Stones, Monuments, Turtles, and a Snake

[Teegate]

All,

Al (Manumuskin) has for quite a few years been looking for various Society Stones and others, and I am teaming up with him to see if together we can find more. So today we started by him showing me a few he has already found so that I can get up to speed. We did a little searching also, but came up empty today. Here are a few monuments and stones Al has found that we visited.

These are more modern monuments on the Scott Line.

These views shows the inscription.

M-R is Maurice River

An interesting stone he found that we hope to identify in some way.

And this one ranks in size up there with the best of them. This one that Al found should be the key to more of them. Hopefully!

And nearby.

We saw quite a few stones and monuments today, but that did not compare to the turtles and the snake. Here is today’s gallery.

I noticed this snake in the road and Al easily caught it. It is a Black Rat Snake and this shows it trying to bite Al. All gum and not bite.

Jessica getting her turn to hold it.

On a final note, the ticks were really bad today. Jessica almost wore out her lint brush before we even finished hiking. On our ride home they were all over the windows, dash, seats, and especially us. There were hundred’s of them. When we arrived home we had used 4 lint rolls just on the ride, and on the seats under our butts they had swarmed. I spent 10 minutes cleaning the seats while Jessica took a shower. They were all over me, attached and not attached, and I was on the bathroom floor with the lint roller forever getting the ones that fell off when we removed our clothes. We took serious precautions to not get them all over the house and we still found them. Hopefully, we got most of them. My driveway is blacktop and with the windows up it bakes inside, and that it what it is doing right now. My car is off limits until tomorrow.

Al, how did you fare?

Guy

 

[james ungehajer]

Really nice stones and markers Guy. Where is the Scott Line ? I was permanone treated today, of course i cannot go deep in the woods.

Jim

 

[dragoncjo]

Al, that one stone looks familar......is that the one you found the day we were searching the property that might get developed?.......nice boxies.....

 

[manumuskin]

Yes daragon that was the stone next to the trail we walked that day the scott line markers are not far from that one and we believe their connected though the stone is probably much older.\
I didn't fare near as badly as Guy and jessica.I had hastily sprayed peremethrin on before i left.This is not to be recommended.Your not supposed to use it like bug spray which i do occassionally.As i told Guy,I prefer death to chiggers.Your supposed to fully spray your clothes a day ahead of time and let them dry.Then their supposed to be good for two weeks through repeated washings.I pickd three ticks off of me.two in an unmentionable place and seen several more.definitely not the literally dozens i seen on jessicas lint roll which by the way i intend to get a few.A really neat device.
The snake was a Black Rat.This was the first time i was ever gummed by a snak.He went to bite me which as long as the snake is not venemous is perfectly fine by me but instead of clamping down he just mouthed me and spit me back out.The turtles were two female and one male box turtles and the two very small ones I didn't get the sexes on.% box turtles one green frog and one snake caught and another missed(it was balck but too quick to identify,it evaporated into thin leaves).It should've been a herp expedition instead of a stone search.
The little history I know on the large stone is it is on a society line and on the map is shown to be placed in 1691.The scott line markers seemed to be placed earlier since their concrete.I heard rumor they were placed in the 20's.The large stone is near some large allegheny ant mounds and in the heat they were quite alarming.After being tore up down south by fire ants and ants in swarms freak me out.I tried to play the man in front of Guy but i was acting a bit squeamish.When he said they were running up his legs i bolted.I love snakes but you can keep the ants.These hills are two feet tall in some places and 6 feet across.The anys are about a half inch long and I hear give a good bite but don't sting like fire ants.I also slipped on a wet pallet used tro bridge a small stream and sat down in water upto my belt.Credit to Guy for not laughing at me for that or the ants.The stream was actually a relief in the heat.Thankfully all my important wallet stuff was laminated.
Al

 

[Teegate]

I would never laugh unless you were trying something stupid and it happened. Just trying to get across a stream can be a serious matter at times. I knew Jess and I had to go next so laughing did not seem appropriate.

I have never viewed ant mounts like that one. I wish I had taken a photo of them. I was standing there looking at the large stone with the mound right next to me, and I notice one on my arm bending down to take a bite of me. I pushed it off and looked for it on the ground and noticed thousands of them on my shoes and pants. Time to leave!

Guy

 

[whippoorbill]

After being tore up down south by fire ants ... ants in swarms freak me out. I tried to play the man in front of Guy, but i was acting a bit squeamish. When he said they were running up his legs, I bolted. I love snakes but you can keep the ants. These hills are two feet tall in some places and 6 feet across. The ants are about a half-inch long and I hear give a good bite but don't sting like fire ants. ..Credit to Guy for not laughing at me for ... the ants.
Al

Alf-alf-a!

You know how long I've wanted an ants-on-a-rampants, pitter-patter field recording. Could we go back to these hills and stir some up? I'd only ask you to stay on the two-foot hills long enough to get some high-volume ant-footwork action. If a few take some skin, that might sound nice, too.

Thanks in advants!
Bill

 

[woodjin]

Wow, that 6th pic is one HUGE stone. What is that? It does not look like sandstone. Why so freaking big do you think?

 

[woodjin]

.The large stone is near some large allegheny ant mounds and in the heat they were quite alarming.After being tore up down south by fire ants and ants in swarms freak me out.I tried to play the man in front of Guy but i was acting a bit squeamish.When he said they were running up his legs i bolted.I love snakes but you can keep the ants.These hills are two feet tall in some places and 6 feet across.The anys are about a half inch long and I hear give a good bite but don't sting like fire ants.I also slipped on a wet pallet used tro bridge a small stream and sat down in water upto my belt.Credit to Guy for not laughing at me for that or the ants.The stream was actually a relief in the heat.Thankfully all my important wallet stuff was laminated.
Al

When I was a kid I was bushwacking through thick catbrier and came across an enormous ant mound, perhaps in excess of 2' and I could not believe it. Seemed like something from the amazon. I remember sacraficing ticks to mound and watching the ants descend on them. I guess they were allegheny ants.

Jeff

 

[Teegate]

All,

We headed out again in turtle country to look for stones, and as usual turtles kept showing up. Here is Jessica with the first find of the day. A small female.

Using Al’s (manumuskin) coordinates we were dead on to our first stone of the day.

For some reason I do not have a photo of his next stone which is disappointing. An excuse to go back So on to the next one which was actually two.

And on the way to the next one I found this painted turtle. When I say painted I really mean that.

Then on to Al’s next stone coordinate which again was almost dead on.

And another female turtle that was quite shy.

And what may be a good find by Al was also missed by me and my camera. However, a little help by all of you would be appreciated. What is a Penna stone? I have a few clues and have asked a group of people, but as of yet no direct answer.

Guy

 

[dragoncjo]

Guy, based on your painted turtle I think we may have been in the same woods today. There is some bozo down there that likes to put paint on turtles(which can be fatal for the turtle). Nice finds with the boxies....especially the young ones.

 

[oji]

I am far from being an expert but my guess is Penna is short for Pennsylvania so the stone might be in the shape of a keystone.

 

[Teegate]

I am far from being an expert but my guess is Penna is short for Pennsylvania so the stone might be in the shape of a keystone.

I have viewed maps that say Pennsylvania stone, but this seemed different and we were wondering if it was describing something different.

As for being in the shape of a keystone, I would have to say it was, and now that you mention it just up the road there is a "Key Stone" mentioned on the map and I was wondering what that was. We will have to wait until the fall to find that one.

Dragon, I would have to say we were in the same woods. We crossed over the river on this hike and were in a pretty remote area most of the time.

Guy

 

[manumuskin]

Dragon,

We were in the manumuskin swamp when we found that painted box turtle.we were east of the creek and west of port cumberland road in the swamp and upstream from fries mill.we were about a half mile from the nearest house through some pretty thick woods by our standards.not a turtles of course.either someone took him back in the boonies to release him or he did some walking.
It was a great day for stones.I think we'll find some more as we work around the property line.I'd love to know when these were placed and what they were surveying.It's obviously an old survey (pre concrete) era.
Al

 

[dragoncjo]

Yep thats were i saw a painted box....crossing port elizabeth into the preserve.....did you guys see my black honda accord parked by the tracks?....Also Al, you'll like this, when I was leaving the preserve I saw a undercover conservation officer waiting for dirt bikers to come out of the woods....this makes me very happy since they were riding all around the osprey nests...which appear to abandon this year.......

 

[Jerseyman]

Dragon,
I'd love to know when these were placed and what they were surveying.It's obviously an old survey (pre concrete) era.
Al

Al:

I suggest you and Guy make an appointment to visit my library and avail yourselves of the SGO’s survey books I have here on microfilm. Perusing the index, there are numerous listings in various survey books of the West New Jersey Society, likely including the Society’s boundary lines, which is what the stones you are encountering probably stem from. In addition, I have a manuscript volume here from 1850 featuring numerous early surveys, albeit most, but not all of them, are located in Atlantic County.

Ask Guy to email me and we will see what we can do to accommodate you.

Best regards,
Jerseyman

 

[Teegate]

I will email you Jerseyman.

Guy

 

[manumuskin]

Chris,
how did you know he was a conservation officer?You know him personally?Honacheski?

Jersyman,

I just noticed on the hartman map it says resurveyed in 1831 by david Kinsey.Don't know when the original survey was and don't know if he surveyed every line on the map or just select lines.
You have these on microfilm?Do you work in a library or have an elaborate setup of your own?I'd love to see any old maps you have.I'll talk to Guy and see when he'd like to heck em out.What area are you in?
Al

 

[Teegate]

Al,

I will write you.

Guy

 

[Teegate]

Manumuskin and I headed out today for 4 hours of bushwhacking to visit and find various stones in the same area we have been. Earlier in the week I calculated where I felt the “Keystone” was located, and Al did the legwork and found it. Today we visited there so I could photograph it. Notice what appears to be marker on the top apparently placed there by a surveyor.

A few others we found.

Guy

 

[Jerseyman]

Looks like the Sorcerer’s Stone! You guys wouldn’t be apprentices, would you????

If so, you better get control of those mops and buckets before they go crazy! :colbert:

Best regards,
Jerseyman