The St. Johns herald., 1891-08-06
4 Fabulous Find.

6OAN NuoU' OAioI1OhIo dAO pIOOiOuo stones were the comfortable find which contractor of Rio Janerio
 is reported to have made. He was
 engaged in tearing down the old castle of San Antonio and there he
 discovered this gold mine, where it
 had been hidden since some time
 in the last century. Caracas DCa-
 racas. published at Caracas, Vene-
 zuela, in its isue of July 1st, gives
 a detailed report of this discovery.
 in an article which occupied almost
 the entire front page of the news
 paper. According to this account,
 the find was made by an engineer
 who was tearing down the castle of
 San Antonio. Before it was con-
 verted into 8 castle San Antonio
 was monastery, under the control
 of the Jesuits. It is during this
 period of it's history that the treas
 ure is supposed to have been hid
 den. Underneath the castle are
 vaults, built like the corridors of
 mine, and in one of these a large
 number of chests and bundles were
 discovered. The contract for the
 demolition of the castle stipulated
 that in the event of a discovery of any precious metals. half of the
 treasure should belong to the state.
 The engineer promptly notified the
 Brazilian government, making a
 statement of the find and soliciting
 official advice and assistance.
 His memorandum enumerates the following as taken from the vaults: 112 wooden boxes with iron clasps, and three locks on each, weighing 856 kilos, about two pounds each; four cast iron chests, weighing SIS kilos each S06 pach ages of parchment, with a total weight of ,467 kilos; three boxes containing papers twentysix pack ages slightly damaged. An exam ination of the contents of these chests and packages resulted in a most astonishing fud. The 112 casks contained gold money to the value of about $70,0OO,OO0; in heap of old POrtugese cruzados four ancient milreas were found, worth fifty cents each. The ac counting of the treasure were veri- fled documents found in the cases. Among the papers found was re- ceipt of Frair Desarte Anton, su- perior of the order of Jesuits. The report says that 20,000,000 cruza- dos in gold was to be turned over to Don John, as tribute of honor, upon his voyage to Brazil.
 These 2O,OOO,O0O. together with 2,560 kilograms of gold powder, contained in the four iron chests, and 945 kilos of gold bars and ves- sells. richly ornamented, were to have gone to Portugal: aboard the royal squadron of Caraveles and galleons, which, under the com mand of Don Sebastian, was to touch up Brazil, enroute to Lisbon. It is said when in the last century the Marquis of Pombal, the great Portugese statesman, demanded the of the above named sum Father Anton buried the treas ure in the vaults of his monastery and denied that it had ever been in his hand, declaring that it had been carried away during the previous { reign. In consequence of this de- 1, nial, which did not deceive the mar quis, the Jesuits were exiled from ( Brazil and Portugal. The twenty six packages were found to contain a vast amount of precious stones, the value of which cannot be stat ed, as they have not yet been ap- praised; it is something enormous, however. The excavation about the castle is not yet finished and dis ,overy of new treasure is not i'm.