Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-09-19
BORIkG FOR TREASURE.

BORING FOR TREASURE.
in Quest OF a Fortune.
a New York Sun correspondent writes ::
In the year 1851. Hiram Marble, OF Lynn,
Mass. under the guidance Of spirits. he
said. began 10 cxcavate in a granite hill,
about three miles from there. This eleva-
ton. which looks over the surrounding
country, the Lynn harbor. and the sea be.
yond, is well known as Dungeon rock. II
Is wild. secluded spot. strewn with i'm.
mcDse powders. covered with n growth OF
scragey oak and towering pine. and car
peted with thick bed Of moss
primeval forest on the very ortskiris
OF large city, and a. unbrokeu,
with the exception Of one or two
carriage roads which had been cut through
il. as IN the infancy Of the Third Planta-
ton, when the little settlement Of Saugus,
later "IIn," was all tina. represented The
ilOurishing Shoe City. Mr.. Marble bought
Dungeon rock and about fourteen acres
around il for small sum from the city.
He then built n rude hut among the shat
tered rock and rank undergIowth, part way
down tue bill, and began TO drill into the
solid mass OF granite, OF which the elevation
is composed. in search OF a cave, wherein
tradition said was buried large amount OF
treasure by pirate robbers in the DAYS OF
Captain Kidd. In 1854 Mr.. Marbles son,
n youth Ct nineteen, Joined him in the
work. Ten years later. in 1864. the father
died, and the son scraped together enough
earth on the hillside 10 cover the body, and
then continued the work alone, until four
years ego be joined the spirit Of bis father.
which ne always asserted had urged him on
in the work. These two IGen have left behind
them rs the result OF Oitwenty.niue years hard
labor for the son and Thirteen for the father
simply hole in peculiirly close and hard
granite rock, and whi II j. 115 feet in
dei.th, and 9bOut 6 in diameter. Thi- tun-
mel was GTiled Icy the two men entirely by
hand, and the pieces Of rock. as they war,
Clipped off. were carried out in baskets
and deposited at the entrance. Here to-day
great heap OF broken stone. containing
mfny hundreds OF tons. remains ~ a mnn-
ument OF the strange life.W work OF Mr.. Mar
bic and lis son.
From the mouth Of one OF the Oldest in.
haitants in this part Of the country the
writer was told the traditions which first
drew the attention of MIR. Marble to this
romantic locality.
In The year 1853, according TO the mos,
trusted accounts, there was severe elIth.
quake shock IN New England. and II Is on
tins fact that the traditional history OF Dun.
geon rock rests. In a Journal kept by
Obadiah Turner, one OF the first settlers OF
"Lln,' ard which Is stil preserved, he
says:
1858. December the Il. This year there
has been great and terrible earthquake:
such one as was never before known
hereabouls. The house shook and dishes
did fall from the shelves. Some being our
did feel the ground rock. The sea roared
with a dismal roaring as II mighty storm
was coming on. And some being near the
shore said that the tide was turned be-
fore the time. Some cbimnles were shook
down. bUtn much mischief done OF which
have heard. But the most mightIe
work done by the earthquake hereabOuts
was the splitting OF a great rock in the
woods. IL hath bv some been called
Dungeon rOcke, because there appeared 10
he beneath the same dungeon cave. And
it hath been said that Thomas Veal, =
crooked. grizzly, and ili-looking shoe
maker, did live in the cave aud do his shoe
making there. on the splitting OF the rock
by the earthquake, as some think. the old
man was shut up alive in the cave: and no
great loss to the world as they will have 1t.
hc not being well thought Of. Some say he
was only a pirate robber, and did bury
treasure
Some years previous 10 this disturbance
Iy nature The few settlers OF Saugus saw.
one evening. ship sail INTO the harbor and
up the Sauglis river a short distance. A
boat was then lowered, and, Just before
dark. four men rOWed to the shore and dis
appeared in the woods. The next morning
tie vessel was gone and the settlers were
left 10 conjecture, as best they could. her
In about = year. however. the
stranger again sailed up the hirbor and |
Gus. anchor In the river. as she had done /
before. But this time the movements |
Of her crew were closely watched. After |
dark heavy chest was landed from the !
ship and carried into the woods, but one |
Of the settlers yenturing too near 10 the |
party which had landed was seen. and the |
strangers Immediately attacked bin, so |
that he and his companions had TO run for |
their lives. The strange crew was not |
again that night. The next morn |
ing boat and crew were gone. IL was now |
declared that the visitor was 4 pirate. and |
search was made for the location Of the |
supposed treasure. II was not found, but |
in deep rayine, not far from the river. |
a place shut in 10y high cliffs and steep |
rocks, and closely shrOuded by growth |
Of thick underbruSh, tall pines. and |
four men were discovered 10
have taken up their abode. They had built |
a rough hut OF branches and logs, and had |
dug a shallow well, the appearances OF
which are still visible. A British cruiser /
of the coast about this time, and |
the officers were informed OF what had oc-
Cured. A party was Immediately organ
ized. the ravine surrounded, and three Oi
the men captured and taken to England,
where they were probably executed ~
pirates. The fourth. named Thomas
Veal, escaped. This man aiteiward took
up bis abode in the cave under Dun
geon rock, and commenced TO make
shoes when he found that he was not
further molestcd. He exchanged his shoes
and at times pieces Of SpInI.h money with
the settlers fol- provisions. After the
earthquake shock OF 1868 the man was
never seen, and an immense oyerhingins
portion Of Dungeon rock was found 10
have been dislodged and TO have fallen
right over the entrance TO the cave. This
mass Of rock, good many feet in thick
ness, lOOks as " almost recently IL hlu
been broken of from the main mas. and
had fallen down where it now lies. -
much for the tradition.
Both Of tic men who dug into the rock
were Spiritualists, and the elder Mr. Mar.
bic professed TO be guided by the spirit oi
Thomas Veal. who told him that he had
buried a large treasure IN the cave. When
be died the son claimed to he guided ana
urged on by the spirit OF his father. Boih
men are now dead, and the long.sought-
'or treasure, il II is there, still lies
buried with the bones OF the pirate rob
Der in the rocky bowels OF the granite
iill. The father, in 1851, was worth com
oriable amodnt OF property. but he and hl'
'on spent ii all in the twenty.nine years
bat they worked under directions fiom
mother world. as they always claimed. ana
hey even left the property itself mortgaged
or more than 1t was worth. Those who bes'
knew Mr.. Marble and his son say lhlt they
we're both unusually smart and intelligent
men, except In this one particular. ana
what possessed them in this Is beyohu
lilman UNDERSTANDING