The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1870-05-06
@enfraI sntfAtgratte.
CAPTATN KIDD'S TREASURE.
,,.s xstseovery of-GSId and .Shysr
C'f CsIn ON Staten Island.

Captain KIDD's TREASURE.
r,...ox.rv of Geld and SILVER
CoIn ON Staten 1slands
- From the New York Sun, April Is. =
No little excitement was occasioned last
Sunday in the ouiet1 lit le village of Ross
TilIe Staten Island, by the discovery OF q
laroe sum of money, hidden many genera
tin6s 400. when tue village was on the
treat line of travel between Philadelphia
snd-New York. The drowsy hamlet, sleep
inc through the warm Sabbath day szaVak-
ened from its dreamy state, opened It's eyes
with a startled and wild stare, stretched It's
limbs. and in a moment was hurry1ng as II
bv common impulse to common deslna-
+ion' which happened to be the new and
.totetv residence of Sheriff Abram
Winarts of the Winantss family, vino
have lived thereabouts since their an
cestors landed in Manhattan Bay, IN the
the times of the good old Amsterdammers
and other pious men from vateiy Holland.
Dame Ruuaor. who gessips with thousand
airv toncues among the dvellers upon the
banks of the stormy Staten Island Sound
that broad sweep of water that separages
the peaceful and easy inhabitants OF the
south side from the spple.lack tlppiers and
clay-diegers of Jersey-had finally got
hold of a large atom of truth to build one
other stirring structure upon Ihere was
really a Jingle of old coin about the old WI
nants' mansion. an almost forgotten music
to most of the eager eyes and open-eareo
oazers ON the heap of pieces IN gold, silver,
and copper that almost filled speck meas
ure unon the kitchen table, But the cllnk
was not clear or silvery. The corrodlng nm
GERS of time had bl1rred and rusted their
fair sides. and the elements through sue
sion of generations had been buslly en-
oaoed in adding to them layer upon layer
of Tust and earth and obliterating dates and
eating awayzth faces of royal and Imperial
rulers. that cleaned brightly enough hum
1reds of wears ago, before America Itself
perhaps was discovered. These curious
and unique memorials of former times were
well handled and weighed; and learneoly
discussed by the uumismatlcans who con-
crepated in Sheriff Winans' rooms, and the
Sheriff told the following story to fresh au-
diences a hundred times during the day,
until the smoothing and softenlng influence
of gentle rye would no longer allay the
hoarseness of his musical voice:
stWaIking out this morning, said the
Sheriff. ssto enjoy the brilliant spring sun
lioht and soft, balmy air, had reached the
corner of nv house, and was contemplating
the luxurious and rapid growth OF some
early flowers, when my eye caught the
CLEAN of some metallic substance, as L
thought, among the grass. l gave 1t q
push with the toe of my boot, when, nueh
TO INV surprise, turned over two or three
round bits of metal, which, on being ex-
amined, proved to be copper COINS greatly
corroded by rust. One or two OF them yet
exhibited fragments of dates and legends
I pursued my investigation with the
aid of a hoe, and was startled In
turning up great numbers of coin Of various
sizes and quality. Before had completed
NV search / had found 562 pieces OF gold,
silver and copper, most of them so rusty as
to be undecipherable. had evidently
come across hidden deposit of money laid
away years and years ago, beyond the
memory of men now living. One of the
coins was of silver, about the size ofa quar-
ter of dollar, but thinner, bearing on one
side the date of 1852, and on the other
legend I cannot translate. Many OF the
copper coins bore the date of1725 and there
abouts, and were clearly of English origin.
How they came there, gentlemen, is cues
ton you can explain as readily al 1. L
know nothing about it. y
That is the Sheriff's story, and Sun re-
porter has seen sone Of thecoins He has
placed a majority of them in lye to clean
them up, and We shall doubtless soon be
able to ascertain the nature of the coins.
Six of the unknown have been sent to the
Smithsonian Institution at Washington to
obtain the opinion of experts upon their
character. They are evidently not Eng
hsh, but are doubtless of Spanish or South
American mintage Altogether they are
remarkable addition to our numismatic coll
lections, and amateurs and societies viii
doubtless be able to obtain specimens If
they apply early. r.-.s.-. =. .r.,.rs.-.
The discovery has awakened an extraor-
binary and glowing research ameng the
Rossvillains, and there is a general revival
of ancient stories of buried treasures, IN
which Captain Kidd figures with due prom
inence. All the venerable colored residents
have forgotten the Fifteenth Amendment,
and are now indulgingin dreams, IN which
the ghosts of bold freebooters appear, and
lead the gentle antique maidens to retired
spots, where they point out the places
Of buried spoils taken from stately Spanish
palleons on the Main. There are also many
signs vouchsafed by these gallant
pirates, by which the believing may
find untold wealth hastily put away in the
early days of the province. The believers
are many, if we are to judge from the re-
ports of travellers IN those parts who have
seen the occasional fash of lantern, Ike
the CLEAN of the will-o'- -the-wisp, at night
on the solemn shores of the Staten Island
Sound, where the gold seekers are stealth
ily pushing their researches. If Captain
Kidd's buried treasures could be found, alf
Staten Island would snapit fingers at the
clay-diggers and applejack soakers OF Jer-
sey. Sheriff Winants may have at last
found the secret hiding-place. and demon
strated forever the fact that the late Skip
per Kidd did gather together much money.
Gas he sailed, as he sRiled!"
thereby adding historical verify to tradi-
tional stories of the past.