Swift's Silver Mine - Skepticism - Regarding Swift

Regarding Swift

There is the question of Swift himself. No proof exists that there ever was a John or Jonathan Swift who mined silver in Kentucky. (James Dougherty gives alternate first names of "George", "William", and "Tom".) The man many considered to be the Jonathan Swift of legend is known to have been alive many years after the purported death of the fabled miner. Nothing is known of this man's ancestry, and what little is known about him personally has been handed down through tradition. If the birth date given in Swift's journal is to be believed, the known Swift would have been an incredible 112 years old at the time of his death.

If there was an actual Jonathan Swift, there is some disagreement as to his character. Tradition holds that he was an established Indian trader, but some historians came to believe he was a pirate who preyed on Spanish merchants and made his frequent trips into the wilderness not to retrieve his treasure, but to hide and coin it. A resident of Laurel County, Kentucky named William Reams held that following Swift's visit to the mine in 1769 – the last trip recorded in the journal – he and his accomplices agreed not to claim any of the treasure they had hidden in the area until 1790. When they did return, Swift was overcome by the sight of the wealth and killed the other members of the party while they slept. Following this action, he was struck blind and unable to recover the treasure.

Nickell contends that the pirate theory raises more questions than it answers. He contends that a journey into Kentucky was a dangerous undertaking, and that Swift could just as easily set up a clandestine coining operation in the backwoods of Virginia or aboard his ship. He also questions why Swift would take the time to produce such a detailed journal to cover his story.