The record-union., 1891-07-21
HIDDEN TREASURES.
A DISCOVERY IN TEARING DOWN
AN OLD CASTLE.
Precious Stones, Gold Dust and Orna
ments Slowed Away in Vault
Enormous in Value.
Special to the REcoRp-uSIoS.

Special to the RECoRD-UNIoN.
New YORK, July 20.-Seventy million
dollars in gold and millions Of dollars
worth of gold dust, ornaments and prec-
lous stones, is q comfortable find which a
contractor of Rio Janeiro, Brazil, is re-
ported to have made. He was engaged
in tearing down the old castle of San An
| tonic, and there discovered this gold
mine, where it had been hidden since
some time in the last century. EE CnrTeo,
published at Caracas, Venezuela, July 1st,
gives detailed account of this discovery.
Before II was converted into castle San
Antonio was monastery under the con-
troll of the Jcsuits. During this period
the treasury is supposed 10 have been
hidden underneath the castle in vaults
In one OF these large number of cases,
chests and bundles were discovered The
contract for the demolition of the castle
| stipulated that in the event of the dis
covery of any precious metals half of the
treasure should belong to the State The
| engineer promptly notified the Brazilian
/ Government.
| His memoranda enumerated the follow
ing articles taken from the vaults:
One hundred and twelve wooden boxes.
! with iron clasps and three locks on each.
weighing $50 kilos each.
-Four cast-iron chests, weighing 6l5
| kilos each.
Sixteen leather sacks, sewed. yeip hing
| thirty-nine l<ilos each.
Eight hundred and six packages of
| parchment, with a total weight of /, ,457
kilos.
Three boxes containing papers and
twenty six packages. slightly damaged.
An examination OF the contents of these
chests and packages resulted in most
astonishing find. The ll2 wooden cases
contained gold money to the value of
S100O0,00O, in the shape of Portuguese
cruzades tancient milreas worth about so
cents EACH, and an accounting Of the
treasure verified the documents found in
i the cases. Among the papers found was
a receipt of Friar Desarte Anton, Superior
| of the Order of Jesuits, acknowledging
the receipt of 10000, 600 cruzadeS in gold,
to be turned over to Don John V, as a
tribute of honor upon his voyage to Bra
/ iii. These 20,000. 900, together with 2256
Kilograms Of gold powder contained in
/ four iron chests, and 945 kilote of gold
| bars, vessels and richly worked orna-
lnentS, were to have gone to Portugal
aboard the royal squadron of Caravels,
and the galleonS, which were under the
command of Don Sebastian and were to
touch at Brazil en- route TO Lisbon. 1t is
said when, in the last century, the Mar
! quis Of Pomhat, great Portuguese
statesman, demanded the remittance of
the above-named sum, Father Antoine
buried the treasure in the vaults of his
monastery and denied that it had ever
been in his possession, declaring it had
been taken away during the previous
reign. In consequence of this denial
which did not decisive the Marquis. the
Jesuits ware expelled from Brazil and
Portugal.
The twenty-six packages found contain
variety of precious stones, whose value
cannot be stated, as they have not yet
been appraised. 1t is something enor-
nous, however.
The excavations about the castle are
not yet finished, and the discovery of
new treasures is not impossible.