Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1893-11-18
LUKE'S FORTUNE.

II You look at your school maps, you win
hotice that the state Of Florida projects
put into the ocean like great thumb, and
that off its southern limits, In what Is
known as the straits Of Florida, there are
y dozen or more islands. Some OF these
are inhabited by fishermen, shell gather
ers and turtle catchers, and some are not
visited once year by anybody. Some of
the islands are only banks Of sand, with
here and there shrub or tree, while 9TH
ers are covered with luxuriant vegetation
and are veritable gems Of the sea.
In the spring Of 1917, boy IA years OF
age, named Luke SMITH, who was an or
phan and had lived for several years at Co
lumbus, Ky, managed TO make his way
down to New Orl-tls on steamboat.
He was disappointed in finding nothing
weeks lived by begging on the streets.
Being threatened with arrest for this, and
being now as anxious To leave the city as
he had formerly been TO reach II, he hid
himself ava -,,n board Of small schooner
loaded for Charleston. He did not dis
cover himself to the crew until the craft
was well on her way, and until he was
near perishing with hunger and thirst.
The schooner had a small crew, and the
boy could have been of use, but both the
saptain and mate treated him in the most
shameful manner. He was fogged and
suited until he tried to jump overheard to
scape his prosecutors, and the food he
got was hardly enough to sustain life.
The only offense he had committed was
In hiding aboard, but the officers, who
were both hard drinkers, looked upon this
rs q crime punishable almost with death.
They would probably have driven him to
suicide but for the interference OF the crew,
who threatened to report their conduct
and their cruelties as soon as they entered
port. This made them let up little, but
Il also set them to planning. Learning
that they might get into the clutches of
the law II they carried Luke to Charles
ton, where he could make a complaint,
they determined to maroon him.
A course was steered for the cluster of
islands mentioned, and on reaching them
the captain had himself and Luke pulled
ashore on pretense of seeking some shell
gatherers.
The island that the captain had selected
was about five miles from the nearest
neighbor and entirely uninhabitcd. 1t
was only about mile across in any direc
ton, but fairly we'll wooded and contained
q fine spring of fresh water.
Shortly after getting into the woods, out
of sight of the sailors in the yawl, the cap
tain informed Luke that he was to be left
there and threatened to kill him IL he at
tempted to regain the boat. Luke was
rather pleased than otherwise, and the
captain finally showed up on the beach
and reported the boy to have run away
from him and concealed himself. The boat
was ordered to pull of at once, and when
Luke Smith crept down to the beach It
was to behold the schooner three or four
miles distant The first thing he did, as
he afterward told me, was to hunt for
fresh water. He not only found the spring,
but he discovered an abundance Of wild
fruit In the woods, and along shore he
found oysters in plenty. One Of the sail
ors, probably mistrusting the captains
Intentions, had secretly furnished the boy
with u sheathknife, some matches, fish
line and handful Of salt.
1t was about 10 o'clock in the forenoon
when Luke was left ashore. Before night
he had satisfied his hunger for the first
u
That was his introduction to Crusoe life,
which lasted till Oct IL. During the six
months no one landed at the island, and
he saw no sail within three or four miles.
His bill of fare consisted of fruits, berries,
roots, oysters, fish and wild onions. He
caught several turtles, but not knowing
how to prepare them he could not use
them. Now and then, to vary his diet, he
Id l.I LtxI l,,t ha ,.,l ha. a
lay hold of were rather rank In taste.
The sth day of August was a memora-
BILE day to Luke Smith. A heavy sea had
been beating on the west side of the island
Tor two days previous, and the tides had
also been unusually high. Along the
western shore. just at average high water
mark, was a continuous bluff five or six
feet high. As Luke walked along the
beach on the forenoon Of the Sth, with the
tide out, he noticed that this bluff had
been badly cut into in places. At one spot
q great tree had been uprooted and carried
off by the waves, and rs the boy looked
into the hole thus left he saw what ap-
peared to be a wooden box about 10 inches
square. 1t took all his strength to lift 1t
out on the sands, and searching about he
soon discovered four more just like 1t.
1nty WtTt lTOh DOttuu tcudi DoAcc, uhu
they were full Of gold and silver coins and
had no doubt been buried for 20 years or
more.
The money was nearly all Spanish and
counted up nearly 1900 to the box. Who
buried it will never be known, but there
Are those who connect it with Cuban fill
clustering expedition Of years ago.
Luke Smith was taken off the island by
. revenue cutter on the day | have named,
and Of course his money went with him.
Had 1t been almost any other craft he
would probably have been robbed Of q
goodly portion. The captain Of the cutter
not only landed him at Pensacola, but
stood by him until the courts appointed
legal guardian.
Luke was at once sent to school and In
due time to college, and today he Is one OF
the brightest lawyers In Louisville. The
captain who left him on Doubloon island,
ss it In now called, expecting him to die
Of starvation, heard Of the treasure find,
~ did hundreds of others, and IL was said
that he never got over being mad to his
dying day.-Luke Sharp In Detroit Free
PresA