Adventurers' Club News Nov 2009 - The Adventurers

Minutes – October 22 & 29, 2009(Minutes continued from page 15)trunk contents.Mr. Johnson said there were a few coinsin the display dated later than 1849. Allansaid he took photographs of all of the coinsand all were dated prior to 1850.Mr. Johnson said the word grubstake inthe letter was not used until the late 1800s.Allan said that research by a UCLA professorof linguistics proves that the word grubstakewas used in the 1830s.Mr. Johnson said that the glue from the hymnalwas not invented until much later. Allansaid that this was standard glue for the 1840s.Allan asked someone in authority to docarbon dating on the letter. It has not beendone yet.The theory of the group is that WilliamRobinson and the others known as Jaywalkershad burned their wagons and were walkingto water.Robinson had used his ox to carry thetrunk. But he had to kill the ox with hisknife and then find a place for the trunk.Obviously, a story of this magnitude drewa number of comments. One suggestionwas to go back and find out where the trunkwas found. It may have been outside DeathValley which means that the government’sclaim may be invalid.Another way to go is to use FOIA theFreedom of Information Act. After all, legally,the contents of the trunk do belongto the descendants of William Robinson ifit is his letter.This last letter was dated January 2, 1850.William Robinson made it to Lancaster anddrank too much water on January 28, 1850and died.So the big question arises—why is the NationalPark Service so adamant in trying torefute this discovery. First, is that it does notwant a horde of so-called “treasure hunters”digging in the Park. Second is that it did notwant outsiders like Jerry Freeman and Allanupstaging its own historian.Humor in UniformBy Frank HaiglerMy wife is cynical; so am I for thatmatter but I never realized how cynicalshe really is.Not long ago I was remarking on variousnews reports on the return of service personnelfrom deployment. I was not deridingour soldiers but I did question the psychiatriccounseling given to so many fortheir five or six month’s absence. I remindedmy wife of my involvement in the Normandyoperation and sixteen months in theSouth Pacific.“Hell, I did not get any counseling.”“I know that” my wife answered, “andjust look at you.”Meeting October 28, 2009We had no costumes tonight but agood turnout for a good program.Larry Schutte sent us a card. After threeplane rides, a bus and a boat, he has arrivedin Papua, New Guinea.Bernie Harris returned from a trip tothe nine islands of the Galapagos. Heviewed tortoises, boobies, penguins, mantarays and iguanas in addition to scatter-November, 200916ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS