An early scouting party prior to removal of the Chickasaws to Indian Territory camped pool on the bank of Delaware Creek near the present entrance to Camp Simpson. The Witch Hole as it came to be called was formed by water pouring over a cliff and carving out an almost perfectly round pool about the size of half a basketball court. A tribeswoman who was the cook and camp keeper was left at the site while the party surveyed the area. When the party returned from their trip they found buckets by the side of the pool and the woman was missing. The Witch Doctor went into a trance and dived into the pool. He reported going far down into a cave where he found the womans body and was attacked by giant fish have 8 tenacles and a beak. He killed the creature but was mortally wounded in the struggle. He brought the womans body back up and her appendages were all eaten off. Their bodies were buried on the side of the pool. On dark moonless nights people have reported an apparition of a woman in native garb with no fingers, toes, nose and ears walking on the surface of the pool. It is know to this day as the "Witch Hole" and has been the site of numerous drownings (one of which the Blogmaster was witness to), This story comes from a paper delivered in writing class at Bromide High School by Mevlyn Wisdom (now Kirkpatrick).
Scuba gear was brought to the Boy Scout Camp in the 50's and the Blogmaster was present as the divers reported a cave system at a depth of over a hundred feet. They brought up man metal artifacts from the caves from past accidents including wagon wheels, brass items and pottery. Jim Martin, the Blogmasters family farm was a few hundred feet South on the Delaware and many nights were spent camping and fishing with the ghosts of the Witch hole. jdm2006
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Here is a pic of Witch's Hole. Local legend has it that it was an abandon mine of some kind many many years ago, and the shaft down to the mine is where Witch's Hole is located. People say Witch's Hole is over 200 feet deep. And it is full of big bass too, mostly leftovers from the nearby U.S. Fish Hatchery over at Reagan, Oklahoma. They throw into the creek any extra fish they have, and it sure makes the creek that runs through Camp Simpson a fisherman's heaven for those Boy Scouts.
http://members.nbci.com/_Xoom/OklahomaPast/photos/simpson7.jpg
6 comments:
My aunt drown in witches hole-as they called it. A dramatic tale!
As a child I lived with my mother and grandparents outside of Bromide. I was never allowed to go the Witch Hole. As a 16-year-old visiting my Aunt Albina Worcestor my cousins wanted to go swimming there. Being a dutiful daughter I honored the promise my mother extracted from me before I left CA for the vist, never to swim in the Witch Hole.
Jim Thompson also remembers,
I am so glad to see this blog. I also swam at the Witch Hole as a boy of 9yrs. We were told never to dive deep and stay close to the bank. It is a beautiful place.
My dad and my uncles used to swim there. My grandpa was the mayor of bromide for many years
I recently went to Bromide with my dad for a memory lane trip. He is 82. He was a young boy when he lived there. His Aunt Maudi and Uncle Floyd Welch lived not far from the camp. He spotted that house and was so excited to see it still standing. His Grandfather D. Welch worked and lived on the camp simpson property. He was an eagle scout. We also drove around there. He remembers the witch hole and told me about it. Is there any way to find out who worked there in the 40's?
We didnt find the house that the grandfather lived in. Let me know how I can find out more details..Thanks for the blog.
Sincerely Debbie A
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