The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1879-08-28
THE:BURIED TREASURE.


there stands, or once did stand, Il very old
house, built long before the Revolution,
and chiefly remarkable tor a hcarthstonc:;
on which for a long time regarded as en-,
Llacing, III some hidden combination o
letters, peculiar and mysterious sen,
tcncc. What this sentence was had been
forgotten by the tcnents Of the house and
all tho people in the ncighborhood long
before the writer became acquainted with
the circumstances, though traditionsass
scrts that it had been well known, years
and years ago. The house was built by
one Of the first persons who came .lp the,
valley oi the rivera sober, rigid Puritan
walking before God and IMAM: as our.
ancestors walked; sin i hard, straight and
laborious patti ef:: life. lie had an only
daughter andan only son who were both
born in. this house land brought. up on
this farm, until the period at which my
story commences, which was when the
daughter was just eighteen years Of age
The house stands on one Of those natur-
raj terraces that arc often found in the val
Icy OF the Connecticut, rising one above
another, for one or two miles from the
river; and large bend in tho stream, as
it comes winding its way down from the
orth,prcscntcd to the view from tkc door
OF a house IL long sweep Of meadow and
i distant view of the valley, which must
have had the same prominent feature that
it now wears, and which the reader, if lie
has ever ridden north out of the bcauti-
tul village, cannot hayc failed to remark
and to remember. The house of Deacon
F., rs have said stood with this view be-
fore it; and directly in front of the house
was place where the Indians often left
their canoes, in passing and repassi,g the
the river, which has since become tho site
Of ferry.
The summer Of the year 1888 had bccn
one of the unusual prosperity and peace
to the whole settlement The Indians
had been unusually well-disposed towards
the whites and, although Il large encamp-
ment of the savages had kept their
headquarters on hill Il mile
below, on the other side of the
river, yet their warriors had found plenty
OF game in the woods and fish in the
deep waters of the Connecticut, to keep
them employed. The harvest promised
= to be very abundant to the white man,
and that beautiful part of the autumn
to which our ancestors gave tile name of
Indian Summer, had been protracted so
far through the month of October as to
warrant the hope Of mild winter. The
minds of the good people had been, how
eyer, not aslittle excited by the various
and contradictory rumors which came up
the river, from time to time, concerning
the sudden appearance of vessel in
Long Island Sound, supposed to be that
Ut the noted Captain Robert Kidd. But
when, IN the course Of that summer, the
news came of his having been actually
taken, brought into Boston and then sent
to England to receive his trial, the tales
and wonders Of the gold he had buried
= With it to keep it safc-which tales and
"Tbndcrs had @'bcen doubted by some
were now fully established in the faith of
all. Every person who appeared in any
part OF the country and moved about with
anything OF mysterious air was ut once
set down as a follower Of Kidd, come to
search for the treasure buried in the hur-
~ Of their flying visits to the coast. This
was not without reason, for there were,
undoubtedly, vast quantities of treasure
his band, in various places.
It was beautiful afternoon in the
year 1893 that Mary F--was sitting
with her mother in front of the house.
spinning flax thread. The deacon and
his son were in the fields, gathering the
rich harvest of their summers work, AS
the old lady and her daughter looked to-
ward tho river, on hearing the splash
made by canoe thrown in off the other
side, they saw three persons descending
the steep, and an Indian engaged in right
ing and preparing the light bark which
he had tossed into the stream from the
top of the bank. Very soon they all en-
tered the boat, and the Indian began to
paddle towards the opposite shore. AS
soon as they landed, the three white men
stepped On shore and made their way to
wards the house; two of them bearing a
small trunk, which seemed very heavy.
while the third led the way. Thcv ad,,
vanced toward Mrs. + -, and the fore
most OF the strangers, who seemed young
or than the others as we'll us of some all
thority with them, desired to know if he
could bc permitted to remain, with his
followers until the next day. lie was a
very falr-spokcn young man, and had a
pleasant countenancc, though the old lady
by no means liked the appearance of the
two desperate-looking, coarse and out
landish men who carried the trunk. She
babe them to oc seated, however, until
the deacon should come to supper, for
Mrs. F---hevcr did anything without
consulting the dcacon's pleasure, at least
after it was done. In tic meantime she
ana Mary went in to prepare for the even
ing meal.
The deacon and Mcdad returned At
shutdown, and the stranger renewed his
solicitations to be- allowed to rest there
Tor the night, stating that he was going
north into Canada. Deacon F--was q
stern, jron-hcartcd man, and had heard
SO much OF late concerning Kidd's pirates,
that he hcsltatcd some time whether to
receive these men who came from nobody
knows where, and were evidently i; going
TO much worse place. However,, he
told the young man that his followers
might sleep in the barn, and they would
try and find bed in the house Tor him.
inc stranger, whom I have represented
as the youngest of the three, was a tall
dark complexioned man, OF about seven
or eight and twenty, with strong marks
OF resolution and daring countenancc.
out very pleasing in bis address. He
seemed to have seen many climes and to
nave done many great deeds, if ono were
70 Judge from the capacity and energy
mat were craven in his handsome face
whether he was an Englishman, a French.
. mana native Of the Colonies, or .onlv
aclt'zen, OF the world" did not anncar
although he spoke English With forcion
accent. Mary F-was exceedingly
taken with this person from the moment
when she first saw HIM. Unjust describe
Mary F--to you, for her fate became
Intimately connected with the doings Of
these men, while they were at her fathers
house.
She was high. minded, kind and atfec-
tionated girl, with great degree of hem.