The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1874-11-13
THE HIDDEN TREASURE.
BY 5. G. w. BENJAMIN.

BY 5. G. w. BENJAMIN.
At fort in Florida during the Seminole
war. a man named Richard Blount lay
wounded and dying. A keen observer
might have discerned i'm the eniacated
features, well covered by an iron-grey, UNI
trimmed beard. traces of refnement-al-
most efiaced. il is true. by the unmistaka-
BILE marks of turbulent, and perhaps
criminal. career.
The surgeon in charge of the stockade
seemed a man of warm heart and tender
sympathies. which had not been blunted
by familiarity with suffering. He care
fully tended the dying soldier, doing all i'm
his power, by words and actions, TO soothe
his last hours. This kindness was not
without results. Impressed by attentions
10 which he had long been unaccustomed,
Richard Blount-taciturn and reserved by
habit, II not by nature-grew more COM
municative, and. at the last, made certain
revelations concerning transactions OF
which no other living man had any knowl-
edge.
One afternoon, as the sun was setting
red and broad in a burning haze behind
the motionless palmettoes. and the mock
idg-bird was pouring forth mis- wealth OF
music by the still bayous where the aliga-
tor basked unmolested. Richard, who was
feeling stronger than usual, after period
of silence and mental struggle with him
self. said:
Doctor. you've been mighty good to
me. You are the first person who has
spoken kind word to me for many years.
I've led a ha' d life of il. and very likely
don't de>ervean better than I've received,
YET can't forget that was once a better
man and used to Kind words from those
who loved me. And now. although am
both poor and forsaken, vet believe me
when | say that it is in my power 10 make
you a. wealthy as your widest fancies
could desire. | was born in England
have not single relation now living, and
TO you II can be of no consequence what
were the circumstances OF my early life
Ii l. enough 10 say that was the younger
son OF a good family. and was destined to
the church. for which was totally UNI
fitted. was sent TO Oxford. but an nsa-
table thirst for adventure caused me TO run
away. After various fortunes i'm many
parts OF the world. in which the cards
We're generally against me. it was at last
my luck To find myself shipped with the
crew OF pirate schooner, and a motley
set we were -Spaniards. Englishmen,
Frcnchmcn. Italians, Yankees. Greeks
men of all races. Two or three years |
sailed in her. boarding and burning vessels
in the Spanish main. At length rumor
reached the nest of pirates to which be-
longed that the English government was
about 10 take vigorous measures to cap
ture our vessels and destroy our rendeZ-
vous. A. we had for long time been
very successful without any serious mo-
lestation. there was all the more reason TO
believe the report. A council of war was
called. in which words ran high. But it
was decided that, as our rendezvous was
well known and would most likely be
attacked first and we should be unable 10
defend ourselves successfully against such
forces as could be sent againstus, we ought
at once To remove our possessions and
conceal them for awhile in some unknown
hiding-pace. With us to decide was to
act. and without further delay the treasure.
which was enormous. being the accumu-
lated spoil Of many hard fights and scuttled
ships. was slowed i'm the holds of our yes
sells. { \ little water, surgeon, If you'll be
so good.)
So immense" continued Richard, af-
ter a moment. was the stock of dollars
and doubloons and jewelry that no other
ballast was needed for the schooners.
When everything was on board we set
fire 10 the cabins on shore. and by the
glare of the burning houses dropped down
the lagoon and made an offing. We head
w lVi iilf NDt~l vi II lbIlllt. anu. Tic fHOOIl
being at the full showed the schooners into
an inlet, whose whereabouts was known
to one o. our captains, a native Of Florida,
born AT hey West son oia wreckcr, | think
Ii was very quiet part of the country.
without so many peoplea there are aboutit
now; and they aren't over thick even
now. We had sent some men ashore in a
boat IN the morning to find the exact en-
trance. aud after dark they lit fire on the
beach; so we knew just where TO put the |
schooners. AT daylight we sailed long
way up the bayou, winding about from
bend 10 bend, with sweeps or lacking
along the shore, and blazing the trees as
we went along, until we came to clear |
ing in the woods, where the trees seemed |
to have been felled by hurricane. Ii was
gloomy and silent enough-a solitude |
which We disturbed perhaps for the first /
time. Here we made the vessels fast To
the trees, and all hands went ashore. We
made tents of Old sails. and in few hours. |
to see the smoke streaming up among the
trees, and see the boys capering after
squirrels and climbing after BIRDS nests.
or iilng sticks atthe alligators. YOU would
have thought twas an old settlement"