Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1890-05-15

| In Buckstown: the American vessels were
driven from the coast and there was but
one way to reach Boston and Spanish
sailor, and that was by horse power, too
expensive q method for the exchequer Of
| the Penobscot salmon. shad and treasure
| fisherman. But few years later he made
a confident of a packet master, as the cap
tains of schooners were called then and
in his vessel went to Salem, then the lead
ing port for foreign vessels In New Eng
land. He
FOUND A sPANIARD
who read the parchment to him, hut not
! in such way as to clearly establish the
/ hiding place, but yet leading the Bucks
town man to think there must be cave
about what is now Fort Point, where the
! treasure was concealed. and it appeared as
| though the entrance to this cave was then
| just beneath low water mark the interior,
4 however, being much higher. He came
/ home and began the search.
4 Fort Point is some two miles, or was
then some two miles below the lower end
{ Of Orphans Island; the boldest headland
about the mouth of the river and on IL to-
day stands lighthouse and a fine hotel.
Near the light there is a cove and in this
what appears to be the ruins of an open
/ ing that might have led to cave or I'M
derground passage. The headland itself is
now solid ledge, bat ont from 1t some 800
feet. there runs into the river a bar,
and old settlers say that where now, on
the end of this bar, stands or rather floats
a government buoy there stood then the
coast line OF Fort Point, which, year by
year. has been washed away until the
spring freshcts came to beat upon gran
lite sea wall only, thus checking the de-
struction.
Looking into the cove one Can see what
he can easily fancy to have been once
cave. The walls are high and straight up
on three sides; the tide flows in under the
ledge and il Is always noticeable feature
Of the coast line from the water Side, and
ore of the chief attractions for summer
guests. Here ART kept row boats, for
now here can SO perfect shelter for them
be found in the tide water thereabouts.
The Buckstown fisherman hunted all
along the shore watched the swirl and
swash Of the tide, but be never found an
opening or any place where there seemed
to pc AN underground inlet
He turned to his fishing fvr tinkers
were in the hay IN large numbers and these
were followed that year by big school OF
horse maCkercl
The HORSE MACkfRFI
of those days was a powerful fellow. Of
ten ing body as large as that Of sn
oN, and they not only destroyed whole
schools Of mackerel. tut porgies, herring
and the nets Of fishermen a. well There
fore It was that whenever ''iin" showed
along the surface Of the water the fisher
man who saw il was quite likely to take
his harpoon and dory and undertake the
capture This. our Bnckstown fisherman
did one morning in l~}o, striking big
horse" well over tn the shore Of Oh Pen
ohscot town, then known as Castinc. The
fi>h was successfully harlro0ncd. and At
once dartod directly across the mouth of
the river tow ing the boat with such speed
IS to bring the rails well down 10 the sur
face Of the water. As Fort Poin. was ap-
preached, the man in the boat expected
that the bug fish would turn either up or
down the river but he did not. There
We're about two hundred feet Of line out,
and when the big mackerel was within
that distance of the shore, he did not turn,
but the line led into what seemed to be the
bank but well under water. the tide then
being quite high. The boat WAS drawn
close to the beach, the line then pointing
downward and inward. Now there came
some vigorous tugs followed hy long pc
riod Of quiet. Gradually the fisherman
hauled in on the line until he held only
ragged end in his hand. showing II 10 have
been cut by sharp rocks. Later he heard
splash behind him, aud turning, he saw
the fin of the fish and the haft Of the har-
poou cutting the water scaward.
II did not take long to lead the mind OF
the fisherman up to the conclusion the horse
mackerel had run into some >ubterranean
passage. snd the hope and old dream of
Captain kldd's gold once more possessed
him, and he blessed the horse mackerel
for running there and escaping A. he did
though few days after the r>h was found
at low water on ledge in Belfast Bay.
where a monument now stands
The next day. on the ehh he went down
10 Fort Point and with him went an In
dian lad, good swimmer, no had been
hired To dive down amt ind, If he could