Treasure Hunters Find Wild West Relic, at the Cogan House in the Ghost Town of Bon Homme, SD

[@jerryblum277]

That flask is just gorgeous congrats Tom!

[@BelowthePlains]

thanks! and thanks for watching and commenting

[@jackiesisson2375]

Loved the pipe bowl

[@Watusifarm]

I found a blue version of that flask over here in northern Wisconsin! So cool for you to find one. It’s my most prized bottle!

[@steven2212]

I went to Augustana University, and you guys teach me more about local history than they did.

[@BelowthePlains]

haha thanks! we try to streamline the information we give, bc we know people hate to read. this place was amazing to learn about, but this. was the hardest place to research bc almost all their court house documents are gone. or at least we cant find them, and we looked everywhere we could think of. even the state archives. yeah i think local history gets left in the dust for the most part. i didnt even know about the war with the sioux until i was in my late 20s.. and i live here! thanks for watching

[@653j521]

Sad commentary on you.

[@bouncerslabrealnature9143]

Another masterpiece of educational material. Thank you for sharing this great video. 💪😎

[@BelowthePlains]

wow thats really nice. we always have to struggle to get the most amount of information in the fewest words. we really appreciate you watching

[@tammyaskjem9871]

Wow , another great vid !! Thank u!

[@BelowthePlains]

haha thanks Tammy

[@ericmason5226]

very nice piece. thanks for sharing

[@BelowthePlains]

thanks for watching

[@mandyb5744]

Great finds!

[@karendavis7988]

Cool finds!

[@ISCDesignArchitect]

I think this is your best video and exploration to date. Certainly historically important on a national scale I believe if it can be proven to be the refuse from the actual Cogan House,; he 1870's items really are amazing;

[@NotBrutality-101]

Working third shift, enjoying some incredible history. Best wishes.

[@BelowthePlains]

ah, thank you very much. glad we could keep you company. thanks for watching

[@soonzach4017]

Always very interesting your channel. Thank you.

[@soonzach4017]

Wow, good day,

[@legendarycreekhunter5929]

Awesome Awesome video Tom, great find on the historical flask. Always awesome to see the history below our feet that others are oblivious to. You and your crew did great on locating and filming, keep up the great videos and happy digging next time

[@BelowthePlains]

thanks, we really appreciate that. we just wanna make good content, and it feels good to have that affirmed

[@laurelshugars2866]

Epic finds!! (Historical flask, axe head and claw pipe-WOW). Loved the history as well. Dr Hall's Balsam lingo...what a hoot!! Entertaining as usual. THANK YOU!!

[@treasurehuntingscotlandmud9340]

Some awesome finds coming out

[@saraanddarrinmoneer3696]

Again I love the research you all do!!! GREAT VID!!! Love from Fargo

[@BelowthePlains]

haha thanks, i used to live in north fargo! glad you enjoyed the video

[@louisianaprepper]

I have enjoyed all of the videos I have seen . Would you do a tutorial on molds , bottle necks , bases, applied tops etc identifying the particular process and there ages. This would be so informative . Maybe a project on a rainy day . It would be appreciated, especially to us visual learners ! Lol

[@tinaj984]

Wow wow wow!!!😍😍😍💖💖💖

[@philipcallicoat3147]

The only reason I believe it is because your consistent truthful and honest podcasts...👍

[@mandybrown7758]

Great finds

[@stevecoppin2890]

Love that historic flask !! nothing like that in australia, so many historical flasks and awesome old and embossed bottles.

[@davemiller8215]

outstanding!!!.....congrats Tom on finally getting into some aged glass!! i know you are somewhat limited in what you can hope to get geographically but this pit had some sweet items

[@BelowthePlains]

ha yeah, we got some good places lined up this year. thanks for watching/commenting

[@cherikennedy7932]

A great video! Loved the find!

[@gradycollins3601]

Think about who may have had hands on some of bottles you found. Who knows? I love your vids I have been digging bottles for about 50 years and have not stopped.

[@patty4091]

You guys sure do a lot of digging! Interesting to watch.

[@SmokinLoon5150]

Excellent. Thanks for sharing! ;) Those are excellent finds! The "clasps hands" bottle especially. Wow!

[@BelowthePlains]

thanks for watching! yeah it was a really cool piece, it was a hard one to give to the historic society, but it belongs there

[@mrsseasea]

Just wow.

[@BestSellers2122]

Nice!

[@TheYammerHammer]

Awesome 👌 I love it! Best video yet #viral #viralvideo #letsgobrandon

[@BelowthePlains]

hahahaha thanks for watching, we appreciate it!

[@philipcallicoat3147]

That memorial flask is very rare.... Never saw that before...

[@kimmcnear6843]

More cool things rescued

[@lukependleton2589]

Thank you for another great video.

[@BelowthePlains]

haha thanks man, thats really nice. thanks for commenting

[@colecariveau3825]

Great video Jake and Tom. You could probably get at a big company being producer.

[@loribryant9737]

Hi, this was really interesting thanks for sharing. I'm a relative of Bridget Cogan and love learning any family history that I can. I hope to visit the area someday and visit the Graves of her and family and learn more if I can sometime.

[@BelowthePlains]

oh wow! you have no idea how much time i spent researching that place and going out to bon homme.. we dont think we ever did find the original pit to the hotel, because all the ones we found were just too small for such a busy establishment. theres an RV park on the spot so im sure on of them are parked on top of it. And yeah, that place is beautiful.. theres a spot about a few hundred yards away, where you walk thru a few rows of thick trees, and then all of the sudden you see a clearing, and when you walk out to the clearing you can see that you are up on a 60 ft cliff, that overlooks the missouri river right at the upstream end of lake lewis and clark (the river is dammed near yankton) and all you can see is this giant lake and about 2 miles across the water you can see the hills of nebraska.. its probably one of the prettiest things i have ever seen, and i understand why they chose the spot to build a town there. if you ever go there you will see what i mean. is pretty cool. and the history is amazing too, if you ever wanted to research the county id recommend looking up maxine shuurmans (kinsey).. she wrote a bunch of stuff on south dakota, and she wrote a specific book on bon homme county and the towns within it and how they all kinda got started.. ive been able to find pieces of it online, but not the whole thing, so i just went to the historic society and they photocopied it for me.. its really interesting, lots of cool little anecdotes about the early days of south dakota, and some of it is stories directly from the people who first settled there. thanks for leaving us a comment. if you ever have any questions just go to my most recent video and leave a comment. sometimes if you comment on my old videos, i may not end up seeing them. thanks for watching!

[@jsteelsadventureandvariety4545]

Wow, right close to the action digging, cool they let you dig that close👍 nice finds as always🙂 enjoyed

[@BelowthePlains]

yeah i actually thought there was no way he was gonna say yes.. he had let us dig in a few other places already before we asked to dig there, and he didnt care at all.. its surprising how people around here probably over 90% of the time are completely cool with it. thanks for watching

[@jsteelsadventureandvariety4545]

thats nice👍not so easy in these parts🙂

[@Natali-q5x]

Watching from Slovakia :)

[@BelowthePlains]

Hell yeah! thats the first time ive gotten a message from someone from slovakia! shout out to all the slovaks! thanks for watching, glad you found the channel!!!

[@dananderson128]

Would live to see that flask cleaned up!

[@lizmbrad]

I would absolutely metal detect around where Custer camped. I bet there are tons of buttons, coins and relics. Great video! Its always awesome when you find a historical flask. Congrats 🎉 🎉

[@BelowthePlains]

yeah.. there is a little confusion over where exactly they camped.. well its between 2 spots about a half a mile away.. im sure its been hit before but yeah we have some people who metal detect and we are thinking of going back out there. thanks for watching

[@bouncerslabrealnature9143]

It's also considered hallowed ground and should not be Disturbed 😳 just like a cemetery.

[@woodyfpv5331]

@@bouncerslabrealnature9143 Just why exactly is a spot where a war criminal camped hallowed ground??

[@sallywallace851]

@@bouncerslabrealnature9143 they're not talking about digging where Custer and everyone else died. Just were he camped at Bon Homme. There's nothing hallowed about that.

[@dannybell926]

Impressive finds, even more impressive though, is getting permission to dig in the RV park right under the campers. How the heck did yall pull that off?

[@BelowthePlains]

haha im actually really surprised the guy said yes.. he was actually a descendant of bridgett cogan, and when we went there, we had a bunch of information to tell him about, and he basically already knew it all.. i think he just liked the history.. he let us dig about 15 holes there, we just had to cut it out to bc we didnt find much anywhere else.. but yeah he was cool, and the RVs were all vacant, bc we went there in the spring, and its designed to be a summer hangout then a geese hunting HQ in the fall

[@dannybell926]

@@BelowthePlains that's really cool. Knowing the history of the site so well makes it all the more meaningful. Good luck on the next dig

[@ValerieDee123]

Cool finds as usual!

[@BelowthePlains]

Thanks for watching

[@snarky_user]

Bon Homme didn't die in 1885 with the burning of the hotel. The post office remained open until 1903.

[@BelowthePlains]

yeah, but after that, the town population continued to go down until by the first world war, it was basically just a farm with a few houses.. really what killed it was the railroad bypassing it years before the hotel burned, and then tyndall sd agreed to pay for a court house, if they county seat was moved there.. but from what i read, the last nail in the coffin was the hotel burning.. the town by that point was nearly dead. and it wasnt uncommon to keep a post office in a town decades after it was nearly vacant.. and the post office was actually on a farm a mile north of town.. but yeah, semantics i guess.. thanks for watching

[@lesliecraig4935]

Awesome 👌👌👌👌👌👌

[@BelowthePlains]

thanks!

[@dougsusie2319]

Lorenz and Wightman clasp hands flask, Pittsburgh, Pa. which was the largest glassblowing center in America in the nineteenth century. We've dug a variety of different historical flasks by different Pittsburgh glass manufacturers over the years. We're about 25 NW down the Ohio river from Pittsburgh. We're in a great area for privy digging and have dug a number of flasks in some really cool, great colors over the last 30 years. Happy digging guys.

[@BelowthePlains]

oh wow, thanks for posting. yeah that does sound like a good area,.. very historic. good luck out there!

[@benitagrattan193]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@BelowthePlains]

haha thanks

[@Endtimescoming]

How old does buried glass have to be before it gets the iridescence? I started digging a part of my backyard today and though I havn't found any whole bottles yet I've found the top of a bottle the bottom of something I guess was a bottle but the glass is SO thick several pieces of broken window glass part of a lamp shade and some cool broken plates and saucers but all of the glass is iridescent and so I am curious about how long at a minimum it takes for that to happen.

[@philipcallicoat3801]

Appreciate your hard work. Y'all are a refreshing difference on the usual KZbin foolishness... Keep it up!👌👍☝️🙏😇

[@Tealtra]

Congrats on historical flask!

[@BelowthePlains]

ah thanks, we appreciate you watcing

[@willong1000]

I suppose most viewers just want to see the gems pulled from the ground. I, however, miss seeing the grid layout and probing prep work that you included in your earlier videos. Not only did I get a vicarious kick out viewing the hunt, but I provided links to those videos as references for some younger and newer bottle diggers whom I am trying to mentor via email and online forums. I might actually get to dig with one of them who lives in my state, but I enjoy their explorations remotely for now. Showing your restoration of the dig sites was another nice touch that should foster a better image of bottle and relic hunters; please keep doing so.

[@BelowthePlains]

thank you. thats really nice.. bc its true, that we really do care about the history, and thats part of the reason we have the channel. yeah we didnt film a bunch of probing. we just figured its not very "sexy" and we are trying to draw some viewers in.. in the future we are gonna show that, and the videos are probably gonna be more in the 30-40 minute range, and we're gonna try show the whole process

[@debraporch7888]

@ Will Long, After reading your comment I thought you might be able to help me. I live in Sandy, Utah and what do I do to find the oldest dump. I'm a beginner; rookie, newbie. And would love to find a dump and dig bottles for myself, unfortunately I don't know what to do. Any ideas? I would truly appreciate any help you could give me. Take care and be safe.✌

[@willong1000]

@@debraporch7888 Old Utah mining camps produced some exceptional western Bitters and Whiskey bottles during the heyday digs of the 1960's. Sadly, that was before I got involved in the hobby. These days, accessible community dumps, i.e. landfills, of appropriate age are tough to locate, especially in the West with its shorter history of sparse settlement. Beyond the entertainment and vicarious adventure, part of the reason I watch "Below the Plains" is that I also garner some tips and inspiration here; for, I fear, I might have to resort to privy probing myself as untapped dumps have grown as scarce as poultry dentition in the region I used to hunt. (I'm certainly not adverse to privy digging, but for the fact that knocking on doors to seek permission has never appealed to this old misanthropic forest prowler.) Check out Antique-Bottles dot net. There are many helpful forum discussions on multiple bottle topics on the site including "Digging and Finding." They even have a "Seeking Dig Partners" section where you might locate an experienced digger from your vicinity who could provide region-specific tips. If you have an ad blocker installed on your computer you will not be prompted to disable it--at least, it's never happened to me. There are quite a few helpful members on the site and only a couple cranky ones 😁. Should you sign up as a member--no charge or fees associated--we can have a personal conversation on the dump locating topic, though I will have limited time over the next couple months as I have some property issues, including a massive move, to address as soon as the snow melts. I am member "willong" at the site since 2009, though I probably was a lurker for at least a couple years prior. Even though most of the information is publicly available for those willing to do some research, I am selective about sharing specific old map information. I would be willing to share some of that information with you via personal conversation function at www.antique-bottles.net/

[@an00bisosiris17]

At 3:47 theres a bottle labeled Hoster Col, O. I have the same bottle, and was wondering if you would be able to share any info on it if you do have any

[@woodyfpv5331]

What do you use to probe sites and decide where to dig?? I heard you say you probed spots and I'm curious now

[@frankmarter6845]

How much is the clasped hands bottle worth? Do you sell any of your finds?

[@rektturtle747]

I would love nothing more than to restore that ax head😁

[@mporba]

How do you go about getting a permission like that? How do you approach them?

[@alanatolstad4824]

What was the final destination for that historic bottle?

[@BelowthePlains]

we actually gave that one to the historic society i believe. i know it stayed in the county, not 100% sure where but i think its at the historic society in tyndall SD. but just to be clear, its unlikely that it was actually belonged to general custer.. but those flasks were given out to civil war vets, and general custer did spend some time at the cogan house in 73 or 74... so its within the realm of possibilities that it was his.. but its more likely that it just belonged to another veteran.. possibly even from someone in his cavalry unit.. very cool piece tho!

[@alanatolstad4824]

@@BelowthePlains Off the subject just a bit...back in the 70s, there used to be a billboard on the highway heading west toward Bismarck advertising ND. In big bold letters, it said STAY IN NORTH DAKOTA. Below it in smaller letters it proclaimed: Custer was still alive when he left. (!)

[@willong1000]

Did you explore the possibility of digging at the nearby Hutterische Bruder community? Seems to me that such an excavation might provide some interesting cultural insights--or speculations at least!

[@BelowthePlains]

we actually ran into one of them one day. he gave us advice for talking to their elder. he said it would ultimately be up to the community, but we never did end up going over there. yeah it was probably just about as old. i believe it was owned by a rich guy named abbott who also owned some land in bon homme village itself. but yeah, i actually had forgotten about that until now. thanks for watching and thanks for the tip!

[@apvsculpture]

I’m really curious how you get all these permissions!!

[@BelowthePlains]

we just go knock on doors.. the guy who owned the RV park in this place actually was the descendent of Bridget Cogan (a famous early pioneer who owned the hotel on the lot where the RV park is located), and the land was passed down to him over the years. so he was kind of excited to see what we could find.. and surprisingly most people say yes, at least around our area.. but when we went to a bigger city (omaha) almost everyone said no.. but yeah we just go knock on doors, and we start by explaining the outhouse thing and then we show them a bottle from another dig, so they know what we are talking about.. and then we just ask them. and they usually say yes

[@apvsculpture]

Out here in California many people are concerned about “liability” so we mostly target empty lots, abandoned houses and construction sites. It makes sense that in less densely populated areas people are maybe a little more easy going. Great videos, keep up the good work!

[@valeriejohnson5283]

Would have liked to have seen the historical flask after it was cleaned up.😏

[@debraporch7888]

Hello Jake, sweet video once again. I wonder if there was segregation against the Native American at that time. Or were they allowed to stay in the hotels along with everyone else? The historical flask is gorgeous, I have a few myself. They make me wonder about the last person who drank from them and how they survived all those years under ground. Are you the person that does all the research about the area and what is found? Do you use car rain books about bottles? If so, what is it? The information you out out is very informative, it makes you want to find out more. Take care and be safe.✌

[@BelowthePlains]

thanks again for watching. im not actually sure about the segregation thing. bc i did read that native americans would camp on bridgett cogans land just outside the town, supposedly in the 1000s before. they had a name for her that translated to "big lady who keeps the eating house" so i know she fed them, and got along with them, like everyone else. they actually would perform ceremonial dances for her, which was an honor. she was irish catholic and ended up adopting i think around 15 orphans, and i saw a picture of her with her children, and more than half were native american or mixed. so im sure it probably wasnt segregated, but its my understanding that when they came, they came in such large numbers that they wouldnt even be able to fit a fraction of them.. and tom and i both do the research, sometimes we split up subjects so we can streamline everything, and then just inform the other. but on this one we both did days of research. we even went to the state archives to find stuff twice.. i probably read everything there is to read on the town of bon homme. i honestly fell in love with the place, probably more than any other place ive reseached.. its a total enigma, bc we spent so much time at the actual site, trying to figure out what actually happened there.. its mostly a field there now, along the missouri river and theres just a few houses.. so all the records are gone. all the old buildings are gone.. its very melancholy to think about.. well im glad you liked the video. thanks for watching

[@willong1000]

Hope you do not mind my inquiry, Debra Porch, because I am genuinely baffled--what did you mean by your "...car rain books about bottles" question of Jake? I'm thinking it was a typo, but for what?

[@debraporch7888]

@@willong1000 it was a typo or auto correct. It was supposed to be certain. I guess I should start reading my comments before sending. I'll start with this one lol.

[@debraporch7888]

@@BelowthePlains Jake thank you so much for all the info that you and Tom researched. If you could send me in the direction of where I can find this story you told me I would greatly appreciate it. Also the word that was a typo/auto correct was certain. Take care and be safe.✌

[@willong1000]

@@debraporch7888 Ahh, thanks! I was wondering if there was an author of bottle books by such a name or one similar, Carl Raines perhaps? 😄 Nice of you to reply.

[@1959rossco]

Do you get to keep these finds

[@gs2042]

How do you determine we’re to dig ? Great Job

[@willong1000]

Assuming you meant "where to dig," they do property research and then probe. Check out some of the earlier "Below the Plains" videos to see how they grid and probe to feel for the softer ground of the old privy pits. The probes have hollow handles which conduct sound to air. With experience, one develops feel and an ear for the crunch of tin cans and the "tink" sound made when the probe tip encounters glass. Watch enough privy dig videos and you will learn about "seeds" too. 😁

[@BelowthePlains]

yeah thats pretty much it. couldnt have said it better myself.. we find the actual sites as a whole by researching the small towns and old maps to see what was where

[@willong1000]

@@BelowthePlains Please know that you are my favorite bottle digging channel due largely to the information you provide. I didn't me to intrude--hope I didn't step on your toes by replying to Gary's question.

[@kaolinwasher]

WOW did that get old for south dakota

[@BelowthePlains]

yeah, one of the first towns in SD. first town to have a school in the state. never ended up getting very big, but while there was traffic on the missouri river, there were alot of people passing through the area. but we never really found a whole lot there

[@ianwilkinson5069]

That would have been a great historic site for an actual archaeological excavation...or it would have been till it got trashed.

[@teresafromuk4254]

General custer is part of my family tree

[@thecatsmeowfromny]

Sorry, I hit thumbs down instead of up, but I corrected it! Love your videos!

[@joshuabigdog7009]

What is that flask worth?

[@jaqian]

What's the oldest pit you ever dug?

[@farber2]

Please update us on this find.

[@JJ-bz2de]

Can you keep what you find ir dies the city consider it property of the town

[@jaqian]

Flask 6:15

[@jenniferserrano4738]

? p͎r͎o͎m͎o͎s͎m͎

[@vincentiusa]

No, not for me. Watch Time Team to see how it is done properly. This is indeed nothing more than treasure hunting