Thomas County cat., 1890-07-17
STRANGE VISITOR.

l !.
In 1865 went to Ilong Kong in th'
intere of a certain English manufac
t,lrer, | it was year aud a half late
when one day received a strang'
visitor with a strange proposition.
was in charge of a large warehouse, AMI
one of my Chinese employees brough
in the stranger and explained;
II told him you would have nothin:
to do with him, but he insisted ON com
ing"
The stranger was half breed of some
sort, gaunt, ragged and evidently hare
up. AS soon as we were alone he in
troduced himself as Semyo, and stated
that he was from the Island of Luzon
one of the group composing the Philip
pines. He belonged to the native popu
latiOn, but had Spanish blood in his
veins. He had once been man of i'm
portance, but the Spaniards had robbed
him of his power, and afterward feared
his influence to such degree that he
had first been imprisoned and afterward
banished. He had been carried on a
native craft to Japan, and there left
ragged and penniless. and had been
more than year reaching Hong Kong
While he had only few shillings in
his pockets, he had neither come to
solicit charity nor place to work. He
had straight, square business PROPOSE
ton to submit. If 1 approved of it,
well and good; if I did not, then he
would be no worse off. When he real
lied that Spanish influence was plotting
his downfall he made such preparations
as he could to meet the inevitable. He
was very wealthy man. and he quietly
went to work and converted everything
he could into money, gold dust ant
jewelry. He had got about $4,000 to-
gether when the ruling power pounced
upon him, butnot quick enough to get it.
He had cached or buried his fortune,
and though he was abused and threat
ened by the Spaniards for months he
would not betray the secret.
To get that money by his own indi-
vidual efforts was utterly impossible.
The moment he set foot OH Luzon he
would be arrested. He must have a
partner who would furnish a ship and
crew, and he would go along to mark
down the spot where the treasure was
buried.
Hooked upon the man with pity and
upon his project with contempt when
he first began talking. When he was
through had agreed to think it over
There is a fascination about buried
treasure or sunken wreck that will
enlist capital to the detri:nent of honest
speculation. was noted as being a
conservative man, and the idea of my
going into any such venture would
have been regarded by my friends as
evidence of approaching mental:calam-
ity. went to the American consul,
and in roundabout way he confirmed
a part of Semyo's story. He had heard
of him and heard of his being deposed
and banished Then I went down to
the wharves, and almost the first man l
ran against was the Yankee captain of
a brig called the John, which was then
having some repairs made. She had
been running in the tea trade up and
down the Yellow sea, but now, queerly
enough, the captain informed me that
he thought of taking run over to the
Philippines and try for cargo on his
own account.
1 outlfhed my story to Capt. Wheaton,
as he introduced himself. Semyo re-
told his story in the presence of the
captain. When he had retired the cap
tain drew down his right eye, slapped
his leg and whispered:
"Colonel, it's a go! The heathen's
talking straighter than straight edged
board, and if we can cone to terms I'm
in with the deal!"
There was very little higgling over
the particulars. 1t was agreed that
Capt Wheaton and myself should bear
all the expense Of the adventure, and if
the treasure was secured each of the
three should have an equal share. We
gave Semyo money to get himself into
decent shape and then looked to the
furnishings of the brig. She was al
ready provided with small arms and
cu:lasses, but we added to the stock,
and then, at the captains suggestion,
bought carronade which had been
lying in a ware house for two or three
years.
With it we gota carriage and ammu-
milton, and by the time the gun was
aboard the brig was watered and pro-
visioned and ready to sail. Her clear
ance papers were for Manila in ballast,
and the day of our sailing, Capt Wheat
on brought on board a short, squatty,
= 49, AuA OF h<aav