Slicing through trees and letting them fall to the ground is protocol for lumberjacks, but when logger Tony Markins sliced through one tree, he stumbled upon something extraordinary that caused him to continue digging. Before long, he found himself rummaging through the wooden remains like a child opening birthday presents.
But what was he looking for?
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For 43-year-old Tony Markins, being a lumberjack wasn’t the most exciting career, and it was far from his dream job. But he was still very grateful for it. The job paid the bills, and his team was great. Plus, it was never boring. Every once in a while, he and his fellow loggers would stumble upon something interesting in the forest that would pique their interest…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>
Tony couldn’t imagine working a 9-to-5 job, being in front of a computer all day, trapped in an office. He loved spending his time outdoors. He needed to be outside, in the fresh air, doing something with his hands.
The lumberjack knew his job came with its fair share of danger, but that was part of the fun. However, he had no idea how dangerous his job could get.
On a chilly Wednesday morning in November, things started out like any other day, but they quickly became unlike anything Tony had ever experienced on the job. The air smelled like fresh pines mixed with gasoline from the chainsaws. Tony was wearing ear protection, but he could still hear the hum of the machinery that was taking over the forest—much like the humming of a colony of bees.
But he had no idea that he was just a few trunks away from making an extraordinary discovery.
Sawdust was flying everywhere from the chainsaws. It was even sticking to Tony’s forehead, which was now drenched with sweat. It had been a long day, and Tony was tired, so he turned off the saw to take a quick break and grab some water.
That’s when he saw a tree that didn’t look like all the others.
Something about it was ominous. Its bark was darker than the trees surrounding it, and it was taller. The tree towered over him. Then Tony noticed something even more unusual—the tree was covered in strange bumps on its surface.
The bumps protruded from the tree bark in an odd pattern, and they were covered with moss. In all of his 10 years on the job, Tony had never come across anything quite like this before. He took another look at the nearby trees to see if they had deformities like this one, but this tree was the only one like it.
Tony’s first thought was that the lumps were bark cankers—dead sections of bark on branches or the main trunk of trees. It’s a disease that affects many trees, but the infections didn’t impact Tony’s work. Bark cankers were only important for farmers or people who could be at risk of having the rotten trunk fall on their home or car.
So, the logger took a closer look.
Tony hadn’t seen lumps like this before. Upon a second look, the lumps couldn’t be bark cankers. So, he put his gear back on and went back to work.
Tony had no expectations, but he knew the tree was hiding something very interesting. And the tree wasn’t just hiding something interesting—it was hiding something completely unexpected.
It was beyond anything Tony could have ever imagined.
The chainsaw easily tore into the huge tree, much smoother than Tony expected. Before long, he was yelling “Timber!” at the top of his lungs.
Gravity took over, and the tree made a high-pitched crack. Tony could feel the vibration under his feet as the tree hit the ground, making a very loud thump.
This had to have been the most dangerous cut he had ever made.
When the tree hit the ground, it seemed like the whole forest felt its impact. Even Tony’s team stopped what they were doing to see what was going on. Once Tony finally caught his composure, he focused his attention on the freshly cut trunk.
Within just a few seconds, Tony saw that this tree was anything but normal.
There was something unusual about it. The center of the trunk had a large gash running through it, and the tree had made a protective layer around the gash.
Luckily enough for Tony, the rings were still clear, so he could figure out just how old the tree actually was. The tree had to be at least 30 to 35 years old.
But just as Tony was about to move on from the discovery, he saw something shiny that caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.
Tony saw something silver embedded at the end of the trunk’s gash. That’s when his heart started beating a mile a minute.
He couldn’t tell if he was excited or nervous. It was all too much for him.
Tony couldn’t believe what was happening.
Without even thinking, he pulled out his knife and took out the shiny object. It was a lump of metal.
Tony’s chainsaw had just missed it by a matter of inches, almost cutting it in half. Now that the object was released, Tony was desperate to figure out what it was.
He studied it closer under the sunlight before deciding to let his team in on his discovery. He then called them over so they could take a better look.
Tony’s team started to make their way over. As they approached, he took yet another look at the tree trunk and discovered there was so much more hidden inside.
He took out his knife again, eager to remove more objects.
Tony pried out another three metal lumps. He held the objects in his hands, turning them. He then held them toward the sky, watching as they glistened and caught the sun’s reflection.
But he still had no idea what the metal lumps could be.
“Anyone know what this is?” he asked his fellow lumberjacks.
Tony tried not to get too excited, but he couldn’t help but think that he had stumbled across hidden treasure.
One member of his team picked up the lumps and started turning them around, just as Tony had. But they seemed just as confused as he was.
Then, one of the older members of the team joined them—and he knew exactly what it was.
The older worker bent down to take a closer look at the mysterious lumps. Then, he started to laugh.
Everyone stared at him, waiting for him to reveal what they were.
“Someone was bored,” he said, grinning.
Bored? What was happening? How could 30-year-old metal have anything to do with being bored?
“Feel like cluing in the rest of us?” Tony asked.
“Some guys come out here hunting, and if they don’t get anything, they get bored and fire at trees,” the older man said while tugging at his beard.
The rest of the team grinned just like the older member of the group.
Tony had stumbled upon old rounds from a rifle.
While it definitely wasn’t the treasure he had hoped for, that wasn’t the only thing hidden in the trunk. And Tony wasn’t willing to give up that easily.
Even though Tony tried his best not to get his hopes up, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed. But he was more determined than ever to make sure the old bullets weren’t the only thing the tree was hiding.
He was ready to make more discoveries.
So Tony took the chainsaw and kept going with his investigation.
And it’s a good thing he did—because he was about to find the real treasure.
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Tony stripped away the wood, layer by layer.
In total, he found eight rounds lodged deep inside the tree. Someone had been really bored—or maybe they were just really frustrated.
But when Tony finally got to the very bottom of the trunk, he discovered the real treasure that had been hidden away for over three decades, just waiting for someone to uncover it.
The tree stump was nearly touching the ground. Tony had finally made his way down to the last layer of the trunk. He gathered all of the bullets he had found in a pile. They didn’t belong in the forest, and regardless of whether they were worth anything or not, he was going to take them out of the woods.
Tony didn’t like having anything but nature in the forest.
But then he found something that changed his mind.
Just as Tony was about to cut the stump clean off, he saw something stuck in the corner of it. It was sparkling against the sun, just like the bullets had.
Had he found more metal?
At first, Tony assumed it was just another bullet.
He moved the shrubs aside and reached for the metal, which was covered in dirt. But when he touched it, it felt much bigger than the bullets he had found.
It wasn’t a bullet after all.
Still thinking he had stumbled upon another round, Tony wiped the dirt off the metal. He didn’t have a clean rag handy, so he used the next best thing—the end of his shirt.
It wasn’t until he saw the intricate carvings on the metal object that he realized he was holding something special.
Tony couldn’t believe what he had just discovered.
What was something this interesting doing in the forest?
This was way more valuable than old bullets.
The metal casing around the object revealed to Tony that it wasn’t just anything—he had discovered something rare.
As if that wasn’t cool enough, the inside needle of the object was still working.
It was as if no time had passed at all.
It had to be survival or hunting equipment.
Do you have any idea what Tony found?
If you guessed a compass, you’d be right.
Tony found a compass—and it wasn’t just any compass.
It was one of the most well-crafted compasses he had ever come across.
He couldn’t believe that the compass had been lodged in the roots of the tree for so many years.
A hunter had most likely dropped it during one of their outings.
Over the years, the rain, snow, and wind must have buried it deep into the earth, and eventually, it became trapped within the growing tree.
Tony smiled, thinking about how old and valuable the compass must be.
From looking at it, Tony knew the compass was old—but he had no idea just how old it actually was.
He also had no idea how to figure out who it belonged to.
He looked over every corner of the compass, hoping to find a name or date inscribed somewhere on it.
But he came up empty-handed.
Not wanting to make a big deal out of it, Tony put the compass into his jacket pocket while his team continued working.
But he couldn’t stop thinking about it.
When he got home after work, he knew exactly what he needed to do.
Tony decided to take it to an antique expert.
As the expert looked over the compass with a magnifying glass, Tony waited anxiously.
The expert wrote something down every few moments in his notebook.
When he finished, he looked up at Tony and smiled.
Then, he revealed something incredible.
The compass was over 100 years old.
Because it was such a unique piece, it was worth around $200.
Tony couldn’t believe his luck.
He decided not to sell it.
Instead, he kept the compass as a reminder of that special day.
Tony thought he was going to have an ordinary day at work.
But that day became one of the most exciting of his career.
Even after facing several setbacks, the lumberjack never gave up.
His perseverance led him to making a unique discovery—and to uncovering a valuable antique hidden away for decades.
Who knows?
Maybe the next time he’s in the forest, he’ll stumble upon something even greater.
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