The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1888-08-02
THE SEARCH FOR CAPTAIN KlDD'S
BURIED WEALTH.
4 Party of Men Digging in a Connecticut
Cave and Ploughng up New Jersey
Ground in the Fruitless Search.
From the Rochester Union.

Cave and Ploughing up New Jersey
Ground in the Fruitless Search.
From the Rochester Union.
News comes that party ofmen have
organized to dig for gold in small
cave near Greenfield, Conn. 1t is not
known there is any gold in the cave.
Some years ago report was started
that gold was hidden in the cave-pro-
badly a partof the mysterious wealth
that Captain Kidd buried-and on
several occasions spades and pickaXes
have been brought into play, the work
generally being done in the night time.
\ year or so ago a number Of men
visited this cave night after night,
eNc;lvating dirt, which they drew up
in baskets and threw out Of the mouth
of the cave. They finally withdrew,
leaving their tools behind them, but
whether they carried away any treas
urc is not known. The members Of the
party Just formed, evidently think their
predecessors did not take it all.
Over in New Jersey there isa rise of
ground called Money hill, on the bank
of the Shark river. Money hill got its
name from an early belief that Cap
tain Kidd made it bank of deposit. In
fact, it is quite certain that he did. a
good many people have dug into
Money hill; a few years ago two sailors
came there, dug hole, and went away
again. at i said" they left rusty
iron box by the side of the hole, ard
that some ancient coins were found
near the water side, where they re-
entered their boat. That was fever
flesh and blood could not resist. The
entire neighborhood was aroused, and
Money hill and the whole north bank
Of the Shark river was prodded with
spades. But no more iron boxes filled
with ancient coins was found. But did
that settle the matter? Not at all. Last
month the disease broke out again, as
virulent as ever, and number of men
went to work to unearth treasure from
the sides of Money hill. If they dis
covered any chests of Spanish dollars
they kept the matter secret.
\ search is now going on for an I'M
mense lot of private treasure buried on
Turneffe Gays, off British Honduras.
John 3. Peck, former journalist Of
Washington, is the man who leads in
the enterprise. a few years ago he
came into possession ofinformation that
pointed to the sinking of a small pirate
vessel, just filled with gold, on Tur-
nefte, which is coral key. Peck OBJ
tanned concession todig for the mil
lions, agreeing to pay the government
10 per cent of all the treasure he found.
Since then he has made two expeditions
to the spo,, on one of which his ship
was rocked, and on the other he broke
his tools and returned to this country for
more. He has succeeded in getting
people to put up money for the expenses
of these adventures, they to be repaid
out of the buried gold-when it is got.
This Peck left New York for the trip
early last month.
Two years ago a resident of Nantuck-
ct was digging in his cellar for water,
but he missed that, as did Dow of Dow's
Flat, and struck gold instead, or said
that he did. 1t was an iron chest filled
with Spanish doubloons. The entire
island was in blaze of excitement,
and many, if not all, the cellars in the
place were dug over, though no more
iron chests were upheaved, nor did any
more Spanish doubloons clink on the
laborer's steel blades. About the same
time Il digger was industriously up
hcaving the soil on a point of Mount
Desert in the belief that Captain Kidd
had straycd that far north to hide the
vast accumulation Of gold and silver
that he had taken from the treasure
ships of all nations-that is, all nations
that had treasure ships.
This bloody old piratical Englisman,
who was finally legally put to death
for his crimes has led many men on
FOOLS errands. For a hundred years
people have been digging at different
points between Delaware bay and
Rhode Island, in search ofburied treas
ure. The labor expended in this di-
rcction would at a dollar day, buy all
the gold and silver and goods and ships
that Coptain Kidd ever stole. 1t is a
mere superstition that he ever buried
anything. The $4,000 in gold and
silver he carried into Boston was proba-
bly, all he could command, for the hang
mans moose was already dangling just
above his head, and he would naturally
do whatever he could to propitiate the
government-the English authorities in
those days not being averse to taking
money from any source.
a Conductor Killed.