-in lever allows for over-flexing the shaft in the opposite direction to straighten it. Extremely crooked shafts can’t be straightened effectively in this manner and are better off in the garbage. Most archery catalogs offer straighteners. Your local pro shop is sure to offer a straightening service.

Email your questions to steve@southpadretv.tv or visit his website http://southpadretv.tv/

Cutline Spoke-Shave found on South Padre Island by Judie Somerset

Beachcombing on Padre Island

admin — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 04:01:48 +0000

When is the best time to go treasure hunting or beachcombing? If I had an Indian Head penny for every time I have been asked that question……

Let me share some stories I’ve heard over the past 30 years.

Local handyman Randy Baker had been walking behind the dunes north of town a few years back when he stumbled across the remains of an old campsite.

“I guess the wind uncovered it” Randy said as he spilled his find out onto a table I easily identified several petrified horses teeth, and a couple of old Civil War bullets. Other bone fragments appear to be either leg bones from the horse whose teeth I held in my hand, or perhaps the remains of a side of beef roasted over an open fire a hundred years ago. Cattle ran freely behind the dunes of Padre over a hundred years ago. It was said that John Singer shipped some 1500 head to market in the years prior to the War Between the States; perhaps Randy had stumbled upon an old branding camp or he could very well have found the remains of a Civil War outpost. Regardless, Randy wouldn’t have found the camp had it not been for the wind moving the sand.

Another man showed me several bison teeth, sharks teeth and fragments of bone from minute in size to a piece that weighed several pounds. Though he was reluctant to reveal exactly where he made his discovery, he did say it was about twenty miles up the beach which would have put him in the same general area that “Amazing Walter” found a fossilized mammoth tooth lying just under the sand back in 1987. Another friend of mine, Larry Willoughby, had been diving when he located the much larger tooth several years ago.

From Bill Bieker Collection

Bill Bieker of McAllen, has a small collection of brass nails and spikes he has found during a lifetime of exploring the Island. These spikes are typical of what one could expect to recover from an ancient shipwreck.

A twenty foot beam, found a few years back, was converted into a primitive bench by Eldon and Matt Foeckler, while several nice rough cut boards were made into table tops in the outside smoking section of our (now closed) coffee-pub.

I have also found many varieties of trees including a huge white oak that washed up near the Regency Condominiums. Using a bulldozer, South Padre Island’s beach maintenance crews pushed it up to the high tide line. In a few short years it will be the base of a new dune.

Exploring the beaches north of town, I almost ripped my oil pan out on the stump of an enormous cypress. I wished then, that I hadn’t sold my old winch truck.

Giant Log Found on Padre Island

The branching roots from these swamp giants make excellent bases for glass topped tables.

I’ve heard of people finding teak and mahogany logs after a good storm. That’s why I have made it a habit to examine the bigger trees in an effort to identify them. A beachcomber, gave me the location of an ancient pecan he found about twenty miles north on the beach.

“It looks as if it was a live tree caught by rising flood waters,” I was told.

Unfortunately, no sawmill would want to cut such a find. The salt and sand embedded in the wood could quickly dull the sharpest mill saw. It would be different if it was found in fresh water, though.

I once read a story of divers salvaging an old wreck in the Great Lakes. The cargo of bird’s eye maple planks, preserved in the icy cold lake waters for over 100 years, had developed a most interesting coloration. As a result, the shipment was worth over a million dollars in today’s market.

Not all beachcombing is done on the beach. A friend who works at AMFELS in the Port of Brownsville routinely finds dozens of spiny clams, corals and other marine life adhered to the legs of the oil rigs that are towed into the port for refurbishing.

These shells are usually only found in the nets of commercial fishermen, so it is an unusual find for the average beachcomber. I have seen them priced from $40 in some of the local shell shops. The man showed me about twenty of the spiny clams and a box full of nice sized corral heads. The corral heads are kind of in a gray area for actual possession; some of the Texas corrals are now on the endangered species list.

Email you questions to steve@southpadretv.tv For more of Steve Hathcock’s stories visit http://southpadretv.tv/

Mummified Cat Protects Home from Witches

admin — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 17:31:52 +0000

Mummified Cat at Britsh Museum

Workers renovating a bathroom of a 400 year-old cottage in Devon (England) were surprised to discover the perfectly mummified body of a rather large house cat lodged behind a wall. Richard Parson, a funeral director, who owns the house, said: “The builders were stripping one of the bathrooms upstairs and this little fellow came to light. It is quite scary looking and is a lot bigger than a normal domestic cat. I cannot throw it away so we plan to put it back on completion of the building work. But my wife is not all that keen on it, as she says she will have bad dreams.”

Marion Gibson, a witchcraft and folklore expert told a reporter; “Cats were often put into walls as some kind of good luck charm. It seems to have been quite a widespread practice across the European continent. They seem to have been designed to keep away witches, the evil eye, bad luck, vermin, or anything that can be seen as a threat to the house.” Parson, who had the feline re-entombed in the new wall, was quoted as saying “It clearly works. From the first day we moved to the village we have not seen sight or sound of any witches!

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aes/m/mummy

Lost Treasure and Ghost Ships of the Past

admin — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 05:01:13 +0000

Baychimo in Vancouver 1931

The cargo steamer Baychimo, built in Sweden, in 1914 for the Hudson Bay Company, spent its early days plying the frigid waters along the Victoria Island Coast of the Northwest Territory trading supplies for pelts with the people who lived in the cold northern wilderness. http://www.aboltonswebsite.co.uk/hbc_main.html

The Baychimo was homeward bound in October 1931, when it became trapped in the ice. The ship was briefly abandoned, but the crew managed to break her free from its icy prison and the vessel resumed her journey. Read On

Finding the Right Combination

admin — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 02:41:25 +0000

Finding the Right Combination

I was maybe 6 years old when I had my first real experience as a treasure hunter. While renovating our house my dad discovered a secret room under a staircase. Inside the space, which was hardly bigger than a small closet, my parents found hundreds of whisky bottles, old newspapers dating back to the beginning of our hometown and a neat stack of silver dollars all dated prior to 1922. Each of us kids received one of the shiny orbs as our “share” of the found treasure. Read On

Confederate Saboteurs Sink U.S. Warship The Infamous Coal Torpedo © 2012 Steve Hathcock

admin — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 03:14:17 +0000

Sultana from Ballous Pictorial Drawing room companion circa 1854

Confederate Saboteurs Sink U.S. Warship

The Infamous Coal Torpedo

More damage was done by the Confederate Torpedo Bureau in the last twelve months of the war then had been done in the previous three years.

On the afternoon of Friday, April 15, 1864, the newly commissioned side wheeler USS Chenango sailed out of the Navy Yard at New York. She was to rendezvous with the USS Onondaga, a double turreted monitor near Sandy Hook, the next morning. The iron-clad warship would escort her south to her destination at Hampton Roads, Virginia.

She never made it.

A tremendous explosion tore apart her port boiler as the Chenango splashed her way past Fort Richmond in New York Harbor. Two men were killed instantly and thirty others were severely burned. Rescue boats carried the survivors ashore where they were loaded into ambulances and taken to the United States Marine Hospital. The New York Times reported the following: “Many of the poor fellows were literally flayed alive, some of them being quite blind from the effects of the steam. Their shrieks and groans were painful beyond expression; great, stalwart men implored the surgeons to give them something to ease their pain. It was evident that several of them were beyond human aid and would find in death a speedy easement of their suffering.” In fact, many of them suffered horribly before dying of their wounds. An investigation conducted by the Navy Department within a short time of the explosion, found negligence on the part of second assistant engineer, S. Wilkins Cragg. It was assumed he had been derelict in his duties as inspection officer of the boiler which had exploded. It was obvious to the court of inquiry the boiler had been constructed defectively. The build up of pressure had caused the explosion in the weakened structure.

Coal torpedo from kentucky Historical Society

They were wrong but would only discover their error when a batch of letters was found after the war had ended. In a letter dated May 21, 1864, inventor Thomas E. Courtenay wrote: “My work is beginning to tell on the Yankees. A short time ago, the U.S. Gun boat, Chenango, was blown up at Brooklyn by one of my coal torpedoes (as the Yankees call them) and I am now preparing to start for Canada & England to send parties from there to all parts of the West & North. You will soon hear of my success.” (Courtenay’s coal torpedo was an explosive device camouflaged as a lump of coal. Agents of the Confederate Secret Service hid the torpedo amongst ordinary pieces of coal. The fake coal exploded upon exposure to the fires in the huge boilers of the steam ship). This new information was not a startling revelation to the Navy Department though, as the Union had recently become aware of the Confederate Navy’s increasingly desperate attempts to develop weapons capable of breaking the choke-hold of the Union blockade of the Southern ports. In March, 1864, the Union gunboat Signal, of the Mississippi Squadron, captured a Confederate mail carrier with a batch of letters detailing activities of the Confederate Torpedo Bureau. In response to the threat of this horrible new weapon, Rear-Admiral David Dixon Porter, commanding the Mississippi Squadron, issued General Order number 184: The enemy have adopted new inventions to destroy human life and vessels in the shape of torpedoes, and an article resembling coal, which is to be placed in our coal piles for the purpose of blowing the vessels up, or injuring them. Officers will have to be careful in overlooking coal barges. Guards will be placed over them at all times, and anyone found attempting to place any of these things amongst the coal will be shot on the spot. Extra vigilance will be required in preventing the passing of boats across the different rivers. Anything in the shape of a boat or scow must be destroyed, no matter to whom it may belong. No pass will be given to anyone to cross or re-cross a river. No letter of any kind will be permitted to pass, and no boats will after this take from the banks anyone (except contrabands) who have not (been issued) passes from me. No one will be allowed to go on board any gunboat unless the commander knows them personally and can vouch for them. Their names must be mentioned in the log and the facts reported to me. The transports are not to take on board refugees or prisoners of war or deserters, and only such persons as are authorized at Cairo or by me. All persons captured are to be thoroughly searched, also all trunks and clothing. All letters to be sent to me. When wheeled vehicles are captured, the lining and seats are to be cut and examine; horses, harness, and in fact everything where there is the least chance of stowing correspondence. No person is to be released who is caught carrying mails, but sent to Cairo as a prisoner of war. The same with all ferrymen, whose property will be confiscated on the spot. The names of persons who are engaged in the torpedo business are: R.W. Dunn, E.C. Singer, J.D. Breaman, J.R. Fretwell, C.E. Frary, F.M. Tacker, L.C. Hirchbarger, and the sooner they are got rid of the better.

David D. Porter, Rear-Admiral, Commanding Mississippi Squadron.

Sinking of the Steamer Sultana

In spite of the warning given in Porter’s Order, the casualties continued to mount at an astonishing rate. The most infamous act of sabotage occurred in the waning days of the war. On April 27, 1865, the steamer Sultana carrying 2300 passengers, the bulk of whom were Union soldiers recently liberated from Confederate prison camps, was steaming northward when a sudden explosion ripped through her boilers. Flaming coal rained from the sky. Within moments, the crowded craft was engulfed in flames. Over 1700 people died. The official report at the time indicated the Sultana was overloaded. As the war wound down, there was little inclination to investigate further and it was not until years after the war that the true story came out. While the Sultana lay at the Memphis wharf, a member of the Confederate Torpedo Corps smuggled aboard a large lump of coal in which was concealed a torpedo. The fake lump of coal was placed in the fuel pile in front of the boilers for the express purpose of causing the destruction of the boat.

Thomas Courtnay, inventor of the “Coal Torpedo

In order to protect his family after his activities became known to the Union Officials, Courtenay obtained permission from Jefferson Davis to take his family to Europe, “where they would not be subject to Yankee malice and outrage.” Safe at last in England,Courtenay kept busy filling a large contract for clothing for Alabama troops while attempting to sell his invention to the British Government for $150,000.By 1873, Courtenay was back in New York, where he represented the London Assurance Corporation. His return to the now re-united States was short lived. Captain Thomas E. Courtenay died September 3, 1875 near Winchester, Virginia. How much actual damage was done by his coal torpedo will probably never be known. But officially, the Courtenay Torpedo was credited with sinking no less than sixty Union vessels along the Mississippi River killing thousands of Union soldiers and sailors and destroying millions of dollars worth of property.

Bottles The Other Treasure of Padre Island

admin — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 07:52:07 +0000

Werner’s Safe Cure

Bullion, jewels, coins and artifacts: These words conjure up images of gold doubloons and tankards full of sparkling colored stones. Aye, the lot of them, undoubtedly stolen from blood stained alters dedicated to some insatiable jungle god.

One can almost decipher the complex secrets of a now extinct civilization; Well, I hate to disillusion you, but these are not the treasures found while metal detecting on South Padre Island. No, your chances of unearthing a Spanish galleon are slim, indeed.

But wait! Don’t give up hope. There is still plenty of lesser treasure to be found, if you just know where to look. And believe me when I say, there are those of us who do know where and more importantly; when to look.

We are in the middle of bottle hunting season. The wave action created by the winds of the past month, combined with some rather spectacular high tides, have uncovered otherwise hidden dumps that are waiting for the knowledgeable hunter. Now, before you laugh, let me tell you a bit about collectible bottles.

Bradham’s Drug Medicine Bottle-Inventor of Pepsi Cola

Coca-Cola bottles, those produced before 1910, can be worth hundreds of dollars to collectors. I saw a rather interesting bottle on the internet the other night. The front was embossed, “Coca-

Hutchinson Style Coca Cola Bottle circa 1899

Cola“, while the back read, Fayetteville N.C.The seller is asking $185 for it. Another bottle had been produced in New Orleans, again, right around the turn of the century. The condition of this bottle was superb, no mineral deposits, chips or other blemishes so common with one-hundred-year-old bottles. This one was priced at $255.

Your chances of finding such bottles in this area are quite good.

For years, ships would unload cargo directly into boxcars backed along piers that reached out over the waters of the Laguna Madre. It’s not unreasonable to assume that the crews of those vessels would have brought beverages with them from whatever port they last vacated. It could also be assumed, that once the contents had been consumed, the bottle would hold no value to its owner. A target, such as a piling on an adjoining pier would be chosen and a bit of fun could be had by several shipmates contesting each other’s skills in bottle throwing! In fact, the water around the base of some of the old pilings still relinquish beer, soft drink and bitters bottles from all over the world. One of the many bottles on display at Beachcomber’s Museum reads, “Benjamin’s Jamaican Healing Oil Port Maria Jamaica.” Was the healing oil some magic balm? Perhaps it was conjured up by the high priestess of a group of snake worshippers living above the clouds, in some remote jungle village on that fabled Island?

A better question would be, “Did a man’s aim improve after chugging an 8 ounce bottle of, “Healing Oil?”

In addition, the shape and condition of a bottle are important as well. Unusual colors or figural shapes, such as an ear of corn, a log cabin or an animal, greatly enhance the value of some bottles.

The ferry to the Island was also situated at the end of one of these long wooden trestles and tourists would make the quarter-mile trek, often times carrying a week’s worth of goods to a remote fishing camp situated a few miles north on the broad beaches of Padre Island. Again, it is safe to assume that more than one empty beverage bottle ended up in the cool green waters of the Laguna Madre.

It’s easy to discern the whereabouts of these long forgotten structures if one just takes the time to seek out and study old photos.

Editor’s note: The Port Isabel Public Library has a nice collection of books about the area. Rod Bates is one of the area’s most prolific bottle hunters and collectors can find many local bottles for sale at (his) Rio Bravo Gallery located near the front entrance of the Port Isabel Library. My own books, Behind the Third Dune and Old Indio Last of the Karankawa Indians of Padre Island and other short stories can be found at Rio Bravo Gallery across from the public library in Port Isabel and at Paragraphs on The Blvd. Bookstore on South Padre Island.

Good hunting

Email steve@southpadretv.tv on face book visit https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/South-Padre-Island-Texas/281464795204953