The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-05-30

Treasure Trove Unearthcd by Virginia
Farmer I'm q Place of Skeletons.


Farmer I'm q Place of skeletons.
From the Baltimore Americana
Lorenzo Mears recently exhumed q
large and valuable treasure on an old
farm in the southern part of Accomac
County, Virginia. Mears is.s tenant
on the farm situated on Nandua Greek,
belonging to the heirs of the late John
Pitts of Baltimore. A tradition in the
neighborhood says large amount Of
money was concealed on the farm dur
ing the American revolution by its
Tory proprietor, who, having gone to
England during the war, died there
without fixing the spot where he had
buried the money. Not many years
ago some of the defendants of the old
Tory proprietor came over here and
spent hundreds of dollars in making
excavations in fruitless search for the
money. All the ground around the
old house was thrown up and deep
trenches were dug around the yard,
signs of which still remain. 1t is said
that these Englishmen brought over
with them an old negro man, who had
been a servant of the old revolutionary
proprietor, and who professed to know
where his master had buried the
money. The Englishmen finally gave
up the search and went back to Eng
land. Nothing more was ever heard of
the treasure till few days ago, when
1t leaked out that Lorenzo Mears had
accidentally struck upon it while plant
ing some fence posts around tho yard.
1t seems that Mears tried to keep the
matter secret, but little boy who
lives with him went to the neigh
boring village of Pungoteague and
let the secret out. He inform
ed some persons there that his
Uncle Renzi" now had piles of money,
having recently dug up an iron pot full
of gold and silver, which two stout
men could hardly carry. Mears is said
to be reticent on the matter, and while
admitting that he has found buried
treasure, says that the quantity is not
80 large as has been reported. He has
shown several of the gold coins to some
of his neighbors. These coins are re-
ported to be old English money, some
of them being stamped with the image
of Charles IL, others with that of
George III. The affair created con-
siderable talk here, and the story is
generally believed by those who have
had the amplest opportunities for in
vestigation and are best acquainted
with the locality and its old traditions.
The place where the treasure is re-
ported to have been found is one OF
the oldest on the eastern shore of Vir-
ginia. Two hundred and fifty years
ago it was the seat of the Queen of
Nandua, an Indian beauty who ruled
over the savage tribes inhabiting that
region. Near b. is the burial ground
of the Nandua Indians. The creek has
cut away the earth till many of the
skeletons are exposed to view. and as
the bank caves in from time to time the
bones fail down into the water and
drift with the ebbing tide out into the
bay. Some of the skeletons are of
giant size, and many of them are buried
In collins that were hewn out of solid
logs. These whitening skeletons as
they protrude from the side of the cliff
present grim and CHASTITY spectacle,
and rarely can the belated negro be
seen in that haunted region after the
sun has gone down and the shades OF
night have fallen on the earth.