Lost Tunnel of Leechtown, Canada
Tascio:
I am trying to track down books, newspaper reports, magazine articles or any information about the Lost Tunnel of Leechtown or any information about finds of Spanish or Chinese artefacts on Vancouver Island, particularly in the area around Victoria/Leechtown.
Any help gratefully recieved!
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Tascio
Dean:
Never heard of it..but then again I live half way across the Country. LOL
I will do some looking into it this weekend.
Dean
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Dean
Tascio:
Wow thanks Dean. It does seem to be one of those forgotten stories and info is hard to come by.
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Christian:
Craig, this sounds pretty interesting! I know taht there are theories about Oak Island having a relation to Spain, Asian countries etc. But I haven't heared about Leechtown yet.
Would you mind sharing some basic details with us? Thank you!
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Christian
Dean:
I have been to Oak Island many times as I am from Nova Scotia..live in Ontario now.
My dad knew 2 men that were over come with fumes from one of the tunnels they had found and died.
Somewhere there are photos of this tunnel and the men..think my sister may have them.
I think the treasure was found long ago..and the finder moved away from the area and kept quite about it.
Just my thoughts.
Dean
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Tascio:
No problem at all. Here is the basic outline of the story that I wrote up:
Some time in the 1950's, a gold prospector named Ed Mullard [1] made a startling discovery near the deserted gold rush town of Leechtown, on Vancouver Island, about 25 miles from Victoria.
One evening, when Ed Mullard was hunting deer, forcing his way through waist high vegetation, he suddenly found himself descending a stair case hewn from the mountain rock and facing an oblong or arched (depending on source) entrance into a sheer cliff face. Descending the stairs and entering the tunnel, he found himself in a long manmade gallery carved from the solid rock.
At the end of the gallery was another large carved arch that Mullard reportedly likened to those that you might see in a church. Moving further into the gallery, Mullard saw that beyond the arch were more steps descending into a another large manmade gallery. Walking down the steps into the second gallery, Mullard found himself ankle deep in water, but by match light could see another arch and a third gallery through the gloom in front him.
Mullard reportedly claimed that chisel marks were still clearly visible on the steps and the arches, and also that they were clearly of great age.
Sources differ considerably on what happened next (in fact, sources differ on just about every aspect of this story, as is the case with all great treasure mysteries), some say that while exploring the man made galleries he found:
* tools, weapons and artefacts that may have been Spanish[2] in origin, or
* that he found one or more gold ingots, or
* that the things he found inside, tools and pottery, were unquestionably Chinese in origin.
Some say he found nothing at all.
After leaving the tunnel, Ed memorized its location and returned to his camp. Knowing that he may have difficulty locating his discovery again he left a trail of marks on trees (said to be his initials, "EM") to help him relocate the tunnel entrance amongst the thick foliage.
Once he returned to civilization he told the tale of the mystery tunnel to many people, but he did not reveal its exact location to anybody. The Colonist newspaper agreed to fund an expedition to return to the tunnel in 1959, Mullard said he would be happy to lead the members of the party to the tunnel, but he died before the expedition took place, taking the exact location of the tunnel to his grave.
Despite several attempts to locate the Lost Tunnel of Leechtown, it has never been seen since the fateful day that Ed Mullard stumbled across it.
Local Folklore
Jordan Meadows is reputedly home to a mystery bronze cannon (some sources say a Spanish bronze cannon) that has apparently been seen many times by hunters and prospectors travelling through the area, none of whom were ever able to relocate it when they wanted to show it to somebody or attempt to salvage it.
A legend very similar to the above cannon story is the bronze tablet or plaque that has supposedly been seen in the same area many times, attached to, or though growth become part of, a tree. Again, it seems that those who see this bronze tablet or plaque are never able to relocate it.
Rumours that a Spanish monastery existed in the area have reportedly persisted for many years. Some have linked the tunnel to the monastery legend; that the tunnel may have been the monastery (or, at very least, a part of it), or that those that built the rumoured monastery were also responsible for carving the tunnel. However, I have not heard of any hard evidence to support the existence of an early Spanish monastery anywhere on Vancouver Island, but it has been reported that Spanish artefacts have been found in the area.
[1] Some sources say that Mullard was not alone when he found the cave, but that his prospecting partner "McLaren" was also present, but did not enter the cave.
[2] The first recorded Spanish expedition to the island, prompted by the rumoured incursion of Russian fur traders, occurred in 1774, a second expedition came the following year, although neither vessels are thought to have landed on the island. The first known Spanish settlement on Vancouver island, Fort San Miguel, was established in 1789.
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Dean:
Well it kinda sounds like "local myths" however..if it is on the Island then it would be Spanish as they were the people that "owned" the Isands for a long time" I know of a Spanish fort one one of the many Islands..I only live a few 1000's of miles away..But I know people out there.. I will ask them to hit the local libraries to see what they can find...no promises.
Dean
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Dean:
I have contacted a friend that lives on the west coast.he said he would look into this story.
Dean
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Tascio:
Great thanks Dean!
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Dean:
My friends out west have not been able to find out anything abut this tunnel yet...but then again they are not into this sort of thing.
Dean
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