Or CALIFORNIA O
O THE UNIVERSITY O
\
SANTA BARBARA
o THE UBRARV OF
to
O Or CALIFORNIA e
VWWV8 V1NVS
O THE LIBRARY Of
AUSttlAINO 3Mi
O THE U8RARY OP o
o vnvmvg viNvs
O Or CAlffORNIA c
o AUSH3AINO 3H1
4O AVWnn 3N1
e THE WRAftV Of
WMIO4TO4O
O THE UNIVERSITY o
3
SANTA BARBARA
Or CAlffORNIA
e Or CAltfORNlA o
ft) A8VOT11 3W *
O THE UNIVERSITY e
9,
SANTA BARBARA
o THE tIBRARV OF c
o VINWMITO JO <
\
e OF CAUFORNIA o
o THE UNIVERSITY O <
8
*o A8V8W1 am
CANTA BARBARA
OF CALIFORNIA o
* to A wan aw
e vavflwe VIN 9
aw
O THE UBRARY OF o
iO
o V8VflV9 V1MVS o
UISS3A1NO 3Hi
e THt LIBRARY OF e
I
vwoojino K>
e THE oNTVERsrrv
SANTA BARBARA
O OF CALIFORNIA o
to umun aw
C THE UNIVERSITY o
SANTA BARBARA
THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO DALLAS
ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO
MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED
LONDON BOMBAY CALCUTTA
MELBOURNE
THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Lm
TORONTO
L THE BOOK OF
BURIED TREASURE
BEING A TRUE HISTORY OF THE GOLD, JEWELS,
AND PLATE OF PIRATES, GALLEONS, ETC.,
WHICH ARE SOUGHT FOR TO THIS DAY
BY
RALPH D. PAINE
Author of "The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem," etc.
ILLUSTRATED
jfteto gotfe
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1922
Copyright 1911
By METROPOLITAN MAGAZINE COMPANY
Copyright 1911
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 1911
FEINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMEEIOA
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I THE WORLD-WIDE HUNT FOR VANISHED RICHES 3
II CAPTAIN KIDD IN FACT AND FICTION ... 26
III CAPTAIN KIDD, His TREASURE 61
IV CAPTAIN KIDD, His TRIAL AND DEATH ... 97
V THE WONDROUS FORTUNE OP WILLIAM PHIPS . 129
VI THE BOLD SEA ROGUE, JOHN QUELCH . . . 159
VII THE ARMADA GALLEON OF TOBERMORY BAY . 183
VIII THE LOST PLATE FLEET OF VIGO 221
IX THE PIRATES' HOARD OF TRINIDAD .... 245
X THE LURE OF Cocos ISLAND . . . . . . 270
XI THE MYSTERY OF THE LUTINE FRIGATE . . . 288
XII THE TOILERS OF THE THETIS 309
XIII THE QUEST OF EL DORADO 335
XIV THE WIZARDY OF THE DIVINING ROD . . . 361
XV SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY .... 384
XVI PRACTICAL HINTS FOR TREASURE SEEKERS . . 420
ILLUSTRATIONS
H. M. S. Lutine leaving Yarmouth Roads, Oct. 9, 1799,
on her last voyage Frontispiece
FACING PACK
Treasure-seekers' Camp at Cape Vidal on African Coast ... 6
Divers searching wreck of Treasure-ship Dorothea, Cape Vidal,
Africa . 6
Captain Kidd burying his Bible 26
Carousing at Old Calabar River 26
The Idle Apprentice goes to sea 44
John Gardiner's sworn statement of the goods and treasure left
with him by Kidd 68
Governor Bellomont's endorsement of the official inventory of
Kidd's treasure found on Gardiner's Island 68
The official inventory of the Kidd treasure found on Gardiner's
Island 82
A memorandum of Captain Kidd's treasure left on Gardiner's
Island 85
Statement of Edward Davis, who sailed home with Kidd, concern-
ing the landing of the treasure and goods 92
The French pass or safe conduct paper found by Kidd in the ship
Quedah Merchant 104
Kidd hanging in chains 128
"The Pirates' Stairs" leading to the site of Execution Dock at
Wapping where Kidd was hanged 128
Sir William Phips, first royal governor of Massachusetts . . . 133
Map of Hispaniola (Hayti and San Domingo) engraved in 1723,
showing the buccaneers at their trade of hunting wild cattle 140
Permit issued by Sir William Phips as royal governor in which
he uses the title "Vice-Admiral" which involved him in dis-
astrous quarrels 149
The oldest existing print of Boston harbor as it appeared in the
time of Sir William Phips, showing the kind of ships in
which he sailed to find his treasure . . 156
ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING PAGE
An ancient map of Jamaica showing the haunts of the pirates
and the track of the treasure galleons 166
The town and bay of Tobermory, Island of Mull 181
Duart Castle, chief stronghold of the MacLeans 188
Ardnamurchan Castle, seat of the Maclans and the MacDonalds 188
Defeat of the Spanish Armada : 196
Diving to find the treasure galleon in Tobermory Bay . . . . 215
The salvage steamer Breamer equipped with suction dredge re-
moving a sandbank from the supposed location of the Flor-
encia galleon in 1909 215
Scabbards, flasks, cannon balls, and small objects recovered from
the sunken Armada galleon 218
Stone cannon balls and breech-block of a breech-loading gun
fished up from the wreck of the Florenda galleon . . .218
Sir George Rooke, commanding the British fleet at the battle of
Vigo Bay 225
The Royal Sovereign, one of Admiral Sir George Eooke's line-of-
battle ships, engaged at Vigo Bay 229
Framework of an "elevator" devised by Pino for raising the gal-
leons in Vigo Bay 236
An "elevator" with air bags inflated 236
Cannon of the treasure galleons recovered by Pino from the bot-
tom of Vigo Bay 240
Hydroscope invented by Pino for exploring the sea bottom and
successfully used in finding the galleons of Vigo Bay . . 240
Lima Cathedral 246
Treasure-seekers digging on Cocos Island . . . 281
Christian Cruse, the hermit treasure-seeker of Cocos Island . .281
Thetis Cove in calm weather, showing salvage operations . . . 328
Thetis Cove during the storm which wrecked the salvage equip-
ment 328
Sir Walter Ealeigh . . 348
Methods of manipulating the diving rod to find buried treasure 364
Gibbs and Wansley burying the treasure ....... 400
The Portuguese captain cutting away the bag of moidores . . 400
Interview between Lafitte, General Andrew Jackson, and Gov-
ernor Claiborne . : 404
The death of Black Beard . . .. , 404
THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Of all the lives I ever say,
A Pirate's be for I.
Hap what hap may he's allus gay
An' drinks an' bungs his eye.
For his work he's never loth:
An' a-pleasurin' he'll go;
Tho' certain sure to be popt off,
Yo, ho, with the rum below!
In Bristowe I left Poll ashore,
Well stored wi' togs an' gold,
An' off I goes to sea for more,
A-piratin' so bold.
An' wounded in the arm I got,
An' then a pretty blow;
Corned home I find Poll's flowed away,
Yo, ho, with the rum below!
An' when my precious leg was lopt,
Just for a bit of fun,
I picks it up, on t'other hopt,
An' rammed it in a gun.
"What's that for?" cries out Salem Dick;
"What for, my jumpin beau?
"Why, to give the lubbers one more kick!"
Yo, ho, with the rum below !
I 'Hows this crazy hull o' mine
At sea has had its share:
Marooned three times an' wounded nine
An' blowed up in the air.
But ere to Execution Bay
The wind these bones do blow,
I'll drink an' fight what's left away,
Yo, ho, with the rum below !
An Old English Ballad.
THE BOOK OF BURIED
TREASURE
CHAPTEB I
THE WORLD-WIDE HUNT FOR VANISHED RICHES
THE language has no more boldly romantic words
than pirate and galleon and the dullest imagination
is apt to be kindled by any plausible dream of finding
their lost treasures hidden on lonely beach or tropic
key, or sunk fathoms deep in salt water. In the
preface of that rare and exceedingly diverting vol-
ume, "The Pirates' Own Book," the unnamed
author sums up the matter with so much gusto and
with so gorgeously appetizing a flavor that he is
worth quoting to this extent :
"With the name of pirate is also associated ideas
of rich plunder, caskets of buried jewels, chests of
gold ingots, bags of outlandish coins, secreted in
lonely, out of the way places, or buried about the wild
shores of rivers and unexplored sea coasts, near
rocks and trees bearing mysterious marks indicating
where the treasure was hid. And as it is his invari-
able practice to secrete and bury his booty, and from
the perilous life he leads, being often killed or cap-
tured, he can never revisit the spot again, therefore
immense sums remain buried in those places and are
irrevocably lost. Search is often made by persons
who labor in anticipation of throwing up with their
3
4 THE BOOK OF BURIED .TREASURE
spade and pickaxe, gold bars, diamond crosses spar-
kling amongst the dirt, bags of golden doubloons and
chests wedged close with moidores, ducats and pearls ;
but although great treasures lie hid in this way, it
seldom happens that any is recovered. ' ' 1
In this tamed, prosaic age of ours, treasure-seek-
ing might seem to be the peculiar province of fiction,
but the fact is that expeditions are fitting out every
little while, and mysterious schooners flitting from
many ports, lured by grimy, tattered charts pre-
sumed to show where the hoards were hidden, or
steering their courses by nothing more tangible than
legend and surmise. As the Kidd tradition survives
along the Atlantic coast, so on divers shores of other
seas persist the same kind of wild tales, the more con-
vincing of which are strikingly alike in that the lone
survivor of the red-handed crew, having somehow
escaped the hanging, shooting, or drowning that he
handsomely merited, preserved a chart showing
where the treasure had been hid. Unable to return to
the place, he gave the parchment to some friend or
shipmate, this dramatic transfer usually happening
as a death-bed ceremony. The recipient, after dig-
ging in vain and heartily damning the departed
pirate for his misleading landmarks and bearings,
handed the chart down to the next generation.
It will be readily perceived that this is the stock
motive of almost all buried treasure fiction, the trade-
i "The Pirates' Own Book" was published at Portland, Maine,
1837, and largely reprinted from Captain Charles Johnson's "General
History of the Pyrates of the New Providence," etc., first edition,
London, 1724. His second edition of two volumes, published in
1727, contained the lives of Kidd and Blackboard. "The Pirates'
Own Book," while largely indebted to Captain Johnson's work, con-
tains a great deal of material concerning other noted sea rogues
who flourished later than 1727.
THE HUNT FOR VANISHED RICHES 5
mark of a certain brand of adventure story, but it is
really more entertaining to know that such charts
and records exist and are made use of by the expedi-
tions of the present day. Opportunity knocks at
the door. He who would gamble in shares of such
a speculation may find sun-burned, tarry gentlemen,
from Seattle to Singapore, and from Capetown to
New Zealand, eager to whisper curious information
of charts and sailing directions, and to make sail
and away.
Some of them are still seeking booty lost on Cocos
Island off the coast of Costa Rica where a dozen ex-
peditions have f utilely sweated and dug ; others have
cast anchor in harbors of Guam and the Carolines;
while as you run from Aden to Vladivostock, sailor-
men are never done with spinning yarns of treasure
buried by the pirates of the Indian Ocean and the
China Sea. Out from Callao the treasure hunters
fare to Clipperton Island, or the Gallapagos group
where the buccaneers with Dampier and Davis used
to careen their ships, and from Valparaiso many an
expedition has found its way to Juan Fernandez and
Magellan Straits. The topsails of these salty argo-
nauts have been sighted in recent years off the Sal-
vages to the southward of Madeira where two mil-
lions of Spanish gold were buried in chests, and pick
and shovel have been busy on rocky Trinidad in the
South Atlantic which conceals vast stores of plate
and jewels left there by pirates who looted the gal-
leons of Lima.
Near Cape Vidal, on the coast of Zululand, lies the
wreck of the notorious sailing vessel Dorothea, in
whose hold is treasure to the amount of two million
dollars in gold bars concealed beneath a flooring of
cement. It was believed for some time that the ill-
6 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
fated Dorothea was fleeing with the fortune of Oom
Paul Kruger on board when she was cast ashore.
The evidence goes to show, however, that certain of-
ficials of the Transvaal Government, before the Boer
War, issued permits to several lawless adventurers,
allowing them to engage in buying stolen gold from
the mines. This illicit traffic flourished largely, and
so successful was this particular combination that a
ship was bought, the Ernestine, and after being over-
hauled and renamed the Dorothea, she secretly
shipped the treasure on board in Delagoa Bay.
It was only the other day that a party of restless
young Americans sailed in the old racing yacht May-
flower bound out to seek the wreck of a treasure gal-
leon on the coast of Jamaica. Their vessel was dis-
masted and abandoned at sea, and they had all the
adventure they yearned for. One of them, Roger
Derby of Boston, of a family famed for its deep-water
mariners in the olden times, ingenuously confessed
some time later, and here you have the spirit of the
true treasure-seeker :
"I am afraid that there is no information access-
ible in documentary or printed form of the wreck
that we investigated a year ago. Most of it is hear-
say, and when we went down there on a second trip
after losing the Mayflower, we found little to prove
that a galleon had been lost, barring some old can-
non, flint rock ballast, and square iron bolts. We
found absolutely no gold."
The coast of Madagascar, once haunted by free-
booters who plundered the rich East Indiamen, is
still ransacked by treasure seekers, and American
soldiers in the Philippines indefatigably excavate
the landscape of Luzon in the hope of finding the
hoard of Spanish gold buried by the Chinese man-
Treasure-seekers Camp at Cape Vidal on African coast.
Divers searching wreck of Treasure ship Dorothea,
Cape Vidal, Africa.
THE HUNT FOR VANISHED RICHES 7
darin Chan Lu Suey in the eighteenth century.
Every island of the West Indies and port of the
Spanish Main abounds in legends of the mighty sea
rogues whose hard fate it was to be laid by the heels
before they could squander the gold that had been
won with cutlass, boarding pike and carronade.
The spirit of true adventure lives in the soul of the
treasure hunter. The odds may be a thousand to
one that he will unearth a solitary doubloon, yet he is
lured to undertake the most prodigious exertions by
the keen zest of the game itself. The English nov-
elist, George R. Sims, once expressed this state of
mind very exactly. " Respectable citizens, tired of
the melancholy sameness of a drab existence, cannot
take to crape masks, dark lanterns, silent matches,
and rope ladders, but they can all be off to a pirate
island and search for treasure and return laden or
empty without a stain upon their characters. I know
a fine old pirate who sings a good song and has treas-
ure islands at his fingers ' ends. I think I can get to-
gether a band of adventurers, middle-aged men of
established reputation in whom the public would
have confidence, who would be only too glad to enjoy
a year 's romance. ' y
Robert Louis Stevenson who dearly loved a pirate
and wrote the finest treasure story of them all around
a proper chart of his own devising, took Henry James
to task for confessing that although he had been a
child he had never been on a quest for buried treas-
ure. ' ' Here is indeed a willful paradox, ' ? exclaimed
the author of "Treasure Island," "for if he has
never "been on a quest for buried treasure, it can be
demonstrated that he has never been a child. There
never was a child (unless Master James), but has
hunted gold, and been a pirate, and a military com-
8 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
mander, and a bandit of the mountains; but has
fought, and suffered shipwreck and prison, and im-
brued its little hands in gore, and gallantly retrieved
the lost battle, and triumphantly protected innocence
and beauty."
Mark Twain also indicated the singular isolation
of Henry James by expressing precisely the same
opinion in his immortal chronicle of the adventures
of Tom Sawyer. "There comes a time in every
rightly constructed boy's life when he has a raging
desire to go somewhere and dig for buried treasure. ' '
And what an entrancing career Tom had planned for
himself in an earlier chapter! "At the zenith of
his fame, how he would suddenly appear at the old
village and stalk into church, brown and weather-
beaten, in his black velvet doublet and trunks, his
great jack-boots, his crimson sash, his belt bristling
with horse-pistols, his crime-rusted cutlass at his
side, his slouch hat with waving plumes, his black
flag unfurled, with the skull and cross-bones on it,
and hear with swelling ecstasy the whisperings, 'It's
Tom Sawyer the Pirate ! The Black Avenger of the
Spanish Main.' "
When Tom and Huck Finn went treasure seeking
they observed the time-honored rules of the game,
as the following dialogue will recall to mind :
"Where '11 we dig?" said Huck.
"Oh, most anywhere."
"Why, is it hid all around?"
' * No, indeed it ain 't. It 's hid in mighty particular
places, Huck, sometimes on islands, sometimes in
rotten chests under the limb of an old dead tree, just
where the shadow falls at midnight ; but mostly under
the floor in ha'nted houses."
"Who hides it?"
THE HUNT FOR VANISHED RICHES 9
"Why, robbers, of course. Who'd you reckon,
Sunday-school sup'rintendents?"
"I don't know. If 'twas mine I wouldn't hide it;
I 'd spend it and have a good time. ' '
"So would I. But robbers don't do that way.
They always hide it and leave it there. ' '
"Don't they come after it any more?"
"No, they think they will, but they generally for-
get the marks or else they die. Anyway, it lays
there a long time and gets rusty ; and by and by some-
body finds an old yellow paper that tells how to find
the marks, a paper that's got to be ciphered over
about a week because it's mostly signs and hy'ro-
glyphics. ' '
Hunting lost treasure is not work but a fascinating
kind of play that belongs to the world of make be-
lieve. It appeals to that strain of boyishness which
survives in the average man even though his pow be
frosted, his reputation starched and conservative.
It is, after all, an inherited taste handed down from
the golden age of fairies. The folk-lore of almost
every race is rich in buried treasure stories. The
pirate with his stout sea chest hidden above high-
water mark is lineally descended from the enchant-
ing characters who lived in the shadow land of myth
and fable. The hoard of Captain Kidd, although he
was turned off at Execution Dock only two hundred
years ago, has become as legendary as the dream of
the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Many a hard-headed farmer and fisherman of the
New England coast believes that it is rash business
to go digging for Kidd's treasure unless one care-
fully performs certain incantations designed to pla-
cate the ghostly guardian who aforetime sailed with
Kidd and was slain by him after the hole was dug
10 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
lest the secret might thus be revealed. And it is of
course well known that if a word is spoken after
the pick has clinked against the iron-bound chest or
metal pot, the devil flies away with the treasure,
leaving behind him only panic and a strong smell
of brimstone.
Such curious superstitions as these, strongly sur-
viving wherever pirate gold is sought, have been the
common property of buried-treasure stories in all
ages. The country-folk of Japan will tell you that
if a pot of money is found a rice cake must be left
in place of every coin taken away, and imitation
money burned as an offering to any spirit that may be
offended by the removal of the hoard. The negroes
of the West Indies explain that the buried wealth of
the buccaneers is seldom found because the spirits
that watch over it have a habit of whisking the treas-
ure away to parts unknown as soon as ever the hid-
ing-place is disturbed. Among the Bedouins is cur-
rent the legend that immense treasures were con-
cealed by Solomon beneath the foundations of Pal-
myra and that sapient monarch took the precaution
of enlisting an army of jinns to guard the gold for-
ever more.
In parts of Bohemia the peasants are convinced
that a blue light hovers above the location of buried
treasure, invisible to all mortal eyes save those of the
person destined to find it. In many corners of the
world there has long existed the belief in the occult
efficacy of a black cock or a black cat in the equipment
of a treasure quest which is also influenced by the
particular phases of the moon. A letter written
from Bombay as long ago as 1707, contained a quaint
account of an incident inspired by this particular
superstition.
THE HUNT FOR VANISHED RICHES 11
"Upon a dream of a Negro girl of Mahim that
there was a Mine of Treasure, who being overheard
relating it, Domo, Alvares, and some others went to
the place and sacrificed a Cock and dugg the ground
but found nothing. They go to Bundarra at Salsett,
where disagreeing, the Government there takes no-
tice of the same, and one of them, an inhabitant of
Bombay, is sent to the Inquisition at Goa, which pro-
ceedings will discourage the Inhabitants. Where-
fore the General is desired to issue a proclamation
to release him, and if not restored in twenty days, no
Koman Catholick Worship to be allowed on the
Island."
A more recent chronicler, writing in The Ceylon
Times, had this to say :
"It is the belief of all Orientals that hidden treas-
ures are under the guardianship of supernatural
beings. The Cingalese divide the charge between the
demons and the cobra da capello (guardian of the
king's ankus in Kipling's story). Various charms
are resorted to by those who wish to gain the treas-
ure because the demons require a sacrifice. The
blood of a human being is the most important,
but so far as is known, the Cappowas have hitherto
confined themselves to the sacrifice of a white cock,
combining its blood with their own drawn from the
hand or foot."
No more fantastic than this are the legends of
which the British Isles yield a plentiful harvest.
Thomas of Walsingham tells the tale of a Saracen
physician who betook himself to Earl Warren of the
fourteenth century to ask courteous permission that
he might slay a dragon, or "loathly worm" which
had its den at Bromfield near Ludlow and had
wrought sad ravages on the Earl's lands. The Sar-
12 THE BOOK OF BUKIED TREASURE
acen overcame the monster, whether by means of his
medicine chest or his trusty steel the narrator say-
eth not, and then it was learned that a great hoard
of gold was hidden in its foul den. Some men of
Herefordshire sallied forth by night to search for the
treasure, and were about to lay hands on it when re-
tainers of the Earl of "Warwick captured them and
took the booty to their lord.
Blenkinsopp Castle is haunted by a very sorrowful
White Lady. Her husband, Bryan de Blenkinsopp,
was uncommonly greedy of gold, which he loved bet-
ter than his wife, and she, being very jealous and
angry, was mad enough to hide from him a chest of
treasure so heavy that twelve strong men were
needed to lift it. Later she was overtaken by re-
morse because of this undutiful behavior and to this
day her uneasy ghost flits about the castle, sup-
posedly seeking the spirit of Bryan de Blenkinsopp
in order that she may tell him what she did with
his pelf.
When Corfe Castle in Dorsetshire was besieged by
Cromwell's troops, Lady Bankes conducted a heroic
defense. Betrayed by one of her own garrison, and
despairing of holding out longer, she threw all the
plate and jewels into a very deep well in the castle
yard, and pronounced a curse against anyone who
should try to find it ere she returned. She then
ordered the traitor to be hanged, and surrendered
the place. The treasure was never found, and per-
haps later owners have been afraid of the militant
ghost of Lady Bankes.
From time immemorial, tradition had it that a
great treasure was buried near the Eibble in Lan-
cashire. A saying had been handed down that any-
one standing on the hill at Walton-le-Dale and look-
THE HUNT FOR VANISHED RICHES 13
ing up the valley toward the site of ancient Eichester
would gaze over the greatest treasure that England
had ever known. Digging was undertaken at inter-
vals during several centuries, until in 1841 laborers
accidentally excavated a mass of silver ornaments,
armlets, neck-chains, amulets and rings, weighing to-
gether about a thousand ounces, and more than seven
thousand silver coins, mostly of King Alfred's time,
all enclosed in a leaden case only three feet beneath
the surface of the ground. Many of these ornaments
and coins are to be seen at the British Museum.
On a farm in the Scotch parish of Lesmahagow is
a boulder beneath which is what local tradition calls
"a kettle full, a boat full, and a bull's hide full of
gold that is Katie Nevin's hoord." And for ages
past 'tis well known that a pot of gold has lain at the
bottom of a pool at the tail of a water-fall under
Crawfurdland Bridge, three miles from Kilmar-
nock. The last attempt to fish it up was made by
one of the lairds of the place who diverted the
stream and emptied the pool, and the implements of
the workmen actually rang against the precious ket-
tle when a mysterious voice was heard to cry :
' ' Paw ! Paw ! Crawfurdland 's tower 's in a law. ' '
The laird and his servants scampered home to find
out whether the tower had been "laid law," but the
alarm was only a stratagem of the spirit that did
sentry duty over the treasure. When the party re-
turned to the pool, it was filled to the brim and the
water was "running o'er the linn," which was an
uncanny thing to see, and the laird would have noth-
ing more to do with treasure seeking.
The people of Glenary in the Highlands long swore
by the legend that golden treasure was hidden in
their valley and that it would not be found until
14 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
sought for by the son of a stranger. At length,
while a newly drained field was being plowed, a large
rock was shattered by blasting, and under it were
found many solid gold bracelets of antique pattern
and cunningly ornamented. The old people knew
that the prophecy had come true, for the youth who
held the plow was the son of an Englishman, a rare
being in those parts a few generations ago.
Everyone knows that Ireland is fairly peppered
with " crocks o' goold" which the peasantry would
have dug up long before this, but the treasure is in-
variably in the keeping of "the little black men" and
they raise the divil and all with the bold intruder,
and lucky he is if he is not snatched away, body,
soul, and breeches. Many a fine lad has left home
just before midnight with a mattock under his arm,
and maybe there was a terrible clap of thunder and
that was the last of him except the empty hole and
the mattock beside it which his friends found next
morning.
In France treasure seeking has been at times a
popular madness. The traditions of the country are
singularly alluring, and perhaps the most romantic
of them is that of the "Great Treasure of Gourdon"
which is said to have existed since the reign of Clovis
in the sixth century. The chronicle of all the wealth
buried in the cemetery of this convent at Gourdon
in the Department of the Lot has been preserved, in-
cluding detailed lists of gold and silver, rubies, em-
eralds and pearls. The convent was sacked and
plundered by the Normans, and the treasurer, or
custodian, who had buried all the valuables of the re-
ligious houses under the sway of the same abbot,
was murdered while trying to escape to the feudal
seignor of Gourdon with the crosier of the lord
15
abbott. ' * The head of the crosier was of solid gold, ' '
says an ancient manuscript, ''and the rubies with
which it was studded of such wondrous size that at
one single blow the soldier who tore it from the
monk's grasp and used it as a weapon against him,
beat in his brains as with a sledge-hammer."
Not only through the Middle Ages was the search
resumed from time to time, but from the latter days
of the reign of Louis XIV until the Revolution, tra-
dition relates that the cemetery of the convent was
ransacked at frequent intervals. At length, in 1842,
the quest was abandoned after antiquarians, geolo-
gists, and engineers had gravely agreed that further
excavation would be futile. The French treasure
seekers went elsewhere and then a peasant girl con-
fused the savants by discovering what was undeni-
ably a part of the lost riches of Gourdon. She was
driving home the cows from a pasture of the abbey
lands when a shower caused her to take shelter in a
hollow scooped out of a sand-bank by laborers mend-
ing the road. Some of the earth caved in upon her
and while she was freeing herself, down rolled a
salver, a paten, and a flagon, all of pure gold, richly
chased and studded with emeralds and rubies.
These articles were taken to Paris and advertised
for sale by auction, the Government bidding them in
and placing them in the museum of the Bibliotheque.
During the reign of Napoleon III there died a
very famous treasure seeker, one Ducasse, who be-
lieved that he was about to discover "the master
treasure" (le maitre tresor) said to be among the
ruins of the ancient Belgian Abbey of Orval. Du-
casse was a builder by trade and had gained a large
fortune in government contracts every sou of which
he wasted in exploring at Orval. It was alleged that
16 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
the treasure had been buried by the monks and that
the word NEMO carved on the tomb of the last ab-
bott held the key to the location of the hiding-place.
In Mexico one hears similar tales of vast riches
buried by religious orders when menaced by war or
expulsion. One of these is to be found in the south-
western part of the state of Chihuahua where a great
gorge is cut by the Eio Verde. In this remote val-
ley are the ruins of a church built by the Jesuits,
and when they were about to be driven from their
settlement they sealed up and destroyed all traces
of a fabulously rich mine in which was buried mil-
lions of bullion. Instead of the more or less stereo-
typed ghosts familiar as sentinels over buried treas-
ure, these lost hoards of Mexico are haunted by a
specter even more disquieting than phantom pirates
or ' ' little black men. " It is " The Weeping Woman ' '
who makes strong men cross themselves and shiver
in their serapes, and many have heard or seen her.
A member of a party seeking buried treasure in the
heart of the Sierra Madre mountains solemnly af-
firmed as follows :
"We were to measure, at night, a certain distance
from a cliff which was to be found by the relative po-
sitions of three tall trees. It was on a bleak table-
land nine thousand feet above the sea. The wind
chilled us to the marrow, although we were only a
little to the north of the Tropic of Cancer. We rode
all night and waited for the dawn in the darkest and
coldest hours of those altitudes. By the light of pitch
pine torches we consulted a map and decided that
we had found the right place. We rode forward a
little and brushed against three soft warm things.
Turning in our saddles, by the flare of our torches
held high above our heads we beheld three corpses
THE HUNT FOR VANISHED RICHES 17
swaying in the wind. A wailing cry of a woman's
voice came from close at hand, and we fled as if pur-
sued by a thousand demons. My comrades assured
me that the Weeping Woman had brushed past us in
her eternal flight."
This is a singular narrative but it would not be
playing fair to doubt it. To be over-critical of
buried treasure stories is to clip the wings of romance
and to condemn the spirit of adventure to a pedes-
trian gait. All these tales are true, or men of sane
and sober repute would not go a-treasure hunting by
land and sea, and so long as they have a high-hearted,
boyish faith in their mysterious charts and hazy
information, doubters make a poor show of them-
selves and stand confessed as thin-blooded dullards
who never were young. Scattered legends of many
climes have been mentioned at random to show that
treasure is everywhere enveloped in a glamour pe-
culiarly its own. The base iconoclast may perhaps
demolish Santa Glaus (which God forbid), but in-
dustrious dreamers will be digging for the gold of
Captain Kidd, long after the last Christmas stocking
shall have been pinned above the fireplace.
There are no conscious liars among the tellers of
treasure tales. The spell is upon them. They be-
lieve their own yarns, and they prove their faith
by their back-breaking works with pick and shovel.
Here, for example, is a specimen, chosen at hazard,
one from a thousand cut from the same cloth. This
is no modern Ananias speaking but a gray-bearded,
God-fearing clam-digger of Jewell's Island in Casco
Bay on the coast of Maine.
"I can't remember when the treasure hunters first
began coming to this island, but as long ago as my
father's earliest memories they used to dig for gold
18 THE BOOK OF, BURIED TREASURE
up and down the shore. That was in the days when
they were superstitious enough to spill lamb's blood
along the ground where they dug in order to keep
away the devil and his imps. I can remember fifty
years ago when they brought a girl down here and
mesmerized her to see if she could not lead them to
the hidden wealth.
"The biggest mystery, though, of all the queer
things that have happened here in the last hundred
years was the arrival of the man from St. John's
when I was a youngster. He claimed to have the
very chart showing the exact spot where Kidd's gold
was buried. He said he had got it from an old
negro in St. John's who was with Captain Kidd when
he was coasting the islands in this bay. He showed
up here when old Captain Chase that lived here then
was off to sea in his vessel. So he waited around a
few days till the captain returned, for he wanted
to use a mariner's compass to locate the spot accord-
ing to the directions on the chart.
"When Captain Chase came ashore the two went
off up the beach together, and the man from St.
John's was never seen again, neither hide nor hair
of him, and it is plumb certain that he wasn't set off
in a boat from Jewell's.
"The folks here found a great hole dug on the
southeast shore which looked as if a large chest had
been lifted out of it. Of course conclusions were
drawn, but nobody got at the truth. Four years ago
someone found a skeleton in the woods, unburied,
simply dropped into a crevice in the rocks with a few
stones thrown over it. No one knows whose body
it was, although some say, but never mind about
that. This old Captain Jonathan Chase was said to
have been a pirate, and his house was full of under-
THE HUNT FOR VANISHED RICHES 19
ground passages and sliding panels and queer con-
traptions, such as no honest, law-abiding man could
have any use for."
The worthy Benjamin Franklin was an admirable
guide for young men, a sound philosopher, and a sa-
gacious statesman, but he cannot be credited with
romantic imagination. He would have been the last
person in the world to lead a buried treasure expedi-
tion or to find pleasure in the company of the most
eminent and secretive pirate that ever scuttled a ship
or made mysterious marks upon a well-thumbed chart
plentifully spattered with candle-grease and rum.
He even took pains to discourage the diverting in-
dustry of treasure seeking as it flourished among his
Quaker neighbors and discharged this formidable
broadside in the course of a series of essays known
as "The Busy-Body Series":
" ... There are among us great numbers of
honest artificers and laboring people, who, fed with
a vain hope of suddenly growing rich, neglect their
business, almost to the ruining of themselves and
families, and voluntarily endure abundance of fa-
tigue in a fruitless search after imaginary hidden
treasure. They wander through the woods and
bushes by day to discover the marks and signs; at
midnight they repair to the hopeful spots with spades
and pickaxes; full of expectation, they labor vio-
lently, trembling at the same time in every joint
through fear of certain malicious demons, who are
said to haunt and guard such places.
"At length a mighty hole is dug, and perhaps sev-
eral cart-loads of earth thrown out ; but, alas, no keg
or iron pot is found. No seaman's chest crammed
with Spanish pistoles, or weighty pieces of eight!
They conclude that, through some mistake in the
20
procedure, some rash word spoken, or some rule of
art neglected, the guardian spirit had power to sink
it deeper into the earth, and convey it out of their
reach. Yet, when a man is once infatuated, he is so
far from being discouraged by ill success that he is
rather animated to double his industry, and will try
again and again in a hundred different places in
hopes of meeting at last with some lucky hit, that
shall at once sufficiently reward him for all his ex-
penses of time and labor.
' "This odd humor of digging for money, through
a belief that much has been hidden by pirates for-
merly frequenting the (Schuylkill) river, has for
several years been mighty prevalent among us; in-
somuch that you can hardly walk half a mile out of
the town on any side without observing several pits
dug with that design, and perhaps some lately
opened. Men otherwise of very good sense have
been drawn into this practice through an overween-
ing desire of sudden wealth, and an easy credulity
of what they so earnestly wished might be true.
There seems to be some peculiar charm in the con-
ceit of finding money and if the sands of Schuylkill
were so much mixed with small grains of gold that
a man might in a day's time with care and applica-
tion get together to the value of half a crown, I make
no question but we should find several people em-
ployed there that can with ease earn five shillings a
day at their proper trade.
"Many are the idle stories told of the private
success of some people, by which others are encour-
aged to proceed ; and the astrologers, with whom the
country swarms at this time, are either in the belief
of these things themselves, or find their advantage
in persuading others to believe them; for they are
THE HUNT FOR VANISHED RICHES 21
often consulted about the critical times for digging,
the methods of laying the spirit, and the like whim-
seys, which renders them very necessary to, and very
much caressed by these poor, deluded money hunters.
"There is certainly something very bewitching in
the pursuit after mines of gold and silver and other
valuable metals, and many have been ruined by
it. ...
* ' Let honest Peter Buckram, who has long without
success been a searcher after hidden money, reflect on
this, and be reclaimed from that unaccountable folly.
Let him consider that every stitch he takes when he
is on his shopboard, is picking up part of a grain of
gold that will in a few days' time amount to a pis-
tole; and let Faber think the same of every nail he
drives, or every stroke with his plane. Such
thoughts may make them industrious, and, in conse-
quence, in time they may be wealthy.
"But how absurd it is to neglect a certain profit
for such a ridiculous whimsey ; to spend whole days
at the 'George' in company with an idle pretender to
astrology, contriving schemes to discover what was
never hidden, and forgetful how carelessly business
is managed at home in their absence ; to leave their
wives and a warm bed at midnight (no matter if it
rain, hail, snow, or blow a hurricane, provided that
be the critical hour), and fatigue themselves with the
violent digging for what they shall never find, and
perhaps getting a cold that may cost their lives,
or at least disordering themselves so as to be fit for
no business beside for some days after. Surely this
is nothing less than the most egregious folly and
madness.
"I shall conclude with the words of the discreet
friend Agricola of Chester County when he gave his
22 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
son a good plantation. 'My son,' said he, 'I give
thee now a valuable parcel of land; I assure thee I
have found a considerable quantity of gold by dig-
ging there ; thee mayest do the same ; but thee must
carefully observe this, Never to dig more than
plough-deep."
For once the illustrious Franklin shot wide of the
mark. These treasure hunters of Philadelphia, who
had seen with their own eyes more than one notorious
pirate, even Blackboard himself, swagger along
Front Street or come roaring out of the Blue An-
chor Tavern by Dock Creek, were finding their re-
ward in the coin of romance. Digging mighty holes
for a taskmaster would have been irksome, stupid
business indeed, even for five shillings a day. They
got a fearsome kind of enjoyment in "trembling
violently through fear of certain malicious demons. ' '
And honest Peter Buckram no doubt discovered
that life was more zestful when he was plying shovel
and pickaxe, or whispering with an astrologer in a
corner of the "George" than during the flat hours
of toil with shears and goose. If the world had
charted its course by Poor Eichard's Almanac,
there would be a vast deal more thrift and sober
industry than exists, but no room for the spirit of
adventure which reckons not its returns in dollars
and cents.
There are many kinds of lost treasure, by sea and
by land. Some of them, however, lacking the color
of romance and the proper backgrounds of motive
and incident, have no stories worth telling. For in-
stance, there were almost five thousand wrecks on
the Great Lakes during a period of twenty years, and
these lost vessels carried down millions of treasure or
property worth trying to recover. One steamer had
THE HUNT FOR VANISHED RICHES 23
five hundred thousand dollars ' worth of copper in her
hold. Divers and submarine craft and wrecking
companies have made many attempts to recover these
vanished riches, and with considerable success, now
and then fishing up large amounts of gold coin and
bullion. It goes without saying that the average six-
teen-year-old boy could extract not one solitary thrill
from a tale of lost treasure in the Great Lakes, even
though the value might be fairly fabulous. But let
him hear that a number of Spanish coins have been
washed up by the waves on a beach of Yucatan and
the discovery has set the natives to searching for the
buried treasure of Jean Lafitte, the "Pirate of the
Gulf," and our youngster pricks up his ears.
Many noble merchantmen in modern times have
foundered or crashed ashore in various seas with
large fortunes in their treasure rooms, and these are
sought by expeditions, but because these ships were
not galleons nor carried a freightage of doubloons
and pieces of eight, most of them must be listed in
the catalogue of undistinguished sea tragedies. The
distinction is really obvious. The treasure story
must have the picaresque flavor or at least concern
itself with bold deeds done by strong men in days
gone by. Like wine its bouquet is improved by age.
It is the fashion to consider lost treasure as the
peculiar property of pirates and galleons, and yet
what has become of the incredibly vast riches of all
the vanished kings, despots, and soldiers who plun-
dered the races of men from the beginnings of his-
tory? Where is the loot of ancient Eome that was
buried with Alaric? Where is the dazzling treasure
of Samarcand? Where is the wealth of Antioch, and
where the jewels which Solomon gave the Queen
of Shebal During thousands of years of warfare
24 .THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
the treasures of the Old World could be saved from
the conqueror only by hiding them underground, and
in countless instances the sword must have slain
those who knew the secret. When Genghis Khan
swept across Eussia with his hordes of savage Mon-
gols towns and cities were blotted out as by fire, and
doubtless those of the slaughtered population who
had gold and precious stones buried them and there
they still await the treasure seeker. What was hap-
pening everywhere during the ruthless ages of con-
quest and spoliation 2 is indicated by this bit of nar-
rative told by a native banker of India to W. Forbes
Mitchell, author of "Reminiscences of the Great
Mutiny ":
"You know how anxious the late Maharajah Scin-
dia was to get back the fortress of Gwalior, but very
few knew the real cause prompting him. That was
a concealed horde of sixty crores (sixty millions ster-
ling) of rupees in certain vaults within the fortress,
over which British sentinels had been walking for
thirty years, never suspecting the wealth hidden
under their feet. Long before the British Govern-
ment restored the fortress to the Maharajah every-
one who knew the entrance to the vaults was dead ex-
cept one man and he was extremely old. Although
he was in good health he might have died any day.
If this had happened, the treasure might have been
* "As to Clive, there was no limit to his acquisitions but his own
moderation. The treasury of Bengal was thrown open to him.
There were piled up, after the usage of Indian princes, immense
masses of coin, among which might not seldom be detected the
florins and byzants with which, before any European ship had
turned the Cape of Good Hope, the Venetians purchased the stuffs
and spices of the East. Clive walked between heaps of gold and
silver, crowned with rubies and diamonds, and was at liberty to help
himself." Macauley.
THE HUNT FOR VANISHED RICHES 25
lost to the owner forever and to the world for ages,
because there was only one method of entrance and
it was most cunningly concealed. On all sides, ex-
cept for this series of blind passages, the vaults
were surrounded by solid rock.
"The Maharajah was in such a situation that he
must either get back his fortress or divulge the secret
of the existence of the treasure to the British Gov-
ernment, and risk losing it by confiscation. As soon
as possession of the fortress was restored to him,
and even before the British troops had left Gwalior
territory, masons were brought from Benares, after
being sworn to secrecy in the Temple of the Holy
Cow. They were blindfolded and driven to the place
where they were to labor. There they were kept as
prisoners until the hidden treasure had been exam-
ined and verified when the hole was again sealed up
and the workmen were once more blindfolded and
taken back to Benares in the custody of an armed
escort. ' '
CHAPTER II
CAPTAIN KIDD IN FACT AND FICTION
DOOMED to an infamy undeserved, his name red-
dened with crimes he never committed, and made
wildly romantic by tales of treasure which he did
not bury, Captain William Kidd is fairly entitled to
the sympathy of posterity and the apologies of all
the ballad-makers and alleged historians who have
obscured the facts in a cloud of fable. For two cen-
turies his grisly phantom has stalked through the
legends and literature of the black flag as the king
of pirates and the most industrious depositor of ill-
gotten gold and jewels that ever wielded pick and
shovel. His reputation is simply prodigious, his
name has frightened children wherever English is
spoken, and the Kidd tradition, or myth, is still po-
tent to send treasure-seekers exploring and excavat-
ing almost every beach, cove, and headland between
Nova Scotia and the Gulf of Mexico.
Fate has played the strangest tricks imaginable
with the memory of this seventeenth century seafarer
who never cut a throat or made a victim walk the
plank, who was no more than a third or fourth rate
pirate in an era when this interesting profession
was in its heyday, and who was hanged at Execution
Dock for the excessively unromantic crime of crack-
ing the skull of his gunner with a wooden bucket.
As for the riches of Captain Kidd, the original
documents in his case, preserved among the state
26
Captain Kidd burying his Bible.
Carousing at Old Calabar River.
(From The Pirates' Own Book.)
CAPTAIN KIDD IN FACT AND FICTION 27
papers of the Public Record Office in London, relate
with much detail what booty he had and what he did
with it. Alas, they reveal the futility of the searches
after the stout sea-chest buried above high water
mark. The only authentic Kidd treasure was dug up
and inventoried more than two hundred years ago,
nor has the slightest clue to any other been found
since then.
These curious documents, faded and sometimes tat-
tered, invite the reader to thresh out his own con-
clusions as to how great a scoundrel Kidd really was,
and how far he was a scapegoat who had to be hanged
to clear the fair names of those noble lords in high
places who were partners and promoters of that most
unlucky sea venture in which Kidd, sent out to catch
pirates, was said to have turned amateur pirate him-
self rather than sail home empty-handed. Certain it
is that these words of the immortal ballad are
cruelly, grotesquely unjust :
I made a solemn vow, when I sail'd, when I sail'd,
I made a solemn vow when I sail'd.
I made a solemn vow, to God I would not bow,
Nor myself a prayer allow, as I sail'd.
I'd a Bible in my hand, when I sail'd, when I sail'd,
I'd a Bible in my hand when I sail'd.
I'd a Bible in my hand, by my father's great command,
And I sunk it in the sand when I sail'd.
In English fiction there are three treasure stories
of surpassing merit for ingenious contrivance and
convincing illusion. These are Stevenson's "Treas-
ure Island"; Poe's "Gold Bug"; and Washington
Irving 's "Wolfert Webber." Differing widely in
plot and literary treatment, each peculiar to the
28 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
genius of its author, they are blood kin, sprung from
a common ancestor, namely, the Kidd legend. Why
this half-hearted pirate who was neither red-handed
nor of heroic dimensions even in his badness, should
have inspired more romantic fiction than any other
character in American history is past all explaining.
Strangely enough, no more than a generation or
two after Kidd's sorry remnants were swinging in
chains for the birds to pick at, there began to cluster
around his memory the folk-lore and superstitions
colored by the supernatural which had been long cur-
rent in many lands in respect of buried treasure. It
was a kind of diabolism which still survives in many
a corner of the Atlantic coast where tales of Kidd
are told. Irving took these legends as he heard them
from the long-winded ancients of his own acquaint-
ance and wove them into delightfully entertaining
fiction with a proper seasoning of the ghostly and the
uncanny. His formidable hero is an old pirate with
a sea chest, aforetime one of Kidd's rogues, who ap-
pears at the Dutch tavern near Corlear's Hook, and
there awaits tidings of his shipmates and the hidden
treasure. It is well known that Stevenson employed
a strikingly similar character and setting to get
" Treasure Island" under way in the opening chap-
ter. As a literary coincidence, a comparison of these
pieces of fiction is of curious interest. The similar-
ity is to be explained on the ground that both authors
made use of the same material whose ground-work
was the Kidd legend in its various forms as it has
been commonly circulated.
Stevenson confessed in his preface:
"It is my debt to Washington Irving that exercises
my conscience, and justly so, for I believe plagiarism
was rarely carried farther. I chanced to pick up the
CAPTAIN KIDD IN FACT AND FICTION 29
1 Tales of a Traveler' some years ago, with a view
to an anthology of prose narrative, and the book flew
up and struck me: Billy Bones, his chest, the com-
pany in the parlor, the whole inner spirit and a good
deal of the material detail of my first chapters all
were there, all were the property of Washington Ir-
ving. But I had no guess of it then as I sat writing
by the fireside, in what seemed the springtides of a
somewhat pedestrian fancy ; nor yet day by day, after
lunch, as I read aloud my morning's work to the fam-
ily. It seemed to me original as sin; it seemed to
belong to me like my right eye. ' '
After the opening scenes the two stories veer off on
diverging tacks, the plot of Stevenson moving briskly
along to the treasure voyage with no inclusion of the
supernatural features of the Kidd tradition. Irving,
however, narrates at a leisurely pace all the gossip
and legend that were rife concerning Kidd in the
Manhattan of the worthy Knickerbockers. And he
could stock a treasure chest as cleverly as Stevenson,
for when Wolfert Webber dreamed that he had dis-
covered an immense treasure in the center of his
garden, * ' at every stroke of the spade he laid bare a
golden ingot; diamond crosses sparkled out of the
dust ; bags of money turned up their bellies, corpu-
lent with pieces of eight, or venerable doubloons ; and
chests, wedged close with moidores, ducats, and pis-
tareens, yawned before his ravished eyes and vom-
ited forth their glittering contents."
The warp and woof of "Wolfert Webber" is the
still persistent legend that Kidd buried treasure near
the Highlands of the lower Hudson, or that his ship,
the Quedah Merchant, was fetched from San Do-
mingo by his men after he left her and they sailed
her into the Hudson and there scuttled the vessel,
30 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
scattering ashore and dividing a vast amount of plun-
der, some of which was hidden nearby. Many years
ago a pamphlet was published, purporting to be true,
which was entitled, * * An Account of Some of the Tra-
ditions and Experiments Respecting Captain Kidd's
Piratical Vessel." In this it was soberly asserted
that Kidd in the Quedah Merchant was chased into
the North River by an English man-of-war, and find-
ing himself cornered he and his crew took to the
boats with what treasure they could carry, after set-
ting fire to the ship, and fled up the Hudson, thence
footing it through the wilderness to Boston.
The sunken ship was searched for from time to
time, and the explorers were no doubt assisted by
another pamphlet published early in the nineteenth
century which proclaimed itself as :
"A Wonderful Mesmeric Revelation, giving an Ac-
count of the Discovery and Description of a Sunken
Vessel, near Caldwell's Landing, supposed to be that
of the Pirate Kidd; including an Account of his
Character and Death, at a distance of nearly three
hundred miles from the place."
This psychic information came from a woman by
the name of Chester living in Lynn, Mass., who swore
she had never heard of the sunken treasure ship until
while in a trance she beheld its shattered timbers
covered with sand, and "bars of massive gold, heaps
of silver coin, and precious jewels including many
large and brilliant diamonds. The jewels had been
enclosed in shot bags of stout canvas. There were
also gold watches, like duck's eggs in a pond of
water, and the wonderfully preserved remains of a
very beautiful woman, with a necklace of diamonds
around her neck. ' '
As Irving takes pains to indicate, the basis of the
CAPTAIN KIDD IN FACT AND FICTION 31
legend of the sunken pirate ship came not from
Kidd but from another freebooter who flourished at
the same time. Says Peechy Prauw, daring to hold
converse with the old buccaneer in the tavern, "Kidd
never did bury money up the Hudson, nor indeed in
any of those parts, though many affirmed such to be
the fact. It was Bradish and others of the buc-
caneers who had buried money ; some said in Turtle
Bay, others on Long Island, others in the neighbor-
hood of Hell-gate."
This Bradish was caught by Governor Bellomont
and sent to England where he was hanged at Execu-
tion Dock. He had begun his career of crime afloat
as boatswain of a ship called the Adventure (not
Kidd's vessel). While on a voyage from London to
Borneo he helped other mutineers to take the vessel
from her skipper and go a-cruising as gentlemen of
fortune. They split up forty thousand dollars of
specie found on board, snapped up a few merchant-
men to fatten their dividends, and at length came to
the American coast and touched at Long Island.
The Adventure ship was abandoned, and there is
reason to think that she was taken possession of by
the crew of the purchased sloop, who worked her
around to New York and beached and sunk her after
stripping her of fittings and gear. Bradish and his
crew also cruised along the Sound for some time in
their small craft, landing and buying supplies at sev-
eral places, until nineteen of them were caught and
taken to Boston. That there should have been some
confusion of facts relating to Kidd and Bradish is
not at all improbable.
Among the Dutch of New Amsterdam was to be
found that world-wide superstition of the ghostly
guardians of buried treasure, and Irving interpolates
32 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
the distressful experience of Cobus Quackenbos "who
dug for a whole night and met with incredible dif-
ficulty, for as fast as he threw one shovelful of earth
out of the hole, two were thrown in by invisible
hands. He succeeded so far, however, as to uncover
an iron chest, when there was a terrible roaring,
ramping, and raging of uncouth figures about the
hole, and at length a shower of blows, dealt by in-
visible cudgels, fairly belabored him off of the for-
bidden ground. This Cobus Quackenbos had de-
clared on his death bed, so that there could not be
any doubt of it. He was a man that had devoted
many years of his life to money-digging, and it
was thought would have ultimately succeeded, had he
not died recently of a brain fever in the almshouse. ' '
A story built around the Kidd tradition but of a
wholly different kind is that masterpiece of curious
deductive analysis, "The Gold Bug," with its cryp-
togram and elaborate mystification. In making use
of an historical character to serve the ends of fic-
tion it is customary to make him move among the
episodes of the story with some regard for the prob-
abilities. For example, it would hardly do to have
Napoleon win the Battle of "Waterloo as the hero
of a novel. What really happened and what the
author imagines might have happened must be dove-
tailed with an eye to avoid contradicting the known
facts. Like almost everyone else, however, Poe took
the most reckless liberties with the career of poor
Captain Kidd and his buried treasure and cared not
a rap for historical evidence to the contrary. Al-
though Stevenson is ready to admit that his "skel-
eton is conveyed from Poe," the author of "Treas-
ure Island" is not wholly fair to himself. The
tradition that secretive pirates were wont to knock
CAPTAIN KIDD IN FACT AND FICTION 33
a shipmate or two on the head as a feature of the
program of burying treasure is as old as the hills.
The purpose was either to get rid of the witnesses
who had helped dig the hole, or to cause the spot to
be properly haunted by .ghosts as an additional
precaution against the discovery of the hoard.
What Stevenson "conveyed" from Poe was the
employment of a skeleton to indicate the bearings
and location of the treasure, although, to be accurate,
it was a skull that figured in "The Gold Bug."
Otherwise, in the discovery of the remains of slain
pirates, both were using a stock incident of buried
treasure lore most generally fastened upon the un-
fortunate Captain Kidd.
Most of the treasure legends of the Atlantic coast
are fable and moonshine, with no more foundation
than what somebody heard from his grandfather
who may have dreamed that Captain Kidd or Black-
beard once landed in a nearby cove. The treasure
seeker needs no evidence, however, and with him
"faith is the substance of things hoped for. ' ' There
is a marsh of the Penobscot river, a few miles in-
land from the bay of that name, which has been in-
defatigably explored for more than a century. A
native of a statistical turn of mind not long ago ex-
pressed himself in this common-sense manner:
"Thousands of tons of soil have been shovelled
over time and again. I figure that these treasure
hunters have handled enough earth in turning up
Codlead Marsh to build embankments and fill cuts for
a railroad grade twenty miles long. In other words,
if these lunatics that have tried to find Kidd's money
had hired out with railroad contractors, they could
have earned thirty thousand dollars at regular day
wages instead of the few battered old coins discov-
34 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
ered in 1798 which started all this terrible waste
of energy."
The most convincing evidence of the existence of
a pirates' rendezvous and hoard has been found on
Oak Island, Nova Scotia. In fact, this is the true
treasure story, par excellence, of the whole Atlantic
coast, with sufficient mystery to give it precisely the
proper flavor. Local tradition has long credited
Captain Kidd with having been responsible for the
indubitable remains of piratical activity, but it has
been proved that Kidd went nowhere near Nova
Scotia after he came sailing home from the East
Indies, and the industrious visitors to Oak Island
are therefore unknown to history.
The island has a sheltered haven called Mahone
Bay, snugly secluded from the Atlantic, with deep
water, and a century ago the region was wild and un-
settled. Near the head of the bay is a small cove
which was visited in the year of 1795 by three young
men named Smith, MacGinnis, and Vaughan who
drew their canoes ashore and explored at random
the noble groves of oaks. Soon they came to a
spot whose peculiar appearance aroused their curi-
osity. The ground had been cleared many years
before; this was indicated by the second growth of
trees and the kind of vegetation which is foreign to
the primeval condition of the soil. In the center
of the little clearing was a huge oak whose bark
was gashed with markings made by an axe. One of
the stout lower branches had been sawn off at some
distance from the trunk and to this natural der-
rick-arm had been attached a heavy block and tackle
as shown by the furrowed scar in the bark. Directly
beneath this was a perceptible circular depression
of the turf, perhaps a dozen feet in diameter.
CAPTAIN KIDD IN FACT AND FICTION 35
The three young men were curious, and made fur-
ther investigation. The tide chanced to be uncom-
monly low, and while ranging along the beach of the
cove they discovered a huge iron ring-bolt fastened
to a rock which was invisible at ordinary low water.
They reasonably surmised that this had been a moor-
ing place in days gone by. Not far distant a boat-
swain's whistle of an ancient pattern and a copper
coin bearing the date of 1713 were picked up.
The trio scented pirates' treasure and shortly re-
turned to the cove to dig in the clearing hard by the
great oak. It was soon found that they were exca-
vating in a clearly denned shaft, the walls of which
were of the solid, undisturbed earth in which the
cleavage of other picks and shovels could be distin-
guished. The soil within the shaft was much looser
and easily removed. Ten feet below the surface
they came to a covering of heavy oak plank which
was ripped out with much difficulty.
At a depth of twenty feet another layer of plank-
ing was uncovered, and digging ten feet deeper, a
third horizontal bulkhead of timber was laid bare.
The excavation was now thirty feet down, and the
three men had done all they could without a larger
force, hoisting machinery, and other equipment.
The natives of Mahone Bay, however, were singularly
reluctant to aid the enterprise. Hair-raising stories
were afloat of ghostly guardians, of strange cries,
of unearthly fires that flickered along the cove, and
all that sort of thing. Superstition effectually forti-
fied the place, and those bold spirits, Smith, Mac-
Ginnis, and Vaughan were forced to abandon their
task for lack of reinforcements.
Half a dozen years later a young physician of
Truro, Dr. Lynds, visited Oak Island, having got
36 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
wind of the treasure story, and talked with the three
men aforesaid. He took their report seriously, made
an investigation of his own, and straightway or-
ganized a company backed by considerable capital.
Prominent persons of Truro and the neighborhood
were among the investors, including Colonel Kobert
Archibald, Captain David Archibald, and Sheriff
Harris. A gang of laborers was mustered at the
cove, and the dirt began to fly. The shaft was
opened to a depth of ninety-five feet, and, as before,
some kind of covering, or significant traces thereof,
was disclosed every ten feet or so. One layer was
of charcoal spread over a matting of a substance
resembling cocoa fibre, while another was of putty,
some of which was used in glazing the windows of
a house then building on the nearby coast.
Ninety feet below the surface, the laborers found
a large flat stone or quarried slab, three feet long
and sixteen inches wide, upon which was chiselled
the traces of an inscription. This stone was used
in the jamb of a fireplace of a new house belong-
ing to Smith, and was later taken to Halifax in the
hope of having the mysterious inscription deciphered.
One wise man declared that the letters read, "Ten
feet below two million pounds lie buried," but this
verdict was mostly guess-work. The stone is still
in Halifax, where it was used for beating leather in
a book-binder's shop until the inscription had been
worn away.
When the workmen were down ninety-five feet,
they came to a wooden platform covering the shaft.
Until then the hole had been clear of water, but over-
night it filled within twenty-five feet of the top.
Persistent efforts were made to bale out the flood
but with such poor success that the shaft was aban-
CAPTAIN KIDD IN FACT AND FICTION 37
doned and another sunk nearby, the plan being to
tunnel into the first pit and thereby drain it and get
at the treasure. The second shaft was driven to a
depth of a hundred and ten feet, but while the tunnel
was in progress the water broke through and made
the laborers flee for their lives. The company had
spent all its money, and the results were so dis-
couraging that the work was abandoned.
It was not until 1849 that another attempt was
made to fathom the meaning of the extraordinary
mystery of Oak Island. Dr. Lynds and Vaughan
were still alive and their narratives inspired the or-
ganization of another treasure-seeking company.
Vaughan easily found the old "Money Pit" as it was
called, and the original shaft was opened and cleared
to a depth of eighty-six feet when an inrush of water
stopped the undertaking. Again the work ceased
for lack of adequate pumping machinery, and it was
decided to use a boring apparatus such as was em-
ployed in prospecting for coal. A platform was
rigged in the old shaft, and the large auger bit its
way in a manner described by the manager of the
enterprise as follows:
"The platform was struck at ninety-eight feet,
just as the old diggers found it. After going
through this platform, which was five inches thick
and proved to be of spruce, the auger dropped
twelve inches and then went through four inches of
oak ; then it went through twenty-two inches of metal
in pieces, but the auger failed to take any of it ex-
cept three links resembling an ancient watch-chain.
It then went through eight inches of oak, which was
thought to be the bottom of the first box and the
top of the next ; then throught twenty-two inches of
metal the same as before ; then four inches of oak and
38 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
six inches of spruce, then into clay seven feet without
striking anything. In the next boring, the platform
was struck as before at ninety-eight feet; passing
through this, the auger fell about eighteen inches,
and came in contact with, as supposed, the side of a
cask. The flat chisel revolving close to the side of
the cask gave it a jerk and irregular motion. On
withdrawing the auger several splinters of oak, such
as might come from the side of an oak stave, and
a small quantity of a brown fibrous substance re-
sembling the husk of a cocoa-nut, were brought up.
The distance between the upper and lower plat-
forms was found to be six feet."
In the summer of 1850 a third shaft was sunk
just to the west of the Money Pit, but this also
filled with water which was discovered to be salt
and effected by the rise and fall of the tide in the
cove. It was reasoned that if a natural inlet ex-
isted, those who had buried the treasure must have
encountered the inflow which would have made their
undertaking impossible. Therefore the pirates must
have driven some kind of a tunnel or passage from
the cove with the object of flooding out any sub-
sequent intruders. Search was made along the
beach, and near where the ring-bolt was fastened in
the rock a bed of the brown, fibrous material was
uncovered and beneath it a mass of small rock
unlike the surrounding sand and gravel.
It was decided to build a coffer-dam around this
place which appeared to be a concealed entrance
to a tunnel connecting the cove with the Money Pit.
In removing the rock, a series of well-constructed
drains was found, extending from a common center,
and fashioned of carefully laid stone. Before the
coffer-dam was finished, it was overflowed by a very
CAPTAIN KIDD IN FACT AND FICTION 39
high tide and collapsed under pressure. The ex-
plorers did not rebuild it but set to work sinking a
shaft which was intended to cut into this tunnel
and dam the inlet from the cove. One failure, how-
ever, followed on the heels of another, and shaft
after shaft was dug only to be caved in or filled by
salt water. In one of these was found an oak
plank, several pieces of timber bearing the marks of
tools, and many hewn chips. A powerful pumping
engine was installed, timber cribbing put into the
bottom of the shafts, and a vast amount of clay
dumped on the beach in an effort to block up the
inlet of the sea-water tunnel. Baffled in spite of all
this exertion, the treasure-seekers spent their money
and had to quit empty-handed.
Forty years passed, and the crumbling earth al-
most filled the numerous and costly excavations and
the grass grew green under the sentinel oaks. Then,
in 1896, the cove was once more astir with boats and
the shore populous with toilers. The old records
had been overhauled and their evidence was so allur-
ing that fresh capital was subscribed and many
shares eagerly snapped up in Truro, Halifax and
elsewhere. The promoters became convinced that
former attempts had failed because of crude appli-
ances and insufficient engineering skill, and this time
the treasure was sought in up-to-date fashion.
Almost twenty deep shafts were dug, one after the
other, in a ring about the Money Pit, and tunnels
driven in a net-work. It was the purpose of the
engineers to intercept the underground channel and
also to drain the pirates' excavation. Hundreds of
pounds of dynamite were used and thousands of
feet of heavy timber. Further traces of the work of
the ancient contrivers of this elaborate hiding-place
40 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
were discovered, but the funds of the company were
exhausted before the secret of the Money Pit could
be revealed.
Considerable boring was done under the direction
of the manager, Captain Welling. The results con-
firmed the previous disclosures achieved by the
auger. At a depth of one hundred and twenty-six
feet, Captain Welling 's crew drilled through oak
wood, and struck a piece of iron past which they
could not drive the encasing pipe. A smaller auger
was then used and at one hundred and fifty-three
feet cement was found of a thickness of seven inches,
covering another layer of oak. Beyond was some
soft metal, and the drill brought to the surface a
small fragment of sheepskin parchment upon which
was written in ink the syllable, "vi" or "wi."
Other curious samples, wood and iron, were fished
up, but the ''soft metal," presumed to be gold or
silver, refused to cling to the auger. It was of
course taken for granted that the various layers of
oak planking and spruce were chests containing the
treasure.
During the various borings, seven different chests
or casks, or whatever they may be, have been en-
countered. It seems incredible that any pirates or
buccaneers known to the American coast should
have been at such prodigious pains to conceal their
plunder as to dig a hole a good deal more than a
hundred feet deep, connect it with the sea by an
underground passage, and safeguard it by many lay-
ers of timber, cement, and other material. Possibly
some of the famous freebooters of the Spanish Main
in Henry Morgan's time might have achieved such
a task, but Nova Scotia was a coast unknown to
them and thousands of miles from their track.
Poor Kidd had neither the men, the treasure, nor
the opportunity to make such a memorial of his
career as this.
Quite recently a new company was formed to grap-
ple with the secret of Oak Island which has already
swallowed at least a hundred thousand dollars in
labor and machinery. For more than a century,
sane, hard-headed Nova Scotians have tried to reach
the bottom of the " Money Pit," and as an attractive
speculation it has no rival in the field of treasure-
seeking. There may be documents somewhere in ex-
istence, a chart or memorandum mouldering in a sea
chest in some attic or cellar of France, England,
or Spain, that will furnish the key to this rarely
picturesque and tantalizing puzzle. The unbeliever
has only to go to Nova Scotia in the summer time
and seek out Oak Island, which is reached by way
of the town of Chester, to find the deeply pitted area
of the treasure hunt, and very probably engines and
workmen busy at the fine old game of digging for
pirates' gold.
Let us now give the real Captain Kidd his due,
painting him no blacker than the facts warrant, and
at the same time uncover the true story of his treas-
ure, which is the plum in the pudding. He had been
a merchant shipmaster of brave and honorable re-
pute in an age when every deep-water voyage was
a hazard of privateers and freebooters of all flags,
or none at all. In one stout square-rigger after an-
other, well armed and heavily manned, he had sailed
out of the port of New York, in which he dwelt as
early as 1689. He had a comfortable, even pros-
perous home in Liberty Street, was married to a
widow of good family, and was highly thought of by
the Dutch and English merchants of the town. A
42 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
shrewd trader who made money for his owners, he
was also a fighting seaman of such proven mettle that
he was given command of privateers which cruised
along the coasts of the Colonies and harried the
French in the West Indies. His excellent reputa-
tion and character are attested by official documents.
In the records of the Proceedings of the Provincial
Assembly of New York is the following entry under
date of April 18, 1691 :
''Gabriel Monville, Esq. and Thomas Willet, Esq.
are appointed to attend the House of Representa-
tives and acquaint them of the many good services
done to this Province by Captain William Kidd in
his attending here with his Vessels before His Ex-
cellency's 1 arrival, and that it would be acceptable
to His Excellency and this Board that they consider
of some suitable reward to him for his good
services."
This indicates that Captain Kidd had been in com-
mand of a small squadron engaged in protecting the
commerce of the colony. On May 14, the follow-
ing was adopted by the House of Representatives :
"Ordered, that His Excellency be addressed unto,
to order the Receiver General to pay to Captain
William Kidd, One Hundred and Fifty Pounds cur-
rent money of this Province, as a suitable reward
for the many good services done to this Province."
In June, only a month after this, Captain Kidd
was asked by the Colony of Massachusetts to punish
the pirates who were pestering the shipping of Bos-
ton and Salem. The negotiations were conducted in;
this wise:
1 Governor Henry Sloughter.
CAPTAIN KIDD IN FACT AND FICTION 43
By the Governor and Council.
Proposals offered to Captain Kidd and Captain Walking-
ton to encourage their going forth in their Majesties'
Service to suppress an Enemy Privateer now upon this
Coast.
That they have liberty to beat up drums for forty men
apiece to go forth on this present Expedition, not taking
any Children or Servants without their Parents' or Mas-
ters' Consent. A list of the names of such as go in the
said Vessels to be presented to the Governor before their
departure.
That they cruise upon the Coast for the space of ten
or fifteen days in search of the said Privateer, and then
come in again and land the men supplied them from
hence.
That what Provisions shall be expended within the said
time, for so many men as are in both the said Vessels, be
made good to them on their return, in case they take no
purchase ; 2 but if they shall take the Privateer, or any
other Vessels, then only a proportion of Provisions for so
many men as they take in here.
If any of our men happen to be wounded in the en-
gagement with the Privateer, that they be cured at the
public charge.
That the men supplied from hence be proportionable
sharers with the other men belonging to said Vessels, of
all purchase that shall be taken.
Besides the promise of a Gratuity to the Captains,
Twenty Pounds apiece in money. ~
Boston, June 8th, 1691.
To this thrifty set of terms, Captain Kidd made
reply :
"Imprimis, To have forty men, with their arms,
provisions, and ammunition.
2 Prizes.
44 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
" 2dly. All the men that shall be wounded, which
have been put in by the Country, shall be put on
shore, and the Country to take care of them. And
if so fortunate as to take the Pirate and her prizes,
then to bring them to Boston.
"3rdly. For myself, to have One Hundred Pounds
in money; Thirty Pounds thereof to be paid down,
the rest upon my return to Boston ; and if we bring
in said Ship and her Prizes, then the same to be di-
vided amongst our men.
"4thly. The Provisions put on board must be ten
barrels Pork and Beef, ten barrels of Flour, two
hogsheads of Peas, and one barrel of Gunpowder
for the great guns.
" 5ihly. That I will cruise on the coast for ten
days' time; and if so that he is gone off the coast,
that I cannot hear of him, I will then, at my return,
take care and set what men on shore that I have had,
and are willing to leave me or the Ship. ' '
These records serve to show in what esteem Cap-
tain Kidd was held by the highest officials of the
Colonies. Such men as he were sailing out of Bos-
ton, New York, and Salem to trade in uncharted seas
on remote coasts and fight their way home again with
rich cargoes. They hammered out the beginnings
of a mighty commerce for the New World and cre-
ated, by the stern stress of circumstances, as fine a
race of seamen as ever filled cabin and forecastle.
In the year 1695, Captain Kidd chanced to be an-
chored in London port in his brigantine Antigoa,
busy with loading merchandise and shipping a crew
for the return voyage across the Atlantic. Now,
Eichard Coote, Earl of Bellomont, an ambitious and
energetic Irishman, had just then been appointed
royal governor of the Colonies of New York and
4)
<u o
O
jl
H
CAPTAIN KIDD IN FACT AND FICTION 45
Massachusetts, and he was particularly bent on sup-
pressing the swarm of pirates who infested the
American coast and waxed rich on the English com-
merce of the Indian Ocean. Their booty was carried
to Rhode Island, New York, and Boston, even from
far-away Madagascar, and many a colonial mer-
chant, outwardly the pattern of respectability, was
secretly trafficking in this plunder.
"I send you, my Lord, to New York," said King
William III to Bellomont, "because an honest and
intrepid man is wanted to put these abuses down,
and because I believe you to be such a man."
Thereupon Bellomont asked for a frigate to send
in chase of the bold sea rogues, but the king referred
him to the Lords of the Admiralty VhO discovered
sundry obstacles bound in red tape, the fact being
that official England was at all times singularly in-
different, or covertly hostile, toward the maritime
commerce of her American colonies. Being denied
a man-of-war, Bellomont conceived the plan of
privately equipping an armed ship as a syndicate
enterprise without cost to the government. The pro-
moters were to divide the swag captured from pirates
as dividends on their investment.
The enterprise was an alluring one, and six thou-
sand pounds sterling were subscribed by Bellomont
and his friends, including such illustrious personages
as Somers, the Lord Chancellor and leader of the
Whig party; the Earl of Shrewsbury, the Earl of
Orford, First Lord of the Admiralty; the Earl of
Romney, and Sir Richard Harrison, a wealthy mer-
chant. According to Bishop Burnet, it was the king
who "proposed managing it by a private enterprise,
and said he would lay down three thousand pounds
himself, and recommended it to his Ministers to find
46 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
out the rest. In compliance with this, the Lord
Somers, the Earl of Orford, Romney, Bellomont and
others, contributed the whole expense, for the King
excused himself by reason of other accidents, and
did not advance the sum he had promised."
Macauley, discussing in his "History of England"
the famous scandal which later involved these part-
ners of Kidd, defends them in this spirited fashion :
"The worst that could be imputed even to Bello-
mont, who had drawn in all the rest, was that he had
been led into a fault by his ardent zeal for the public
service, and by the generosity of a nature as little
prone to suspect as to devise villainies. His friends
in England might surely be pardoned for giving
credit to his recommendations. It is highly prob-
able that the motive which induced some of them to
aid his designs was a genuine public spirit. But if
we suppose them to have had a view to gain, it would
be legitimate gain. Their conduct was the very op-
posite of corrupt. Not only had they taken no
money. They had disbursed money largely, and had
disbursed it with the certainty that they should never
be reimbursed unless the outlay proved beneficial to
the public."
It would be easy to pick flaws in this argument.
Bellomont 's partners, no matter how public spirited,
hoped to reimburse themselves, and something over,
as receivers of stolen goods. It was a dashing spec-
ulation, characteristic of its century, and neither bet-
ter nor worse than the privateering of that time.
,What raised the subsequent row in Parliament and
made of Kidd a political issue and a party scape-
goat, was the fact that his commission was given
under the Great Seal of England, thus stamping a
private business with the public sanction of His
CAPTAIN KIDD IN FACT AND FICTION 47
Majesty's Government. For this Somers, as Lord
Chancellor, was responsible, and it later became a
difficult transaction for his partisans to defend.
There was in London, at that time, one Robert
Livingston, founder of a family long notable in the
Colony and State of New York, a man of large prop-
erty and solid station. He was asked to recommend
a shipmaster fitted for the task in hand and named
Captain Kidd, who was reluctant to accept. His cir-
cumstances were prosperous, he had a home and
family in New York, and he was by no means anxious
to go roving after pirates who were pretty certain
to fight for their necks. His consent was won by the
promise of a share of the profits (Kidd was a canny
Scot by birth) and by the offer of Livingston to be
his security and his partner in the venture.
An elaborate contract was drawn up with the title
of "Articles of Agreement made this Tenth day of
October in the year of Our Lord, 1695, between the
Eight Honorable Richard, Earl of Bellomont, of the
one part, and Robert Livingston Esq., and Captain
William Kidd of the other part. ' '
In the first article, "the said Earl of Bellomont
doth covenant and agree at his proper charge to pro-
cure from the King's Majesty or from the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty, as the case may re-
quire, one or more Commissions impowering him,
the said Captain Kidd, to act against the King's
enemies, and to take prizes from them as a private
man-of-war, in the usual manner, and also to fight
with, conquer and subdue pyrates, and to take them
and their goods, with such large and beneficial powers
and clauses in such commissions as may be most
proper and effectual in such cases."
Bellomont agreed to pay four-fifths of the cost of
48 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
the ship, with its furnishings and provisions, Kidd
and Livingston to contribute the remainder, "in pur-
suance of which Bellomont was to pay down 1600
pounds on or before the 6th of November, in order
to the speedy buying of said ship. ' ' The Earl agreed
to pay such further sums as should "complete and
make up the said four parts of five of the charge of
the said ship's apparel, furniture, and victualling,
within seven weeks after date of the agreement,"
and Kidd and Livingston bound themselves to do like-
wise in respect of their fifth part of the expense.
Other articles of the agreement read :
"7. The said Captain Kidd doth covenant and
agree to procure and take with him on board of the
said ship, one hundred mariners, or seamen, or there-
about, and to make what reasonable and convenient
speed he can to set out to sea with the said ship, and
to sail to such parts and places where he may meet
with the said Py rates, and to use his utmost endeavor
to meet with, subdue, and conquer the said Pyrates,
and to take from them their goods, merchandise, and
treasures ; also to take what prizes he can from the
King's enemies, and forthwith to make the best of
his way to Boston in New England, and that without
touching at any other port or harbor whatsoever, or
without breaking bulk, or diminishing any part of
what he shall so take or obtain; (of which he shall
make oath in case the same is desired by the said
Earl of Bellomont), and there to deliver the same
into the hands or possession of the said Earl.
"8. The said Captain Kidd doth agree that the
contract and bargain which he will make with the
said ship's crew shall be no purchase, 3 no pay, and
not otherwise; and that the share and proportion
a Prizes.
CAPTAIN KIDD IN FACT AND FICTION 49
which his said crew shall, by such contract, have of
such prizes, goods, merchandise and treasure, as he
shall take as prize, or from any Pyrates, shall not at
the most exceed a fourth part of the same, and shall
be less than a fourth part, in case the same may rea-
sonably and conveniently be agreed upon.
"9: Robert Livingston Esq. and Captain William
Kidd agree that if they catch no Pyrates, they will
refund to the said Earl of Bellomont all the money
advanced by him on or before March 25th, 1697, and
they will keep the said ship."
Article 10 allotted the captured goods and treas-
ures, after deducting no more than one-fourth for
the crew. The remainder was to be divided into five
equal parts, of which Bellomont was to receive four
parts, leaving a fifth to be shared between Kidd and
Livingston. The stake of Captain Kidd was there-
fore to be three one-fortieths of the whole, or seven
and one-half per cent, of the booty.
It is apparent from these singular articles of agree-
ment that Robert Livingston, in the role of Kidd's
financial backer, was willing to run boldly speculative
chances of success, and was also confident that a rich
crop of "pyrates" could be caught for the seeking.
If Kidd should sail home empty-handed, then these
two partners stood to lose a large amount, by virtue
of the contract which provided that Bellomont and
his partners must be reimbursed for their outlay,
less the value of the ship itself. Livingston also
gave bonds in the sum of ten thousand pounds that
Kidd would be faithful to his trust and obedient to
his orders, which in itself is sufficient to show that
this shipmaster was a man of the best intentions,
and of thoroughly proven worth.
Captain Kidd's privateering commission was is-
50 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
sued by the High Court of Admiralty on December
11, 1695, and licensed and authorized him to "set
forth in war-like manner in the said ship called the
Adventure Galley, under his own command, and
therewith, by force of arms, to apprehend, seize, and
take the ships, vessels, and goods belonging to the
French King and his subjects, or inhabitants within
the dominion of the said French King, and such
other ships, vessels, and goods as are or shall be
liable to confiscation," etc.
This document was of the usual tenor, but in ad-
dition, Captain Kidd was granted a special royal
commission, under the Great Seal, which is given
herewith because it so intimately concerned the later
fortunes of his noble partners :
WILLIAM REX.
WILLIAM THE THIRD, by the Grace of God, King
of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defender of
the Faith, etc. To our trusty and well beloved Captain
William Kidd, Commander of the ship Adventure Galley,
or to any other, the commander of the same for the time
being, GREETING:
Whereas, we are informed that Captain Thomas Tew,
John Ireland, Capt. Thomas Wake, and Capt. William
Maze, and other subjects, natives, or inhabitants of New
York and elsewhere, in our plantations in America, have
associated themselves with divers other wicked and ill-
disposed persons, and do, against the law of nations, com-
mit many and great piracies, robberies, and depredations
on the seas upon the parts of America and in other parts,
to the great hindrance and discouragement of trade and
navigation, and to the great danger and hurt of our loving
subjects, our allies, and of all others navigating the seas
upon their lawful occasions,
NOW, KNOW YE, that we being desirous to prevent
the aforesaid mischief, and as much as in us lies, to bring
the said pirates, freebooters, and sea rovers to justice, have
thought fit, and do hereby give and grant to the said
Robert Kidd (to whom our Commissioners for exercising
the office of Lord High Admiral of England have granted
a commission as a private man-of-war, bearing date of
the llth day of December, 1695), and unto the Commander
of the said ship for the time being, and unto the Officers,
Mariners, and others which shall be under your command,
full power and authority to apprehend, seize, and take
into your custody, as well the said Captain Tew, 'John
Ireland, Capt. Thomas Wake, and Capt. William Maze,
or Mace, and all such pirates, freebooters, and sea rovers,
being either our subjects or of other nations associated
with them, which you shall meet with upon the seas or
coasts of America, or upon any other seas or coasts, with
all their ships and vessels, and all such merchandizes,
money, goods, and wares as shall be found on board, or
with them, in case they shall willingly yield themselves up,
but if they will not yield without fighting, then you are
by force to compel to yield.
And we also require you to bring, or cause to be brought,
such pirates, freebooters, or sea rovers as you shall seize,
to a legal trial to the end that they may be proceeded
against according to the law in such cases. And we do
hereby command all our Officers, Ministers, and others our
loving subjects whatsoever to be aiding and assisting you
in the premises, and we do hereby enjoin you to keep an
exact journal of your proceedings in execution of the
premises, and set down the names of such pirates and of
their officers and company, and the names of such ships
and vessels as you shall by virtue of these presents take
and seize, and the quantity of arms, ammunition, pro-
visions, and lading of such ships, and the true value of
the same, as near as you judge.
And we do hereby strictly charge and command, and
you will answer the contrary to your peril, that you do not,
in any manner, offend or molest our friends and allies,
52 .THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
their ships or subjects, by colour or pretense of these pres-
ents, or the authority thereof granted. In witness whereof,
we have caused our Great Seal of England to be affixed
to these presents. Given at our Court in Kensington, the
26th day of January, 1696, in the seventh Year of our
Reign.
It was privately understood that the King was to
receive one-tenth of the proceeds of the voyage, al-
though this stipulation does not appear in the articles
of agreement. By a subsequent grant from the
Crown, this understanding was publicly ratified and
all money and property taken from pirates, except
the King's tenth, was to be made over to the owners
of the Adventure Galley, to wit, Bellomont and his
partners, and Kidd and Livingston, as they had
agreed among themselves.
The Adventure Galley, the ship selected for the
cruise, was of 287 tons and thirty-four guns, a power-
ful privateer for her day, which Kidd fitted out at
Plymouth, England. Finding difficulty in recruiting
a full crew of mettlesome lads, he sailed from that
port for New York in April of 1696, with only seventy
hands. While anchored in the Hudson, he increased
his company to 155 men, many of them the riff-raff
of the water-front, deserters, wastrels, brawlers, and
broken seamen who may have sailed under the black
flag aforetime. It was a desperate venture, the pay
was to be in shares of the booty taken, "no prizes, no
money," and sober, respectable sailors looked
askance at it. Kidd was impatient to make an offing.
Livingston and Bellomont were chafing at the delay,
and he had to ship what men he could find at short
notice.
The Adventure Galley cruised first among the
West Indies, honestly in quest of "pirates, freeboot-
CAPTAIN KIDD IN FACT AND FICTION 53
ers and sea rovers," and not falling in with any of
these gentry, Kidd took his departure for the Cape
of Good Hope and the Indian Ocean. This was in
accordance with his instructions, for in the preamble
of the articles of agreement it was stated that ' ' cer-
tain persons did some time since depart from New
England, Ehode Island, New York, and other parts
in America and elsewhere with an intention to pyrate
and to commit spoyles and depredations in the Red
Sea and elsewhere, and to return with such riches
and goods as they should get to certain places by
them agreed upon, of which said persons and places
the said Captain Kidd hath notice."
This long voyage was soundly planned. Madagas-
car was the most notorious haunt of pirates in the
world. Their palm-thatched villages fringed its
beaches and the blue harbors sheltered many sail
which sallied forth to play havoc with the precious
argosies of the English, French, and Dutch East
India Companies. Kidd hoped to win both favor and
fortune by ridding these populous trade routes of
the perils that menaced every honest skipper.
When, at length, Madagascar was sighted, the Ad-
venture Galley was nine months from home, and not
a prize had been taken. Kidd was short of pro-
visions and of money with which to purchase sup-
plies. His crew was in a grumbling, mutinous tem-
per, as they rammed their tarry fists into their empty
pockets and stared into the empty hold. The captain
quieted them with promises of dazzling spoil, and the
Adventure Galley vainly skirted the coast, only to
find that some of the pirates had got wind of her
coming while others were gone a-cruising. From the
crew of a wrecked French ship, Kidd took enough
gold to buy provisions in a Malabar port. This deed
54 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
was hardly generous, but by virtue of his letters of
marque Kidd was authorized to despoil a Frenchman
wherever he caught him.
After more futile cruising to and fro, Kidd fell
from grace and crossed the very tenuous line that
divided privateering from piracy in his century.
His first unlawful capture was a small native vessel
owned by Aden merchants and commanded by one
Parker, an Englishman, the mate being a Portu-
guese. The plunder was no more than a bale or two
of pepper and coffee, and a few gold pieces. It
was petty larceny committed to quiet a turbulent
crew and to pay operating expenses. Parker made
loud outcry ashore and a little later Kidd was over-
taken by a vengeful Portuguese man-of-war off the
port of Carawar. The two ships hammered each
other with broad-sides and bow-chasers six hours
on end, when Kidd went his way with several men
wounded.
Sundry other small craft were made to stand and
deliver after this without harm to their crews, but
no treasure was lifted until Kidd ventured to molest
the shipping of the Great Mogul. That fabled poten-
tate of Asia whose empire had been found by Gen-
ghis Khan and extended by Tamerlane, and whose
gorgeous palaces were at Samarcand, had a mighty
commerce between the Bed Sea and China, and his
rich freights also swelled the business of the Eng-
lish East India Company. His ships were often
convoyed by the English and the Dutch. It was
from two of these vessels that Kidd took his treas-
ure and thus achieved the brief career which rove
the halter around his neck.
The first of these ships of the Great Mogul he
looted and burned, and to the second, the Quedah
CAPTAIN KIDD IN FACT AND FICTION 55
Merchant, he transferred his flag after forsaking the
leaky, unseaworthy Adventure Galley on the Mada-
gascar coast. Out of this capture he took almost a
half million dollars' worth of gold, jewels, plate,
silks, and other precious merchandise of which his
crew ran away with by far the greater share, leav-
ing Kidd with about one hundred thousand dollars
in booty.
It was charged that while on this coast Kidd
amicably consorted with a very notorious pirate
named Culliford, instead of blowing him out of the
water as he properly deserved. This was the most
damning feature of his indictment, and there is no
doubt that he sold Culliford cannon and munitions
and received him in his cabin. On the other hand,
Kidd declared that he would have attacked the pirate
but he was overpowered by his mutinous crew who
caroused with Culliford 's rogues and were wholly
out of hand. And Kidd's story is lent the color
of truth by the fact that ninety-five of his men de-
serted to join the Mocha Frigate of Culliford and
sail with him under the Jolly Eoger. It is fair to
assume that if William Kidd had been the success-
ful pirate he is portrayed, his own rascals would
have stayed with him in the Quedah Merchant which
was a large and splendidly armed and equipped ship
of between four and five hundred tons.
Abandoned by two-thirds of his crew, and unable
to find trustworthy men to fill their places, Kidd
was in sore straits and decided to sail for home
and square accounts with Bellomont, trusting to his
powerful friends to keep him out of trouble. In the
meantime, the Great Mogul and the English East
India Company had made vigorous complaint and
Kidd was proclaimed a pirate. The royal pardon
56 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
was offered all pirates that should repent of their
sins, barring Kidd who was particularly excepted
by name. Many a villain whose hands were red
with the slaughter of ships' crews was thus of-
ficially forgiven, while Kidd who had killed no man
barring that mutineer, the gunner, William Moore,
was hunted in every sea, with a price on his head.
On April 1, 1699, after an absence of almost two
years, Kidd arrived at Anguilla, 4 his first port of
call in the West Indies, and went ashore to buy pro-
visions. There he learned, to his consternation,
that he had been officially declared a pirate and stood
in peril of his life. The people refused to have
any dealings with him, and he sailed to St. Thomas,
and thence to Curacoa where he was able to get sup-
plies through the friendship of an English merchant
of Antigua, Henry Bolton by name, who was not
hampered by scruples or fear of the authorities.
Under date of February 3, the Governor of Bar-
badoes had written to Mr. Vernon, Secretary of the
Lords of the Council of Trade and Plantations in
London :
"I received Yours of the 23rd. of November in
relation to the apprehending your notorious Pyrat
Kidd. He has not been heard of in these Seas of
late, nor do I believe he will think it safe to venture
himself here, where his Villainies are so well known ;
but if he does, all the dilligence and application to
find him out and seize him shall be used on my part
that can be, with the assistance of a heavy, crazy
Vessell, miscalled a Cruizer, that is ordered to at-
tend upon me."
* Anguilla, or Snake Island, is a small island of the Leeward
Group of the West Indies, considerably east of Porto Rico, and
near St. Martin. It belongs to England.
CAPTAIN KIDD IN FACT AND FICTION 57
The first news of Kidd was received from the of-
ficials of the island of Nevis who wrote Secretary
Vernon on May 18, 1699, as follows:
Your letter of 23rd, November last in relation to that
notorious Pirate Capt. Kidd came safe to our hands . . .
have sent copies thereof to the Lieut, or Deputy Governor
of each respective island under this Government: since
which we have had this following acct. of the said Kidd :
That he lately came from Mallagascoe, 5 in a large Gen-
nowese vessell of about foure hundred Tons; Thirty Guns
mounted and eighty men. And in his way from those
partes- his men mutiny 'd and thirty of them lost their
lives : That his Vessell is very leaky ; and that several of
his men have deserted him soe that he has not above five
and twenty or thirty hands on board. About twenty days
since he landed at Anguilla . . . where he tarry 'd
about foure hours ; but being refused Succour sailed thence
for the Island of St. Thomas . . . and anchored off
that harbour three dayes, in which time he treated with
them alsoe for relief ; but the Governor absolutely Denying
him, he bore away further to Leeward (as tis believ'd)
for Porto Rico or Crabb Island. Upon which advice We
forthwith ordered his Majestie's Ship Queensborougli, now
attending this Government, Capt. Rupert Billingsly, Com-
mander, to make the best of his way after him. And in
case he met with his men, vessell and effects, to bring
them upp hither.
That no Imbezzlem't may be made, but that they may
be secured until we have given you advice thereof, and
his Majestie's pleasure relating thereto can be knowne, we
shall by the first conveyance transmitt ye like account of
him to the Governor of Jamaica. So that if he goes far-
ther to Leeward due care may be taken to secure him
there. As for those men who have deserted him, we have
taken all possible care to apprehend them, especially if
they come within the districts of this Government, and
5 Madagascar.
58 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
hope on return of his Majestic 's frigate we shall be able
to give you a more ample acct. hereof.
We are with all due Respect:
Rt Hon'ble,
YOUR MOST OBEDT. HUMBLE SERVANTS.
Kidd dodged all this hue and cry and was mightily
anxious to get in touch with Bellomont without loss
of time. He bought at Curacoa, through the ac-
commodating Henry Bolton, a Yankee sloop called
the San Antonio and transferred his treasure and
part of his crew to her. The Quedah Merchant he
convoyed as far as Hispaniola, now San Domingo,
and hid her in a small harbor with considerable
cargo, in charge of a handful of his men under di-
rection of Bolton.
Then warily and of an uneasy mind, Captain Kidd
steered his sloop for the American coast and first
touched at the fishing hamlet of Lewes at the mouth
of Delaware Bay. All legend to the contrary, he
made no calls along the Carolinas and Virginia to
bury treasure. The testimony of Kidd's crew and
passengers cannot be demolished on this score, be-
sides which he expected to come to terms with Bello-
mont and adjust his affairs within the law, so there
was no sane reason for his stopping to hide his
valuables.
The first episode that smacks in the least of buried
treasure occurred while the sloop was anchored off
Lewes. There had come from the East Indies as
a passenger one James Gillam, pirate by profession,
and he wished no dealings with the authorities. He
therefore sent ashore in Delaware Bay his sea chest
which we may presume contained his private store
of stolen gold. Gillam and his chest bob up in the
letters of Bellomont, but for the present let this
CAPTAIN KIDD IN FACT AND FICTION 59
reference suffice, as covered by the statement of
Edward Davis of London, mariner, made during the
proceedings against Kidd in Boston:
That in or about the month of November, 1697, the
Examinant came Boatswain of the ship Fidelia, Tempest
Rogers, Commander, bound on a trading voyage for India,
and in the month of July following arrived at the Island
of Madagascar and after having been there about five
weeks the Ship sailed thence and left this Examinant in
the Island, and being desirous to get off, enter 'd himself
on board the Ship whereof Capt. Kidd was Commander
to worke for his passage, and accordingly came with him
in the sd. Ship to Hispaniola, and from thence in the
Sloop Antonio to this place.
And that upon their arrival at the Hoor Kills, in
Delaware Bay, there was a chest belonging to one James
Gillam put ashore there and at Gard'ner's Island, there
was several chests and packages put out of Capt. Kidd's
Sloop into a Sloop belonging to New Yorke. He knows
not the quantity, nor anything sent on Shore at the sd.
Island nor doth he know that anything was put on Shore
at any Island or place in this Country, only two Guns
of ... weight apeace or thereabout at Block Island.
Signed, (his mark)
EDWARD (E* D.) DAVIS.
In Delaware Bay Kidd bought stores, and five of
the people of Lewes were thrown into jail by the
Pennsylvania authorities for having traded with him.
Thence he sailed for Long Island Sound, entered it
from the eastward end, and made for New York,
cautiously anchoring in Oyster Bay, nowadays sed-
ulously avoided by malefactors of great wealth. It
was his purpose to open negotiations with Bello-
mont at long range, holding his treasure as an in-
ducement for a pardon. From Oyster Bay he sent
60 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
a letter to a lawyer in New York, James Emmot
who had before then defended pirates, and also a
message to his wife. Emmot was asked to serve
as a go-between, and he hastened to join Kidd on
the sloop, explaining that Bellomont was in Boston.
Thereupon the Antonio weighed anchor and sailed
westward as far as Narragansett Bay where Em-
mot landed and went overland to find Bellomont.
CHAPTER III
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TKEASURE *
"You captains brave and bold, hear our cries, hear our
cries,
You captains brave and bold, hear our cries.
You captains brave and bold, though you seem uncontrolled,
Don't for the sake of gold lose your souls, lose your souls,
Don't for the sake of gold lose your souls."
(From the old Kidd ballad.)
THE negotiations between Kidd and the Earl of
Bellomont were no more creditable to the royal
governor than to the alleged pirate. Already the
noble partners in England were bombarded with
awkward questions concerning the luckless enter-
prise, and Bellomont, anxious to clear himself and
his friends, was for getting hold of Kidd and putting
him in Boston jail at the earliest possible moment.
He dared not reveal the true status of affairs to
Kidd by means of correspondence lest that wary
bird escape him, and he therefore tried to coax him
nearer in a letter sent back in care of Emmot, that
experienced legal adviser of pirates in distress.
This letter of Bellomont was dated June 19, 1699,
and had this to say :
i Mr. F. L. Gay of Boston very kindly gave the author the use
of his valuable collection of documentary material concerning Cap-
tain Kidd, some of which is contained in this chapter. In addition,
the author consulted many of the original documents among the
state papers in the Public Record Office, London.
61
62 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Captain Kidd:
Mr. Emmot came to me last Tuesday night late, telling
me he came from you, but was shy of telling me where
he parted with you, nor did I press him to it. He told
me you came to Oyster Bay in Nassau Island and sent
for him to New York. He proposed to me from you that
I would grant you a pardon. I answered that I had never
granted one yet, and that I had set myself a safe rule not
to grant a pardon to anybody whatsoever without the
King's express leave or command. He told me you de-
clared and protested your innocence, and that if your men
could be persuaded to follow your example, you would
make no manner of scruple of coming to this port or any
other within her Majestic 's Dominions; that you owned
there were two ships taken but that your men did it vio-
lently against your will and had us'd you barbarously
in imprisoning you and treating you ill most part of the
Voyage, and often attempting to murder you.
Mr. Emmot delivered me two French passes taken on
board the two ships which your men rifled, which passes
I have in my custody and I am apt to believe they will
be a good Article to justifie you if the peace were not,
by the Treaty between England and France, to operate
in that part of the world at the time the hostility was
committed, as I almost confident it was not to do! Mr.
Emmot also told me that you had to about the value of
10,000 pounds in the Sloop with you, and that you had
left a Ship somewhere off the coast of Hispaniola in which
there was to the Value of 30,000 pounds more which you
had left in safe hands and had promised to go to your
people in that Ship within three months to fetch them
with you to a safe harbour.
These are all the material particulars I can recollect
that passed between Mr. Emmot and me, only this, that you
showed a great sense of Honour and Justice in professing
with many asseverations your settled and serious design all
along to do honor to your Commission and never to do
the least thing contrary to your duty and allegiance to the
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TREASURE 63
King. And this I have to say in your defense that several
persons at New York who I can bring to evidence it, if
there be occasion, did tell me that by several advices from
Madagascar and that part of the world, they were in-
formed of your men revolting from you in one place,
which I am pretty sure they said was at Madagascar; and
that others of them compelled you much against your will
to take and rifle two Ships.
I have advised with his Majesty's Council and showed
them this letter this afternoon, and they are of opinion
that if your case be so clear as you (or Mr. Emmot for
you) have said, that you may safely come hither, and be
equipped and fitted out to go and fetch the other Ship,
and I make no manner of doubt but to obtain the King's
pardon for you and those few men you have left, who
I understand have been faithful to you and refused as
well as you to dishonor the Commission you had from
England.
I assure you on my word and on my honor I will per-
forme nicely what I have now promised, tho' this I declare
before hand that whatever treasure of goods you bring
hither, I will not meddle with the least bit of them, but
they shall be left with such trusty persons as the Council
will advise until I receive orders from England how they
shall be disposed of. Mr. Campbell will satisfie you that
this that I have now written is the Sense of the Council
and of
YOUR HUMBLE SERVANT.
(Not signed but endorsed, "A true copy, Bellomont. ")
These were fair words but not as sincere as might
have been. Governor Bellomont was anxious to lay
hands on Kidd by fair means or foul, and in the
light of subsequent events this letter appears as a
disingenuous decoy. It was carried back to Narra-
gansett Bay by Emmot, and with him Bellomont
sent one Duncan Campbell, postmaster of Boston,
64
as an authorized agent to advance the negotiations.
Campbell was a Scotchman who had been a friend of
Kidd. He is mentioned in John Dunton's " Letter
Written from New England, A. D. 1686."
"I rambled to the Scotch book-seller, one Camp-
bell. He is a brisk young fellow that dresses All-a-
mode, and sets himself off to the best Advantage,
and yet thrives apace. I am told (and for his sake
I wish it may be true) that a Young Lady of Great
Fortune has married him."
In reply to Bellomont's letter, thus delivered, Cap-
tain Kidd replied as follows :
FROM BLOCK ISLAND ROAD, ON BOARD THE SLOOP ST.
ANTONIO,
June 24th, 1699.
May It please your Excellencie:
I am hon'rd with your Lordship's kind letter of ye
19th., Current by Mr. Campbell which came to my hands
this day, for which I return my most hearty thanks. I
cannot but blame myself for not writing to your Lordship
before this time, knowing it was my duty, but the clam-
orous and false stories that has been reported of me made
me fearful of writing or coming into any harbor till I
could hear from your Lordship. I note the contents of
your Lordship's letter as to what Mr. Emmot and Mr.
Campbell Informed your Lordship of my proceedings. I
do affirm it to be true, and a great deal more may be
said of the abuses of my men and the hardships I have
undergone to preserve the Ship and what goods my men
had left. Ninety-five men went away from me in one
day and went on board the Moca Frigott, Captain Robert
Cullifer, Commander, who went away to the Red Seas
and committed several acts of pyracy as I am informed,
and am afraid that because of the men formerly belong-
ing to my Galley, the report is gone home against me to
the East India Companee.
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TREASURE 65
A Sheet of paper will not contain what may be said
of the care I took to preserve the Owners' interest and
to come home to clear up my own Innocency. I do fur-
ther declare and protest that I never did in the least act
Contrary to the King's Commission, nor to the Reputa-
tion of my honorable Owners, and doubt not but I shall
be able to make my Innocency appear, or else I had no
need to come to these parts of the world, if it were not
for that, and my owners' Interest.
There is five or six passengers that came from Madagas-
car to assist me in bringing the Ship home, and about
ten of my own men that came with me would not venture
to go into Boston till Mr. Campbell had Ingaged body
for body for them that they should not be molested while
I staid at Boston, or till I returned with the ship. I doubt
not but your Lordship will write to England in my favor
and for these few men that are left. I wish your Lord-
ship would persuade Mr. Campbell to go home to Eng-
land with your Lordship 's letters, who will be able to give
account of our affairs and diligently forward the same
that there may be speedy answer from England.
I desired Mr. Campbell to buy a thousand weight of
rigging for the fitting of the Ship, to bring her to Boston,
that I may not be delay 'd when I come there. Upon re-
ceiving your Lordship's letter I am making the best of
my way for Boston. This with my humble duty to your
Lordship and the Countess is what offers from,
My Lord, Your Excellency's
Most humble and dutyfull Servant,
WM. KIDD.
Notwithstanding these expressions of confidence,
Kidd suspected Bellomont's intentions and decided to
leave his treasure in safe hands instead of carrying
it to Boston with him. Now follows the documentary
narrative of the only authenticated buried treasure
of Captain Kidd and the proofs that he had no other
66 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
booty of any account. At the eastern end of Long
Island Sound is a beautiful wooded island of three
thousand acres which has been owned by the Gardi-
ner family as a manor since the first of them, Lionel
Gardiner, obtained a royal grant almost three cen-
turies ago. In June of 1699, John Gardiner, third
of the line of proprietors, sighted a strange sloop
anchored in his island harbor, and rowed out to make
the acquaintance of Captain William Kidd who had
crossed from Narragansett Bay in the San Antonio.
What happened between them and how the treasure
was buried and dug up is told in the official testimony
of John Gardiner, dated July 17th, 1699.
"THE NARRATIVE OP JOHN GARD(I)NER OP GARD(I)NER IS-
LAND, ALIAS ISLE OP WIGHT, RELATING TO CAPTAIN WILLIAM
KIDD.
That about twenty days ago Mr. Emmot of New York
came to the Narrator's house and desired a boat to go to
New York, telling the Narrator he came from my Lord at
Boston, whereupon the Narrator furnished Mr. Emmot with
a boat and he went for New York. And that evening the
Narrator saw a Sloop with six guns riding an Anchor off
Gardiner's Island and two days afterwards in the evening
the Narrator went on board said Sloop to enquire what
she was.
And so soon as he came on board, Capt. Kidd (then
unknown to the Narrator) asked him how himself and
family did, telling him that he, the said Kidd, was going
to my Lord at Boston, and desired the Narrator to carry-
three Negroes, two boys and a girl ashore to keep till he,
the said Kidd, or his order should call for them, which
the Narrator accordingly did.
That about two hours after the Narrator had got the
said Negroes ashore, Capt. Kidd sent his boat ashore with
two bales of goods and a Negro boy; and the morning
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TREASURE 67
after, the said Kidd desired the Narrator to come imme-
diately on board and bring six Sheep with him for his
voyage for Boston, which the Narrator did. Kidd asked
him to spare a barrel of Cyder, which the Narrator with
great importunity consented to, and sent two of his men
for it, who brought the Cyder on board said Sloop. Whilst
the men were gone for the Cyder, Capt. Kidd offered the
Narrator several pieces of damnified 2 Muslin and Bengali
as a present to his Wife, which the said Kidd put in a
bagg and gave the Narrator. And about a quarter of an
hour afterwards the said Kidd took up two or three (more)
pieces of damnified Muslin and gave the Narrator for his
proper use.
And the Narrator's men then coming on board with
the said barrel of Cyder as aforesaid, Kidd gave them a
piece of Arabian gold for their trouble and also for bring-
ing him word. Then the said Kidd, ready to sail, told
this Narrator he would pay him for the Cyder, to which
the Narrator answered that he was already satisfied for
it by the Present made to his wife. And it was observed
that some of Kidd's men gave to the Narrator's men some
inconsiderable things of small value which were Muslins
for neck-cloths.
And then the Narrator tooke leave of the said Kidd and
went ashore and at parting the said Kidd fired four guns
and stood for Block Island. About three days afterwards,
said Kidd sent the Master of the Sloop and one Clark in
his boat for the Narrator who went on board with them,
and the said Kidd desired him to take ashore with him
and keep for him a Chest and a box of Gold and a bundle
of Quilts and four bales of Goods, which box of Gold
the said Kidd told the Narrator was intended for my
Lord. And the Narrator complied with the request and
took on Shore the said Chest, box of Gold, quilts and bales
of goods.
And the Narrator further saith that two of Kidd's crew
2 Damaged.
68 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
who went by the names of Cooke and Parrat delivered
to him, the Narrator, two baggs of Silver which they said
weighed thirty pound weight, for which he gave receipt.
And that another of Kidd's men delivered to the Nar-
rator a small bundle of gold and gold dust of about a
pound weight to keep for him, and did present the Nar-
rator with a sash and a pair of wortsed stockins. And
just before the Sloop sailed, Capt. Kidd presented the
Narrator with a bagg of Sugar, and then took leave and
sailed for Boston.
And the Narrator further saith he knew nothing of
Kidd's being proclaimed a Pyrate, and if he had, he
durst not have acted otherwise than he had done, having
no force to oppose them and for that he hath formerly
been threatened to be killed by Privateers if he should
carry unkindly to them.
The within named Narrator further saith that while
Capt. Kidd lay with his Sloop at Gardner's Island, there
was a New York Sloop whereof one Coster is master, and
his mate was a little black man, unknown by name, who
as it is was said, had been formerly Capt. Kidd's quarter-
master, and another Sloop belonging to New Yorke, Jacob
Fenick, Master, both which lay near to Kidd's Sloop three
days together. And whilst the Narrator was on board
with Capt. Kidd, there was several bales of Goods put on
board the other two Sloops aforesaid, and the said two
Sloops sailed up the Sound. After which Kidd sailed with
his sloop for Block Island; and being absent by the space
of three days, returned to Gardner's Island again in Com-
pany of another Sloop belonging to New York, Cornelius
Quick, Master, on board of which were one Thomas Clarke
of Setauket, commonly called Whisking Clarke, and one
Harrison of Jamaica, father to a boy that was with Capt.
Kidd, and Capt. Kidd's Wife was then on board his own
Sloop.
And Quick remained with his Sloop there from noon
to the evening of the same day, and took on board two
Chests that came out of Kidd's Sloop, under the observance
John Gardiner's sworn statement of the goods and treasure left
with him by Kidd.
Governor Bellomont's endorsement of the official inventory
of Kidd's treasure found on Gardiner's Island.
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TREASURE 69
of this Narrator, and he believes several Goods more and
then Sailed up the Sound. Kidd remained there with
his Sloop until next morning, and then set sail intending,
as he said, for Boston. Further the Narrator saith that
the next day after Quick sailed with his Sloop from
Gardner's Island he saw him turning out of a Bay called
Oyster Pan Bay, altho' the wind was all the time fair
to carry him up the Sound. The Narrator supposes he
went in thither to land some Goods.
JOHN GARDINER.
Boston, 'July 17th, 1699.
The Narrator, John Gardiner, under Oath before his
Excellency and Council unto the truth of his Narrative
in this sheet of paper.
ADDINGTON, Sec'ry."
This artless recital has every earmark of truth,
and it was confirmed in detail by other witnesses and
later events. Before we fall to digging up the treas-
ure of Gardiner's Island, carried ashore in the
"Chest and box of Gold," it is well to follow those
other goods which were carried away in the sloops
about which so much has been said by John Gardi-
ner. No more is heard of that alluring figure, "the
little black man, unknown by name, who as it was
said had been formerly Capt. Kidd's Quarter-Mas-
ter," but "Whisking" Clarke was duly overhauled.
All of the plunder transferred from Kidd's sloop to
those other craft was consigned to him, and some of
it was put ashore at Stamford, Conn., in charge of
a Major Sellick who had a warehouse hard by the
Sound. Clarke was arrested by order of Bellomont
and gave a bond of 12,000 that he would deliver
up all to the government. This he did, without
doubt, but legend has been busy with this enterpris-
ing "Whisking" Clarke.
70 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
In the Connecticut Eiver off the " upper end of
Pine Meadow," near Northfield, Mass., is Clarke's
Island which was granted by the town to William
Clarke in 1686, and confirmed to his heirs in 1723.
It then contained ten and three-fourth acres, and was
a secluded spot, well covered with trees. Later,
what with cutting off the woods and the work of the
freshets, a large part of the island was washed away.
It was here, tradition has it, that some of Kidd's
treasure was hidden by " Whisking" Clarke.
The local story is that Kidd and his men ascended
the river, though how they got over the series of
falls is not explained, and made a landing at Clarke 's
Island. Here, having placed the chest in a hole,
they sacrificed by lot one of their number and laid
his body on top of the treasure in order that his
ghost might forever defend it from fortune-seekers.
One Abner Field, after consulting a conjurer who
showed him precisely where the chest was buried,
resolved to risk a tussle with the pirate's ghost, and
with two friends waited in fear and trembling for the
auspicious time when the moon should be directly
overhead at midnight.
They were to work in silence, and to pray that
no cock should crow within earshot and break the
spell. At length, one of them raised his crow-bar
for a mighty stroke, down it went, and clinked
against metal. "You've hit it," cried another, and,
alas, instantly the chest sank out of reach, and the
ghost appeared, and very angry it was. A moment
later, the devil himself popped from under the bank,
ripped across the island like a tornado and plunged
into the river with a prodigious, hissing splash.
The treasure hunters flew for home, and told their
tale, but village rumor whispered it about that one
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TREASURE 71
Oliver Smith and a confederate had impersonated
the ghost and the energetic Evil One.
On October 20, 1699, Bellomont wrote in a letter
to England:
"I have prevailed with Governor Winthrop of
Connecticut to seize and send Thomas Clarke of N.
York prisoner hither. He has been on board Kidd's
sloop at the east end of Long Island and carried off
to the value of about 5000 pounds in goods and
treasure (that we know of and perhaps a great deal
more) into Connecticut Colony; and thinking him-
self safe from under our power, writ my Lt. Gov-
ernor of New York a very saucy letter and bade us
defiance. I have ordered him to be safely kept pris-
oner in the fort, because the gaol of New York is
weak and insufficient. And when orders come to
me to send Kidd and his men to England (which
I long for impatiently), I will also send Clarke 3 as
an associate of Kidd. ' '
Three days later, the Lieutenant Governor of
New York wrote Bellomont as follows :
"Clarke proffers 12,000 pounds good Security
and will on oath deliver up all the goods he hath
been entrusted with from Kidd, provided he may
go and fetch them himself, but says he will rather
die or be undone than to bring his friends into a
Predicament. I told him if he would let me know
where I might secure these goods or Bullion, I
would recommend his case to your Lordship's fa-
vour. He answered 'twas impossible to recover
anything until he went himself."
8 Clarke managed to clear himself and this threat was not carried
out.
72 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
After leaving the bulk of his treasure on Gardi-
ner's Island, Kidd received another friendly mes-
sage from Lord Bellomont, and was by now per-
suaded that he could go to Boston without danger.
With his wife on board his sloop, and she stood by
him staunchly, he laid a course around Cape Cod and
made port on the first day of July. Captain and Mrs.
William Kidd found lodgings in the house of their
friend, Duncan Campbell, and he walked unmo-
lested for a week, passing some of the time in the
Blue Anchor tavern. "Being a very resolute fel-
low," wrote Hutchinson, "when the officer arrested
him in his lodgings, he attempted to draw his sword,
but a young gentleman who accompanied the officer,
laying hold of his arm, prevented him and he sub-
mitted."
In the letters of Lord Bellomont to the Lords of
Plantations and Colonies are fully related the par-
ticulars of Kidd's downfall and of the finding of his
treasure. On July 26th, he stated :
"My Lords:
"I gave your Lordships a short account of my
taking Capt. Kidd in my letter of the 8th. Inst. I
shall in this letter confine myself wholly to an ac-
count of my proceedings with him. On the 13th, of
last month Mr. Emmot, a lawyer of N. York came to
me late at night and told me he came from Capt.
Kidd who was on the Coast with a Sloop, but would
not tell me where ; that Kidd had brought 60 pounds
weight of gold, about 100 weight of silver, and 17
bales of East India goods (which was less by 24
bales than we have since got out of the sloop). That
Kidd had left behind him a great Ship near the coast
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TREASURE 73
of Hispaniola that nobody but himself could find out,
on board whereof there were in bale goods, saltpetre,
and other things to the value of at least 30,000
pounds. That if I would give him a pardon, he
would bring in the sloop and goods hither and fetch
his great ship and goods afterwards.
"Mr. Emmot delivered me that night two French
passes which Kidd took on board the two Moors'
ships which were taken by him in the seas of India
(or as he alleged by his men against his will). One
of the passes wants a date in the original as in the
copy I sent your Lordships, and they go (No. 1) and
(No. 2). On the said 19th. of June as I sat in Coun-
cil I wrote a letter to Capt. Kidd and showed it to
the Council, and they approving of it I despatched
Mr. Campbell again to Kidd with my said letter, a
copy whereof goes (No. 4). Your Lordships may
observe that the promise I made Capt. Kidd in my
said letter of a kind reception and procuring the
King's pardon for him, is conditional, that is, pro-
vided he were as Innocent as he pretended to be.
But I quickly found sufficient cause to suspect him
very guilty, by the many lies and contradictions he
told me.
"I was so much upon my guard with Kidd that he
arriving here on Saturday of this month, I would
not see him but before witnesses; nor have I ever
seen him but in Council twice or thrice that we ex-
amined him, and the day he was taken up by the Con-
stable. It happened to be by the door of my Lodg-
ing, and he rush'd in and came rushing to me, the
Constable after him. I had him not seiz'd till
Thursday, the 6th Inst. for I had a mind to discover
where he had left the great Ship, and I thought my-
self secure enough from his running away because
74 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
I took care not to give him the least umbrage or
design of seizing him. Nor had I till that day (that
I produced my orders from Court for apprehend-
ing) communicated them to anybody and I found it
necessary to show my order to the Council to ani-
mate them to join heartily with me in securing Kidd
and examining his affairs nicely, 4 . . . discover
what we could of his behaviour in his whole voyage.
Another reason why I took him up no sooner was
that he had brought his wife and children hither in
his Sloop with him who I believ'd he would not easily
forsake.
* ' He being examined twice or thrice by me and the
Council, and also some of his men, I observ'd he
seemed much disturb 'd, and the last time we exam-
ined him I fancied he looked as if he were upon the
wing and resolved to run away. And the Gentle-
men of the Council had some of them the same
thought with mine, so that I took their consent in
seizing and committing him. But the officers ap-
pointed to seize his men were so careless as to let
three or four of his men escape which troubled me
the more because they were old N. York Pyrates.
The next thing the Council and I did was to appoint
a Committee of trusty persons to search for the goods
and treasure brought by Kidd and to secure what
they should find till the King's pleasure should be
known as to the disposition thereof, as my orders
from Mr. Secretary Vernon import. The said Com-
mittee were made up of two Gentlemen of the Coun-
cil, two merchants, and the Deputy Collector, whose
names are to the enclosed Inventory of the goods
and treasure.
"They search 'd Kidd's lodgings and found hid and
4 Ms. torn.
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TREASURE 75
made up in two sea beds a bag of gold dust and In-
gots of the value of about 1000 pounds and a bag of
silver, part money and part pieces and piggs of sil-
ver, value as set down in the said Inventory. In
the above bag of gold were several little bags of
gold; all particulars are very justly and exactly set
down in the Inventory. For my part I have med-
dled with no matter of thing under the management
of the Council, and into the Custody of the aforemen-
tioned Committee, that I might be free from the sus-
picion and censure of the world.
"The enamel 'd box mentioned in the beginning of
the Inventory is that which Kidd made a present of
to my wife by Mr. Campbell, which I delivered in
Council to the said Committee to keep with the rest
of the treasure. There was in it a stone ring which
we take to be a Bristol stone. If it was true 5 it
would be worth about 40 pounds, and there was a
small stone unset which we believe is also counter-
feit, and a sort of a Locket with four sparks which
seem to be right diamonds: for there's nobody that
understands Jewels 6 . . . box and all that 's in
it were right, they cannot be worth above 60 pounds.
"Your Lordships will see in the middle of the In-
ventory a parcel of treasure and Jewels delivered
up by Mr. Gardiner of Gardiner's Island in the
province of New York and at the East end of Nas-
sau Island, the recovery and saving of which treas-
ure is owing to my own care and quickness. I heard
by the greatest accident in the world the day Capt.
Kidd was committed, that a man 6 . . . offered
30 pounds for a sloop to carry him to Gardiner's
Island, and Kidd having owned to burying some
gold on that Island (though he never mentioned to
6 Genuine. Ms. torn.
76 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
us any jewels nor do I believe he would have own'd
to the gold there but that he thought he should him-
self be sent for it), I privately posted away a mes-
senger to Mr. Gardiner in the King's name to come
forthwith and deliver up such treasure as Kidd or
any of his crew had lodg'd with him, acquainting
him that I had committed Kidd to Gaol as I was or-
dered to do by the King.
"My messenger made great haste and was with
Gardiner before anybody, and Gardiner, who is a
very substantial man, brought away the treasure
without delay; and by my direction delivered it into
the hands of the Committee. If the Jewels be right,
as 'tis suppos'd they are, but I never saw them nor
the gold and silver brought by Gardiner, then we
guess that the parcel brought by him may be worth
(gold, silver, and Jewels) 4500 pounds. And be-
sides Kidd had left six bales of goods with him, one
of which was twice as big as any of the rest, and
Kidd gave him a particular charge of that bale and
told him 'twas worth 2000 pounds. The six bales
Gardiner could not bring, but I have ordered him
to send 'em by a Sloop that is since gone from hence
to N. York, and which is to return speedily.
"We are not able to set an exact value on the goods
and treasure we have got because we have not open'd
the bales we took on board the (Kidd's) sloop, but
we hope when the six bales are sent in by Gardiner,
what will be in the hands of the Gentlemen appointed
to that trust will amount to about 14,000 pounds.
"I have sent strict orders to my Lt. Governor at
N. York to make diligent search for the goods and
treasure sent by Kidd to N. York in three Sloops
mentioned in Gardiner's affidavit. 7 ... I have
t Ms. torn.
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TKEASUBE 77
directed him where to find a purchase 8 in a house in
N. York which I am apt to believe will be found in
that house. I have sent to search elsewhere a cer-
tain place strongly suspected to have received an-
other deposition of gold from Kidd.
"I am also upon the hunt after two or three Arch-
Pyrates which I hope to give your Lordships a good
account of by the next conveyance. If I could have
but a good able Judge and Attorney General at
N. York, a man-of-war there and another here, and
the companies recruited and well paid, I will rout
Pyrates and pyracy entirely out of this North part
of America, but as I have too often told your Lord-
ships 'tis impossible for me to do all this alone
in my single person.
"I wrote your Lordships in my last letter of the
8th. Inst. that Bradish, the Pyrate, and one of his
crew were escap'd out of the gaol in this town.
We have since found that the Gaoler was Bradish 's
kinsman, and the Gaoler confess 'd they went out
at the prison door and that he found it wide open.
We had all the reason in the world to believe the
Gaoler was consenting to the escape. By much ado
I could get the Council to resent the Gaoler's be-
havior, and by my Importunity I had the fellow be-
fore us. We examin'd him, and by his own story
and account given us of his suffering other prison-
ers formerly to escape, I prevail'd to have him
turn'd out and a prosecution order 'd against him
to the Attorney Gen'l. I have also with some dif-
ficulty this last session of Assembly here, got a
bill to pass that the Gaol be committed to the care
of the High Sheriff of the County, as in England
with a salary of 30 pounds paid to the said Sheriff.
s Prize, or plunder.
78
"I am forced to allow the Sheriff 40 Shillings per
week for keeping Kidd safe. Otherwise I should
be in some doubt about him. He has without doubt
a great deal of gold, which is apt to corrupt men
that have not principles of honour. I have there-
fore, to try the power of Iron against Gold, put
him into irons that weigh 16 pounds. I thought
it moderate enough, for I remember poor Dr.
Gates 9 had a 100 weight of Iron on him while he
was a prisoner in the late reign.
"There never was a greater liar or thief in the
world than this Kidd; nothwithstanding he assured
the Council and me every time we examined him
that the great Ship and her cargo awaited his re-
turn to bring her hither, and now your Lordships
will see by the several informations of Masters of
Ships from Curacoa that the cargo has been sold
there, and in one of them 'tis said they have burnt
that noble ship. And without doubt, it was by
Kidd 's order, that the ship might not be an evidence
against him, for he would not own to us that her
name was the Quedah Merchant, tho' his men did.
"Andres . . . 10 eyne and two more brought
the first news to New York of the sale of that cargo
at Curacoa, nor was ever such pennyworths heard
for cheapness. Captain Evertz is he who has
brought the news of the ship's being burnt. She
was about 500 tons, and Kidd told us at Council
that never was there a stronger or stauncher ship
seen. His lying had like to have involved me in a
contract that would have been very chargeable and
Titus Gates, the notorious informer, who revealed an alleged
"Papist plot" to massacre the English Protestants in the reign of
Charles II. He was later denounced, pilloried, and publicly flogged
within an inch of his life.
10 Ms. torn.
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TREASURE 79
to no manner of purpose. I was advised by the
Council to dispatch a Ship of good condition to go
and fetch away that ship and cargo. I had agreed
for a ship of 300 tons, 22 guns, and I was to man her
with 60 men to force (if there had been need of
it) the men to yield who were left with the ship.
"I was just going to seal the writing, when I be-
thought myself 'twere best to press Kidd once more
to tell me the truth. I therefore sent to him two
gentlemen of the Council to the gaol, and he at last
own'd that he had left a power (of attorney) with
one Henry Bolton, a Merchant of Antigua, to whom
he had committed the care of the ship, to sell and
dispose of all the cargo. Upon which confession of
Kidd's I held my hand from hiring that great ship
which would have cost 1700 pounds by computation,
and now to-morrow I send the sloop Kidd came in
with letters to the Lieut. Govn'r of Antigua, Col.
Yoemans, and to the Governors of St. Thomas Is-
land and Curacoa to seize and secure what effects
they can that were late in the possession of Kidd
and on board the Quedah Merchant.
"There is one Burt, an Englishman, that lives at
St. Thomas, who has got a great store of the goods
and money for Kidd's account. St. Thomas belongs
to the Danes, but I hope to retrieve what Burt has
in his hands. The sending this Sloop will cost but
about 300 pounds, if she be out three months. I
hope your Lordships will take care that immediate
orders will be sent to Antigua to secure Bolton who
must have played the Knave egregiously, for he
could not but know that Kidd came knavishly by
the ship and goods.
" 'Tis reported that the Dutch at Curacoa have
loaded three sloops with goods and sent them to
80 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Holland. Perhaps 'twere not amiss to send and
watch their arrival in Holland, if it be practicable
to lay claim to 'em there.
' ' Since my commitment of Kidd, I heard that upon
his approach to this port, his heart misgave him
and he proposed to his men putting out to sea again,
and going to Caledonia, the new Scotch settlement
near Darien, but they refused. I desire I may have
orders what to do with Kidd and all his and Brad-
ish's crew, for as the Law stands in this Country,
if a Pyrate were convicted, yet he cannot suffer
death ; and the Council here refused the bill to pun-
ish Privateers and Pyrates, which your Lordships
sent with me from England with a direction to
recommend it at N. York and here, to be passed into
a Law. . . .
"You will observe by some of the information I
now send that Kidd did not only rob the two Moors'
ships, but also a Portuguese ship, which he denied
absolutely to the Council and me. I send your
Lordships 24 several papers and evidences relating
to Capt. Kidd. "Pis impossible for me to animad-
vert and make remarks on the several matters con-
tain 'd in the said papers in the weak condition I
am at present. . . ."
My Lord Bellomont was in the grip of the gout
at this time, which misfortune perhaps increased
his irritation toward his partner, Captain William
Kidd. In a previous letter to the authorities in Lon-
don, this royal governor had explained quite frankly
that he was trying to lure the troublesome pirate
into his clutches, and called Emmot, the lawyer,
"a cunning Jacobite, a fast friend of Fletcher's 11
11 Lieutenant-governor at New York.
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TREASURE 81
and my avowed enemie." He also made this inter-
esting statement:
"I must not forget to tell your Lordships that
Campbell brought three or four small Jewels to my
Wife which I was to know nothing of, but she came
quickly and discover 'd them to me and asked me
whether she would keep them, which I advised her
to do for the present, for I reflected that my show-
ing an over nicety might do hurt before I had made
a full discovery what goods and treasure were in
the Sloop. . . .
1 1 Mr. Livingston also came to me in a peremptory
manner and demanded up his Bond and the articles
which he seal'd to me upon Kidd's Expedition, and
told me that Kidd swore all the Oaths in the world
that unless I did immediately indemnify Mr. Liv-
ingston by giving up his Securities, he would never
bring in that great ship and cargo. I thought this
was such an Impertinence in both Kidd and Living-
ston that it was time for me to look about me, and
to secure Kidd. I had noticed that he design 'd my
wife a thousand pounds in gold dust and Ingotts
last Thursday, but I spoiPd his compliment by
ordering him to be arrested and committed that
day, showing the Council's orders from Court for
that purpose. . . .
1 'If I had kept Mr. Secretary Vernon's orders for
seizing and securing Kidd and his associates with
all their effects with less secrecy, I had never got
him to come in, for his countrymen, Mr. Graham
and Livingston, would have been sure to caution
him to shift for himself and would have been well
paid for their pains. ' '
82 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
One by one, Kidd's plans for clearing himself
were knocked into a cocked hat. His lawyer did
him no good, his hope of bribing the Countess of
Bellomont with jewels, ''gold dust and Ingotts"
went wrong, and his buried treasure of Gardiner's
Island was dug up and confiscated by officers of the
Crown. It is regrettable that history, by one of
its curious omissions, tells us no more about this
titled lady. Did Kidd have reason to suppose that
she would take his gifts and try to befriend him?
When he was in high favor she may, perchance, have
admired this dashing shipmaster and privateer as
he spun his adventurous yarns in the Governor's
mansion. He may have jestingly promised to fetch
her home jewels and rich silk stuffs of the Indies
filched from pirates. At any rate, she was not to
be bought over, and Kidd sat in jail anchored by
those sixteen-pound irons, and biting his nails in
sullen wrath and disappointment, while a messenger
was posting to Gardiner's Island with this order
from Bellomont to the proprietor :
BOSTON IN NEW ENGLAND, 8th July, 1699. ,
Mr. Gardiner:
Having received the King's express Orders for Seizing
and Securing the body of Capt. Kidd and all his asso-
ciates together with all their effects till I should receive
his Majesty's Royal pleasure how to dispose of the same,
I have accordingly secured Capt. Kidd in the Gaol of this
Town and some of his men. He has been examined by
myself and the Council and has confessed among other
things that he left with you a parcel of gold made up in
a box and some other parcels besides, all of which I re-
quire you in his Majesty's name immediately to fetch
hither to me, that I may secure them for his Majesty's
The official inventory of the Kidd treasure found on Gardiner's Islan
belonging to Captain Kidd. (From the British
'^^^2 I - ,'. s
^y.^W^- H
^15MS^
V^
is the only original and authenticated record of any treasure
ipers in the Public Record Office, London.)
83
use, and I shall recompense your pains in coming
hither.
I am,
Your friend and servant,
BELLOMONT.
The box and the chest were promptly delivered
by honest John Gardiner, who had no mind to be
mixed in the affairs of the now notorious Kidd, to-
gether with the bales of goods left in his care.
This booty was inventoried by order of Bellomont
and the Governor's Council and the original docu-
ment is photographed herewith, as found in the Pub-
lic Record Office, London. It possessed a singular
interest because it records and vouches for the only
Kidd treasure ever discovered. Nor are its de-
tailed items a mere dusty catalogue of figures and
merchandise. This is a document to gloat over.
If one has a spark of imagination, he smacks his
lips. Instead of legend and myth, here is a veritable
pirate's hoard, exactly as it should be, with its bags
of gold, bars of silver, "Rubies great and small,"
candlesticks and porringers, diamonds and so on.
The inventory contains also other booty found in
the course of the treasure hunt, and lest the docu-
ment itself may prove too hard reading, its contents
are transcribed as follows to convince the most
skeptical mind that there was a real Kidd treasure
and that it was found in the Year of our Lord, 1699.
BOSTON, NEW ENGLAND, July 25th, 1699.
A true Accompt. of all such Gold, Silver, Jewels, and
Merchandises in the Possession of Capt. William Kidd,
Which have been seized and secured by us under-writing
Pursuant to an Order from his Excellency, Richard, Earle
84 .THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
of Bellomont, Capt. Generall and Governor-in-Chief in and
over his Majestie's Province of ye Massachusetts Bay, etc.,
bearing date 12 . . . 1699, Vizt.
In Capt. William Kid's Box-
One Bag Fifty-three Silver Barrs.
One Bag Seventy-nine Barrs and pieces of silver. . . .
One Bag Seventy-four Bars Silver.
One Enamel'd Silver Box in which are 4 dia-
monds set in gold Lockets, one diamond loose,
one large diamond set in a gold ring.
Found in Mr. Duncan Campbell's House,
No. 1. One Bag Gold.
2. One Bag Gold.
3. One Handkerchief Gold.
4. One Bag Gold.
5. One Bag Gold.
6. One Bag Gold.
7. One Bag Gold.
Also Twenty Dollars, one halfe and one quart, pcs. of
eight, Nine English Crowns, one small Barr of Silver,
one small Lump Silver, a small Chaine, a small bottle,
a Corral Necklace, one pc. white and one pc. of Check-
quer'd Silk. . . .
In Capt. William Kidd's Chest Two Silver Boxons, Two
Silver Candlesticks, one Silver Porringer, and some small
things of Silver Rubies small and great Sixty-seven,
Green Stones two. One large Load Stone. . . .
Landed from on board the Sloop Antonio Capt. Wm. Kidd
late Command. . . .57 Baggs of Sugar, 17 pieces
canvis, 38 Bales of Merchandize.
Received from Mr. Duncan Campbell Three Bailes Mer-
chandise, Whereof one he had opened being much dam-
nified by water. . . . Eighty-five ps. Silk Rumals
and Bengalis, Sixty ps. Callicoes and Muslins.
12 Ms. torn.
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TREASUEE 85
Eeceived the 17th. instant of Mr. John Gardiner.
No. 1. One Bag dust Gold.
2. One Bag Coyned Gold and in it silver.
3. One p'cl dust Gold.
4. One Bag three Silver Rings and Sundry precious
stones. One bag of unpolished Stones. One
ps. of Cristol and Bazer Stone, Two Cornelion
Rings, two small Agats. Two Amathests all in
the same Bag.
5. One Bag Silver Buttons and a Lamp.
6. One Bag broken Silver.
7. One Bag Gold Bars.
8. One Bag Gold Barrs.
9. One Bag Dust Gold.
10. One Bag of Silver Bars.
11. One Bag Silver Bars.
The whole of the Gold above mentioned is Eleven hun-
dred, and Eleven ounces, Troy Weight.
The silver is Two Thousand, three Hundred, Fifty-three
ounces.
The Jewels or Precious Stones Weight are seventeen
Ounces . . an Ounce, and Six 13 . . . Stone by Tale.
The Sugar is Contained in Fifty-Seven Baggs.
The Merchandize is Contained in Forty-one Bailes.
The Canvis is Seventeen pieces.
SAM. SEWALL.
NATH'L BYFIELD.
JEB. DUMMEB.
LAUR. HAMMOND, Lt. Coll.
ANDR. BELCHER.
Endorsed:
Inventory of the Gold, Silver, Jewels and Merchandize
late in the possession of Capt. Wm. Kidd and Seiz'd and
secured by ordr. of the E. of Bellomont, 28th of July
1699. This is an original paper,
BELLOMONT."
is Ms, torn.
86 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
That famous sloop, the San Antonio, was also
carefully inventoried but her contents were for the
most part sea gear and rough furnishings, barring
a picturesque entry of "ye boy Barleycorn," an
apprentice seaman who had sailed with Kidd. Rob-
ert Livingston has something to say about Kidd's
property in his statement under examination, which
has been preserved as follows:
"Robert Livingston, Esq. being notified to appear
before his Excellency and Council this day and sworn
to give a true Narrative and Relation of his knowl-
edge or information of any Goods, Gold, Silver,
Bullion, or other Treasure lately imported by Capt.
William Kidd, his Company and Accomplices, or
any of them, into this Province, or any other of his
Majesty's Provinces, Colonies, or Territories in
America, and by them or any of them imbezelled,
concealed, conveyed away, or any ways disposed of,
saith:
"That hearing Capt. Kidd was come into these
parts to apply himself unto his Excellency the Earl
of Bellomont, the said Narrator came directly from
Albany ye nearest way through the woods to meet
the said Kidd here and to wait upon his Lordship.
And at his arrival at Boston Capt. Kidd informed
him there was on board his Sloop then in Port forty
bales of Goods, and some Sugar, and also said he
had about eighty pound weight in Plate. The Nar-
rator does not remember whether he said this was on
board the Sloop or not. And further the sd. Kidd
said he had Forty pound weight in Gold which he
hid and secured in some place in the Sound betwixt
this and New York, not naming any particular place,
.which nobody could find but himself. And that all
the said Goods, Gold, Plate and Sloop was for ac-
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TREASURE 87
compt. of the Owners of the Adventure Galley,
whereof this Narrator was one.
"And upon further discourse, Kidd acknowledged
that several Chests and bundles of Goods belonging
to the men were taken out of his Sloop betwixt this
place and New York, and put into other sloops,
saying he was forced thereto, that his men would
otherwise have run the Sloop on shore. And he
likewise acknowledged that he had given Mr. Dun-
can Campbell one hundred pieces of eight when he
was on board his Sloop at Rhode Island. And he
knows no further of any concealment, imbezelment,
or disposal made by said Kidd, his Company, or
accomplices of any Goods, Gold, money, or Treas-
ure whatsoever, saving that Kidd did yesterday ac-
knowledge to this Narrator that ye Gold afore-
mentioned was hid upon Gardiner's Island. He
believed there was about fifty pound weight of it
and that in the same box with it there was about
three or four hundred pieces of eight and some
pieces of Plate belonging to his boy Barleycorn and
his Negro man which he had gotten by 14 . . .
for the men. Also the said Kidd gave this Narrator
a negro boy and another to Mr. Duncan Campbell."
There is reproduced herewith the original state-
ment of Kidd touching this Gardiner Island treas-
ure. The document is badly torn and disfigured, but
the gaps can be supplied from a copy made at that
time, and here is what he had to say under oath :
BOSTON, Sept. 4th. 1699.
Captain "William Kidd declareth and Saith that in his
Chest which he left at Gardiner's Island there were three-
small baggs or more of Jasper Antonio, or Stone of Goa,
"Ms. torn.
88
several pieces of silk stript with Silver and gold Cloth
of Silver, about a Bushell of Cloves and Nutmegs mixed
together, and strawed up and down, several books of fine
white Callicoa, several pieces of fine Muzlins, several pieces
more of flowered silk. He does not well remember what
further was in it. He had an invoice thereof in his other
chest. All that was contained in ye said Chest was bought
by him and some given him at Madagascar. Nothing
thereof was taken in ye ship Quidah Merchant. He es-
teemed it to be of greater value than all else that he left
at Gardiner's Island except ye Gold and Silver. There
was neither Gold nor Silver in ye Chest. It was fastened
with a Padlock and nailed and corded about.
Further saith that he left at said Gardiner's Island a
bundle of nine or ten fine Indian quilts, some of ye silk
with fringes and Tassels.
WM. KIDD.
The Earl of Bellomont was as keen as a blood-
hound on the scent of treasure and it is improbable
that any of the Kidd plunder escaped his search.
He lost no time in the quest of that James Gillam
whose chest had been landed in Delaware Bay, and
a singularly diverting episode is related by Bello-
mont in one of his written reports to the Council
of Trade and Plantations :
"I gave you an account, Oct. 24th, of my taking
Joseph Bradish and Wetherly, and writ that I hoped
in a little time to be able to send News of my taking
James Gillam, the Pyrate that killed Capt. Edge-
comb, commander of the Mocha Frigate for the East
India Co., and that with his own hand, while the
captain was asleep. Gillam is supposed to be the
man that encouraged the Ship's Company to turn
pyrates, and the ship has ever since been robbing in
the Bed Sea and Seas of India. If I may believe
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TREASURE 89
the report of men lately come from Madagascar,
she has taken above 2,000,000 pounds sterling.
"I have been so lucky as to take James Gillam,
and he is now in irons in the gaol of this town.
And at the same time we seized on Francis Dole,
in whose house he was harboured, who proved to be
one of Hore's crew. My taking of Gillam was so
very accidental one would believe there was a
strange fatality in the man's stars. On Saturday,
llth inst., late in the evening, I had a letter from Col.
Sanford, Judge of the Admiralty Court in Rhode
Island, giving me an account that Gillam had been
there, but was come towards Boston a fortnight be-
fore, in order to ship himself for some of the Islands,
Jamaica or Barbadoes.
"I was in despair of finding the man. However,
I sent for an honest Constable I had made use of in
apprehending Kidd and his men, and sent him with
Col. Sanford's messenger to search all the Inns in
town and at the first Inn they found the mare on
which Gillam had rode into town, tied up in the
yard. The people of the Inn reported that the man
who brought her hither had alighted off her about
a quarter of an hour before, and went away without
saying anything.
''I gave orders to the master of the Inn that if
anybody came to look after the mare, he should be
sure to seize him, but nobody came for her. Next
morning I summoned a Council, and we published a
Proclamation, wherein I promised a reward of 200
Pieces of Eight for the seizing and securing of
Gillam, whereupon there was the strictest search
made all that day and the next that was ever made
in this part of the world. But we would have
90 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
missed had I not been informed of one Capt. Knott
as an old Pyrate and therefore likely to know where
Gillam was conceal'd. I sent for Knott and exam-
ined him, promising if he would make an ingenious
Confession I would not molest him.
"He seemed much disturbed but would not confess
anything to purpose. I then sent for his wife and
examined her on oath apart from her husband, and
she confessed that one who went by the name of
James Kelly had lodged several nights in her house,
but for some nights past he lodged, as she believed,
in Charlestown, cross the Eiver. I knew that he
(Gillam) went by the name of Kelly. Then I exam-
ined Captain Knott again, telling him his wife had
been more free and ingenious than him, which made
him believe she had told all. And then he told me
of Francis Dole in Charlestown, and that he believed
that Gillam would be found there.
* ' I sent half a dozen men immediately, and Knott
with 'em. They beset the House and searched it,
but found not the man. Two of the men went
through a field behind Dole's house and . . .
met a man in the dark whom they seized at all ad-
venture, and it happened as oddly as luckily to be
Gillam. He had been treating two young women
some few miles off in the Country, and was return-
ing at night to his landlord Dole's house.
"I examined him but he denied everything, even
that he came with Kidd from Madagascar, or ever
saw him in his life ; but Capt. Davis who came thence
with Kidd's men is positive he is the man and that
he went by his true name Gillam all the while he was
on the voyage with 'em. And Mr. Campbell, Post-
master of this town, whom I sent to treat with Kidd,
offers to swear this is the man he saw on board
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TREASURE 91
Kidd's sloop under the name of Gillam. He is
the most impudent, hardened Villain I ever
saw. . . .
"In searching Captain Knott's house a small
trunk was found with some remnants of East India
Goods and a letter from Kidd's Wife to Capt.
Thomas Paine, an old pyrate living on Canonicut
Island in Rhode Island Government. He made an
affidavit to me when I was in Ehode Island that he
had received nothing from Kidd's sloop, when she
lay at anchor there, yet by Knott's deposition, he
was sent with Mrs. Kidd's letter to Paine for 24
ounces of Gold, which Kidd accordingly brought, and
Mrs. Kidd's injunction to Paine to keep all the rest
that was left with him till further notice was a plain
indication that there was a good deal of treasure
still left behind in Paine 's Custody.
"Therefore I posted away a messenger to Gov.
Cranston and Col. Sanford to make a strict search of
Paine 's house before he could have notice. It seems
nothing was then found, but Paine has since produced
18 ounces and odd weight of Gold, as appears by
Gov. Cranston's letter, Nov. 25, and pretends 'twas
bestowed on him by Kidd, hoping that may pass as
a salve for the oath he has made. I think it is plain
he foreswore himself. I am of opinion he has a great
deal more of Kidd's goods still in his hands, but he
is out of my Power and being in that Government
I cannot compel him to deliver up the rest. . . . "
That "Edward Davis, Mariner," who came home
with Kidd and who made the statement already
quoted concerning Gillam 's chest, found himself in
trouble with the others of that crew, and the tireless
Bellomont refers to him in this fashion :
92 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
"When Capt. Kidd was committed to Gaol, there
was also a Pyrate committed who goes by the name
of Captain Davis, that came passenger with Kidd
from Madagascar. I suppose him to be that Cap-
tain Davis that Dampier and Wafer speak of, in
their printed relations of Voyages, for an extraor-
dinary stout man ; but let him be as stout as he will,
here he is a prisoner, and shall be forthcoming upon
the order I receive from England concerning Kidd
and his men.
"When I was at Rhode Island there was one
Palmer, a Pyrate, that was out upon Bail, for they
cannot be persuaded there to keep a Pyrate in Gaol,
they love 'em too well. He went out with Kidd
from London and forsook him at Madagascar to go
on board the Mocha Frigate, where he was a con-
siderable time, committing several Bobberies with
the rest of the Pyrates in that Ship, and was brought
home by Shelly of New York.
"I asked Gov. Cranston how he could answer tak-
ing bail for him, when he had received so strict
Orders from Mr. Secretary Vernon to seize and se-
cure Kidd and his associates with their effects. I
desired Col. Sanford to examine Palmer on oath.
I enclose his Examination where your Lordships may
please to observe that he accuses Kidd of murdering
his Gunner, which I never heard before."
It may be that the "old Pyrate," Thomas Paine
buried a bag of Kidd's gold but it is much more
likely that whatever had been stored with him was
turned over to that astute helpmeet, Mrs. William
Kidd, for whom it has been left in his keeping. As
for that "most impudent, hardened Villain," James
Gillam, it is unreasonable to suppose that his sea
*/ t cfaftru-i Mi
&L > ." Aft
ityQeiinr*t jv ajkffjintril XimttUi.
4o /A*i ///ix H/IC///0/ f'y**n Met*" i/ ritsiil &f /Ac ^mVv^*^ :^
^ / - ' f& */-'/ f r . 3 A r
'n rf ,^5 ,-\ u <CfrU r
Statement of Edward Davis, who sailed home with Kidd,
concerning the landing of the treasure and goods.
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TREASURE 93
chest was buried by the friends who took it off his
hands in Delaware Bay. Indeed, there was no mo-
tive for putting booty underground when it could
be readily disposed of in the open market. Bello-
mont complained in one of his letters of this same
eventful summer:
" There are about thirty Pyrates come lately into
the East end of Nassau Island and have a great deal
of Money with them, but so cherished are they by the
Inhabitants that not a man among them is taken up.
Several of them I hear, came with Shelly from Mada-
gascar. Mr. Hackshaw, one of the Merchants in
London that plotted against me, is one of the owners
of Shelley's Sloop, and Mr. De Lancey, a Frenchman
at New York is another. I hear that Capt. Kidd
dropped some Pyrates in that Island (Madagascar).
Till there be a good Judge or two, and an honest,
active Attorney General to prosecute for the King,
all my Labour to suppress Pyracy will signify even
just nothing. When Fred Phillip's ship and the
other two come from Madagascar, which are expected
every day, New York will abound with Gold. 'Tis
the most beneficial Trade, that to Madagascar with
the Pyrates, that ever was heard of, and I believe
there's more got that way than by turning Pirates
and robbing. I am told this Shelley sold rum, which
cost but 2 s. per Gallon in New York for 50 s. at
Madagascar, and a pipe of Madeira wine, which cost
him 19 pounds at New York, he sold for 300 pounds.
Strong liquors and gun powder and ball are the com-
modities that go off there to best Advantage, and
those four ships last summer carried thither great
quantities of things."
There is another authentic glimpse of Kidd and
his men and his spoils, as viewed by Colonel Robert
94 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Quarry, 15 Judge of the Admiralty Court for the
Province of Pennsylvania.
"There is arrived in this Government," he re-
ported, "about 60 pirates in a ship directly from
Madagascar. They are part of Kidd's gang, and
about 20 of them have quitted the Ship and are
landed in this Government. About sixteen more
are landed at Cape May in the Government of West
Jersey. The rest of them are still on board the ship
at Anchor near the Cape waiting for a sloop from
New York to unload her. She is a very rich Ship.
All her loading is rich East India Bale Goods to a
very great value, besides abundance of money. The
Captain of the Ship is one Shelley of New York and
the ship belongs to Merchants of that place. The
Goods are all purchased from the Pirates at Mada-
gascar which pernicious trade gives encouragement
to the Pirates to continue in those parts, having a
Market for all the Goods they plunder and rob in the
Eed Sea and several other parts of East India."
is Colonel Robert Quarry cut a rather odd figure as a prosecutor
of pirates in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He had been secretary
to the Governor of Carolina and assumed that office without au-
thority from the proprietors, at the death of Sir Richard Kyle who
was appointed in 1684.
"A few months before it had been recommended that 'as the
Governor will not in all probability always reside in Charles Town,
which is so near the sea as to be in danger from a sudden invasion
of Pirates,' Governor Kyle should commissionate a particular Gov-
ernor for Charles Town who may act in his absence." (South
Carolina Historical Society Collections.)
Governor Kyle suggested as a suitable person for this office his
secretary, Robert Quarry, and "probably this recommendation made
Quarry feel justified in assuming control when Kyle died. So
flagrant was Quarry's encouragement of pirates, and his cupidity
so notorious that he was removed from office after two months.
Later 'he went north and was appointed Admiralty Judge for New
York and Pennsylvania." ("The Carolina Pirates," by S. C. Hugh-
son, Johns Hopkins University Studies.)
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TREASURE 95
Colonel Quarry caught two of these pirates and
lodged them in jail at Burlington, New Jersey, and
later tucked away two others in Philadelphia jail.
From the former two thousand pieces of eight were
taken, a neat little fortune to show that piracy was
a paying business. A few days later Colonel Quarry
got wind of no other than Kidd himself and would
have caught him ahead of Bellomont had he been
properly supported. He protested indignantly:
"Since my writing the enclosed I have by the as-
sistance of Col. Bass, Governor of the Jerseys, ap-
prehended four more of the Pirates at Cape May and
might have with ease secured all the rest of them and
the Ship too, had this Government (Pennsylvania)
given me the least aid or assistance. But they
would not so much as issue a Proclamation, but on
the contrary the people have entertained the Pirates,
convey 'd them from place to place, furnished them
with provisions and liquors, and given them intelli-
gence, and sheltered them from justice. And now
the greater part of them are conveyed away in boats
to Ehode Island. All the persons I have employed
in searching for and apprehending these Pirates
are abused and affronted and called Enemies of
the Country for disturbing and hindering honest
men (as they are pleased to call the Pirates)
from bringing their money and settling amongst
them. . . .
"Since my writing this, Capt. Kidd is come in
this (Delaware) Bay. He hath been here about
ten days. He sends his boat ashore to the Hore
Kills where he is supplied with what he wants and
the people frequently go on board him. He is in a
Sloop with about forty men with a Vast Treasure,
I hope the express which I sent to his Excellency
96 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Governor Nicholson will be in time enough to send
the man-of-war to come up with Kidd. . . .
"The Pirates that I brought to this Government
have the liberty to confine themselves to a tavern,
which is what I expected. The six other Pirates
that are in Burlington are at liberty, for the Quakers
there will not suffer the Government to send them
to Gaol. Thus his Majesty may expect to be obeyed
in all places where the Government is in Quakers'
hands. ."
CHAPTER IV
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TKIAL AND DEATH
As the under dog in a situation where the most
powerful influences of England conspired to blacken
his name and take his life, Captain William Kidd,
even at this late day, deserves to be heard in his own
defense. That he was unfairly tried and condemned
is admitted by various historians, who, nevertheless,
have twisted or overlooked the facts, as if Kidd
were, in sooth, a legendary character. This blunder-
ing, careless treatment is the more surprising be-
cause Kidd was made a political issue of such im-
portance as to threaten the overthrow of a Ministry
and the Parliamentary censure of the King himself.
At the height of the bitter hostility against Somers,
the Whig Lord Chancellor of William III, the Kidd
affair presented itself as a ready weapon for the
use of his political foes.
"About the other patrons of Kidd the chiefs of
the opposition cared little," says Macauley. 1
"Bellomont was far removed from the political
scene. Eomney could not, and Shrewsbury would
not play a first part. Orford had resigned his em-
ployments. But Somers still held the Great Seal,
still presided in the House of Lords, still had con-
stant access to the closet. The retreat of his friends
had left him the sole and undisputed head of that
party which had, in the late Parliament, been a ma-
i History of England.
97
98 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
jority, and which was in the present Parliament out-
numbered indeed, disorganized and threatened, but
still numerous and respectable. His placid courage
rose higher and higher to meet the dangers which
threatened him.
"In their eagerness to displace and destroy him,
they overreached themselves. Had they been con-
tent to accuse him of lending his countenance, with
a rashness unbecoming his high place, to an ill-
concerted scheme, that large part of mankind which
judges of a plan simply by the event would probably
have thought the accusation well founded. But the
malice which they bore to him was not to be so sat-
isfied. They affected to believe that he had from
the first been aware of Kidd's character and de-
signs. The Great Seal had been employed to sanc-
tion a piratical expedition. The head of the law
had laid down a thousand pounds in the hopes of
receiving tens of thousands when his accomplices
should return laden with the spoils of ruined mer-
chants. It was fortunate for the Chancellor that
the calumnies of which he was object were too atro-
cious to be mischievous.
' ' And now the time had come at which the hoarded
ill-humor of six months was at liberty to explode.
On the sixteenth of November the House met. . . .
There were loud complaints that the events of the
preceding session had been misrepresented to the
public, that emissaries of the Court, in every part
of the kingdom, declaimed against the absurd jeal-
ousies or still more absurd parsimony which had
refused to his Majesty the means of keeping up such
an army as might secure the country against in-
vasion. Angry resolutions were passed, declaring
it to be the opinion of the House that the best way
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TRIAL AND DEATH 99
to establish entire confidence between the King and
the Estates would be to put a brand on those evil
advisers who had dared to breathe in the royal ear
calumnies against a faithful Parliament.
"An address founded on these resolutions was
voted ; many thought that a violent rupture was in-
evitable. But William returned an answer so pru-
dent and gentle that malice itself could not prolong
the dispute. By this time, indeed, a new dispute had
begun. The address had scarcely been moved when
the House called for copies of the papers relating
to Kidd's expedition. Somers, conscious of his in-
nocence, knew that it was wise as well as right and
resolved that there should be no concealment.
"Howe raved like a maniac. 'What is to become
of the country, plundered by land, plundered by
seal Our rulers have laid hold of our lands, our
woods, our mines, our money. And all this is not
enough. We cannot send a cargo to the farthest
ends of the earth, but they must send a gang of
thieves after it.' Harley and Seymour tried to
carry a vote of censure without giving the House
time to read the papers. But the general feeling
was strongly for a short delay. At length on the
sixth of December, the subject was considered in a
committee of the whole House. Shower undertook
to prove that the letters patent to which Somers
had put the Great Seal were illegal. Cowper re-
plied to him with immense applause, and seems to
have completely refuted him.
' ' At length, after a debate which lasted from mid-
day till nine at night, and in which all the leading
members took part, the committee divided on the
question that the letters patent were dishonorable
to the King, inconsistent with the laws of nations,
100 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
contrary to the statutes of the realm, and destruc-
tive of property and trade. The Chancellor's ene-
mies had felt confident of victory, and made the
resolution so strong in order that it might be impos-
sible for him to retain the Great Seal. They soon
found that it would have been wise to propose a
gentler censure. Great numbers of their adherents,
convinced by Cowper's arguments, or unwilling to
put a cruel stigma on a man of whose genius and
accomplishments the nation was proud, stole away
before the doors were closed. To the general as-
tonishment, there were only one hundred and thirty-
three Ayes to one hundred and eighty-nine Noes.
That the city of London did not consider Somers
as the destroyer, and his enemies as the protectors
of trade, was proved on the following morning by
the most unequivocal of signs. As soon as the news
of the triumph reached the Royal Exchange, the
price of stocks went up."
There is a very rare pamphlet which illuminates
the matter in much more detail. It was written and
published as a defense of Bellomont and his part-
ners and the very length, elaboration, and heat of
its argument shows how furiously the political pot
was boiling while Kidd was imprisoned in London
awaiting his trial. This ex parte production is en-
titled "A Full Account of the Actions of the Late
Famous Pyrate, Captain Kidd, With the Proceed-
ings against Him and a Vindication of the Bight
Honourable Eichard, Earl of Bellomont, Lord Ca-
loony, late Governor of New England, and other
Honourable Persons from the Unjust Reflections
Cast upon Them. By a Person of Quality." 2
It is herein recorded that the arguments to sup-
2 Published in 1701.
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TRIAL AND DEATH 101
port the question moved in Parliament were:
"1 That by law the King could not grant the
Goods of Pirates, at least, not before conviction.
"2 That the Grant was extravagant, for all
Goods of Pirates, taken with or by any persons in
any part of the world, were granted away.
3 Not only the Goods of the Pirates, but all
Goods taken with them were granted, which was il-
legal, because tho ' the Goods were taken by Pirates,
the rightful Owners have still a Title to them, Piracy
working no change of Property.
"5 By this Grant a great Hardship was put upon
the Merchants whose Goods might be taken with the
Pirates, for they had nowhere to go for Justice.
They could not hope for it in the Chancery, the
Lord Chancellor being interested ; nor at the Board
of Admiralty where the Earl of Orford presided;
nor from the King, all access to him being by the
Duke of Shrewsbury; nor in the Plantations where
the Earl of Bellomont was. So the only Judge who
the Pirates were, and what goods were theirs, was
Captain Kidd himself. ' '
Whatsoever may have been wrong with his con-
tract or his commissions, and Parliament sustained
them by vote as already mentioned, Captain Kidd
cannot be held blameworthy on this score. And it
is absurd to call him a premeditated pirate who sailed
from Plymouth with evil purpose in his heart. His
credentials and endorsements, his record as a ship-
master, and his repute at home, cannot be set aside.
They speak for themselves. Nor is it possible to
reconcile the character of the man, as he was known
by his deeds up to that time, with the charges laid
against him.
It is worth noting that the complaints made against
102 THE BOOK OF BUEIED TREASURE
his conduct in the waters of the Far East came from
the East India Company which denounced and pro-
claimed him as a pirate with a price on his head. It
was a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Al-
though the House of Commons had decided five years
before that the old Company should no longer have
a monopoly of English trade in Asiatic seas, the mer-
chants of London or Bristol dared not fit out ven-
tures to voyage beyond the Cape of Good Hope, and
found it necessary to send their goods in the ships
that flew the flag of India House. The private
trader still ran grave of being treated as a smuggler,
if not as a pirate. "He might, indeed, if he was
wronged, apply for redress to the tribunals of his
country. But years must elapse before his cause
could be heard ; his witnesses must be conveyed over
fifteen thousand miles of sea ; and in the meantime he
was a ruined man. ' ' 3
This powerful corporation which ruled the Eastern
seas as it pleased, confiscating the ships and goods
of private traders, accused Kidd of seizing two
ships with their cargoes which belonged to the Great
Mogul, and of several petty depredations hardly to
be classed as piracy. The case against him was built
up around the two vessels known as the November
and the Quedah Merchant. His defense was that on
board these prizes he had found French papers, or
safe conduct passes made out in the name of the
King of France and issued by the French East India
Company. He therefore took the ships as lawful
commerce of the enemy.
The crews of such trading craft as these comprised
men of many nations, Arabs, Lascars, Portuguese,
French, Dutch, English, Armenian, and Heaven
3 Macauley.
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TRIAL AND DEATH 103
knows what else. The nationality of the skipper, the
mate, the supercargo, or the foremast hands had
nothing to do with the ownership of the vessel, or the
flag under which she was registered, or chartered.
The papers found in her cabin determined whether
or not she should be viewed as a prize of war, or per-
mitted to go on her way. In order to protect the ship
as far as possible, it was not unusual for the master
to obtain two sets of papers, to be used as occasion
might require, and it is easily possible that the
Quedah Merchant, trading with the East India Com-
pany, may have taken out French papers, in order
to deceive any French privateer or cruiser that
might be encountered. Nor did the agents of the
East India Company see anything wrong in resort-
ing to such subterfuges.
The corner stone of Kidd's defense and justifica-
tion was these two French passes, which precious
documents he had brought home with him, and it was
admitted even by his enemies that the production of
them as evidence would go far to clear him of the
charges of piracy. That they were in his possession
when he landed in New England and that Bellomont
sent them to the Lords of Plantations in London
is stated in a letter quoted in the preceding chap-
ter. The documents then disappeared, their very ex-
istence was denied, and Kidd was called a liar to his
face, and his memory damned by historians writing
later, for trying to save his neck by means of evi-
dence which he was powerless to exhibit.
It would appear that these papers were not pro-
duced in court because it had been determined that
Kidd should be found guilty as a necessary scape-
goat. But he told the truth about the French passes,
and after remaining among the state papers for
104 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
more than two centuries, the original of one of them,
that found by him aboard the Quedah Merchant, was
recently discovered in the Public Record Office by
the author of this book, and it is herewith photo-
graphed in fac simile. Its purport has been trans-
lated as follows :
FROM THE KING.
WE, FRANCOIS MARTIN ESQUIRE, COUNCIL-
LOR OF THE ROYAL DIRECTOR, Minister of Com-
merce for the Royal Company of France in the Kingdom
of Bengal, the Coast of Coramandel, and other (de-
pendencies). To all those who will see these presents,
Greetings :
The following, Coja Quanesse, Coja Jacob, Armenian;
Nacodas, of the ship Cara Merchant, which the Armenian
merchant Agapiris Kalender has freighted in Surate from
Cohergy . . . having declared to us that before their
departure from Surate they had taken a passport from the
Company which they have presented to us to be dated
from the first of January, 1697, signed Martin and sub-
scribed de Grangemont; that they feared to be molested
during the voyage which they had to make from this port
to Surate, and alleging that the aforementioned passport
is no longer valid, and that for this reason they begged
of us urgently to have another sent to them; For these
reasons we recommend and enjoin upon all those under the
authority of the Company; we beg the Chiefs of Squad-
rons and Commanders of Vessels of His Majesty: and we
request all the friends and allies of the Crown in nowise
to retard the voyage and to render all possible aid and
comfort, promising on a similar occasion to do likewise.
In testimony ef which we have signed these presents, and
caused them to be countersigned by the Secretary of the
Company, and the seal of his arms placed thereon.
MAETIN.
(Dated Jan. 16, 1698.)
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TRIAL AND DEATH 105
It is reasonable to assume that the Cara Mer-
chant of the passport, is intended to designate the
ship in which the document was found by Kidd. In
various reports of the episode, the name of the ves-
sel was spelled Quidah, Quedah, Queda and Quedagh.
The word is taken from the name of a small native
state of the Malay Peninsula, and even to-day it is
set down in various ways, as Quedah, Kedda, or
Kedah. Other circumstances confirm this supposi-
tion and go far to prove that the ship was a lawful
prize for an English privateer. During the period
between the Eevolution and the War of 1812, Eng-
land confiscated many American merchant vessels in
the West Indies under pretexts not a whit more con-
vincing than Kidd's excuse for snapping up the
Quedah Merchant.
What Kidd himself had to say about this affair is
told in his narrative of the voyage as he related it
during his preliminary examination while under ar-
rest in Boston. It runs as follows :
A Narrative of the Voyage of Capt, William Kidd,
Commander of the Adventure Galley, from London to the
East Indies.
That the 'Journal of the said Capt. Kidd being vio-
lently taken from him in the Port of St. Maries in Mada-
gascar; and his life many times being threatened to be
taken away from him by 97 of his men that deserted him
there, he cannot give that exact Account he otherwise
would have done, but as far as his memory will serve, it is
as follows, Vizt:
That the said Adventure Galley was launched in Castles
Yard at Deptford about the 4th. day of December, 1695,
and about the latter end of February the said Galley came
to ye buoy in the Nore, and about the first day of March
following, his men were pressed from him for the Fleet
which caused him to stay there about 19 days, and then
106 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
sailed for the Downs and arrived there about the 8th or
10th day of April 1696, and sailed thence to Plymouth
and on the 23rd. day of the said month of April he sailed
from Plymouth on his intended Voyage. And some time
in the month of May met with a small French Vessel with
Salt and Fishing tackle on board, bound for Newfound-
land, which he took and made prize of and carried the
same into New York about the 4th day of July where she
was condemned as lawful prize, and the produce whereof
purchased Provisions for the said Galley for her further
intended Voyage.
That about the 6th. day of September, 1696, the said
Capt. Kidd sailed for the Madeiras in company with one
Joyner, Master of a Brigantine belonging to Bermuda, and
arrived there about the 8th. day of October following, and
thence to Bonavista where they arrived about the 19th. of
the said month and took in some Salt and stay'd three or
four days and sailed thence to St. Jago and arrived there
the 24th, of the said month, where he took in some water
and stay'd about 8 or 9 days, and thence sailed for the
Cape of Good Hope and in the Latitude of 32, on the
12th day of December, 1696, met with four English men
of war whereof Capt. Warren was Commodore and sailed
a week in their company, and then parted and sailed to
Telere, a port in the Island of Madagascar.
And being there about the 29th day of January, there
came in a Sloop belonging to Barbadoes loaded with Rum,
Sugar, Powder, and Shott, one French, Master, and Mr.
Hatton and Mr. John Batt, merchants, and the said Hat-
ton came on board the said Galley and was suddenly taken
ill and died in the Cabbin. And about the latter end of
February sailed for the Island of Johanna, and the said
Sloop keeping company, and arrived thereabout the 18th
day of March, where he found four East India merchant-
men, outward bound, and watered there all together and
stay'd about four days, and from thence about the 22nd
day of March sailed for Mehila, an Island ten Leagues
distant from Johanna, where he arrived the next morning,
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TRIAL AND DEATH 107
and there careened the said Galley, and about fifty men
died there in a week's time*
And about the 25th day of April, 1697, set sail for the
coast of India, and came upon the coast of Malabar, in
the beginning of the month of September, and went into
Carawar upon that coast about the middle of the same
month, and watered there. The Gentlemen of the English
Factory gave the Narrator an account that the Portugese
were fitting out two men of war to take him, and advised
him to set out to sea, and to take care of himself from
them, and immediately he set sail therefrom about the
22nd of the said month of September. And the next morn-
ing, about break of day, saw the said two men-of-war
standing for the said Galley, and they spoke with him and
asked him whence he was, who replied from London, and
they returned answer from Goa, and so parted, wishing
each other a good Voyage.
And making still along the coast, the Commodore of the
said men-of-war kept dogging the said Galley at night,
waiting an opportunity to board the same, and in the morn-
ing without speaking a word fired six great guns at the
Galley, some whereof went through her and wounded four
of his men. And therefore he fired upon him again, and
the fight continued all day, and the Narrator had eleven
men wounded. The other Portugese men of war lay some
distance off, and could not come up with the Galley, being
calm, else would have likewise assaulted the same. The
< "From hence putting off to the West Indies, wee were not many
dayes at sea, but there beganne among our people such mortalitie
as in fewe days there were dead above two or three hundred men.
And until some seven or eight dayes after our coming from S. lago,
there had not died any one man of sickness in all the fleete; the
sickness shewed not his infection wherewith so many were stroken
until we were departed thence, and then seazed our people with
extreme hot burning and continuall agues, whereof very fewe es-
caped with life, and yet those for the most part not without great
alteration and decay of their wittes and strength for a long time
after." Hakluyt's Voyages. (A Summarie and True Discourse of
Sir Francis Drake's West Indian voyage begun in the Year 1585.)
108 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
said fight was sharp and the said Portugese left the said
Galley with such satisfaction that the Narrator believes no
Portugese will ever attack the King's Colours again, in
that part of the World especially.
Afterwards continued upon the said coast till the begin-
ning of the month of November 1697 cruising upon the
Cape of Cameroon for Pyrates that frequent that coast.
Then he met with Capt. How in the Loyal Captain, a
Dutch Ship belonging to Madras, bound to Surat whom
he examined and finding his pass good, designed freely to
let her pass about her affairs. But having two Dutchmen
on board, they told the Narrator's men that they had
divers Greeks and Armenians on board who had divers
precious Stones and other rich goods, which caused his
men to be very mutinous, and they got up their Arms,
and swore they would take the Ship. The Narrator told
them the small arms belonged to the Galley, and that he
was not come to take any Englishmen or lawful Traders,
and that if they attempted any such thing, they should
never come on board the Galley again, nor have the boat
or small arms, for he had no Commission to take any but
the King's Enemies and Pyrates and that he would attack
them with the Galley and drive them into Bombay, (the
other Vessel being a Merchantman, and having no guns,
they might easily have done it with a few hands).
With all the arguments and menaces he could use, he
could scarce restrain them from their unlawful design, but
at last prevail 'd and with much ado got him clear and let
him go about his business. All of which Captain How will
attest if living.
And about the 18th. or 19th day of the said month of
November met with a Moors' Ship of about 200 Tons com-
ing from Surat, bound to the Coast of Malabar, loaded
with two horses, Sugar and Cotton, having about 40 Moors
on board with a Dutch Pylot, Boatswain, and Gunner,
which said Ship the Narrator hailed, and commanded (the
Master) on board and with him came 8 or 9 Moors and
the said three Dutchmen, who declared it was a Moors'
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TRIAL AND DEATH 109
ship, and he (the Narrator) demanding their Pass from
Surat which they showed and the same was a French Pass
which he believed was showed by mistake, for the Pylot
swore by Sacrament she was a Prize and staid on board
the Galley and would not return again on board the Moors '
Ship but went in the Galley to the port of St. Maries.
And that about the first day of February following, upon
the same coast, under French Colours with a designe to
decoy, met a Bengali merchantman 5 belonging to Surat, of
the burthen of 4 or 500 tons, 10 guns, and he commanded
the master on board, and a Frenchman, Inhabitant of
Surat and belonging to the French Factory there and Gun-
ner of said ship, came on board as Master, and when he
came on board the Narrator caused the English Colours
to be hoysted, and the said Master was surprised, and said
"You are all English," and asked which was the Captain,
whom when he (the Frenchman) saw, he said, "Here is
a good prize" and delivered him the French pass.
And that with the said two Prizes, he (the Narrator)
sailed for the Port of St. Maries in Madagascar, and sailing
thither the Galley was so leaky that they feared she would
have sunk every hour, and it required eight men every
two glasses to keep her free, and they were forced to woold
her round with Cables to keep her together, and with much
ado carried her into port. . . . And about the 6th day
of May, the lesser Prize was haled into the careening island
or key (the other not having arrived), and ransacked and
sunk by the mutinous men who threatened the Narrator
and the men that would not join with them, to burn and
sink the other Ship that they might not go home and tell
the news.
And that when he arrived in the said port, there was a
Pyrate Ship, called the Moca Frigat, at an Anchor, Robert
Culliford, Commander thereof, who with his men left the
same and ran into the woods, and the Narrator proposed
to his men to take the same, having sufficient power and
authority so to do, but the mutinous crew told him if he
5 The Quedah Merchant.
110 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
offered the same they would rather fire two guns into him
than one into the other; and thereupon 97 deserted and
went into the Moca Frigat, and sent into the woods for the
said Pyrates and brought the said Culliford and his men
on board again. And all the time she (the Moca Frigat}
staid in the said Port, which was for the space of 4 or
5 days, the said deserters, sometimes in great numbers,
came on board the Adventure Galley and her prize and
carried away the great gun, powder, shot, arms, sails,
anchors, etc., and what they pleased, and threatened sev-
eral times to murder the Narrator (as he was informed and
advised to take care of himself), which they designed in the
night to effect, but was prevented by his locking himself
in his Cabbin and securing himself with barricading the
same with bales of Goods, and having about forty Small
arms besides Pistols ready charged, kept them out. Their
wickedness was so great that after they had plundered
and ransacked sufficiently, they went four miles off to one
Edward Welche's house where his (the Narrator's) chest
was lodged, and broke it open and took out 10 ounces of
gold, forty pounds of plate, 370 pieces of eight, the Nar-
rator's 'Journal, and a great many papers that belonged to
him, and to the people of New Yorke that fitted him out.
That about the 15th day of June the Moca Frigate went
away, being manned with about 130 men and forty guns,
bound out to take all Nations. Then it was that the Nar-
rator was left with only about 13 men, so that the Moors
he had to pump and keep the Adventure Galley above
water being carried away, she sank in the Harbour, and
the Narrator with the said Thirteen men went on board of
the Adventure's Prize where he was forced to stay five
months for a fair wind. In the meantime some Passengers
presented themselves that were bound for these parts,
which he took on board to help to bring the said Adven-
ture's Prize 6 home.
That about the beginning of April 1699, the Narrator
arrived at Anguilla in the West Indies and sent his boat
The Quedah Merchant.
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TRIAL AND DEATH 111
on shore where his men heard the News that he and his
People were proclaimed Pirates, which put them into such
a Consternation that they sought all opportunities to run
the Ship on shore upon some reefs or shoal, fearing the
Narrator should carry them into some English port.
From Anguilla, they came to St. Thomas where his
brother-in-law, Samuel Bradley, was put on shore, being
sick, and five more went away and deserted him. There
he heard the same News, that the Narrator and his Com-
pany were proclaimed Pirates, which incensed the people
more and more. From St. Thomas set sail for Mona, an
Island between Hispaniola and Porto Rico, where they met
with a Sloop called the St. Anthony, bound for Antigua
from Curacoa, Mr. Henry Bolton, Merchant, and Samuel
Wood, Master. The men on board then swore they would
bring the ship no farther. The Narrator then sent the
said Sloop, St. Anthony, to Curacoa for canvas to make
sails for the Prize, she being not able to proceed, and she
returned in 10 days, and after the canvas came he could
not persuade the men to carry her for New England.
Six of the men went and carried their Chests and things
on board of two Dutch Sloops bound for Curacoa, and
would not so much as heel the Vessel or do anything. The
remainder of the men, not being able to bring the Ad-
venture Prize to Boston, the Narrator secured her in a
good safe harbour in some part of Hispaniola and left her
in the possession of M. Henry Bolton of Antigua, Mer-
chant, and the Master, and three of the old men, and 15
or 16 of the men that belonged to the said sloop, St. An-
thony, and a Brigantine belonging to one Burt of Curacoa.
That the Narrator bought the said Sloop, St. Anthony,
of Mr. Bolton, for the Owners' account, after he had given
directions to the said Bolton to be careful of the Ship and
lading and persuaded him to stay three months till he
returned. And he then made the best of his way for
New York where he heard the Earl of Bellomont was,
who was principally concerned in the Adventure Galley,
and hearing his Lordship was at Boston, came thither and
112 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
has now been 45 days from the said Ship. Further, the
Narrator saith that the said ship was left at St. Katharine
on the southeast part of Hispaniola, about three Leagues
to leeward of the westerly end of Savano. Whilst he lay
at Hispaniola he traded with Mr. Henry Bolton of Antigua
and Mr. William Burt of Curacoa, Merchants, to the value
of Eleven Thousand Two Hundred Pieces of Eight,
whereof he received the Sloop Antonio at 3000 Ps. of
eight, and Four Thousand Two Hundred Ps. of Eight in
Bills of Lading drawn by Bolton and Burt upon Messers.
Gabriel and Lemont, Merchants, in Curacoa, made payable
to Mr. Burt who went himself to Curacoa, and the value
of Four Thousand Pieces of Eight more in dust and bar
gold. Which gold, with some more traded for at Mada-
gascar, being Fifty pounds weight or upwards in quantity,
the Narrator left in custody of Mr. Gardiner of Gardiner's
Island, near the eastern end of Long Island, fearing to
bring it about by sea.
It is made up in a bagg put into a little box, lockt and
nailed, corded about and sealed. The Narrator saith he
took no receipt for it of Mr. Gardiner. The gold that was
seized at Mr. Campbell's, the Narrator traded for at
Madagascar, with what came out of the Galley. He
saith that he carried in the Adventure Galley from New
York 154 men, seventy whereof came out of England
with him.
Some of his Sloop's company put two bails of Goods on
store at Gardiner's Island, being their own property. The
Narrator delivered a chest of Goods, Vizt; Muslins,
Latches, Romals, and flowered silk unto Mr. Gardiner of
Gardiner's Island to be kept there for him. He put no
goods on shore anywhere else. Several of his company
landed their Chests and other goods at several places.
Further saith he delivered a small bail of coarse callicoes
unto a Sloopman of Rhode Island that he had employed
there. The Gold seized at Mr. Campbell's, the Narrator
intended for presents to some that he expected to do him
kindness.
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TRIAL AND DEATH 113
Some of his company put their Chests and bails on board
a New York Sloop lying at Gardiner's Island.
WM. KIDD.
Presented and taken die prcedict
before his Exc'y and Council
Addington, Sec'y.
More than a year after Kidd had been carried to
England with twelve of his crew, he was arraigned
for trial at the Old Bailey. Meantime Lord Bello-
mont had died in Boston. Trials for piracy were
common enough, but this accused shipmaster was
confronted by such an array of titled big-wigs and
court officials as would have been sufficient to try
the Lord Chancellor himself. For the government,
the Lord Chief Baron, Sir Edward Ward, presided,
and with him sat Sir Henry Hatsell, Baron of the
Exchequer; Sir Salathiel Lovell, the Eecorder of
London ; Sir John Turton and Sir Henry Gould, Jus-
tices of the King's Bench, and Sir John Powell, a
Justice of the Common Pleas. As counsel for the
prosecution, there was the 'Solicitor General, Dr.
Oxenden; Mr. Knapp, Mr. Comers, and Mr. Camp-
bell.
For Captain William Kidd, there was no one. By
the law of England at that time, a prisoner tried on
a criminal charge could employ no counsel and was
permitted to have no legal advice, except only when
a point of law was directly involved. Kidd had been
denied all chance to muster witnesses or assemble
documents, and, at that, the court was so fearful of
failing to prove the charges of piracy that it was
decided to try him first for killing his gunner, Wil-
liam Moore, and convicting him of murder. He
would be as conveniently dead if hanged for the one
crime as for the other,
114 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Now, it is not impossible that Kidd had clean for-
gotten that trifling episode of William Moore. For
a commander to knock down a seaman guilty of dis-
respect or disobedience was as commonplace as eat-
ing. The offender was lucky if he got off no worse.
Discipline in the naval and merchant services was
barbarously severe. Sailors died of flogging or keel-
hauling, or of being triced up by the thumbs for the
most trifling misdemeanors. As for Moore, he was
a mutineer, and an insolent rogue besides, who had
stirred up trouble in the crew, and nothing would
have been said to any other skipper than Kidd for
shooting him or running him through. However, let
the testimony tell its own story.
After the Grand Jury had returned the bill of in-
dictment for murder, the Clerk of Arraignment said:
"William Kidd, hold up thy hand."
With a pluck and persistence which must have had
a certain pathetic dignity, Kidd began to object.
' ' May it please your Lordship, I desire you to per-
mit me to have counsel."
The Recorder. "What would you have counsel
for?"
Kidd. "My Lord, I have some matters of law re-
lating to the indictment, and I desire I may have
counsel to speak to it."
Dr. Oxenden. "What matter of law can you
have?"
Clerk of Arraignment. "How does he know what
he is charged with! I have not told him."
The Recorder. "You must let the Court know
what these matters of law are before you can have
counsel assigned you."
Kidd. "They be matters of law, my Lord."
115
The Recorder. "Mr. Kidd, do you know what you
mean by matters of law?"
Kidd. "I know what I mean. I desire to put off
my trial as long as I can, till I can get my evidence
ready."
The Recorder: "Mr. Kidd, you had best mention
the matter of law you would insist on."
Dr. Oxenden. "It cannot be matter of law to put
off your trial, but matter of fact."
Kidd. "I desire your Lordship's favor. I desire
that Dr. Oldish and Mr. Lemmon here be heard as
to my case (indicating lawyers present in court).
Clerk of Arraignment. "What can he have counsel
for before he has pleaded?"
The Recorder. "Mr. Kidd, the Court tells you it
shall be heard what you have to say when you have
pleaded to your indictment. If you plead to it, if
you will, you may assign matter of law, if you have
any, but then you must let the Court know what you
would insist on."
Kidd. "I beg your Lordship's patience, till I can
procure my papers. I had a couple of French passes
which I must make use of, in order to my justifi-
cation."
The Recorder. "This is not matter of law. You
have had long notice of your trial, and might have
prepared for it. How long have you had notice of
your trial 1 ' '
Kidd. "A matter of a fortnight."
Dr. Oxenden. ' * Can you tell the names of any per-
sons that you would make use of in your defense?"
Kidd. "I sent for them, but I could not have
them."
Dr. Oxenden. "Where were they then?"
116 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Kidd. "I brought them to my Lord Bellomont in
New England.'*
The Recorder. "What were their names? You
cannot tell without book. Mr. Kidd, the Court sees
no reason to put off your trial, therefore you must
plead. ' '
Clerk of Arraignment. "William Kidd, hold up
thy hand."
Kidd. "I beg your Lordship I may have counsel
admitted, and that my trial may be put off. I am
not really prepared for it."
The Recorder. "Nor never will, if you could help
it."
Dr. Oxenden. "Mr. Kidd, you have had reason-
able notice, and you know you must be tried, and
therefore you cannot plead you are not ready. ' '
Kidd. "If your Lordships permit those papers to
be read, they will justify me. I desire my counsel
may be heard."
Mr. Comers. "We admit of no counsel for him."
The Recorder. "There is no issue joined, and
therefore there can be no counsel assigned. Mr.
Kidd, you must plead. ' '
Kidd. "I cannot plead till I have those papers
that I insisted upon. ' '
Mr. Lemmon. "He ought to have his papers de-
livered to him, because they are very material for his
defense. He has endeavored to have them, but
could not get them. ' '
Mr. Corners. "You are not to appear for anyone,
(Mr. Lemmon) till he pleads, and that the Court as-
signs you for his counsel. ' '
The Recorder. "They would only put off the
trial."
Mr. Coniers. "He must plead to the indictment."
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TRIAL AND DEATH 117
Clerk of Arraignment. "Make silence."
Kidd. "My papers are all seized, and I cannot
make my defense without them. I desire my trial
may be put off till I can have them."
The Recorder. "The Court is of opinion that they
ought not to stay for all your evidence; it may be
they will never come. You must plead ; and then if
you can satisfy the Court that there is a reason to
put off the trial, you may."
Kidd. "My Lord, I have business in law, and I
desire counsel."
The Recorder. "The course of Courts is, when
you have pleaded, the matter of trial is next ; if you
can then show there is cause to put off the trial, you
may, but now the matter is to plead."
Kidd. "It is a hard case when all these things
shall be kept from me, and I am forced to plead."
The Recorder. "If he will not plead, there must
be judgment."
Kidd. "Would you have me plead and not have
my vindication by me ? ' '
Clerk of Arraignment. "Will you plead to the in-
dictment?"
Kidd. "I would beg that I may have my papers
for my vindication."
It is very obvious that up to this point Kidd was
concerned only with the charges of piracy, and at-
tached no importance to the fact that he had been
indicted for the murder of his gunner. Regarding
the matter of the French passes, Kidd was des-
perately in earnest. He knew their importance, nor
was he begging for them as a subterfuge to gain
time. He had been employed as a privateering com-
mander against the French in the West Indies and
on the New England coast, as the documents of the
118 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Provincial Government have already shown. It is
fair to assume that he knew the rules of the game and
the kind of papers necessary to make a prize a lawful
capture by the terms of the English privateering
commission which he held. But his efforts to intro-
duce this evidence which had been secured by Bello-
mont and forwarded to the authorities in London,
were of no avail. Compelled to plead to the indict-
ment for murder, Kidd swore that he was not guilty,
and the trial then proceeded under the direction of
Lord Chief Baron Ward. Dr. Oldish, who sought to
be assigned, with Mr. Lemmon, as counsel for the
prisoner, was not to be diverted from the main is-
sue, and he boldly struck in.
' ' My Lord, it is very fit his trial should be delayed
for some time because he wants some papers very
necessary for his defense. It is very true he is
charged with piracies in several ships, but they had
French passes when the seizure was made. Now, if
there were French passes, it was a lawful seizure."
Mr. Justice Powell. "Have you those passes?"
Kidd. "They were taken from me by my Lord
Bellomont, and these passes would be my defense."
Dr. Oldish. "If those ships that he took had
French passes, there was just cause of seizure, and
it will excuse him from piracy."
Kidd. "They were taken from me by my Lord
Bellomont and those passes show there was just
cause of seizure. That we will prove as clear as
the day."
The Lord Chief Baron. "What ship was that
which had the French passes?"
Mr. Lemmon. "The same he was in; the same he
is indicted for. ' '
Clerk of Arraignment. "Let all stand aside but
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TRIAL AND DEATH 119
Captain Kidd. William Kidd, you are now to be
tried on the Bill of Murder ; the jury is going to be
sworn. If you have any cause of exception, you may
speak to them as they come to the Book."
Kidd. "I challenge none. I know nothing to the
contrary but they are honest men. ' *
The first witness for the Crown was Joseph
Palmer, of the Adventure Galley (who had been
captured by Bellomont in Ehode Island and who
had informed him of the incident of the death of
Moore, the gunner). He testified as follows:
11 About a fortnight before this accident fell out,
Captain Kidd met with a ship on that coast (Mala-
bar) that was called the Loyal Captain. And about
a fortnight after this, the gunner was grinding a
chisel aboard the Adventure, on the high seas, near
the coast of Malabar in the East Indies."
Mr. Corners. "What was the gunner's name?"
Palmer. "William Moore. And Captain Kidd
came and walked on the deck, and walked by this
Moore, and when he came to him, says, 'How could
you have put me in a way to take this ship (Loyal
Captain) and been clear?' 'Sir,' says William
Moore, * I never spoke such a word, nor thought such
a thing.' Upon which Captain Kidd called him a
lousie dog. And says William Moore, 'If I am a
lousie dog, you have made me so. You have brought
me to ruin and many more. ' Upon him saying this,
says Captain Kidd, 'Have I ruined you, ye dog?' and
took a bucket bound with iron hoops and struck him
on the right side of the head, of which he died next
day."
Mr. Coniers. "Tell my Lord what passed next
after the blow."
Palmer. ' ' He was let down the gun-room, and the
120 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
gunner said 'Farewell, Farewell ! Captain Kidd has
given me my last.' And Captain Kidd stood on the
deck and said, 'You're a villain.' "
Robert Bradingham, who had been the surgeon of
the Adventure Galley, then testified that the wound
was small but that the gunner's skull had been frac-
tured.
Mr. Cooper. "Had you any discourse with Cap-
tain Kidd after this, about the man's death?"
Bradingham. "Some time after this, about two
months, by the coast of Malabar, Captain Kidd said,
'I do not care so much for the death of my gunner,
as for other passages of my voyage, for I have good
friends in England, who will bring me off for that. ' :
With this, the prosecution rested, and the Lord
Chief Baron addressed Kidd.
"Then you may make your defense. You are
charged with murder, and you have heard the evi-
dence that has been given. "What have you to say
for yourself ?"
Kidd. "I have evidence to prove it is no such
thing, if they may be admitted to come hither. My
Lord, I will tell you what the case was. I was com-
ing up within a league of the Dutchman (the Loyal
Captain), and some of my men were making a mutiny
about taking her, and my gunner told the people he
could put the captain in a way to take the ship and
be safe. Says I, ' How will you do that ? ' The gun-
ner answered, 'We will get the captain and men
aboard. ' * And what then ? ' ' We will go aboard the
ship and plunder her and we will have it under their
hands that we did not take her.' Says I, 'This is
Judas-like. I dare not do such a thing.' Says he,
'We may do it. We are beggars already.' 'Why,'
says I, 'may we take the ship because we are poor?'
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TRIAL AND DEATH 121
Upon this a mutiny arose, so I took up a bucket and
just throwed it at him, and said 'You are a rogue
to make such a notion. ' This I can prove, my Lord. ' '
Thereupon Kidd called Abel Owens, one of his
sailors, and asked him :
' ' Can you tell which way this bucket was thrown ? ' '
Mr. Justice Powell (to Owens). "What was the
provocation for throwing the bucket?"
Owens. ' 'I was in the cook-room, and hearing some
difference on the deck, I came out, and the gunner
was grinding a chisel on the grind-stone, and the
captain and he had some words, and the gunner said
to the captain, 'You have brought us to ruin, and
we are desolate.' 'And,' says he, (the captain) have
I brought you to ruin! I have not brought you to
ruin. I have not done an ill thing to ruin you ; you
are a saucy fellow to give me these words.' And
then he took up the bucket, and did give him the
blow."
Kidd. i ' Was there a mutiny among the men f ' '
Owens. "Yes, and the bigger part was for taking
the ship, and the captain said, ' You that will take the
Dutchman, you are the strongest, you may do what
you please. If you will take her, you may take her,
but if you go from aboard here, you shall never come
aboard again.'
The Lord Chief Baron. "When was this mutiny
you speak of?"
Owens. "When we were at sea, about a month be-
fore this man's death."
Kidd. "Call Richard Barlicorn."
(Barlicorn was an apprentice who has been men-
tioned in the inventory of the Sloop San Antonio.)
Kidd. "What was the reason the blow was given
to the gunner?"
122 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Barlicorn. "At first, when you met with, the ship
(Loyal Captain) there was a mutiny, and two or
three of the Dutchmen came aboard, and some said
she was a rich vessel, and they would take her. And
the captain (Kidd) said, 'No, I will not take her,' and
there was a mutiny in the ship, and the men said,
'If you will not, we will.' And he said, 'If you have
a mind, you may, but they that will not, come along
with me.' "
Kidd. l ' Do you think William Moore was one -of
those that was for taking her?"
Barlicorn. "Yes. And William Moore lay sick a
great while before this blow was given, and the doc-
tor said when he visited him, that this blow was not
the cause of his death."
The Lord Chief Baron. "Then they must be con-
fronted. Do you hear, Bradingham, what he says!"
Bradingham. "I deny this."
As for this surgeon, Kidd swore that he had been
a drunken, useless idler who would lay in the hold
for weeks at a time. Seaman Hugh Parrott was
then called and asked by Kidd :
' * Do you know the reason why I struck Moore ? ' '
Parrott. "Yes, because you did not take the Loyal
Captain, whereof Captain How was commander."
The Lord Chief Baron. "Was that the reason that
he struck Moore, because this ship was not taken?"
Parrott. "I shall tell you how this happened, to
the best of my knowledge. My commander fortuned
to come up with this Captain How's ship and some
were for taking her, and some not. And afterwards
there was a little sort of mutiny, and some rose in
arms, the greater part; and they said they would
take the ship. And the commander was not for it,
and so they resolved to go away in the boat and take
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TRIAL AND DEATH 123
her. Captain Kidd said, 'If you desert my ship, you
shall never come aboard again, and I will force you
into Bombay, and I will carry you before some of
the Council there.' Inasmuch that my commander
stilled them again and they remained on board.
And about a fortnight afterwards, there passed some
words between this William Moore and my com-
mander, and then, says he (Moore), 'Captain, I could
have put you in a way to have taken this ship and
been never the worse for it.' He says, (Kidd),
'Would you have had me take this ship? I cannot
answer it. They are our friends,' and with that I
went off the deck, and I understood afterwards the
blow was given, but how I cannot tell."
Kidd. "I have no more to say, but I had all the
provocation in the world given me. I had no design
to kill him. I had no malice or spleen against him. ' '
The Lord Chief Baron. "That must be left to the
jury to consider the evidence that has been given.
You make out no such matter. ' '
Kidd. "It was not designedly done, but in my pas-
sion, for which I am heartily sorry. ' '
Kidd was permitted to introduce no evidence as to
his previous good reputation, and the Court con-
cluded that it had heard enough. Lord Chief Baron
Ward thereupon delivered himself of an exceedingly
adverse charge to the jury, virtually instructing them
to find the prisoner guilty of murder, which was
promptly done. Having made sure of sending him
to Execution Dock, the Court then proceeded to try
him for piracy, which seems to have been a super-
fluous and unnecessary pother. Kidd declared, when
this second trial began :
"It is vain to ask any questions. It is hard that
the life of one of the King's subjects should be taken
124 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
away upon the perjured oaths of such villains as
these (Bradingham and Palmer). Because I would
not yield to their wishes and turn pirate, they now
endeavor to prove I was one. Bradingham is saving
his life to take away mine. ' '
The Crown proved the capture of the two ships
belonging to the Great Mogul, and an East Indian
merchant, representing the merchants, testified as to
the value of the lading and the regularity of the
ship's papers. Kidd challenged this evidence, and
once more pleaded with the Court that he be allowed
to bring forward the French passes. He asserted
that the Quedah Merchant had a French Commission,
and that her master was a tavern keeper of Surat.
That he told the truth, the accompanying photograph
of the said document bears belated witness. The
Lord Chief Baron put his finger on the weak point of
the case by asking to know why Kidd had not taken
the ship to port to be lawfully condemned as a prize,
as demanded by the terms of his commission from
the King. To this Kidd replied that his crew were
mutinous, and the Adventure Galley unseaworthy,
for which reasons he made for the nearest harbor of
Madagascar. There his men, to the number of
ninety odd, mutinied and went over to the pirate
Culliford in the Mocha Frigate. He was left short-
handed, his own ship was unfit to take to sea, so he
burned her, and transferred to the Quedah Mer-
chant, after which he steered straight for Boston to
deliver her prize to Lord Bellomont, which he would
have done had he not learned in the West Indies
that he had been proclaimed a pirate.
Edward Davis, mariner, confirmed the statement
regarding the French passes, in these words :
"I came home a passenger from Madagascar and
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TRIAL AND DEATH 125
from thence to Amboyna, and there he (Kidd) sent
his boat ashore, and there was one that said Cap-
tain Kidd was published a pirate in England, and
Captain Kidd gave those passes to him to read.
The Captain said they were French passes."
Kidd. "You heard that one, Captain Elms, say
they were French passes?"
Davis. "Yes, I heard Captain Elms say they were
French passes."
Mr. Baron Hatsell. "Have you any more to say,
Captain Kidd?"
Kidd. "I have some papers, but my Lord Bello-
mont keeps them from me, so that I cannot bring
them before the Court!"
Bradingham and other members of the crew ad-
mitted that they understood from Kidd that the cap-
tured ships were sailing under French passes.
Kidd, having been convicted of murder, was now
allowed to fetch in witnesses as to his character as
a man and a sailor previous to the fatal voyage.
One Captain Humphrey swore that he had known
Capt. Kidd in the West Indies twelve years before.
"You had a general applause," said he, "for what
you had done from time to time. ' '
The Lord Chief Baron. "That was before he was
turned pirate."
Captain Bond then declared:
"I know you were very useful at the beginning
of the war in the West Indies."
Colonel Hewson put the matter more forcibly and
made no bones of telling the Court:
' i My Lord, he was a mighty man there. He served
under my command there. He was sent to me by
tfc: Border of Colonel Codrington."
The Solicitor General. "How long was this ago?"
126 .THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Colonel Hewson. "About nine years ago. He was
with me in two engagements against the French,
and fought as well as any man I ever saw, accord-
ing to the proportion of his men. We had six
Frenchmen (ships) to deal with, and we had only
mine and his ship."
Kidd. "Do you think I was a pirate !"
Colonel Hewson. "I knew his men would have
gone a-pirating, and he refused it, and his men seized
upon his ship ; and when he went this last voyage, he
consulted with me, and told me they had engaged
him in such an expedition. And I told him that he
had enough already and might be content with what
he had. And he said that was his own inclination,
but Lord Bellomont told him if he did not go the
voyage there were great men who would stop his
brigantine in the river if he did not go."
Thomas Cooper. "I was aboard the Lyon in the
West Indies and this Captain Kidd brought his ship
from a place that belonged to the Dutch and brought
her into the King's service at the beginning of the
war, about ten years ago. And he took service under
the Colonel (Hewson), and we fought Monsieur Du
Cass a whole day, and I thank God we got the better
of him. And Captain Kidd behaved very well in
the face of his enemies. ' '
It may be said also for Captain William Kidd that
he behaved very well in the face of the formidable
battery of legal adversaries.
As a kind of afterthought, the jury found him
guilty of piracy along with several of his crew,
Nichols Churchill, James How, Gabriel Loff, Hugh
Parrott, Abel Owens, and Darby Mullins. Three of
those indicted were set free, Richard Barlicorn, Rob-
ert Lumley, and William Jenkins, because they were
CAPTAIN KIDD, HIS TRIAL AND DEATH 127
able to prove themselves to have been bound sea-
men apprentices, duly indentured to officers of the
ship who were responsible for their deeds. Before
sentence was passed on him, Kidd said to the Court :
1 'My Lords, it is a very hard judgment. For my
part I am the most innocent person of them all."
Execution Dock long since vanished from old Lon-
don, but tradition has survived along the waterfront
of Wapping to fix the spot, and the worn stone stair-
case known as the "Pirates' Stairs," still leads down
to the river, and down these same steps walked Cap-
tain William Kidd. The Gentleman's Magazine
(London) for 1796 describes the ancient procedure,
just as it had befallen Captain Kidd and his men :
"Feb. 4th. This morning, a little after ten o'clock,
Colley, Cole, and Blanche, the three sailors convicted
of the murder of Captain Little, were brought out of
Newgate, and conveyed in solemn procession to Exe-
cution Dock, there to receive the punishment awarded
by law. On the cart on which they rode was an ele-
vated stage ; on this were seated Colley, the principal
instigator in the murder, in the middle, and his two
wretched instruments, the Spaniard Blanche, and the
Mulatto Cole, on each side of him; and behind, on
another seat, two executioners.
' ' Colley seemed in a state resembling that of a man
stupidly intoxicated, and scarcely awake, and the
two discovered little sensibility on this occasion, nor
to the last moment of their existence, did they, as we
hear, make any confession. They were turned off
about a quarter before twelve in the midst of an im-
mense crowd of spectators. On the way to the place
of execution, they were preceded by the Marshall
of the Admiralty in his carriage, the Deputy Mar-
shall, bearing the silver oar, and the two City Mar-
128 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
shals on horseback, Sheriff's officers, etc. The
whole cavalcade was conducted with great solem-
nity."
John Taylor, "the water poet," who lived in the
time of Captain Kidd, wrote these doleful lines,
which may serve as a kind of obituary:
"There are inferior Gallowses which bear,
(According to the season) twice a year;
And there 's a kind of waterish tree at Wapping
Where sea-thieves or pirates are catched napping."
Kidd 's body, covered with tar and hung in chains,
was gibbeted on the shore of the reach of the
Thames hard by Tilbury Fort, as was the customary
manner of displaying dead pirates by way of warn-
ing to passing seamen. His treasure was confis-
cated by the Crown, and what was left of it, after
the array of legal gentlemen had been paid their
fees, was turned over to Greenwich Hospital by
act of Parliament.
Thus lived and died a man, who, whatever may
have been his faults, was unfairly dealt with by his
patrons, misused by his rascally crew, and slandered
by credulous posterity.
CHAPTER V
THE WONDKOUS FOKTUNE OF WILLIAM PHEPS
THE flaw in the business of treasure hunting, out-
side of fiction, is that the persons equipped with
the shovels and picks and the ancient charts so sel-
dom find the hidden gold. The energy, credulity,
and persistence of these explorers are truly admir-
able but the results have been singularly shy of
dividends the world over. There is genuine satis-
faction, therefore, in sounding the name and fame
of the man who not only went roving in search
of lost treasure but also found and fetched home
more of it than any other adventurer known to this
kind of quest.
On the coast of Maine, near where the Kennebec
flows past Bath into the sea, there is a bit of tide
water known as Montsweag Bay, hard by the town
of Wiscasset. Into this little bay extends a minia-
ture cape, pleasantly wooded, which is known as
Phips Point, and here it was that the most illustrious
treasure seeker of them all, William Phips, was born
in 1650. The original Pilgrim Fathers, or some of
them, were still hale and hearty, the innumerable
ship-loads of furniture brought over in the May-
flower had not been scattered far from Plymouth,
and this country was so young that the "oldest
families" of Boston were all brand-new.
James Phips, father of the great "William, was a
gun-smith who had come over from Bristol in old
129
130 THE BOOK OF BUEIED TREASURE
England to better his fortunes. With the true
pioneering spirit he obtained a grant of land and
built his log cabin at the furthest outpost of settle-
ment toward the eastward. He cleared his fields,
raised some sheep, and betimes repaired the blun-
derbusses with which Puritan and Pilgrim were
wont to pot the aborigine. The first biography of
William Phips was written by Cotton Mather, whom
the better you know the more heartily you dislike
for a canting old bigot who boot-licked men of rank,
wealth, or power, and was infernally active in get-
ting a score of hapless men and women hanged for
witchcraft in Salem.
Cotton Mather deserves the thanks of all good
treasure seekers, however, for having given us the
first-hand story of William Phips whom he knew
well and extravagantly admired. In fact, after this
hero had come sailing home with his treasures and
because of these riches was made Sir William Phips
and Eoyal Governor of Massachusetts by Charles II,
he had his pew in the old North Church of Boston
of which Eev. Cotton Mather was pastor. But this
is going ahead too fast, and we must hark back to the
humble beginnings. "His faithful mother, yet liv-
ing," wrote Mather in his very curious Magnolia
Christi Americana, "had no less than Twenty-six
Children, whereof Twenty-one were Sons: but
Equivalent to them all was William, one of the
youngest, whom his Father dying, was left young
with his mother, and with her he lived, keeping ye
Sheep in the Wilderness until he was Eighteen Years
old."
Then Willliam decided that the care of the farm
and the sheep might safely be left to his twenty
brothers, and he apprenticed himself to a ship-
THE FORTUNE OF WILLIAM PHIPS 131
wright who was building on the shore near the settle-
ment those little shallops, pinnaces, and sloops in
which our forefathers dared to trade up and down
their own coasts and as far as the West Indies, mere
cockle-shells manned by seamen of astonishing te-
merity and hardihood. While at work with hammer
and adze, this strapping lump of a lad listened to
the yarns of skippers who had voyaged to Jamaica
and the Bahamas, dodging French privateers or run-
ning afoul of pirates who stripped them of cargo and
gear, and perhaps it was then that he first heard of
the treasures that had been lost in wrecked galleons,
or buried by buccaneers of Hispaniola. At any rate,
William Phips wished to see more of the world and
to win a chance to go to sea in a ship of his own,
wherefore he set out for Boston after he had served
his time, "having an accountable impulse upon his
mind, persuading him, as he would privately hint
unto some of his friends, that he was born to greater
matters."
Twenty-two years old, not yet able to read and
write, young Phips found work with a ship-carpenter
and studied his books as industriously as he plied his
trade. Soon he was wooing a "young gentlewoman
of good repute, the daughter of one Captain Eoger
Spencer," and there was no resisting this head-
strong suitor. They were married, and shortly after
this important event Phips was given a contract to
build a ship at a settlement on Sheepscot river, near
his old home on the Kennebec, "where having
launched the ship," Cotton Mather relates, "he also
provided a lading of lumber to bring with him, which
would have been to the advantage of all concerned.
"But just as the ship was hardly finished, the bar-
barous Indians on that river broke forth into an open
132 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
and cruel war upon the English, and the miserable
people, surprised by so sudden a storm of blood, had
no refuge from the infidels but the ship now finish-
ing in the harbor. Wherefore he left his intended
lading behind him, and instead thereof carried with
him his old neighbors and their families, free of all
charges, to Boston. So the first thing he did, after
he was his own man, was to save his father's house,
with the rest of the neighborhood from ruin; but
the disappointment which befell him from the loss of
his other lading plunged his affairs into greater em-
barrassment with such as he had employed him.
But he was hitherto no more than beginning to make
scaffolds for further and higher actions. He would
frequently tell the gentlewoman, his wife, that he
should yet be Captain of a King's Ship; that he
should come to have the command of better men
than he was now accounted himself, and that he
would be the owner of a fair brick house in the Green
Lane of North Boston." l
Inasmuch as William Phips would have been a very
sorry scoundrel indeed, to run away s for the sake
of a cargo of lumber, and leave his old friends and
neighbors to be scalped, it seems as Cotton Mather
was sounding the timbrel of praise somewhat over^
loud, but the parson was a fulsome eulogist, and f o\
reasons of his own he proclaimed this roaring, blus-
tering seafarer and hot-headed royal governor as
little lower than the angels. Here and there Mather
drew with firm stroke the character of the man, so
that we catch glimpses of him as a live and moving
i In order to make easier reading, this and the following extracts
from Cotton Mather's narrative are somewhat modernized in respect
of quaint spelling, punctuation, and the use of capitals, although,
of course, the wording is unchanged.
Sir William Phips, first royal governor of Massachusetts.
THE FORTUNE OF WILLIAM PHIPS 133
figure. ' ' He was of an inclination cutting rather like
a hatchet than a razor; he would propose very con-
siderable matters and then so cut through them that
no difficulties could put by the edge of his reso-
lution. Being thus of the true temper for doing of
great things, he betakes himself to the sea, the right
scene for such things. ' '
Phips had no notion of being a beggarly New Eng-
land trading skipper, carrying codfish and pine
boards to the West Indies and threshing homeward
with molasses and niggers in the hold, or coasting to
Virginia for tobacco. A man of mettle won prizes
by bold strokes and large hazards, and treasure
seeking was the game for William. Among the tav-
erns of the Boston water-front he picked up tidings
and rumors of many a silver-laden galleon of Spain
that had shivered her timbers on this or that low-
lying reef of the Bahama Passage where there was
neither buoy nor lighthouse. Here was a chance to
win that "fair brick house in the Green Lane of
North Boston" and Phips busied himself with pick-
ing up information until he was primed to make a
voyage of discovery. Keeping his errand to him-
self, he steered for the West Indies, probably in a
small chartered sloop or brig, and prowled from one
key and island to another.
This was in the year 1681, and the waters in which
Phips dared to venture were swarming with pirates
and buccaneers who would have cut his throat for a
doubloon. Morgan had sacked Panama only eleven
years before; Tortuga, off the coast of Hayti, was
still the haunt of as choice a lot of cutthroats as
ever sailed blue water ; and men who had been plun-
dering and killing with Pierre le Grande, Bartholo-
mew Portugez and Montbars the Exterminator, were
134
still at their old trade afloat. Mariners had not
done talking about the exploit of L'Ollonais who had
found three hundred thousand dollars' worth of
Spanish treasure hidden on a key off the coast of
Cuba. He it was who amused himself by cutting
out the hearts of live Spaniards and gnawing these
morsels, or slicing off the heads of a whole ship's
crew and drinking their blood. A rare one for hunt-
ing buried treasure was this fiend of a pirate.
"When he took Maracaibo, as Esquemeling relates in
the story of his own experiences as a buccaneer,
" L'Ollonais, who never used to make any great
amount of murdering, though in cold blood, ten or
twelve Spaniards, drew his cutlass and hacked one to
pieces in the presence of all the rest, saying: 'If you
do not confess and declare where you have hidden the
rest of your goods, I will do the like to all your com-
panions.' At last, amongst these horrible cruelties
and inhuman threats, one was found who promised
to conduct him and show the place where the rest
of the Spaniards were hidden. But those that were
fled, having intelligence that one discovered their
lurking holes to the Pirates, changed the place, and
buried all the remnant of their riches underground ;
insomuch that the Pirates could not find them out,
unless some other person of their own party should
reveal them."
From this first voyage undertaken by Phips he
escaped with his skin and a certain amount of treas-
ure, "what just served him a little to furnish him
for a voyage to England," says Mather. The im-
portant fact was that he had found what he sought
and knew where there was a vast deal more of it.
A large ship, well armed and manned, was needed to
bring away the booty, and Captain William Phips in-
THE FORTUNE OF WILLIAM PHIPS 135
tended to find backing in London for the adventure.
He crossed the Atlantic in "a, vessel not much un-
like that which the Dutchmen stamped on their first
coin," and no sooner had his stubby, high-pooped
ark of a craft cast anchor in the Thames than he
was buzzing ashore with his tale of the treasure
wreck.
It was no less a person than the king himself
whom Phips was bent on enlisting as a partner, and
he was not to be driven from Whitehall by lords or
flunkies. With bulldog persistence he held to his
purpose month after month, until almost a year had
passed. At length, through the friends he had made
at Court, he gained the ear of Charles II, and that
gay monarch was pleased to take a fling at treasure
hunting as a sporting proposition, with an eye also to
a share of the plunder.
He gave Phips a frigate of the king's navy, the
Rose of eighteen guns and ninety-five men, which
had been captured from the Algerine corsairs. As
"Captain of a King's Ship," he recruited a crew of
all sorts, mostly hard characters, and sailed from
London in September, 1683, bound first to Boston,
and thence to find the treasure. Alas, for the cloak
of piety with which Cotton Mather covered William
Phips from head to heels. Other accounts show con-
vincingly that he was a bullying, profane, and god-
less sea dog, yet honest withal, and as brave as a
lion, an excellent man to have at your elbow in a tight
pinch, or to be in charge of the quarter-deck in a gale
of wind. The real Phips is a more likeable character
than the stuffed image that Cotton Mather tried to
make of him.
While in Boston harbor in the Rose, Captain Phips
carried things with a high hand. Another skipper
136 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
had got wind of the treasure and was about to make
sail for the West Indies in a ship called the Good In-
tent. Phips tried to bluff him, then to frighten him,
and finally struck a partnership so that the two ves-
sels sailed in company. Eefusing to show the Boston
magistrates his papers, Phips was haled to court
where he abused the bench in language blazing with
deep-sea oaths, and was fined several hundred
pounds. His sailors got drunk ashore and fought
the constables and cracked the heads of peaceable
citizens. Staid Boston was glad when the Rose frig-
ate and her turbulent company bore away for the
West Indies.
There was something wrong with Phip's informa-
tion or the Spanish wreck had been cleaned of her
treasure before he found the place. The Rose and
the Good Intent lay at the edge of a reef somewhere
near Nassau for several months, sending down native
divers and dredging with such scanty returns that
the crew became mutinous and determined on a pro-
gram very popular in those days. Armed with cut-
lasses, they charged aft and demanded of Phips that
he "join them in running away with the ship to drive
a trade of piracy in the South Seas. Captain Phips
. . . with a most undaunted fortitude, rushed in
upon them, and with the blows of his bare hands
felled many of them and quelled all the rest. ' '
It became necessary to careen the Rose and clean
the planking all fouled with tropical growth, and she
was beached on "a desolate Spanish island." The
men were given shore liberty, all but eight or ten,
and the rogues were no sooner out of the ship than
" they all entered into an agreement which they
signed in a ring (a round-robin), that about seven
o'clock that evening they would seize the captain
THE FORTUNE OF WILLIAM PHIPS 137
and those eight or ten which they knew to be true
to him, and leave them to perish on the island, and
so be gone away into the South Seas to seek their
fortune. . . . These knaves, considering that
they should want a carpenter with them in their
villainous expedition, sent a messenger to fetch unto
them the carpenter who was then at work upon the
vessel ; and unto him they showed their articles ; tell-
ing him what he must look for if he did not subscribe
among them.
"The carpenter, being an honest fellow, did with
much importunity prevail for one half hour's time
to consider the matter ; and returning to work upon
the vessel, with a spy by them set upon him, he
feigned himself taken with a fit of the collick, for the
relief whereof he suddenly ran into the captain in the
great cabin for a dram. Where, when he came, his
business was only in brief to tell the captain of the
horrible distress which he has fallen into; but the
captain bid him as briefly return to the rogues in the
woods and sign their articles, and leave him to pro-
vide for the rest.
* * The carpenter was no sooner gone than Captain
Phips, calling together the few friends that were left
him aboard, whereof the gunner was one, demanded
of them whether they would stand by him in this
extremity, whereto they replied they would stand
by him if he could save them, and he answered, 'By
the help of God, he did not fear it.' All their pro-
visions had been carried ashore to a tent made for
that purpose, about which they had placed several
great guns, to defend it in case of any assault from
Spaniards. Wherefore Captain Phips immediately
ordered those guns to be silently drawn and turned ;
and so pulling up the bridge, he charged his great
138 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
guns aboard and brought them to bear on every side
of the tent.
"By this time the army of rebels came out of the
woods ; but as they drew near to the tent of provisions
they saw such a change of circumstances that they
cried out, We are betrayed! And they were soon
confirmed in it when they heard the captain with
a stern fury call to them, Stand off, ye wretches, at
your peril. He quickly cast them into more than
ordinary confusion when they saw him ready to fire
his great guns upon them.
"And when he had signified unto them his resolve
to abandon them unto all the desolation which they
had proposed for him, he caused the bridge to be
again laid, and his men began to take the provisions
on board. When the wretches beheld what was com-
ing upon them, they fell to very humble entreaties;
and at last fell down upon their knees protesting that
they never had anything against him, except only his
unwillingness to go away with the King's ship upon
the South Sea design. But upon all other accounts
they would choose rather to live and die with him
than with any man in the world. However, when they
saw how much he was dissatisfied at it, they would
insist upon it no more, and humbly begged his par-
don. And when he judged that he had kept them on
their knees long enough, he having first secured their
arms, received them aboard, but he immediately
weighed anchor and arriving at Jamaica, turned
them off."
This is a very proper incident to have happened
in a hunt for hidden treasure, and Cotton Mather
tells it well. One forgives Phips for damning the
eyes of the Boston magistrates, and likely enough
they deserved it, when it is recalled that the witch-
THE FORTUNE OF WILLIAM PHIPS 139
craft trials were held only a few years later. Hav-
ing rid himself of the mutineers, Captain Phips
shipped other scoundrels in their stead, there being
small choice at Jamaica where every other man had
been pirating or was planning to go again. His
first quest for treasure had been a failure, but he
was not the man to quit, and so he filled away for
Hispaniola, now Hayti and San Domingo, where
every bay and reef had a treasure story of its own.
The small island of Tortuga off that coast had
long been the headquarters of the most successful
pirates and buccaneers of those seas, and Frederick
A. Ober, who knows the West Indies as well as any
living man, declares not only that Cuba, the Isle of
Pines, Jamaica, and Hispaniola are girdled with
Spanish wrecks containing ''as yet unrecovered mil-
lions and millions in gold and silver, ' ' but also that
''during the successive occupancies of Tortuga by
the various pirate bands great treasure was hidden
in the forest, and in the caves with which the island
abounds. Now and again the present cultivators of
Tortuga find coins of ancient dates, fragments of
gold chains, and pieces of quaint jewelry cast up by
the waves or revealed by the shifting sands.
"It was not without reason that the only harbor
of the buccaneers was called Treasure Cove, nor for
nothing that they dug the deep caves deeper, hol-
lowing out lateral tunnels and blasting holes beneath
the frowning cliffs. The island now belongs to
Hayti, the inhabitants of which have not the requi-
site sagacity to conduct an intelligent search for the
long-buried treasures; and as they resent the in-
trusion of foreigners, it is probable that the bucca-
neers' spoils will remain an unknown quantity for
many years to come. ' '
140 THE BOOK OF BURIED TEEASUEE
Captain William Phips lay at anchor off one of
the rude settlements of Hispaniola for some time,
and his rough-and-ready address won him friends,
among them "a very old Spaniard" who had seen
many a galleon pillaged by the pirates. From this
informant Phips ' ' fished up a little advice about the
true spot where lay the wreck which he had hitherto
been seeking . . . that it was upon a reef of
shoals a few leagues to the northward of Port de la
Plata upon Hispaniola, a port so called, it seemed,
from the landing of some of a shipwrecked company,
with a boat full of plate saved out of their sunken
Frigot."
On the very old map of Hispaniola, reproduced
herewith, this place is indicated on the north coast
as "Port Plate," and due north of it is the spirited
drawing of a galleon which happens to be very
nearly in the position of the sunken treasure which
the old Spaniard described to Captain Phips. The
Rose frigate sailed in search of the reef and ex-
plored it with much care but failed to find the wreck.
Phips was confident that he was on the right track,
however, and decided to return to England, refit and
ship a new crew. The riff-raff which he had picked
up at Jamaica in place of the mutineers were hardly
the lads to be trusted with a great store of treasure
on board.
At about this time, Charles II quit his earthly
kingdom and it is to be hoped found another kind of
treasure laid up for him. James II needed all his
warships, and he promptly took the Rose frigate
from Captain Phips and set him adrift to shift for
himself. A man of less inflexible resolution and
courage might have been disheartened, but Phips
made a louder noise than ever with his treasure
THE FORTUNE OF WILLIAM PHIPS 141
story, and would not budge from London. He was
put in jail, somehow got himself out, and stood up
to his enemies and silenced them, all the while seek-
ing noble patrons with money to venture on another
voyage.
At length, and a year had been spent in this man-
ner, Phips interested the Duke of Albemarle, son
of the famous General Monk who had been active in
restoring Charles II to the throne of the Stuarts.
Several other gentlemen of the Court took shares in
the speculation, including a naval man, Sir John
Narborough. They put up 2,400 to outfit a ship,
and the King was persuaded to grant Phips letters
of patent, or a commission as a duly authorized
treasure seeker, in return for which favor His Maj-
esty was to receive one-tenth of the booty. To Phips
was promised a sixteenth of what he should recover.
This enterprise was conceived in 1686, and was so
singularly like the partnership formed ten years
later to finance the cruise of Captain Kidd after
pirates' plunder that the Earl of Bellomont, Lord
Chancellor Somers, the Earl of Shrewsbury, and
William III may have been somewhat inspired to
undertake this unlucky venture by the dazzling suc-
cess of the Phips l ' syndicate. ' '
In a small merchantman called the James and
Mary, Captain Phips set sail from England in 1686,
having another vessel to serve as a tender. Arriv-
ing at Port de la Plata, he hewed out a large canoe
from a cotton-wood tree, ' ' so large as to carry eight
or ten oars," says Cotton Mather, "for the making
of which perigua (as they call it), he did, with the
same industry that he did everything else, employ
his own hand and adze, and endure no little hard-
ship, lying abroad in the woods many nights to-
142 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
gether." The canoe was used by a gang of native
divers quartered on board the tender. For some
time they worked along the edge of a reef called the
Boilers, guided by the story of that ancient Span-
iard, but found nothing to reward their exertions.
This crew was returning to report to Captain
Phips when one of the men, staring over the side
into the wonderfully clear water, spied a "sea
feather" or marine plant of uncommon beauty
growing from what appeared to be a rock. An In-
dian was sent down to fetch it as a souvenir of the
bootless quest, that they might, however, carry home
something with them. This diver presently bobbed
up with the sea feather, and therewithal a surprising
story "that he perceived a number of great guns in
the watery world, where he had found the feather;
the report of which great guns exceedingly aston-
ished the whole company; and at once turned their
despondencies for their ill success into assurances
that they had now lit upon the true spot of ground
which they had been looking for ; and they were fur-
ther confirmed in these assurances when upon fur-
ther diving, the Indian fetched up a Sow as they
styled it, or a lump of silver worth perhaps two or
three hundred pounds. Upon this they prudently
buoyed the place, that they might readily find it
again ; and they went back unto their Captain whom
for some while they distressed with nothing but such
bad news as they formerly thought they must have
carried him. Nevertheless, they so slipped the Sow
of silver on one side under the table (where they
were now sitting with the Captain, and hearing him
express his resolutions to wait still patiently upon
the Providence of God under these disappointments),
that when he should look on one side, he might see
THE FORTUNE OF WILLIAM PHIPS 143
that Odd Thing before him. At last he saw it and
cried out with some agony :
" 'What is this? Whence comes this?' And then
with changed countenance they told him how and
where they got it. Then said he, 'Thanks be to God!
We are made!' And so away they went, all hands
to work; wherein they had this further piece of re-
markable prosperity, that whereas if they had first
fallen upon that part of the Spanish wreck where
the Pieces of Eight had been stowed in bags among
the ballast, they had seen more laborious and less
enriching times of it. Now, most happily, they first
fell upon that room in the wreck where the Bullion
had been stored up, and then so prospered in this new
fishery that in a little while they had without the loss
of any man's life, brought up Thirty Two Tons of
silver, for it was now come to measuring silver by
tons."
While these jolly treasure seekers were hauling up
the silver hand over fist, one Adderley, a seaman of
the New Providence in the Bahamas, was hired with
his vessel to help in the gorgeous salvage operations.
Alas, after Adderley had recovered six tons of bul-
lion, the sight of so much treasure was too much for
him. He took his share to the Bermudas and led
such a gay life with it that he went mad and died
after a year or two. Hard-hearted William Phips
was a man of another kind, and he drove his crew
of divers and wreckers, the sailors keeping busy on
deck at hammering from the silver bars a crust of
limestone several inches thick from which "they
knocked out whole bushels of pieces of eight which
were grown thereinto. Besides that incredible
treasure of plate in various forms, thus fetched up
from seven or eight fathoms under water, there were.
144 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
vast riches of Gold, and Pearls, and Jewels, which
they also lit upon: and indeed for a more compre-
hensive invoice, I must but summarily say, All that
a Spanish frigot was to be enriched withal."
At length the little squadron ran short of pro-
visions, and most reluctantly Captain Phips decided
to run for England with his precious cargo and
return the next year. He swore all his men to se-
crecy, believing that there was more good fishing
at the wreck. During the homeward voyage, his
seamen quite naturally yearned for a share of the
profits, they having signed on for monthly wages.
They were for taking the ship "to be gone and lead
a short life and a merry one," but Phips argued
them out of this rebellious state of mind, promising
every man a share of the silver, and if his em-
ployers would not agree to this, to pay them from
his own pocket.
Up the Thames sailed the lucky little merchant-
man, James and Mary in the year of 1687, with three
hundred thousand pounds sterling freightage of
treasure in her hold, which would amount to a good
deal more than a million and a half dollars nowa-
days. Captain Phips played fair with his seamen,
and they fled ashore in the greatest good humor to
fling their pieces of eight among the taverns and
girls of "Wapping, Limehouse, and Eotherhite.
The King was given his tenth of the cargo, and a
handsome fortune it was. To Phips fell his allotted
share of a sixteenth, which set him up with sixteen
thousand pounds sterling. The Duke of Albemarle
was so much gratified that he sent to that "gentle-
woman" Mrs. William Phips, a gold cup worth a
thousand pounds. Phips showed himself an honest
man in age when sea morals were exceeding lax, and
THE FORTUNE OF WILLIAM PHIPS 145
not a penny of the treasure, beyond what was due
him, stuck to his fingers. Men of his integrity were
not over plentiful in England after the Restoration,
and the King liked and trusted this brusque, stal-
wart sailor from New England. At Windsor Cas-
tle he was knighted and now it was Sir William
Phips, if you please.
Judge Sewall's diary contains this entry, Friday,
October 21, 1687:
"I went to offer my Lady Phips my House by Mr.
Moody 's and to congratulate her preferment. As to
the former, she had bought Sam' Wakefield's House
and Ground last night for 350. I gave her a
Gazette that related her Husband's Knighthood,
which she had not seen before; and wish'd this suc-
cess might not hinder her passage to a greater and
better estate. She gave me a cup of good Beer and
thank 'd me for my visit."
Sir William would have still another try at the
wreck, and this time there was no lack of ships and
patronage. A squadron was fitted out in command
of Sir John Narborough, and one of the company
was the Duke of Albemarle. They made their way
to the reef, but the remainder of the treasure had
been lifted, and the expedition sailed home empty-
handed. Adderley of New Providence had babbled
in his cups and one of his men had been bribed to
take a party of Bermuda wreckers to the reef. The
place was soon swarming with all sorts of craft,
some of them from Jamaica and Hispaniola, and
they found a large amount of silver before they
stripped the wreck clean.
The King offered Sir William a place as one of the
Commissioners of the Eoyal Navy, but he was home-
sick for New England and desired to be a person of
146 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
consequence in his own land. His friends obtained
for him a patent as High Sheriff of Massachusetts
and he returned to Boston after five years' absence
' ' to entertain his Lady with some accomplishment of
his predictions; and then built himself a fair brick
house in the very place which was foretold. ' '
The "fair brick house" was of two stories with
a portico and columns. It stood on the corner of
the present Salem Street (then the Green Lane)
and Charter Street, so named by Sir William Phips
in honor of the new charter under which he became
the first provincial or royal governor. There was
a lawn and gardens, a watch-house and stables, and
a stately row of butternuts. "North Boston" was
then the fashionable or "Court end" of the town.
The Puritans and Pilgrims were seething with in-
dignation against the royal government overseas.
The original charter under which the Colony of
Massachusetts Bay exercised self-government had
been annulled, and Charles II was determined to
bring all the New England Colonies under the sway
of a royal governor. The question of taxation had
also begun to simmer a full century before the Eev-
olution. Sir William Phips found his berth of High
Sheriff a difficult and turbulent business, and "the
infamous Government then rampant there, found a
way wholly to put by the execution of his patent;
yea, he was like to have had his person assassinated
in the face of the sun, before his own door. ' '
This rough ship carpenter and treasure seeker
weathered the storm and rose so high in the good
graces of the throne that in 1692 he carried to Massa-
chusetts the new charter signed by William III by
virtue of which he became the first royal governor
of that colony, and as an administrator he was no
THE FORTUNE OF WILLIAM PHIPS 147
less interesting than when he was cruising off the
coast of Hispaniola. The manners of the quarter-
deck he carried to the governor's office. His fists
were as ready as his tongue, and his term of two
years was enlivened by one lusty quarrel after an-
other. In nowise ashamed of his humble begin-
nings, he gave a dinner to his old friends of the
Boston ship-yard and told these honest artisans that
if it were not for his service to the people, he "would
be much easier in returning to his broad axe again. ' '
Hawthorne has given a picture of him in the days
of his greatness, "a man of strong and sturdy
frame, whose face has been roughened by northern
tempests, and blackened by the burning sun of the
West Indies. He wears an immense periwig flow-
ing down over his shoulders. His coat has a wide
embroidery of golden foliage, and his waistcoat like-
wise is all flowered over and bedizened with gold.
His red, rough hands, which have done many a
good day's work with the hammer and adze, are
half covered by the delicate lace ruffles at his wrists.
On a table lies his silver-headed sword, and in a
corner of the room stands his gold-headed cane,
made of a beautifully polished West India wood."
Cotton Mather helps to complete the presentment
by relating that "he was very tall, beyond the com-
mon set of men, and thick as well as tall, and strong
as well as thick. He was in all respects exceedingly
robust, and able to conquer such difficulties of diet
and travel as would have killed most men alive.
Nor did the fat whereinto he grew very much in
his later years, take away the vigor of his motions."
As a fighting seaman and soldier, Sir William
Phips saw hard service before he was made royal
governor. In 1690 he was in command of an expedi-
148 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
tion which made a successful raid on the French in
Arcadia, captured Port Eoyal, and conquered the
province. Among the English state papers in the
Public Record office is his own account of this feat
of arms of his expedition against Quebec. "In
March, 1690," he wrote, "I sailed with seven ships
and seven hundred men, raised by the people of New
England, reduced Arcadia in three weeks and re-
turned to Boston. It was then thought well to pros-
ecute a further expedition. 2300 men were raised,
with whom and with about thirty ships I sailed from
New England on the 10th, August, 1690, but by bad
weather and contrary winds did not reach Quebec
till October. The frost was already so sharp that
it made two inches of ice in a night.
"After summoning Count de Frontenac and re-
ceiving a reviling answer, I brought my ships up
within musket shot of their cannon and fired with
such success that I dismounted several of their larg-
est cannon and beat them from their works in less
than twenty-four hours. At the same time 1400
men, who had been landed, defeated a great part of
the enemy, and by the account of the prisoners, the
city must have been taken in two or three days, but
the small-pox and fever increased so fast as to de-
lay the pushing of the siege till the weather became
too severe to permit it. On my leaving Quebec, I re-
ceived several messages from French merchants of
the best reputation, saying how uneasy they were
under French administration, and how willing they
were to be under their Majesties."
In a "Narrative of the Expedition against
Quebec," written at the time, is this passage:
"Whilst these things were doing on shore, Sir
Wm. Phips with his men of war came close up to ye
^> ,.c v^'-cj >s\s3\2i
X_ 5 ^, N9 4* ^ ^^
r v^ '^ r^ f^i > -'.
-^js * \s 4. -/'
^/l%Vl j +
\-l^^^ I*
THE FORTUNE OF WILLIAM PHIPS 149
City. He did acquit himself with ye greatest brav-
ery. I have diligently enquired of those that know
it who affirm there was nothing wanting in his Part,
either as to Conduct or Courage. He ventured
within Pistol shot of their cannon, and soon beat
them from thence, and battered ye Town very much.
He was for some Hours warmly entertained with
their great Guns. The Vessel wherein Sir William
commanded had 200 men. It was shot through in a
hundred places with shot of twenty-four pound
weight; yet through ye wonderful Providence of
God, but one man was killed and two mortally
wounded in that hot Engagement, which continued
ye greatest part of ye night and ye next day several
hours."
Another letter written by Sir William Phips, ad-
dressed from Boston to William Blathwayt, soon
after he was made Governor, shows him in a light
even more engaging. The witchcraft frenzy was at
its height, and only three weeks before this date,
October 12, 1692, fourteen men and women had been
hanged in Salem. This letter, as copied from the
original document, runs as follows:
"On my arrival I found this Province miserably
harrassed by a most horrible witchcraft or posses-
sion of devils, which had broken in upon several
towns. Some scores of poor people were taken with
preternatural torments; some were scalded with
brimstone; some had pins stuck into their flesh,
others were hurried into fire and water, and some
were dragged out of their houses and carried over
the tops of trees and hills for many miles together.
"It has been represented to me as much like that
of Sweden thirty years ago, and there were many
committed to prison on suspicion of witchcraft be-
150 THE BOOK OF. BURIED TREASURE
fore my arrival. The loud cries and clamor of the
friends of the afflicted, together with the advice of
the Deputy Governor and Council, prevailed with
me to appoint a Court of Oyer and Terminer to dis-
cover what witchcraft might be at the bottom, and
whether it were not a possession. The chief judge
was the Deputy Governor, and the rest people of
the best prudence and figure that could be pitched
upon.
1 'At Salem in Essex County they convicted more
than twenty persons of witchcraft, and some of the
accused confessed their guilt. The Court, as I
understand, began their proceedings with the ac-
cusations of the afflicted persons, and then went upon
other evidences to strengthen that. I was in the
East of the Colony throughout almost the whole of
the proceedings, trusting to the Court as the right
method of dealing with cases of witchcraft. But
when I returned I found many persons in a strange
ferment of dissatisfaction which was increased by
some hot spirits that blew upon the flame. But on
enquiry into the matter, I found that the Devil had
taken upon him the name and shape of several per-
sons who were doubtless innocent, for which cause
I have now forbidden the committal of any more ac-
cused persons.
"And them that have been committed I would
shelter from any proceedings, wherein the innocent
could suffer wrong. I would also await the King's
orders in this perplexing affair. I have put a stop
to the printing of any discourses on either side that
may increase useless disputes, for open contests
would mean an unextinguishable flame. I have been
grieved to see that some who should have done bet-
ter services to their Majesties and this Province have
THE FORTUNE OF WILLIAM PHIPS 151
so far taken counsel with passion as to declare the
precipitancy of these matters. . . . As soon as
I had done fighting the King's enemies, and under-
stood the danger of innocent people through the ac-
cusations of the afflicted, I put a stop to the Court
proceedings till the King's pleasure should be
known. ' '
It was Governor Phips who suppressed the witch-
craft persecutions and the special court that had
passed so many wicked death sentences was shorn
of its powers by his order. Other prisoners were
later acquitted, and a hundred and fifty released
from jail. No sooner was this burly figure of a
man finished with the witchcraft business than he
was leading a force of Indian allies against the
French. "His birth and youth in the East had ren-
dered him well known to the Indians there," says
Cotton Mather, "he had hunted and fished many a
weary day in his childhood with them; and when
these rude savages had got the story that he had
found a ship full of money, and was now become all
one a King, they were mightily astonished at it ; but
when they further understood that he was now be-
come the Governor of New England, it added a fur-
ther degree of consternation to their astonishment. ' '
He was too strenuous a person, was this astonish-
ing William Phips, to remain tamed and conserva-
tive when there was no strong work in hand. With
that gold-headed cane of his he cracked the head of
the Captain of the Nonesuch frigate of the royal
navy, and with his hard fists he pounded the Col-
lector of the Port after swearing at him with such
oaths as better befitted a buccaneer than the gov-
ernor of the province. These quarrels arose from a
dispute over the authority of Sir William to lay
152 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
down the law as he pleased. By virtue of his com-
mission as Vice Admiral of the Colony he held that
he had the right to judge and condemn naval prizes.
The Collector claimed jurisdiction and when he re-
fused to deliver a cargo of plunder brought in by
a privateer, the governor blacked his eyes for him.
As for the naval skipper, Captain Short, his ex-
perience with the Phips temper was even more
disastrous. He refused to lend some of his men to
man a cruiser which the governor wished to send
after coastwise pirates. "When next the twain met,
Captain Short was first well threshed, then bundled
off to prison, and from there skipped home to Eng-
land in a merchantman.
Such methods of administration had served ad-
mirably well to rule those mutinous dogs of seamen
aboard the Rose frigate, but they were resented in
Boston, and after other altercations, Governor
Phips found it necessary to go to England to an-
swer the complaints which had been piling up in
the offices of the Lords of the Council of Trade and
Plantations. He sailed in his own yacht, a brigan-
tine built in a Boston shipyard, and we may be sure
that he was ready to face his accusers with a stout
heart.
Hutchinson, in his History of Massachusetts,
analyzed the trouble as follows :
"Sir William Phips' rule was short. His con-
duct when captain of a ship of war is represented
very much to his advantage ; but further talents were
necessary for the good government of a province.
He was of a benevolent, friendly disposition; at the
same time quick and passionate. . . .
"A vessel arrived from the Bahamas, with a load
of f ustick, for which no bond had been given. . Col.
THE FORTUNE OF WILLIAM PHIPS 153
Foster, a merchant of Boston, a member of the Coun-
cil, and fast friend of the Governor, bought the
fustick at such price that he was loth to give up the
bargain. The Collector seized the vessel and goods ;
and upon Foster's representation to the Governor,
he interposed. There was at that time no Court of
Admiralty. Sir William took a summary way of
deciding this case, and sent an order to the Collector
to forbear meddling with the goods, and upon his re-
fusal to observe orders, the Governor went to the
wharf, and after warm words on both sides, laid
hands upon the Collector, but with what degree of
violence was controverted by both. The Governor
prevailed, and the vessel and goods were taken out
of the hands of the Collector.
"There had been a misunderstanding also be-
tween the Governor and Captain Short of the None-
such frigate. In their passage from England a
prize was taken ; and Short complained that the Gov-
ernor had deprived him of part of his share or legal
interest in her. Whether there were grounds for it
does not appear. The captains of men of war sta-
tioned in the colonies were in those days required to
follow such instructions as the governors gave them
relative to their cruises and the protection of the
trade of the colonies, and the Governor, by his com-
mission, had power in case of any great crime com-
mitted by any of the captains of men of war, to sus-
pend them, and the next officer was to succeed.
"The Governor required Captain Short to order
part of the men belonging to the Nonesuch upon
some service, which I do not find mentioned, prob-
ably to some cruiser, there being many picaroons
about the eastern coasts, but he refused to do it.
This was ill taken by the Governor; and meeting
154 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Captain Short in the street, warm words passed,
and at length the Governor made use of his cane and
broke Short's head. Not content with this, he com-
mitted him to prison. The right of a governor to
commit by his own warrant had not then been
questioned.
"From the prison he removed him to the castle,
and from those on board a merchant bound to Lon-
don, to be delivered to the order of one of their Maj-
esties' principal secretaries of state; giving the mas-
ter a warrant or authority to do so. The vessel, by
some accident, put into Portsmouth in New Hamp-
shire. Sir William who seems to have been sensible
of some irregularity in these proceedings, went to
Portsmouth, required the master of the merchant-
man to return him the warrant, which he tore to
pieces, and then ordered the cabin of the ship to be
opened, secured Short's chests, and examined the
contents.
"Short was prevented going home in this vessel,
and went to New York to take passage from thence
for England ; but Sir F. Wheeler arriving soon after
at Boston, went for him and carried him home with
him. The next officer succeeded in the command of
the ship, until a new captain arrived from England.
Short was restored to the command of as good a
ship. ' '
King William refused to depose the famous treas-
ure finder without hearing what he had to say in his
defense, and Sir William stoutly swore that those
whom he had punished got no more than they de-
served. A strong party had been mustered against
him, however, and he waged an uphill fight for
vindication until Death, the one foe for whom he
did not think himself a match, took him by the heels
THE FORTUNE OF WILLIAM PHIPS 155
and laid him in a vault beneath the Church of St.
Mary Woolnoth, London. A guide-book of that city,
published in 1708, contained this description of the
memorial placed therein :
"At the east end of the Church of St. Mary Wool-
noth, near the northeast angle, is a pretty white
marble monument, adorned with an urn between two
Cupids, the figure of a ship, and also a boat at sea,
with persons in the water ; these beheld by a winged
eye, all done in basso relieve ; also the seven medals,
as that of King William and Queen Mary; some
with Spanish impressions, as the castle, cross-por-
tent, etc. and likewise the figures of a sea quadrant ;
cross-staff, and this inscription:
" 'Near this place is interred the Body of Sir
William Phips, knight ; who in the year 1687, by his
great industry, discovered among the rocks near the
Banks of Bahama on the north side of Hispaniola
a Spanish plate-ship which had been under water
44 years, out of which he took in gold and silver
to the value of 300,000 sterling: and with a fidelity
equal to his conduct, brought it all to London, where
it was divided between himself and the rest of the
adventurers. For which great service he was
knighted by his then Majesty, King James the 2nd,
and at the request of the principal inhabitants of
New England, he accepted of the Government of
the Massachusetts, in which he continued up to the
time of his death; and discharged his trust with
that zeal for the interests of the country, and with
so little regard to his own private advantage, that
he justly gained the good esteem and affection of
the greatest and best part of the inhabitants of that
Colony.
" 'He died the 18th of February, 1694, and his
156 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
lady, to perpetuate his memory, hath caused this
monument to be erected.'
It is far better to know the man as he was, rough-
hewn, hasty, unlettered, but simple and honest as
daylight, than to accept the false and silly epitaph
of Cotton Mather, that "he was a person of so sweet
a temper that they who were most intimately ac-
quainted with him would commonly pronounce him
the Best Conditioned Gentleman in the World."
After he had wrested his fortune from the bottom
of the sea in circumstances splendidly romantic, he
used the power which his wealth gained for him
wholly in the service of the people of his own
country.
During his last visit to London, when he had grown
tired of being a royal governor, he harked back to
his old love, and was planning another treasure voy-
age. "The Spanish wreck was not the only nor the
richest wreck which he knew to be lying under the
water. He knew particularly that when the ship
which had Governor Bobadilla aboard was cast
away, there was, as Peter Martyr says, an entire
table of Gold of Three Thousand Three Hundred
and Ten Pounds Weight. And supposing himself
to have gained sufficient information of the right
way to such a wreck, it was his purpose upon his dis-
mission from his Government, once more to have
gone upon his old Fishing-Trade, upon a mighty
shelf of rocks and bank of sands that lie where he
had informed himself."
Never was there so haunting a reference to lost
treasure as this mention of that gold table that went
down with Governor Bobadilla. The words ring
like a peal of magic bells. Alas, the pity of it, that
Sir William Phips did not live to fit out a brave ship
THE FORTUNE OF WILLIAM PHIPS 157
and go in quest of this wondrous treasure, for of
all men, then or since, he was the man to find it.
Bobadilla was that governor of Hispaniola who
was sent from Spain in 1500 by Ferdinand and Isa-
bella to investigate the affairs of the colony as ad-
ministered by Christopher Columbus. He put Co-
lumbus in chains and shipped him home, but the
great discoverer found a friendly welcome there, and
was sent back for his fourth voyage. He reached
Hispaniola on the day that Bobadilla was sailing for
Spain, in his turn to give place to a new Governor,
Ovando by name. Bobadilla embarked at San Do-
mingo in the largest ship of the fleet on board of
which was put an immense amount of gold, the rev-
enue collected for the Crown during his government,
which he hoped might ease the disgrace of his recall.
The Spanish historian, Las Casas, besides other
old chroniclers, mention this solid mass of virgin
gold which Peter Martyr affirmed had been fashioned
into a table. This enormous nugget had been found
by an Indian woman in a brook on the estate of Fran-
cisco de Garay and Miguel Diaz and had been taken
by Bobadilla to send to the king. According to Las
Casas, it weighed three thousand, six hundred cas-
tellanos.
When Bobadilla 's fleet weighed anchor, Columbus
sent a messenger urging the ships to remain in port
because a storm was imminent. The pilots and sea-
men scoffed at the warning, and the galleons stood
out from San Domingo only to meet a tropical hur-
ricane of terrific violence. Off the most easterly
point of Hispaniola, Bobadilla 's ship went down with
all on board. If this galleon carrying the gold table,
besides much other treasure, had foundered in deep
water, it is unlikely that Sir "William Phips would
158 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
have planned to go in search of her. If, however, the
ship had been smashed on a reef, he may have
"fished up" information from some other ancient
Spaniard as to her exact location.
The secret was buried in his grave and he left no
chart to show where he hoped to find that marvelous
treasure, and nobody knows the bearings of that
"mighty shelf of rock and bank of sands that lie
where he had informed himself. ' '
CHAPTEE VI
THE BOLD SEA EOGUE, JOHN QUELCH
THE Isles of Shoals, lying within sight of Ports-
mouth Harbor on the New Hampshire coast, are rich
in buried treasure legends and rocky Appledore is
distinguished by the ghost of a pirate, "a pale and
very dreadful specter," whose neck bears the livid
mark of the hangman's noose. This is a ghost in
whose case familiarity has bred contempt among the
matter-of-fact islanders, for they call him "Old
Bab" and employ him to frighten naughty children.
Drake's "Nooks and Corners of the New England
Coast" narrates in the proper melodramatic manner
the best of these traditions.
"Among others to whom it is said these islands
were known was the celebrated Captain Teach, or
Blackboard, as he was often called. He is supposed
to have buried immense treasure here, some of which
has been dug up and appropriated by the islanders.
On one of his cruises, while lying off the Scottish
coast waiting for a rich trader, he was boarded by
a stranger who came off in a small boat from the
shore. The visitor demanded to be led before the
pirate chief in whose cabin he remained closeted for
some time. At length Blackboard appeared on deck
with the stranger whom he introduced as a comrade.
The vessel they were expecting soon came in sight,
and, after a bloody conflict, became the prize of
Blackboard, The newcomer had shown such brav-
159
160 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
ery that he was given command of the captured mer-
chantman.
* ' The stranger soon proved himself a pirate leader
of great skill and bravery and went cruising off to
the southward and the coasts of the Spanish Main.
At last after his appetite for wealth had been sati-
ated he sailed back to his native land of Scotland,
made a landing, and returned on board with the in-
sensible body of a beautiful young woman in his
arms.
"The pirate ship then made sail, crossed the At-
lantic, and anchored in the roadstead of the Isles of
Shoals. Here the crew passed the time in secreting
their riches and in carousing. The commander's
portion was buried on an island apart from the rest.
He roamed over the isles with his beautiful compan-
ion, forgetful, it would seem, of his fearful trade,
until one day a sail was seen standing in for the
islands. All was now activity on board the pirate;
but before getting under way the outlaw carried the
maiden to the island where he had buried his treas-
ure, and made her take a fearful oath to guard the
spot from mortals until his return, were it not 'til
doomsday.
"The strange sail proved to be a warlike vessel
in search of the freebooter. A long and desperate
battle ensued, in which the cruiser at last silenced
her adversary's guns. The vessels were grappled
for a last struggle when a terrible explosion strewed
the sea with the fragments of both. Stung to mad-
ness by defeat, knowing that if taken alive a gibbet
awaited him, the rover had fired the magazine, in-
volving friend and foe in a common fate.
"A few mangled wretches succeeded in reaching
the islands, only to perish miserably one by one,
JOHN QUELCH 161
from hunger and cold. The pirate's mistress re-
mained true to her oath to the last, or until she had
succumbed to want and exposure. By report, she
has been seen more than once on White Island a
tall shapely figure, wrapped in a long sea cloak, her
head and neck uncovered, except by a profusion of
golden hair. Her face is described as exquisitely
rounded, but pale and still as marble. She takes her
stand on the verge of a low, projecting point, gazing
fixedly out upon the ocean in an attitude of intense
expectation. A former race of fishermen avouched
that her ghost was doomed to haunt those rocks until
the last trump shall sound, and that the ancient
graves to be found on the islands were tenanted by
Blackbeard's men."
It is more probable that whatever treasure may
be hidden among the Isles of Shoals was hidden
there by the shipmates of a great scamp of a pirate
named John Quelch who fills an interesting page in
the early history of the Massachusetts Colony. In
proof of this assertion is the entry in one of the old
records of Salem, written in the year 1704:
"Major Stephen Sewall, Captain John Turner,
and 40 volunteers embark in a shallop and Fort
Pinnace after Sunset to go in search of some Pirates
who sailed from Gloucester in the morning. Major
Sewall brought into Salem a Galley, Captain Thomas
Lowrimore, on board of which he had captured some
Pirates, and some of their Gold at the Isle of Shoals.
Major Sewall carries the Pirates to Boston under
a strong guard. Captain Quelch and five of his
crew are hung. About 13 of the ship 's Company re-
main under sentence of death and several more are
cleared. ' '
By no means all of the bloodstained gold of
162 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Quelch was recovered by this expedition which went
to the Isles of Shoals and it is more likely to be hid-
den there to this day than anywhere else. Quelch
was a bold figure of a pirate worthy to be named in
the company of the most dashing of his profession
in the era of Kidd, Bradish, Bellamy, and Low. His
story is worth the telling because it is, in a way, a
sequel of the tragedy of Captain Kidd.
In 1703, the brigantine Charles, of about eighty
tons, owned by leading citizens and merchants of
Boston, was fitted out as a privateer to go cruising
against the French off the coasts of Arcadia and New-
foundland. On July 13th of that year, her com-
mander, Captain David Plowman, received his com-
mission from Governor Dudley of the province to
sail in pursuit of the Queen's enemies and pirates,
with other customary instructions. There was some
delay in shipping a crew, and on the first of August
the Charles was riding off Marblehead when Cap-
tain Plowman was taken ill. He sent a letter to his
owners, stating that he was unable to take the vessel
to sea, and suggesting that they come on board next
day and ' ' take some speedy care in saving what we
can. ' '
The owners went to Marblehead, but the captain
was too ill to confer with them. He was able, how-
ever, to write again, this time urging them to have
the vessel carried to Boston, and the arms and
stores landed in order to " prevent embezzlement,"
and advising against sending the Charles on her
cruise under a new commander, adding the warning
that "it will not do with these people," meaning the
crew then on board.
Before the owners could take any measures to
safeguard their property, the brigantine had made
JOHN QUELCH 163
sail and was standing out to sea, stolen by her crew.
The helpless captain was locked in his cabin, and the
new commander on the quarter-deck was John
Quelch who had planned and led the mutiny. In-
stead of turning to the northward, the bow of the
Charles was pointed for the South Atlantic and the
track of the Spanish trade where there was rich
pirating. Somewhere in the Gulf Stream, poor Cap-
tain Plowman was dragged on deck and tossed over-
board by order of Quelch.
A flag was then hoisted, called "Old Boger," de-
scribed as having "in the middle of it an Anatomy
(skeleton) with an Hourglass in one hand, and a
dart in the Heart with 3 drops of Blood proceeding
from it in the other." When the coast of Brazil
was reached, Quelch and his men drove a thriving
trade. Between November 15, 1703, and February
17, 1704, they boarded and took nine vessels, of which
five were brigantines, and one a large ship carrying
twelve guns. All these craft flew the Portugese
flag, and Portugal was an ally of England by virtue
of a treaty which had been signed at Lisbon on May
16, 1703. What became of the crews of these hap-
less vessels was not revealed, but the plunder in-
cluded salt, sugar, rum, beer, rice, flour, cloth, silk,
one hundred weight of gold dust, gold and silver coin
to the value of a thousand pounds, two negro boys,
great guns, small arms, ammunition, sails, and
cordage. One of the largest of the brigantines was
kept to serve as a tender.
Two weeks after the Charles had taken French
leave from Marblehead, her owners, surmising that
she had been headed toward the West Indies, per-
suaded Governor Dudley to take action, and letters
were sent to officials in various islands instructing
164 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
them to be on the look-out for the runaway privateer
and to seize her crew as pirates. Quelch was a wily
rogue, however, and kept clear of all pursuit, nor
was anything more heard of the Charles until with
extraordinary audacity he came sailing back to New
England in the following May and dropped anchor
off Marblehead. His men quickly scattered along-
shore, and gave out the story which he had cooked
up for them, that Captain Plowman had died of his
illness while at sea, that Quelch had been obliged to
take command, and that they had recovered a great
deal of treasure from the wreck of a Spanish galleon.
The yarn was fishy, the men talked too much in
their cups, and the owners of the Charles were not
satisfied with Quelch 's glib explanation. They laid
information against him in writing, and the vessel
was searched, the plunder indicating that the lawless
crew had been lifting the goods of subjects of the
King of Portugal. The first mention of the affair in
the Boston News-Letter was in the issue for the
week of May 15, 1704:
"Arrived at Marblehead, Captain Quelch in the
Brigantine that Captain Plowman went out in. Is
said to come from New Spain and have made a good
Voyage."
Quelch was a good deal more of a man than Cap-
tain Kidd who skulked homeward, hiding his treas-
ure, parleying with Governor Bellomont at long
range, afraid to come to close quarters. A strutting,
swaggering, villain was John Quelch, daring to beard
the lion in his den, trusting to his ability to deceive
with the authorities. To have run away with a
privateer, thrown the captain overboard, filled the
hold with loot, and then sailed back to Marblehead
was no ordinary achievement. However, this truly
JOHN QUELCH 165
artistic piracy was so coldly welcomed that a week
after his arrival had been chronicled, he was in jail
and the following proclamation issued :
"By the Honourable THOMAS POVEY, Esq.,
Lieut. Governour and Commander in Chief, for the
time being, of Her Majesties Province of the Massa-
chusetts Bay in New England.
A PROCLAMATION
Whereas, John Quelch, late Commander of the Brigantine
Charles and Company to her belonging, Viz, John Lambert,
John Miller, John Clifford, John Dorothy, James Parrot,
Charles James, William Whiting, John Pitman, John Tem-
pleton, Benjamin Perkins, William Wiles, Richard Law-
ranee, Erasmus Peterson, John King, Charles King, Isaac
Johnson, Nicholas Lawson, Daniel Chevalle, John Way,
Thomas Farrington, Matthew Primer, Anthony Holding,
William Raynor, John Quittance, John Harwood, William
Jones, Denis Carter, Nicholas Richardson, James Austin,
James Pattison, Joseph Hutnot, George Pierse, George
Norton, Gabriel Davis, John Breck, 'John Carter, Paul Gid-
dens, Nicholas Dunbar, Richard Thurbar, Daniel Chuly,
and others ; Have lately imported a considerable quantity of
Gold dust, and some Bar and Coin'd Gold, which they are
Violently suspected to have gotten and obtained by Felony
and Piracy from some of Her Majesties Friends and Allies,
and have Imported and Shared the same among them-
selves without any Adjudication or Condemnation thereof
to be lawful Prizes ; The said Commander and some others
being apprehended and in Custody, the rest are absconded
and fled from Justice.
"I have therefore thought fit, by and with the advice
of Her Majesties Council, strictly to Command and Re-
quire all Officers Civil and Military, and others Her Maj-
esties loving Subjects to Apprehend and Seize the said
Persons, or any of them, whom they may know or find,
and them secure and their Treasure, and bring them be-
166 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
fore one of the Council, or next Justice of the Peace, in
order to their being safely conveyed to Boston, to be Ex-
amined and brought to Answer what shall be Objected
against them, on Her Majesties behalf.
"And all Her Majesties Subjects, and others, are hereby
strictly forbidden to entertain, harbour, or conceal any of
the said Persons, or their Treasure, or to convey away, or
in any manner further the Escape of any of them, on pain
of being proceeded against with utmost Severity of Law,
as accessories and partakers with them in their Crime.
Given at the Council Chamber in Boston the 24th Day
of May in the Third Year of the Reign of our Sovereign
Lady ANNE, by the Grace of GOD of England, Scotland,
France, and Ireland, QUEEN, Defender of the Faith, etc.
Annoque Domi. 1704.
T. POVEY.
By Order of the Lieut.
Governor and Council,
Isaac Addington, Seer.
GOD Save The QUEEN."
The editor of The Boston News-Letter, comment-
ing on the foregoing fulmination, saw fit to qualify
his previous mention of Quelch's voyage, and an-
nounced under date of May 27 :
''Our last gave an Account of Captain Quelch's
being said to Arrive from N. Spain, having made a
good Voyage, but by the foregoing Proclamation 'tis
uncertain whence they came, and too palpably evi-
dent they have committed Piracies, either upon her
Majesties Subjects or Allies. . . . William
Whiting lyes sick, like to dye, not yet examined.
There are two more of them sick at Marble head,
and another in Salem Gaol, and James Austin im-
prisoned at Piscataqua. ' '
As soon as Governor Dudley returned to Boston,
a few days later, he issued a proclamation to rein-
w c
2 O
V
bo
a s
JOHN QUELCH 167
force that of the Lieutenant Governor, and one para-
graph indicated that the case of John Quelch was
moving swiftly toward the gallows.
"And it being now made Evident by the Con-
fession of some of the said Persons apprehended
and Examined, that the Gold and Treasure by them
Imported was robb'd and taken from the Subject
of the Crown of Portugal, on which they have also
acted divers Villainous Murders, I have thought
fit," etc.
It was believed that several of the crew had
scampered off with a large amount of the treasure,
for Governor Dudley laid great stress on overhaul-
ing sundry of them, mentioned by name, "with their
Treasure concealed." In his speech at the opening
of the General Court on June 1, he stated :
"The *last week has discovered a very notorious
piracy, committed upon her Majesties Allies, the
Portugal, on the coast of Brazil, by Quelch and
company, in the Charles Galley; for the discovery
of which all possible methods have been used, and
the severest process against those vile men shall be
speedily taken, that the Province be not thereby dis-
paraged, as they have been heretofore; and I hope
every good man will do his duty according to the
several Proclamations to discover the pirates and
their treasure, agreable to the Acts of Parliament
in that case made and provided."
Dudley was as energetic in pursuit of the runaway
pirates as Bellomont had been, and the News-Letter
recorded his activities in this wise:
"Warrants are issued forth to seize and appre-
hend Captain Larimore in the Larimore Galley, who
is said to have Sailed from Cape Anne with 9 or 11
Pirates of Captain Quelch 's Company."
168 THE BOOK OF BUEIED TREASURE
1 ' There is two more of the Pirates seized this week
and in Custody viz. Benjamin Perkins, and John
Templeton. ' '
"Bhode Island, June 9. The Honorable Samuel
Cranston, Esq., Governour of Her Majesties Colony
of Ehode Island, etc., Having received a Proclama-
tion Emitted by His Excellency Joseph Dudley, Esq.
General and Gov. in Chief in and over Her Majesties
Province of the Mass. Bay, etc., for Seizing and Ap-
prehending the late Company of Pirates belonging to
the Briganteen Charles, of whom John Quelch was
Commander, By and with the advice of the Deputy
Governour and Council Present, issued forth his fur-
ther Proclamation to Seize and Apprehend said
Pirates, or any of their Treasure, and to bring them
before one of the Council, or next Justice of the
Peace, in order to be conveyed to the town of New-
port, to be examined and proceeded with according
to Law. Commanding the Sheriff to Publish this
and His Excellencies Proclamation in the Town of
New-port, and in other Towns of the Colony.
Strictly forbidding all Her Majesties Subjects and
others to conceal any of them or their treasure, or
convey and further their escape, on pain of being
proceeded against with utmost severity of law."
' * Marblehead, June 9. The Honorable Samuel
Sewall, Nathanael Byfield, and Paul Dudley, Esqrs.
came to this place yesterday, in obedience to His
Excellency the Governour, his Order for the more
effectual discovering and Seizing the Pirates lately
belonging to the Briganteen Charles, John Quelch
Commander, with their Treasure. They made
Salem in their way, where Samuel Wakefield the
Water Baily informed them of a rumour that two
of Quelch 's Company were lurking at Cape Anne,
JOHN QUELCH 169
waiting for a Passage off the Coast. The Commis-
sioners made out a Warrant to Wakefield to Search
for them, and dispatched him away on Wednesday
night. And having gain'd intelligence this Morn-
ing that a certain number of them well Armed, were
at Cape Anne, designing to go off in the Larimore
Galley, then at Anchor in the Harbour, they immedi-
ately sent Men from the several adjacent Towns
by Land and Water to prevent their escape, and
went thither themselves, to give necessary orders
upon the place."
"Gloucester, upon Cape Anne, June 9. The Com-
missioners for Seizing the Pirates and their Treas-
ure arrived here this day, were advised that the
Larimore Galley Sail'd in the Morning Eastward,
and that a Boat was seen to go off from the head of
the Cape, near Snake Island, full of men, supposed
to be the Pirates. The Commissioners, seeing the
Government mock'd by Captain Larimore and his
officers, resolved to send after them. Major Stephen
Sewall who attended with a Fishing Shallop, and
the Fort Pinnace, offered to go in pursuit of them,
and Captain John Turner, Mr. Robert Brisco, Capt.
Knight, and several other good men voluntarily ac-
companied him, to the Number of 42 men who rowed
out of the Harbour after Sun-sett, being little Wind."
"Salem, June 11. This afternoon Major Sewall
brought into this Port the Larimore Galley and
Seven Pirates, viz., Erasmus Peterson, Charles
James, John Carter, John Pitman, Francis King,
Charles King, John King, whom he with his Com-
pany Surprized and Seized at the Isles of Sholes
the 10th. Instant viz. four of them on Board the
Larimore Galley, and three on shoar on Starr
Island, being assisted by John Hinckes and Thomas
170 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Phipps, Esqrs., two of her Majesties Justices of
New Hampshire, who were happily there, together
with the Justices and the Captain of the Place. He
also seized 45 Ounces and Seven Penny weight of
Gold of the said Pirates. Captain Thomas Lari-
more, Joseph Wells, Lieutenant, and Daniel Wor-
mall, Master, and the said Pirates are Secured in our
Gaol."
"Gloucester, June 12. Yesterday Major Sewall
passed by this place with the Larimore Galley and
Shallop Trial standing for Salem, and having little
wind, set our men ashore on the Eastern Point, giv-
ing of them notice that William Jones and Peter
Koach, two of the Pirates had mistook their way, and
were still left at the Cape, with strict charge to
search for them, which our Towns People performed
very industriously. Being strangers and destitute
of all Succours, they surrendered themselves this
Afternoon, and were sent to Salem Prison."
''Boston, June 17. On the 13th. Instant, Major
Sewall attended with a strong guard brought to
Town the above mentioned Pirates and Gold he had
seized and gave His Excellency a full Account of
his Procedure in Seizing them. The Prisoners were
committed to Gaol in order to a Tryal, and the Gold
delivered to the Treasurer and Committee appointed
to receive the same. The service of Major Sewall
and Company was very well Accepted and Rewarded
by the Governour.
"His Excellency was pleased on the 13 Currant to
open the High Court of Admiralty for trying Capt.
John Quelch, late Commander of the Briganteen
Charles, and Company for Piracy, who were brought
to the Barr, and the Articles exhibited against them
read. They all pleaded Not Guilty, excepting three,
JOHN QUELCH 171
viz. Matthew Primer, John Clifford, and James Par-
rot, who were reserved for Evidences and are in
her Majesties Mercy. The Prisoners moved for
Council, and His Excellency assigned them Mr.
James Meinzes. The Court was adjourned to the
16th. When met again Capt. Quelch preferr'd a Pe-
tition to His Excellency and Honorable Court, crav-
ing longer time which was granted till Monday Morn-
ing at Nine of the Clock, when said Court is to sit
again in order to their Tryal. ' '
Newspaper reporting was primitive in the Year of
Our Lord, 1704, and we are denied further informa-
tion of the merry chase after the fleeing pirates and
their treasure. One would like to know more of that
adventure at the Isles of Shoals and what the fugi-
tives were doing "on shoar" at Starr Island. The
trial of Quelch and his companions was recorded
with much more detail because it had certain impor-
tant and memorable aspects. It will be recalled that
Kidd and his men were sent to England for trial by
Bellomont for the reason that the colonial laws made
no provision for executing the death sentence in the
case of a convicted pirate. The difficulties and de-
lays and the large expense incident to the Kidd
proceedings were among the considerations which
moved Parliament, by an act passed in the reign of
William III, to confer upon the Crown authority to
issue commissions for the trial of pirates by Courts
of Admiralty out of the realm. Such a commission
was finally sent to Lord Bellomont for the trial of
pirates in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and
Khode Island. Another document of the same kind,
granting him this power for New York, arrived there
after his death.
These rights were confirmed by Queen Anne, and
172 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
in her instructions to Governor Dudley she ex-
pressed "her will and pleasure that in all matters
relating to the prosecution of pirates, he govern him-
self according to the act and commission aforesaid. ' '
The trial of Quelch was the first to be held by virtue
of these authorizations, and therefore the first cap-
ital proceedings against pirates in the New England
Colonies. A special court was convened, and an im-
posing tribunal it was, comprising the Governors
and Lieutenant Governors of the Provinces of
Massachusetts Bay, and New Hampshire, the Judge
of Vice Admiralty in each, the Chief Justices of the
Superior Court of Judicature, the Secretary of the
Province, Members of the Council of Massachusetts
Bay, and the Collector of Customs for New England.
The sessions were held in the Star Tavern, on the
present Hanover Street of Boston, and Quelch was
tried first, "being charged with nine several articles
of piracy and murder. ' ' He was very expeditiously
found guilty and sentenced to death, after which
nineteen of his company, in two batches, were dealt
the same verdict. From this wholesale punishment
only two were excepted, William Whiting* ' ' the wit-
nesses proving no matter of fact upon him, said
Whiting being sick all the voyage and not active,"
and John Templeton, "a servant about fourteen
years of age, and not charged with any action."
These were acquitted.
There are preserved only two copies of a broad-
side published in Boston in July of 1704 which
quaintly portrays the strenuous efforts made to save
the souls of the condemned pirates who must have
been men of uncommonly stout endurance to stand
up under the sermons with which they were bom-
barded. This little pamphlet may serve as a warn-
JOHN QUELCH 173
ing to venturesome boys of the twentieth century
who yearn to go a-pirating and to bury treasure.
An Account of the Behaviour and Last Dying
SPEECHES
Of the Six Pirates that were Executed on Charles
River, Boston side, On Fryday, June 30th. 1704.
Viz.
Captain John Quelch, John Lambert, Christopher Scud-
amore, John Miller, Erasmus Peterson, and Peter
Roach.
The Ministers of the Town had used more than ordi-
nary Endeavours to Instruct the Prisoners, and bring
them to Repentance. There were Sermons Preached
in their hearing Every Day ; And Prayers daily made
with them. And they were Catechised ; and they had
many occasional Exhortations. And nothing was left
that could be done for their Good.
On Fryday, the 30th of 'June, 1704, Pursuant to Orders
in the Dead Warrant, the aforesaid Pirates were guarded
from the Prison in Boston by Forty Musketeers, Consta-
bles of the Town, the Provost Marshal and his Officers,
etc. with two Ministers who took great pains to prepare
them for the last Article of their Lives. Being allowed
to walk on foot through the Town, to Scarlet's Wharf:
where the Silver Oar being carried before them, they went
by Water to the Place of Execution being crowded and
thronged on all sides by Multitudes of Spectators. The
Ministers then spoke to the Malefactors to this Effect:
"We have told you often, yea, we have told you weep-
ing, that you have by Sin undone yourselves; That you
were born Sinners; That you have lived Sinners; That
your Sins have been many and mighty ; and that the Sins
for which you are now to Dy, are of no Common aggrava-
tion. We have told you that there is a Saviour for Sin-
ners, and we have shewn you how to commit yourselves
into his Saving and Healing Hands. We have told you
that if He Save you He will give you as hearty Repentance
for all your Sins, and we have shewn you how to Express
that Repentance. We have told you what Marks of Life
must be desired for your Souls, that you may Safely ap-
pear before the Judgment Seat of God. Oh! That the
means used for your Good may by the Grace of God be
made Effectual. We can do no more, but leave you in His
Merciful Hands."
When they were gone upon the Stage, and Silence was
Commanded, One of the Ministers Prayed as f olloweth :
"Oh! Thou most Great and Glorious LORD! Thou art
a Righteous and a Terrible God. It is a righteous and an
Holy Law that thus hast given unto all, but what would
soon have done the worst things in the World. Oh ! The
Free-Grace! Oh! The Riches of that Grace, which has
made all the Difference! But now, we cry us. To break
that Good Law, and Sin against thy Infinite Majesty can
be no little Evil. Thy Word is always True, and very
Particular, that Word of thine which has told us and
warned us, EVIL PURSUETH SINNERS. We have seen
it, we have seen it. We have before our Eyes a dreadful
Demonstration of it. Oh ! Sanctify unto us, a Sight that
has in it so much of the Terror of the Lord !
* ' Here is a Number of men that have been very great Sin-
ners, and that are to Dy before their Time, for their being
wicked overmuch.
". . . But now we cry mightily to Heaven, we Lift
up our Cries to the God of all Grace, for the Perishing
Souls which are just now going to Expire under the Stroke
of Justice, before our Eyes. We Mourn, we Mourn, that
upon some of them at least, we do unto this minute see
no better Symptoms. But, Oh! is there not yet a Room
for Sovereign Grace to be display 'd, in their Conversion
and Salvation ? They Perish if they do not now Sincerely
turn from Sin to God, and give themselves up to the Lord
JESUS CHRIST; They Righteously and Horribly Perish!
And yet, without Influences from above, they can do none
of those things which must be done if they do not perish.
JOHN QUELCH 175
Oh! let us beg it of our God that He would not be so
Provoked at their Multiplied and Prodigious Impieties,
and at their obstinate Hardness under means of Good for-
merly afforded them, as to withhold those Influences from
them. We cry to thee, God of all Grace, That thou
wouldst not Suffer them to continue in the Gall of Bitter-
ness and Bond of Iniquity, and in the Possession of the
Devil. Oh! Knock off the Chains of Death which are
upon their Souls; Oh! Snatch the prey out of the Hands
of the Terrible.
". . . Discover to them, the only Saviour of their
Souls. Oh! Dispose them, Oh! Assist them to give the
Consent of their Souls unto His Wonderful Proposals.
Let them dy Renouncing all Dependence on any Right-
eousness of their own. Alas, what can they have of their
own to Depend upon! As a Token and Effect of their
having Accepted the Righteousness of God, Let them
heartily Repent of all their Sins against thee, and Abhor
and cast up every Morsel of their Iniquity. Oh! Let
them not go out of the World raging and raving against
the Justice of God and Man. And whatever part of the
Satanick Image is yet remaining on their Souls, Oh! Ef-
face it! Let them now dy in such a State and such a
Frame as may render them fit to appear before God the
'Judge of all. What shall plead for them?
' ' Great GOD grant that all the Spectators may get Good
by the horrible Spectacle that is now before them! Let
all the People hear and fear, and let no more any such
Wickedness be done as has produced this woeful Spectacle.
And let all the People beware how they go on in the ways
of Sin, and in the paths of the Destroyer, after so Solemn
Warnings.
' ' Oh ! but shall our Sea-faring Tribe on this Occasion be
in a Singular manner affected with the Warnings of God !
Lord, May those our dear Bretheren be Saved from the
Temptations which do so threaten them ! Oh ! Let them not
Abandon Themselves to Profanity, to Swearing, to Cursing,
to Drinking, to Lewdness, to a cursed Forgetfulness of their
176 'THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Maker, and of the End for which He made them! Oh!
Let them not be abandoned of God unto those Courses that
will hasten them to a Damnation that slumbers not ! Oh !
Let the men hear the Lord exceedingly, We Pray thee!
Let the Condition of the Six or Seven men whom they now
see Dying for their Wickedness upon the Sea be Sanctified
unto them. . . ."
They then severally Spoke, Viz.
I Captain John Quelch. The last Words he spoke
to one of the Ministers at his going up the Stage were,
I am not afraid of Death. I am not afraid of the Gallows,
but I am afraid of what follows; I am afraid of a Great
God, and a Judgment to Come. But he afterwards seem'd
to brave it out too much against that fear; also when on
the Stage first he pulled off his Hat, and bowed to the
Spectators, and not concerned, nor behaving himself so
much like a Dying man as some would have done. The
Ministers had in the Way to his Execution much desired
him to Glorify God at his Death, by bearing a due Testi-
mony against the Sins that had ruined him, and for the
ways of Religion which he had much neglected; yet now
being called upon to speak what he had to say, it was but
this much. What I have to say is this. I desire to be
informed for what I am here. I am Condemned only upon
Circumstances. I forgive all the World. So the Lord be
Merciful to my Soul. When Lambert was Warning the
Spectators to beware of Bad Company, Quelch joyning
They should also take care how they brought Money into
New England, to be Hanged for it!
II John Lambert. He appeared much hardened, and
pleaded much on his Innocency; He desired all men to
beware of Bad Company; he seem'd in a great Agony
near his Execution; he called much and frequently on
Christ for Pardon of Sin, that God Almighty would save
his innocent Soul; he desired to forgive all the World.
His last words were, Lord, forgive my Soul! Oh, receive
me into Eternity! Blessed Name of Christ, receive my
Soul,
JOHN QUELCH 177
Ill Christopher Scudamore. He appeared very Peni-
tent since his Condemnation, was very diligent to improve
his time going to, and at the place of Execution.
IV John Miller. He seem'd much concerned, and
complained of a great Burden of Sins to answer for; ex-
pressing often Lord, what shall I do to be Saved!
V Erasmus Peterson. He cryed of injustice done him,
and said It is very hard for so many lives to be taken
away for a little Gold. He often said his Peace was made
with God, and his Soul would be with God, yet extream
hard to forgive those he said had wronged him. He told
the Executioner, he was a strong man, and Prayed to be
put out of misery as soon as possible.
VI Peter Roach. He seem'd little concerned, and said
but little or nothing at all. Francis King was also brought
to the place of Execution but Repriev'd.
Printed for and Sold by Nicholas Boone, at his Shop
near the Old Meeting-House in Boston. 1704.
ADVERTISEMENT.
There is now in the Press and will speedily be Pub-
lished: The Arraignment, Tryal and Condemnation of
Captain John Quelch, and others of his Company etc. for
sundry Piracies, Robberies and Murder committed upon
the Subjects of the King of Portugal, Her Majesties Allie,
on the Coast of Brasil etc. Who upon full Evidence were
found guilty at the Court-House in Boston on the 13th of
June 1704. With the Arguments of the Queen's Council
and Council for the Prisoners, upon the Act for the more
effectual Suppression of Piracy. With an account of the
Ages of the several Prisoners, and the Places where they
were Born.
The News-Letter was less inclined to vouch for
the pious inclinations of these poor wretches, and
gravely stated that "notwithstanding all the great
labour and pains taken by the Reverend Ministers
178 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
of the Town of Boston, ever since they were first
Seized and brought to Town, both before and since
their Tryal and Condemnation, to instruct, admon-
ish, preach, and pray for them: yet as they had led
a wicked and vicious life, so to appearance they
dyed very obdurately and impenitently, hardened in
their Sins."
Be that as it may, the figure of bold John Quelch
on the gallows, bowing to the spectators, hat in
hand, was that of no whimpering coward, and one
admires him for that grimly sardonic touch of humor
as he warned the silent, curious multitude to take
care "how they brought money into New England,
to be hanged for it." Among these devout and
somber Pilgrims and Puritans who listened to that
singularly moving prayer, tremendous in its sincer-
ity, were more than a few who were bringing money
into New England by means of trade in rum and
negroes, or very quietly buying and selling the mer-
chandise fetched home by pirates who were lucky
enough to keep clear of the law. The Massachusetts
colonists dearly loved to make public parade of a
rogue caught in the act, and to see six pirates hanged
at once was a rare holiday indeed.
These only of the number convicted and con-
demned were hanged. All the others were pardoned
a year later by Queene Anne at the recommendation
of Governor Dudley, with the exhortation "that as
they had now new Lives given them, they should
be new men, and be very faithful and diligent in
the Service of Her Majesty; who might as easily and
justly have ordered their Execution this day as sent
their Pardon." As one way of turning pirates to
some useful account, these forgiven rogues were
promptly drafted into the royal navy as able sea-
JOHN QUELCH 179
men, and doubtless made excellent food for powder.
Although a large part of that hundred weight of
gold was successfully concealed by Quelch and his
comrades, either buried at the Isles of Shoals, or
otherwise spirited away, enough of it was recovered
to afford a division of the spoils among various of-
ficials in a manner so suggestive of petty graft as
to warrant the conclusion that piracy was not en-
tirely a maritime trade in Puritan Boston. Every
man Jack of them who had anything whatever to
do with catching or keeping or hanging Quelch and
his fellows poked his fingers into the bag of gold. It
seems like very belated muck-raking to fish up the
document that tells in detail what became of so much
of the Quelch treasure as fell into the greedy hands
of the authorities, but here are the tell-tale figures :
"To Stephen North, who kept the Star Tavern in
which the trial was held, for entertainment of the
Commissioners during the sitting of the Court of
Admiralty, and for Witnesses, Twenty-eight pounds,
Eleven shillings, and six pence.
' * To Lieut. Gov. Usher, Expenses in securing and re-
turning of James Austin's Gold from the Province
of New Hampshire, Three pounds, ten shillings.
"To Richard Jesse, Sheriffe of New Hampshire and
his Officers and under keeper, for charge of keep-
ing the said Austin, expenses in his sickness, and
charge of conveying him into this Province, Nine
pounds, five shillings.
"To Mr. James Menzies of Council for the Prison-
ers on their Tryal, as signed by the Commissioners,
Twenty Pounds.
' ' To Henry Franklyn, Marshal of the Admiralty for
the Gibbet, Guards, and execution, Twenty-nine
pounds, nineteen shillings. Later forty shillings
180 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
added to Thomas Barnard for erecting the gibbet.
"To Samuel Wakefield, Deputy Marshal of the Ad-
miralty, for charges in apprehending several of the
said Pirates, Four Pounds, five shillings and six
pence.
"To Mr. Apthorp and Mr. Jesse, two of the Con-
stables of Boston for their service about appre-
hending the said Pirates, forty shillings.
"To the Constables of the Several Towns betwixt
Bristol and Boston for apprehending and conveying
of Christopher Scudamore, two pounds, eighteen shil-
lings.
"To Captain Edward Brattle, charges on a Negro
boy imported by the said Pirates, Twenty five shil-
lings.
"To Andrew Belcher, Esq., charges for Clothing of
the Witnesses sent to England with Larrimore and
Wells, charged as accessories, seven pounds, eight-
een shillings.
"To Paul Dudley, Esq., the Queen's Advocate for
the prosecution of the said Pirates, preparing the
gaid Tryal for the press, supervising of the same,
and for his service relating to Captain Larrimore,
in the whole, Thirty-six pounds.
"To Thomas Newton, Esq. of Council for the Queen
in the said Tryal, ten pounds.
"To Mr. John Valentine, Register, for his service
on the Tryal and for transcribing them to be trans-
mitted to her Majesty's High Court of Admiralty in
England, Thirteen pounds.
"To Mr. Sheriffe Dyer, for his service relating to the
said Prisoners, Five pounds.
"To Wm. Clarke of Boston, for Casks, shifting and
landing the Sugar and other things piratically and
feloniously obtained by Captain Quelch and Com-
JOHN QUELCH 181
pany, and for storage of them, Thirteen pounds.
"To Daniel Willard, Keeper of the Prison in Bos-
ton, toward the charge of feeding and keeping of
the said Pirates, Thirty pounds.
"To Andrew Belcher, the Commissary-General, an
additional sum of five pounds nine shillings and six
pence for necessary clothing supplied to some of the
Pirates in prison.
"To Major James Sewall for his pursuit and ap-
prehension of seven of the Pirates, and for the grat-
ification of himself, Captain Turner, and other of-
ficers, one hundred and thirty-two pounds, five
shillings. ' '
The commissioners, Sewall, Byfield and Paul Dud-
ley, received for their expenses and services, twenty-
five pounds, seven shillings, and ten pence.
Finally, there were given to the captains of the
several companies of militia in the town for Boston,
"for their charges and expenses on Guards and
Watches on the Pirates during their Imprisonment,
Twenty-seven pounds, sixteen shillings, and three
pence: to Captain Tuthill, for his assistance to
secure and bring about the Vessel and goods from
Marblehead, five pounds; to Mr. Jeremiah Allen, the
Treasurer's bookkeeper, for his care and service
about the said Gold and goods, five pounds ; to Con-
stable Apthorp and Jesse, for their services, a fur-
ther allowance of three pounds."
The amount of the * ' royal bounty ' ' given the Gov-
ernor as his share of the pirates' booty, is not re-
corded. If the belief of those of their contempo-
raries who best know the Dudleys may be relied on,
the fees and emoluments officially awarded them
were by no means the extent of the profits from their
dealings with the pirates and their treasure. When.
182 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Cotton Mather quarreled with Governor Dudley a
few years later he did not hesitate to intimate this-
charge pretty broadly in the following passage in his
memorial on Dudley's administration:
"There have been odd Collusions with the Pyrates
of Quelch's Company, of which one instance is, That
there was extorted the sum of about Thirty Pounds
from some of the crew for liberty to walk at certain
times in the prison yard. And this liberty having
been allowed for two or three days unto them, they
were again confined to their former wretched cir-
cumstances. ' '
CHAPTER VII
THE AKMADA GALLEON OF TOBERMORY BAY
BETWEEN the western Highlands of Scotland and
the remote, cloudy Hebrides lies the large island of
Mull on a sound of that name. Its bold headlands
are crowned with the ruins of gray castles that were
once the strongholds of the clans of the MacLeans
and the MacDonalds. Along these shores and waters
one generation after another of kilted fighting men,
savage as red Indians, raided and burned and slew
in feuds whose memories are crowded with tragedy
and romance. Near where Mull is washed by the
Atlantic and the Sound opens toward the thorough-
fares of the deep-sea shipping is the pleasant town
of Tobermory, which in the Gaelic means Mary's
Well. The bay that it faces is singularly beautiful,
almost landlocked, and of a depth sufficient to shelter
a fleet.
Into this Bay of Tobermory there sailed one day
a great galleon of Spain, belonging to that mighty
Armada which had been shattered and driven in
frantic flight by English seamen with hearts of oak
under Drake, Hawkins, Howard, Seymour, and Mar-
tin Frobisher, names to make the blood beat faster
even now. The year was 1588, in the reign of Eliza-
beth, long, long, ago. This fugitive galleon, afore-
time so tall and stately and ornate, was racked and
leaking, her painted sails in tatters, her Spanish sail-
ors sick, weary, starved, after escaping from the
183
184 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
English Channel and faring far northward around
the stormy Orkneys. Many of her sister ships had
crashed ashore on the Irish coast while the surviv-
ing remnant of this magnificent flotilla wallowed
forlornly home. Seeking provisions, repairs, respite
from the terrors of the implacable ocean the gal-
leon Florencia dropped anchor in Tobermory Bay,
and there she laid her bones.
With her, it is said, was lost a great store of
treasure in gold and plate, and ever since 1641, for
more than two and a half centuries, the search for
these riches has been carried on at intervals. More
than likely, if you should go in one of Donald Mac-
Brayne's steamers through the Sound of Mull next
summer, and a delightful excursion it is, you would
find an up-to-date suction dredge and a corps of
divers, employed by the latest syndicate to finance
the treasure hunt, ransacking the mud of Tobermory
Bay in the hope of finding the Spanish gold of the
Florencia. Many thousands have been vainly spent
in the quest, but the lure of lost treasure has a fasci-
nation of its own, and after all the failure of Scotch
and English seekers, American enterprise and cap-
ital have now taken hold of this romantic task.
With the history of the Florencia galleon and her
treasure is intimately interwoven the stirring chron-
icle of the deeds of the MacLeans of Mull and the
MacDonalds of Islay and Skye. Out of the echoing
past, the fanfare of Spanish trumpets is mingled
with the skirl of the pipes, and the rapier of Toledo
flashes beside the claymore of the Highlanders.
The story really begins long before the doomed
galleon sought refuge in Tobermory Bay. There
were island chieftains of the Clan MacLean, busy at
cutting the throats of their enemies, as far remote
THE ARMADA GALLEON 185
in time as the thirteenth century, but their turbulent
pedigrees need not concern our narrative until the
warlike figure of Lachlan Mo'r MacLean, "Big Lach-
lan," steps into its pages in the year of 1576.
It was then that he came of age and set out from
the Court of James VI at Edinburgh, where he had
been brought up, to claim his inherited estates of
Mull. His wicked step-father, Hector, met him in
the castle of Duart whose stout walls and battle-
ments still loom not far from Tobermory and tried to
set him aside with false and foolish words. The as-
tute youth perceived that if he were to come into his
own, he must be up and doing, wherefore he speed-
ily mustered friends and led them into Castle Duart
by night. They carried this scheming step-father
to the island of Coll and there beheaded him, which
made Lachlan 's title clear to the lands of his an-
cestors.
The next to mistake the mettle of young Lachlan
Mo'r was no less than Colin Campbell, sixth Earl
of Argyll, head of a family very powerful in the
Highlands even to this day. He was for seizing
the estate by force after plotting to no purpose, and
Angus MacDonald of Dunyweg was persuaded to
help him with several hundred fighting men. Thus
began the feud between the MacLeans and MacDon-
alds which a few years later was to involve that
great galleon Florencia of the Armada. Argyll
and his force wasted the lands of Lachlan with fire
and sword, and besieged one of his strongholds with
twelve hundred followers.
War thus begun was waged without mercy, and
one bloody episode followed on the heels of another.
At the head of his clansmen, Lachlan swept into
Argyle's country and made him cry quits. This was
186 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
a large achievement, and the spirited young Lord of
Duart was hailed as a Highland chief worthy of the
king's favor. He went to court, was flattered by
the great men there, and became the hero of as
pretty and gallant a romance as heart could wish.
The king arranged that he should marry the daugh-
ter of the powerful Earl of Athol, and Lachlan could
not say his sovereign nay. The contract arranged,
he started for Mull to make ready for the wedding,
but chanced to visit on the way William Cunningham,
Earl of Glencairn, at his castle overlooking the
Clyde.
Cards were played to while away the evening, and
Lachlan 's partner was one of the daughters of the
host. It so happened that the game was changed
and the players again cut for partners. At this an-
other daughter, the fair Margaret Cunningham,
whispered to her sister that if the handsome High-
land chief had been her partner, "she would not
have hazarded the loss of him by cutting anew."
Lachlan overheard the compliment, as perhaps he
was meant to do, and so far as he was concerned
hearts were trumps from that moment. He wooed
and won Margaret Cunningham and married her
forthwith. The king was greatly offended but what
cared this happy man? He carried his bride to
Duart and laughed at his foes.
The quiet life at home was not for him, however.
Soon he was playing the game of the sword with
the MacDonalds of Islay until a truce was patched
by means of a marriage between the clans. There
was peace for a time, but the trouble blazed anew
over the matter of some lifted cattle, and they were
at it again hammer-and-tongs. The royal policy
seems to have been to permit these Highland game-
cocks to fight each other so long as they were fairly
THE ARMADA GALLEON 187
well matched. In this case the various MacDonalds
combined in such numbers against Lachlan MacLean
that the king interfered and persuaded them to seek
terms of reconciliation. Accordingly the Lord of
the MacDonalds journeyed to Duart Castle with his
retinue of bare-legged gentlemen and was hospitably
received. Lachlan was canny as well as braw, and
he clinched the terms of peace by first locking the
visitors in a room whose walls were some twenty
feet thick, and then holding as hostages the two
young sons of Angus MacDonald.
The high-tempered MacDonald was naturally more
exasperated than pacified, and he turned the tables
when Lachlan soon after went to Islay to receive per-
formance of the promises made touching certain
lands in dispute. The Highland code of honor was
peculiar in that treachery appears to have been a
weapon used without scruple. The MacDonalds
swore that not a MacLean should suffer harm, but
no sooner had Lachlan and his clansmen and serv-
ants arrived than they were attacked at night by a
large force. The party would have been put to the
sword, but that Lachlan rushed into the midst of the
foe holding aloft one of MacDonald 's sons as a
shield.
This caused postponement of the slaughter, Mac-
Donald offering quarter if his child should be deliv-
ered to him. The MacLeans were disarmed and
bound, except two young men who had distinguished
themselves by laying many a MacDonald low in the
heather. These were beheaded at once, and begin-
ning next morning two MacLeans were led out and
executed each day in the presence of their own chief
until no more than Lachlan and his uncle were left.
They were spared only because the sanguinary Angus,
188 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
MacDonald fell from his horse and was badly hurt
before he could finish his program.
It would be tiresome to relate much more of this
ensanguined, interminable game of give and take
which was the chief business of the Highland clans
in that century. The clan of the Maclans whose seat
was at Ardnamurchan Castle on Mull later sided ac-
tively with the MacDonalds and the feud became
three-cornered. Lachlan Mo'r MacLean was no
petty warrior, and his men were numbered by the
thousand when he was in the prime of his power.
Once he fell upon the island of Islay and put to the
^word as many as five hundred of his foes, "all the
men capable of bearing arms belonging to the Clan-
donald," says an old account. Angus himself was
chased into his castle and forced to give over half of
Islay to Lachlan to save his skin.
Now, indeed, was there a mustering of the Mac-
Donalds from near and far to invade Mull. They
gathered under the chiefs of Kintyre, Skye and Islay,
with the lesser clans under MacNeil of Gigha, the
MacAllisters of Loupe, and the MacPhees of Colon-
say. Bold Lachlan Mo'r MacLean was outnum-
bered, but a singular stroke of luck enabled him
to win a decisive battle. That MacDonald who
was called the Eed Knight of Sleat, was much dis-
turbed and shaken by a dream in which a voice
chanted a very doleful prophecy of which this is a
sample :
"Dire are the deeds the fates have doomed on thee!
Defeated by the sons of Gillean the invading host shall be.
On thee, Gearna-Dubh, 1 streams of blood shall flow ;
And the bold Red Knight shall die ere a sword is sheathed. ' '
i A cliff which was the key to the position held by the MacLeans.
Duart Castle, chief stronghold of the MacLeans.
Ardnamurchan Castle, seat of the Maclans and the MacDonalds.
THE ARMADA GALLEON 189
This message caused the Bed Knight to sound
the retreat soon after the fray began, and his exam-
ple spread panic among the force which broke and
ran for their boats, and the best MacDonald was he
who first reached the beach. The claymores of the
MacLeans hewed them down without mercy and their
heads were chopped off and thrown into a well which
has since borne a Gaelic name descriptive of the
event. It would seem that these clans must have ex-
terminated each other by this time, but the bleak
moors and rocky slopes of these western islands
bore a wonderful crop of fighting men, and soon the
MacLeans were invading the coast of Lorn and
spreading havoc among the MacDonalds with great
slaughter.
Lachlan found time also to seek vengeance on the
Maclans for daring to meddle in his affairs. John
Maclan, chief of that smaller clan which owed fealty
to the MacDonalds, had been a suitor for the hand
of Lachlan Mo'r MacLean's mother, who was a sis-
ter of the Earl of Carlyle, and had a fortune in her
own right. Now the Maclan renewed his attentions,
and Lachlan looked on grimly, aware that the motive
was greed of gold and lands. His mother gave her
consent but her two-fisted son made no objection
until the Maclan came to Mull to claim his bride.
The marriage was performed in the presence of Lach-
lan and his most distinguished retainers, and there
was a feast and much roaring conviviality. In the
evening, the company being hot with wine, a rash
Maclan brought up the matter of the recent feud and
a pretty quarrel was brewed in a twinkling.
Several of the Maclans boasted that their chief
had wed "the old lady" for the sake of her wealth.
"Drunkards ever tell the truth," flung back a Mac-
190 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Lean with which, he plunged a dirk into the heart
of the tactless guest. Instantly the swords were
flashing, and hardly a Maclan came alive out of the
banqueting hall. Lachlan missed this melee, for
some reason or other, but coming on the scene a lit-
tle later he quoted in the Gaelic a proverb which
means, "If the fox rushes upon the hounds he must
expect to be torn." His followers took it that he
felt no sorrow at the fate of the Maclans, and forth-
with they rushed into the chamber of the bridegroom,
dragged him forth, and would have dispatched him,
but the lamentations of Lachlan 's mother for once
moved her rugged son to pity, and he contented him-
self with throwing the chief of the Maclans into the
dungeon of Duart Castle.
This happened in the summer of 1588, and af-
fairs were in this wise when the galleon Florencia
came sailing into Tobermory Bay. Her captain, Don
Pareira, was a fiery sea-fighter whom misfortune had
not tamed. These savage Highlanders were barba-
rians in his eyes, and he would waste no courtesy
on them. There were several hundred Spanish sol-
diers in the galleon, of the great army of troops which
had been sent in the Armada to invade England,
and Captain Pareira thought himself in a position
to demand what he wanted. He sent a boat ashore
with a message to Lachlan Mo'r MacLean at his
castle at Duart, asking that provisions be furnished
him, and adding that in case of refusal or delay he
should take them by force. To this Lachlan sent
back the haughty reply that "the wants of the dis-
tressed strangers should be attended to after the
captain of the Spanish ship had been taught a lesson
in courteous behavior. In order that the lesson
might be taught him as speedily as possible, he was
THE ARMADA GALLEON 191
invited to land and supply his wants by the forcible
means of which he boasted. It was not the custom
of the Chief of the MacLeans to pay attention to the
demands of a threatening and insolent beggar."
At this it may be presumed that Captain Pareira
swore a few rounds of crackling oaths in his beard
as he strode his high-pooped quarter-deck. His men
who had gone ashore reported that the MacLean
was an ill man to trifle with and that he had best be
let alone. Already the clan was gathering to repel
a landing force from the galleon. The captain of
the battered Florencia took wiser counsel with him-
self and perceived that he had threatened over
hastily. Pocketing his pride, he assured the ruffled
Lachlan of Castle Duart that he would pay with gold
for whatever supplies might be granted him.
Lachlan had other fish to fry, for the MacDonalds,
exceedingly wroth at the scurvy treatment dealt that
luckless bridegroom and ally, the chief of the Mac-
lans, were up in arms and making ready to avenge
the black insult. In need of men to defend himself,
Lachlan MacLean struck a bargain with the captain
of the galleon. If Pareira should lend him a hun-
dred soldiers from the Florencia he would consider
this service as part payment for the supplies and
assistance desired.
Away marched the contingent from the galleon
in company with the MacLean clansmen, and laid
siege to the Maclan castle of Mingarry after rava-
ging the small islands of Bum and Eigg. Lachlan
Mo'r was carrying all before him, burning, killing,
plundering both MacDonalds and Maclans, when
Captain Pareira sent him word that the Florencia
was ready to sail, and he should like to have his sol-
diers returned, TO this MacLean replied that the
192 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
account between them had not been wholly squared.
There was the matter of payment promised in addi-
tion to the loan of the soldiers. The people of Tober-
mory and thereabouts had sent grain and cattle
aboard the galleon, and they must have their money
before sailing day.
Captain Pareira promised that every satisfaction
should be given before he left the country, and again
requested that his hundred soldadoes be marched
back to their ship.
This Lachlan was willing to do, but still suspecting
the commander of the galleon as a wily bird, he de-
tained three of the officers of the troops as hostages
to assure final settlement. Then he sent on board
the Florencia young Donald Glas, son of the Mac-
Lean of Morvern, to collect what was due and adjust
the affair. No sooner had he set foot on deck, than
he was disarmed and bundled below by order of
Pareira who considered that two could play at hold-
ing that form of collateral known as hostages.
Now ensued a dead-lock. Lachlan MacLean re-
fused to yield up his brace of Spanish officers unless
the demands of his people were paid in full, while
Captain Pareira kept Donald Glas locked in a
cabin and swore to carry him to sea. The tragedy
which followed is told in the traditions of Mull to
this day. When Donald Glas learned that he was
kidnapped in the galleon, he resolved to wreak dread-
ful revenge for the treachery dealt his kinsmen. On
the morning when the Florencia weighed anchor, an
attendant who had been confined with him was sent
on shore and Donald sent word of his fell intention
to the chief of the clan.
Overnight Donald Glas had discovered that only a
bulkhead separated his cabin from the powder maga-
THE ARMADA GALLEON 193
zine of the galleon, and by some means, which tradi-
tion omits to explain, he cut a hole through the plank-
ing and laid a train ready for the match. Just
before the Florencia weighed anchor he was fetched
on deck for a moment to take his last sight of the
heathery hills of Mull and Morvern. Then the cap-
tive was thrust back into his cabin, and with her
great, gay banners trailing from aloft, the galleon
made sail and began slowly to move away from the
shore of Tobermory Bay.
It was then that Donald Glas, true MacLean was
he, fired his train of powder, and bang ! the magazine
exploded. The galleon was torn asunder with ter-
rific violence, and the bodies of her soldiers and
mariners were flung far over the bay and even upon
the shore. So complete was the destruction that
only three of the several hundred Spaniards escaped
alive. The Florencia had vanished in a manner
truly epic, and proud were the MacLeans of the deed
of young Donald Glas who gave his life for the honor
of his clan.
One of the surviving traditions is that a dog be-
longing to Captain Pareira was hurled ashore alive.
The faithful creature, when it had recovered from its
hurts, refused to leave that part of the strand near-
est the wreck, and continued to howl most piteously
by day and night as long as it existed, which was
more than a year. The Spanish officers, who had re-
mained as hostages in the hands of Lachlan Mo'r
MacLean were set at liberty by that sometimes
courteous chief, and were permitted to proceed to
Edinburgh where they lodged complaint with the
king touching the destruction of their galleon. The
matter of Captain Pareira having been disposed of
in this explosive fashion, Lachlan MacLean returned
194 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
to his main business of harrying the MacDonalds,
and so fiercely and destructively was the feud con-
ducted thereafter, that King James thought it time
to interfere, lest he should have no subjects left in
the Western Highlands. The warring chiefs were
summoned to Edinburgh and imprisoned and fined,
after which they made their peace with the king and
returned to their island realms. The affair of the
Florencia was named in the charges brought against
MacLean. In the official records of Holyrood Pal-
ace, seat of the Scottish kings, is this information,
laid before the Privy Council on January 3rd,
1591:
That in the preceding October, Lachlan MacLean
"accompanied with a great number of thieves,
broken men and ... of clans, besides the num-
ber of one hundred Spaniards, came to the properties
of His Majesty, Canna, Kum, Eigg and the Isle of
Elenole, and after they had wracked and spoiled the
said islands, they treasonably raised fire, and in
maist barbarous, shameful and cruel manner, burnt
the same island, with the men, women and children
there, not sparing the youths and infants; and at
the same time past came to the Castle of Ardnamur-
chan, besieged the same, and lay about the said castle
three days, using in the meantime all kinds of hos-
tilities and force, both by fire and sword. . . .
The like barbarous and shameful cruelty has seldom
been heard of among Christians in any kingdom or
age. ' '
On the 20th of March, 1588, King James " granted
a remission to Lachlan MacLean of Duart for the
cruel murder of certain inhabitants of the islands of
Eum, Canna, and Eigg," but from the remission was
excepted the "plotting or felonious burning and
THE ARMADA GALLEON 195
flaming up, by sulphurous powder, of a Spanish ship
and of the men and provisions in her, near the island
of Mull."
Swift and tragic as was the fate of Captain Pa-
reira and his ship's company, it was perhaps more
merciful than that which befell the great squadron
of galleons of the Armada that were cast on the
coast of Ireland, on the rocks of Clare and Kerry,
in Galway Bay, and along the shores of Sligo and
Donegal. More than thirty ships perished in this
way, and of the eight thousand half-drowned
wretches who struggled ashore no more than a hand-
ful escaped slaughter at the hands of the wild Irish
who knocked them on the head with battle-axes or
stripped them naked and left them to die of the cold.
Many were Spanish gentlemen, richly clad, with
gold chains and rings, and the common sailors and
soldiers had each a bag of ducats lashed to his wrist
when he landed through the surf. They were slain
for their treasure, and on one sand strip of Sligo an
English officer counted eleven hundred bodies.
In a letter to Queen Elizabeth, Sir R. Bingham,
Governor of Ulster, wrote of the wreckage of twelve
Armada ships which he knew of, ''the men of which
ships did all perish in the sea save the number of
eleven hundred or upwards which we put to the
sword; amongst whom there were divers gentlemen
of quality and service, as captains, masters of ships,
lieutenants, ensign bearers, other inferior officers
and young gentlemen to the number of some fifty.
. . . which being spared from the sword till
orders must be had from the Lord Deputy how to
proceed against them, I had special directions sent
me to see them executed as the rest were, only re-
serving alive one Don Luis de Cordova, and a young
196 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
gentleman, his nephew, till your Highness 's pleasure
be known. ' '
Alas, Elizabeth could not find it in her heart to
spare even these two luckless gentlemen of Spain,
and one judges those rude Highlanders less harshly
for their bloodthirsty feuds at learning that the
great Queen herself "ordered their immediate ex-
ecution when she received the letter, and it was duly
carried out. ' '
Froude, in his essay "The Defeat of the Armada,"
comes to the defense of Elizabeth, or at least he
pleads extenuating circumstances.
"Most pitiful of all was the fate of those who fell
into the hands of the English garrisons of Galway
and Mayo. Galleons had found their way into Gal-
way Bay, one of them had reached Galway itself,
the crews half dead with famine and offering a
cask of wine for a cask of water. The Galway
townsmen were humane, and tried to feed and care
for them. Most were too far gone to be revived,
and died of exhaustion. Some might have re-
covered, but recovered they would be a danger to
the State. The English in the West of Ireland were
but a handful in the midst of a sullen, half -conquered
population. The ashes of the Desmond rebellion
were still smoking, and Dr, Sanders and his Lega-
tine Commission were fresh in immediate memory.
The defeat of the Armada in the Channel could only
have been vaguely heard of.
"All that the English officers could have ac-
curately known must have been that an enormous
expedition had been sent to England by Philip to
restore the Pope; and Spaniards, they found, were
landing in thousands in the midst of them with arms
and money; distressed for the moment, but sure, if
PL,
I
o.
in
THE ARMADA GALLEON 197
allowed time to get their strength again, to set Con-
naught in a blaze. They had no fortresses to hold
so many prisoners, no means of feeding them, no
more to spare to escort them to Dublin. They were
responsible to the Queen's Government for the
safety to the country. The Spaniards had not come
on any errand of mercy to her or hers. The stern
order went out to kill them all wherever they might
be found, and two thousand or more were shot,
hanged, or put to the sword. Dreadful! Yes, but
war itself is dreadful, and has its own necessities."
A quaint recital of the fate of these fleeing gal-
leons is to be found in a history published by order
of Oliver Cromwell, with the title of "Old England
Forever, or Spanish Cruelty Displayed." One
chapter runs as follows :
"Here followeth a particular Account of the Mis-
erable Condition of the Spanish Fleet, fled to the
North of Scotland, and scattered, for many Weeks,
on the Sea-Coasts of Ireland. Written October 19,
1588.
" About the Beginning of August, the Fleet was,
by Tempest, driven beyond the Isles of Orkney, the
Place being above 60 Leagues North Latitude (as al-
ready mentioned) a very unaccustomed climate for
the Young Gallants of Spain, who did never before
feel Storms on the Sea nor cold weather in August.
And about those Northern Islands their Mariners
and Soldiers died daily by Multitudes, as by their
Bodies cast on land did appear. And after twenty
Days or more, having passed their Time in great
Miseries, they being desirous to return Home to
Spain, sailed very far Southward into the Ocean to
recover Spain.
<4 But the Almighty, who always avenges the Cause
198 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
of his afflicted People who put their Confidence in
Him, and brings down his Enemies who exalt them-
selves to the Heavens, order 'd the Winds to be vio-
lently contrarious to this proud Navy, that it was
with Force dissevered on the High Seas to the West
of Ireland; and so a great number of them were
driven into divers dangerous Bays, and upon Rocks,
all along the West and North Parts of Ireland, in
sundry Places distant above an hundred Miles asun-
der, and there cast away, some sunk, some broken,
some run on sands, and some were burned by the
Spaniards themselves.
"As in the North Part of Ireland, towards Scot-
land, between the two Eivers of Lough-foile and
Lough-sivelly, nine were driven on Shore, and many
of them broke, and the Spaniards forced to come
to Land for Succor among the Wild Irish.
"In another Place, twenty miles South West from
thence, in a Bay called Borreys, twenty Miles North-
ward from Galloway, belonging to the Earl of Or-
mond, one special great Ship of 1000 Tons, with 50
Brass Pieces, and four Cannons was sunk, and all
the People drowned, saving 16, who by their Ap-
parel, as it is advertized out of Ireland, seemed to
be Persons of Great Distinction.
"Then to come more to the Southward, thirty
Miles upon the coast of Thomond, North from the
Eiver of Shannon, two or three more perished,
whereof one was burned by the Spaniards them-
selves, and so driven to the Shore. Another was of
San Sebastian, wherein were 300 men, who were
also all drowned, saving 60; a third Ship, with all
her Lading was cast away at a Place called Breckan.
"In another Place, opposite Sir Tirlogh O'Brien's
House, there was another great Ship lost, supposed
THE ARMADA GALLEON 199
to be a Galleass. The Losses above mentioned were
betwixt the 5th, and 10th of September; as was ad-
vertized from sundry Places out of Ireland. So as
by accompt. from the 21st of July, when this Navy
was first beaten by the Navy of England, until the
10th of September, being the space of Seven Weeks,
and more, it is very probable that the said Navy had
never had one good Day or Night."
That much treasure of gold and jewels and plate
went down in these lost galleons was the opinion of
Scotch and Irish tradition, but these stories gained
the greatest credence in the case of the Florencia of
Tobermory Bay. She was said to have contained
the paymaster's chests of the Armada, and to have
carried to the bottom thirty million ducats of money,
and the church plate of fabulous richness. It is cer-
tain that the Florencia was one of the largest gal-
leons of the Armada and that she never returned to
Spain. Her armament comprised fifty-two guns,
and her company numbered 400 soldiers and eighty-
six sailors. It is probable that this was the Flor-
encia belonging to the Duke of Tuscany, which was
refitting at Santander in September, 1587, concern-
ing which Lord Ashley wrote to Walsingham, after
the destruction of the Armada, that she was com-
manded by a grandee of the first rank who was al-
ways "served on silver."
While even now the most painstaking investiga-
tion is unable to find definite information regarding
the amount of treasure lost in the galleon of Tober-
mory Bay, that she contained a vast amount of riches
was believed as early as a half century after her
destruction. The papers of the great house of Ar-
gyll record the beginning- of the search almost aa
200 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
far away as 1640. Of these fascinating documents,
the first is the grant to the Marquis of Argyll and
his heirs by the Duke of Lennox and Eichmond,
Lord High Admiral, with consent of King Charles
the First, of all rights and ownership in the wreck of
the Florencia and her treasure. The deed of gift
is dated from the Court of St. Theobold's, February
5th, 1641 and "proceeds upon the narrative that in
the year 1588, when the great Spanish Armada was
sent from Spain towards England and Scotland, and
was dispersed by the mercie of God, there were
divers ships and other vessels of the Armada, with
ornaments, munition, goods, and gear, which were
thought to be of great worth, cast away, and sunk
to the sea ground on the coast of Mull, near Tober-
mory, in the Scots seas, where they lay, and still lie
as lost ; and that the Marquis of Argyll, near whose
bounds the ships were lost, having taken notice
thereof, and made inquiries therefor, and having
heard some doukers 2 and other experts in such mat-
ters state that they consider it possible to recover
some of the ships and their valuables, was moved to
take and to cause pains to be taken thereupon at his
own charges and hazard.
"For this reason, the Great Admiral, with the
King's consent, gives, grants, and disposes to the
Marquis the said ships, ornaments, munition, etc. of
the Spanish Armada, and the entire profit that might
follow, or that he had already obtained therefrom,
with full power to the Marquis, his doukers, seamen,
and others to search for the ships, and intromit with
them, providing the Marquis were accountable and
made prompt payment to the Duke of Lennox and
Richmond of a hundredth part of the ships, etc. with
2 Divers.
THE ARMADA GALLEON 201
deduction of the expenses incurred for their recov-
ery, pro rata."
In these words the Crown assigned the treasure
of the Florencia to the house of Argyll as part of its
admiralty rights along that coast where marched the
family estates. In 1665, the ninth Earl of Argyll,
son of him who had obtained ownership of the gal-
leon, employed an expert diver and wrecker by the
name of James Mauld to search for the treasure of
ducats and plate. It was an attractive speculation
for that notable "douker" who was promised four-
fifths of all the "gold, silver, metal, goods, etc." re-
covered and incidentally the Earl bound himself
"that the same James Mauld shall not be molested
in his work, and that his workmen shall have peace-
able living in these parts during their stay, and
traveling through the Highlands and Isles, and shall
be free from all robberies, thefts, etc. so far as the
said Earl can prevent the same. The said contract
provides further lodging houses for the workmen at
the usual rates, and is fixed to endure for three
years after March 1, 1666."
These divers easily found the hull of the galleon,
and they made a chart showing its exact bearings
by landmarks on two sides of the bay. This ancient
chart of the "Spanish wrack" as it is labeled, is
owned by the present Duke of Argyll, and has been
used by the modern treasure seekers who are unable
even with its aid to find the remains of the Florencia,
so deeply have her timbers sunk in the tide-swept
silt of the bay. The interest of the ninth Earl of
Argyll in exploring the galleon was diverted by
Monmouth's Eebellion in which luckless adventure
he became an active leader. He was made prisoner
and suffered the loss of his head which abruptly
202 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
snuffled out his romantic activities as a seeker after
lost treasure.
He left among his papers a memorandum concern-
ing the galleon, under date of 1677, which states that
"the Spanish wrackship was reputed to have been
the Admiral of Florence, one of the Armada of 1588,
a ship of fifty-six guns, with 30,000,000 of money on
board. It was burned and so blown up that two
men standing upon the cabin were cast safe on shore.
It lay in a very good road, landlocked betwixt a
little island and a bay in the Isle of Mull, a place
where vessels ordinarily anchored free of any vio-
lent tide, with hardly any stream, a clean, hard chan-
nel, with a little sand on the top, and little or no
mud in most places about, upon ten fathoms at high
water and about eight at ground ebb.
* ' The fore part of the ship above water was quite
burned, so that from the mizzen mast to the fore-
ship, no deck was left. The hull was full of sand
and the Earl caused it to be searched a little without
finding anything but a great deal of cannon ball
about the main mast, and some kettles, and tankers
of copper, and such like in other places. Over the
hindship, where the cabin was, there was a heap of
great timber which it would be difficult to remove,
but under this is the main expectation.
"The deck under the cabin was thought to be en-
tire. The cannon lay generally at some yards dis-
tance from the ship, from two to twenty. The
Earl's father had the gift of the ship, and attempted
the recovery of it, but from want of skilled workmen
he did not succeed. In 1666, the Laird of Melgum
(James Mauld), who had learned the art of the (div-
ing) bell in Sweden and had made a considerable
fortune by it, entered into a contract with the Earl
THE AEMADA GALLEON 203
for three years by which Melgum was to be at all the
charge, and to give the Earl the fifth part of what
was brought up. He wrought only three months,
and most of the time was spent in mending his bells
and sending for material he needed, so that he raised
only two brass cannon of a large calibre, but very
badly fortified, and a great iron gun.
"After this, being invited to England, he wrought
no more, thinking his trade a secret, and that the
Spanish ship would wait for him. On the expiring
of the contract, the Earl undertook the work alone
and without the aid of any one who had ever seen
diving, recovered six cannon, one of which weighed
near six hundred weight. The Earl afterwards en-
tered into a contract with a German who undertook
great things, and talked of bringing a vessel of forty
guns, but instead brought only a yacht and recov-
ered only one anchor, going away soon after, taking
his gold with him and leaving some debt behind.
"The contract with the German has expired, and
the Earl is provided with a vessel, bells, ropes, and
tongs, and with men to work by direction, yet, al-
though he is confident in his own understanding of
the art of diving with the bell, he is willing to enter
into a contract. He will dispone (grant) the vessel
for three years, provided the contractor should keep
four skilled men to work in seasonable weather from
May 1 to October 1. The Earl will furnish a ship
of 60 or 70 tons with twelve seamen, and give his
partner a fifth part of the proceeds. If a Crown
were found it was to be exempted from the division
and presented to his Majesty. . . .
"It is concluded that if the money expected be
fallen upon, the fifth part will quickly pay all
expenses, and reward the ingenious artist, and if
204 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
that fail, the cannon will certainly repay the
charges."
There are also preserved articles of agreement,
dated December 18th, 1676, by which the Earl makes
over a three-year concession to John Saint Clare,
minister at Ormistoun in Scotland, "for himself and
as taking burden for his father, ' ' to search the wreck
on shares, the Earl reserving "one-third part of what
should be recovered during the first year, and one-
half of what should be recovered during the last two
years." It is also provided that "if the Saint
Clares were disturbed during the first year, so as
not to be able to work or raise the wreck without
damage to their persons (by reason of the unsettled
state of the country), the contract should be re-
garded as not taking effect for a year. The Earl
binds himself to produce before November 1, 1676,
his right to the ship, under the Great Seal of Scot-
land, at Edinburgh, and to deliver a copy of it to
the Saint Clares. John Saint Clare, younger, binds
himself to repair with all skill for its recovery, and
for the recovery of the valuables, during the space
of three years, and to make true account and pay-
ment of the shares above reserved to the Earl and
his heirs, etc. Lastly, both parties oblige themselves
faithfully to observe all the articles of agreement
under the liquidated penalty of 2,000 marks, Scots."
The Saint Clares, or Sinclairs, as the name is
spelled in other documents of the same tenor, as-
signed their rights and contract to one Hans Al-
bricht von Treibelen, who was probably that Ger-
man referred to by the Earl as taking his gold with
him and leaving his debts behind. This document
contains a fascinating mention of "all that might be
found in the water and about the ship, as gold, sil-
THE AEMADA GALLEON 205
ver, bullion, jewels, etc." and sets forth a new
scheme of division of the spoils. Now there appears
Captain Adolpho E. Smith as a partner of Hans Al-
bricht von Treibelen, and one finds another parch-
ment executed by the Earl who appears to have
thought that these "doukers" would bear watching,
for they are enjoined " immediately on the recovery
of the wreck to deliver on the spot to the Earl's fac-
tors or servants who are daily to attend the work
and to be witnesses of what is recovered. . . .
Should the work be impeded by the violence of the
country people, it is provided that the term of the
contract might be lengthened. ' '
The repeated references to molestation by the in-
habitants round about were aimed at the Clan Mac-
Lean. The great Lachlan M'or had long since
closed his stormy career, and, wrapped in his plaid,
his bones were smouldering in a grave by Duart
Castle. His kinsmen had good memories, however,
and there was that debt for provisions which had
been left owing by Captain Pareira of the Florencia
some eighty years before. It might seem that young
Donald Glas had squared the account when he blew
the galleon and her crew to kingdom come, but the
MacLeans were men to nurse the embers of a feud
and set the sparks to flying at the next opportunity.
They held it that theirs was the first right to the
wreck, and cared not a rap for any documentary
rights that might have been granted to the Camp-
bells (the clan of the Earls of Argyll), by the
Great Admiral of Scotland.
Hector MacLean, brother of Lachlan MacLean
of Castle Torloisk, near Tobermory, rallied a force
and drove the divers from the wreck. Then, in
order that there might be no doubt about the views
206 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
of the MacLeans, they built a small fort overlooking
the bay and the scene of the wreck, the ruins of
which still survive. There a detachment was posted
with orders to make it hot for any interlopers who
might try to find the sunken treasure without first
consulting the MacLeans.
This interference found its way into the Courts
at Edinburgh in the form of a petition of grievances
suffered by Captain Adolpho E. Smith. He swore
before a notary that John MacLean, of Kinlochalan,
and John MacLean, a servitor to Lachlan MacLean
of Torloisk, "had convocated six or seven score of
armed men, and he had exhibited to them a royal
warrant bearing his Majesty's protection and free
liberty to Captain Smith and his servants to work at
the wreck-ship at Tobermory, and prohibiting any
of his Majesty's subjects from interrupting them.
Captain Smith then required the MacLeans to dis-
sipate the armed men, part of whom were in a fort
or trench at Tobermory, newly built by them for in-
terrupting the work, and the rest in the place or
houses adjacent, as John MacLean of Kinlochalan
acknowledged, and in his Majesty's name required
them to give him and his men liberty to prosecute
their work at the wreck.
"Upon this Kinlochalan answered that the men in
arms were not commanded by him but by Hector
MacLean, brother of Lachlan MacLean of Torloisk,
and others; and he declared that not only would
Captain Smith and his men be hindered, but that the
men in arms would shoot guns, muskets and pistols
at them, should any of them offer to duck or work
at the wreck. Whereupon Captain Smith took this
instrument, protesting against the aforesaid Mac-
Leans and their accomplices, at Tobermory in Mull,
THE ARMADA GALLEON 207
7 September, 1678." The militant and tenacious
MacLeans struck terror to the heart of Captain
Adolpho Smith, according to another official docu-
ment called a "notorial instrument at the instance
of William Campbell, skipper to the Earl of Argyll 's
frigate, called Anna of Argyll. This worthy sea
dog, it appears, as procurator for the Earl," had
compeared, desired, and required Captain Adolpho
E. Smith and his men to duck and work at the wreck-
ship and to conform to the minutes of contract be-
twixt the Earl and him, otherwise to give the bells,
sinks, and other instruments necessary for ducking
to William Campbell, and the men on board the
Earl's frigate, who would duck them without any re-
gard to the threatenings of the MacLeans.
"Notwithstanding this, Captain Smith and his
men refused to duck and work, or to give over the
bells, etc., necessary for the work to William Camp-
bell who thereupon, as procurator for the Earl of
Argyll asked and took instruments and protested
against Captain Smith for cost, skaith, and damage
conform to the contract. The instrument was taken
by Donald McKellar, notary public, at and aboard
the yacht belonging to Captain Adolpho E. Smith,
lying in the Bay of Tobermory in Mull, 7 September,
1678."
The wreck of the galleon was fought over about
this time, not only by the mettlesome MacLeans but
also by the Duke of York as Lord High Admiral of
Scotland and the Isles, succeeding in that office the
Duke of Lennox. He challenged the rights of the
house of Argyll to the Florencia and her treasure
and instituted legal proceedings in due form which
were decided in favor of the defendant, thereby con-
firming for all time the possession of the wreck,
208
which belongs to the present Duke of Argyll. The
verdict read in part as follows :
"The rights, reasons, and allegations of the par-
ties, and the gifts and ratifications therein referred
to, produced by Archibald, Earl of Argyll, being at
length heard and seen, the Lords of Council and
Session assoilized the said Archibald Earl of Argyll
from the hail points and articles of the summons
libelled or precept intended and pursued against him
at the instance of said William Aikman, Procurator-
Fiscal of the Admiralty, before said Lord High Ad-
miral and his deputies, and decreed and declared him
quit and free thereof in all time coming. Dated
27th, July, 1677."
There comes into the story, during the lifetime of
the ninth Earl, the figure of Sir William Sacheverall,
Governor of the Isle of Man, who was interested as
a partner in one of the several concessions granted.
He had left an account of his voyage to Mull in the
year 1672, printed shortly after the event, in which
he not only records sundry efforts to fish up the
treasure but gives also a lively and vivid picture of
the primitive Highlander on his native heather.
"About twelve o'clock," he wrote, "we made the
Sound of Mull. We saluted the Castle of Duart
with five guns, and they returned three. I sent in
my pinnace for the boats, and things you had left
there ; and in the evening we cast anchor in the Bay
of Tauber Murry, which for its bigness, is one of the
finest and fastest in the world. The mouth of it is
almost shut up with a little woody island call'd the
Calve, the opening to the South not passable for
small boats at low-water, and that to the North
barely Musquet-shot over. To the Landward, it is
surrounded with high Mountains cover 'd with woods,
THE ARMADA GALLEON 209
pleasantly intermix 'd with rocks, and three or four
Cascades of water which throw themselves from the
top of the Mountain with a pleasure that is aston-
ishing, all of which together make one of the oddest
and most charming Prospects I ever saw.
"Italy itself, with all the assistance of Art, can
hardly afford anything more beautiful and divert-
ing; especially when the weather was clear and
serene, to see the Divers sinking three-score foot
under water and stay sometimes above an hour, and
at last returning with the spoils of the Ocean;
whether it were Plate, or Money, it convinced us of
the Eiches and Splendor of the once thought Invin-
cible Armada. This rais'd a variety of Ideas, in
a Soul as fond of Novelty as mine. Sometimes I re-
flected with horror on the danger of the British
Nation, sometimes with Pleasure on that generous
Courage and Conduct that sav'd a sinking State;
and sometimes of so great an Enterprize baffled
and lost, by accidents unthought of and unfor-
seen. . . .
"The first week the weather was pleasant, but
spent in fitting our Engines, which prov'd very well,
and every way suited to the design ; and our Divers
outdid all examples of this nature. But with the
Dog-Days the autumnal rains usually begin in these
parts, and for six weeks we had scarce a good day.
The whole frame of Nature seem'd inhospitable,
bleak, stormy, rainy, windy, so that our Divers
could not bear the cold, and despairing to see any
amendment of weather I resolved on a journey
across the Isle of Mull, to the so much cele-
brated II-Columb-Kill, 3 in English St. Columb's
Church. . . .
8 lona.
210 THE BOOK OF BUKIED TREASURE
"The first four miles we saw but few houses, but
cross 'd a wild desert country, with a pleasant mix-
ture of Woods and Mountains. Every man and
thing I met seem'd a Novelty. I thought myself en-
tering upon a new Scene of Nature, but Nature
rough and unpolish'd, in her undress. I observed
the men to be large bodied, stout, subtile, active,
patient of cold and hunger. There appeared in all
their actions a certain generous air of freedom, and
contempt of those trifles, Luxury and Ambition,
which we so servilely creep after. They bound their
appetites by their necessities and their happiness
consists not in having much, but in coveting little.
1 ' The Women seem to have the same sentiments as
the men; tho' their Habits were mean, and they
had not our sort of breeding, yet in many of them
there was a natural Beauty, and a graceful Modesty
which never fails of attracting. The usual outward
habit of both sexes is the Plaid; the women's much
finer, the colours more lively, and the squares larger
than the men's, and put me in mind of the ancient
Picts. This serves them for a Veil and covers both
head and body. The men wear theirs after another
manner; when design 'd for ornament it is loose and
flowing, like the mantles our painters give their
Heroes.
"Their thighs are bare, with brawny Muscles; a
thin brogue on the foot, a short buskin of various
colours on the leg, tied above the calf with a strip 'd
pair of garters. On each side of a large Shot-pouch
hangs a Pistol and a Dagger; a round Target on
their backs, a blue Bonnet on their heads, in one
hand a broadsword, and a musquet in the other.
Perhaps no nation goes better arm'd, and I assure
you they will handle them with bravery and dex-
THE ARMADA GALLEON 211
terity, especially the Sword and Target, as our
veteran Regiments found to their cost at Killie
Crankie."
Although Sir William Sacheverall, he of the facile
pen and the romantic temper, brought no Spanish
treasure to light, he helped us to see those fighting
MacLeans and MacDonalds as they were in their
glory, and his description was written almost two
and a half centuries ago.
The "Spanish wrack" was handed down from one
chief of the Campbell clan to another, as part of the
estate, until in 1740, John, the second Duke of Ar-
gyll, decided to try his luck, and employed a diving
bell, by which means a magnificent bronze cannon
was recovered. It has since been kept at Inverary
Castle, the seat of the Dukes of Argyll, as an heir-
loom greatly esteemed. This elaborately wrought
piece of ordnance, almost eleven feet in length, bears
the arms of Francis I of France (for whom it was
cast at Fontainebleau) and the fleur-de-lis. It was
probably captured from Francis at the battle of
Pavia during his invasion of Italy, and the Spanish
records state that several of such cannon were put
on a vessel contributed to the Armada by the state
of Tuscany. At the same time a large number of
gold and silver coins were found by the divers, and
the treasure seeking was thereby freshly encour-
aged. Modern experts in wrecking and salvage
have agreed that the crude apparatus of those earlier
centuries was inadequate to combat the difficulties
of exploring a wreck of the type of the Florencia
galleon, built as she was of great timbers of the
iron-like African oak which to-day is found to be
staunch and unrotted after a submersion of more
than three hundred years.
212 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASUEE
The diving bells of those times were dangerous
and clumsy, and easily capsized. The men worked
from inside them by thrusting out hooks and tong-
like appliances, and dared venture no deeper than
eight fathoms, or less than fifty feet. In other
words, the treasure might be in the galleon, but it
was impossible to find and bring it up. For an-
other century and more, the Florencia was left un-
disturbed until about forty years ago, the present
Duke of Argyll, then Marquis of Lome, considered
it his family duty to investigate the bottom of Tober-
mory Bay, his curiosity being pricked at finding the
ancient chart, and other documents already quoted,
among the archives stored in Inverary Castle.
More for sport than for profit, he sent down a diver
who found a few coins, pieces of oak, and a brass
stanchion, after which the owner bothered his head
no more about these phantom riches for some time.
In 1903, or three hundred and fifteen years after
the Florencia found her grave in Tobermory Bay,
a number of gentlemen of Glasgow, rashly specula-
tive for Scots, formed a company and subscribed a
good many thousand dollars to equip and maintain
a treasure-seeking expedition by modern methods.
The Duke of Argyll, like his ancestors before him,
was ready to grant permission to search the wreck
of the galleon for a term of years, conditioned upon
a fair division of the spoils. He let them have the
chart, without which no treasure hunt deserves the
name, and all the family papers dealing with the
Florencia. In charge of the operations was placed
Captain William Burns of Glasgow, a hard-headed
and vastly experienced wrecker who had handled
many important salvage enterprises for the marine
underwriters in seas near and far.
THE ARMADA GALLEON 213
The contrast between this twentieth century syndi-
cate with its steam dredges and electric lights, and
that primitive age when the MacLeans were harass-
ing Captain Adolpho Smith from their fort beside
the bay, is fairly astonishing. The gentlemen of
Glasgow were not moved by sentiment, however, and
soon Captain Burns was spending their money in a
preliminary survey of the waters and the sands
where the galleon was supposed to be. Although
the ancient chart was explicit in its bearings, and
these were made when men were living who had
seen a part of the wreck above tide, locating the
Florencia proved to be a baffling puzzle. During
the first season, 1903, divers and lighters were em-
ployed in this work of searching, but the salvage
consisted of no more than another bronze cannon
loaded with a stone ball, several swords? scabbards,
and blunderbusses, a gold ring, and some fifty doub-
loons bearing the names of Ferdinand and Isabella,
and Don Carlos.
Two years later, in 1905, the work was fairly be-
gun with a costly equipment. The bottom of the
bay was photographed and a mound of sand revealed,
which, it was concluded, covered the surviving part
of the galleon. Digging into this bank, the divers
found many curious trophies, among them more
arms and munition, bottles or canteens, boarding
pikes, copper powder pans, and other small furni-
ture, much corroded and encrusted. It was sur-
mised that the vessel lay with her stern cocked up,
and that in this end, indicated by the swelling of
the sand bank, the treasure was hidden.
Powerful suction pumps worked by steam were
set going to clear away this bank, and they bored
into it steadily for three weeks while the divers dug
214 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
shafts to clear away obstructions. At length, a
massive silver candlestick was fetched up, and the
sand pumps clanked more industriously than ever.
At the end of the summer, about one hundred square
feet of the bank had been removed, but the where-
abouts of the galleon was by no means certain.
As soon as the weather became favorable in the
following spring, Captain Burns and his crew re-
turned to the quest with more men and machinery
than before. It was really impossible that such a
business as this could be carried on without some
touch of the fantastic and the picturesque. There
now intrudes a Mr. Cossar, employed as ' ' the famous
expert, who, by means of delicate apparatus can
indicate where metal or wood is buried in any quan-
tity underground, ' ' and he spent the summer taking
observations and buoying the bay with floats or mark-
ers. At these places boring was carried on by
means of steel rods to a depth of one hundred and
forty feet, while the dredges were busy exploring the
vicinity of the sand bank.
The area thoroughly explored was increased to
eight acres in 1906, in water from seven to fourteen
fathoms deep. That famous expert, Mr. Cossar, and
his delicate apparatus were reinforced by Mr. John
Stears of Yorkshire, one of the most notable divin-
ers of England. He operated with no more appa-
ratus than a hawthorn twig and professed to be
able to locate precious metals no matter how many
fathoms deep, and more than this, mirabile dictu,
to tell you whether it was gold, or silver, or copper,
that made his inspired twig twist and bend in his
fingers. Mr. Stears was taken as seriously as Mr.
Cossar had been, and the findings of one confirmed
the verdicts of the other. The powerful salvage
Diving to find the treasure galleon in Tobermory. Bay.
(Photographed in 1909.)
The salvage steamer Breamer equipped with suction dredge,
removing a sandbank from the supposed location
of the Florencia galleon in 1909.
THE ARMADA GALLEON 215
steamer Breamer with a large crew searched where
the diviner told them to go, and several pieces of
silver plate were recovered amid the excitement of
all hands.
The Breamer continued work in 1907, but during
the next year the waters of Tobermory Bay were un-
vexed by the treasure-seekers. Then the syndicate
went into its pockets for more cash, got its second
wind, so to speak, and wrapped its operations in a
cloud of secrecy, quite the proper dodge for a ven-
ture of this kind. A new and taciturn crew was
hired for the Breamer, and whatever was found
under water was hidden from prying eyes. The ad-
ditional funds raised amounted to $15,000, and Cap-
tain Burns was told to obtain the best equipment
possible. It was reported in the autumn of that
year that "Mr. Cossar, the mineral expert, by whose
skill the scope of the operations was more or less
controlled, had broken down in health owing to the
severe strain, and had gone home to recruit," but
John Stears of Yorkshire with his hawthorn twig
was still finding treasure which refused to be found
by divers.
The five-year concession from the Duke of Argyll
had expired and was renewed by a syndicate or-
ganized in London, the manager a Col. K. M. Foss,
an American, who appeared in Tobermory and con-
veyed an impression of cock-sure Yankee hustle. He
announced that his agents were making historical
researches in the libraries and museums of Europe
and had already convinced him that the lost galleon
was crammed with treasure ; that the chart relied on
in past searches was all wrong, and expressed his
surprise that the extensive salvage operations of
recent years should have failed to locate the exact
216 THE BOOK OP BURIED TREASURE
position of the wreck. In a word, Scotchmen might
know a thing or two, but your up-to-date Yankee
was the man to crack the nut of the lost Florencia
and deftly extract the kernel. The appearance of
this Colonel Foss in this storied landscape of Tober-
mory Bay has a certain humorous aspect. He
hardly seems to belong in the ensemble of the search
for the treasure galleon which has been carried on
for centuries.
This entertaining American may perhaps have un-
earthed information hitherto unknown, but the fact
is worth some stress that all previous investigations
had failed to prove beyond doubt that the Florencia
bore from Spain the thirty millions of money re-
puted to have been stowed in her lazarette. An
ancient document known as "The Confession of
Gregorie de Sotomeya of Melgaco in Portugal" con-
tains a list of the treasure ships of the Armada. He
was with the fleet in the galleon Neustra Senora del
Rosario, commanded by Dom Pedro de Valdes, and
he goes on to say :
"To the sixth question concerning what treasure
there was in the fleet, I say there was great stories
of money and plate which came in the galleon wherein
the Duke of Medina was (The San Martin), and in
the ship of Dom Pedro de Valdez which was taken,
and in the Admiral of the galleons (The San Lo-
renzo), and in the Galley Eoyal (The Capitana
Roy ale], and in the Vice Admiral wherein was Juan
Martinez de Bicalde (The Santa Anna), and in the
Vice Admiral whereof was General Diego (The San
Christobel), and in the Vice Admiral of the pin-
naces (N. S. de Pilar de Targoza), and in the Vice-
Admiral of the hulks (The Gran Grifon), and in a
Venitian ship in which came General Don Alonzo de
THE ARMADA GALLEON 217
Leyna. The report goeth that this ship brought
great stores of treasure, for that there came in her
the Prince of Ascoli, and many other noblemen.
This is all I know touching the treasure. ' '
The name of the Florencia does not appear
herein, yet the report of her vast riches was current
in the Western Highlands no more than one lifetime
after the year of the Armada. That men of solid
business station and considerable capital can be
found to-day to charter wrecking steamers, divers,
dredges, and what not to continue this enterprise
proves that romance is not wholly dead.
In the town of Tobermory, the busy, mysterious
parties of treasure seekers, as they come year after
year with their impressive flotilla of apparatus, fur-
nish endless diversion and conjecture. The people
will tell you, in the broad English of the Highlander,
and in the Gaelic, even more musical, as it survives
among the Western Islands, the legend of the beauti-
ful Spanish princess who came in the Florencia, and
was wooed and won by a bold MacLean, and they
will show you the old mill whose timbers, still
staunchly standing, were taken from the wreck of
the galleon. In Mull, and of tener among the islands
further seaward and toward the Irish coast, are to
be found black-eyed and black-haired men and
women, not of the pure Celtic race, in whose blood
is the distant strain bequeathed by those ancestors
who married shipwrecked Spanish sailors of the
Armada, and perhaps among them are descendants
of these two or three seamen who were hurled ashore
alive when the Florencia was destroyed by the hand
of young Donald Glas MacLean.
In quaint Tobermory whose main street nestles
along the edge of the bay, the ancient foemen, Mac-
Leans and MacDonalds, tend their shops side by
side, and it seems as if almost every other sign-
board bore one of these clan names. If you would
hear the best talk of the galleon and her treasure,
it is wise to seek the tiny grocery and ship chan-
dlery of Captain Coll MacDonald, a gentle white-
bearded man, so slight of stature and mild of mien
and speech that you are surprised to learn that for
many years he was master of a great white-winged
clipper ship of the famous City Line of Glasgow,
in the days when this distinction meant something.
Now he has come back to spend his latter days in this
tranquil harbor and to spin yarns of many seas.
"The scour of the tide has settled the wreck of
the galleon many feet in the sand," he told me. "I
can show you on a chart what the old bearings were,
as they were handed down from one generation to
the next, but Captain Burns is not sure that he has
yet found her. The money is there, I have no doubt.
There was a bark in the bay not long ago, and when
she pulled up anchor a Spanish doubloon was stick-
ing to one fluke. Mr. Stears, the Yorkshireman with
the divining rod, did some wonderful things, but the
treasure was not found. To test him, bags of sil-
ver and gold and copper money were buoyed under
water in the bay, with no marks to show. It was
done by night and he was kept away. He went out
in a boat next morning and was rowed around a bit,
and wherever the metal was hid under water, his
twig told him, without a mistake. More than that,
he knew what kind of metal it was under the
water. ' '
"And how was that?" I asked of Captain Coll
MacDonald.
"He would hold a piece of gold money in each
Scabbards, flasks, cannon balls and breech-block of a breech loading gun
from the sunken Armada galleon.
Stone cannon balls and breech-block of a breech loading gun
fished up from the wreck of the Florencia galleon.
THE ARMADA GALLEON 219
hand when the twig began to twist and dip. If the
gold was under the water, the twig would pull with
a very strong pull, so that he knew. If it was un-
decided like, he would hold silver money, and the
twig told him the proper message. I watched him
working many a time, and it was very wonderful."
' ' But he did not find the treasure, ' ' I ventured to
observe.
"Ah, lad, it was no fault of his," returned the old
gentleman. "The Spanish gold is scattered far and
wide over the bottom of the bay, I have no doubt.
Donald Glas MacLean did a very thorough job when
he blew the galleon to hell."
The present Duke of Argyll, brother-in-law of the
late King Edward, bears among the many and noble
and resonant titles that are his by inheritance, sev-
eral which recall the earlier pages of the history of
the Clan Campbell, the brave days of the feudal
Highlands, and the ancient rights in the Armada
Galleon of Tobermory Bay. He is Baron Inverary,
Mull, Morvern, and Tiry; twenty-ninth Baron of
Lochow, with the Celtic title of the Cailean Mo'r,
chief of the Clan Campbell, from Sir Colin Camp-
bell, knighted in 1286; Admiral of the Western
Coast and Islands, Marquis of Lome and Kintye;
Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland and of the
Castles of Dunstaffnage, Dunoon and Carvick, He-
reditary High Sheriff of the County of Argyll.
He once explained how the ownership of the
Florencia galleon came to his family by means of
the ancient grant already quoted. The Campbells
held the admiralty rights of the coast of Mull at the
time of the Armada, and any wreck was lawfully
theirs for this reason. The document was simply a
formal confirmation of these rights. The Florencia
220 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
was flotsam and jetsam to be taken by whatever
chiefs held the rights of admiralty. A case involv-
ing the salmon fishing rights of a Scottish river
was recently decided by virtue of a charter of ad-
miralty rights granted by Eobert the Bruce, who
ruled and fought six hundred years ago.
In order to complete the documentary links of
this true story of the Armada galleon, it may be of
interest to quote from a letter recently received by
the author from the present Duke of Argyll, in
which he says :
The galleon was the ship furnished by Tuscany as her
contribution to the Armada. She was called the Florencia,
or City of Florence, and was commanded by Captain
Pereira, a Portugese, and had a crew largely Portugese on
board. We have found specimens of his plate with the
Pereira arms engraved on the plate border. She carried
breech loading guns on her upper deck, and you will see
one of them at the Blue Coat School now removed from
London to the suburbs.
On the lower deck were some guns got from Francis I
at the Battle of Pavia. I have a very fine one at Inverary
Castle, got from the wreck in 1740. Diving with a diving
bell was commenced in 1670 and discontinued on account
of civil troubles. Pereira foolishly took part in local clan
disputes, helping the MacLeans of Mull against the Mac-
Donalds. One of the MacDonalds, when a prisoner on
board, is said to have blown up the vessel as she was warp-
ing out of harbor.
I found an old plan and located the ''Spanish wrack"
from the plan, but only sent a man down once from a
yacht.
There was little obtained during the last divings, cannon
balls, timber, a few pieces of plate, small articles about
70 dollars, etc. Yours faithfully,
Kensington Palace, ARGYLL.
April 25, 1910.".
CHAPTER VIII
THE LOST PLATE FLEET OP VIGO
No treasure yarn is the real thing unless it glit-
ters with ducats, ingots, and pieces of eight, which
means that in the brave days when riches were
quickest won with cutlass, boarding pike, and car-
ronade, it was Spain that furnished the best hunt-
ing afloat. For three centuries her galleons and
treasure fleets were harried and despoiled of wealth
that staggers the imagination, and their wreckage
littered every ocean. English sea rovers captured
many millions of gold and silver, and pirates took
their fat shares in the West Indies, along the coasts
of America from the Spanish Main to Lima and
Panama, and across the Pacific to Manila. And to-
day, the quests of the treasure seekers are mostly
inspired by hopes of finding some of the vanished
wealth of Spain that was hidden or sunk in the age
of the Conquistadores and the Viceroys.
Of all the argosies of Spain, the richest were those
plate fleets which each year carried to Cadiz and
Seville the cargoes of bullion from the mines of
Peru, and Mexico, and the greatest treasure ever
lost since the world began was that which filled the
holds of the fleet of galleons that sailed from Car-
tagena, Porto Bello, and Vera Cruz in the year 1702.
What distinguishes this treasure story from all
others is that it is not befogged in legend and con-
fused by mystery and uncertainty. And while
221
222 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
ships' companies are roaming the Seven Seas to
find what small pickings the pirates and buccaneers
may have lifted in their time, the most marvelous
Spanish treasure of them all is no farther away than
a harbor on the other side of the Atlantic.
At the bottom of Vigo Bay, on the coast of Spain,
lies that fleet of galleons and one hundred millions
of dollars in gold ingots and silver bars. This esti-
mate is smaller than the documentary evidence
vouches for. In fact, twenty-eight million pounds
sterling is the accepted amount, but one hundred
million dollars has a sufficiently large and impress-
ive sound, and it is wise to be conservative to the
verge of caution in dealing with lost treasure which
has been made so much more the theme of fiction
than a question of veracity. After escaping the
perils of buccaneer and privateer and frigate, this
treasure fleet went down in a home port, amid smoke
and flame and the thunder of guns manned by Eng-
lish and Dutch tars under that doughty admiral of
Queen Anne, Sir George Rooke. It was the deadli-
est blow ever dealt the mighty commerce of Spain
during those centuries when her ruthless grasp was
squeezing the New World of its riches.
There, indeed, is the prize for the treasure seeker
of to-day who dreams of doubloons and pieces of
eight. Nor could pirate hoard have a more blood-
stained, adventurous history than these millions
upon millions, lapped by the tides of Vigo Bay, which
were won by the sword and lost in battle. During
these last two hundred years many efforts have been
made to recover the freightage of this fleet, but the
bulk of the treasure is still untouched, and it awaits
the man with the cash and the ingenuity to evolve
the right salvage equipment. At work now in Vigo
THE LOST PLATE FLEET OF YIGO 223
Bay is the latest of these explorers, an Italian, Pino
by name, inventor of a submarine boat, a system of
raising wreck, and a wonderful machine called a
hydroscope for seeing and working at the bottom of
the sea.
With Pino it is a business affair operated by
means of a concession from the Spanish government,
but he is something more than an inventor. He is a
poet, he has the artistic temperament, and when he
talks of his plans it is in words like these :
"I have found means to disclose to human eyes
the things hidden in the being of the furious waves
of the infinite ocean, and how to recover them. Mine
is the simple key with which to open to man the
mysterious virgin temples of the nymphs and sirens
who, by their sweet singing, draw men to see and to
take their endless treasures."
This interesting Pino is no dreamer, however, and
he has enlisted ample capital with which to build
costly machinery and charter yachts and steamers.
With him is associated Carlo L. Iberti, and there is
an ideal pattern of a treasure seeker for you, a man
of immense enthusiasm, of indefatigable industry,
dreaming, thinking, living in the story of the gal-
leons of Vigo Bay. It was he who secured the con-
cession from Madrid, it was he who as he says, "was
flying from province to province, from country to
country, from archives to archives, from library to
library, ever studying, copying, and acquiring all
documents relating to Vigo. I had made up my
mind to find out all that was to be known about the
treasure. And I believe I have succeeded."
Never was there such a prospectus as Iberti wrote
to awaken the interest of investors in the undertak-
ing of Pino. It was a historical work bristling with
224 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
data, authorities, references, from French, Spanish,
and English sources. It was convincing, final, posi-
tively superb. One blinked at reading it, as if daz-
zled by the sight of mountains of gold, and moreover
every word of it was true. As a text for this nar-
rative, his summary, the peroration, so to speak,
fairly hits one between the eyes:
"As the total quantity of treasure which arrived
at Vigo in 1702 amounted to, 126,470,600 pesos, or
27,493,609, there is not the least doubt that the
treasure in gold and silver still lying in the galleons
of Vigo Bay amounts to as much as 113,396,085
pieces of eight, or 24,651,323, after deducting the
treasure unloaded before the battle, the booty taken
by the victors, and that recovered by explorers.
That would have been the value of the treasure two
hundred years ago. To-day, its value would be
greater, at a moderate estimate of 28,000,000.
Such is the sum which we who are interested in the
recovery of the treasure have set our hearts on win-
ning from the sea."
After this, the hoards of the most notorious and
hard-working pirates seem picayune, trifling, shabby,
the small change of the age of buried treasure. Why
Signer Iberti is so cock-sure of his figures, and how
that wondrous treasure fleet was lost in Vigo Bay
is a story worth telling if there be any merit in
high adventures, hard fighting, and the tang of salty
seas in the days when the world was young. No
more than nine years after the first voyage of Co-
lumbus, galleons laden with treasure were winging
it from the West Indies to Spain, and this golden
stream was flowing year by year until the time of
the American Revolution. The total was to be
counted not in millions but in billions, and this pro-
Sir George Rooke, commanding the British fleet at the
battle of Vigo Bay.
THE LOST PLATE FLEET OF VIGO 225
digious looting of the New World gave to Spain
such wealth and power that her centuries of great-
ness were literally builded upon foundations of ingots
and silver bars.
Before Sir Francis Drake sailed into the Car-
ibbean, the Dutch and English had been playing at
the great game of galleon hunting, but their exploits
had been no more than vexations, and the security
of the plate fleets was not seriously menaced until
''El Draque" spread terror and destruction down
one coast of the Americas and up the other, from
Nombre de Dios to Panama. Heaven alone knows
how many great galleons he shattered and plun-
dered, but from the San Felipe and the Cacafuego
he took two million dollars in treasure, and he num-
bered his other prizes by the score. Martin Fro-
bisher carried the huge East India galleon Madre
de Dios by boarding in the face of tremendous odds,
the blood running from her scuppers, and was re-
warded with $1,250,000 worth of precious stones,
ebony, ivory, and Turkish carpets.
During the period of the English Commonwealth,
Admiral Stayner pounded to pieces a West Indian
treasure fleet of eight sail, and from one of them
took two millions in silver, while Blake fought his
way into the harbor of Teneriffe and destroyed an-
other splendid argosy under the guns of the forts.
It is recorded that thirty-eight wagons were re-
quired to carry the gold and jewels thus obtained
from Portsmouth to London. The records of the
British Admiralty have preserved a memorandum
of the prize money distributed to the officers and
men of the Active and Favorite from the treasures
taken in the Hermione galleon off Cadiz in 1762, and
it is a document to make a modern mariner sigh for
226 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
the days of his forefathers. Here is treasure find-
ing as it used to flourish:
The Admiral and the Commander of the Fleet. . .$324,815
The Captain of the Active 332,265
Each of three Commissioned Officers 65,000
" " Eight Warrant Officers 21,600
" " Twenty Officers 9,030
" " 150 Seamen and Marines 2,425
The Captain of the Favorite 324,360
Each of 2 Commissioned Officers 64,870
" " 77 Warrant Officers 30,268
" " 15 Petty Officers 9,000
" " 100 Seamen and Marines. 2,420
In 1702 it happened that no treasure fleet had re-
turned to Spain for three years, and the gold and
silver and costly merchandise were piling up at
Cartagena and Porto Bello and Vera Cruz waiting
for shipment. Spain was torn with strife over the
royal succession, and inasmuch as the king claimed
as his own one-fifth of all the treasure coming from
the New World, the West India Company and the
officials of the treasury kept the galleons away until
it should be known who had the better right to the
cargoes. Moreover, the high seas were perilous for
the passage of treasure ships, what with the havoc
wrought by the cursed English men-of-war and
privateers, not to mention the buccaneers of San
Domingo and the Windward Islands who had a
trick of storming aboard a galleon from any crazy
little craft that would float a handful of them.
Timidly the galleons delayed until a fleet of
French men-of-war was sent out to convey them
home, and at length this richest argosy that ever fur-
rowed blue water, freighted with three years ' treas-
THE LOST PLATE FLEET OF VIGO 227
ure from the mines, made its leisurely way into mid-
ocean by way of the Azores, bound to the home port
of Cadiz. There were forty sail in all, seventeen
of the plate fleet, under Don Manuel de Velasco,
and twenty-three French ships-of-the-line and frig-
ates obeying the Admiral's pennant of the Count
of Chateaurenaud.
The news came to Queen Anne that this fleet had
departed from the Spanish Main, and a squadron of
twenty-seven British war vessels, commanded by the
famous Sir Cloudesley Shovel, was fitted out to
intercept and attack it. The manoeuvres of the
hunted galleons and their convoy wear an aspect
grimly humorous as pictured in the letters and nar-
ratives of that time. One of these explains that
''the fleet was performing its voyage always with
the fear that the enemy was lying in wait for it;
the King of France also was in continual anxiety
on the same account, and urged by these forebod-
ings he sent dispatches in different vessels so that
the fleet might avoid the threatened danger. One
of the dispatch boats met it on the open sea, and
gave it notice of the enemy's armada being over
against Cadiz, upon which warning the commander
called a council of war in the ship Capitana to con-
sider and fix upon the port which they ought to
make for. At this meeting various views were ex-
pressed, for the French held that the fleet would
be more secure in the ports of France, and especially
in that of Eochelle. Of the same opinion were many
of the Spaniards, who were looking not to the in-
terests of individuals, but to the public good.
4 'And yet there were also seen the ill-consequences
that might arise from the treasure not being con-
veyed to its proper destination and the possibility
228 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
of the Most Christian King's finding some pretext
which would endanger its safety."
Which is to say that if "His Most Christian
Majesty," Louis XIV of France, who was safe-
guarding the treasure, should once entice it into one
of his own ports, he was likely to keep it there.
And so the courteous Spanish captains and the
equally polite French captains eyed one another sus-
piciously in the cabin of the galleon and held council
until it was decided to seek refuge in Vigo Bay on
the coast of Gallicia, thereby both dodging the Eng-
lish and remaining at a sufficient distance from
France to spoil any designs which might be
prompted by the greed of "His Most Christian Maj-
esty."
Without mishap, the treasure fleet and the convoy
anchored in the sheltered, narrow stretch of Vigo
harbor, and preparations for standing off an Eng-
lish attack were begun at once. The forts were
manned, the militia called out, and a great chain
boom stretched across the entrance of the inner road-
stead. This was all very well in its way, but so in-
credible a comedy of blundering, stupid delay ensued
that although for one whole month the galleons lay
unmolested, the treasure was not unloaded and car-
ried to safety ashore. In a letter from Brussels,
printed in the London Postman of November 10,
1702, the grave results of this Spanish procrastina-
tion were indicated in these words :
"The last advices from Spain and Paris have
caused great consternation here. The treasure and
other goods brought by the said fleet are of such
consequence to Spain, and in particular to this
province, that most of our traders are ruined if this
fleet is taken and destroyed."
The Royal Sovereign, one of Admiral Sir George Rooke's
line-of-battle ships, engaged at Vigo Bay.
THE LOST PLATE FLEET OF VIGO 229
While the English and their allies, the Dutch, were
making ready to take this treasure fleet bottled up
in Vigo Bay, the officials of Spain were so entangled
in red tape that there seemed to be no way of un-
loading the galleons. A Spanish writer of that era
thus describes the lamentable state of affairs:
' ' The commerce of Cadiz maintained that nothing
could be disembarked in Gallicia, that to unload
the fleet was their privilege, and that the ships ought
to be kept safe in the harbor of Vigo, without dis-
charging their cargoes, till the enemies were gone
away. In addition to this, the settlement of the mat-
ter in the Council of the Indies was not so speedy
as the emergency demanded, both through the
slowness and prudence natural to the Spaniard, and
through the diversity of opinions on the subject."
Don Modesto Lafuento, a later Spanish historian,
gravely explains that "as the arrival of the fleet at
this port was unexpected and contrary to the usual
custom, there was no officer to be found who could
examine merchandise for the payment of duties,
without which no disembarkation could be lawfully
made. When notice of this was at length sent to the
Court, much discussion arose there as to who should
be sent. They fixed upon Don Juan de Larrea, but
this councillor was in no hurry about setting out on
his journey, and spent a long time in making it, and
when he arrived he occupied himself with discusson
about the disposition of the goods that had come in
the fleet. This gave the opportunity for the Anglo-
Dutch fleet, which had notice of everything, to set
out and arrive in the waters of Vigo before the dis-
embarkation was effected. ' '
Surely never was so much treasure so foolishly
endangered, and although a small part of it was
230 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
taken ashore, notwithstanding the asinine proceed-
ings of the government and Don Juan de Larrea,
the English Post newspaper of November 2, as-
serted that "the Spaniards, being informed that the
enemy 's fleet was returned home, sent aboard a great
quantity of their plate which they had carried to
land for fear of them. ' '
Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel had missed finding
the treasure fleet at sea, but a lucky chance favored
another sterling English commander, Sir George
Eooke. He was homeward bound from a disastrous
attempt to take Cadiz, in which affair the Duke of
Ormond had led the troops engaged. One of his
ships, the Pembroke, was detached from the fleet
and while calling at Lagos Bay for water, the chap-
lain became friendly with a gentleman of the port
who passed him word that the galleons and the
French fleet were safe at Vigo. This talkative in-
formant proved to be a messenger from Lisbon,
sent by the German minister with dispatches for the
treasure fleet which he had first sought in vain at
Cadiz.
The chaplain carried the rare tidings to Captain
Hardy of the Pembroke who instantly made sail to
find Sir George Eooke and the English fleet, which
was jogging along toward England. The admiral
was "extream glad," says an old account, and " im-
parted the same immediately to the Dutch Admiral,
declaring it his opinion that they should go directly
to Vigo." The Dutchman and his tars joyfully
agreed, and Dalrymple, in his memoirs, relates that
"at the sound of treasure from the South Seas, de-
jection and animosity ceased, and those who a few
days before would not speak when they met, now
embraced and felicitated each other, etc. All the
THE LOST PLATE FLEET OF YIGO 231
difficulties that had appeared to be mountainous at
Cadiz, dwindled into mole-hills at Vigo.
* ' The gunners agreed that their bombs would reach
the town and the shipping ; the engineers, that lodg-
ments and works could easily be made ; the soldiers,
that there was no danger in landing; the seamen
that the passage of the Narrows could easily be
forced, notwithstanding all the defenses and obstruc-
tions; and the pilots, that the depth of water was
everywhere sufficient, and the anchorage safe.
Rooke's gout incommoded him no longer; he went
from ship to ship, even in the night time, and became
civil, and the Duke of Ormond, with his father's
generosity, his brother's and his own, forgot all that
was past."
These were the sentiments of men who had no more
rations left aboard ship than two biscuits per day,
whose fleet was leaky, battered, and unseaworthy
after the hard fighting at Cadiz, and who were going
to attack a powerful array of French vessels, pro-
tected by numerous forts and obstructions, and sup-
ported by the seventeen galleons which in armament
and crews were as formidable as men-of-war. At a
council of flag officers called by Sir George Eooke,
it was resolved :
' * That, considering the attempting and destroying
these ships would be of the greatest advantage and
honor to her Majesty and her allies, and very much
tend to the reducing of the power of France, the
fleet should make the best of its way to the port of
Vigo, and insult them immediately with the whole
line in case there was room enough for it, and if
not, by such detachment as might render the attack
most effective."
In naval history no swifter and more deadly "in-
232 ffHE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
suit" was ever administered than that which befell
when Sir George Rooke, his gout forgotten, ap-
peared before Vigo and lost no time in coming to
close quarters. He called a council of the general
land and sea officers who concluded that "in regard
the whole fleet could not without being in danger
of being in a huddle, attempt the ships and galleons
where they were, a detachment of fifteen English
and ten Dutch ships of the line of battle with all the
fire ships should be sent to use their best endeavors
to take or destroy the aforesaid ships of the enemy,
and the frigates and bomb vessels should follow the
rear of the fleet, and the great ships move after
them to go in if there should be occasion. ' '
Next morning the Duke of Ormond landed two
thousand British infantry to take the forts and de-
stroy the landward end of the boom, made of chain
cables and spars which blocked the channel. These
errands were accomplished with so much spirit and
determination that the Grenadiers fairly chased the
Spanish garrisons out of their works. Rooke did
not wait for the finish of this task, but flew the signal
to get under way, Vice Admiral Hopson leading in
the Torbay. British and Dutch together, the wind
blowing half a gale behind them, surged toward the
inner harbor, stopped not for the boom but cut a
way through it, and became engaged with the French
men-of-war at close range. The hostile fleets were
so jammed together that it was not a battle of broad-
sides. A Spanish chronicler related that "they
fought with fires of inhuman contrivance, hand
grenades, fire-balls, and lumps of burning pitch. ' '
Within one-half hour after the English and Dutch
had gained entrance to the bay, its surface was an
inferno of blazing galleons and men-of-war. Some
THE LOST PLATE FLEET OF VIGO 233
of the French ships were carried with the cutlass
and boarding pike, but fire was the chief weapon
used by both sides. The flaming vessels drifted
against each other, some of them set purposely alight
and filled with explosives. When the galleons tried
to move further up the bay, British troops on shore
raked them with musketry, and prevented the at-
tempts to put some of the treasure on land. The
lofty treasure ships, their huge citadels rising fore
and aft, and gay with carving and gilt, burned like
so much tinder.
The English had no desire to destroy these golden
prizes, and as soon as the French fleet had been an-
nihilated, every ship burned, sunk, captured, or
driven ashore, heroic efforts were made to save the
galleons still unharmed, "whereupon Don Manuel
de Velasco, who was not wanting in courage, but
only in good fortune, ordered them to be set on
fire. . . . The enemy saw the greater part of
the treasure sunk in the sea. Many perished seek-
ing for riches in the middle of the flames; these,
with those who fell in the battle, were 800 English
and Dutch; 500 were wounded, and one English
three-decker was burnt. Nevertheless, they took
thirteen French and Spanish ships, seven of which
were men-of-war, and six merchantmen, besides
some others much damaged and half-burnt. There
fell 2000 Spaniards and French, few escaped un-
wounded.
"The day after the bloody battle, they sent down
into the water a great many divers, but with little
result, for the artillery of the city hindered them.
So setting to work to embark their people, and cover-
ing their masts with flags and streamers, they cele-
brated their victory with flutes and fifes. Thus they
234 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
steered for their own ports, leaving that country
full of sadness and terror. ' '
It was a prodigiously destructive naval engage-
ment, the costliest in point of material losses that
history records. The victors got much booty to take
home to England and the Netherlands, and were
handsomely rewarded for their pains. Sir George
Eooke carried to London the galleon Tauro which
had escaped burning, and she had a mighty freight
of bullion in her hold. Of this ship the Post Boy
newspaper made mention, January 19, 1703 :
"There was found in the galleon unloaded last
week abundance of wrought plate, pieces of eight,
and other valuable commodities, and so much that
'tis computed the whole cargo is worth 200,000. ' '
All records of that time and event agree, however,
that the treasure saved by the allied fleet was no
more than a small part of what was lost by the
wholesale destruction of the galleons, and chiefly in-
teresting to the present day are the most reliable
estimates of the amount of gold and silver that still
rests embedded in the tidal silt of Vigo Bay. There
were sunk in water too deep to be explored by the
engineers of that century eleven French men-of-war,
and at least a round dozen of treasure laden gal-
leons. The French fleet carried no small amount of
gold and silver which had been entrusted to the Ad-
miral and his officers by merchants of the West In-
dies. As for the galleons, the English Post of
November 13, 1702, stated:
"Three Spanish officers belonging to the galleons,
one of whom was the Admiral of the Assogna ships,
are brought over who report that the effects that
were on board amounted to nine millions sterling,
and that the Spaniards, for want of mules to carry
THE LOST PLATE FLEET OF VIGO 235
the plate into the country, had broke the bulk of
very few ships before the English forced the boom. ' '
The amount of the treasure is greatly underesti-
mated in the foregoing assertion, for the annual
voyage of the plate fleet had carried to Spain an
average lading worth from thirty to forty million
dollars, and this doomed flota bore the accumulated
treasure of three years. Not more than ten million
dollars in bullion and merchandise could have been
looted by the Dutch and English victors, according
to the most reliable official records. Our enthusias-
tic friend, Signer Don Carlos Iberti, he who had
been "flying from province to province," in behalf
of the latest treasure company of Vigo Bay, dug
deep into the musty records of the "Account Books
of the Ministry of Finance, of the Colonies, of the
Eoyal Treasury, of the Commercio of Cadiz, of the
Council of the West Indies," and so on, and can tell
you to the last peso how much gold and silver was
sent from the mines of America in the treasure
fleets, and precisely the value of the shipments en-
trusted to the magnificent flota of 1702. A score of
English authorities might be quoted to confirm what
has been said of the vastness of this lost treasure.
The event was the sensation of the time in Europe,
and many pens were busy chronicling in divers
tongues the details of the catastrophe and the re-
sults thereof. In a letter from Madrid which
reached England a few days after the event, the
writer lamented :
"Yesterday an express arrived from Vigo with
the melancholy news that the English and Dutch
fleets came before that place the 22nd past and hav-
ing made themselves masters of the mouth of the
river, in less than two hours took and burnt all the.
236 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
French men-of-war and galleons in the harbour.
We have much greater reason to deplore our mis-
fortune in silence and tears than to give you a par-
ticular account of this unspeakable loss, which will
hasten the utter ruin of this our monarchy.
"The inhabitants of this place, not being able to
re-collect themselves from their consternation, have
shut up their houses and shops for fear of being
plundered by the common people who exclaim pub-
licly against the government, and particularly
against Cardinal Porto Carrero and others of the
Council, who not being content with the free gift
of three millions offered to the king out of the gal-
leons, besides an indulto of two millions, hindered
the landing of the plate at Vigo before the enemy
arrived there. But the Cardinal laid the blame upon
the Consultat of Seville, who, mistrusting the
French, would not suffer them to carry the galleons
to Brest or Port Lewis, but gave orders that they
should sail back from Vigo to Cadiz after the Eng-
lish and Dutch fleets were returned home. "Tis said
that only three of the galleons put their cargo ashore
before the arrival of the enemy. ' '
The news was a most bitter pill for His Christian
Majesty, Louis XIV of France, and put him and his
court "into a mighty consternation." He was
quoted as saying that "there was not one-tenth part
of the plate and merchandise landed from on board
the fleet. This is the most facetious piece of news
that could come to the enemies of France and
Spain."
All the records lay stress on the immense value of
the treasure lost, one that "the Spanish galleons
were coming from Mexico overladen with riches,"
another that "vast wealth in gold, silver, and mer-
pq
"O O
THE LOST PLATE FLEET OF VIGO 237
chandise was lost in that terrible battle of Vigo, ' ' a
third that * ' this was the richest flota that ever came
into Europe." It is extraordinary that most of this
treasure has remained untouched for more than two
centuries at the bottom of Vigo Bay. The records
of the Spanish government contain almost complete
memoranda of every concession granted to search-
ing parties, and of the valuables recovered, which
total to date is no more than a million and a half
of dollars.
Soon after the battle, Spain began to fish for her
lost galleons and in that same year of 1702, the of-
ficial newspaper of Madrid recorded that "we are
instructed from Vigo that they are proceeding with
success in the raising of the precious burden belong-
ing to the Capitana, and Almiranta of the Flota."
For some reason or other, the task was shortly
abandoned, and the work turned over to private en-
terprise and companies which were granted special
charters, the Crown demanding as much as ninety-
five per cent, of all the treasure recovered. During
the half century following the loss of the fleet, as
many as thirty of these concessions were granted,
but most of them accomplished nothing. The first
treasure hunter to achieve results worth mention
was a Frenchman, Alexandre Goubert, who went to
work in 1728, and after prodigious exertion suc-
ceeded in dragging almost ashore a hulk which
turned out to be no galleon but one of the men-of-
war of his own country, at which there was much
merriment in "perfidious Albion." This disgusted
M. Goubert and he was heard of no more.
An Englishman, William Evans, tried a diving
bell of his own invention in the same century, and
raised many plates of silver, but a Spanish con-
238 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
cessionaire, jealous of this good fortune, persuaded
his government that it was in bad taste to let history
repeat itself by giving the English another fling at
the treasure. In 1825, time having softened these
poignant memories, a Scotchman was permitted to
work in the bay, and local tradition affirms that he
found much gold and silver, outwitting the officials
at Madrid who demanded eighty per cent, of his
findings. The inspectors posted to keep watch of
his operations he made comfortably drunk, bundled
them ashore, clapped sail on his brigantine, and
vanished with his booty. Later a castle was built
near Perth in Scotland, and given the name of Dol-
lar House. Here the Scotchman aforesaid "lived
happily ever afterwards" for all that is known to
the contrary.
Through the eighteenth century French, English,
and Spanish exploring parties were intriguing, quar-
reling, buying one another out, now and then finding
some treasure, and locating the positions of most of
the galleons. In 1822, American treasure hunters
invaded the bay, organized as the International
Submarine Company, and hailing from Philadelphia.
Nothing worth mention was done until these adven-
turous gentlemen after a good deal of bickering,
made a fresh start under the name of the Vigo Bay
Treasure Company. Their affairs dragged along
for a half century or so, during which they lifted
one galleon from the bottom but the weight of mud
in her hull broke her to small bits. A Spanish war-
vessel watched the operations, by night and day, the
government being somewhat sensitive and suspicious
ever since the flight of that Scotchman and his brig-
antine.
At last the American company was unable to get
THE LOST PLATE FLEET OF VIGO 239
a renewal of its long drawn out concession, and for
some time the galleons were left alone. It was in
1904, that Signer Don Carlos Iberti obtained the
"Boyal Decree of Concession" for the Pino Com-
pany, Limited, of Genoa, and now indeed there was
to be treasure seeking in earnest.
"Until recently the search for the treasure in the
Bay of Vigo seemed only an Utopian mania," cried
Iberti. ''Those who set about the arduous enter-
prise were taken for mad scientists, rascals, or de-
ceivers of innocent speculators. But for my part
I shall always admire those bands of adventurers
who sought to recover this treasure, from the first
day after the battle until the present time."
Pino 's first invention was a submarine boat which
was tested with brilliant success before putting it
into service at Vigo Bay. For the preliminary work
of treasure finding, he perfected his hydroscope, a
kind of sea telescope consisting of a floating plat-
form from which depend a series of tubes ending in
a chamber equipped with electric lamps, lenses and
reflectors, like so many gigantic eyes through which
the observer is able to view the illuminated bottom
of bay or ocean.
To lift the galleons bodily is Pino's plan, and he
has devised what he calls "elevators" or clusters of
great bags of waterproofed canvas each capable of
raising forty tons in the water when pumped full
of air. These are placed in the hull of the sunken
ship or attached outside, and when made buoyant
by means of powerful air pumps, exert a lifting force
easily comprehended. In addition, this ingenious
Italian engineer, who has made a science of treas-
ure seeking, makes use of metal arms capable of
embracing a rotting, flimsy hull, huge tongs which
240 THE BOOK OF BUEIED TEEASUEE
are operated by a floating equipment of sufficient
engine power to lift whatever is made fast to. The
Japanese government successfully employed his
submarine inventions in raising the Eussian war
ships sunk at Port Arthur.
Already one of the Spanish galleons has been
brought to the surface of Vigo Bay, but she hap-
pened to have been laden with costly merchandise
instead of plate, and her cargo was long since ruined
by water and corrosion. The list of articles recov-
ered during the searches of recent years is a fasci-
nating catalogue to show that the story of the lost
fleet is a true romance of history. I quote Iberti
who dwells with so much joyous enthusiasm over
"the anchors, including that of the Misericordia of
Santa Cruz, guns of different caliber, wood of vari-
ous kinds, thirty gun carriages, wheels, mortars, sil-
ver spoons, mariner's compasses, enormous cables,
innumerable balls and bombs, statuettes of inlaid
gold, magnificently engraved pipe holders, Mexican
porcelain, tortas, or plates of silver, some weighing
as much as eighty pounds; gold pieces stamped by
the Royal Mint of Mexico and ingots from Peru."
The latest of the concession held by Pino and his
company whose shareholders have invested large
sums of real money, is an unusual document in that
bona-fide treasure seeking seems so incongruous an
industry in this twentieth century. It bears the sig-
nature of His Excellency Don Jose Ferrandiz, Min-
ister of the Royal Navy, and was granted on August
24, 1907, to be in force until 1915. The wording
runs thus :
"With this date, I say to the Director General of
the Mercantile Marine as follows :
"Most Excellent Sir, Having taken into consid-
Cannon of the treasure galleons recovered by, Pino from the
bottom of Vino Bay.
Hydroscope invented by Pino for exploring the sea bottom and
successfully used in finding the galleons of Vigo Bay.
(By permission of The World's Work, London.)
THE LOST PLATE FLEET OF VIGO 241
eration the petition presented by the Italian subject,
Don Carlos Iberti, representing Cav. Don Jose Pino,
inventor of the hydroscope apparatus for seeing,
photographing, and recovering objects sunk to the
bottom of the sea, in which petition he explains that
he obtained a Concession for the term of eight years
to exploit what there is in the Bay of Vigo apper-
taining to the galleons which came from America,
which Concession was published in the Gaceta Of-
ficial of the 5th of January, 1904; that he was at
the Bay of Vigo from the month of April until the
end of the said year, carrying on dredging opera-
tions; but unforeseen difficulties prevented them
from effecting a real and direct exploitation, so that
the work accomplished was only preliminary, as that
of seeing, examining, and studying the difficulties of
the submarine bed, and the conditions in which the
submerged galleons are; that having obtained all
these data necessary for undertaking the work for
recovery, in accord with the Commander of the Ma-
rine at Vigo, and other gentlemen who constitute the
Council of Inspection, they suspended the operations
in order to study and construct new apparatus, more
powerful and more adapted to this kind of opera-
tion, and they returned to Italy with the intention
of going again to Vigo as soon as they had finished
the new appliances with which to complete the work
of recovery ; that they have ajready spent large sums
there, the greater part of which have gone to bene-
fit the inhabitants of Vigo; that in view of all this
that has been put forward he prays for an extension
on the same terms in which the Concession was
granted :
"Considering, that by granting him the solicited
extension, the State interests would not be preju-
242 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
diced, on the condition of its receiving 20 per cent,
of all that is recovered, irrespective of the artistic
and historic value of the objects recovered:
"His Majesty the King in accord with what has
been proposed by the Council of Ministers, has
deigned to grant the solicited extension on the same
conditions which were already put in the concession,
which are:
i 'First, The Concessionaire shall utilize for all
manual labor which shall be necessary, the small
craft of the locality and sailors of the maritime de-
partment.
''Second, The work once commenced shall be car-
ried on without interruption unless there shall be
justifiable cause to hinder it.
"Third, He undertakes to give to the State 20 per
cent, of the value of the objects recovered.
"Fourth, In fulfilment of what has been estab-
lished by Art. 351 of the Civil Code, if any objects
of interest to science or art or of any historic value
should be extracted, they shall be given to the State,
if it requires, and the State will pay the fair price,
which will be fixed by experts, taking into account
the expenses of their recovery.
"Which by Royal Decree I have the pleasure to
announce to you for your knowledge and satisfac-
tion. May God preserve you for many years."
This long-winded proclamation seems faintly to
echo of another and far distant day "appertaining
to the galleons which came from America," that
day on which the news of the catastrophe was re-
ceived in the palace of Madrid. Gabriel de Savoy,
the child queen, then only fourteen years old and
wed to Philip V, heard the tidings of the battle of
Vigo Bay, "on the day and hour which was fixed
THE LOST PLATE FLEET OF VIGO 243
upon for her to go in public to give thanks to the
Virgin of Atocha for the triumphs of the king, and
to place in that temple the banners captured from
the enemy in Italy. This wise lady lamented bit-
terly such fatal news, but not wishing to discourage
and afflict her people, she put on courage, and re-
solving to go forth presented herself with so serene
a countenance as to impose upon all, who were as-
tonished at her courage, and the ceremony was per-
formed as if nothing had happened. ' '
Vigo to-day is a pretty and thriving town of 30,000
people, with a large trade by sea, and fertile fields
stretching between bay and mountain. Round
about are the ancient forts and castles which were
stormed and battered by the grenadiers of the Duke
of Ormond and the guns of the British and Dutch
ships under Sir George Kooke. Vigo won a melan-
choly renown on that terrific day so long ago, and
its blue waters have a haunting interest even now,
recalling the glory of the age of the galleons and
the wild romance of their voyaging from the Span-
ish Main. Perhaps the ingenious Don Jose Pino,
with his modern machinery, may find the greatest
treasure ever lost, certain as he is that "in dim
green depths rot ingot-laden ships, with gold doub-
loons that from the drowned hand fell." At any
rate, there is treasure-trove in the very story of
that fight in Vigo Bay, in the contrast between the
timid, blundering, procrastinating Spanish, afraid
to leave their gold and silver in the galleons, yet
afraid to unload it; and the instant decision of the
English admiral who cared not a rap for the odds.
His business it was to smash the French fleet and
destroy the plate ships, and he went about it like
the ready, indomitable sea dog that he was.
Among the English state papers is the manuscript
log-book of the captain of the Torbay, flag ship of
Vice Admiral Hopson who led the attack. This is
how a fighting seaman of the old school disposed of
so momentous and severe a naval action as that of
Vigo Bay, as if it were no more than a common-
place item in the day's work:
"This 24 hours little wind, the latter part much
rain and dirty weather. Yesterday about 3 in the
afternoon we anchored before Vigo Town in 15
fathoms water. This morning Vice Admiral Hop-
son hoisted the red flag at our fore-topmast head in
order to go ahead of the fleet to defeat the French
and Spanish galleons which lay up the river. About
noon we weighed, having sent our soldiers on there
to engage the forts which opposed our coming. We
being come near, the forts fired at us.
"About one o'clock, coming across the forts
which were on each side the harbor, they fired
smartly at us, and we fired our guns at both sides
of them again, and went past and broke the boom
which crossed the river to hinder our passage so that
4 and 5 men-of-war engaged us at once, but soon
deserted, firing and burnt their ships. They sent a
fireship which set us on fire."
It was a very simple business, to hear the captain
of the Torbay tell it, but the golden empire of Spain
was shaken from Cadiz to Panama, and gouty,
dauntless Sir George Eooke helped mightily to
hasten the end which was finally brought about by
another admiral, George Dewey by name, in that Ma-
nila Bay whence the treasure galleons of the East
Indies flota had crossed the Pacific to add their
wealth to the glittering cargoes gathered by the
Viceroys of Mexico and Peru.
CHAPTEE IX
THE PIRATES' HOARD OP TRINIDAD
OF all the freebooters' treasure for which search
is still made by means of curious information hav-
ing to do with charts and other plausible records,
the most famous are those buried on Cocos Islands
in the Pacific and on the rocky islet of Trinidad in
the South Atlantic. These places are thousands of
miles apart, the former off the coast of Costa Rica,
the latter several hundred miles from the nearest
land of Brazil and not to be confused with the better
known British colony of Trinidad in the Leeward
Islands group of the West Indies.
Each of these treasures is of immense value, to
be reckoned in millions of dollars, and their stories
are closely interwoven because the plunder came
from the same source at about the same time. Both
narratives are colored by piracy, bloodshed and
mystery, that of Cocos Island perhaps the more
luridly romantic of the two by reason of an earlier
association with the English buccaneers of Dampi-
er's crew. Each island has been dug over and ran-
sacked at frequent intervals during the last century,
and it is safe to predict that expeditions will be
fitting out for Cocos or Trinidad for many years to
come.
The history of these notable treasures is a knotty
skein to disentangle. Athwart its picturesque
245
246 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
pages marches a numerous company of bold and im-
aginative liars, every man of them ready to swear
on a stack of Bibles that his is the only true, un-
varnished version of the events which caused the
gold and jewels and plate to be hidden. However,
when all the fable and fancy are winnowed out, the
facts remaining are enough to make any red-blooded
adventurer yearn to charter a rakish schooner and
muster a crew of kindred spirits.
During the last days of Spanish rule on the west
coast of South America, the wealthiest city left
of that vast domain won by the Conquistadores and
held by the Viceroys, was Lima, the capital of Peru.
Founded in 1535 by Francisco Pizarro, it was the
seat of the government of South America for
centuries. The Viceregal court was maintained in
magnificent state, and the Archbishop of Lima was
the most powerful prelate of the continent. Here
the religious orders and the Inquisition had their
centers. Of the almost incredible amount of gold
and silver taken from the mines of the country,
much remained in Lima to pile up fortunes for the
grandees and officials, or to be fashioned into massy
ornaments for the palaces, residences, churches, and
for the great cathedral which still stands to pro-
claim the grandeur that was Spain's in the olden
days.
When Bolivar, the Liberator, succeeded in driving
the Spanish out of Venezuela, and in 1819 set up
the free republic of Colombia, the ruling class of
Peru took alarm which increased to panic as soon
as it was known that the revolutionary forces were
organizing to march south and assault Lima itself.
There was a great running to and fro among the
wealthy Spanish merchants, the holders of fat po-
u
rt
13
sitions under the Viceroy, and the gilded idlers who
swaggered and ruffled it on riches won by the swords
of their two-fisted ancestors. It was feared that
the rebels of Bolivar and San Martin would loot the
city, and confiscate the treasure, both public and
private, which consisted of bullion, plate, jewels, and
coined gold.
Precious property to the value of six million ster-
ling was hurried into the fortress of Lima for safe
keeping and after the capture of the city by the
army of liberation, Lord Dundonald, the English
Admiral in command of the Chilian fleet assisting
the revolutionists, offered to let the Spanish gov-
ernor depart with two-thirds of this treasure if he
would surrender the remainder and give up the
fortifications without a fight. The Peruvian libera-
tor, San Martin, set these terms aside, however, and
allowed the Spanish garrison to evacuate the place,
carrying away the six million sterling. This im-
mense treasure was soon scattered far and wide, by
sea and land. It was only part of the riches dis-
persed by the conquest of San Martin and his pa-
triots. The people of Lima, hoping to send their
fortunes safe home to Spain before the plundering
invaders should make a clean sweep, put their valu-
ables on board all manner of sailing vessels which
happened to be in harbor, and a fugitive fleet of
merchantmen steered out from the hostile coast of
Peru, the holds piled with gold and silver, the cabins
crammed with officials of the state and church and
other residents of rank and station. At the same
time there was sent to sea the treasure of the great
cathedral of Lima, all its jeweled chalices, mon-
strances, and vestments, the solid gold candle-sticks
and shrines, the vast store of precious furniture and
248 1 "K OF BURIED TREASURE
ornaments, which had made this one of the richest re-
ligious edifices of the world.
There had not been so much dazzling booty afloat
at one time since the galleon plate fleets were in
their heyday during the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. In 1820 there were no more of those
great buccaneers and gentlemen adventurers who
had singed the beard of the King of Spain in the
wake of Francis Drake. They had sailed and fought
and plundered for glory as well as gain, or for re-
venge as much as for doubloons. Their successors
as sea rovers were pirates of low degree, base
wretches of a sordid commercialism who preyed on
honest merchant skippers of all flags, and had lit-
tle taste for fighting at close quarters. The older
race of sea rogues had been wolves; the pirates of
the early nineteenth century were jackals.
Many a one of these gentry got wind of the fabu-
lous treasure that had been sent afloat from Lima,
and there is no doubt that much of it failed to reach
Spain. While in some instances, these fleeing ships
were boarded and scuttled by pirate craft, in others
the lust of gold was too strong for the seamen to
whom the rare cargoes had been entrusted, and they
rose and took the riches away from their hapless
passengers. It has been believed by one treasure
seeking expedition after another, even to this day,
that Captain Thompson of the British trading brig,
Mary Dear received on board in the harbor of Lima
as much as twelve million dollars' worth of gold and
silver, and that he and his crew, after killing the
Spanish owners, sailed north in the Pacific and
buried the booty on Cocos Island.
Captain Thompson somehow escaped and joined a
famous pirate of that time, Benito Bonito, who ac-
THE PIRATES' HOARD OF TRINIDAD 249
cumulated a large treasure which he also buried on
Cocos Island. The British Admiralty records show
that Bonito was overhauled in his turn by the frig-
ate Espiegle and that rather than be hanged in
chains, he very handsomely blew out his brains on
his own deck.
This same treasure of Lima, or part of it, fur-
nished the foundation of the story belonging to the
volcanic islet of Trinidad in the South Atlantic.
One version of this is that the pirates who chose
this hiding-place had been the crew of a fast English
schooner in the slave trade. While at sea they dis-
posed of their captain by the unpleasant method of
pinning him to the mainmast with a boarding pike
through his vitals. Then the black flag was hoisted
and with a new skipper they stood to the south-
ward, finding a great amount of plunder in a Portu-
guese ship which had on board a "Jew diamond
dealer" among other valuable items. After taking
an East Indiaman, and other tempting craft, they
buried the total proceeds on the desolate, uninhabited
island of Trinidad, intending to return for it before
the end of the cruise.
Unfortunately, for the successful pirates, they ran
afoul of a heavily armed and manned merchant ves-
sel which shot away their rudder, tumbled their
spars about their rascally ears, boarded them with
great spirit and determination, and clapped the
shackles on the twenty gentlemen of fortune who
had survived the engagement. These were carried
into Havana and turned over to the Spanish authori-
ties who gleefully hanged nineteen, not twenty, mark
you, for one had to make a marvelous escape in
order to hand down the secret of the treasure to
posterity. This survivor died in bed in England at
250 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
a very great age, so the story runs, and of course
he had a chart to set the next generation to digging.
The earlier statements of this narrative may be
cast aside as worthless. The real, true pirate of
Trinidad was not in the slave schooner which
captured the "Jew diamond dealer" of the Portu-
guese ship. An odd confusion of facts caused the
mistake. While Benito Bonito was harrying the
Spanish shipping of the Pacific and burying his
treasure on Cocos Island, there was on the Atlantic
a bloodthirsty pirate by the name of Benito de
Soto. He was a Spaniard who sailed out of Buenos
Aires in the year 1827, bound to Africa to smuggle
a cargo of slaves. The crew was composed of
French, Spanish, and Portuguese desperadoes, and
led by the mate and De Soto they marooned the cap-
tain and ran away with the ship on a pirate voy-
age. They plundered and burned and slaughtered
without mercy, their most nefarious exploit being
the capture of the British merchant ship Morning
Star, bound from Ceylon to England in 1828, and
carrying as passengers several army officers and
their wives and twenty-five invalided soldiers.
After the most fiendish conduct, De Soto and his
crew, drove the survivors into the hold of the Morn-
ing Star, and fastened the hatches, leaving the ves-
sel to founder, for they had taken care to bore
numerous auger holes in her bottom. By a miracle
of good fortune, the prisoners forced the hatches
and were taken off next day by a passing vessel.
Benito de Soto met his end as the result of being
wrecked in his own ship off the Spanish coast. He
was caught in Gibraltar and hanged by the English
Governor. An army officer who saw him turned off
related that he was a very proper figure of a pirate,
THE PIRATES' HOARD OF TRINIDAD 251
' ' there was no driveling fears upon him, he walked
firmly at the tail of the fatal cart, gazing sometimes
at his coffin, sometimes at the crucifix which he held
in his hand. This he frequently pressed to his lips,
repeated the prayers spoken in his ear by the at-
tendant clergyman, and seemed regardless of every-
thing but the world to come. The gallows was
erected beside the water, and fronting neutral
ground. He mounted the cart as firmly as he had
walked behind it, and held up his face to Heaven
and the beating rain, calm, resigned, but unshaken;
and finding the halter too high for his neck, he
boldly stepped upon his coffin, and placed his head
in the noose. Then watching the first turn of the
wheels, he murmured, i farewell, all,' and leaned
forward to facilitate his fall . . . The black boy
was acquitted at Cadiz, but the m^n who had fled
to the Caracas, as well as those arrested after the
wreck, were convicted, executed, their limbs severed
and hung on iron hooks, as a warning to all other
pirates."
This Benito, who died so much better than he had
lived, was not hanged at Havana, it will be per-
ceived, and the version of the Trinidad treasure
story already outlined is apparently a hodgepodge
of the careers of Benito de Soto, and of Benito of Co-
cos Island, with a flavor of fact in so far as it refers
to the twenty pirates who were carried to Cuba to
be strung up, or garroted. The Spanish archives
of that island record that this gang was executed
and that they had been found guilty of plundering
ships sailing from Lima shortly after the city had
been entered by the revolutionists. Their associa-
tion with the island of Trinidad is explained here-
with as it was told to E. F. Knight, an Englishman,
252 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
who organized and commanded an expedition which
sailed in search of the treasure in 1889.
There was at that time near Newcastle, England,
a retired sea captain who had been in command of
an East Indiaman engaged in the opium trade in
the years 1848 to 1850. * * The China seas were then
infested by pirates," said Mr. Knight's informant,
"so that his vessel carried a few guns and a larger
crew than is usual in these days. He had four
quarter-masters, one of whom was a foreigner. The
captain was not sure of his nationality but thought
he was a Finn. On board the vessel the man went
under the name of 'The Pirate' because of a deep
scar across his cheek which gave him a somewhat
sinister appearance. He was a reserved man, bet-
ter educated than the ordinary sailor, and possess-
ing a good knowledge of navigation.
* * The captain took a liking to him, and showed him
kindness on various occasions. This man was at-
tacked by dysentery on the voyage from China to
Bombay, and by the time the vessel reached port he
was so ill, in spite of the captain's nursing, that he
had to be taken to the hospital. He gradually sank,
and when he found that he was dying he told the
captain, who frequently visited him, that he felt
very grateful for the kind treatment given him, and
that he would prove his gratitude by revealing a
secret which might make his captain one of the rich-
est men in England. He then asked the skipper to
go to his chest and take out from it a parcel. This
contained a piece of old tarpaulin with a plan of an
island of Trinidad upon it.
"The dying soldier told him that at the spot in-
dicated, that is at the base of the mountain known
as Sugar Loaf, there was an immense treasure
THE PIRATES' HOARD OF TRINIDAD 253
buried, consisting principally of gold and silver
plate and ornaments, the plunder of Peruvian
churches which certain pirates had concealed there
in the year 1821. Much of this plate, he said, came
from the cathedral of Lima, having been carried
away from there during the war of independence,
when the Spaniards were escaping the country and
that among other riches were several massive gold
candle-sticks.
"He further stated that he was the only survivor
of the pirates, as all the others had been captured
by the Spaniards and executed in Cuba some years
before, and consequently it was probable that no
one but himself knew the secret. He then gave the
captain instructions as to the exact position of the
treasure in the bay under the Sugar Loaf, and en-
joined him to go there and search for it, as it was
almost certain that it had not been removed."
Mr. Knight, who was a young barrister of London,
investigated this story with much diligence, and dis-
covered that the captain aforesaid had sent his son
to Trinidad in 1880 to try to identify the marks
shown on the old pirate's tarpaulin chart. He
landed from a sailing ship, did no digging for lack of
equipment, but reported that the place tallied ex-
actly with the description, although a great land-
slide of reddish earth had covered the place where
the treasure was hid. This evidence was so convinc-
ing that in 1885 an expedition was organized among
several adventurous gentlemen of South Shields who
chartered a bark of six hundred tons, the Aurea, and
fitted her at a large outlay with surf boats, picks,
shovels, timber, blasting powder, and other stores.
This party found the island almost inaccessible be-
cause of the wild, rock-bound coast, the huge
254 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
breakers which beat about it from all sides, and the
lack of harbors and safe anchorage. After im-
mense difficulty, eight men were landed, with a
slender store of provisions and a few of the tools.
The dismal aspect of the island, the armies of huge
land crabs which tried to devour them, the burning
heat, and the hard labor without enough food or
water, soon disheartened this band of treasure
seekers, and they dug no more than a small trench
before courage and strength forsook them. Signal-
ing to their ships, they were taken off, worn out
and ill, and thus ended the efforts of the expedi-
tion.
In the same year, an American skipper chartered
a French sailing vessel in Eio Janeiro, and sailed
for Trinidad with four Portuguese sailors to do his
digging for him. They were ashore several days,
but found no treasure, and vanished from the story
after this brief fling with the dice of fortune. Now,
Knight was of different stuff from these other ex-
plorers. He was a first-class amateur seaman who
had sailed his yacht Falcon to South America in
1880, and was both experienced and capable afloat
and ashore. While bound from Montevideo to Ba-
hia he had touched at Trinidad, curious to see this
remote islet so seldom visited. This was before he
heard the buried treasure story. Therefore when
he became acquainted, several years later, with the
chart and information left by the old pirate, he was
able to verify the details of his own knowledge, and
he roundly affirmed:
"In the first place, his carefully prepared plan
of the island, the minute directions he gave as to
the best landing, and his description of the features
of the bay on whose shores the treasure was con-
THE PIRATES' HOARD OF TRINIDAD 255
cealed, prove beyond doubt to myself and others who
know Trinidad, that he, or if not himself some in-
formant of his, had landed on this so rarely visited
islet ; and not only landed but passed some time on it,
and carefully surveyed the approaches to the bay, so
as to be able to point out the dangers and show the
safest passage through the reefs. This information
could not have been obtained from any pilot-book.
The landing recommended by previous visitors is
at the other side of the island. This bay is de-
scribed by them as inaccessible, and the indications
on the Admiralty chart are completely erroneous.
"And beyond this, the quartermaster must have
been acquainted with what was taking place in two
other distant portions of the world during the year
of his professed landing on the desert island. He
knew of the escape of pirates with the cathedral
plate of Lima. He was also aware that, shortly
afterwards, there were hanged in Cuba the crew of
a vessel that had committed acts of piracy on the
Peruvian coast.
"It is scarcely credible that an ordinary sea-
man, even allowing that he was superior in edu-
cation to the average of his fellows, could have
pieced these facts together so ingeniously into this
plausible story."
This argument has merit and it was persuasive
enough to cause Knight to buy the staunch cutter
Alerte, muster a company of gentlemen volunteers,
ship a crew, and up anchor from Southampton for
Trinidad.
There was never a better found treasure expedi-
tion than this in the Alerte. The nine partners,
each of whom put up one hundred pounds toward the
expenses, were chosen from one hundred and fifty
256
eager applicants. Articles of agreement provided
that one-twentieth of the treasure recovered was
to be received by each adventurer and he in turn
bound himself to work hard and obey orders. In
the equipment was a drilling apparatus for boring
through earth and rock, an hydraulic jack for lift-
ing huge bowlders, portable forge and anvil, iron
wheel-barrows, crow-bars, shovels and picks galore,
a water distilling plant, a rapid fire gun, and a full
complement of repeating rifles and revolvers.
A few days before the Alerte was ready to sail
from Southampton an elderly naval officer boarded
the cutter and was kind enough to inform Mr.
Knight of another buried treasure which he might
look for on his route to Trinidad. The story had
been hidden for many years among the documents
of the Admiralty, and as a matter of government
record, it is, of course, perfectly authentic. In 1813,
the Secretary of the Admiralty instructed Sir
Kichard Bickerton, commanding at Portsmouth, to
send in the first King's ship touching at Madeira
a seaman who had given information concerning a
hidden treasure, in order that the truth of his story
might be tested.
The Admiralty order was entrusted to Captain
Hercules Eobinson of the Prometheus and in his
report he states that "after being introduced to the
foreign seaman referred to in the above letter, and
reading the notes which had been taken of his in-
formation, he charged him to tell no person what he
knew or what was his business, that he was to mess
with the captain's coxswain, and that no duty would
be required of him. To this the man replied that
that was all he desired, that he was willing to give
THE PIRATES' HOARD OF TRINIDAD 257
his time, and would ask no remuneration for his
intelligence. ' '
While the Prometheus was anchored at Funchal,
Madeira, Captain Kobinson closely questioned the
mysterious seaman whose name was Christian
Cruse. He declared that he had been in a hospital
ill of yellow fever, several years before, and with
him was a shipmate, a Spaniard, who died of the
same malady. Before his death he told Cruse that
in 1804 he had been in a Spanish ship, from South
America to Cadiz, with two millions of silver in
chests. When nearing the coast of Spain, they were
signaled by a neutral vessel that England had de-
clared war and that Cadiz was blockaded. Bather
than risk capture by the British fleet, and unwilling
to run all the way back to South America, the cap-
tain resolved to try to gain the nearest of the West
Indies and save his treasure.
Passing to the southward of Madeira, a cluster
of small, uninhabited islands, called the Salvages,
was sighted. Thereupon the crew decided that it
was foolishness to continue the voyage. The cap-
tain was accordingly stabbed to death with a dirk,
and the ship steered to an anchorage. The chests
of Spanish dollars were landed in a small bay, a
deep trench dug in the sand above highwater mark,
and the treasure snugly buried, the body of the
captain deposited in a box on top of it. The muti-
neers then sought the Spanish Main where they in-
tended to burn their ship, buy a small vessel under
British colors, and return to carry off the two mil-
lion dollars.
Near Tobago they suffered shipwreck because of
poor navigation and only two were saved. One died
258 THE BOOK OF BUEIED TREASURE
ashore, and the other was the Spanish seaman who
made the dying declaration to Christian Cruse in the
hospital at Vera Cruz.
Captain Hercules Eobinson was a seasoned officer
of His Majesty's navy, used to taking sailors' yarns
with a grain of salt, but that he was convinced of
the good faith of Christian Cruse and of the truth
of the narrative is shown by his interesting com-
ments, as he wrote them down a century ago :
"May Cruse not have had some interested object
in fabricating this story? Why did he not tell it
before? Is not the cold-blooded murder inconceiv-
able barbarity, and the burying the body over the
treasure too dramatic and buccaneer-like? Or
might not the Spaniard have lied from love of lying
and mystifying his simple shipmate, or might he
not have been raving ?
"As to the first difficulty, I have the strongest con-
viction of the honesty of Christian Cruse, and I
think I could hardly be grossly deceived as to his
character, and his disclaiming any reward unless
the discovery was made, went to confirm my belief
that he was an honest man. And then as to his
withholding the information for four or five years,
be it remembered that the war with Denmark might
have truly shut him out from any intercourse with
England. Next as to the wantonness and indiffer-
ence with which the murder was perpetrated, I am
afraid there is no great improbability in this. I
have witnessed a disregard of human life in matters
of promotion in our service, etc., which makes the
conduct of these Spaniards under vehement temp-
tation, and when they could do as they pleased, suffi-
ciently intelligible.
"But certainly the coffin over the treasure looked
THE PIRATES' HOARD OF TRINIDAD 259
somewhat theatrical and gave it the air of Sadler's
Wells, or a novel, rather than matter of fact. I en-
quired, therefore, from Christian Cruse why the
body of the captain was thus buried, and he replied
that he understood the object was, that in case any
person should find the marks of their proceedings
and dig to discover what they had been about, they
might come to the body and go no further."
After further reflection, Captain Eobinson con-
vinced himself that the Spanish seaman had been
clear-headed when he made his confession to Cruse,
and that it would have been beyond him deliber-
ately to invent the statement as fiction. The Pro-
metheus was headed for the Salvages, and arriv-
ing off the largest of these islands, a bay was found
and a level white patch of beach above high water
mark situated as had been described to Christian
Cruse. Fifty sailors were sent ashore to dig with
shovels and boarding pikes, making the sand fly in
the hope of winning the reward of a hundred dol-
lars offered to the man who found the murdered
captain's coffin.
The search lasted only one day because the anchor-
age was unsafe and Captain Robinson was under
orders to return to Madeira. Arriving there, other
orders recalled his ship to England for emergency
duty and the treasure hunt was abandoned. So far
as known, no other attempt had been made to find
the chests of dollars until Mr. Knight decided to aot
on the information and explore the Salvages in pass-
ing.
Of this little group of islands it was decided by
the company of the Alerte that the one called the
Great Piton most closely answered the description
given Christian Cruse by the Spanish pirate. A bay
260 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
was found with a strip of white sand above high-
water mark, and Mr. Knight and his shipmates
pitched a camp nearby and had the most sanguine
expectations of bringing to light the rude coffin of
the murdered captain.
A series of trenches was opened up after a sys-
tematic plan, and some crumbling bones discovered,
but the ship's surgeon refused to swear that they
had belonged to a human being. The trouble was
that the surface of the place had been considerably
changed by the action of waves and weather, which
made the Admiralty charts of a century before very
misleading. The destination of the Alerte was
Trinidad, after all, and the visit to the Salvages was
only an incident, so the search was abandoned after
four days. In all probability, the treasure of the
Salvages is still in its hiding-place, and any adven-
turous young gentlemen seeking a field of operations
will do well to consult for themselves the documen-
tary evidence of Captain Hercules Robinson and
Christian Cruse, as filed among the records of the
British Admiralty Office.
Trinidad is a much more difficult island to ex-
plore than any of the Salvages group. In fact, this
forbidding mass of volcanic rock is a little bit of
inferno. It is sometimes impossible to make a land-
ing through the surf for weeks at a time, and when
a boat makes the attempt in the most favorable
circumstances, the venture is a hazard of life and
death. As a vivid summary of the aspect of this
lonely treasure island, I quote from Mr. Knight, be-
cause he is the only man who has ever described
Trinidad at first hand:
"As we neared it, the features of this extraordi-
nary place could gradually be distinguished. The
THE PIRATES' HOARD OF TRINIDAD 261
north side, that which faced us, is the most barren
and desolate portion of the island, and appears to
be utterly inaccessible. Here the mountains rise
sheer from the boiling surf, fantastically shaped
of volcanic rock ; cloven by frightful ravines ; lower-
ing in perpendicular precipices ; in places overhang-
ing threateningly, and, where the mountains have
been shaken to pieces by the fires and earthquakes
of volcanic action, huge landslips slope steeply in
the yawning ravines, landslips of black and red
volcanic debris, and loose rocks large as houses,
ready on the slightest disturbance to roll down,
crashing, into the abysses below. On the summit of
the island there floats almost constantly, even on
the clearest day, a wreath of dense vapor, never
still, but rolling and twisting into strange shapes as
the wind eddies among the crags. And above this
cloud-wreath rise mighty pinnacles of coal-black
rock, like the spires of some gigantic Gothic cathedral
piercing the blue southern sky. It would be impos-
sible to convey in words a just idea of the mystery
of Trinidad. The very coloring seemed unearthly,
in places dismal black, and in others the fire-con-
sumed crags are of strange metallic hues, vermil-
ion red and copper yellow. When one lands on its
shores, this uncanny impression is enhanced. It
bears all the appearances of being an accursed spot,
whereupon no creatures can live, save the hideous
land-crabs and foul and cruel sea birds."
An ideal place, this, for pirates to bury treasure,
you will agree, and good for nothing else under
Heaven. The South Atlantic Directory, the ship-
master's guide, states that "the surf is often in-
credibly great, and has been seen to break over a
bluff which is two hundred feet high." Trinidad
262 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
was first visited by Halley, the astronomer, after
whom the famous comet was named, who called there
in 1700 when he was a captain in the Koyal Navy.
Captain Amos Delano, the Yankee pioneer in the Far
Eastern trade, made a call in 1803, prompted by
curiosity, but as a rule mariners have given the is-
land a wide berth, now and then touching there when
in need of water or fresh meat in the shape of
turtles.
At one time the Portuguese attempted to found a
settlement on Trinidad, probably before the forests
had been killed by some kind of volcanic upheaval.
The ruins of their stone huts are still to be seen as
humble memorials of a great race of explorers and
colonists in the golden age of that nation.
With tremendous exertion, the party from the
Alerte was landed with its tools and stores, and
headquarters established close to the ravine which
was believed to be the hiding-place of the treasure
as indicated by the chart and information of the
Finn quartermaster with the scar across his cheek.
It was found that there had been no actual land-
slide, but the ravine was choked with large bowlders
which at various times had fallen from the cliffs
above. These were packed together by the red
earth silting and washing during the rainy season
when the ravines were flooded.
Along the whole of the windward coast were
found innumerable fragments of wreckage, spars,
timbers, barrels. From the position of the island,
in the belt of the southeast trade winds, many dere-
lict vessels must have been driven ashore. Some of
this immense accumulation of stuff may have lain
there for centuries, or ever since vessels first
doubled the Cape of Good Hope, Here and there
THE PIRATES' HOARD OF TRINIDAD 263
were the gaunt rows of ribs to show where a ship
had been stranded bodily, and doubtless much valu-
able property in silver and gold, in bars, ingots, and
doubloons, lies buried in the shattered hulks of these
old Dutch East Indiamen, and galleons from Peru.
As particular landmarks near the ravine, the
pirate had mentioned three cairns which he and his
comrades had heaped up. Sure enough, the previ-
ous treasure seekers of the Aurea expedition from
England had found the three cairns, but foolishly
demolished them on the chance that gold might be
buried underneath. Mr. Knight could find traces of
only one of them, and he discovered also a water-
jar, a broken wheel-barrow and other tools to show
where the others had been digging. The crew of the
Alert e were confident that they were at the right
place, and they set to work with the most admirable
zeal and fortitude, enduring hardships cheerfully,
and during the three months of their labors on Trini-
dad, removing earth and rock literally by the thou-
sands of tons, until the ravine was scooped out to
a depth of from eight to twenty feet.
Their vessel had to anchor far off shore, and once
forsook them for a fourteen hundred mile voyage to
Bahia to get provisions. These London lawyers and
other gentlemen unused to toil with the hands be-
came as tough and rough and disreputable to see
as the pirates who had been there aforetime. In
costume of shirt, trousers, and belt, they became
ragged and stained from head to foot with the soil,
and presented a uniform, dirty, brownish, yellow ap-
pearance like so many Brazilian convicts. Their
surf boat was wrecked or upset at almost every at-
tempt to land or to go off to the Alerte, and when
they were not fishing one another out of the surf,
264 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
they were diving to recover their submerged and
scattered stores. Their leader, Mr. Knight, paid
them a tribute of which they must have been proud :
1 'They had toiled hard and had kept up their
spirits all the while and what is really wonderful
under circumstances so calculated to try the temper
and wear out the patience, they had got on exceed-
ingly well with each other, and there had been no
quarreling or ill feeling of any sort."
At length the melancholy verdict was agreed upon
in council. All the bright dreams of carrying home
a fortune for every adventurer were reluctantly dis-
missed. The men were worn to the bone, and it was
becoming more and more difficult to maintain com-
munication with the Alert e. The prodigious exca-
vation was abandoned, and Mr. Knight indulged
himself in a soliloquy as he surveyed the ''great
trenches, the piled-up mounds of earth, the uprooted
rocks, with broken wheelbarrows and blocks, worn-
out tools, and other relics of our three months
strewn over the ground ; and it was sad to think that
all the energy of these men had been spent in vain.
They well deserved to succeed, and all the more so
because they bore their disappointment with so much
pluck and cheerfulness."
But, in truth, the expedition had not been in vain.
The toilers had been paid in richer stuff than gold.
They had lived the true romance, nor could a man of
spirit and imagination wish for anything more to
his taste than to be encamped on a desert island,
with the surf shouting in his ears, the sea birds cry-
ing, all hands up with daybreak to dig for buried
treasure whose bearings were found on a tarpaulin
chart that had belonged to a pirate with a deep scar
across his cheek. How it would have delighted the
THE PIRATES' HOARD OF TRINIDAD 265
heart of Robert Louis Stevenson to be one of this
company of the Alerte at Trinidad ! The gallant lit-
tle vessel, only sixty-four feet long she was, filled
away for the West Indies, homeward bound, while
the men aboard amused themselves by wondering
how many nations might have laid claim to the treas-
ure, had it been found; England which hoisted its
flag on Trinidad in 1770; Portugal because Portu-
guese from Brazil made a settlement there in 1750;
Brazil, because the island lay off her coast; Spain,
to whom the treasure had belonged, and Peru from
whose cathedral it was taken, and lastly the Roman
Church.
In conclusion, Mr. Knight, to whose fascinating
narrative, "The Cruise of the Alerte," I am in-
debted for the foregoing information, sums it up
like a true soldier of fortune :
"Well, indeed, it was for us that we had not found
the pirates' gold; for we seemed happy enough as
we were, and if possessed of this hoard, our lives
would of a certainty have become a burden to us.
We should be too precious to be comfortable. We
should degenerate into miserable, fearsome hypo-
chondriacs, careful of our means of transit, dread-
fully anxious about what we ate or drank, miserably
cautious about everything. 'Better far, no doubt,'
exclaimed these cheerful philosophers, 'to remain
the careless, happy paupers that we are.'
" ' Do you still believe in the existence of the treas-
ure?' is a question that has been often put to me
since my return. Knowing all I do, I have very lit-
tle doubt that the story of the Finn quartermaster
is substantially true, that the treasures of Lima
were hidden on Trinidad; but whether they have
been taken away, or whether they are still there and
266 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
we failed to find them because we were not in pos-
session of one link of the directions, I am unable
to say."
In later years, E. F. Knight became a war corre-
spondent, and lost an arm in the Boer campaign. I
met him at Key West during the Spanish war in
which he represented The London Times and found
him to be a solid, well-ballasted man who knew what
he was about and not at all one to have gone treas-
ure seeking without excellent reasons. That he was
adventurous in his unassuming way he proved by
landing on the Cuban coast near Havana in order to
interview the Spanish Captain-General. A news-
paper dispatch boat ran close in shore, the skipper
risking being blown out of water by the batteries of
Morro Castle, and Knight was transferred to a tiny
flat-bottomed skiff of the tonnage of a bath-tub.
Equipped with a note-book, revolver, water bottle,
and a small package of sandwiches, he said good-by
in his very placid manner, and was seen to be stand-
ing on his head in the surf a few minutes later. He
scrambled ashore, probably recalling to mind a sim-
ilar style of landing on the coast of Trinidad, and
vanished in the jungle. That he ran grave danger
of being potted for an Americano by the first Span-
ish patrol he encountered appeared to give him no
concern whatever. It was easy to perceive that he
must have been the right kind of man to lead a treas-
ure-hunting expedition.
Since the Alerte sailed on her dashing quest in
1889, the pirates' gold of Trinidad has figured in an
adventure even more fantastic. Many readers will
doubtless remember the career of the late Baron
James Harden-Hickey who attempted to establish a
kingdom of his own on the islet of Trinidad. He be-
THE PIRATES' HOARD OF TRINIDAD 267
longed in another age than this and he was laughed
at rather more than he deserved. Duelist, editor,
boulevardier, fond of the tinsel and trappings of
life, he married the daughter of John H. Flagler of
the Standard Oil Company and with funds from this
excessively commercial source created a throne, a
court, and a kingdom. He had seen the island of
Trinidad from a British merchant ship in which he
went round the Horn in 1888, and the fact that this
was a derelict bit of real estate, to which no nation
thought it worth while to lay formal claim, appealed
to his active imagination.
A would-be king has difficulty in finding a stray
kingdom nowadays, and Harden-Hickey bothered
his head not in the least over the problem of popu-
lating this god-forsaken jumble of volcanic rock and
ashes. Ere long he blossomed forth most gorgeously
in Paris and New York as King James I of the Prin-
cipality of Trinidad. There was a royal cabinet, a
Minister of Foreign Affairs, a Chancellerie, and uni-
forms, court costumes, and regalia designed by the
king himself. Most dazzling of all the equipment was
the Order of the Insignia of the Cross of Trini-
dad, a patent and decoration of nobility to be
bestowed on those deemed worthy of the signal
honor.
The newspapers bombarded King James I with
gibes and jeers, but he took himself with immense,
even tragic seriousness, and issued a prospectus of
the settlement of his kingdom, inviting an aristocracy
of intellect and good breeding to comprise the ruling
class, while the hard work was to be done by hired
menials. He mustered on paper some kind of a list
of resources of Trinidad, although he was hard put
to name anything very tangible, and laid special
268 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
stress on the buried treasure. It was to be dug up by
the subjects and, if found, to be divided among the
patriots who had bought the securities issued by the
royal treasury. Surely a pirates' treasure was
never before gravely offered among the assets of a
kingdom, but King James had no sense of humor,
and the lost treasure was as real to him as any other
of his marvelous dreams.
Some work was actually done at Trinidad, build-
ing material landed, a vessel chartered to run from
Brazil, and a few misguided colonists recruited,
when in 1895 the British Government ruthlessly
knocked the Principality of Trinidad into a cocked
hat and toppled over the throne of King James I.
The island was wanted as a cable landing or relay
station, and a naval officer raised the red ensign to
proclaim annexation by reason of Halley's discovery
in 1700. At this Brazil set up a protest on the
ground that her Portuguese had been the original
settlers. While the diplomats of these two powers
were politely locking horns over the question of
ownership, that unfortunate monarch, King James
I of the Principality of Trinidad, Baron Harden-
Hickey of the Holy Roman Empire, perceived that
his realm had been pulled out from under him, so to
speak. Whichever nation won the dispute it meant
no comfort for him. Trinidad was no longer a
derelict island and he was a king without a king-
dom.
He surrendered not one jot or tittle of his rights,
and to his Minister of Foreign Affairs he solemnly
bequeathed the succession and the claim to pro-
prietorship. And among these rights and privileges
was the royal interest in the buried treasure.
Harden-Hickey, when he could no longer live a king,
269
died as he thought befitting a gentleman, by his own
hand. It seems a pity that he could not have been
left alone to play at being king, and to find the pi-
rates ' gold.
CHAPTEE X
THE LUKE OF COCOS ISLAND
IT will be recalled that Lord Bellomont, in writ-
ing to his government of the seizure of Kidd and his
treasure, made mention of "a Pirate committed who
goes by the name of Captain Davis, that came pas-
senger with Kidd from Madagascar. I suppose
him to be that Captain Davis that Dampier and
Wafer speak of in their printed relations of
Voyages, for an extraordinary stout J man ; but let
him be as stout as he will, here he is a prisoner, and
shall be forthcoming upon the order I receive from
England concerning him."
If Bellomont was right in this surmise, then he
had swept into his drag-net one of the most famous
and successful buccaneers of the seventeenth cen-
tury, a man who must have regarded the alleged
misdeeds of Kidd as much ado about nothing. Very
likely it was this same Captain Edward Davis who
may have been at the East Indies on some lawful
business of his own, but he had no cause for anxiety
at being captured by Bellomont as a suspicious char-
acter. He had honorably retired in 1688 from his
trade of looting Spanish galleons and treasure towns,
in which year the king's pardon was offered all buc-
caneers who would quit that way of life and claim
the benefit of the proclamation.
It is known that he was afterwards in England,
i Strong, or robust.
270
THE LURE OF COCOS ISLAND 271
where lie dwelt in quietness and security. William
Dampier mentions him always with peculiar respect.
1 i Though a buccaneer, he was a man of much sterling
worth, being an excellent commander, courageous,
never rash, and endued in a superior degree with
prudence, moderation, and steadiness, qualities in
which the buccaneers generally have been most de-
ficient. His character is not stained with acts of
cruelty; on the contrary, wherever he commanded,
he restrained the ferocity of his companions. It is
no small testimony to his abilities that the whole of
the buccaneers in the South Sea during his time, in
every enterprise wherein he bore part, voluntarily
placed themselves under his guidance, and paid him
obedience as their leader; and no symptom occurs
of their having at any time wavered in this respect
or shown inclination to set up a rival authority. 2
During the Kidd proceedings, the Crown officers
made out no case against Edward Davis, and he ap-
pears at the trial only as a witness in Kidd's behalf.
He testified in corroboration of the fact that Kidd
had brought home the two French passes taken out
of his captures, and his experienced mind was quick
to recognize the importance of the documents as a
sound defense against the charges of piracy.
Curiously enough, the name of Captain Edward
Davis has since been linked with a buried treasure
story, that of Cocos Island in the Pacific. Certain
it is that he and his comrades took great spoils along
the Spanish coasts of South America and the Isth-
mus, and that he used Cocos Island as a convenient
base for careening ship and recuperating the health
of his hard-fighting, careless crew. Wafer has given
2 History of the Buccaneers of America, by Captain James Burney
(1816),
272 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
the following description of this popular resort for
treasure seekers of modern times :
"The middle of Cocos Island is a steep hill, sur-
rounded with a plain declining to the sea. This
plain is thick set with cocoanut trees ; but what con-
tributes greatly to the pleasure of the place is that
a great many springs of clear and sweet water, ris-
ing to the top of the hill, are there gathered as in a
deep large basin or pond, and the water having no
channel, it overflows the verge of its basin in several
places, and runs trickling down in pleasant streams.
In some places of its overflowing, the rocky side of
the hill being more perpendicular and hanging over
the plain beneath, the water pours down in a cat-
aract, so as to leave a dry space under the spout, and
form a kind of arch of water. The freshness which
the falling water gives the air in this hot climate
makes this a delightful place.
"We did not spare the cocoa-nuts. One day, some
of our men being minded to make themselves merry
went ashore and cut down a great many cocoa-nut
trees, from which they gathered the fruit, and drew
about twenty gallons of the milk. They then sat
down and drank healths to the King and Queen, and
drank an excessive quantity; yet it did not end in
drunkenness ; but this liquor so chilled and benumbed
their nerves that they could neither go nor stand.
Nor could they return on board without the help of
those who had not been partakers of the frolic, nor
did they recover under four or five days ' time. ' ' 3
Captain Edward Davis had found this delectable
islet during a singularly adventurous voyage. The
English buccaneers and the French filibustiers who
had long cruised in the West Indies, were driven from
s Voyage and Description, etc., by Lionel Wafer, London (1699).
THE LURE OF COCOS ISLAND 273
their haunts by the vigorous activity of the Euro-
pean governments, and in 1683 an expedition was or-
ganized to go pirating against the Spaniards in the
Pacific, or the "South Sea." Dampier was of this
number, also Captain John Cook, Captain Edward
Davis, and Lionel Wafer who wrote the journal of
the voyage. The scheme was hatched on the coast
of Hispaniola, and after taking two prizes, French
vessels, to Virginia to be sold, the company seventy
strong, and most of them old hands at this game,
stood out from the Chesapeake in an eighteen-gun
ship called the Revenge.
Off the coast of Guinea they found a large Danish
ship which better suited their purpose, wherefore
she was carried by boarding. They christened her
the Batchelor's Delight, and abandoned their old
vessel which was burned, "that she might tell no
tales." In February of 1684, they rounded Cape
Horn and made for the island of Juan Fernandez,
which several of the company had previously visited
with Watling. Then sailing northward, the ship vis-
ited the Galapagos Islands to catch turtle, and bore
away for Cocos which was missed because of adverse
winds and faulty navigation. On this stretch of the
voyage, the Batchelor's Delight passed what was
known as the Isle of Plate, or Drake's Island, in lat-
itude 2 min. 42 sec. S., which has an alluring lost
treasure story of its own. Says Esquemeling :
"This island received its name from Sir Francis
Drake and his famous actions, for here it is reported
by tradition that he made the dividend or sharing of
that quantity of plate which he took in the Armada
of this sea, distributing it to each man of his com-
pany by whole bowls full. The Spaniards affirm to
this day that he took at that time twelve score tons of
274 THE BOOK OF BUKIED TREASURE
plate, and sixteen bowls of coined money a man, his
number being then forty-five men in all. Insomuch
that they were forced to heave much of it overboard,
because his ship could not carry it all. Hence was
this island called by the Spaniards themselves the
Isle of Plate, from this great dividend, and by us
Drake's Isle." 4
The mainland of South America, or New Spain,
was sighted near Cape Blanco, where Captain John
Cook died, and Edward Davis, then quartermaster,
was elected commander. He cruised for some time
along the coast, learning among other interesting
news that at Point Saint Elena, "many years before
a rich Spanish ship was driven ashore for want of
wind to work her, that immediately after she struck
she heeled off to seaward and sank in seven or eight
fathoms of water, and that no one ever attempted to
fish for her because there falls in here a great high
sea." 5
In the bay of Guayaquil, on the coast of Peru,
Davis and Swan, who had joined him in a small ship
called the Cygnet, captured four vessels, three of
which had cargoes of negroes. Most of them were
let go, to the great disappointment of Dampier who
was filled with a mighty scheme of treasure finding
which he outlined in these words :
"Never was put into the hands of men a greater
opportunity to enrich themselves. We had 1000
negroes, all lusty young men and women, and we
had 200 tons of flour stored up at the Galapagos
* "The Buccaneers of America," by John Esquemeling ( Published,
1684).
8 Dampier. To search for this wreck with a view to recover the
treasure in her was one of the objects of an expedition from Eng-
land to the South Sea a few years later than the voyage of Davis.
THE LURE OF COCOS ISLAND 275
Islands. With these negroes we might have gone
and settled at Santa Maria on the Isthmus of Darien,
and have employed them in getting gold out of the
mines there. All the Indians living in that neigh-
borhood were mortal enemies to the Spaniards, were
flushed by successes against them, and for several
years had been fast friends of the privateers. Add
to which, we should have had the North Sea open
to us, and in a short time should have received as-
sistance from all parts of the West Indies. Many
thousands of buccaneers from Jamaica and the
French islands would have flocked to us; and we
should have been an overmatch for all the force
the Spaniards could have brought out of Peru
against us."
Soon after this, the little squadron blockaded the
Bay of Panama for several weeks, plundering what-
ever shipping came their way. There they were
joined by two hundred Frenchmen and eighty Eng-
lishmen, old buccaneers who had crossed the Isth-
mus of Darien to have a fling in the South Seas.
Presently another party of two hundred and sixty-
four sea rovers under French command were added
to the fleet, besides a strong force of Englishmen
led by one Townley. Davis was made commander-
in-chief of this formidable combination of ten ships
and nine hundred and sixty men, of which the flag-
ship was the Batchelor's Delight. They laid in wait
for the annual treasure fleet sent by the Viceroy of
Peru to Panama and found it, but were beaten off
because Davis' confederates lacked his eagerness for
fighting at close quarters.
Turning his attention to the mainland, Davis
sacked and burned the city of Leon on the lake of
Nicaragua. There one of the free-booters killed
276 THE BOOK OF BURIED TKEASUKE
"was a stout, grey-headed old man of the name of
Swan, aged about eighty-four years, who had served
under Cromwell, and had ever since made privateer-
ing or buccaneering his occupation. This veteran
would not be dissuaded from going on the enterprise
against Leon; but his strength failed in the march,
and after being left on the road he was found by the
Spaniards, who endeavored to make him their pris-
oner; but he refused to surrender, and fired his
musket amongst them, having in reserve a pistol still
charged ; on which he was shot dead. ' ' 6
After this, the force scattered in small bands to
plunder on their own account, Davis keeping together
the best of the men whom he took to Cocos Island
where a considerable stay was made. Thence he rav-
aged the coast of Peru, capturing many vessels and
taking many towns. With booty amounting to five
thousand pieces of eight for every man, Davis sailed
to Juan Fernandez to refit, intending to proceed
from there to the West Indies, but before the ships
and men were ready for the long voyage around Cape
Horn, many of the buccaneers had lost all their gold
at dice, and they could not endure to quit the South
Sea empty handed. Their luckier comrades sailed
for the West Indies with Captain Knight, while they
chose to remain and try their fortune afresh with
Captain Davis, in the Batchelor's Delight. They
soon fell in with a large party of French and Eng-
lish buccaneers who had formerly cruised with them,
and were now engaged in trying to take the rich city
of Guayaquil. They were making sorry business of
it, however, and in sore need of such a capable leader
as Davis. He finished the task with neatness and
"History of the Buccaneers of America," by Captain James Bur-
ney (1S16).
THE LURE OF COCOS ISLAND 277
dispatch and shared in the gorgeous plunder of gold
and silver and jewels, reckoned by one of the French-
men in his account of the episode at fifteen hundred
thousand livres.
Davis was now satisfied to leave the Pacific, but
whether he went first to Cocos Island to bury any
treasure, history saith not, although tradition
roundly affirms that he did. That he and many of
his fellow buccaneers frequently resorted to the Gal-
apagos group, as well as tarrying at Cocos, is a mat-
ter of record. Of the former islands, Captain Col-
net who touched there in 1793, wrote : 7
"This isle appears to have been a favorite resort
of the buccaneers as we found seats made by them
of stone and earth, and a considerable number of
broken jars scattered about, and some whole, in
which the Peruvian wine and liquors of the country
are preserved. We also found daggers, nails and
other implements. The watering-place of the buc-
caneers was at this time entirely dried up, and there
was only found a small rivulet between two hills, run-
ning into the sea, the northernmost of which hills
forms the south point of Fresh Water Bay. There
is plenty of wood, but that near the shore is not large
enough for other use than firewood."
The buccaneers of other voyages than these may
have landed at Cocos Island to leave their treasure.
Heaven knows they found plenty of it in those
waters. There was Captain Bartholomew Sharp,
for example, with whom Dampier had sailed several
years before. He took a Guayaquil ship called the
San Pedro off Panama, and aboard her found nearly
forty thousand pieces of eight, besides silver, silver
bars and ingots of gold, and a little later captured
T Colnet's "Voyage to the Pacific,"
278 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
the tall galleon Rosario, the richest prize ever
boarded by the buccaneers. She had many chests
of pieces of eight, and a quantity of wine and brandy.
Down in her hold, bar upon bar, "were 700 pigs of
plate," rough silver from the mines, not yet made
ready for the Lima mint. The pirates thought this
crude silver was tin, and so left it where it lay, in
the hold of the Rosario, "which we turned away
loose into the sea," 8 with the precious stuff aboard
her. One pig of the seven hundred was taken aboard
the Trinity of Captain Sharp "to make bullets of."
About two-thirds of it was "melted and squan-
dered," but a fragment remained when the ship
touched at Antigua, homeward bound, and was given
to a "Bristol man" in exchange for a drink of rum.
He sold it in England for seventy-five pounds ster-
ling.
"Thus," says Basil Bingrose, "we parted with the
richest booty we got on the whole voyage." Cap-
tain Bartholomew Sharp may have been thinking of
something else than the cargo of silver, for aboard
the Rosario was a woman, "the beautifullest Crea-
ture that his Eyes had ever beheld, ' ' while Eingrose
calls her "the most beautiful woman that I ever saw
in the South Seas."
Of these wild crews that flung away their lives and
their treasure to enrich romance and tradition, it has
been said:
' ' They were of that old breed of rover whose port
lay always a little farther on; a little beyond the
sky-line. Their concern was not to preserve life, but
rather to squander it away; to fling it, like so much
oil, into the fire, for the pleasure of going up in a
blaze. If they lived riotously, let it be urged in their
s Esquemeling.
THE LURE OF COCOS ISLAND 279
favor that at least they lived. They lived their
vision. They were ready to die for what they be-
lieved to be worth doing. We think them terrible.
Life itself is terrible. But life was not terrible to
them, for they were comrades; and comrades and
brothers-in-arms are stronger than life. Those who
live at home at ease may condemn them. The old
buccaneers were happier than they. The buccaneers
had comrades and the strength to lead their own
lives." 9
This stout old breed had long since vanished when
Cocos Island once more became the theater of buried
treasure legend. The versions of this latter story
agree in the essential particular that it was Captain
Thompson of the merchant brig Mary Dear who stole
the twelve million dollars ' worth of plate, jewels, and
gold coin which had been entrusted to him by the
Spanish residents of Lima in 1820, and buried them
on Cocos Island. Then, after he had joined the
crew of the pirate, Benito Bonito, and somehow man-
aged to escape alive when that enterprising gentle-
man came to grief, he tried to return to Cocos Island
to recover the fabulous treasure.
The account of his later wanderings and adven-
tures, as handed down in its most trustworthy form,
has been the inspiration of several modern treas-
ure-seeking expeditions. It is related that a native
of Newfoundland, Keating by name, while sailing
from England in 1844, met a man of middle age,
"handsome in appearance and having about him
something of an air of mystery which had an attrac-
tion of its own." This was, of course, none other
than Captain Thompson of the Mary Dear. He be-
came friendly with Keating and when they landed
"On the Spanish Main," by John Masefield.
280 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
at Newfoundland, the latter asked him to accept the
hospitality of his home. The stranger, who ap-
peared anxious to avoid public notice, remained for
some time with Keating, and wishing to make some
return for his kindness, at length confided that he
was one of the two survivors of Benito Bonito's
crew, and possessed a secret which would make them
immensely rich. If Keating could persuade one of
the merchants of Newfoundland to fit out a vessel,
they would sail to the Pacific and fetch home enough
treasure to buy the whole island.
Keating believed the strange tale and passed it
on to a ship-owner who agreed to furnish a vessel
provided one Captain Bogue should go in command
of the expedition. While preparations were under
way, Thompson was inconsiderate enough to die, but
it goes without saying that he left a map carefully
marked with crosses and bearings. Keating and
Bogue set sail with this precious document, and after
a long and tedious voyage into the Pacific, they cast
anchor off Cocos Island.
There the brace of adventurers were rowed ashore,
leaving the vessel in charge of the mate. Captain
Thompson's directions were found to be accurate,
and a cave was discovered and in it a dazzling store
of treasure to make an honest sailor-man rub his
eyes and stagger in his tracks. Keating and Bogue
decided that the secret must be withheld from the
crew at all hazards, but their excitement betrayed
them and all hands clamored that they must be given
shares of the booty. Keating protested that a di-
vision should not be made until they had returned
to their home port and the owner of the ship had
been given the greater part which belonged to him
by rights.
Treasure-seekers digging on Cocos Island.
Christian Cruse, the hermit treasure-seeker of Cocos Island.
THE LURE OF COCOS ISLAND 281
A mutiny flared up, and the mate and the men
went ashore, leaving Keating and Bogue marooned
on board, but the search was bootless for lack of di-
rections. They returned to the ship in a very savage
temper indeed and swore to kill the two leaders un-
less they should tell them how to find the cave.
Promising to show the way on the morrow, Keating
and Bogue slipped ashore in a whale-boat that night,
planning to take all the treasure they could carry
and hoping to find opportunity to secrete it on ship-
board.
This program was spoiled by a tragedy. While
trying to get back to the ship through the heavy surf
that roared on the beach, the boat was upset. Bogue,
heavily ballasted with treasure, went to the bottom
like a plummet and was seen no more. Keating
clung to the water-logged boat which was caught in
a current and carried to sea. Two days later he was
picked up, exhausted almost unto death, by a Span-
ish schooner which put him ashore on the coast of
Costa Eica. Thence he made his way overland to
the Atlantic, and worked his passage home to New-
foundland in a trading vessel. His ship returned
with never a doubloon among the mutinous crew.
This experience seemed to have snuffed out the
ardor of Keating for treasure-seeking, and it was as
much as twenty years later that he confided the tale
to a townsman named Nicholas Fitzgerald. They
talked about fitting out another ship, but Keating up
and died in the midst of the scheming. He had mar-
ried a very young wife, and she set great store by
the chart and directions preserved as a heritage from
Captain Thompson. In 1894 she struck a partner-
ship with a Captain Hackett and they organized an
expedition which sailed for Cocos Island in a small
282 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
brig called the Aurora. This adventure amounted
to nothing. There was dissension on board, the voy-
age was longer than expected, provisions fell short,
and the Aurora jogged homeward without sighting
the treasure island.
Meanwhile other explorers had been busy. A
German, Von Bremer, spent several thousand dol-
lars in excavating and tunneling, but found no re-
ward. The tales of treasure also fired the brain of
a remarkable person named Gissler, who took up his
solitary residence on Cocos Island more than twenty
years ago where he has since reigned with the title
and authority of governor of the same, by virtue of
a commission duly signed, sealed, and delivered by
the republic of Costa Eica. As a persistent and in-
dustrious treasure-hunter, this tropical hermit is
unique.
He was visited in 1896 by Captain Shrapnel of
H. M. S. Haughty who had heard the stories of
Thompson and Benito Bonito along the coastwise
ports. By way of giving his blue-jackets some-
thing to do, he landed a party three hundred strong
on Cocos Island whose landscape they vainly blasted
and otherwise disarranged for several days, but
without success. The Admiralty lacked imagination
and reprimanded Captain Shrapnel for his enterpris-
ing break in the dull routine of duty. It was decreed
that no more naval vessels were to touch at Cocos
Island on any pretext whatever.
This by no means discouraged Captain Shrapnel
who waited until it was permissible for him to ap-
ply for leave of absence. In England he found gen-
tlemen adventurers sufficient to finance an expedi-
tion which sailed in the Lytton in 1903. Of this
party was Hervey de Montmorency, whose account
THE LURE OF COCOS ISLAND 283
of the venture includes the following informa-
tion:
"On the ninth of August, at four o'clock in the
morning, every treasure-seeker was on deck strain-
ing his eyes to penetrate the mist and darkness;
then as the sun rose, the gray mass on the horizon
turned to green, and Cocos Island, with its lofty
wooded peak, its abrupt, cliff-like shores, its in-
numerable cascades of sparkling water, was dis-
played to eager and admiring eyes.
"The anchor was dropped in the little bay, and
at the splash, flocks of birds rose screaming and
circling overhead. The sandy beach on which the
seekers landed is strewn with boulders, on each of
which is carved the name and business of some ves-
sel which has called at Cocos. Some of the dates
carry one back to Nelson's time; and all sorts of
ships seem to have visited the lonely little island,
while many a boulder testified to blighted hopes and
fruitless errands after treasure.
"Captain Shrapnel's party set to work with the
highest expectation. No previous expedition had
been so well furnished with clues. Once on the right
track, it seemed impossible that they should fail.
They searched for ten days, encouraged now by the
finding of the broken arm of a battered cross
brought from some Peruvian church, again by a
glimpse into what promised falsely to be a treasure
cave; but all blasting, digging, and damming of
streams proved useless. Captain Shrapnel at last
called a council of war, and declared his opinion that
the search was hopeless; landslips, previous exca-
vations, and the torrential rains of this tropical
region had so entirely altered the face of the island
that clues and directions were of little avail, nor did
284 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
their agreement with the owners of the Lytton per-
mit of a longer stay on Cocos.
"We did not leave the island, however, without
paying a visit to its governor, Gissler, whose little
settlement is on Wafer Bay. Bounding the head-
land from Chatham Bay, we came into the quiet
little nook where he has made his home, and he at
once waded out in the surf to greet the visitors,
a tall, bronzed man, with a long, gray beard reaching
below his waist, and deep-set eyes which gazed with
obvious suspicion. Gissler had learned to distrust
the coming of strangers, who have paid small regard
to his rights, pillaging his crops, killing his live-
stock, and even making free with his home.
"Beassured by Captain Shrapnel's party that he
had nothing to fear from them, he invited them to
his house and clearing, and told them of his long
and lonely hunt for the pirate's treasure. When
he first went to live on Cocos, he found many traces
of the freebooters. There were traces of their old
camps, with thirty-two stone steps leading to a cave,
old fire-places, rusty pots and arms, and empty bot-
tles to mark the scene of their carousing. He had
found only one gold coin, a doubloon of the time of
Charles III of Spain, bearing the date of 1788."
In 1901, a company was formed in Vancouver,
with a capital of $10,000, to fit out an expedition for
Cocos Island. Gissler got wind of this project and
formally addressed the government of Costa Bica
in these written words :
"Allow me to inform you that no company with
any such intent would have the right to land on
Cocos Island, as I hold a concession from the author-
ities of Costa Bica in regard to the said treasure, in
which concession the Costa Bica government has
THE LUBE OF COCOS ISLAND 285
an interest. Certainly anything that might be under-
taken by such a company from Vancouver would
amount to naught without my consent."
This protest was paid due heed, but two years
later, an Englishman, Claude Robert Guiness, per-
suaded the officials of Costa Rica to listen kindly
to his plea, and he was granted the right to explore
the island for two years. Gissler stood by his guns,
drew up a list of grievances, and sailed for the main-
land in a small boat to assert his rights to his king-
dom. At that time, a wealthy British naval officer,
Lord Fitzwilliam, was bound out to Cocos Island
in his own steam yacht with a costly equipment of
machinery and a heavy crew to find the treasure. He
found poor Gissler in a Costa Rican port, became
interested in his wrongs, and promptly supported his
claims. An English nobleman with surplus wealth
is a person to wield influence in the councils of a
Central American republic and Gissler was pacified
and given a renewal of his documentary rights as
governor and population of Cocos Island.
Lord Fitzwilliam took him on board the yacht and
in this dignified fashion Gissler returned to this
kingdom. He earned his passage by telling his own
version of the treasure, as he had culled and revised
it from various sources, and his bill of particulars
was something to gloat over, including as it did such
dazzling bits of narrative as this :
"Besides the treasure buried by Captain Thomp-
son, there was vast wealth left on Cocos by Benito
Bonito himself. He captured a treasure galleon off
the coast of Peru and took two other vessels laden
with riches sent out from Mexico at the outbreak of
the revolution against the Spaniards. On Cocos he
buried three hundred thousand pounds' weight of
286 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
silver and silver dollars, in a sandstone cave in the
side of the mountain. Then he laid kegs of powder
on top of the cave and blew away the face of the
cliff. In another excavation he placed gold bricks,
733 of them, four by three inches in size, and two
inches thick, and 273 gold-hilted swords, inlaid with
jewels. On a bit of land in the little river, he buried
several iron kettles filled with gold coin."
Lord Fitzwilliam and his yacht arrived at Cocos
in December of 1904, and the party of laborers fell
to with prodigious zest. While they were making
the dirt fly, another English expedition, commanded
by Arnold Gray, hove in sight, and proceeded to
begin excavating at inconveniently close range. In
fact, both parties were cocksure that the lost cave
was located in one spot beneath a great mass of
debris that had tumbled down from the overhanging
height. The inevitable result was that a pretty quar-
rel arose. Neither force would yield its ground.
Inasmuch as both were using dynamite rather lav-
ishly, treasure hunting became as dangerous as war.
When the rival expeditions were not dodging the
rocks that were sent hurtling by the blasting, they
were using bad language, the one accusing the other
of effacing its landmarks and playing hob with its
clues.
The climax was a pitched battle in which heads
were broken and considerable blood spilt. It is al-
most needless to observe that no treasure was found.
Lord Fitzwilliam sailed home in his yacht and found
that the news of his escapade had aroused the dis-
pleasure of the naval authorities, after which he lost
all zest for finding buried treasure.
Since then, hardly a year has passed but an ex-
pedition or two for Cocos Island has been in the
THE LURE OF COCOS ISLAND 287
wind. In 1906, a company organized in Seattle is-
sued an elaborate printed prospectus, offering shares
in a venture to sail in a retired pilot schooner, and
recounting all the old tales of Captain Thompson,
Benito Bonito, and Keating. At about the same
time, a wealthy woman of Boston, after a summer
visit to Newfoundland, was seized with enthusiasm
for a romantic speculation and talked of finding a
ship and crew. San Francisco has beheld more than
one schooner slide out through the Golden Gate in
quest of Cocos Island.
To enumerate these ventures and describe them
in detail would make a tiresome catalogue of the
names of vessels and adventurous men with the treas-
ure bee in their bonnets. Charts and genuine in-
formation are no longer necessary to one of these ex-
peditions. Cocos Island is under such a spell as
has set a multitude to digging for the treasure of
Captain Kidd. The gold is there, this is taken for
granted, and no questions are asked. The island was
long a haunt of buccaneers and pirates, this much is
certain, and who ever heard of a true pirate of
romance who knew his business that did not em-
ploy his spare time in * l a-burying of his treasure 7 ' '
CHAPTER XI
THE MYSTERY OP THE LUTINE FEIGATE
HARBORED in the stately edifice of the Eoyal Ex-
change, down in the heart of London City, is that
ancient and powerful corporation known to seafar-
ing men the world over as Lloyd's. Its chief busi-
ness is the underwriting of maritime insurance
risks and its word is law wherever fly the house-flags
of merchant shipping. More than two hundred
years ago, one Edward Lloyd kept a coffeehouse in
Tower Street, a thoroughfare between Wapping and
the Thames side of the city, and because of its con-
venient situation the place became a popular resort
for sea captains, underwriters, and insurance brok-
ers who discussed such important matters as ar-
rivals in port, wrecks, missing ships, and rumors
of war.
In time Lloyd's coffeehouse was recognized as a
sort of unofficial headquarters for this special variety
of insurance speculation, and the gentlemen most
active there drifted into a loosely formed organiza-
tion for the purpose of making the business less
hazardous. In 1773, this association of underwrit-
ers moved into the Eoyal Exchange, taking the name
of Lloyd's, and later appointed a governing body
or committee to control the more adventurous spirits
who were fond of gambling on the chances of war, on
the length of Napoleon's life, and who would under-
take to insure a man against the risk of twins in his
288
MYSTERY OF THE LUTINE FRIGATE 289
family. From this beginning grew the vastly influ-
ential and highly organized Lloyd's of the present
day which is something more than a corporation.
It is also an aggregation of individual underwrit-
ers and brokers carrying on business, each for his
own personal profit and on the strength of his good
name and resources. As a corporation, Lloyd's has
no financial liability in the event of the failure of
any of its members or subscribers.
All that Lloyd's does, in its corporate capacity,
is to permit the admission only of men of stability
and sound repute by means of stringent tests, and
to exact a money guarantee or deposit from its mem-
bers in the sum of 5000 or 6000, together with
entrance fees of 400, and annual fees of twenty
guineas. These payments form what may be called
a reserve fund, and the individual underwriter
writes his own policies. If the risk is heavier
than he wishes to assume he divides it among his
fellows.
There are few more interesting places in London
than Lloyd's, encrusted as it is with the barnacles
of conservative tradition, and hedged about with all
the exclusiveness of a club. The entrance is guarded
by a burly porter gorgeously arrayed in the scarlet
robes and gold-banded hat of a by-gone century.
Having run the gauntlet of this dragon, one is likely
to seek the underwriter's room where hundreds of
members and their clerks are quartered at rows of
little desks or "boxes," every man of them with his
hat clapped on his head as decreed by ancient custom.
There is always a crowd of them around the "Ar-
rival Book" and the "Loss Book" in which are
posted the movements of vessels in every port of
the world, and the wrecks that number three thou-
290 THE BOOK OF. BURIED TREASURE
sand every year. The famous " Captains' Boom"
where the mariners used to gather and swap briny
yarns is now used for the prosaic purposes of
luncheon and for the auction sales of ships.
In the two large and handsome rooms used by the
secretary and by the committee of Lloyd's are many
interesting relics of the earlier history of this body.
Here is the oldest policy known to the annals of
maritime insurance, a faded document issued on
January 20, 1680, for 1200 on a ship, the Golden
Fleece, and her cargo, on a voyage from Lisbon to
Venice, at 4 per cent, premium. Hanging on these
walls are also a policy written on the life of Napo-
leon, and an autograph letter from the Duke of
Wellington as Warden of the Cinque Ports.
The most conspicuous furnishings of the Com-
mittee Boom are a huge table, highly polished, of
dark wood, a magnificently carved arm chair, and
a ship's bell. The table bears a silver plate in-
scribed as follows :
H.B.M. Ship La Lutine.
32 Gun Frigate
Commanded by Captain Lancelot Skynner, R.N.
Sailed from Yarmouth Roads
On the morning of the 9th October, 1799 with a large
amount of specie on board,
And was wrecked off the Island of Vlieland the same night,
When all on board were lost except one man.
The rudder of which this table was made and the rud-
der chain and the bell which the table supports, were re-
covered from the wreck of the ill-fated vessel, in the year
1859, together with a part of the specie, which is now in
custody of The Committee for managing the affairs of
Lloyd's,"
MYSTERY OF THE LUTINE FRIGATE 291
The chair has a similar inscription, and these
pieces of furniture serve to remind the visitor that
Lloyd's has a lost treasure story of its own. The
flavor of piracy is lacking, true enough, but the
tragedy of the Lutine frigate possessed mystery and
romance nevertheless, and is worthy of a place in
such a book as this. As the owner of a treasure lost
more than a century ago, the corporation of Lloyd's
still considers the frigate a possible asset, and as re-
cently as May 31, 1910, Captain E. F. Inglefield,
the Secretary of Lloyd's wrote the author as fol-
lows:
"Various attempts have been made, with the sanc-
tion of Lloyd's, to recover further treasure, but it
was not until 1886, when steam suction dredgers
were first employed, that any results worthy of no-
tice were obtained. A number of coins and other
relics to the value of about 700 were obtained.
"In 1886, also, two guns were recovered from
the wreck, one of which, after being suitably
mounted on a naval gun carriage, was presented by
Lloyd's to the Corporation of London and has been
placed in the Museum at the Guildhall. The other
was graciously accepted by Her Late Majesty Queen
Victoria, and was forwarded to Windsor Castle.
"In 1891, a few coins of small value were recov-
ered. Since that date, operations have been contin-
ued at various times by salvors under agreement
with Lloyd 's, but nothing of intrinsic value has since
been obtained. In 1896, a cannon which was after-
wards presented to H. M. Queen Wilhelmina of Hol-
land by the Committee of Lloyds, was found together
with some small pieces of the wreck, etc.
"In 1898, some timber weighing about two hun-
dred weight was recovered from the wreck, and was
292 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
presented to the Liverpool Underwriters' Associa-
tion, whose Chairman, Mr. S. Cross, had a chair
made from the wood, which he presented to that As-
sociation.
"A company which was formed for the purpose of
continuing operations has made efforts at various
times, but the site is extremely exposed and owing to
bad weather, it has often been found impossible to
continue dredging operations for more than a few
days each year. I trust the above information may
be of service to you, but I may add that I understand
that it is this year intended to operate with some
new apparatus."
Some light was thrown on this latest enterprise
by the publication of the following in a recent issue
of Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper of London:
"SEA TREASURE GETTER.
NOVEL MACHINE TO BE USED FOR RAISING SUNKEN WEALTH.
"An extraordinary machine was towed to the mouth of
the River Colne, off Brightlingsea, and anchored on Thurs-
day. It is to be used in a final attempt to recover 500,000
treasure of gold, in coins and bars, which is said to have
gone down in H. M. S. Lutine in 1797 near the island of
Terschelling, off the coast of Holland.
"A portion of the treasure has been recovered, but the
ordinary dredging plant is now useless, as the vessel has
sunk into the sand. The new device is a great steel tube
nearly 100 ft. in length, and wide enough to allow a man
to walk erect down its centre. At one end is a metal
chamber provided with windows and doors, and at the other
a medley of giant hooks and other tackle.
"The apparatus has just been completed, after years
of work, by Messers. Forrest and Co., shipbuilders, in
their Wyvenhoe yard. One end of the tube, it is explained,
MYSTERY OF THE LUTINE FRIGATE 293
will be clamped to the side of a steamship or barge. The
other end, by means of water-ballast tanks, will be sunk
until it touches the bottom. Then, by means of com-
pressed air, all the water will be forced from the tube and
also from the chamber at the bottom of it, which will be
flush upon the bed of the sea.
"Divers will walk down a stairway in the centre of the
tube until they reach the submerged chamber. Here they
will don their diving costumes, and, opening a series of
water-tight doors, will step out into the water. Engineers
will be stationed in the chamber, and, following the in-
structions of the divers, who will communicate with them
by means of portable telephones, they will operate the
mechanism of two powerful suction pumps, or dredges,
which are fitted to the sides of the tube.
"These dredges, it is hoped, will suck away the sand
around the sides of the heavy chamber until it gradually
sinks by its own weight right down on to the deck of the
wrecked ship. Then the divers, making their way from
the chamber to the deck of the ship, and thence to the
hold, will be able to transfer the treasure from the ship to
the chamber by easy stages."
How Lloyd's happens to own a treasure frigate
of the English navy, lost more than a century ago, is
explained in the following narrative, many of the
facts of which were found in "The History of
Lloyd's and of Marine Insurance in Great Britain,"
by Frederick Martin, a work now out of print. 1
On October 19, 1799, the Gentleman's Magazine of
London contained this news :
11 Intelligence was this day received at the Ad-
1 "The particulars concerning the Lutine which you have obtained
from Martin's 'History of Lloyd's,' can, I think, be considered as
accurate, as I believe Mr. Martin had full means of access to any
documents which were available at Lloyd's or elsewhere in con-
nection wit'u this matter." (Note from Captain Inglefield, Secretary
of Lloyd's, to the author.)
294 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
miralty from Admiral Mitchell, communicating the
total loss of La Lutine, of 32 guns, Captain Skyn-
ner, on the outward bank of the Fly Island Passage,
on the night of the 9th inst., in a heavy gale at
N. N. W. La Lutine, had on the same morning,
sailed from Yarmouth Eoads with several passen-
gers, and an immense quantity of treasure for the
Texel ; but a strong lee-tide rendered every effort of
Captain Skynner to avoid the threatened danger
unavailable, and it was alike impossible during the
night to receive any assistance, either from the
Arrow, Captain Portlock, which was in company, or
from the shore, from whence several showts were
in readiness to go to her. When the dawn broke,
La Lutine was in vain looked for; she had gone to
pieces, and all on board unfortunately perished, ex-
cept two men who were picked up, and one of whom
has since died from the fatigue he has encountered.
The survivor is Mr. Shabrack, a notary public. In
the annals of our naval history there has scarcely
ever happened a loss attended with so much calamity,
both of a public as well as a private nature."
In almost all the accounts of the wreck of the
Lutine it is stated as a fact that the frigate was
bound to the Texel, and that the bullion and treasure
she carried, and which was lost in her, was designed
for the payment of the British forces in the Nether-
lands. Both statements are without foundation, as
proved by a careful search in the archives of the Ad-
miralty. These official records show that the
Lutine was under orders to sail, not to the Texel,
but to the river Elbe, her destination being Ham-
burg, and that the treasure on board was not the
property of the British government, but of a number
of London merchants connected with Lloyd's, and
MYSTERY OF THE LUTINE FRIGATE 295
that the business of sending the coin and bullion was
purely commercial.
The records wholly fail to explain how it happened
that, sailing for the mouth of the Elbe, the Lutine
commanded by an able and experienced officer, and
in all respects well manned and found, came to be
driven, within eighteen hours after leaving Yarmouth
Eoads, upon the dangerous shoals of the Zuyder
Zee, far out of her course, even when every allow-
ance is made for the strength of a northwesterly
gale.
Another mystery of the voyage of this thirty-two
gun frigate of the royal navy is her employment as
a mere packet, carrying cash and bullion for the bene-
fit of private individuals. The officer responsible
for sending the Lutine on this unusual errand was
Admiral Lord Duncan who "received a pressing in-
vitation from some merchants to convey a quantity
of bullion." It was his first intention to dispatch
a cutter, but the treasure given in his care was
swelled by larger amounts until its total value was
1,175,000 or more than five and a half million dol-
lars. The admiral thereupon discarded the cutter
and selected instead the swift and staunch Lutine
frigate, one of the best vessels of his fleet. On Octo-
ber 9, he wrote to the Admiralty from on board his
flagship, the Kent, in Yarmouth Roads :
"The merchants interested in making remittances
to the continent for the support of their credit, hav-
ing made application to me for a King's ship to
carry over a considerable sum of money, on account
of there being no Packet for that purpose, I have com-
plied with their request, and ordered the Lutine
to Cuxhaven with the same, together with the mails
lying there for want of conveyance; directing Cap-
296 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
tain Skynner to proceed to Stromness immediately
after doing so, to take under his protection the Hud-
son's Bay's ships and see them in safety to the
Nore." When this letter was written, the Lutine
had already sailed, and before Lord Duncan's com-
munication reached the Lords of the Admiralty, the
splendid treasure laden frigate had laid her bones
on the sand banks of Holland.
Admiral Duncan appears to have escaped all cen-
sure for this disaster which followed his action taken
without consultation and without waiting for the ap-
proval of his superiors. The merchants of London
were powerful enough to command the services of
the navy, and English credit was needed on the con-
tinent to buttress English arms and statesmanship.
With her millions of treasure and hundreds of lives,
the Lutine drove straight toward as fatal a coast
to shipping as can be found anywhere in the world.
It is a coast which is neither sea nor land, strewn
with wrecks, and with somber memories even more
tragic. Where is now the entrance of the Zuyder
Zee was unbroken terra firma until the thirteenth
century when a terrible hurricane piled the North
Sea through the isthmus separating it from the
large lake called Vlies by the natives. A wide chan-
nel was cut by this inroad, and in 1287 the North
Sea scoured for itself a second inlet at the cost of
a hundred thousand human lives. Ever since then,
the channels have been multiplying and shifting un-
til what was once the coast line has become a maze
of islands and sand-banks, the Texel, Vlieland,
Terschelling, Ameland, and hundreds of lesser ones
which confuse even the mariners born and bred
among them.
With a wind which should have enabled him to give
this perilous shore a wide berth and to keep to his
course up the North Sea, Captain Skynner plunged
into a death-trap from which there was no escape.
The sole survivor could give no coherent account,
and he died while on the way to England before his
shattered nerves had mended. There was no more
frigate, and as for the hundreds of drowned sailors,
they had been obliterated as a day's work in the
business of a great navy, so the Admiralty left the
mourning to their kinfolk and bestirred itself about
that five and a half million dollars' worth of treas-
ure which the sea could not harm. Vice-Admiral
Mitchell was informed by letter that "their lordships
feel great concern at this very unfortunate acci-
dent" and he was directed to take such measures
as might be practicable for recovering the stores
of the Lutine, as well as the property on board,
"being for the benefit of the persons to whom it
belongs. ' '
The underwriters of Lloyd's with an eye to sal-
vage, were even more prompt than the Admiralty in
sending agents to the scene of the wreck. The
greater part of the immense amount of coin and
bullion had been fully insured, a transaction which
indicates the stability and ample resources of this
association as far away in time as 1799. The loss
was paid in full and with such promptitude that only
two weeks after the disaster, the Committee for
managing the concerns of Lloyd's addressed a letter
to the Secretary of the Admiralty in which was re-
quested "the favor of Mr. Nepean to lay before the
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty the informa-
tion that a sum of money, equal to that unfortunately
lost in the Lutine, is going off this night for Hambro,
and they trust their Lordships will direct such steps
298 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
as they think expedient for its protection to be
taken. ' '
The request was granted somewhat grudgingly.
Apparently the Admiralty regretted the employment
of one of its frigates as a merchantman. Admiral
Lord Duncan was directed to send a convoy this
time, but was told also "to let them know that their
lordships have done so in this particular case; but
that they must not expect the packets can again be
convoyed." With this letter ends all reference to
the Lutine and her treasure in the correspondence
preserved in the Eecord Office of the Admiralty.
Having paid their losses, like the good sportsmen
that they were, the underwriters of Lloyd's thereby
clinched their right to the ownership of the treasure,
provided they could find it. The situation was com-
plicated because England was at that time at war
with the Netherlands whose government claimed the
wreck as a prize, although inconsistently refusing
to let it be adjudicated by a prize court. On this
account, Lloyd's could make no attempt to fish for
the treasure, which delay was very much to the bene-
fit of the sturdy Dutch fishermen of the islands at
the mouth of the Zuyder Zee. The sands and the
surf held a golden harvest. The wreck of the Lu-
tine was partly exposed at low ebb tide, and a chan-
nel ran close to the side of the ship.
The clumsy fishing boats or "showts" swarmed
to the place and never was there such easy wealth
for honest Dutchmen. Their government soon put
a watch on them and took two-thirds of the findings,
giving the fishermen the remainder. They toiled in
good weather for a year and a half, and recovered
treasure to the amount of eighty-three thousand
MYSTERY OF THE LUTINE FRIGATE 299
pounds sterling. The official inventory reads like
the hoard of a buccaneer, including as it does such
romantic items as:
58 bars of gold, weight 646 Ibs. 23 ounces.
35 bars of silver, weight, 1,758 Ibs, 8 ounces.
41,697 Spanish silver pistoles.
179 Spanish gold pistoles.
81 Double Louis d'or.
138 Single Louis d'or.
4 English guineas.
At the end of the year 1801 the fishermen quit
their task, thinking they had found all the treasure.
For a dozen years the Dutch forgot the melancholy
fragments of the Lutine, while the sailors of the
desolate islands guarding the Zuyder Zee began to
weave superstitious legends around the "gold
wreck." In the midst of the crowded events of the
great war against Napoleon, England found no time
to remember the Lutine, and her memory was kept
alive only by the kinfolk of the drowned officers and
sailors.
After Napoleon had been finally disposed of, the
treasure was recalled to public notice by an ingenious
gentleman of the Netherlands, Pierre Eschauzier, a
sort of lord of the manor under the government, hold-
ing the post of "Opper Strand vender," or "Upper
Strand finder," who lived at Terschelling and took
a lively interest in the wreck. After a great deal
of investigation and cogitation, he arrived at the
conclusion that the greater part of the treasure dis-
patched from England in the Lutine was still hidden
among her timbers. His argument was based on
the fact that the bars of silver and gold already re-
covered were stamped with certain numbers and let-
300 ,THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
ters indicating series or sequences, and that thus
far these were very incomplete.
For instance, among the gold bars previously
found, were thirteen marked with the letters NB, in
three separate lots; the first numbered from 58 to
64 ; the second from 86 to 90 ; and the third from 87
to 89. Other gold bars with different letters and a
variety of numbers went to prove that there were a
hundred numbers to each letter, which would yield
a total of six hundred gold bars, of which only thirty-
one had been recovered in the years 1800 and 1801.
The government of the Netherlands was duly im-
pressed by the calculations of Mr. Eschauzier who
had proved himself such an astute "Upper Strand
finder," and he was granted a sum by royal decree
from the public exchequer to equip a salvage expe-
dition. Alas, the pretty theory was thwarted by the
implacable sands which had buried the wreck. For
seven years this indefatigable treasure seeker
dredged and dug, and found no more than a few gold
coin. Then he decided to try a diving bell, King
Willem I having bestowed upon him a more favor-
able privilege by the terms of which the salvage com-
pany was to have one-half of the treasure recovered.
The diving bell was no luckier than the dredges
had been. In fact, by this time the unstable sands
had so concealed the wreck that it could not be found.
After vainly groping for several months, the luckless
"Upper Strand finder" confessed himself beaten,
and there was nothing to show for an expenditure of
five thousand pounds sterling. These operations
had made some noise in London, however, and the
underwriters of Lloyd's remembered that they had
an interest in the wreck of the Lutine frigate. If
there was still treasure to be sought for, it belonged
MYSTERY OF THE LUTINE FRIGATE 301
to them, and the government of the Netherlands had
no claim upon it, either in law or equity.
The fact that royal decrees had been granting to
Dutchmen that which did not belong to them at all,
aroused indignation at Lloyd's, whose managing
committee was moved to address the English gov-
ernment in the matter. After a good deal of diplo-
matic palaver with The Hague, that government
made over its half share of the treasure reserved
under the treaty with ' * the Upper Strand finder ' ' to
the " British claimants." In May 6, 1823, Mr. F.
Conyngham, Secretary of the English Foreign Office,
communicated this pleasing news to Mr. William
Bell, chairman of the committee of Lloyd's in the
following letter:
"Sir:
"With reference to the several applications which have
been made to His Majesty's Government to interfere with
that of the Netherlands on behalf of the underwriters, and
others, claiming to be allowed to recover certain property
still supposed to remain on board of the Lutine Frigate,
lost off the coast of Holland in 1799, I am directed by
Mr. Secretary Canning to acquaint you, for the informa-
tion of the parties concerned, that after much negotiation
His Netherlands' Majesty has expressed his willingness to
cede to the British claimants the whole of that moiety of
the said property which by His Netherlands' Majesty's
decree of the 14th. September, 1821, was reserved for the
use of his said Majesty. The other moiety was, by the
same decree, granted in the nature of salvage to a private
company of his own subjects, who undertook to recover
the cargo at their own expense. It has been stipulated
that the British claimants shall be at liberty to concert
with the said company as to the best mode of effecting
that recovery. Considering the difficulties which the ne-
gotiation has experienced from disputed points of law,
302 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
and making due allowance for the engagements formed
with the Dutch company, who have been recognized as
salvors by the Dutch law, and would have a right to have
all services rewarded in the Courts of Holland for the
property which may be saved by their exertions, Mr. Can-
ning apprehends that it may be advisable for the claimants
in this country to agree to the offer now made. The season
for operation is now before them, and no hope could be
reasonably entertained that a renewal of the negotiation
would bring the matter to a more reasonable close."
It will be observed that diplomacy had obtained
for Lloyd's only a half -interest in its own wreck.
The other fifty per cent, still belonged to Mr.
Eschauzier's company, as King Willem was par-
ticular to make clear in his decree, dated from Het
Loo, which went on to say: ''By our Minister of
Foreign Affairs, we have offered to the King of
Great Britain to cede to his Majesty all that which
by our decree of the 14th of September, 1821, was
reserved to the Netherlands in the bottom in ques-
tion and the cargo therein, doing so solely as a proof
of our friendly feeling towards the Kingdom of
Great Britain, and in nowise from a conviction of
the right of England to any portion of the said
cargo. . . .
"We have been pleased and thought fit:
"1. To cede to His Majesty of Great Britain all
that which by our decree of the 4th September, 1821,
was reserved in favor of the kingdom relative to
the cargo of the frigate Lutine.
"2. To instruct our minister of inland affairs and
the maritime department Water Staat to give no-
tice of this our decree, as well as of the cession made
on the part of His Majesty of Great Britain to the
Society of Lloyd's, to our chancellor of state, gov-
MYSTERY OF THE LUTINE FRIGATE 303
ernor of North Holland, and to the other authorities
concerned, as well as to the participators in the
undertaking of 1821 in the Netherlands, and to in-
form them likewise that an English agent will ere
long wait upon them, in order to make all such ar-
rangements with them as may be deemed advisable
for the furtherance of their mutual interests. And
our Ministers for Inland Affairs and the Maritime
Department are charged with the carrying out of
this decree."
The members of Lloyd's were hardly better off
with the gift of one-half a wreck than they had been
with no wreck at all. Before undertaking any sal-
vage operations they must come to some kind of an
understanding with the * * Upper Strand Finder ' ' and
his partners, with respect to expenses and profits.
The Dutch, with proverbial caution, were reluctant
to scrape acquaintance with the English owners,
convinced that in some matter or other, this new
ownership in the treasure had been unfairly extorted
from their government at the Hague. It was not
until 1830, that friendly relations were established,
and in the meantime Mr. Eschauzier had died, leav-
ing his share in the treasure among his legacies.
Then negotiations were interrupted by the polit-
ical events which caused the separation of Belgium
from Holland. The people of the Netherlands
heartily hated England for her leading part in this
partition, and not even the allurement of fishing gold
out of the sea could persuade the Dutch adventurers
to have anything to do with Lloyd's or anything
that smacked of the perfidious English. For a
quarter of a century, the wreck of the Lutine was
undisturbed. Then, in 1846, two enterprising Eng-
lish divers in need of work, Hill and Downs by name,
304 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
conceived an audacious scheme to enrich themselves.
They drew up a petition to the King of the Nether-
lands, asking that they be permitted to pick up as
much gold as they could lay hands on among the
timbers of the Lutine. Surprising as was this re-
quest, it was not refused. According to custom, the
petition was carefully examined at The Hague, and
the discovery was gravely announced that there was
no legal obstacle in the way of the divers, or anyone
else, who cared to seek for the Lutine' s treasure.
One of the articles of a new code of maritime law,
passed by the States General of the Netherlands in
1838, provided that the salvage of vessels wrecked
* ' on the outer banks of the coast, ' ' was thrown open
to all persons, under stipulated conditions, and that
the wreck of the Lutine came within this act. The
government formally notified Hill and Downs that
while the right of salvage could not be granted to
any particular person, the ground was free on con-
dition that ' ' one-half of all that might be found must
be given up to Lloyd's."
The divers may have found some other employ-
ment by this time, for they appeared not at the
wreck, but the publication of the proceedings awoke
the old Dutch company formed by the "Upper
Strand Finder" and they opened negotiations with
the committee of Lloyd's. No one concerned seemed
to be in a hurry to find the several million dollars
remaining in the Lutine and nine more years
dragged past before a working agreement was
signed between the two parties. The Dutch com-
pany undertook to carry on the work of salvage,
paying over one-half the gross proceeds to Lloyd's.
It was in 1857 that the Dutch went to work, and
after a month of exploration the Secretary of
MYSTERY OF THE LUTINE FRIGATE 305
Lloyd's received this pleasing information from his
agent at the Texel :
"I feel most happy to inform you that the new
efforts to save the value out of the Lutine have not
been without success. Yesterday there was re-
covered by means of divers and pincers, 13 silver
coins, being Spanish piastres, 1 gold Louis d'or, 5
brass hoops and casks, and a quantity of cannon
and shot.
"Considering the value of the saved objects, it
may not be of much signification; but the salvage
itself is of very great importance, as it proves two
facts, namely, first, that the wreck of the Lutine has
really been found, and secondly, that there is specie
still in the wreck. As soon as anything more is
picked up, I will inform you immediately thereof.
Be assured, I have taken the necessary steps to se-
cure the interests of Lloyd's committee, as owners
of the treasure, which we hope may entirely be
saved."
A little later, the wreck was found to be very little
scattered and its precise location was determined.
The news of the discovered "gold wreck" spread
among the fishermen of the Zuyder Zee and the
German Ocean and they winged it to the scene until
"there were sixty-eight large and well manned
boats in the immediate neighborhood looking for
plunder." At this threatening mobilization, the
Dutch government thought it wise to send a gun-
boat with a party of soldiers on board.
In the summer of 1858, the divers brought to the
surface the bell of the frigate, which now rests in
the committee room of Lloyd 's with the other relics.
The Lutine had been one of the crack ships of the
French navy and was captured by Admiral Duncan,
306 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
he who sent her to her doom. The bell bears on its
bronze side the royal crown and arms of Bour-
bon, and on the rim the name of "Saint Jean" un-
der whose protection the ship and her crew had been
placed when she was launched as a fighting frigate
of His Majesty, Louis XVI of France.
The treasure seeking was continued for several
years, whenever the treacherous sea permitted, until,
at length, a great gale out of the northwest closed
the channel near the wreck and covered her deeper
under the sands. The work was finally abandoned
by these salvors in 1861. They had forwarded to
England for the benefit of Lloyd's a total amount of
22,162, to show that the undertaking had been
worth while. In the Act of Incorporation of Lloyd's
granted by Parliament in 1871, the treasure re-
covered, as well as that still left in the wreck, was
carefully referred to, and it was stated that ''the
Society may from time to time do, or join in doing
all such lawful things as they think expedient, with
a view to further salving from the wreck of the
Lutine."
It seems rather extraordinary that the exact
amount of the treasure lost in the frigate should
be a matter of conjecture, and that the records of
Lloyd's throw no light on this point. The explana-
tion is that only part of the precious cargo was in-
sured by the underwriters then doing business in
the Royal Exchange building, and that a large
amount of gold coin and bullion was hastily for-
warded to the Lutine by divers bankers and mer-
chants shortly before sailing. The records of these
consignments were, of course, scattered and have
long since been lost.
MYSTERY OF THE LUTINE FRIGATE 307
The total amount lost has been quite accurately
calculated by employing the system of accounting
devised by the "Upper Strand Finder." His
theory was verified by later undertakings at the
wreck, and the sequences of letters and numbers
stamped upon the gold and silver bars were found
to run in regular order, so that it has been latterly
assumed that, in all, one thousand of these were in
the ship's hold. The figures accepted by the Dutch
partners in the enterprise, and endorsed by Mr.
John Mavor Hill, the agent of Lloyd's at Amster-
dam, were as follows:
Salvage in the years 1800 and 1801 55,770
" " " 1857 and 1858 39,203
" " " 1859 to 1861 4,920
Total salvage 99,893
Total treasure estimated to have been lost 1,175,000
Treasure remaining in the wreck 1,076,107
It is plausible to assume, therefore, that more
than five million dollars in gold and silver are still
buried in the sands of the island beach at the en-
trance of the Zuyder Zee, and that at any time
strong gales and shifting currents may once more
uncover the bones of the ill-fated Lutine frigate.
The members of Lloyd's are daily reminded, by the
presence of the massive oaken table and chair and
the silent ship's bell in the Committee Boom, of the
princely fortune that is theirs, if they can find it.
The story is a romance of maritime insurance, and
the end has not yet been written, for with modern
308 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
equipment and ingenuity those gold and silver bars,
Spanish pistoles, and Louis d'or may some day be
carried up the staircase of Lloyd's to enrich a cor-
poration of tiie twentieth century.
CHAPTER XII
THE TOILERS OF THE THETIS
THE Lutine was not the only treasure-laden frig-
ate lost by the British navy. The circumstances of
the wreck of the Thetis in 1830 are notable, not so
much for the gold and silver that went down in her,
as for the heroic courage and bulldog persistence of
the men who toiled to recover the treasure. Their
battle against odds was an epic in the annals of sal-
vage. They were treasure-seekers whose deeds, for-
gotten by this generation, and grudgingly rewarded
by their own, were highly worthy of the best tradi-
tions of their flag and their race.
On the morning of December 4th of the year men-
tioned, the forty-six gun frigate Thetis, with a com-
plement of three hundred men, sailed from Bio
Janeiro, homeward bound. As a favor to various
merchants of the South American coast who were
fearful of the pirates that still lurked in the West
Indies, her captain had taken on board for consign-
ment to London, a total amount of $810,000 in gold
and silver bars. During the evening of the second
night at sea, the ship was running at ten and a half
knots, with studding-sails set, and plenty of offing,
by the reckoning of the deck officers. The look-
out stationed on the cat-head had no more than bel-
lowed "Breakers under the bow!" when his comrade
echoed it with, "Rocks above the mast-head."
An instant later, the soaring bowsprit of the frig-
309
310 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
ate splintered with, a tremendous crash against the
sheer cliffs of Cape Frio. The charging vessel
fetched up all standing. Her hull had not touched
bottom and there was nothing to check her enormous
momentum. In a twinkling, literally in the space of
a few seconds, her three masts were ripped out and
fell on deck with all their hamper, killing and wound-
ing many of the crew. Instead of that most beauti-
ful sight in all the world, a ship under full sail and
running free, there was a helpless hulk pounding out
her life against the perpendicular wall of rock. The
catastrophe befell so suddenly that when Captain
Burgess rushed from his cabin at the warning shout,
the masts tumbled just as he reached the quarter-
deck.
"No description can realize the awful state of the
ill-fated ship and all on board at this appalling
moment; the night was rainy and so dark that it
was impossible to ascertain their position, beyond
the fact of their being repeatedly driven with tre-
mendous force against cliffs of a stupendous height
above them, and consequently inaccessible, and not
offering the slightest chance of escape; the upper
deck of the ship, the only part in which exertion
could be useful, was completely choked up with
masts, sails, and rigging, which presented obstacles
that rendered unavailing every attempt at active ex-
ertion; while the ears of all, who were of course
using their utmost endeavors for the general safety,
were pierced by the cries of the dying and wounded
for the assistance which the imperious calls of duty
forbade them to give. Nothing but inevitable de-
struction presented itself to all on board ; and their
perfectly helpless state rendered all deliberation
useless; and indeed there was no choice of meas-
THE TOILERS OF THE THETIS 311
ures, no point on which to offer an opinion, and they
could only await such means as Providence might
present." *
As by a miracle, the bowsprit and yard-arms had
so checked the speed of the frigate, acting as a sort
of buffer, that her hull was not smashed like an egg-
shell but was found to be fairly tight. All of the
boats had been smashed by the falling spars, and
the wretched company could only hang fast and pray
that the wreck might float until daylight. But the
hammering seas soon caused her to leak through
yawning seams, and despairing of keeping her from
sinking, a few of the crew managed to reach a shelv-
ing projection of rock about twenty feet above the
deck. It was a forlorn hope, so perilous to attempt
that many of those who scrambled for a foothold fell
between the ship and the cliff and were drowned
or crushed to death.
Presently the hulk swung away from the face of
the cliff and was driven a distance of a third of a
mile along the coast and into a tiny cove or notch in
the bold headlands of Cape Frio. Here she re-
mained, now sinking very fast. The party who had
succeeded in making a landing on the ledge clawed
their way to the rescue, following the drifting ship,
and with the hardihood and agility of British tars
of the old breed, they made their way down the de-
clivity like so many cats and succeeded in making
fast to a rope thrown by their comrades on board.
By this means, several men had been hauled to
i The matter quoted in this chapter is from the privately printed
account by Captain Dickinson (London, 1836), entitled, "A Nar-
rative of the Operations for the Recovery of the Public Stores and
Treasure sunk in H.M.S. Thetis, at Cape Frio on the coast of Brazil,
on the Fifth December, 1830, to which is prefixed a Concise Account
of the Loss of that Ship."
312 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
safety when the dying frigate lurched wildly and
parted the hawser.
It was discovered that she now rested on the bot-
tom. Part of the port bulwark, the hammock-net-
tings, the taffrail, and the stumps of the masts
remained above water, and to these the crew clung
while the surf roared over their heads and threat-
ened to tear them away. The situation was now
hopeless, indeed, but all left alive on board were
saved by the daring and strength of one man, Boat-
swain Geach. He fought his way through the break-
ers to the stump of the bowsprit, lashed himself
there, and succeeded in passing a line to his com-
rades on shore. A strong rope was then hauled up
and one by one the men on board were slung to
safety upon the cliffs. Almost all the survivors
were dreadfully bruised and lacerated.
"When the news reached Bio Janeiro, the British
sloop-of-war Lightning was in that port, and her
commander, Captain Thomas Dickinson, was the sort
of man who likes nothing better than to lead a for-
lorn hope and grapple with difficulties. Said he:
"The consternation occasioned by the dreadful
catastrophe was not confined to naval persons, but
was universally felt at Bio, particularly among mer-
cantile people, since from the tenor of the letter, and
the description given by the officer who brought it,
the ship and everything she contained were consid-
ered as totally lost. The event became a matter
of general conversation; but while everyone de-
plored it, I did not hear of any who seemed disposed
to venture on an attempt to recover the property, all
appearing to consider the case as perfectly hope-
less. . . . Here was an undertaking which, if
successful, would assuredly lead to professional rep-
THE TOILERS OF THE THETIS 313
utation and fortune, but which everyone whom I
addressed on the subject thought must fail. Still,
the scarcity of the opportunities of obtaining dis-
tinction and credit, by an extraordinary act of duty,
which present themselves to officers in these piping
times of peace, offered a consideration which pre-
vailed, and I determined on making the attempt, if
I could get orders from the Commander-in-Chief to
that effect."
The admiral of the station proceeded to Cape Frio
with a squadron of five vessels, and after a careful
study of the situation of the wreck concluded that it
would be futile to try to recover any of the sunken
treasure. In the face of this verdict, Captain Dick-
inson felt reluctant to press his own views, but the
bee in his bonnet would not be denied. ''Actuated,
however, by the same feelings which had at first
prompted me to hazard the attempt, and having a
natural repugnance to receding after having, during
my inquiries, disclosed my views very freely, I was
resolved to persevere. During the absence of the
Commander-in-Chief, I constantly employed myself
in inquiring for any persons likely to assist me,
searching for implements, and obtaining all the in-
formation within my reach, and devised several in-
struments of minor importance which appeared likely
to be useful. On his return from Cape Frio, I
showed these to him, of the whole of which he ap-
proved."
Captain Dickinson could find no diving bell in
Kio, so this versatile officer proceeded to make one,
and an extraordinary contrivance it was for men
to risk their lives in at the bottom of the sea. From
H. M. S. Warspite, one of the squadron in harbor,
he obtained two iron water tanks. These were
314 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
turned over to an English mechanic named Moore,
formerly employed by the Brazilian government,
who was assisted by the carpenter of the Lightning.
Between them they fashioned the water tanks into
something that looked like a diving bell. These
capable artisans then built an air pump, and now
they were shy of hose through which to force air to
the submerged toilers.
"Being unable to find a workman in Eio Janeiro
who would undertake to make an air-tight hose," ex-
plains Captain Dickinson, "there appeared for a
time to be a stop to my preparations ; but recollect-
ing that there was a Truscott's pump on board the
Lightning, I attempted to render the hoses belong-
ing to it fit for the purpose, and to my great delight
succeeded, by first beating them hard with a broad-
faced hammer to render the texture as close as pos-
sible, then giving them a good coat of Stockholm
tar, afterwards parceling them well with new can-
vas saturated with the same material, and finally
serving them with three-yarn spun-yarns, made of
new yarns and well twisted.
"Having thus surmounted without assistance the
two most formidable difficulties that had yet pre-
sented themselves, I entertained a hope that my own
resources would prove equally available on future
occasions; and hence my confidence in ultimate suc-
cess increased, in the event of the stores and treas-
ure still remaining where the ship was lost. My
officers and crew likewise now began to feel a great
interest in all that was doing ; and their conduct and
expressions afforded me a happy presage that their
future exertions would fulfill my most sanguine ex-
pectations. ... I could not but feel that the
same encouragement was not afforded by some from
THE TOILERS OF THE THETIS 315
whom I had most reason to expect both it and assist-
ance ; for although I had now been for six weeks en-
gaged in work, drudging on in the double capacity of
carpenter and blacksmith, I had not a single volun-
tary offer by them of any article that might be use-
ful to me. Nor was the kindness of my friends very
encouraging; for they almost universally endeav-
ored to dissuade me from venturing on an enter-
prise which everyone considered hopeless; to all of
which remonstrances my only reply was, that my
mind was made up, and that I should not withdraw
from it."
The Lightning sailed to begin operations at Cape
Frio on the 24th of January, 1831, with a Brazilian
launch in tow, "and La Seine, French frigate, in
company, going to visit the place as a matter of
curiosity." At the scene of the wreck were found
the sloop of war Algerine, a schooner as tender, and
a complement from the War spite, which were en-
gaged in saving such stores and spars as had
drifted ashore. The theater of Captain Dickinson's
ambition as a treasure-seeker was hostile and for-
bidding, a coast on which it seemed impossible to
tarry except in the most favorable weather. As he
describes it, "the island of Cape Frio is about three
miles long and one in breadth, is the southeastern
extremity of Brazil, and separated from the main-
land by a narrow strait or gut about four hundred
feet broad, having very deep water in it, and
through which, the land on each side being very high,
the wind constantly rushes in heavy gusts, and a
rapid current runs. This island is entirely moun-
tainous, and nearly covered with an almost impen-
etrable forest, and the whole coast on the sea side
of it is formed by precipitous cliffs, washed by very
316 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
deep water close to the shore; and on the harbor
side, with the exception of a sandy bay, is very steep
and rugged.'*
The little notch in the seaward cliffs, into which
the frigate had been driven, was named Thetis
Cove by Captain Dickinson who explored it vainly
for traces of the wrecked hull. Either she had been
washed out into deep water, or had entirely broken
up. Two months had passed since the disaster, and
the only way of trying to find the remains of the
vessel was by means of sounding with a hand-lead
until the diving bell could be rigged. The depth of
water ranged from thirty-six to seventy feet at the
base of the cliffs.
This cove was an extraordinarily difficult place
to work in, there being no beach and the ramparts
of rock towering straight from the water to heights
of from one hundred to two hundred feet. Said
Captain Dickinson:
"On viewing this terrific place, with the knowl-
edge that at the time of the shipwreck the wind was
from the southward, I was struck with astonishment,
and it appeared quite a mystery that so great a
number of lives could have been saved; and indeed
it will never cease to be so, for that part at which
the crew landed is so difficult of access, that (even
in fine weather), after being placed by a boat on
the rock at the base, it required considerable
strength and agility, with the assistance of a man-
rope, to climb the precipitous face of the cliff; and
I am certain that in the hour of extreme peril, when
excess of exertion was called forth, there must have
been a most extraordinary display of it by a few for
the benefit of the whole."
Now, this make-shift diving bell of his had to be
THE TOILERS OF THE THETIS 317
suspended from something in order to be raised and
lowered, but neither his own ship, the Lightning,
nor any of the other vessels of the salvage fleet could
be anchored in the cove to serve the purpose be-
cause of the grave danger of being caught on a lee
shore. At first Captain Dickinson planned to
stretch a cable between the cliffs on either side of
the cove but this was found to be impracticable.
Thereupon he proceeded to fashion a huge derrick
from which the diving bell should hang like a sinker
at the end of a fishing-rod. There was no timber
on the cape that was fit to be worked up by the ship
carpenters, but these worthies, Mr. Batt of the War-
spite and Mr. Daniel Jones of the Lightning, were
not to be daunted by such a trifling matter as this.
If a derrick was needed, they were the men to make
it out of nothing.
What they did was to assemble the broken masts
and spars that had drifted ashore from the wreck
of the Thetis and patch them together into one im-
mense derrick arm which with its gear weighed as
much as forty tons. It was a masterpiece of in-
genuity and seamanship of the old-fashioned school,
such as can no longer be found in navies. This
breed of handy man at sea belonged with the van-
ished age of masts and canvas and "wooden walls. "
"Our encampment and the adjacent parts of the
island now presented a bustling, and, I flattered
myself, a rather interesting scene," wrote the
commander. "There were parties of carpenters
building the derrick, making, carrying to the selected
situations, and placing the securities for support-
ing and working it. Riggers were preparing the
gear for it, sawyers cutting wood for various pur-
poses, rope-makers making lashing and seizing stuff
318 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
from the pieces of cable crept 2 up from the bottom,
and two sets of blacksmiths at their forges ; those of
the Warspite making hoops, bolts, and nails, from
various articles which had been crept up ; and those
of the Lightning reducing the large diving bell and
constructing a smaller one ; five gangs of excavators
leveling platforms on the heights above the cove,
cutting roads to lead to them, and fixing bolts in
numerous parts of the faces of the cliffs ; some were
employed in felling trees and cutting grass for the
huts while others were building and thatching them ;
water carriers were passing to and from the pool
with breakers of water; and the officers were at-
tending to the different parties assigned to them
for their immediate guidance."
When ready to be placed in position, this derrick,
built of odds and ends, was an enormous spar one
hundred and fifty-eight feet long. To support it
over the water, elaborate devices had to be rigged
from the cliff overhead, and the whole story of this
achievement, as related by Captain Dickinson, reads
like such a masterful, almost titanic battle against
odds that it seems worth while quoting at some
length :
"We had by this time taken off thirteen feet of
the peak of the northeast cliff, and thereby made a
platform of eighty feet by sixty. On this was
placed the Lightning's capstan and four crabs 3
formed of the heels of the Thetis' s topmasts, the
Lightning's bower and stream anchors, and the store
anchor, to which was shackled the chain splicing-
tails and several lengths of the Thetis' s chain stream
cable which we had recovered, extending several
2 Dredged.
3 Portable machines used as capstans.
THE TOILERS OF THE THETIS 319
fathoms over the cliff to attach the standing parts of
the topping-lifts and guy-topping-lifts to, and pre-
serve them from chafing against the rocks. There
were also eight large bollards 4 placed in proper po-
sitions for other securities. Four other platforms,
each large enough for working a crab, were made
at appropriate parts for using the guys and guy-top-
ping lifts. The roads and paths had been cut, ex-
tending from our encampment to those platforms,
and from the one to the other of them together
amounted to the length of nearly a mile and a half.
The zig-zag path down the cliff was finished, and at
those parts of the main cliff which were inaccessible
in this manner, rope-ladders were substituted, and
thus a communication was formed with the cove at
the point where the derrick was to be stepped.
"All this being done, the large hawsers were rove
through the blocks, their purchases lashed to them,
and partially overhauled over the cliffs. The get-
ting the before-mentioned heavy articles up was
most distressingly laborious, for they were obliged
to be carried a greater part of the distance where the
surface was covered with a deep loose sand, and to
this cause may be mainly attributed a complaint of
the heart which subsequently attacked several of the
people.
"The derrick, which was now composed of twenty-
two pieces united by a great number of dowels and
bolts, thirty-four hoops, and numerous wooldings 5
of four-inch ropes, was finished on the evening of
the 7th, and the clothing fitted on, and I now had
* Strong pieces of timber placed vertically in the ground for
fastening ropes to.
6 Wrappings. Captain Kidd uses this old word in his own nar-
rative. See page 109,
320 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
arrived at a point which required much foresight
and pre-arrangement, namely, the preparation for
erecting it ; and it was necessary to weigh with cool-
ness and circumspection the mode by which this was
to be done.
"A party of about sixty of our best hands were
employed in getting the Lightning's chain and
hempen stream cables and large hawsers passed
over and around the faces of the cliffs, and the pur-
chases were sufficiently overhauled to admit of their
reaching the derrick, and the falls brought to the
capstan and crabs, ready for heaving it up. All
who are well acquainted with the character and man-
ners of sailors know that it is no easy matter to rid
them of their habitual heedlessness. I endeavored
to impress them with the need of caution, and the
almost universal answer I got was ' Never fear, sir, '
which from the fearless and careless manner in which
it was expressed, was by no means calculated to re-
move my apprehensions for their safety.
"The task we had now in hand was one of much
danger. The parties working over the cliffs were
some of them slung in bights of rope, some sup-
ported by man-ropes, some assisting each other by
joining hands, and others holding by the uncertain
tenure of a tuft of grass or a twig, while loose frag-
ments of rock, being disturbed by the gear and by
the men who were working on the upper part, were
precipitated amidst those below, while the sharp
crags lacerated the hands and feet and rendered
dodging these dangers extremely difficult. How-
ever, by great attention on the part of the officers,
and by promptitude in giving aid when required,
this very arduous part of our work was performed,
which I sincerely believe could not have been ac-
THE TOILERS OF THE THETIS 321
complished by any men in the world but British
seamen; the only accidents being some cuts in the
hands and feet, and bruises from falling stones.
"All the gear being prepared, in the evening I
arranged the distribution of my officers with their
particular parties at the capstan, crabs, purchases,
etc. The smallness of the number of hands sent
from the Warspite rendered it necessary that I
should have every working man from the Lightning;
and on this occasion she was left with only a few
convalescents to take care of her, and even the
young gentlemen 6 were obliged to give their aid at
the capstan. On the morning of the 9th, the der-
rick was launched without casualty, and while the
boats were towing it to the cove, all gear was got
ready to be attached to it the moment it arrived
at the proper position, according to the plan I had
given.
"It had to be towed for a distance of about a
mile, subject to the influence of a strong current
running westward through the gut, at once exposing
us to the two-fold danger of being driven to sea or
against the rocks. In apprehension of accident
from one or the other of these causes, I had taken
the precaution of placing bolts at several points of
the rocks, so that in case of necessity a warp might
be made fast. However, the derrick reached the
cove without disaster, and as everything depended
on promptitude of action, I had all the gear fitted to
go with toggles, which so much facilitated the rig-
ging that in one hour and a half after its arrival,
everything was in place and the Lightning's chain
stream cable being made fast to the heel of the der-
rick, ready for heaving up, I left the further man-
6 Midshipmen,
322 ,THE BOOK OF BUKIED TREASURE
agement in the cove to Mr. Chatfield, and placed
myself upon the main cliff.
"I then gave the order to heave round, and every-
one was on the alert; but we had scarcely brought
any considerable strain on the gear when a report
came to me that the heel of the derrick was dis-
placed and driven into a chasm at the foot of the
cliff, an accident which for this time put an end to
further efforts. I had no alternative but to cast
everything off in a hurry, and if possible return
to the harbor with the derrick ; but this had become
exceedingly doubtful, for the wind was much in-
creased since morning, and the current more rapid.
We repeatedly succeeded in towing the derrick into
the gut, and were as often driven back ; till at length
we were compelled to make it fast to the rock outside
until a small anchor and some grapnels were laid
out, by which means it was finally warped into the
harbor, and by half -past eleven at night moored near
the Adelaide. Undismayed by this failure, by
seven o'clock of the following morning, we were
again in the cove with the derrick.
"The vast weight, the great height of the pur-
chases, the number of them, and the great distances
they were apart, made united effort impossible, but
at the close of the day I had the satisfaction of see-
ing this huge spar in the place assigned for it, and
the head of it hove ten feet above the water. On
the llth, we were again at our purchases, and the
head of the derrick was raised to the angle I had in-
tended, being about fifty feet above the surface of
the sea.
"During the operation of erecting the derrick, it
showed great pliability, the result of being composed
of so many pieces, which obliged us to get numerous
THE TOILERS OF THE THETIS 323
additional guys on; and having thus secured it, we
returned to our encampment, all hands greatly
fatigued by three days of the most harassing exer-
tion, from half -past four in the morning until late
at night. On looking down from the precipice on
this enormous machine, with all its necessary rig-
ging, it became a matter of astonishment to myself,
and I believe to everyone else who saw it, that with
the small means we had, we could have succeeded in
such a situation. It has been my lot to witness many
circumstances in which there was cause for great
solicitude, but never one wherein such general anxi-
ety was manifested as on this occasion. If any
one thing had given way, it must have been fatal to
the whole a general crash would have been inev-
itable."
Meanwhile, Captain Dickinson had found time to
devise a small diving bell, made from another water
tank, which could be operated from spars and tackle
set up on board a launch. This was employed for
exploring the bottom of the cove in order to find
where the treasure was. The bell held two men,
and there were plenty of volunteers to risk their
lives in the first descent in this little iron pot. The
trip was disastrous, and the commander described it
as follows :
"The water happened to be particularly clear,
which gave me an indistinct sight of the bell at
the depth of eight fathoms, and I had been watch-
ing it with breathless anxiety for a long time, when
suddenly a small line of air bubbles rose from about
the middle of the hose. I instantly gave the word
to the men in the launch to make ready to haul away,
but the two men in the bell made no signal to be
pulled up. The agitation of the sea became greater
324 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
every minute, and there was a rise and fall of eight
or ten feet of surf against the cliffs. The danger
was increasing, and I was about to order the bell to
be raised when an immense column of air came
bursting up from it. It had been driven violently
against the rocks, thrown on its side, and filled with
water.
"The next moment I saw the two men emerge
from the bell and swim to the surface. Heans had
been entangled in the signal line, but he managed to
release himself, and Dewar bobbed up a few seconds
later. They were too exhausted to say much, but
Heans called to his partner, 'Never mind, mate, we
haven't done with the damn thing yet.' "
These plucky seamen went down again and dis-
covered considerable wreckage of the lost frigate.
A Brazilian colonel, with a gang of native Indian
divers now appeared on the scene with a great deal
of brag about their ability to find the treasure with-
out any apparatus. They proved to be pestering
nuisances who accomplished nothing and were sent
about their business after several futile attempts
under water. They furnished one jest, however,
which helped to lighten the toil. The bell was being
lowered when one of these natives, or cdboclos, slid
over the side of the boat and disappeared in the
green depths. In a few seconds, the signal came
from the bell to hoist up. Fearing trouble, the
helpers hoisted lustily, and as the bell approached
the surface, something of a brownish hue was seen
hanging to its bottom which was presently discov-
ered to be the cab o do who had tried to enter the
bell. The men mistook him for an evil spirit or
some kind of a sea monster and kicked him back into
THE TOILERS OF THE THETIS 325
the water outside, and he could only hang on by
the foot-rail, with his head inside the bell.
The first encouraging tidings was signaled from
the small diving bell on March 27th, when a bit of
board floated up from the submerged men with these
words written upon it: "Be careful in lowering the
bell to a foot, for we are now over some dollars."
Soon they came up, from seven fathoms down, with
their caps full of silver dollars and some gold. Cap-
tain Dickinson decided to push the search night and
day, and the boats were therefore equipped with
torches. It was a spirited and romantic scene as
he describes it.
"Thetis Cove would have supplied a fine subject
for an artist. The red glare cast from the torches
on every projection of the stupendous cliffs ren-
dered the deep shadows of their fissures and inden-
tations more conspicuous. The rushing of roaring
sea into the deep chasms produced a succession of
reports like those of cannon; and the assembled
boats, flashing in and out of the gloom were kept
in constant motion by the long swell. The experi-
ment succeeded to admiration, and we continued
taking up treasure until two o'clock of the morning
of the first of April, when we were glad to retire;
having obtained in the whole by this attempt, 6326
dollars, 36 pounds, 10 ounces of Plata pina, 5 pounds,
4 ounces of old silver, 243 pounds, 8 ounces of sil-
ver in bars, and 4 pounds, 8 ounces of gold. After
a little rest we were again at our employment by
half -past five, and proceeded very prosperously for
some hours, and then had to desist because of a
dangerous shift of wind."
As soon as the larger bell and the giant derrick
326 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
could be put in service, the happy task of fishing
up treasure was carried on at a great pace. Unlike
many other such expeditions, nothing was done at
haphazard. The toilers under water "were first
to go to the outermost dollar, or other article of
gold they could discover, and to place a pig of bal-
last, with a bright tally board fast to it, against and
on the inner side of the nearest fixed rock they
could find. From this they were then to proceed to
take up all that lay immediately on the surface of
the bottom, but not to remove anything else until
all that was visible was obtained. This being done,
they were to return to the place first searched
and passing over the same ground, remove the
small rocks and other articles, one by one, and pro-
gressively take up what might be recovered by such
removal, but not on any account to dig without ex-
press orders from me."
Life in the camp on Cape Frio had no holiday
flavor, and while there was continual danger afloat,
there were troubles and hardships on shore. "In
addition to our sufferings from the wind and rain
penetrating our flimsy huts, we were attacked by
myriads of tormentors in the shape of ants, mosqui-
toes, fleas, and worst of all, jiggers. Many of the
people frequently had their eyes entirely closed
from the stings of the mosquitoes. At night swarms
of fleas assailed us in our beds, while by day it af-
forded a kind of amusment to pull up the leg of one's
trousers and see them take flight like a flock of
sparrows from a corn-stack, while there might be a
hundred congregated inside the stocking. Those lit-
tle insidious devils, the jiggers, penetrated the skin
in almost all parts of the body, forming a round ball
and causing sores which, being irritated by the sand,
THE TOILERS OF THE THETIS 327
became most painful and troublesome ulcers, and
produced lameness to half of our number at a time.
' ' Snakes were so numerous that the thatching and
almost every nook of our huts was infested with
them. They were often found in the peoples' ham-
mocks and clothes, and several were caught on board
the ship. On one occasion, my clerk's assistant was
writing in his hut when a rustling in the overhang-
ing growth caused him to look up and discover a
huge snake, its head extending several feet inside the
hole that served as a window. He alarmed the camp,
and muskets, cutlasses, sticks, and every other
weapon were caught up. The snake escaped, but
I received numerous reports of his extraordinary
dimensions. My steward insisted that it was as big
around as his thigh, the sentry said it was as big as
the Lightning's bower cable, and as to length the
statements varied between twenty and thirty feet.
At another time, Mr. Sutton, the boatswain, went
into the store, in which there was no window, to get
a piece of rope. Going in from the glare of the sun,
the place appeared dark to him, and he laid hold
of what he thought was a length of rope, pulled
lustily at it, and was not undeceived until it was
dragged out into the light. Then he was horror-
struck to find he had hold of a large snake."
In May, Captain Dickinson was able to send to
England in H. M. S. Eden, treasure to the hand-
some amount of $130,000 in bullion and specie, and
had every promise of recovering most of the re-
mainder of the precious cargo. Then a terrific
storm swept the cove, totally demolished the der-
rick, carried the large diving bell to the bottom, and
made hash of the whole equipment devised with such
immense toil and pains. Was he discouraged?
328 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Not a bit of it. He straightway set his men at
work to construct new apparatus with which he
fetched up more gold and silver, to the value of half
a million dollars before he forsook the task. First
let him tell you in his own words of that tragic
storm and its results.
"At one o'clock of the morning of May 19th, it
blew a perfect gale, the cove was in a far more dis-
turbed state than I had ever seen it before, the seas
rolled up the cliff to an astonishing height, and by
daylight the cove was in a state of awful commotion.
The spray was driven so wildly that while standing
on the main platform, at an elevation of 155 feet,
I was completely wet and could scarcely resist it.
The waves struck the derrick with steadily increas-
ing force, and I watched it with all the distressing
feelings that a father would evince toward a favorite
child when in a situation of great danger. By six
o'clock the wind threw the waves obliquely against
the southeast cliff, and caused them to sweep along
its whole length until opposed by the opposite cliff
from which as each wave recoiled it was met by the
following one, and thus accumulated, they rose in
one vast heap under the derrick stage, beat it from
under the bell, and washed away the air-pump, air-
hoses, and semaphore. The stage was suspended
at a height of thirty-eight feet above the surface of
the sea in ordinary weather, from which circum-
stances an idea may be formed of the furious agita-
tion of the cove.
"Nine o'clock arrived, and I had been watching
for fourteen hours. The constant concussions had
caused the gear of the derrick to stretch, and every
blow from the sea caused it to swing and buckle to
an alarming degree. Nothing more could possibly
Thetis Cove in calm weather, showing salvage operations.
Thetis Cove during the storm which wrecked the salvage equipment.
(From lithographs made in 1836.)
THE TOILERS OF THE THETIS 329
be done to save it, and I saw plainly that unless the
gale soon ceased its destruction was inevitable. I
therefore left an officer on watch, and quitted the
cliff to go to my hut and arrange my parties for the
work to be put in hand after the catastrophe. Pres-
ently he came down to meet me, and reported that
a stupendous roller had struck the derrick on its
side, and broke it off twenty feet from the heel.
Thus in one crash was destroyed the child of my
hopes, and in a very short time the derrick was
dashed into six pieces, forming, with the complicated
gear, one confused mass of wreckage."
Before the storm had subsided, the indefatigable
seamen, blacksmiths, and carpenters were solving
the problem afresh, just as if there had not been a
clean sweep of their weary months of effort. This
time it was a new scheme for a suspension cable
that had occurred to Captain Dickinson. While this
work was in progress he made another diving bell
from a water-tank, and succeeded in finding his air
pump at the bottom of the cove. Two men were
drowned in the surf at this stage of operations, the
only fatalities suffered by the heroic company.
The diving bell was successfully slung from the sus-
pended cable after a vast deal of ingenious and dar-
ing engineering, and by means of it much treasure
was recovered, although the contrivance yawed fear-
fully under water and more than once capsized and
spilled its crew who fought their gasping way to
the surface.
After fourteen months of incessant toil, the men
and officers worn to the bone and ravaged by fever
and dysentery, they had found almost six hundred
thousand dollars in bullion and specie, or three-
fourths of the total amount lost in the Thetis. It
330 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
had been magnificently successful salvage, achieved
in the face of odds that would have disheartened a
less resourceful and courageous commander than
Captain Thomas Dickinson. He appears to have
been the man in a thousand for the undertaking.
Then occurred an inexplicable sort of a disappoint-
ment, an act of such gross injustice to him that it
can be explained only on the theory of favoritism at
naval headquarters. Captain Dickinson had a
grievance and he describes the beginning of his
troubles in this fashion :
1 'On the 7th and 8th of March, some more treas-
ure was found in a part from which we had removed
several guns, and here I had determined to have a
thorough examination by digging, feeling assured
that here would be found all the remaining treasure
that could be obtained. Our labors were drawing
to a close, but while I was enjoying the pleasing an-
ticipation of a speedy and successful termination of
the enterprise, on the 6th I was surprised by the ar-
rival of His Majesty's sloop Algerine, with orders
from the Commander-in-Chief to me to resign the
charge to Commander the Honorable J. F. F. de
Boos of that sloop. It appears that the Admiralty
had been led to think that no more property could
be rescued, and therefore ordered my removal. I
could not but feel this a most mortifying circum-
stance. I had been the only person who had come
forward to attempt the recovery of the large prop-
erty which was considered to be irretrievably lost;
I had devised the whole of the methods by which a
very large portion of it was recovered; I had en-
dured peril, sickness, toil, and privation during more
than a year; and the work was now reduced to a
mere plaything compared with what it had been, and
THE TOILERS OF THE THETIS 331
yet I was not allowed to put the finishing hand to
it. Notwithstanding this, the deep interest I felt
in the undertaking remained unabated, and I was
determined that nothing should be wanting on my
part to ensure a successful termination of it."
Quite courteously, Captain Dickinson explained in
detail to Commander the Honorable J. P. F. de
Koos the plant and the operations, and even left for
him to fish up a large quantity of treasure already
located and which could be scooped up from the
diving bell without difficulty. "With a feeling
which I thought would be appreciated by a brother
officer, I did not attempt to bring up this treasure,
but left it for the benefit of our successors, observ-
ing at the time that the world should not say that
I had left them nothing to do but the labor of re-
moving rocks and rubbish."
The amount subsequently recovered by the Al-
gerine was $161,500, so that by Captain Dickinson's
efforts, and the use of his plans and equipment, all
but one-sixteenth of the lost treasure was restored
to its owners, and of this he himself had raised by
far the greater part. When he returned to England
and learned that salvage was to be awarded to the
officers and men who had been engaged in the work,
he naturally regarded himself as the principal
salvor. The Admiralty, in its inscrutable wisdom,
chose to think otherwise, and the underwriters of
Lloyd's, taking their cue from this exalted quarter,
regarded poor Captain Dickinson with the cold and
fishy eye of disfavor. The case was argued in the
Court of Admiralty, and the agents of Admiral
Baker, he who had been in command of the squadron
at Rio, set up the claim that he was the principal
salvor, although the fact was plain that he had noth-
332 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
ing whatever to do with recovering the treasure
from the Thetis, and not even visited Cape Frio dur-
ing the year of active operations.
The judge could not stomach such a high-handed
claim as this, and his decision set aside the admiral
in favor of Captain Dickinson and the crew of the
Lightning. The salvage award, however, amounting
to 17,000, was decreed as due also to the company
of the Algerine, numbering almost four hundred
men, which left small pickings for Captain Dick-
inson and his heroes. This was so obviously unfair
that he appealed to the Judicial Committee of the
Privy Council, which increased the award by the
sum of 12,000, in which Commander the Honorable
J. F. F. de Roos and his belated treasure seekers
were not entitled to share. The influential com-
mittee of Lloyd's thought that Captain Dickinson
should not have been so bumptious in defending his
rights, and because he disagreed with their opin-
ions, they ignored him in a set of resolutions which
speak for themselves :
"1st. A vote of thanks to Admiral Sir Thomas
Baker, for his zeal and exertions.
"2nd. The same to Captain de Eoos, of the Al-
gerine, and a grant of 2,000 to himself, his officers,
and crew, being the amount they would have received
had they been parties to the appeal.
"3rd. To mark the sense of the meeting of Cap-
tain de Roos's conduct, they further voted to this
officer a piece of plate to the value of one hundred
guineas. ' '
In other words, an unimportant naval captain de-
served this censure because he had not been content
to take what was graciously flung at him by Lloyd's
THE TOILERS OF THE THETIS 333
and the Admiralty, but had stood up for his rights
as long as he had a shot in the locker. There is
something almost comic in the figure cut by Com-
mander the Honorable J. F. F. de Roos, who reaped
the reward of another man's labors and received
the formal thanks of Lloyd's as the chief treasure
finder of the Thetis frigate. Captain Thomas Dick-
inson was a dogged and aggressive sort of person,
not in the least afraid of giving offense in high
places, and had he not been of this stamp of man
he would never have fought that winning fight
against obstacles amid the hostile cliffs and waters
of desolate Cape Frio. He shows his mettle in a
fine outburst of protest, the provocation for which
was a sentence in a letter published in a London
newspaper while his case was under discussion:
"Had Captain Dickinson relied on the liberality of
Lloyd's Coffee House, he would not have been a
poorer man."
This was like a spark in a magazine, and the cap-
tain of the Lightning flings back in retort:
"Here, then we arrive at the development of the
real feelings of the Underwriters; here is exposed
the head and front of my offending. Rely on the
liberality of Lloyd's Coffee House!! So that be-
cause I would not abandon my duty to my officers
and crew, or separate my interests from theirs, and
place myself and them at the mercy of the Under-
writers, therefore the enterprise and the services
of fourteen months, besides the rescue of nearly six
hundred thousand dollars, are to be considered as
utterly unworthy of mention. Can it be necessary,
in order to entitle a British officer to honorable men-
tion in Lloyd's Coffee House that he should aban-
334 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
don a right, and succumbing to the feet of its mighty
Committee, accept a donation, doled out with all
the ostentation of a gratuitous liberality, in place
of that reward which legally took precedence even
of the ownership of the property rescued ! ! ' '
CHAPTER XIII
THE QUEST OF EL DORADO
IN our time the golden word Eldorado has come
to mean the goal of unattained desires, the magic
country of dreams that forever lies just beyond the
horizon. Its literal significance has been lost in the
mists of the centuries since when one deluded band
of adventurers after another was exploring un-
known regions of the New World in quest of the
treasure city hidden somewhere in the remote in-
terior of South America. Thousands of lives and
millions of money were vainly squandered in these
pilgrimages, but they left behind them one of the
most singularly romantic chapters in the whole his-
tory of conquest and discovery.
The legend of El Dorado was at first inspired by
the tales of a wonderful and veritable dorado, or
gilded man, king of a tribe of Indians dwelling, at
the time of the Spanish conquest, upon the lofty
tableland of Bogota, in what is now the republic of
Colombia. Later investigations have accepted it as
true that such a personage existed and that the cere-
monies concerning which reports were current early
in the sixteenth century took place at the sacred
lake of Guatavia. There lived on this plateau, in
what is still known as the province of Cundina-
marca, small village communities of the Muysca
Indians, somewhat civilized and surrounded on all
sides by debased and savage tribes. They wor-
335
336 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
shiped the sun and moon, performed human sacri-
fices, and adored striking natural objects, as was
the custom in Peru.
The numerous lakes of the region were holy
places, each regarded as the home of a particular
divinity to which gold and emeralds were offered
by throwing them into the water. Elsewhere than
at Guatavita jewels and objects wrought of gold
have been discovered in the process of draining
these little lakes. Guatavita, however, is most
famous of all because here originated the story of
"el hombre dorado." This sheet of water is a few
miles north of the capital city of Santa Fe de Bogota,
more than nine thousand feet above sea level, in the
heart of the Cordilleras. Near the lake is still the
village called Guatavita.
In 1490 the inhabitants were an independent tribe
with a ruling chief. They had among them a legend
that the wife of one of the earlier chiefs had thrown
herself into the lake in order to escape punishment
and that her spirit survived as the goddess of the
place. To worship her came the people of other
communities of the region, bringing their gold and
precious stones to cast into the water, and Guatavita
was famed for its religious pilgrimages. When-
ever a new chief, or king, of Guatavita was chosen,
an imposing ceremonial was observed by way of
coronation. All the men marched to the lake in pro-
cession, at the head a great party wailing, the
bodies nude and painted with ocher as a sign of deep
mourning. Behind them were groups richly deco-
rated with gold and emeralds, their heads adorned
with feathers, cloaks of jaguar skins hanging from
their shoulders. Many uttered joyful cries or blew
on trumpets and conch-shells. Then came the
THE QUEST OF EL DORADO 337
priests in long black robes decorated with white
crosses. At the rear of the procession were the
nobles escorting the newly-elected chief who rode
upon a barrow hung with disks of gold.
His naked body was anointed with resinous gums
and covered with gold dust so that he shone like a
living statue of gold. This was the gilded man,
El Dorado, whose fame traveled to the coast of the
Caribbean. At the shore of the lake, he and his
escort stepped upon a balsa, or raft made of rushes,
and moved slowly out to the middle. There the
gilded one plunged into the deep water and washed
off his precious covering, while with shouts and
music the assembled throng threw their offerings
of gold and jewels into the lake. Then the worship-
ers returned to the village for dancing and feast-
ing. 1 In the last decade of the fifteenth century,
or while Columbus was making his voyages, the
tribe of Guatavita was conquered by a stronger com-
munity of the Muysca race, and the new rulers, being
of a thriftier mind, made an end of the extravagant
ceremony of el dorado. It is therefore assumed
that the gilded man had ceased to be, full thirty
years before the Spaniards first heard of him at the
coast.
Humboldt became interested in the legend during
his South America travels and reported:
"I have examined from a geographical point of
view the expeditions on the Orinoco, and in a west-
i The performance of these ceremonies is vouched for by Lucas
Fernandez Piedrahita, Bishop of Panama; Pedro Simon, and other
early Spanish historians, translated and quoted by A. F. Bandelier
in his work, "The Gilded Man (El Dorado)." This version agrees
with that described in the volume written by the modern historian,
Dr. Liborio Zerda, professor of the University of Colombia, El
Dorado, Estudio Historico, Ethnografico, Y Argueologico,
338 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
ern and southern direction in the eastern side of the
Andes, before the tradition of El Dorado was
spread among the conquerors. This tradition had
its origin in the kingdom of Quito where Luiz Daza,
in 1535, met with an Indian of New Granada who
had been sent by his prince, the Zipa of Bogota, or
the Caique of Tunja, to demand assistance from
Atahuahalpa, the last Inca of Peru. This ambas-
sador boasted, as was usual, of the wealth of his
country; but what particularly fixed the attention
of the Spaniards who were assembled with Daza
was the history of a lord who, his body covered with
gold dust, went into a lake amid the mountains.
"As no historical remembrance attaches itself to
any other mountain lake in this vicinity, I suppose
the reference to be made to the sacred lake of Gua-
tavita, in the plains of the Bogota, into which the
gilded lord was made to enter. On the banks of
this lake I saw the remains of a staircase, hewn in
the rock, and used for the ceremonies of ablution.
The Indians told me that powder of gold and golden
vessels were thrown into this lake as a sacrifice
to the Adoratorio de Guatavita. Vestiges are still
found of a breach made by the Spaniards in order
to drain the lake. . . . The ambassador of Bo-
gota, whom Daza met in the kingdom of Quito, had
spoken of a country situated towards the east."
The latter reference means that the legend had
spread from coast to coast. On the Pacific, the con-
quistadores of Pizarro were for a time too busily
engaged in looting the enormous treasures of the
last Inca of Peru to pay much heed to the lure of
golden legends beckoning them further inland.
The first attempt to go in search of the gilded man
and his kingdom was made, not by a Spaniard, but
THE QUEST OP EL DORADO 339
by a German, Ambrosius Dalfinger, who was in com-
mand of a colony of his countrymen settled on the
shore of the Gulf of Venezuela, a large tract of that
region having been leased by Spain to a German
company. He pushed inland to the westward as far
as the Eio Magdalena, treated the natives with
horrible barbarity, and was driven back after losing
most of his men.
A few years later, and the legend was magnified
into a wondrous description of a golden city. In
1538, there marched from the Atlantic coast, Gon-
zalo Ximenes de Quesada, surnamed El Conquista-
dor, to find the El Dorado. At the head of six hun-
dred and twenty-five foot-soldiers and eighty-five
mailed horsemen, he made his perilous way up the
Rio Magdalena, through fever-cursed swamps and
tribes of hostile natives, enduring hardships almost
incredible until at length he came to the lofty plateau
of Bogota, and the former home of the real gilded
man. More than five hundred of his men had died
on the journey of hunger, illness, and exposure. He
found rich cities and great stores of gold and jewels,
but failed to discover the El Dorado of his dreams.
Many stories were afloat of other treasures to be
wrested from the Muysca chiefs, but Quesada, hav-
ing no more than a handful of fighting men, feared
to go campaigning until he had made his position
secure. He therefore established a base and laid
the foundations of the present city of Bogota. One
of his scouting parties brought back tidings of a
tribe of very war-like women in the south who had
much gold, and in this way was the myth of the
Amazons linked with the El Dorado as early as 1538.
Now occurred as dramatic a coincidence as could
be imagined. To Quesada there appeared a Span-
340 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
ish force commanded by Sebastian de Belalcazar,
the conqueror of Quito, who had come all the way
from the Pacific coast, after hearing from an Indian
of New Granada the story of the gilded man. No
sooner had this expedition arrived than it was re-
ported to Quesada that white men with horses were
coming from the east. This third company of pil-
grims in quest of El Dorado proved to be Nicholas
Federmann and his hard-bitted Germans from the
colony in Venezuela who had followed the trail made
by Dalfinger and then plunged into the wilderness
beyond his furthest outpost.
Thus these three daring expeditions, Quesada
from the north, Belalcazar from the south, and
Federmann from the east, met face to face on the
hitherto unknown plateau of Cundinamarca. None
had been aware of the others' march in search of
this goal, and each had believed himself to be the
discoverer of this country. They were ready to fly
at one another 's throats, for there could be no amity
when gold was the prize at stake. Curiously enough
the three forces were evenly matched in fighting
strength, each with about one hundred and sixty
men. One might think that the two Spanish parties
would have united to drive the Germans from the
home of El Dorado, but greed stifled all natural ties
and emotions.
A conflict was averted by the tact and sagacity
of Quesada and the priests of the expeditions who
acted as a committee of arbitration. It was finally
agreed among the leaders that the several claims
should be submitted to the Spanish Court, and
Quesada, Belalcazar, and Federmann set out for
Spain to appear in person, leaving their forces in
possession of the disputed territory. The command
THE QUEST OF EL DORADO 341
of the Spanish troops was turned over to Hernan
Perez de Quesada, the cruel and greedy brother of
the leader, who fortified himself at Bogota and pro-
ceeded to rob the Muysca people of the last ounce
of gold that could be extorted by means of torture
and all manner of unspeakable wickedness. In 1540
he tried to drain the lake of Guatavita, tempted by
the stories of the vast treasures of gold and jewels
that, for centuries, had been thrown into the water
by the worshipers, but he recovered valuables only
to the amount of four thousand ducats. It was the
remains of his drainage tunnel which Humboldt
found and made note of.
With the conquest of this region was obtained
the last great store of gold discovered by the
plundering Spaniards in South America. These
explorers finished when Pizarro had begun in Peru.
To convey the treasure from Bogota to the coast
of the Carribean a road was built through the moun-
tains, much of it cut as a narrow shelf in solid rock,
winding and dipping in a dizzy route to connect
with the upper reaches of navigation on the Eio
Magdalena. This was the famous El Camino Real,
or "King's Highway" which is still used as one of
the roads by which the capital of Colombia, Santa
Fe de Bogota is reached by the traveler of the
twentieth century. It was to intercept one of these
treasure trains that Amyas Leigh and his doughty
comrades of " Westward Ho!" lay in wait, and the
fiction of Kingsley will better serve to portray the
time and place than the facts as the old historians
strung them together.
"Bidding farewell once and forever to the green
ocean of the eastern plains, they have crossed the
Cordillera ; they have taken a longing glance at the
342 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
city of Santa Fe, lying in the midst of rich gardens
on its lofty mountain plateau, and have seen, as
was to be expected, that it was far too large for any
attempt of theirs. But they have not altogether
thrown away their time. Their Indian lad has dis-
covered that a gold-train is going down from Santa
Fe toward the Magdalena ; and they are waiting for
it beside the miserable rut that serves for a road,
encamped in a forest of oaks which would make
them almost fancy themselves back in Europe were
it not for the tree-ferns which form the under-
growth; and were it not for the deep gorges open-
ing at their very feet; in which while their brows
are swept by the cool breezes of a temperate zone,
they can see far below, dim through their everlast-
ing vapor bath of rank, hot steam, the mighty forms
and gorgeous colors of the tropic forest.
11 ... At last, up from beneath there was
a sharp crack and a loud cry. The crack was neither
the snapping of a branch, nor the tapping of a wood-
pecker; the cry was neither the scream of a parrot,
nor the howl of a monkey.
" 'That was a whip's crack,' said Yeo, 'and a
woman's wail. They are close here, lads!'
" 'A woman's? Do they drive women in their
gangs?' asked Amyas. 'Why not, the brutes?
There they are, sir. Did you see their basnets
glitter?'
" 'Men!' said Amyas in a low voice. 'I trust you
all not to shoot till I do. Then give them one ar-
row, out swords, and at them! Pass the word
along. '
"Up they came, slowly, and all hearts beat loud
at their coming. First, about twenty soldiers, only
one half of whom were on foot; the other half be-
THE QUEST OF EL DORADO 343
ing borne, incredible as it may seem, each in a
chair on the back of a single Indian, while those who
marched had consigned their heaviest armor and
their arquebuses into the hands of attendant slaves,
who were each pricked on at will by the pikes of
the soldiers behind them. . . . Last of this
troop came some inferior officer also in his chair,
who as he went slowly up the hill, with his face
turned toward the gang which followed, drew every
other second the cigar from his lips to inspirit them
with those pious ejaculations . . . which
earned for the pious Spaniards of the sixteenth
century the uncharitable imputation of being the
most abominable swearers in Europe.
" ... A line of Indians, Negroes, and Zam-
boes, naked, emaciated, scarred with whips and
fetters, and chained together by their left wrists,
toiled upwards, panting and perspiring under the
burden of a basket held up by a strap which passed
across their foreheads. Yeo's sneer was but too
just ; there were not only old men and youths among
them, but women ; slender young girls, mothers with
children running at their knee; and at the sight, a
low murmur of indignation rose from the ambushed
Englishmen, worthy of the free and righteous hearts
of those days, when Raleigh could appeal to man
and God, on the ground of a common humanity, in
behalf of the outraged heathens of the New World.
1 'But the first forty, so Amyas counted, bore on
their backs a burden which made all, perhaps, but
him and Yeo, forget even the wretches who bore it.
Each basket contained a square package of care-
fully corded hide; the look whereof friend Amyas
knew full well.
" ' What's in they, Captain?'
344 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
' * ' Gold ! ' And at that magic word all eyes were
strained greedily forward, and such a rustle fol-
lowed that Amyas, in the very face of detection,
had to whisper :
" 'Be men, be men, or you will spoil all yet.' "
The muskets and long-bows of the stout English-
men avenged the wrongs of this pitiable caravan, al-
though there was no help for a vast multitude of In-
dians who were put to death with devilish torments
by their conquerors. But the legend of the El
Dorado still survived and it spread like an aveng-
ing spirit. "Transplanted by the over-excited im-
agination of the white man, the vision appeared like
a mirage enticing, deceiving and leading men to
destruction, on the banks of the Orinoco, and the
Amazon, in Omagua and Parime." The conquest
of Bogota made them believe that the gilded man
and his golden kingdom were somewhere just beyond.
The licentiate, Juan de Castellanos, wrote a poem
which was published in 1589, telling of the legend
as it had existed in Quito in the days of the Con-
quistadores.
"When with that folk came Annasco,
Benalcazar learned from a stranger
Then living in the city of Quito,
But who called Bogota his home,
Of a land there rich in golden treasure,
Rich in emeralds glistening the rock.
A chief was there, who stripped of vesture,
Covered with golden dust from crown to toe,
Sailed with offerings to the gods upon a lake
Borne by the waves upon a fragile raft,
The dark flood to brighten with golden light. ' ' *
2 Translated by A. F. Bandelier.
THE QUEST OF EL DORADO 345
Another and more imaginative version of the
story was told to Oviedo 3 by divers Spaniards whom
he met in San Domingo. They had heard from In-
dians in Quito that the great lord, El Dorado, always
went about covered with powdered gold, because he
thought this kind of garment more beautiful and dis-
tinguished than any decorations of beaten gold.
The lesser chiefs were in the habit of adorning them-
selves likewise, but were not so lavish as the king who
put on his gold dust every morning and washed it off
at night. He first anointed himself with a fra-
grant liquid gum, to which the gold dust adhered
so evenly that he resembled a brilliant piece of art-
fully hammered gold metal.
For more than half a century, the mad quest con-
tinued, and always there came tragedy and disaster.
The German colony of Venezuela was wiped out
because of these futile expeditions into the inte-
rior. Gonzalo Pizarro, brother of the great Fran-
cisco, set out to find the city of legend, and returned
after two years, in such dreadful plight that the
survivors of the party looked more like wild animals
than men, "so that one could no longer recognize
them." Pedro de Urzua started from Bogota to
find a "golden city of the sun," and his expedition
founded the town of Pampluna. In 1560 the same
leader was appointed "governor of Omagua and El
Dorado," and he set out to find his domain by
way of the Amazon. Urzua was murdered by Lope
s Oviedo, or Oviedo y ValdSz, royal histriographer, who witnessed
the first return of Columbus to Spain in 1493. He was later a
treasury officer at Darien, governor of Cartagena, and alcaide of
the fort at Santo Domingo. He wrote the first general account of
the discoveries in America, and it has remained a standard au-
thority. His principal work is Eistoria natural y general de las
Indias in fifty books.
346 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASUEE
de Aguirre who treacherously conspired against
him, and Aguirre descended the great river and
finally reached Venezuela after one of the maddest
piratical cruises ever recorded. Guimilla, in a
"History of the Oronoke," says:
"I find it (El Dorado) related with such an exact
description of the country, as the missionaries of
my province and myself have recognized, that I can-
not doubt it. I have seen in the jurisdiction of
Varinas, in the mountains of Pedrarca, in 1721, the
brass halberd which Urzua took with him in his ex-
pedition. I have been acquainted with Don Joseph
Cabarte who directed for thirty years the missions
of Agrico and the Oronoke, the countries traversed
by Urzua, and he appeared to be fully persuaded
that that was the route to El Dorado."
Meanwhile the myth had assumed new forms.
On the southwestern tributaries of the Amazon
were the fabled districts of Enim and Paytiti said
to have been founded by Incas who had fled from
Peru and to have surpassed ancient Cuzco in splen-
dor. North of the Amazon the supposed city of
El Dorado moved eastward until in Kaleigh's time
it was situated in Guiana beside Lake Parima. This
lake remained on English maps until the explora-
tions of Schomburgk in the nineteenth century
proved that it was nothing more than a pond in a
vast swamp. The emerald mountain of Espirito
Santo and the Martyrios gold mine, long sought for
in Western Brazil recalled the El Dorado myth;
while far to the southward in the plains of the Ar-
gentine the city of Cassar, with silver walls and
houses was another alluring and persistent phan-
tom. It was said to have been founded by ship-
wrecked Spanish sailors, and even late in the eight-
THE QUEST OF EL DORADO 347
eenth century expeditions were sent in search for
it.
It was not until 1582 that the Spanish ceased to
pursue the fatal phantom city of El Dorado and
Southey's History of the Brazils is authority for
the statement that these " expeditions cost Spain
more than all the treasures she had received from
her South American possessions." There is more
meaning than appears on the surface in the Spanish
proverb, "Happiness is only to be found in El
Dorado which no one yet has been able to reach."
Alas, that Sir Walter Ealeigh should have been
lured to seek in Guiana the fabled El Dorado which
had now become the splendid city of Manoa built on
the shores of a vast inland lake of salt water. It
was in this guise that he heard the transplanted and
exaggerated story of the gilded man. His own nar-
rative, as included in Hakluyt's Voyages, is en-
titled: 4
1 'The discovery of the large, rich and beautiful
Empire of Guiana, with a relation of the great and
golden city of Manoa (which the Spaniards call El
Dorado) and the provinces of Emeria, Aromaia,
Amapaia, and other countries, with their rivers ad-
joining. Performed in the year 1595 by Sir Walter
Ealeigh, Knight, Captain of Her Majesty's Guard,
Lord Warden of the Stanneries, and Her Highness'
Lieutenant General of the County of Cornwall."
It was while touching at the island of Trinidad,
outward bound, that Ealeigh had the misfortune to
learn the story of a picturesque liar by the name of
Juan Martinez, a derelict Spanish seaman, who had
sailed with the explorer Diego de Ordas in 1531.
4 For the convenience of the reader the spelling has been modern-
ized in this and the following extracts from Hakluyt.
348 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
"The relation of this Martinez (who was the first
that discovered Manoa) his success and end are to
be seen in the Chancery of Saint Juan de Puerto
Rico," writes Raleigh, "whereof Berreo had a copy,
which appeared to be the greatest encouragement as
well to Berreo as to others that formerly attempted
the discovery and conquest. Orellana, after he
failed of the discovery of Guiana by the said river
of the Amazon, passed into Spain, and there ob-
tained a patent of the king for the invasion and
conquest, but died by sea about the Islands, and his
fleet severed by tempest, the action for that time
proceeded not. Diego Ordas followed the enter-
prise, and departed Spain with six hundred soldiers
and thirty horse, who arriving on the coast of Gui-
ana, was slain in mutiny, with the most part of such
as favored him, as also of the rebellious part, inso-
much as his ships perished, and few or none re-
turned, neither was it certainly known what became
of the said Ordas until Berreo found the anchor of
his ship in the river of Orinoco ; but it was supposed,
and so it is written by Lopez that he perished on the
seas, and of other writers diversely conceived and
reported.
"And hereof it came that Martinez entered so far
within the land and arrived at that city of Inca, the
Emperor; for it chanced that while Ordas with his
army rested at the port of Morequito (who was
either the first or second that attempted Guiana) by
some negligence the whole store of powder provided
for the service was set on fire ; and Martinez having
the chief charge 5 was condemned by the General
Ordas to be executed forthwith. Martinez, being
5 Martinez was the gunner or officer "who had charge of the mu-
nitions."
Sir Walter Raleigh.
THE QUEST OF EL DORADO 349
much favored by the soldiers, had all the means pos-
sible procured for his life; but it could not be ob-
tained in other sort than this; That he should be
set into a canoe alone without any victuals, only with
his arms, and so turned loose into the great river.
"But it pleased God that the canoe was carried
down the stream and that certain of the Guianians
met it the same evening ; and having not at any time
seen any Christian, nor any man of that color, they
carried Martinez into the land to be wondered at,
and so from town to town, until he came to the great
city of Manoa, the seat and residence of Inca, the
Emperor. The emperor after he had beheld him,
knew him to be a Christian (for it was not long be-
fore that his brethren Guascar 6 and Atabalipa 6 were
vanished by the Spaniards in Peru) and caused him
to be lodged in his palace and well entertained. He
lived seven months in Manoa, but was not suffered
to wander into the country anywhere. He was also
brought thither all the way blindfold, led by the In-
dians, until he came to the entrance of Manoa itself,
and was fourteen or fifteen days in the passage. He
avowed at his death that he entered the city at noon,
and then they uncovered his face, and that he trav-
eled all that day till night through the city and the
next day from sun rising to sun setting ere he came
to the palace of Inca.
"After that Martinez had lived seven months in
Manoa, and began to understand the language of the
country, Inca asked him whether he desired to re-
turn into his own country, or would willingly abide
with him. But Martinez not desirous to stay, ob-
tained the favor of Inca to depart; with whom he
sent divers Guianians to conduct him to the river of
6 Commonly spelled Huascar and Atalualpa.
350 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Orinoco, all laden with as much gold as they could
carry, which he gave to Martinez at his departure.
But when he was arrived near the river's side, the
borderers which are called Orenoqueponi robbed him
and his Guianians of all the treasure (the borderers
being at that time at war, which Inca had not con-
quered) save only of two great bottles of gourds,
which were filled with beads of gold curiously
wrought, which those Orenoqueponi thought had
been no other thing than his drink or meat, or grain
for food, with which Martinez had liberty to pass.
( 'And so in canoes he fell down from the river of
Orinoco to Trinidad and from thence to Margarita,
and also to Saint Juan de Puerto Eico, where re-
maining a long time for passage into Spain, he died.
In the time of his extreme sickness, and when he was
without hope of life, receiving the Sacrament at the
hands of his confessor, he delivered these things,
with the relation of his travels, and also called for
his calabazas or gourds of the gold beads which he
gave to the church and friars to be prayed for.
"This Martinez was he that christened the city of
Manoa by the name of El Dorado, and as Berreo
informed me, upon this occasion; Those Guianians,
and also the borderers, and all others in that tract
which I have seen, are marvelous great drunkards;
in which vice, I think no nation can compare with
them; and at the times of their solemn feasts when
the emperor carouseth with his captains, tributaries,
and governors the manner is thus :
"All those that pledge him are first stripped
naked, and their bodies anointed all over with a
kind of white balsam (by them called curca) of which
there is great plenty, and yet very dear amongst
them, and it is of all other the most precious,
THE QUEST OF EL DOKADO 351
whereof we have had good experience. When they
are anointed all over, certain servants of the em-
peror, having prepared gold made into fine powder,
blow it through hollow canes upon their naked
bodies, until they be all shining from the foot to the
head : and in this sort they sit drinking by twenties,
and hundreds, and continue in drunkenness some-
times six or seven days together.
"The same is also confirmed by a letter written
into Spain, which was intercepted, which Mr. Eobert
Dudley told me he had seen. Upon this sight, and
for the abundance of gold which he saw in the city,
the images of gold in their temples, the plates, ar-
mors, and shields of gold which they used in the
wars, he called it El Dorado."
After mentioning in detail the several ill-fated
expeditions of the Spanish to find the El Dorado,
Ealeigh reviews the mass of evidence in favor of the
existence of the hidden and magnificent city, and
as gravely relates the current reports of other
wonders as prodigious as this. He it was who car-
ried back to Europe the story of the Amazons, "be-
ing very desirous to understand the truth of those
warlike women, because of some it is believed, of
others not. And although I digress from my pur-
pose, yet I will set down that which hath been de-
livered me for truth of those women, and I spake
with a caique or lord of the people, that told me he
had been in the river and beyond it. ... They are
said to be very cruel and bloodthirsty, especially to
such as offer to invade their territories. These
Amazons have likewise great stores of these plates
of gold which they recover chiefly by exchange for
a kind of green stones. ' ' That the natures of these
352 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
stern ladies had a softer side is prettily indicated
by Raleigh in the statement that in the month of
April "all kings of the border assemble, and queens
of the Amazons ; and after the queens have chosen,
the rest cast lots for their Valentines. This one
month they feast, dance, and drink of their wines in
abundance; and the moon being done, they all de-
part to their own provinces."
Among the perils that beset the road to El Dorado
was a terrible nation of men with no heads upon
their shoulders. Ealeigh did not happen to en-
counter them during his voyage up the Orinoco, but
nevertheless he took pains to set down in his nar-
rative, "which though it may be thought a mere
fable, yet for mine part I am resolved it is true, be-
cause every child in the provinces of Arromaia and
Canuri affirm the same. They are called Ewaipa-
noma ; they are reported to have their eyes in their
shoulders, and their mouths in the middle of their
breasts and that a long train of hair groweth back-
ward between their shoulders. 7 The son of Topi-
7 "Her father loved me, oft invited me,
Still questioned me the story of my life
From year to year, the battles, sieges, fortunes,
That I have pass'd.
I ran it through, even from my boyish days
To the very moment that he bade me tell it:
Wherein I spake of most disastrous chances,
Of moving incidents by flood and field,
Of hair-breadth 'scapes i' the imminent deadly breach
Of being taken by the insolent foe,
And sold to slavery, of my redemption thence,
And portance in my travel's history:
Wherein of antres vast and deserts idle,
Rough quarries, rocks, and hills whose head touch heaven,
It was my hint to speak, such was the process;
And of the Cannibals that each other eat,
THE QUEST OF EL DORADO 353
awari, which I brought with me into England told
me that they are the most mighty men of all the
land, and use bows, arrows, and clubs thrice as big
as any of Guiana, or of the Orinoco, and that one
of the Iwarawakeri took a prisoner of them the year
before our arrival there, and brought him into the
borders of Aromaia, his father's country. And
farther when I seemed to doubt of it, he told me
that it was no wonder among them, but that they
were as great a nation, and as common as any other
in all the provinces, and had of late years slain many
hundreds of his father's people: but it was not my
chance to hear of them until I was come away, and
if I had but spoken but one word of it while I was
there, I might have brought one of them with me to
put the matter out of doubt. Such a nation was
written of by Mandeville 8 whose reports were
holden for fables many years, and yet since the
East Indies were discovered, we find his relations
true of all things as heretofore were held incredible.
Whether it be true or no, the matter is not great,
neither can there be any profit in the imagination.
For my own part, I saw them not, but I am re-
The Anthropophagi, and men whose heads
Do grow beneath their shoulders. This to hear
Would Desdemona seriously incline."
Shakespeare. (The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice.)
s The date of the first English edition of Sir John Mandeville's
book of travels was 1499. According to his own account he dis-
covered this and other wonders in the kingdom of Ethiopia. The
book was widely read, very popular in several languages, and was
one of the earliest printed books, being published in Germany about
1475. Recent investigations have shown that almost the whole of
the matter was cribbed from other authors, and that as a genuine
explorer, Sir John Mandeville was the Dr. Frederick Cook of his
age.
354 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
solved that so many people did not all combine or
forethink to make the report.
"When I came to Cumana in the West Indies,
afterwards by chance I spake with a Spaniard
dwelling not far from thence, a man of great travel,
and after he knew that I had been in Guiana, and
so far directly west as Caroli, the first question he
asked me was, whether I had seen any of the
Ewaipanoma, which are those without heads: who
being esteemed a most honest man of his word, and
in all things else, told me he had seen many of them. ' '
That Sir Walter Ealeigh, the finest flower of man-
hood that blossomed in his age, should have believed
these and other wonders does not belittle his fame.
He lived and fought and sailed in a world that had
not been explored and mapped and charted and
photographed and written about until all the ro-
mance and mystery were driven out of it. The
globe had not shrunk to a globule around which ex-
cursionists whiz in forty days on a coupon ticket.
Men truly great, endowed with the courage and re-
sourcefulness of epic heroes, and the simple faith of
little children, were voyaging into unknown seas to
find strange lands, ready to die, and right cheerfully,
for God and their King. Sir Walter Ealeigh was
bound up, heart and soul, in winning Guiana as a
great empire for England, and when his enemies at
home scouted his reports and accused him of trying
to deceive the nation with his tales of El Dorado, he
replied with convincing sincerity and pathos:
"A strange fancy it had been in me, to have per-
suaded my own son whom I have lost, and to have
persuaded my wife to have adventured the eight
thousand pounds which his Majesty gave them for
Shelborne, and when that was spent, to persuade
THE QUEST OF EL DORADO 355
my wife to sell her house at Mitcham in hope of en-
riching them by the mines of Guiana, if I myself had
not seen them with my own eyes! For being old
and weakly, thirteen years in prison, and not used
to the air, to travel and to watching, it being ten
to one that I should ever have returned, and of
which, by reason of my violent sickness, and the
long continuance thereof, no man had any hope,
what madness would have made me undertake the
journey, but the assurance of this mine." 9
He was referring here to his fourth and last voyage
in quest of El Dorado. Elizabeth was dead, and
James I bore Ealeigh no good will. After the long
imprisonment, for thirteen years under suspended
sentence of death, he was permitted to leave the
Tower and embark with a fleet of thirteen ships in
1617, it being particularly enjoined that he should
engage in no hostilities with his dearest enemy,
Spain. It is generally believed that King James
hoped and expected that such a clash of interests
as was almost inevitable in the attempt to plant the
English flag in Guiana would give him a pretext to
send Raleigh to the headman's block. It was on this
voyage that Raleigh lost his eldest son, besides sev-
eral of his ships, and utterly failed in the high-
hearted purpose of setting up a kingdom whose cap-
ital city should be that splendid lost city of Manoa.
He was unable to avoid battles with the insolent
Spanish, it was in one of these that his son was
killed, and when he returned to England, the price
was exacted and paid. Sir Walter Raleigh was exe-
cuted in the palace yard, Westminster, and thus per-
ished one who brought great glory to England by
land and sea.
Cayley's Life of Raleigh.
356 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Concerning El Dorado, Ealeigh had given cre-
dence to no more than was believed in his time by the
Spanish of every port from San Marta on the Carri-
bean to Quito on the Pacific. The old chronicles are
full of it. One instance, chosen almost at random
from many of the same kind is quoted by De Pons in
his History of Caraccas. 10
"When the wild Indian appeared before the Span-
ish governor of Guiana, Don Manuel Centurion of
Angostura, he was assailed with questions which he
answered with as much perspicuity and precision as
could be expected from one whose most intelligible
language consisted in signs. He, however, suc-
ceeded in making them understand that there was on
the border of Lake Parima a city whose inhabitants
were civilized and regularly disciplined to war. He
boasted a great deal of the beauty of its buildings,
the neatness of its streets, the regularity of its
squares, and the riches of its people. According to
him, the roofs of its principal houses were either of
gold or silver. The high-priest, instead of pontifical
robes, rubbed his whole body with the fat of the
turtle ; then they blew upon it some gold dust, so as
to cover his whole body with it. In this attire, he
performed the religious ceremonies. The Indian
sketched on a table with a bit of charcoal the city of
which he had given a description.
"His ingenuity seduced the governor. He asked
him to serve as a guide to some Spaniards he wished
to send on this discovery, to which the Indian con-
sented. Sixty Spaniards offered themselves for the
10 Translation of J. A. Van Heuvel in his "El Dorado. Being a
Narrative of the Circumstances which gave rise to reports in the Six-
teenth Century of the Existence of a Rich and Splendid City in
South America." (1844.)
THE QUEST OF EL DORADO 357
undertaking, and among others Don Antonio Santos.
They set off and traveled nearly five hundred leagues
to the south, through the most frightful roads.
Hunger, the swamps, the woods, the precipices, the
heat, the rains, destroyed almost all. When those
who survived thought themselves four or five days'
journey from the capital city and hoped to reach the
end of all their troubles, and the object of their de-
sires, the Indian disappeared in the night.
1 1 This event dismayed the Spaniards. They knew
not where they were. By degrees they all perished
but Santos to whom it occurred to disguise himself
as an Indian. He threw off his clothes, covered his
whole body with red paint, and introduced himself
among them by his knowledge of many of their lan-
guages. He was a long time among them, until at
length he fell within the power of the Portugese
established on the banks of the Eio Negro. They
embarked him on the river Amazon and after a very
long detention, sent him back to his country."
In this very brief survey of the growth and re-
sults of the El Dorado legend, there is no room even
to mention many of the most dramatic and disas-
trous expeditions which it inspired through the six-
teenth century. It was, in truth, the greatest lost
treasure story that the world has ever known. The
age of those splendid adventurers has vanished, ex-
ploration has proved that the golden city hidden in
Guiana was a myth, but now and again investiga-
tion has harked back to the source of the tradition
of the gilded man, at the mountain lake of Guatavita
on the lofty tableland of Bogota. Hernan de Que-
sada, first to try to drain the lake, was followed a
few years later by Antonio de Sepulveda who re-
covered treasure from the bottom to the amount of
358 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
more than one hundred thousand dollars, besides a
magnificent emerald which was sold at Madrid.
Professor Liborio Zerda, of the University of Co-
lombia at Bogota, has published his results of an
exhaustive study of the legend and the evidence to
show that the ceremonies of the gilded man were
once performed at Guatavita. He describes a group
of figures beaten out of raw gold which was recov-
ered from the lake and is now in the museum of that
city. It represents the chief and attendants upon a
balsa, or raft, and is considered to be a striking con-
firmation of the tradition.
1 1 Undoubtedly this piece represents the religious
ceremony which Zamora has described," writes Pro-
fessor Zerda, "with the caique of Guatavita sur-
rounded by Indian priests, on the raft which was
taken on the day of the ceremony to the middle of the
lake. It may be, as some persons believe, that Siecha
lagune, and not the present Guatavita, was the place
of the dorado ceremony, and consequently the an-
cient Guatavita. But everything seems to indicate
that there was really once a dorado at Bogota."
Zamora, who wrote in the seventeenth century, re-
corded that the Indians believed the spirit of the lake
had built a magnificent palace beneath the water
where she dwelt and demanded offerings of gold
and jewels, which belief spread over all the nation of
the Muysca and also among strangers "who all,
stricken by this wonderful occurrence, came to offer
their gifts by many different routes, of which even
to-day some signs remain. In the center of the lake
they threw their offerings with ridiculous and vain
ceremonies."
In 1823, Captain Charles Stuart Cochran of the
English navy was traveling in Colombia and he be-
THE QUEST OF EL DORADO 359
came keenly interested in the lake of Guatavita and
the chances of recovering the lost treasure by means
of a drainage project. He delved into the old Span-
ish records, assembled the traditions that were still
alive among the Indians and was convinced that a
fabulous accumulation of gold awaited the enterprise
of modern engineers. One of the ancient accounts,
so he discovered, related that to escape the cruel
persecution of the Spanish conquerors the wealthy
natives threw their gold into the lake, and that the
last caique cast therein the burdens of fifty men
laden with gold dust and nuggets.
Captain Cochran did not succeed in finding the
funds needed to undertake the tempting task, but his
information was preserved, and made some stir in
England and France. It was reserved for twentieth
century treasure seekers to attack the sacred lake
of Guatavita, and to capitalize the venture as a joint
stock company with headquarters in London and a
glittering prospectus offering investors an oppor-
tunity of obtaining shares in a prospective hoard of
gold and jewels worth something like a billion dol-
lars. A concession was obtained from the govern-
ment of Colombia, and work begun in 1903.
As an engineering problem, draining the lake
seemed practicable and comparatively inexpensive.
It is a deep, transparent pool, hardly more than a
thousand feet wide, almost circular, and set like a
jewel in a cup-like depression near the top of a cone-
shaped peak, several hundred feet above the nearby
plateau. The tunnel therefore had only to pierce
the hill-side to enter the lake and let the water flow
out to the plain below. It was estimated that the
shaft had to be driven a distance of eleven hundred
feet.
360 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
A small village of huts was built to shelter the
engineers and laborers, and rock drilling machinery
set up not far from the still visible remains of one of
the shafts dug by the Spanish treasure seekers of
the fifteenth century. No serious obstacles were
encountered until the tunnel had tapped the bottom
of the lake and the water began to run off through
carefully regulated sluices. Then, as the surface
lowered, and the submerged mud was exposed to the
air, it solidified in a cement-like substance which was
almost impossible to penetrate. The treasure must
have sunk many feet deep in this mud during four
or five centuries, and the workmen found it so baffling
that operations were suspended. The promoters of
the enterprise found this unexpected obstacle so
much more than they had bargained for that they
had to abandon it for lack of resources. In their
turn they had been thwarted by the spirit of the
gilded man, and the treasure of El Dorado is still
beyond the grasp of its eager pursuers.
CHAPTER XIV
THE WIZAKDY OF THE DIVINING KOD
WASHINGTON IRVING was so thoroughly versed in
the lore of buried treasure that the necromancy of
the divining rod, as a potent aid to this kind of in-
dustry, had received his studious attention. For
many centuries, the magic wand of hazel, or various
other woods, has been used, and implicitly believed
in, as a guide to the whereabouts of secrets hidden
underground, whether of running water, veins of
metal, or buried treasure. There is nothing far-
fetched, or contrary to the fact, in the lively picture
of Dr. Knipperhausen, that experienced magician,
who helped Wolfert Webber seek the treasure con-
cealed by pirates on the Manhattan Island of the
Knickerbocker Dutch of the "Tales of a Traveler."
"He had passed some years of his youth among
the Harz mountains of Germany, and had derived
much valuable instruction from the miners, touching
the mode of seeking treasure buried in the earth.
He had prosecuted his studies also under a traveling
sage who united the mysteries of medicine with
magic and legerdemain. His mind therefore had
become stored with all kinds of mystic lore; he had
dabbled a little in astrology, alchemy, divination;
knew how to detect stolen money, and to tell where
springs of water lay hidden ; in a word, by the dark
nature of his knowledge he had acquired the name
361
362 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
of the High-German-Doctor, which is pretty nearly
equivalent to that of necromancer.
'"The doctor had often heard rumors of treasure
being buried in various parts of the island, and had
long been anxious to get on the traces of it. No
sooner were Wolfert's waking and sleeping vagaries
confided to him, than he beheld in them confirmed
symptoms of a case of money digging, and lost no
time in probing it to the bottom. Wolf ert had long
been sorely oppressed in mind by the golden secret,
and as a family physician is a kind of father con-
fessor, he was glad of any opportunity of unburden-
ing himself. So far from curing, the doctor caught
the malady from his patient. The circumstances
unfolded to him awakened all his cupidity; he had
not a doubt of money being buried somewhere in the
neighborhood of the mysterious crosses and offered
to join Wolfert in the search.
' * He informed him that much secrecy and caution
must be observed in enterprises of this kind; that
money is only to be digged for at night ; with certain
forms and ceremonies, and burning of drugs ; the re-
peating of mystic words, and above all, that the seek-
ers must first be provided with a divining rod, which
had the wonderful property of pointing to the very
spot on the surface of the earth under which treas-
ure lay hidden. As the doctor had given much of
his mind to these matters, he charged himself with
all the necessary preparations, and, as the quarter
of the moon was propitious, he undertook to have
the divining rod ready by a certain night.
"Wolfert's heart leaped with joy at having met
with so learned and able a coadjutor. Everything
went on secretly, but swimmingly. The doctor had
many consultations with his patient, and the good
WIZARDY OF THE DIVINING BOD 363
woman of the household lauded the comforting effect
of his visits. In the meantime the wonderful divin-
ing rod, that great key to nature's secrets, wasxluly
prepared.
"The following note was found appended to this
passage in the handwriting of Mr. Knickerbocker.
4 There has been much written against the divining
rod by those light minds who are ever ready to scoff
at the mysteries of nature ; but I fully join with Dr.
Knipperhausen in giving it my faith. I shall not in-
sist upon its efficacy in discovering the concealment
of stolen goods, the boundary stones of fields, the
traces of robbers and murderers, or even the ex-
istence of subterranean springs and streams of
water ; albeit, I think these properties not to be read-
ily discredited; but of its potency in discovering
veins of precious metal, and hidden sums of money
and jewels, I have not the least doubt. Some said
that the rod turned only in the hands of persons who
had been born in particular months of the year;
hence astrologers had recourse to planetary influ-
ences when they would procure a talisman. Others
declared that the properties of the rod were either
an effect of chance or the fraud of the holder, or the
work of the devil. . . ."
The worthy and learned Mr. Knickerbocker might
have gone on to quote authorities by the dozen. This
weighty argument of his is not delivered with a wink
to the reader. He is engaged in no solemn foolery.
If one desires to find pirates' gold, it is really essen-
tial to believe in the divining rod and devoutly obey
its magic messages. This is proven to the hilt by
that very scholarly Abbe Le Lorrain de Vallemont
of France whose exhaustive volume was published
364 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
in 1693 with the title of La Physique Occulte, or
' ' Treatise on the Divining Eod and its Uses for the
Discovery of Springs of Water, Metallic Veins, Hid-
den Treasure, Thieves, and Escaped Murderers."
In his preface he politely sneers at those scholars
who consider the study of the divining rod as an idle
pursuit and shows proper vexation toward the igno-
rance and prejudice which are hostile to such re-
searches.
The author then indicates that the action of the
divining rod is to be explained by the theory of Cor-
puscular Philosophy, 1 and by way of concrete argu-
ment, refers to the most famous case in the ancient
annals of this art.
''It seems to me that my work would have been in-
complete, had I not seen Jacques Aymar, and that the
objection might have been raised that I had only
argued about statements not generally accepted.
This now famous man came to Paris on January
21st, 1693. I saw him two or three hours a day for
nearly a month, and my readers may rest assured
that during that time I examined him very closely.
It is a positive fact that the divining rod turned in
his hands in the direction of springs of water, pre-
cious metals, thieves, and escaped murderers. He
does not know why. If he knew the physical cause,
and had sufficient intellect to reason about it, I am
convinced that, whenever he undertook an experi-
ment he would succeed. But a peasant who can
neither read nor write will know still less about at-
mosphere, volume, motion of corpuscles distributed
in the air, etc. He is still more ignorant as to how
i "Corpuscular philosophy, that which attempts to account for the
phenomena of nature, by the motion, figure, rest, position, etc., of
the minute particles of matter." Webster's Dictionary.
"O
o
^ I
I!
-r
a
WIZARDY OF THE DIVINING EOD 365
these corpuscles can be disturbed and cease to pro-
duce the motion and dip of the rod. Neither is he
capable of recognizing how essential to success it is
for him to know whether he is in a fit condition to be
susceptible to the action of the corpuscles which are
thrown off from the objects toward which the rod
inclines."
"I do not deny that there are cheats who profess
belief in the rod, and put it to too many uses, just
as quacks, with a good remedy for a special ailment,
hold themselves up to contempt by wishing to palm
it off as a cure-all. To this I add that people will be
found who, endowed with greater and more delicate
sensibility, will possess still more abundantly than
he (Jacques Aymar) the faculty of discovering
springs of water, metallic veins, and hidden treasure,
as well as thieves and escaped murderers. We have
already received tidings from Lyons of a youth of
eighteen, who surpasses by a long way Jacques Ay-
mar. And anyone can see in Paris to-day, at the
residence of Mons. Geoffrey, late sheriff of that city,
a young man who discovers gold buried underground
by experiencing violent tremors the moment that he
walks over it. ' '
M. de Vallemont has no sympathy for those credu-
lous students of natural philosophy who have
brought the science into disrepute. They will scoff
at the divining rod and yet swallow the grossest
frauds without so much as blinking. He proceeds
to give an illustration, and it will bear translating
because surely it unfolds a unique yarn of buried
treasure and has all the charm of novelty.
"Upon this subject there is nothing more enter-
taining than that which took place at the end of the
last century, with regard to a boy who journeyed
366 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
through several towns exhibiting a golden tooth
which he declared had grown in the usual way.
"In the year 1595, towards Easter, a rumor
spread that there was in the village of Weildorst in
Silesia, Bohemia, a child seven years of age who had
lost all his teeth, and that in the place of the last
molar a gold tooth had appeared. No story ever
created such a stir. Scholars took it up. In a short
time, doctors and philosophers came forward to gain
knowledge and to pass judgment, as though it were a
case worthy of their consideration. The first to dis-
tinguish himself was Jacobus Horstius, Professor
of Medicine in the University of Helmstad. This
doctor, in a paper which he caused to be printed,
demonstrated that this golden tooth was partly a
work of nature and partly miraculous; and he de-
clared that in whatever light one viewed it, it was
manifestly a consolation sent from above to the
Christians of Bohemia, on whom the Turks were
then inflicting the worst barbarities.
"Martinus Eulandus published simultaneously
with Horstius the story of the golden tooth. It is
true that two years later Johannes Ingolsteterus re-
futed the story of Eulandus, but the latter in the
same year, 1597, not in the least discouraged, de-
fended his work against the attacks of Ingolsteterus.
"Andreas Libavius then entered the lists, and pub-
lished a book in which he recounted what had been
said for and against the golden tooth. This gave
rise to great disputes concerning a matter which
ultimately proved to be a somewhat clumsy decep-
tion. The child was taken to Breslau, where every-
body hastened to see so wonderful a novelty. They
brought him before a number of doctors, assembled
in great perplexity to examine the famous golden
WIZAEDY OF THE DIVINING KOD 367
tooth. Amongst them was Christophorus RJium-
baumius, a professor of medicine, who was most
anxious to see before believing.
"First of all, a goldsmith, wishing to satisfy him-
self that the tooth was of gold, applied to it his
touch-stone, and the line left on the stone appeared,
to the naked eye, to be in real gold, but on the appli-
cation of aqua fortis to this line, every trace disap-
peared, and a part of the swindle was exposed.
Christophorus Ehumbaumius, an intelligent and
skillful man, on examining the tooth more closely,
perceived in it a little hole, and, inserting a probe,
found that it was simply a sheet of copper probably
washed with gold. He could with ease have re-
moved the copper covering had not the trickster,
who was taking the child from town to town, opposed
it, complaining bitterly of the injury that was being
done him by thus depriving him of the chance of tak-
ing money from the curious and the credulous.
"The swindler and child disappeared, and no one
knows to this day exactly what became of them. But
because learned men have been duped now and then,
that is no reason for perpetual doubt . . . and
although the story of the golden tooth be false, we
should be wrong capriciously to reject that of the
hazel rod which has become so famous."
Having extinguished the skeptics, as one snuffs a
candle, by means of this admirable tale of the golden
tooth, the learned author asserts that "it must de-
note great ignorance of France, and even of books,
never to have heard of the divining rod. For I can
say with certainty that I have met quite by chance,
both in Paris and the provinces, more than fifty per-
sons who have used this simple instrument in order
to find water, precious metals and hidden treasure,
368 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
and in whose hands it has actually turned. 'It is
more reasonable/ says Father. Malebranche, 'to be-
lieve one man who says, / have seen, than a million
others who talk at random.'
"It is somewhat difficult to determine exactly the
period at which the divining rod first came into use.
I have discovered no reference to it by writers pre-
vious to the middle of the Fifteenth century. It is
frequently referred to in the Testament de Basile
Valentin, a Benedictine monk who flourished about
1490, 2 and I observe that he speaks of it in a way
which might lead one to suppose that the use of this
rod was known before that period.
"Might we venture to advance the theory that the
Divine Eod was known and used nearly two thou-
sand years ago f 3 Are we to count for naught Cic-
2 Andrew Lang writes in a chapter on the divining rod in Custom
and Myth:
"The great authority for the modern history of the divining
rod is a work published by M. Chevreul in Paris in 1854. M.
Chevreul, probably with truth, regarded the wand as much on a
par with the turning tables which, in 1854, attracted a good deal
of attention. . . . M. Chevreul could find no earlier book on
the twig than the Testament du Frere, Basile Valentin, a holy man
who flourished (the twig) about 1413, but whose treatise is possibly
apocryphal. According to Basile Valentin, the twig was regarded
with awe by ignorant laboring men, which is still true."
3 "And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and
chestnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white
appear which was in the rods.
"And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the
gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that
they should conceive when they came to drink." (Genesis xxx,
37-38.)
"And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and
take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou
smotest the river, take in thy hand, and go.
"Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb;
and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it,
WIZARDY OF THE DIVINING EOD 369
ero's illusion to divination by means of the rod, at
the end of the first book of his 'De Officiis,' 'If all
that we need for our nourishment and clothing comes
to us, as people say, by means of some divine rod,
then each of us should relinquish public affairs and
devote all his time to the study. '
"Varro, according to Vetranius Maurus, left
a satire called 'Virgula Divina,' which was often
quoted by Nonius Marcellus in his book entitled de
Proprietate sermonum. But what serves to con-
vince me that Cicero had in his mind the hazel twig,
and that it was known at that period, is the passage
he quotes from Ennius, in the first half of his 'De
Divinatione, ' in which the poet, scoffing at those who
for a drachma profess to teach the art of discover-
ing hidden treasure, says to them, 'I will give it you
with pleasure, but it will be paid out of the treasure
found according to your method.' "
And so this seventeenth century Frenchman, his
manner as wise as a tree-full of owls, drones along
from one musty authority to another in defense of
the mystic powers of the divining rod. He mar-
shals them in batteries of heavy artillery names of
scholars and alleged scientists who made a great
noise in their far-off times when the world was
younger and more given to wonderment. The dis-
cussions that raged among those Dry-as-dusts have
interest to-day because the doctrine of the divining
rod is still vigorously alive and its rites are prac-
ticed in every civilized country. Call it what you
will, a curiously surviving superstition or a natural
mystery, the ' ' dowser ' ' with his forked twig of hazel
that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the
elders of Israel." ( Exodus xvii, 5-6.)
370 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
or willow still commands a large following of be-
lievers and his services are sought, in hundreds of
instances every year, to discover springs of water
and hidden treasure. Learned societies have not
done with debating the case, and the literature of
the phenomenon is in process of making. No one,
however, has contributed more formidable ammuni-
tion than M. de Vallemont, who could discharge such
broadsides as this :
''Father Eoberti, who writes in the strongest
terms against the divining rod, nevertheless admits,
in the heat of the conflict, that the indications on
which the most scholarly of men set to work to dis-
cover mineral soil are all more or less unreliable,
and result in endless mistakes.
" 'What!' says this Jesuit father, 'is it possible
that people are willing to attribute greater knowl-
edge and judgment to a rough and lifeless piece of
wood than to hundreds of enlightened men? They
survey fields, mountains and valleys, devoting scru-
pulous attention to everything that comes under
their notice; not a trace of metal do they discover;
and if they happen to suspect that there might be
such a thing at a certain spot, they confess that their
surmise may be quite unfounded, and that every day
they learn to their sorrow, after infinite labor and
suspense, that their signs are altogether deceptive.
' ' ' Such a one as Goclenius, 4 however, armed with
his fork, will wander over the same ground, and led
by that instrument, clearer-sighted than the wisest
of men, will infallibly come to a standstill over treas-
ures hidden in the earth. Excavations will be made
at the spot indicated and the treasures will be laid
4 Goclenius was a diviner who also professed to make "magnetic
pures,"
WIZARDY OF THE DIVINING ROD 371
bare. My dear reader, do you wish me to speak
candidly? It is the Devil who is guiding Goclen-
ius.' "
In this emphatic statement of the devout French
priest of two centuries ago is to be traced the still
lingering superstition of an infernal partnership in
buried treasure. It is to be found in scores of
coastwise legends of pirates ' gold (no Kidd story is
properly decorated without its guardian demon or
menacing ghost), and the divining rod, handed down
from an age of witchcraft, necromancy, and black
magic, deserves a place in the kit of every well-
equipped treasure seeker. Sober, hard-headed
Scotchmen from Glasgow employ a Yorkshire
''dowser" to search for the treasure lost in the
Florencia galleon in Tobermory Bay, and he shows
them, and they are convinced, that he can tell
whether it be gold, or silver, or copper, which exerts
its occult influence over his divining rod. 5 This
happens in the year 1906, mind you, but our ardent
investigator, M. de Vallemont, was writing two hun-
dred years before :
4 'But, with the divining rod, it is possible to dis-
tinguish what metal is contained in the mine towards
which the rod inclines. For if a gold coin be
placed in each hand, the rod will only turn in the di-
rection of gold, because it becomes impregnated
with the corpuscles or minute particles of gold. If
silver be treated in the same way, the rod will only
dip towards silver. This, at any rate, is what we
are told by those who pride themselves on their suc-
cessful use of the rod."
John Stears, the expert diviner, who was recently
employed at Tobermory Bay, is more frequently re-
6 See chapter 9, p. 218.
372 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
tained to search, for water than for lost treasure.
This is his vocation and he takes it seriously enough,
as his own words indicate : 6
' * The power is not in the rod, but in the user, the
rod acting as an indicator, and rising when over a
stream. By moving the arms as I proceed, I can
keep on the edge of an underground stream, for the
apex descends when the rod is not over the stream.
I have several times followed a line of water down
to the shore, being rowed out in the bay, and found
the water boiling up mixed with land weeds. At
such a spot there is no movement of the rod except
over the course of the stream. It is almost impos-
sible to describe the sensation caused whilst using
the rod; it is sometimes like a current of electricity
going through the arms and legs. On raising one
foot from the ground the rod descends. The effect
produced when walking is that the rod has the ap-
pearance of a fishing rod when the fish is hooked,
the rod seems alive. Move it clear of the line of
water and down it goes.
"Very few people have the gift of finding water
or minerals, and not many rods will do, but those
that have thorns on them are all right. In the trop-
ics I used acacia, and in southern Europe the holly
or orange. The use of the rod is exhausting. If
I have been at it a few hours, the power gradually
gets less. A rest and some sandwiches produce
fresh power, and I can start again.
"I think the friction of the water against the rock
underground must cause some electric current, for
if the person using the rod stands on a piece of glass,
india-rubber, or other insulating material, all power
leaves him.
6 Quoted from the volume, Water Divining (London, 1902).
WIZARD Y OF THE DIVINING ROD 373
"In Cashmere, the rod is used before a well is
sunk, and when the French army went to Tonkin,
they used the rod for finding drinking water at their
camps, as they feared the wells were poisoned.
If the divining rod is able to fathom the secrets of
underground water channels, it must be as potent in
the case of buried treasure. Several years ago, the
claims of the modern "dowsers" were investigated
by no less an authority than Professor W. F. Bar-
rett, holding the chair of Experimental Physics in
the Royal College of Science for Ireland. The re-
sults were presented to the Society of Psychical Re-
search and published in two volumes of its proceed-
ings. He said in his introductory pages :
"At first sight, few subjects appear to be so un-
worthy of serious notice and so utterly beneath
scientific investigation as that of the divining rod.
To most men of science, the reported achievements of
the diviner are on a par with the rogueries of Sir
Walter Scott's 'Dousterswivel.' That anyone with
the smallest scientific training should think it worth
his while to devote a considerable amount of time
and labor to an enquiry into the alleged evidence on
behalf of the 'rod' will appear to my scientific
friends about as sensible as if he spent his time in-
vestigating fortune-telling or any other relic of
superstitious folly. Nor was my own prejudice
against the subject any less than that of others.
For I confess that it was with great reluctance, and
even repugnance, that some six years ago, yielding
to the earnest request of the Council of the Society
for Psychical Research, I began an investigation of
the matter, hoping, however, in my ignorance, that a
few weeks work would enable me to relegate it 'to a
limbo, large and broad, since called the Paradise of
374 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Fools/ " In the summing-up of his exhaustive in-
vestigations, Professor Barrett committed himself
to these conclusions:
"1. That the twisting of the forked twig, or so-
called divining rod, is due to involuntary muscular
action on the part of the dowser.
"2. That this is the result of an ideo-motor ac-
tion; any idea or suggestion, whether conscious, or
sub-conscious, that is associated in the dowser's
mind with the twisting of the twig, will cause it to
turn apparently spontaneously in his hands.
"3. Hence the divining rod has been used in the
search for all sorts of things, from criminals to
water, its action being precisely similar to the 'pen-
dule explorateur,' i. e., a small suspended ball or
ring depending by a thread from the hand.
"4. Dismissing, therefore, the mere twisting of
the forked rod, the question at issue is, how is the
suggestion derived by the dowser that starts this in-
voluntary muscular action? Here the answer is a
very complex and difficult one.
"5. Careful and critical examination shows that
certain dowsers (not all in whose hands the twig
turns) have a genuine facility or faculty for finding
underground water beyond that possessed by ordi-
nary well-sinkers.
"Part of this success is due (1st) to shrewd ob-
servation and the conscious and unconscious detec-
tion of the surface signs of underground water.
(2nd) A residue, say ten per cent or fifteen per
cent of their successes cannot be so explained, nor
can these be accounted for by chance nor lucky hits,
the proportion being larger than the doctrine of
probabilities would account for.
"This residue no known scientific explanation can
WIZARD Y OF THE DIVINING ROD 375
account for. Personally, I believe the explanation
will be found in some faculty akin to clairvoyance;
but as the science of to-day does not recognize such a
faculty, I prefer to leave the explanation to future
inquirers, and to throw on the skeptic the task of
disproving my assertions, and giving his own ex-
planations. ' '
This unexplained residue, "akin to clairvoy-
ance," as admitted by a scientist of to-day who
wears a top-hat and rides in taxi-cabs, clothes the
divining rod in the same alluring mystery which so
puzzled those childlike and credulous observers of
remote and misty centuries. The Abbe de Valle-
mont, writing in 1697, found the problem hardly
more difficult to explain than does this Professor of
Experimental Physics in the Royal College of Sci-
ence. The wise men of the seventeenth century
strove hard to comprehend the "unexplained resi-
due, ' ' each after his own fashion.
Michael Mayerus, in his book entitled Verum In-
ventum, hoc est, Munera Germans, claimed that the
world was indebted to Germany for the invention
of gunpowder, and stated that the first wood-char-
coal used in its manufacture, mixed with sulphur
and saltpeter, was made from the hazel tree. This
lead him to refer to the sympathy existing between
hazel wood and metals, and to add that for this rea-
son the divining rod was made of this particular
wood, which was peculiarly adapted to the discov-
ery of hidden gold and silver.
Philip Melanchthon, 1497-1560, famously learned
in Natural Philosophy and Theology, discoursed on
Sympathy, of which he recognized six degrees in
Nature, and in the second of these he named that
sympathy or affinity which is found to exist between
376 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
plants and minerals. He used as an illustration the
forked hazel twig employed by those who search
after gold, silver, and other precious metals. He
attributed the movement of the rod to the metallic
juices which nourish the hazel tree in the soil, and
he was therefore convinced that its peculiar mani-
festations were wholly sympathetic and according to
natural law.
Neuheusius spoke of the divining rod as a marvel
from the bounteous hands of Nature, and exhorted
men to use it in the search for mineral wealth and con-
cealed treasure. Enchanted with this insignificant-
looking instrument, he exclaimed: "What shall I say
now concerning the Divine Eod, which is but a sim-
ple hazel twig, and yet possesses the power of divina-
tion in the discovery of metals, be that power de-
rived from mutual sympathy, from some secret
astral influence, or from some still more powerful
source. Let us take courage and use this salutary
rod, so that, after having withdrawn the metals from
the abode of the dead, we may seek in the metals
themselves some such faculty for divination as we
find in the hazel."
Eudolph Glauber, who made many experiments
with the rod, had this to say of it : " Metallic veins
can also be discovered by means of the hazel rod.
It is used for that purpose, and I speak after long
experience. Melt the metals under a certain con-
stellation, and make a ball of them pierced through
the middle ; thrust into the hole thus formed a young
sprig of hazel, of the same year, with no branches.
Carry this rod straight in front of you over the
places where metals are believed to be, and when
the rod dips and the ball inclines towards the soil,
you may rest assured that metal lies beneath. And
WIZARDY OE THE DIVINING EOD 377
as this method is based on natural law, it should un-
doubtedly be used in preference to any other."
Egidius Gustman, supposedly a Eosicrucian
friar, and author of a work entitled La Revelation
de la Divine Majeste, devoted a chapter to the study
of the question "whether hazel rods may be used
without sin in the search for metals." He reached
the conclusion that there could be nothing unchristian
in their employment for the discovery of gold and
silver, provided neither words, ceremonies, nor en-
chantments be called into requisition, and that it be
done "in the fear and under the eyes of God."
M. de Vallemont quotes as his final authority the
Abbe Gallet, Grand Penitentiary of the Church of
Carpentras. He considers that the Abbe's high po-
sition in the church, and his deep knowledge of phys-
ics and mathematics, should lend great weight to
his opinion concerning the divining rod. He there-
fore requests a mutual friend to put to the Abbe this
question, "Is not the inclination of the rod due to
sleight of hand or something in which the Devil
may play a part?" The Abbe returns a long reply
in Latin, which de Vallemont is pleased to translate
and print in his book. It opens thus :
"Monsieur 1'Abbe Gallet declares in his own hand
that the rod turns in the direction of water and of
metals; that he has used it several times with ad-
mirable success in order to find water-courses and
hidden treasure, and that he is far from agreeing
with those who maintain that there is in it any
trickery or diabolical influence."
William Cookworthy, who flourished in England
about 1750, was a famous exponent of the divining
rod, and he laid down a most elaborate schedule of
directions for its use in finding hidden treasure or
378 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
veins of gold or silver. In conclusion, he sagely
observed : 7
"I would remark that 'tis plain a person may be
very easily deceived in making experiments with
this instrument, there being, in metallic countries,
vast quantities of attracting stones scattered
through the earth. The attractions of springs con-
tinually occurring; and even about town, bits of
iron, pins, etc. may easily be the means of deceiv-
ing the unwary. For as quantity makes no alter-
ation in the strength, but only in the wideness of
the attraction, a pin under one foot would stop the at-
traction of any quantity of every other sort, but gold,
which might be under the other. . . . Whoever,
therefore, will make experiments need be very cau-
tious in exploring the ground, and be sure not to be
too anxious, for which reason I would advise him,
in case of debates, not to be too warm and lay wa-
gers on the success, but, unruffled, leave the unbe-
lievers to their infidelity, and permit time and Prov-
idence to convince people of the reality of the
thing."
If one would know how to fashion the divining
rod to give most surely the magic results, he has
only to consult "The Shepherd's Calendar and
Countryman 's Companion ' ' in which it is affirmed :
"Cut a hazel wand forked at the upper end like
a Y. Peel off the rind and dry it in a moderate
heat; then steep it in the juice of wake-robin or
night-shade, and cut the single lower end sharp, and
where you suppose any rich mine or treasure is
near, place a piece of the same metal you conceive
is hid in the earth to the tip of one of the forks by
a hair or very fine silk or thread, and do the like
7 The Gentleman's Magazine (London, 1752).
WIZARD Y OF THE DIVINING ROD 379
to the other end. Pitch the sharp single end lightly
to the ground at the going down of the sun, the
moon being at the increase, and in the morning at
sunrise, by a natural sympathy, you will find the
metal inclining, as it were, pointing to the place
where the other is hid."
According to the author of the modern book, "The
Divining Rod and its Uses/' 8 "it is curious to note
that about one hundred years ago there was con-
siderable excitement in the north of England owing
to the remarkable powers possessed by a lady of
quality in the district, this being no other than Ju-
dith Noel, afterwards Lady Milbank, the mother
of Lady Byron. Miss Noel discovered her marvel-
ous faculty when a mere girl, yet so afraid was she
of being ridiculed that she would not publicly de-
clare it, thinking she might be called a witch, or
that she would not get a husband. Lady Milbank
afterwards overcame her prejudice and used the rod
on many occasions with considerable success. "
About 1880, a certain Madame Caillavah of Paris
was at the height of her fame as a high-priestess of
the divining rod, and her pretensions with respect
to finding buried treasure quite set France by the
ears. She was besought to discover, among other
hoards, the twelve golden effigies taken from the
Saint Chapelle during the Eevolution and hidden
underground for safe-keeping; the treasure of King
Stanislaus, buried outside the gates of Nancy; and
the vast accumulations of the Petits Peres, or Beg-
ging Friars. The French Government took Madame
seriously and permitted her to operate by means of
an agreement which should insure a proper division
of the spoils. There could be no better authority
8 By Young and Robertson (London, 1894).
380 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
for the singular exploits of Madame Caillavah than
the columns of The London Times which stated in
the issue of October 6th, 1882 :
"A certain Madame Caillavah, who in spite of a
long experience does not yet bring the credentials
of success, is said to be exploring the pavement of
St. Denis 9 in search of buried treasures. The
French Government likes partnerships, conventions,
and co-dominions, and it insists on what almost
amounts to the lion's share of the spoil. Neverthe-
less, a good many people have been found to invest
largely in the enterprise, which will cost something
if it comes to actual digging. The investigation
itself is not in the nature of an excavation, nor is it
with the spade or the pickax, unless, indeed, it should
turn out that it is a veritable gold mine under St.
Denis, when the royal monuments may be thankful
if even dynamite be not freely resorted to.
' * The divining rod is to lead the way. ... At
the beginning of this century France was one vast
field of buried treasure. The silver coin was so
bulky that 200 of our money would be a hundred-
weight to carry, and 1,000 would be a cartload. So
it was buried in the hope of a speedy return. The
fugitive owners perished or died in exile. Their
successors on the spot came upon one hoard after
another, and said nothing about it. That they did
find the money and put it in circulation, there could
be no doubt, for it was impossible to take a handful
of silver forty years ago without one or two pieces
showing a green rust in place of a white luster.
This was the result of long interment, and calcula-
tions were made as to the likely total of the ex-
humation.
9 For centuries the home of the Benedictine Order.
WIZARDY OF THE DIVINING ROD 381
"But one then heard nothing of the divining rod,
not at least in cities, in cathedrals, among the sepul-
chers of kings, and in the department of State. Our
first wish is that the experiment may be quite suc-
cessful. It would be so very surprising; quite a
new sensation, much wanted in these days. But
there would be something more than a passing sen-
sation. Even a moderate success would discover to
us a means of support and a mode of existence far
easier and pleasanter than any yet known. We
should only have to walk about, very slowly with
the orthodox rod, properly held and handled, keep-
ing our attention duly fixed on the desirableness of
a little more money, and we should find it springing
up, as it were, from the ground before us. . . .
"The French Minister of Fine Arts need not be
deterred, nay, it is plain he is not deterred, by
the scruples that interrupted the investigations of
the great Linne and stopped him on the very thresh-
old of verification. On one of his travels his secre-
tary brought him a divining wand, with an account
of its powers. Linne hid a purse containing one
hundred ducats under a ranunculus 10 in the garden.
He then took a number of witnesses who experi-
mented with the wand all over the ground, but with-
out success. Indeed, they trod the ground so com-
pletely that Linne could not find where he had buried
the purse.
"They then brought in the 'man with the wand'
and he immediately pointed out the right direction,
and then the very spot where the money lay.
Linne 's remark was that another experiment would
convert him to the wand. But he resolved not to
be converted, and therefore did not repeat the ex-
10 In plain English, flowers of the buttercup family.
382 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
periment. Possibly feeling that it was neither
science nor religion, he would have nothing, to do
with any other conceivable alternative."
In The London Times of November 3rd, 1882,
there was published under the head of ''Foreign
Intelligence," the following dispatch which may be
regarded as a tragic sequel of the foregoing para-
graphs :
"The titular Archbishop of Lepanto, who is the
head of the Chapter of St. Denis, has addressed a
remonstrance to the Government against the re-
newed divining rod experiments on which Madame
Caillavah is insisting under her compact with the
State for a division of the spoils. He dwells on the
absurdity of the theory that on the Revolutionary
seizure of 1793 the Benedictines could have con-
cealed a portion of their treasures, of which printed
lists existed and the most valuable of which were
notoriously confiscated.
"As to the notion of an earlier secretion of treas-
ures, the memory of which had perished, he urges
that St. Denis having belonged to the Benedictines
from its very erection, no motive for secretion ex-
isted and had there been any, the tradition or record
of it would have been preserved, while at least four
successive reconstructions would certainly have
brought any such treasure to light. The mob of
1793, moreover, actually ransacked the vaults, after
the removal of the bodies, for the very purpose of
discovering such secret hoards. St. Denis, in
short, is the very last place in the world for treas-
ure-trove, and as for the central crypt, which the
sorceress claims to break into, it was rifled in 1793
when it contained fifty-three bodies which left no
vacant space.
WIZARDY OF THE DIVINING ROD 383
"The Archbishop need scarcely have troubled
himself with this demonstration. Public ridicule
has made an end of the project, and even if Madame
Caillavah carried out her threat of a lawsuit, no
tribunal would hold her entitled to carry on exca-
vations ad libitum, with a risk, perhaps, of herself
and her workmen being buried under the ruins of
the finest of French cathedrals. In debating the
Fine Arts Department estimates, M. Delattre, Dep-
uty for St. Denis, animadverted on the divining rod
experiments in the cathedral. M. Tirard replied
that the Government had had no share in this ridic-
ulous business. The treaty with the sorceress was
concluded in January, 1881, by an official who had
since been superannuated, but was not acted upon
till she could deposit two hundred francs guarantee,
and as soon as he himself heard of the experiments
he put a peremptory stop to them.
"It is important here to observe that it after-
wards transpired that the object of Madame Cail-
lavah 's lawsuit was not so much to obtain damages
for any breach of contract as to vindicate her pri-
vate and public character and her professional rep-
utation as a so-called 'diviner' from the odium,
scorn, and defamation which the repudiation of the
treaty so universally entailed. The sad result of
all this was that the unfortunate and sensitive lady
was not able to withstand the opprobrium that was
heaped upon her, nor 'the ridicule that made an end
of her project.' This maligned and misunderstood
lady (who, as expressly stated, 'had no doubt
brought a good pedigree with her') after a few
months of sorrow, and conscious of her rectitude,
at length succumbed and, as reported, ultimately
qlied of a 'broken heart,' "
CHAPTER XV
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY
"Seven years were gone and over, Wild Roger came again,
He spoke of forays and of frays upon the Spanish Main,
And he had stores of gold galore, and silks and satins fine,
And flasks and casks of Malvoisie, and precious Gascon
wine;
Rich booties had he brought, he said, across the Western
wave.
But Roger was the same man still, he scorned his broth-
er's prayers
He called his crew, away he flew, and on those foreign
shores,
Got killed in some outlandish place, they called it the
Eyesores."
(Ingoldsby Legends.)
THE popular delusion that pirates found nothing
better to do with their plunder than to bury it, like
so many thrifty depositors in savings banks, clashes
with what is known of the habits and temperaments
of many of the most industrious rovers under the
black flag. By way of a concluding survey of the
matter, let us briefly examine the careers of divers
pirates of sorts and try to ascertain what they did
with their gold and whether it be plausible to as-
sume that they had any of it left to bury. Of course,
romance and legend are up in arms at the presump-
tion that any well-regulated and orthodox pirate
omitted the business with the pick and shovel and
the chart with the significant crosses and compass
384
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 385
bearings, but the prosaic facts of history are due to
have their innings.
For example, there was Jean Lafitte who amassed
great riches in the pursuit of his profession and
whose memory has inspired innumerable treasure-
seeking expeditions in the Gulf of Mexico and along
the coast of Central America. After ravaging the
commerce of the East India Company in the waters
of the Far East, he set up his headquarters on an
island among the bayous and cypress swamps of
that desolate region below New Orleans that is
known as Barrataria. A deep-water pass ran to
the open sea, only two leagues distant, and on the
shores of the sheltered harbor of Grand Terre,
Lafitte organized the activities of a large number
of pirates and smugglers and formed a flourishing
colony ; a corporation, in its way, for disposing of the
merchandise filched from honest shipping. These
marauders posed as privateers, and some of them
had French and other commissions for sailing
against the Spanish, but there was a great deal of
laxity in such trifles as living up to the letter of the
law.
At Grand Terre, Lafitte and his people sold the
cargoes of their prizes by public auction, and from
all parts of lower Louisiana bargain-hunters flocked
to Barrataria to deal in this tempting traffic. The
goods thus purchased were smuggled into New Or-
leans and other nearby ports, and Lafitte 's pi-
ratical enterprises became so notorious that the
government of the United States sent an expedition
against him in 1814, commanded by Commodore
Patterson. At Grand Terre he found a settlement
so great in force and numbers as to constitute a
small kingdom ruled by Lafitte, The commodore de-
386 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
scribed the encounter in a letter to the Secretary of
War, and said in part :
"At half -past eight o'clock A.M. on the 16th of
June, made the Island of Barrataria, and discovered
a number of vessels in the harbor some of which
showed the colors of Carthagena. At two o'clock,
perceived the pirates forming their vessels, ten in
number, including prizes, into a line of battle near
the entrance of the harbor, and making every prep-
aration to offer battle. At ten o'clock, wind light
and variable, formed the order of battle with six
gun boats and the Sea Horse tender, mounting one
six pounder and fifteen men, and a launch mounting
one twelve pound carronade; the schooner Carolina
drawing too much water to cross the bar.
"At half -past ten o'clock, perceived several
smokes along the coasts as signals, and at the same
time a white flag hoisted on board a schooner at the
fort, an American flag at the mainmast head, and a
Carthagenian flag (under which the pirates cruise)
at her topping-lift. I replied with a white flag at
my main. At eleven o'clock discovered that the pi-
rates had fired two of their best schooners; hauled
down my white flag and made the signal for battle;
hoisting a large flag bearing the words Pardon for
Deserters, having heard there was a number on
shore from our army and navy. At a quarter past
eleven o'clock, two gun-boats grounded, and were
passed, agreeably to my previous orders, by the
other four which entered the harbor, manned by
my barge and the boats belonging to the grounded
vessels, and proceeded in. To my great disap-
pointment, I perceived that the pirates had aban-
doned their vessels and were flying in all directions.
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 387
I immediately sent the launch and two barges with
small boats in pursuit of them.
"At meridian, took possession of all their vessels
in the harbor, consisting of six schooners and one
felucca, cruisers and prizes of the pirates, one brig,
a prize, and two armed schooners under the Car-
thagenian flag, both in the line of battle with the
armed vessels of the pirates, and apparently with
an intention to aid them in any resistance they
might make against me, as their crews were at
quarters, tompions out of their guns, and matches
lighted. Colonel Eoss (with seventy-five infantry)
at the same time landed and took possession of their
establishment on shore, consisting of about forty
houses of different sizes, badly constructed and
thatched with palmetto leaves.
1 'When I perceived the enemy forming their ves-
sels into a line of battle, I felt confident from their
number, and very advantageous position, and their
number of men, that they would have fought me.
Their not doing so I regret, for had they, I should
have been able more effectually to destroy or make
prisoners of them and their leaders. The enemy
had mounted on their vessels twenty pieces of cannon
of different caliber, and as I have since learned, had
from eight hundred to one thousand men of all na-
tions and colors."
Notwithstanding this unfriendly visit, Lafitte was
a patriot after his own fashion and during the War
of 1812 his sympathies were with the American
forces. In September, 1814, Captain Lockyer, of
a British naval vessel, anchored in the pass at Bar-
rataria, and delivered to Lafitte a packet of docu-
ments comprising a proclamation addressed to the
388 .THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
inhabitants of Louisiana by Colonel Edward Nich-
alls, commander of the English forces on the coast
of Florida, a letter from him to Lafitte, and another
from the Honorable W. H. Percy, captain of the
sloop-of-war Hermes. The upshot of all this was
a proposal that Lafitte enter the British naval serv-
ice in command of a frigate, and if he would take his
men with him he should have thirty thousand dol-
lars, payable at Pensacola.
Lafitte refused the tempting bait, and two days
later sent the following letter to Governor Clai-
borne of the state of Louisiana:
BARRATARIA, Sept. 4th. 1814.
"Sir:
"In the firm persuasion that the choice made of
you to fill the office of first magistrate of this state, was
dictated by the esteem of your fellow citizens, and was con-
ferred on merit, I confidently address you on an affair
on which may depend the safety of this country. I offer
to restore to this state several citizens who perhaps in
your eyes have lost that sacred title. I offer you them,
however, such as you could wish to find them, ready to
exert their utmost efforts in defense of the country. Thia
point of Louisiana which I occupy is of great importance
in the present crisis. I tender my services to defend it;
and the only reward I ask is that a stop be put to the
proscription against me and my adherents, by an act of
oblivion, for all that has been done hitherto. I am the
stray sheep wishing to return to the fold. If you are
thoroughly acquainted with the nature of my offenses, I
shall appear to you much less guilty, and still worthy to
discharge the duties of a good citizen. I have never sailed
under any flag but that of the republic of Carthagena, and
my vessels are perfectly regular in that respect. If I
could have brought my lawful prizes into the ports of
this state, I should not have employed the illicit means
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 389
that have caused me to be proscribed. I decline saying
more on the subject, until I have the honor of your Ex-
cellency's answer, which I am persuaded can be dictated
only by wisdom. Should your answer not be favorable to
my desires, I declare to you that I will instantly leave the
country, to avoid the imputation of having cooperated to-
wards an invasion of this point, which cannot fail to take
place, and to rest secure in the acquittal of my conscience.
"I have the honor to be
"Your Excellency's, etc.
"J. LAFlTTE."
This highly commendable document so favorably
impressed Governor Claiborne that he offered La-
fitte safe conduct to come to New Orleans and meet
General Andrew Jackson. After a conference of
this trio, the following order was issued :
1 1 The Governor of Louisiana, being informed that
many individuals implicated in the offenses hereto-
fore committed against the United States at Barra-
taria, express a willingness at the present crisis to
enroll themselves and march against the enemy :
"He does hereby invite them to join the stand-
ard of the United States and is authorized to say,
should their conduct in the field meet the approba-
tion of the Major General, that that officer will unite
with the Governor in a request to the President of
the United States, to extend to each and every indi-
vidual so marching and acting, a free and full par-
don."
At the battle of New Orleans, on January 8th,
1815, Lafitte and his lieutenant, Dominique, com-
manded a large force of what Jackson called the
"Corsairs of Barrataria, ' ' and defended their
breastworks and served their batteries with such
desperate gallantry that they nobly earned the prom-
390 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
ised pardons. These were granted by President
James Madison on February 6th, and he took occa-
sion to say:
"But it has since been represented that the offend-
ers have manifested a sincere repentance ; that they
have abandoned the prosecution of the worst cause
for the support of the best, and particularly, that
they have exhibited in the defense of New Orleans,
unequivocal traits of courage and fidelity. Offend-
ers, who have refused to become the associates of
the enemy in the war, upon the most seductive terms
of invitation; and who have aided to repel his hos-
tile invasion of the territory of the United States,
can no longer be considered as objects of punish-
ment, but as objects of a generous forgiveness."
The foregoing evidence is ample to prove that
Eafitte had no occasion to bury any of his treasure,
but like Kidd along the New England coast, legend
has been busy with his name and is blind to the facts
of record. He later made a settlement on the is-
land of Galveston and his history becomes obscured.
One version is that the love of the old trade
was in his blood, and he fitted out a large privateer
to have a farewell fling with fortune. A British
sloop-of-war overhauled him in the Gulf of Mexico,
hailed him as a pirate, and opened fire. The en-
gagement was terrifically hot, and Jean Lafitte was
killed at the head of his men while resisting a
boarding party.
Take next the case of that noted pirate Captain
Avery "whose adventures were the subject of gen-
eral conversation in Europe." He captured one of
the Great Mogul's ships laden with treasure; it was
reported that he had wedded a daughter of that mag-
nificent ruler and was about to found a new mon-
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 391
archy; that lie gave commissions in his own name
to the captains of his ships and the commanders
of his forces and was acknowledged by them as
their prince. With sixteen stout fellows of his own
kidney, he ran off with a ship in which he had sailed
from England as mate, and steered for Madagascar
in the year 1715. "The Pirates' Own Book" tells
the story of Captain Avery, his treasure, and the
melancholy fate of both, and the author is, as a rule,
such a well-informed historian of these matters, that
he should be allowed to set it forth in his own
words, which are framed in a style admirably be-
fitting the theme.
"Near the river Indus the man at the mast-head
espied a sail upon which they gave chase; as they
came nearer to her they discovered that she was a
tall vessel, and might turn out to be an East India-
man. She, however, proved a better prize ; for when
they fired at her, she hoisted Mogul colors, and
seemed to stand upon her defense. Avery only
cannonaded at a distance, when some of the men
began to suspect he was not the hero they had
supposed. His sloops, however, attacked, the one
on the bow, and another upon the quarter of the
ship, and so boarded her. She then struck her col-
ors. She was one of the Great Mogul's own ships,
and there were in her several of the greatest persons
in his court, among whom, it was said, was one of
his daughters going upon a pilgrimage to Mecca;
and they were carrying with them rich offerings to
present at the shrine of Mahomet. It is a well-
known fact that the people of the East travel with
great magnificence, so that these had along with
them all their slaves and attendants, with a large
quantity of vessels of gold and silver, and immense
392 .THE BOOK OF. BURIED TREASURE
sums of money to defray their expenses by land.
The spoil, therefore, which they received from that
ship was almost incalculable.
"Our adventurers made the best of their way
back to Madagascar, intending to make that place
the deposit of all their treasure, to build a small
fort, and to keep always a few men there for its pro-
tection. Avery, however, disconcerted this plan,
and rendered it altogether unnecessary. While
steering their course, he sent a boat to each of the
sloops, requesting that the chiefs would come on
board his ship to hold a conference. He suggested
to them the necessity of securing the property which
they had acquired, and observed that the main diffi-
culty was to get it safe on shore; adding that if
either of the sloops should be attacked alone, they
would not be able to make any great resistance.
That, for his part, his ship was so strong, so well
manned, and such a swift-sailing vessel, that he did
not think it possible for any other ship to take or
overcome her. Accordingly, he proposed that all
their treasure should be sealed up in three chests,
that each of the captains should have a key, and
that they should not be opened until all were pres-
ent; that the chests should be then put on board
his ship and afterwards lodged in some safe place
on land.
"This proposal seemed so reasonable, and so
much for the common good that it was agreed to
without hesitation, and all the treasure was depos-
ited in three chests and carried to A very 's ship.
The weather being favorable, they remained all three
in company during that and the next day; mean-
while Avery, tampering with his men, suggested
that they had now on board what was sufficient to
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 393
make them all happy; 'and what,' continued he,
' should hinder us from going to some country where
we are not known, and living on shore all the rest of
our days in plenty?' They soon understood his
hint, and all readily consented to deceive the men
of the sloops, and fly with all the booty. This they
effected during the darkness of the following night.
The reader may easily conjecture what were the
feelings and indignation of the other two crews in
the morning when they discovered that Avery had
made off with all their property.
" Avery and his men hastened towards America,
and being strangers in that country, agreed to di-
vide the booty, to change their names, and each sep-
arately to take up his residence and live in affluence
and honor. . . . Avery had been careful to con-
ceal the greater part of the jewels and other valua-
ble articles, so that his own riches were immense.
Arriving at Boston, he was almost resolved to set-
tle there, but as the greater part of his wealth con-
sisted of diamonds, he was apprehensive that he
could not dispose of them at that place, without be-
ing taken up as a pirate. Upon reflection, there-
fore, he resolved to sail for Ireland, and in a short
time arrived in the northern part of that kingdom,
and his men dispersed into several places. Some
of them obtained the pardon of King William and
settled in that country.
"The wealth of Avery, however, now proved of
small service and occasioned him great uneasiness.
He could not offer his diamonds for sale in that
country without being suspected. Considering,
therefore, what was best to be done, he thought
there might be some person in Bristol he could ven-
ture to trust. Upon this he resolved, and going to
394 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Devonshire, sent to one of his friends to meet him
at a town called Bidef ord. When he had unbosomed
himself to him and other pretended friends, they
agreed that the safest plan was to put his effects
in the hands of some wealthy merchants, and no in-
quiry would be made how they came by them.
* ' One of these friends told him he was acquainted
with some who were very fit for the purpose, and if
he would allow them a handsome commission, they
would do the business faithfully. Avery liked the
proposal, particularly as he could think of no other
way of managing this matter, since he could not ap-
pear to act for himself. Accordingly, the merchants
paid Avery a visit at Bideford, where after strong
protestations of honor and integrity, he delivered
them his effects, consisting of diamonds and some
vessels of gold. After giving him a little money for
his present subsistence, they departed.
"He changed his name and lived quietly at Bide-
ford, so that no notice was taken of him. In a short
time his money was all spent, and he heard nothing
from his merchants though he wrote to them re-
peatedly. At last they sent him a small supply, but
it was not sufficient to pay his debts. In short, the
remittances they sent him were so trifling that he
could with difficulty exist. He therefore determined
to go privately to Bristol, and have an interview
with the merchants himself, where instead of
money, he met with a mortifying repulse. For when
he desired them to come to an account with him, they
silenced him by threatening to disclose his charac-
ter ; the merchants thus proving themselves as good
pirates on land as he was at sea.
"Whether he was frightened by these menaces,
or had seen some other person who recognized him,
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 395
is not known. However, he went immediately to Ire-
land, and from thence solicited his merchants very
strongly for a supply, but to no purpose ; so that he
was reduced to beggary. In this extremity he was
determined to return and cast himself upon the
mercy of these honest Bristol merchants, let the con-
sequence be what it would. He went on board a
trading vessel, and worked his passage over to
Plymouth, from whence he traveled on foot to Bide-
ford. He had been there but a few days when he
fell sick and died ; not being worth so much as would
buy a coffin."
That very atrocious pirate, Charles Gibbs, squan-
dered most of his treasure, but it may be some con-
solation to know that $20,000 of it, in silver coin,
was buried on the beach of Long Island, a few miles
from Southampton, as attested by the records of the
United States Court of the Southern District of
New York. Captain Gibbs was a thoroughly bad
egg, from first to last, and quite modern, it is inter-
esting to note, for he was hanged as recently as 1831.
He was born in Rhode Island, raised on a farm, and
ran away to sea in the navy. It is to his credit that
he is said to have served on board the Chesapeake
in her famous battle with the Shannon, but after his
release from Dartmoor as a British prisoner of war,
he fell from grace and opened a grogery in Ann
Street, called the Tin Pot, "a place full of aban-
doned women and dissolute fellows." He drank up
all the profits, so went to sea again and found a
berth in a South American privateer. Leading a
mutiny, he gained the ship and made a pirate of
her, frequenting Havana, and plundering merchant
vessels along the Cuban coast. He slaughtered their
crews in cold blood and earned an infamous repu-
396 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
tation for cruelty. In his confession written while
he was under sentence of death in New York, he
stated "that some time in the course of the year
1819, he left Havana and came to the United States,
bringing with him about $30,000 in gold. He passed
several weeks in the city of New York, and then
went to Boston, whence he took passage for Liver-
pool in the ship Emerald. Before he sailed, how-
ever, he had squandered a large amount of his money
by dissipation and gambling. He remained in Liv-
erpool a few months, and then returned to Boston.
His residence in Liverpool at that time is satisfac-
torily ascertained from another source beside his
own confession. A female now in New York was
well acquainted with him there, where, she says, he
lived like a gentleman, apparently with abundant
means of support. In speaking of his acquaintance
with this female, he says, 'I fell in with a woman
who I thought was all virtue, but she deceived me,
and I am sorry to say that a heart that never
felt abashed at scenes of carnage and blood, was
made a child of for a time by her, and I gave way
to dissipation to drown the torment. How often
when the fumes of liquor have subsided have I
thought of my good and affectionate parents, and of
their Godlike advice! My friends advised me to
behave myself like a man, and promised me their as-
sistance, but the demon still haunted me, and I
spurned their advice.' " 1
After the adventure with the deceitful female,
Gibbs was not as successful as formerly in his pro-
fession of piracy, and appears to have lost his grip.
For several years he knocked about the Seven Seas,
i The Pirates' Own Book.
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 397
in one sort of shady escapade or another, but he
flung away whatever gold he harvested and was
driven to commit the sordid crime which brought
him to the gallows. In November of 1830, he shipped
as a seaman in the brig Vineyard, Captain William
Thornby, from New Orleans to Philadelphia with a
cargo of cotton and molasses, and $54,000 in specie.
Learning of the money on board, Gibbs cooked up a
conspiracy to kill the captain and the mate and per-
suaded Thomas Wansley, the steward, to help him
put them out of the way. According to the testi-
mony, others of the crew were implicated, but the
court convicted only these two. The sworn state-
ment of Seaman Kobert Dawes is as red-handed a
treasure story as could be imagined:
''When about five days out, I was told that there
was money on board. Charles Gibbs, E. Church,
and the steward then determined to take possession
of the brig. They asked James Talbot, another
member of the crew, to join them. He said no, as
he did not believe there was money in the vessel.
They concluded to kill the captain and mate, and if
Talbot and John Brownrigg would not join them,
to kill them also. The next night they talked of do-
ing it, and got their clubs ready. I dared not say a
word, as they declared they would kill me if I did.
As they did not agree about killing Talbot and
Brownrigg, their two shipmates, it was put off.
They next concluded to kill the captain and mate
on the night of November 22nd but did not get
ready; but on the night of the 23rd, between twelve
and one o 'clock, when I was at the helm, the steward
came up with a light and a knife in his hand. He
dropped the light and seizing the pump-break, struck
398 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
the captain with it over the head or back of the neck.
The captain was sent forward by the blow and hal-
loed, 'Oh' and 'Murder' once.
"He was then seized by Gibbs and the cook, one
by the head and the other by the heels and thrown
overboard. Atwell and Church stood at the com-
panion way, to strike down the mate when he should
come up. As he came up and enquired what was the
matter, they struck him over the head, he ran back
into the cabin, and Charles Gibbs followed him down ;
but as it was dark, he could not find him. Gibbs
then came on deck for the light with which he re-
turned below. I left the helm to see what was going
on in the cabin. Gibbs found the mate and seized
him, while Atwell and Church came down and struck
him with a pump break and club.
"The mate was then dragged upon deck. They
called for me to help them and as I came up, the
mate seized my hand and gave me a death grip.
Three of them hove him overboard, but which three
I do not know. The mate was not dead when cast
overboard, but called after us twice while in the
water. I was so frightened that I hardly knew what
to do. They then asked me to call Talbot, who was
in the forecastle saying his prayers. He came up
and said it would be his turn next, but they gave him
some grog and told him not to be afraid, as they
would not hurt him. If he was true to them, he
should fare as well as they did. One of those who
had been engaged in the bloody deed got drunk and
another became crazy.
"After killing the captain and mate they set about
overhauling the vessel, and got up one keg of Mexi-
can dollars. Then they divided the captain's clothes
and money, about forty dollars and a gold watch.
SUNDRY PIEATES AND THEIR BOOTY 399
Talbot, Brownrigg and I, who were all innocent men,
were obliged to do as we were commanded. I was
sent to the helm and ordered to steer for Long Is-
land. On the day following, they divided several
kegs of the specie, amounting to five thousand dol-
lars each, and made bags and sewed the money up.
After this division, they divided the rest of the
money without counting it.
"On Sunday, when about fifteen miles S.S.E. of
Southampton Light, they got the boats out and put
half the money in each, and then they scuttled the
vessel and set fire to it in the cabin, and took to the
boats. Gibbs, after the murder, took charge of the
vessel as captain. From the papers on board, we
learned that the money belonged to Stephen Gi-
rard. 2
"With the boats we made the land about daylight.
I was in the long-boat with three others. The rest
with Atwell were in the jolly-boat. On coming to the
bar the boats stuck, and we threw overboard a great
deal of money, in all about five thousand dollars.
The jolly-boat foundered. "We saw it fill and heard
them cry out, and saw them clinging to the masts.
We went ashore on Barren Island, and buried the
money in the sand, but very lightly. Soon after,
we met with a gunner, whom we requested to conduct
us where we could get some refreshments. They
were by him conducted to Johnson's (the only man
living on the island) where we stayed all night. I
went to bed about ten o'clock. Jack Brownrigg sat
up with Johnson, and in the morning told me that he
had told Johnson all about the murders. Johnson
went in the morning with the steward for the clothes,
which were left on the top of the place where they
2 The famous merchant and philanthropist of Philadelphia.
400 THE BOOK OF. BURIED TREASURE
buried the money, but I don't believe they took away
the money. "
Here was genuine buried treasure, but the cir-
cumstances were such as to make the once terrible
Captain Charles Gibbs cut a wretched figure. To
the ignominious crime of killing the captain and the
mate of a little trading brig had descended this free-
booter of renown who had numbered his prizes by
the score and boasted of slaying their crews whole-
sale. As for the specie looted from the brig Vine-
yard, half the amount was lost in the surf when the
jolly-boat foundered, and the remainder buried where
doubtless that hospitable resident, Johnson, was able
to find most of it. Silver dollars were too heavy to
be carried away in bulk by stranded pirates, fleeing
the law, and these rascals got no good of their plun-
der.
Glance at the sin-stained roster of famous pirates,
Edward Low, Captain England, Captain Thomas
White, Benito De Soto, Captain Eoberts, Captain
John Kackham, Captain Thomas Tew, and most of
the bloody crew, and it will be found that either they
wasted their treasure in debaucheries, or were
hanged, shot, or drowned with empty pockets. Of
them all, Blackbeard 3 fills the eye most struttingly
as the proper pirate to have buried treasure. He
was immensely theatrical, fond of playing the part
right up to the hilt, and we may rest assured that un-
less his sudden taking-off prevented, he was at pains
3 "I happen to know the fact that Blackbeard, whose family name
was given as Teach, was in reality named Drumond, a native of
Bristol. I have learned this fact from one of his family and name,
of respectable standing in Virginia, near Hampton." (Watson's
Annals of Philadelphia.)
In the contemporary court records of the Carolina colony, the
name of Blackbeard is given as Thatch.
Gibbs and Wansley burying the treasure.
The Portuguese captain cutting away the bag of moidores.
(From The Pirates' Own Book.)
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 401
to bury at least one sea-chest full of treasure in or-
der to live up to the best traditions of his calling.
He was prosperous, and unlike most of his lesser
brethren, suffered no low tides of fortune. By
rights, he should be a far more famous character
than Captain William Kidd whose commonplace
career was so signally devoid of purple patches.
Blackbeard was a pirate "right out of a book," as
the saying is. How this Captain Edward Teach
swaggered through the streets of Charleston and
terrorized the Carolinas and Bermuda is an old
story, as is also the thrilling narrative of his capture,
after a desperate battle, by brave Lieutenant May-
nard, who hung the pirate's head from his bowsprit
and sailed home in triumph. There are touches here
and there, however, in the authentic biography of
Blackbeard which seem to belong in a discussion of
buried treasure, for he was so very much the kind of
flamboyant rogue that legend paints as infernally
busy with pick and shovel on dark and lonely beaches.
Blackbeard is the hero of such extremely diverting
tales as these, which sundry writers have not
scrupled to appropriate, either for purposes of fic-
tion or unblushingly to fit them to poor Captain Kidd
as chronicles of fact :
"In the commonwealth of pirates, he who goes
the greatest length of wickedness is looked upon
with a kind of envy amongst them, as a person of a
most extraordinary gallantry. He is therefore en-
titled to be distinguished by some post, and if such a
one has but courage, he must certainly be a great
man. The hero of whom we are writing was thor-
oughly accomplished in this way, and some of his
frolics of wickedness were as extravagant as if he
aimed at making his men believe he was a devil in-
402 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
carnate. Being one day, at sea, and a little flushed
with drink; 'Come,' said he, 'let us make a hell of
our own, and try how long we can bear it.' Accord-
ingly he, with two or three others, went down into
the hold, and closing up all the hatches, filled several
pots full of brimstone, and other combustible mat-
ter. They then set it on fire, and so continued till
they were almost suffocated, when some of the men
cried out for air. At length he opened the hatches,
not a little pleased that he had held out the longest.
' ' One night, Blackbeard, drinking in his cabin with
Israel Hands, 4 and the pilot, and another man, with-
out any pretense took a small pair of pistols, and
cocked them under the table. Which being per-
ceived by the man, he went on deck, leaving the cap-
tain, Hands, and the pilot together. When his pis-
tols were prepared, he extinguished the candle,
crossed his arms and fired at the company, under the
table. The one pistol did no execution, but the other
wounded Hands in the knee. Interrogated concern-
ing the meaning of this, he answered with an impre-
cation, ' That if he did not now and then kill one of
them, they would forget who he was.' "
"In Blackboard's journal, which was taken, there
were several memoranda of the following nature, all
written with his own hand. 'Such a day, rum all
out; our company somewhat sober; a damned
confusion amongst us! rogues a-plotting; great
talk of separation; so I looked sharp for a prize;
* Israel Hands was tried and condemned with Blackbeard's crew,
but was pardoned by royal proclamation, and, according to Captain
Johnson, "was alive some time ago in London, begging his bread."
This would indicate that he had buried no treasure of his own, and
had not fathomed Blackbeard's secret. Stevenson borrowed the
name of Israel Hands for one of his crew of pirates in "Treasure
Island."'
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 403
such a day took one with a great deal of liquor on
board; so kept the company hot, damned hot, then
all things went well again.'
"Blackbeard derived his name from his long
black beard, which, like a frightful meteor, covered
his whole face, and terrified all America more than
any comet that has ever appeared. He was ac-
customed to twist it with ribbon in small quantities,
and turn them about his ears. In time of action he
wore a sling over his shoulder with three braces of
pistols. He stuck lighted matches under his hat,
which appearing on both sides of his face and eyes,
naturally fierce and wild, made him such a figure that
the human imagination cannot form a conception of
a fury more terrible and alarming." 5
In the best account of his melodramatic exit from
the life which he had adorned with so much distinc-
tion, there is a reference to buried treasure that must
be set down as a classic of its kind.
"Upon the 17th of November, 1717, Lieutenant
Maynard left James 's Eiver in quest of Blackbeard.
and on the evening of the 21st came in sight of the
pirate. This expedition was fitted out with all pos-
sible secrecy, no boat being permitted to pass that
might convey any intelligence, while care was taken
to discover where the pirates were lurking. . . .
The hardened and infatuated pirate, having been
often deceived by false intelligence, was the less at-
tentive, nor was he convinced of his danger until he
saw the sloops sent to apprehend him. Though he
had then only twenty men on board, he prepared to
give battle. Lieutenant Maynard arrived with his
sloops in the evening and anchored, as he could not
e The Pirates' Own Book.
404 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
venture, under cloud of night, to go into the place
where Blackbeard lay.
''The latter spent the night in drinking with the
master of a trading vessel, with the same indiffer-
ence as if no danger had been near. Nay, such was
the desperate wickedness of this villain, that, it is
reported, during the carousals of that night, one of
his men asked him, 'In case anything should happen
to him during the engagement with the two sloops
which were waiting to attack him in the morning,
whether his wife knew where he had buried his
money?' To this he impiously replied, 'That no-
body but himself and the devil knew where it was,
and the longest liver should take all. '
"In the morning Maynard weighed, and sent his
boat to take soundings, which, coming near the pi-
rate, received her fire. Maynard then hoisted royal
colors, and directly toward Blackbeard with every
sail and oar. In a little while the pirate ran
aground, and so did the king's vessels. Maynard
lightened his vessel of the ballast and water and
made towards Blackbeard. Upon this, the pirate
hailed in his own rude style. ' Damn you for villains,
who are you, and from whence come you?' The
lieutenant answered, 'You may see from our colors
we are no pirates.' Blackbeard bade him send his
boat on board, that he might see who he was. But
Maynard replied, 'I cannot spare my boat, but I will
come on board of you as soon as I can with my
sloop. ' Upon this Blackbeard took a glass of liquor
and drank to him, saying, 'I'll give no quarter nor
take any from you. ' Maynard replied, ' He expected
no quarter from him, nor should he take any. ' "
This is from The Pirates' Own Book. Captain Johnson's version
is unexpurgated and to be preferred, for he declares that Black-
Interview between Lafitte, General Andrew Jackson, and
Governor Claiborne.
The death of Black Beard.
(From The Pirates' Own Book.)
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 405
It is to be presumed that the devil fell heir to
Blackboard's treasure, inasmuch as Lieutenant
Maynard and his men fairly cut the pirate and his
crew to pieces. Turn we now from such marauders
as this to that greater generation of buccaneers, so
called, who harried the Spanish treasure fleets and
towns in the West Indies and on the coasts of the
Isthmus and South and Central America. During
the period when Port Royal, Jamaica, was the head-
quarters and recruiting station for these pictur-
esque cut-throats, and Sir Henry Morgan was their
bright, particular star, there is the testimony of an
eye-witness and participant to show that the blood-
stained gold seldom tarried long enough with its
owners to permit of burying it, and that they both-
ered their wicked heads very little about safeguard-
ing the future.
Captain Bartholomew Roberts, that "tall, black
man, nearly forty years old, whose favorite toast
was 'Damnation to him who ever lives to wear a
halter,' ;| * was snuffed out in an action with a King's
ship, and the manner of his life and melodramatic
quality of his death suggest that he be mentioned
herein as worthy of a place beside Blackboard him-
self. Roberts has been overlooked by buried treas-
ure legend, and this is odd, for he was a figure to
inspire such tales. His flamboyant career opened in
1719 and was successful until the British man-of-
war Swallow overhauled him on the African coast.
His biographer, Captain Charles Johnson, writing
while the episode was less than a decade old and
when the facts were readily obtainable, left us this
fine picture of the fight :
beard cried out, "Damnation seize my soul if I give you quarter, or
take any from you."
406 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
"Boberts himself made a gallant figure at the
time of the engagement, being dressed in a rich
crimson damask waistcoat and breeches, a red
feather in his hat, a gold chain round his neck, with
a diamond cross hanging to it, a sword in his hand,
and two pair of pistols hanging at the end of a silk
sling flung over his shoulder (according to the
fashion of the pirates). He is said to have given
his orders with boldness and spirit ; coming, accord-
ing to what he had purposed, close to the man of
war, received her fire, and then hoisted his black
flag 7 and returned it ; shooting away from her with
all the sail he could pack. . . . But keeping his
tacks down, either by the wind's shifting or ill steer-
age, or both, he was taken aback with his sails, and
the Swallow came a second time very nigh to him.
He had now perhaps finished the fight very desper-
ately if Death, who took a swift passage in a grape-
shot, had not interposed and struck him directly on
the throat.
* ' He settled himself on the tackles of a gun, which
one Stephenson from the helm, observing, ran to his
assistance, and not perceiving him wounded, swore
at him and bid him stand up like a man. But when
he found his mistake, and that Captain Eoberts was
certainly dead, he gushed into tears and wished the
next shot might be his lot. They presently threw
him overboard, with his arms and ornaments on, ac-
cording to the repeated requests he had made in his
life."
7 As showing the fanciful tastes in sinister flags, Captain Johnson
records that Captain Roberts flew "a black silk flag at the mizzen
peak, and a jack and pendant at the same. The flag had a death's
head on it, with an hour glass in one hand, and cross bones in the
other, a dart by one, and underneath a heart dropping three drops of
blood."
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 407
There was no treasure for the stout-hearted
scoundrels who were captured by the Swallow.
They had diced with fortune and lost, and Execu-
tion Dock was waiting for them, but they are worth a
passing acquaintance and it gives one a certain sat-
isfaction to learn that ' ' they were impudently merry,
saying when they viewed their nakedness, 'That
they had not one half penny left to give old Charon
to ferry them over the Styx, ' and at their thin com-
mons they would observe that they fell away so fast
that they should not have weight enough to hang
them. Button used to be very profane, and he hap-
pening to be in the same irons with another prisoner
who was more serious than ordinary and read and
prayed often, as became his condition, this man Sut-
ton used to swear and ask him, 'What he proposed
by so much noise and devotion?' 'Heaven, I hope,'
says the other. 'Heaven, you fool,' says Sutton,
'Did you ever hear of any pirate going thither?
Give me Hell. It is a merrier place. I'll give Bob-
erts a salute of thirteen guns at entrance.' "
After Morgan had sacked the rich city of Porto
Bello, John Esquemeling wrote of the expedition : 8
"With these (ships) he arrived in a few days at
the Island of Cuba, where he sought out a place
wherein with all quiet and repose he might make the
dividend of the spoil they had got. They found in
ready money two hundred and fifty thousand pieces
of eight, besides all other merchandises, as cloth,
s The Buccaneers of America. A True Account of the Most Re-
markable Assaults Committed of Late Years Upon the Coasts of the
West Indies by the Buccaneers of Jamaica and Tortuga (Both Eng-
lish and French). Wherein are contained more especially the Un-
paralleled Exploits of Sir Henry Morgan, our English Jamaican
hero who sacked Porto Bello, burnt Panama, etc. (Published in
1684.)
408 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
linen, silks, and other goods. With this rich booty
they sailed again thence to their common place of
rendezvous, Jamaica. Being arrived, they passed
here some time in all sorts of vices and debauchery,
according to their common manner of doing, spend-
ing with huge prodigality what others had gained
with no small labor and toil. ' '
". . . Such of these Pirates are found who will
spend two or three thousand pieces of eight in one
night, not leaving themselves, peradventure, a good
shirt to wear on their backs in the morning. My
own master would buy, on like occasions, a whole
pipe of wine, and placing it in the street, would
force everyone that passed by to drink with him;
threatening also to pistol them in case they would
not do it. At other times, he would do the same
with barrels of ale or beer. And, very often, with
both his hands, he would throw these liquors about
the streets and wet the clothes of such as walked by,
without regarding whether he spoiled their apparel
or not, were they men or women.
''Among themselves, and to each other, these Pi-
rates are extremely liberal and free. If any one
of them has lost his goods, which often happens in
their manner of life, they freely give him, and make
him partaker of what they have. In taverns and
ale-houses they always have great credit; but in
such houses at Jamaica they ought not to run very
deep in debt, seeing the inhabitants of that island
easily sell one another for debt. Thus it happened
to my patron, or master, to be sold for a debt of a
tavern wherein he had spent the greater part of his
money. This man had, within the space of three
months before, three thousand pieces of eight in
ready cash, all which he wasted in that short
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 409
space of time, and became as poor as I have told
you. ' '
The same free-handed and lurid manner of life
prevailed on the little island of Tortuga, off the
coast of Hayti, where the French and English buc-
caneers had a lawless kingdom of their own. In
his account of the career of the infamous L'Ollonais,
Esquemeling goes on to say :
"Departing therefore thence, they took their
course towards the island Hispaniola, and arrived
thither in eight days, casting anchor in a port called
Isla de la Vaca, or Cow Island. This isle is inhab-
ited by French buccaneers 9 who most commonly
sell the flesh they hunt to Pirates and others who
now and then put in there with intent of victualing
or trading with them. Here they unladed the
whole cargo of riches which they had robbed; the
usual storehouse of the Pirates being commonly un-
der the shelter of the buccaneers. Here also they
made a dividend amongst them of all of their prizes
and gains, according to that order and degree which
belonged to everyone. Having cast up the account
and made exact calculation of all they had pur-
chased, they found in ready money two hundred and
three-score thousand pieces of eight. Whereupon,
this being divided, everyone received to his share in
money, and also in pieces of silk, linen and other
commodities, the value of above hundred pieces of
9 The buccaneers derived their name from the process of drying
beef over a wood fire, or bouCane in French. They were at first
hunters of wild cattle in the island of Hispaniola or Hayti who
disposed of their product to smugglers, traders, and pirates, but
they were a distinct class from the filibusters or sea rovers. As
cattle became scarce and the Spanish more hostile and cruel foes,
the buccaneers, French and English, forsook their trade and took
to the sea, to harry the common foe.
410 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
eight. Those who had been wounded in this expe-
dition received their part before all the rest ; I mean
such recompenses as I spoke of the first Book, for
the loss of their limbs which many sustained. 10
"Afterwards they weighed all the plate that was
uncoined, reckoning after the rate of ten pieces of
eight for every pound. The jewels were prized with
much variety, either at too high or too low rates;
being thus occasioned by their own ignorance. This
being done, everyone was put to his oath again, that
he had not concealed anything nor subtracted from
the common stock. Hence they proceeded to the
dividend of what shares belonged to such as were
dead amongst them, either in battle or otherwise.
These shares were given to their friends to be kept
entire for them, and to be delivered in due time to
their nearest relatives, or whomsoever should ap-
pear to be their lawful heirs.
"The whole dividend being entirely finished, they
set sail thence for the Isle of Tortuga. Here they
arrived one month after, to the great joy of most
that were upon the island. For as to the common
Pirates, in three weeks they had scarce any money
left them; having spent it all in things of little
value, or at play either at cards or dice. Here also
arrived, not long before them, two French ships
laden with wine and brandy and other things of this
10 The schedule thus referred to stipulated that for the crew,
except the officers specified, it was a case of "no prey, no pay."
For the loss of a right arm, the consolation money was six hundred
pieces of eight, or six slaves; for the loss of a left arm, five hundred
pieces of eight, or five slaves; for the left leg, four hundred pieces
of eight, or four slaves; for an eye one hundred pieces of eight, or
one slave; for a finger of the hand the same reward as for the eye.
"All which sums of money, as I have said before, are taken out
of the capital sum or common stock of what is got by their piracy."
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 4ir
kind; whereby these liquors, at the arrival of the
Pirates, were sold indifferent cheap. But this
lasted not long; for soon after they were enhanced
extremely, a gallon of brandy being sold for four
pieces of eight. The Governor of the island bought
of the Pirates the whole cargo of the ship laden with
cacao, giving them for that rich commodity scarce
the twentieth part of what it was worth. Thus they
made shift to lose and spend the riches they had got
in much less time than they were purchased by rob-
bing. The taverns, according to the custom of Pi-
rates, got the greatest part thereof; insomuch that
soon after they were constrained to seek more by
the same unlawful means they had obtained the pre-
ceding. ' '
Morgan himself buried none of his vast treasure,
although legend persists in saying so, nor did he
waste it in riotous living. From the looting of
Panama alone he took booty to the value of two
million dollars as his share, and he had no need to
hide it. He was thought so well of in England that
Charles II knighted him, and he was appointed
Commissary of the Admiralty. For some time he
lived in England, published his Voyage to Panama
in 1683, and spent his remaining years in Jamaica
as an opulent and influential person in high favor
with the ruling powers, and a terror to the luckless,
beggared comrades who had helped him win his
fortune. As governor of the island he hanged as
many as he could lay hands on, a kind of ingratitude
not at all inconsistent with the traits of character
he had displayed as a pirate. He did not hesitate
to rob his own men, according to Esquemeling from
whose narrative of the great expedition against
Panama the following paragraphs are taken as
412 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
indicative of the methods of this great freebooter
of the Spanish Main:
"Not long after Captain Morgan arrived at
Jamaica, he found many of his chief officers and
soldiers reduced to their former state of indigence
through their immoderate vices and debauchery.
Hence they ceased not to importune him for new
invasions and exploits, thereby to get something to
expend anew in wine, as they had already wasted
what was secured so little before. Captain Morgan
being willing to follow fortune while she called him,
hereupon stopped the mouths of many of the inhabi-
tants of Jamaica, who were creditors to his men for
large sums of money, with the hopes and promises he
gave them of greater achievements than ever, by a
new expedition he was going about. This being done,
he needed not give himself much concern to levy
men for this or any other enterprise, his name being
now so famous through all those islands that that
alone would readily bring him in more men than he
could readily employ. He undertook therefore to
equip a new fleet of ships; for which purpose he
assigned the south side of the Isle of Tortuga as a
place of rendezvous. With this resolution he wrote
divers letters to all the ancient and expert Pirates
there inhabiting, as also to the Governor of the said
Isle, and to the planters and hunters of Hispaniola,
giving them to understand his intentions, and desir-
ing their appearance at the said place, in case they
intended to go with him. All these people had no
sooner understood his designs than they flocked to
the place assigned in huge numbers, with ships, ca-
noes, and boats, being desirous to obey his com-
mands. . . . Thus all were present at the place
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 413
assigned, and in readiness, against the 24th day of
October, 1670."
Special articles of agreement for the division of
the treasure of Panama were drawn up by Morgan
before his fleet sailed. "Herein it was stipulated
that he should have the hundredth part of all that
was gotten to himself alone: That every captain
should draw the shares of eight men, for the ex-
penses of his ship, besides his own: That the sur-
geon, besides his ordinary pay, should have two hun-
dred pieces of eight, for his chest of medicine: And
every carpenter, above his common salary, should
draw one hundred pieces of eight. Lastly, unto
him that in any battle should signalize himself, either
by entering the first any castle, or taking down the
Spanish colors and setting up the English, they
constituted fifty pieces of eight for a reward. In
the head of these articles it was stipulated that all
these extraordinary salaries, recompenses and re-
wards should be paid out of the first spoil or pur-
chase they should take, according as every one should
then occur to be either rewarded or paid."
The expedition was a gorgeous success, for "on
the 24th of February, of the year 1671, Captain Mor-
gan departed from the city of Panama, or rather
from the place where the said city of Panama had
stood ; of the spoils whereof he carried with him one
hundred and seventy-five beasts of carriage, laden
with silver, gold and other precious things, besides
six hundred prisoners, more or less, between men,
women, children and slaves. . . . About the
middle of the way to the castle of Chagre, Captain
Morgan commanded his men to be placed in due
order, according to their custom, and caused every
414 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
one to be sworn that they had reserved nor con-
cealed nothing privately to themselves, even not so
much as the value of sixpence. This being done,
Captain Morgan, having had some experience that
those lewd fellows would not much stickle to swear
falsely in points of interest, he commanded every
one to be searched very strictly both in their clothes
and satchels and everywhere it might be presumed
they had reserved anything. Yea, to the intent this
order might not be ill taken by his companions, he
permitted himself to be searched, even to the very
soles of his shoes. To this office, by common con-
sent, there was assigned one out of every company
to be the searcher of all the rest. The French Pi-
rates that went on this expedition with Captain Mor-
gan were not well satisfied with this new custom of
searching.
"From Chagre, Captain Morgan sent presently
after his arrival a great boat to Porto Bello, wherein
were all the prisoners he had taken at the Isle of St.
Catharine, demanding by them a considerable ran-
som for the castle of Chagre, where he then was,
threatening otherwise to ruin and demolish it even
to the ground. To this message those of Porto
Bello made answer: That they would not give one
farthing towards the ransom of the said castle, and
that the English might do with it as they pleased.
The answer being come, the dividend was made of
all the spoil they had purchased in that voyage.
Thus every company and every particular person
therein included, received their portion of what was
got; or rather, what part thereof Captain Morgan
was pleased to give them. For so it was, that the
rest of his companions, even of his own nation, com-
plained of his proceedings in this particular, and
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 415
feared not to tell him openly to his face that he had
reserved the best jewels to himself. For they
judged it impossible that no greater share should
belong to them than two hundred pieces of eight per
capita, of so many valuable booties and robberies
as they had obtained. Which small sum they
thought too little reward for so much labor and such
huge and manifest dangers as they had so often ex-
posed their lives to. But Captain Morgan was deaf
to all these and many other complaints of this kind,
having designed in his mind to cheat them of as
much as he could.
"At last, Captain Morgan finding himself obnox-
ious to many obloquies and detractions among his
people, began to fear the consequences thereof, and
hereupon thinking it unsafe to remain any longer
time at Chagre, he commanded the ordnance of the
said castle to be carried on board his ship. After-
wards he caused the greatest part of the walls to be
demolished, and the edifices to be burnt, and as many
other things spoiled and ruined as could conven-
iently be done in a short while. These orders being
performed, he went secretly on board his own ship,
without giving any notice of his departure to his
companions, nor calling any council, as he used to do.
Thus he set sail and put out to sea, not bidding any-
body adieu, being only followed by three or four
vessels of the whole fleet.
"These were such (as the French Pirates be-
lieved) as went shares with Captain Morgan, to-
wards the best and greatest part of the spoil which
had been concealed from them in the dividend. The
Frenchmen could very willingly have revenged this
affront upon Captain Morgan and those that fol-
lowed him, had they found themselves with sum-
416 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
cient means to encounter him at sea. But they were
destitute of most things necessary thereto. Yea,
they had much ado to find sufficient victuals and pro-
visions for their voyage to Panama, he having left
them totally unprovided of all things. ' '
Esquemeling's commentary on this base conduct
of the leader is surprisingly pious: " Captain Mor-
gan left us all in such a miserable condition as might
serve for a lively representation of what reward
attends wickedness at the latter end of life. Whence
we ought to have learned how to regulate and amend
our actions for the future."
Sir Francis Drake, "sea king of the sixteenth
century," the greatest admiral of the time, belongs
not with the catalogue of pirates and buccaneers, yet
he left a true tale of buried treasure among his ex-
ploits and it is highly probable that some of that
rich plunder is hidden to-day in the steaming jungle
of the road he took to Panama. There were only
forty-eight Englishmen in the band which he led on
the famous raid to ambush the Spanish treasure
train bound to Nombre-de-Dios, a century before
Morgan's raiders crossed the Isthmus. This first
attempt resulted in failure, but after sundry ad-
ventures, Drake returned and hid his little force
close by that famous treasure port of Nombre-de-
Dios, where they waited to hear the bells of the
pack-mule caravan moving along the trail from
Panama. It was at dawn when this distant, tinkling
music was first heard, and the Cimaroons, or Indian
guides, were jubilant. "Now they assured us we
should have more Gold and Silver than all of us
could bear away." Soon the Englishmen had
glimpses of three royal treasure trains plodding
along the leafy road, one of fifty mules, the others
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 417
of seventy each, and every one of them laden with
three hundred pounds weight of silver bullion, or
thirty tons in all. The guard of forty-five Spanish
soldiers loafed carelessly in front and rear, their
guns slung on their backs.
Drake and his bold seamen poured down from a
hill, put the guard to flight, and captured the car-
avan with the loss of only two men. There was
more plunder than they could carry back to their
ships in a hasty retreat, and "being weary, they
were content with a few bars and quoits of gold."
The silver was buried in the expectation of return-
ing for it later, "partly in the burrows which the
great land-crabs have made in the earth, and partly
under old trees which are fallen thereabouts, and
partly in the sand and gravel of a river not very
deep of water."
Then began a forced march, every man burdened
with all the treasure he could carry, and behind
them the noise of "both horse and foot coming, as
it seemed, to the mules." Presently a wounded
French captain became so exhausted that he had to
drop out, refusing to delay the march and telling
the company that he would remain behind in the
woods with two of his men, "in hope that some rest
would recover his better strength." Ere long an-
other Frenchman was missed, and investigation dis-
covered that he had "drunk much wine," and
doubtless desired to sleep it off.
Beaching Eio Francisco, Drake was dismayed to
find his pinnaces gone, and his party stranded. The
vessels were recovered after delay and perilous ad-
venture, whereupon Drake hastened to prepare
another expedition "to get intelligence in what case
the country stood, and if might be, recover Monsieur
418 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
Tetu, the French captain, and leastwise bring away
the buried silver." The party was just about to
start inland when on the beach appeared one of the
two men who had stayed behind with the French
captain. At sight of Drake he "fell down on his
knees, blessing God for the time that ever our Cap-
tain was born, who now beyond all his hope, was
become his deliverer. "
He related that soon after they had been left
behind in the forest, the Spaniards had captured
Captain Tetu and the other man. He himself had
escaped by throwing down his treasure and taking
to his heels. Concerning the buried silver, he had
lamentable tidings to impart. The Spanish had got
wind of it, and he "thought there had been near two
thousand Spaniards and Negroes there to dig and
search for it." However, the expedition pushed
forward, and the news was confirmed. "The earth
every way a mile distant had been digged and turned
up in every place of any likelihood to have anything
hidden in it." It was learned that the general lo-
cation of the silver had been divulged to the Span-
iards by that rascally Frenchman who had got
drunk and deserted during the march to the coast.
He had been caught while asleep, and the soldiers
from Nombre-de-Dios tortured him until he told all
that he knew about the treasure.
The Englishmen poked around and quickly found
"thirteen bars of silver and some few quoits of
gold," with which they posted back to Eio Fran-
cisco, not daring to linger in the neighborhood of
an overwhelming force of the enemy. It was their
belief that the Spanish recovered by no means all of
those precious tons of silver bullion, and Drake
made sail very reluctantly. It may well be that a
SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 419
handsome hoard still awaits the search of some
modern argonauts, or that the steam shovels of the
workmen of the Panama canal may sometime swing
aloft a burden of "bars of silver and quoits of gold"
in their mighty buckets. Certain it is that Sir
Francis Drake is to be numbered among that ro-
mantic company of sea rovers of other days who
buried vast treasure upon the Spanish Main.
CHAPTER XVI
PRACTICAL HINTS FOB TEEASUEE SEEKEES
FAITH, imagination, and a vigorous physique com-
prise the essential equipment of a treasure seeker.
Capital is desirable, but not absolutely necessary,
for it would be hard indeed to find a neighborhood
in which some legend or other of buried gold is not
current. If one is unable to finance an expedition
aboard a swift, black-hulled schooner, it is always
possible to dig for the treasure of poor Captain
Kidd and it is really a matter of small importance
that he left no treasure in his wake. The zest of the
game is in seeking. A pick and a shovel are to be
obtained in the wood-shed or can be purchased at
the nearest hardware store for a modest outlay. A
pirate's chart is to be highly esteemed, but if the
genuine article cannot be found, there are elderly
seafaring men in every port who will furnish one
just as good and perjure themselves as to the infor-
mation thereof with all the cheerfulness in the world.
It has occurred to the author that a concise di-
rectory of the best-known lost and buried treasure
might be of some service to persons of an adven-
turous turn of mind, and the following tabloid guide
for ready reference may perhaps prove helpful, par-
ticularly to parents of small boys who have designs
on pirate hoards, as well as to boys who have never
grown up.
Cocos Island. In the Pacific Ocean off the coast
420
HINTS FOR TREASURE SEEKERS 421
of Costa Eica. Twelve million dollars in plate, coin,
bar gold, and jewels buried by buccaneers and by sea-
men who pirated the treasure of Lima.
Trinidad. In the South Atlantic off the coast of
Brazil. The vast booty of sea-rovers who plundered
the richest cities of South America. A very delec-
table and well-authenticated treasure, indeed, with
all the proper charts and appurtenances. Specially
recommended.
The Salvages. A group of small islands to the
southward of Madeira. Two million dollars of sil-
ver in chests, buried by the crew of a Spanish ship
in 1804. They killed their captain and laid him on
top of the treasure, wherefore proper precautions
must be taken to appease his ghost before beginning
to dig.
Cape St. Vincent. West coast of Madagascar.
The wreck of a Dutch-built ship of great age is
jammed fast between the rocks. Gold and silver
money has been washed from her and cast up on the
beach, and a large fortune still remains among her
timbers. Expeditions are advised to fit out at Mo-
zambique.
Venanguebe Bay, thirty-five miles south south-
west of Ngoncy Island on the east coast of Mada-
gascar. A sunken treasure is supposed to be not
far from the wreck of the French frigate Gloire lost
in 1761. Expeditions will do well to keep a weather
eye lifted along all this coast for the treasures of the
pirates who infested these waters in the days of
Captain Kidd.
Gough Island, sometimes called Diego Alvarez.
Latitude 40 19' S. Longitude 9 44' W. It is well
known that on this unfrequented bit of sea-washed
real estate, a very wicked pirate or pirates deposited
422 THE BOOK OE BUEIED TREASURE
ill-gotten gains. The place to dig is close to a con-
spicuous spire or pinnacle of stone on the western
end of the island, the name of which natural land-
mark is set down on the charts as Church Bock.
Juan Fernandez. South Pacific. Famed as the
abode of Eobinson Crusoe who was too busy writing
the story of his life to find the buccaneer's wealth
concealed in a cave, also the wreck of a Spanish gal-
leon reputed to have been laden with bullion from
the mines of Peru.
Auckland Islands. Eemote and far to the south-
ward and hardly to be recommended to the amateur
treasure seeker who had better serve his apprentice-
ship nearer home. Frequently visited by expedi-
tions from Melbourne and Sydney. In 1866, the
sailing ship General Grant, bound from Australia to
London, was lost here. In her cargo were fifty
thousand ounces of gold. In a most extraordinary
manner the vessel was driven by the seas into a great
cavern in the cliff from which only a handful of her
people managed to escape. They lived for eighteen
months on this desert island before being taken off.
The hulk of the General Grant is still within the cave,
but the undertow and the great combers have thus
far baffled the divers.
Luzon. One of the Philippine Islands. Near Ca-
lumpit, in the swamps of the Eio Grande, the Chinese
Mandarin, Chan Lee Suey, buried his incalculable
wealth soon after the British captured Manila in
1762. His jewels were dazzling, and a string of
pearls, bought from the Sultan of Sulu, was said to
be the finest in the Orient.
Nightingale Island. Near Tristan da Cunha.
South Atlantic. One chest of pirate's silver was
HINTS FOR TREASURE SEEKERS 423
found here and brought to the United States, but
much more is said to remain hidden.
Tobermory Bay. Island of Mull. Western Scot-
land. Wreck of the galleon Florencia of the Span-
ish Armada. Said to have contained thirty millions
of treasure. Permission to investigate must be ob-
tained from His Grace, the Duke of Argyll.
Vigo Bay. Coast of Spain. Spanish plate fleet
sunk by the English and Dutch. A trifling matter
of a hundred million dollars or more are waiting for
the right man to come along and fish them up.
Treasure seekers had better first consult the Span-
ish Government at Madrid in order to avoid misun-
derstandings with the local officials.
East River. Manhattan Island, New York.
Wreck of the British frigate Hussar which carried
to the bottom, in 1780, more than two and a half mil-
lion dollars in gold consigned to the paymasters of
the army and naval forces that were fighting the
American forces of George Washington. She was
sailing for Newport and struck a rock nearly oppo-
site the upper end of Bandall's Island, sinking one
hundred yards from shore.
Oak Island. Nova Scotia. Near Chester. Un-
mistakable remains of a deep shaft sunk by pirates
and an underground connection with the bay. A
company is now digging, and will probably sell
shares at a reasonable price. Buying shares in a
treasure company is less fatiguing than handling the
pick and shovel oneself.
Isthmus of Panama. Directions somewhat vague.
Sir Francis Drake left part of the loot of old Pan-
ama concealed along his line of retreat, but none of
his crew was considerate enough to transmit to pos-
424 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE
terity a chart marked with the proper crosses and
bearings.
Dollar Cove. Mount's Bay, Cornwall. Wreck of
treasure ship Saint Andrew, belonging to the king
of Portugal. Driven out of her course from Flan-
ders to a home port in 1526. An ancient document
written by one Thomas Person, an Englishman on
board states that "by the Grace and Mercy of God,
the greater part of the crew got safely to land, ' ' and
that, assisted by some of the inhabitants, they also
saved part of the cargo including blocks of silver
bullion, silver vessels and plate, precious stones,
brooches and chains of gold, cloth of Arras, tapes-
try, satins, velvets, and four sets of armor for the
king of Portugal. According to Porson, no sooner
had these treasures been carried to the top of the
cliffs than three local squires with sixty armed re-
tainers attacked the shipwrecked men and carried
off the booty.
Modern treasure seekers disbelieve this document
and prefer the statement of one of the squires con-
cerned, St. Aubyn by name, that they rode to the
place to give what help they could, but the cargo of
treasure could not be saved.
Cape Vidal. Coast of Zululand. Wreck of mys-
terious sailing vessel Dorothea said to have had a
huge fortune in gold bricks cemented under his floor,
stolen gold from the mines of the Band. In 1900,
May 21st, an item in the Government Estimates of
the Legislative Assembly in the Natal Parliament
was discussed under the heading, ''Expenditure in
connection with buried gold at Cape Vidal, search
for discovery, 173 19s. 3d. " ' ' Mr. Evans asked if a
syndicate had been formed and what expectations
the Government had to give. (Hear, hear.) The
HINTS FOR TREASURE SEEKERS 425
Prime Minister said there were several syndicates
formed to raise the treasure. The government had
reason to believe that they knew where the treasure
was hidden, and started an expedition on their own
account. But unfortunately they had not been able
to find the treasure. Mr. Evans: The Government
was in for a bad spec. (Laughter.) The item
passed."
Space is given to the foregoing because it stamps
with official authority the story of the treasure of
Cape Vidal. When a government goes treasure
hunting there must be something in it.
Lake Guatavita. Near Bogota. Eepublic of
Colombia. The treasure of El Dorado, the Gilded
Man. To find this gold involves driving a tunnel
through the side of a mountain and draining the
lake. This is such a formidable undertaking that it
will not appeal to the average treasure seeker unless,
perchance, he might pick up a second hand tunnel
somewhere at a bargain price. Even then, trans-
portation from the sea coast to Bogota is so difficult
and costly that it would hardly be practicable to saw
the tunnel into sections and have it carried over the
mountains on mule-back.
University of California
SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY
405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388
Return this material to the library
from which it was borrowed.
o THE UMAftV Of o
e vtvmvg VINVS
V|NO1V3 4
3 1205 00842 8706
A 000 994 844
e Of CAIIJ
o OF CAUfORNIA o
e THE UNIVERSITY e
t
\
O THE UBR;
SANTA BARBARA
Of CAUFORNIA e
to Avmn
O VWflMVfl V1NVS o
AilSMJAIMT) 3H1
o THE UeHARV Of o
I
o v*oro> 0.
o vnvem VINVS
aw
