Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-01-10
tFsora the Evsnlss express. !,

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tFron the Evsnlss Ezprsss.)
EDxTon ExrRH5s: Ny atten-
tion was called to an article in yes
tsrdAy's Herald, copied from the
Hrald Of New York, concerning
: vast amount of treasure alleged
= have been buried In Nicaragua
~ theersAt dllbuster chief, vii.
Ham Wslktr, who was publicly ex-
(puted at Tfuxilio, in Honduras, in
october. 1859. nearly twenty years
ago. The writer hereof knows
something Of that treasure, and
personally examined It, and in lieu
Of hve mule loads, there were J5ve
tors Of It. It Is we'll known that
the most horrible chapter
Ii that most horrible OF wars
Was the burning and pillaging Of
0rnuada by General Henningsen,
undor Walkers orders, in Novem-
Der, 1855. The churches-some
tWcnty or more, immensely rich in
plate and jewels-wers secretly and
systeqatfeally despoiled, and their
Gfont booty was safely slowed away
On bo4rd . Lake Nicaragua steam.
oE boforo the doomed city was given
up to plllage. What became Of
that immense spoil has been =
mysterious secret and was so re-
garded by the fllibusters at the
lime. IT sp0s sporth naillions. TO
nl1ay suspicion rs to It's true disp0-
aftlon Walker gave out that 1t was
shipped to New Orleans to be dis
posed Of on account OF his govern
inent and that the proceeds thereof
would be used in purchasing. mill.
tary supplies. That spoil was
knowledge, the officer who had II
u charge and commanded the
squad that guarded IL now lives in
San Bernardino. He informs me
land We have frequently discussed
the matter) that, under the imme'
diate supervision OF Walker, be
and i've other officers and about
twenty men buried that treasure In
the village of St. George, on Lake
NicAFagua, under room In the
house wherein the booty was SO
saeredly guarded. Walker exacted
the most solemn oath Of secrecy,
giving substantial gratuities and
promlsing future rewards to the
whole party II they would faithful
ly guard the secret Of the hidder
church-spoil Of the burned city
Inside eli month the whole party
who were IN HE secret, save my
friend and informant and two OF
three of the officers therein en-.
gagged, were sent away on feignet
expeditions; were given out as de-
serters; were pursued bya larg'
pafty OF cavalry end. by Walker.
order. shot to rIau when over,
hauled by the pursuing party
Soon thereafter, at desperate
battle fought at St. George on the
10th day Of January, 1857, the last
man of the party who assisted IL
burying the church spoil, save my
friend of San Bernardino, wal
killed. and in such way as to con
flrm in the mind of my Informant
the opinion that all had been killed
bytWalker's order, AND that the
General intended to be the only
custodian of the secret of the hid
den treasure. Although my in
formant was faithful and trusted
officer, high in Walkers favor
still the prompt and tragic ending
of bis comrades and sharers in.tht
dread mystery produced such al
Impression on his mind that he al
once deserted. He carried the
secret with him and yet has II, anC
he Is the only mau living wht
knows where the Granada booty
lies hidden, and he don't knotO
And why not? Well, the spoil wa.
buried in December. In January
the enemy, by forced march, pos
sessesi themselves of st. George
Walker took position at Rivas
three miles distant, and, within the
next three months, utterly ex
hausted his army in his vain eu
deavors to repossess himself of the
insignifcant village that contained
this immense wealth. In the.ter
riflc couflicts that ensued the vii.
lage was razed 10 the ground. This
the writer hereof knows, because
he sfought through all of those en-
gagements. Walker, exhausting
his strength at st. George, as before
stated, and having fought his last
offensive battle on the 2Sd ol
March, was besieged ut Rivas and,
in May following, was forced to ca
pitulate; was expelled the country,
and IN his second endeavor to re-
enter 1t was captured by q party of
British marines on the Rio Negro
In Honduras; was turned over to
the Hondurian authorities; was
tried, condemned and shot, as stat
ed at the beginning of this brief
sketch. No other member of his
expedition was shut-not even the
Lion Sam or his cousin Ned, be.
cause neither Of them were there.
Captain -, our San Bernardino
man, on deserting, made his way
to Panama, and, q few years later,
induced the owner Of schooner to
accompany him to San Juan del
Sur (St. George being twenty miles
inland), and try to dnearth and
convey the plate and jewels to the
SCHOONER ard get away with it.
Now, my friend knew we'll
enough the house Ia which
the interment was made, but 10
his surprise and mystification a
new village, Ph0nix-like, had risen
from the ashes of the burned and
razed one, and he was completely
lost ~ to the locality of thehouse
: wherein he expected to unearth
without diffieulty so great d prize
They rented every house on
the street and probed the earth in
every conceivable and inconceiva-
BILE place until the poor Captain
was led to disbelieve his own iden-
:ity, and lost faith in everything.
Finally, he and his companion
became Objects of suspicion, were
arrested and considered them.
aolvaa forfuuafa a in oaoo p;un .,,;th