The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-12-08
VIM. WALKERS BURIED TREASURE.
FACT AND FICTION CONCERNING THE
DICTATOR or NICARAGUA.
The Errors and Mistakes of Northern
Newspaper corrected.

and retail with apparent crcdenCc. OF most
ridiculous narration of the adventures of
party who sailed In n small schooner IRON
this city In 1874 to tho Isle Of Pines IN
search Of the "hidden treasure" Of Gen. VIM.
Walker, the heroic commander of the Mica
rapt,an revolution of la53-57-G0. Two OF our
city papers have reproduced this story In
their last Sunday editions, thereby exposing
their own ignorance and giving currency 10
a gross Islander of a man who Is remembered
by all his contemporaries citizens Of the best
standing I'm this city-as utterly devoid OF the
vices and the piratical characteristics which
these stories ascribe TO him. Besides, the his
torieal errors of these stories are SO Migrant
that public journals ought to be put on their
guard against their reception and circulation.
There are several gentlemen of tested pat
riotism. honor and truthfulness, now residing
in this city. who were intimate personal
friends of Gen. Walker, who were associated
with him in his several expeditions to Nicara-
qua, who were the depositarleslof his records,
his correspondence and OF all the secrets OF
his public and private life. who are naturally
and Justly indignant that he should be exhib-
tied to the present generation as vulgar
freebooter and pirate Of tho class OF Kidd, OF
Morgan, or tho supposititious Laiittes OF our
fiction mongers and sensational story tellers.
Modest gentlemen, as they are, we feel as If
we owed an apology to them for naming them
in this connection. But they will pardon
this liberty, when such use Is made OF their
names. to vindicate the fame of one whom
they honored and loved, and whose fortunes
they followed during his heroic and perious
career. Major Andrew Brady, of one of the
Louisiana regiments in our late civil war.
whose blood stained tho soil of Virginia in
more than one of the terrible battles of that
conflict, was member Of Gen Walkers staff
in his Nicaraguan expedition, and was always
his confidential friend and agent Capt
Fayssoux was the commander of Walkers
navy, who performed the remarkable exploit
Of blowing up the Costa Rcan brg-otwar
on Lake Nicaragua with a little pinnace,
scarcely larger than the gig Of - ship-of war.
These gentlemen are now prominent and sue
cessful citizens Of New Orleans, and largely
engaged In the dry dock business and ship
building IN Algiers; Capt. Toler, keeper OF
the City Hall, a gallant soldier of the Confed-
eracy, who was crippled in one OF the fights
of our late war; Mr.. Sculy, an employee in
the house Of Staufer, Macready X Co These
were all companions aud gallant supporters
Of Walker throughout this eventful campaign
in Central America. w. A. Johnson, u well
known and highly esteemed merchant Of
this city, was also an intimate and cOntiden-
tial friend Of Walker and his father a re-
spected merchant of Nashville. These gen
tlemen must be highly amused, as we'll as in
dignant at the story which represents Walker
as sending |, party of to that favorite haunt
of pirates and wreckers and penitentiary birds
Of the worst class Of Spanish criminals, the
Isle Of Pines to secrete and bury several mil
lions OF gold which he had gathered In his ope-
rations in Nicaragua
The poverty OF the country and the poo
pie. the utter lack OF treasures of all kinds,
the absence of coin, of even golden church
ornaments, and of portable valuables of
every kind, of all commerce and trade in
the country, was the most depressing and
discOuraging fact which Walkers army en-
countered during It's soiourn in that raw
aged country. There never was a more
impecunious band, even In the hour OF
their victory and conquest Save q few an
tique silver coins, worn smooth by time and
long handling, the soldiers had no other me-
dunn of exchange than the cakes of coeao
with which they purchased tortilas and ban
anas from the natives. They had nothing
else to sell. The historical truth Is that more
than hundred years before the whole Isthmus
hooters of the Caribbean Sea of everything of
value, including the gold and silver utensils
and ornaments OF the churches and the boarded
wealth Of the people. Not only was the coun-
try thus destitute, but Walkers position in
the interior, with his communications to the
seacoast cut off, and his eventual capture and
deportation from the country through the
agency of the United States navy, rem
dered it impracticable to transport any
treasure to SO distant point as the Isle
of Pines.
But why diIate on 50 wild and preposter
Gus an absurdity? and yet it is undOubt-
edIy true that two sensible, practical, and, we
believe, honest men, well known in this city,
Capts. Boyle and Blakeney, were gulled into
n periIous and expensive voyage to the Isle Of
Pines, in search of these buried millions Of
Walkers spells. It Is a marvellous exhibition
OF crcdulity and ignorance They were vic
tlmized, it appears from Capt. Blakeney's
story, by mysterious Texan, who passed at
first by the name of Hardcastle 1--WE suspect
il was Hardup), and afterwards adopted the
less romantic or dramatic name of Vaughan.
He represented that Col. Jack Allen, who had
been in Walkers first expedition, had,
while enjoying Vaughana,s hospitality, /, in in
n plan and map of the exact location Of this
hidden treasure, and that when Alien died he
Vaughn hunted up his widow at Louisville,
KY, who confirmed the story, and with rec
ogntion of her right to one-sixtb share of the
treasure, entered heartily into the scheme
As precious secret 1t was cOnfided by
Vaughn to Boyle and Blakeney, plain seafar-
ing men, whose imagination had been doubt
less inflamed by similar stories OF Kidd and
duced into the perilous undertaking of pro-
ceeding to the Isle OF Pines, and exploring
and digging above that deSolate spot In pur-
suit OF the secreted gold.
The story of their adventures Is really an
interesting one, and valuable contribution to
that kind of sensational literature. But the
basis Of fact on UMich it was undertaken was
certainly the tlimsiest, the most transparent
that ever deceived sane man. Avarice doubt
less prompted the parties in the enterprise to
keep their design close, and thus they were
prevented from inquiries which would have
dispeIed the decisions and errors which
had SO strongly possessed them. They were
in daily intercourse with the old associates of
Walker, who would have quickly refuted the
main facts of this whole prodglous fiction
They would have contradicted, for instance,
the statement Of the circumstances of Gen
Walkers capture and death, and Of Col. Jack
Aliens presence thereat and receiving the
last words of the dying hero. They would
have informed Blakeney and Boyle OF what
had already been made known in published
history, that when Walker, after CALAMITY
capturing Truxillo and beating the Hondu-
ranans, was finally betrayed by false assur-