Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1888-11-16

or ten inches high. ] had little curiosity
as to tho contents, aud the idea that
they .oentained treasure never crossed
my mind. got out four before the tide
turned, and there were several moro in
sight. After had them all together
above high water, / began to wonder
| whether they contained nails or bullets.
and set dbout breaking ono op5h. Whtn
rows upon rows of silver coins greeted
my eyes came near losing what little
sense / had. Two othefs sontained silver
the fourth one gold. 1t was English
money, every piece of It,. aud rs I had
never seen. any before was Mt d loss to
estip,atc The Fdltld.
Before the discovery of that money |
wanted nothing but pair OF shoes, and
the sight of n sail would not have affected
mo Now was wild to get at tho other
boxes. atd my eyes, we're constantly
.oarching the sea for sight Of ttligf. /
dragged the boxes to my house, and most
OF each dizzy for the next week was spent
on tho neck in hope, OF getting at moro
treasiirt. Tho &atcF continued high;
however, and | got nothing more. On
the eighth day aftcf got the treasure.
and about thirty days litter my Hiding,
the third mystery was revealed. -. III
about 0 clock in the moaning while tho
tide was setting in strong. i observed Il
sh' p's boat drifting IN fropt ,ha SOUTH
east. twas not ten minutes uftef saw
her before she was cast on the Bcdch, and
rs she rolled over two bodies wcro flung
ont. To my amazement and horror /
recognized them rs the bodies OF ,tlld
Captain and mate Of the .Albatross,
though it Was moro by the clotling than
by their features. 1t was plain at d Chine 4
that they Ind died of exposure md
want. There was neither food nor drink
in the boat, and the bodies were little
better shdn skeletons. 1t was the Cap.
tain's gig, and it seemed that these two
got away alone. They must have driftcd
here and there for days, for there was
hcillcr sail ii6r oar. az:a
l was scoopng out a grave for the.
bodies when n turtle sloop rounded the
island and was in the cove before saw
her. She had crew of three men and
boy. and they had comic for stay of
week or two, 1t bling tho season wheh
the turtles came ashore to lay their eggs:
They were not from the mainland, but
from larger island to the north, aud
were native West Indians, The Captain
spoke English faifly we'll and 1 gave
~" iuti cApi"uutlOu, even 10 INC nnQ-
ing of the treasure. They could have
knocked me on the head and safely
taken all, but they did not do it. The
Captain locked over My money, and said
l had about S2a, 900, and it was agreed
that. in repayment for passag, 10
Porto Rico was to surrender all rights
to the ships boat. in four days those
poor turtle catchers, none of whom had
ever hal S5Out once, took $50, 600 out Of
the sands. There were more boxes left,
or it was so believed, but they required
other outfit to secure them. l was not
only landed in Porto Rico, lis agreed, but
told how to take care of my money,
most of which was exchanged for paper.
and my passage on sailing vessel bound
for New Orleans was secured.
| did not go near the owners Of the
Alhatross. She had been reported lost,
with oil on board, and to this day not
one OF the crew has been heard of. L
could have gone to the authorities with
my story, but who would havo believed
III Those who had plotted against mo
had been overcome, and had sprung
from poverty to wealth at bound. And
so | repeat Goods ways are full of
mystery. "-Me'O Tor: San. -