No matter where we live we will hear of stories of the past. Some true. Some tall tales. Then there are the Ghostly stories that evolve around the true stories of the past. Those stories have been told and retold by the people of that area and handed down from generation to generation, being told and retold by all those generations; and, as in all stories, each generation adds a little of this and a little of that. When I was a boy and while visiting my grandparents in Carroll County, Georgia, there was such a story told about the legendary Chief William McIntosh. Everybody called him General McIntosh. The story was that General McIntosh had a bunch of gold buried somewhere. No one knew where it was buried, but efforts of every kind were made to locate the burial place and get the gold. According to family stories, my grandfather, Willie Pyles and his brother-in-law, Sam Edison, went to a fortune teller, Mahaley Lancaster, and was able to get her to tell them that the gold was buried in a certain place, under a certain tree with a certain unique limb, but, the fortune teller told them that they still wouldn't be able to recover the gold. They were told that something real scary would happen to frighten them away before they could get the gold dug up. Well, they said that they didn't believe in all that hocus pocus stuff, even though they did consult with a fortune teller, and set out in anticipation of finding gold. They found the site and found the tree with the certain unique limb where the gold was supposed to be buried and started digging. They dug down deep enough that they could hardly see over the top of the hole. Suddenly the sky began to get darker and darker and the wind began to blow harder and harder. They kept digging deeper and deeper determined not to be frightened away. The deeper they dug the darker it got and the harder the wind blew. Fear began to overcome them just as the fortune teller had said. They began to hear howling sounds and rattling of chains. Finally it got to where they could stand the fear no longer. They threw down their shovels and ran never to return again. At least, not with shovels. They probably passed the site many times, afterwards, on their way to the river to fish. No doubt as they neared the site the remembrance of that day caused them to quickly pass on by.
Grand-daddy is no longer with us, but from time to time someone will ask: "Did you ever hear about the time your grand-daddy went digging for General McIntosh's Gold?"
Such stories have been told concerning Chief McIntosh and the gold that he was supposed to have buried. Many say that the gold was buried in the grave with him. People would go to the area and hunt for the gold. (This was long before the reserve was ever built.) No gold was ever found. If it was no one ever told about it. Who knows? Maybe there was. Maybe there wasn't; but one thing is for sure. Chief William McIntosh did leave us with some treasures.
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Other sites relating to Chief William McIntosh:
Indian Springs Hotel (Photos)
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