Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-02

where They Are On the Florida Coast.
From the St. Louis Glcbe-Democrat.
There is 2ooo,o 900 In gold buried down on
the Florida coast and St Louis merchants
have been asked to help recover IT. The exact
location Of the treasure is known, and all
that is needed to get II IL the requisite
nerve and energy and the paltry sum Of
$4,000 to fit out an expedition. The direc-
tors OF the Merchants Exchange have the
scheme under their thumb. and are teal-
ously guarding it lest an enterprising pri-
Vate citizen grab the good thing offered
and secure the golden booty. The story
OF the treasure reads like one Of Robert
Louis Stevenson's romances but is vouch-
ed for by the best authorities. Part of IL
Is told In letter that George II. Morgan.
secretary OF the exchange, has securely
locked up In burglar-proof safe. The let
Ter was received yesterday. and it was d.
rected to the board of directors After be-
ing discussed by the board IL was commit
ted 10 the care of Secretary Morgan. who
aho~ed several members 10 peruse IL with
oul seeing the name. Then, when inouir-
les began to be made about Al and tn in
.ereS, 10 increase, the secretary concluded
10 pace the precious communica ton under
iock ana Key and await Developments To
al eHt- edles after InaI he was ueaI ana
the only Information that could be CLEANED
was from parties who had been favored
with the privilege OF perusal
ne letter is from a prominent Arkansas
inerchaht II consumes four large sheets
OF paper, closely written, and makes a num-
Der OF very bold assertions The mercha M
starts out by telling the president and
poaId OF directors OF the exchange that he
ieeus their AID TO the tune of $1,000 IL he
did not need il he would go ahead and oct
me gold himself. Upon his marriage re-
cehtly, ne says. he came into possession of
q chart, map. and comprehensive guide
nf hs. l.
money Is hidden. His wife received The
oata from a New Orleans physician sew
sral years ago. just previous TO his dea tn
ieafs oefore this the physician, sitting at
tne oeatnped OF poor patient had been
given the secret as pay for his services
twenty years before this deathbed scene
inc patient had been intrusted with the pa
p ers py another dying man in New Orleans.
Ihis man was the last survivor of the mar
~ that had buried the gold
Inc history OF the sole survivors, efforts
10 regain possession of the treasure he had
heiped bury was pathetic one. Worn out
Win fatigue he had landed in New Orleans
about the close of the century The fright
ful hardships he had undergone proved too
much FOR even his frame of iron, and he
was taken from his sailors lodging house
10 the hospital more dead than alive He
stu kept the precious chart and map.
however, determined TO return to the
Florida coast as soon as convalescent His
sickness lasted nearly two years. and
pital he was a physical wreck. With dog
ged perseverance, however, he set out 10
prepare for his expedition after the gold.
His appearance was against him, though.
and men to whom he told his story re-
garded him as a maniac. He all but sue
ceeded several times, but as each scheme
seemed about to develop some untowa-d
event shattered his plans. The war of 1872
coming on defeated what promised to be his
greatest expedition. and after that he had
not the energy to try again. He kept the
papers until his death. and only then did
he resign all hopes of securing the fortune.
Dying he left them to his nearest friend.
with the promise that the treasure would be
searched for and found.
The same fate. however. that had pur-
sued the unfortunate pirate seemed to fol-
low the second owner Of the papers. Try as
he might all his plans went by the board.
and he died as penniless and as far from
the treasure as the man from whom he got
them. Business and family interests pre-
vented the physician from searching for the
gold. though he had always intended to
make the hunt before he died.
The writer of the letter to the exchange
grows quite melodramatic when he de-
scribes the events leading mp to the burial
Of the treasure. It was in the troublesome
DAYS of the close Of the eighteenth century,
he says. when the Gulf OF Mexico was still
a terror to owners Of merchant vessels
from the presence Of the pirates who in
tested its roads of travel and three grown
isles. Foremost among these marauders
was the Skipper Of Sawyers Key,
named from the coral island upon which
he pitched his rendezvous and to which
he usually brought his booty. His craft
La. Mort DEATH. was more dreaded than
the cholera o. yellow fever. for the skipper
knew no mercy. For years his black nag
waved over scenes OF carnage too horrible
for pen to picture. and the very atmos-
phere Of the southwestern Florida coast
was Stunned by all vessels that did not
bear regiments OF soldiers and double rows
of cannon. The last cruise OF The pirate
was a sinsuiariy successful one 1t was in
the autumn of the year, when ships from
South America were bearing to England,
France and Spain many rich planter
profits Of twelve-month- some OF IN.
ships bore tngots Of gold and silver mined
from the southern mountains. Many q
fine lady, bedecked with costly gems. &C
companied her lord to the Old World The
same fate that made :he harvests rich
and the winds fair caused dozens Of these
vessels to fall into the hands Of the skip
per aboard La Mort. The planters Wee
relieved of their money bags ana ingots
and the ladies of their diamonds and rubies
Before the cruise was over the skipper hac
gathered in over S200o,ooo worth Of gold
Finally ne started for Sawyer's Key, there
to divide the booty and spend winter In
revelry and drunkenness. But he never
reached his port. A storm. the IKE o,
which seldom ever visited the gulf. swept
down upon La Mort and tore her shrouds
from her masts as though they were bull
| tissue paper. The helm broke.the masts
themselves snapped like pipestems in the
hurricane. and large waves rolled from
stem to stern Of the ship. washing eway
the bulwarks and scores Of unfoft.nats
seamen. With all haste the longboat was
launched and a few OF the crew loaded In
the treasure. a few provisions and a sup
ply OF water. and resigned themselves &c
the mercy Of the waves. The storm lasted
three DAYS and at the end only four OF the
crew lived. The skipper was among the
survivors, and directed that the treasure
be buried. A spot was selected near Ponce
de Leon Bay, where they were washed
ashore, and with great toll and trouble a
| hole was dug and the money planted. One
OF the party was a civil engineer. and he
made a sketch OF the spot and surroundings
being careful to take such markings "a
could never be obliterated by time or the
elements. The little band of four ther
| started toward civilization afoot. From
Ponce de Leon Bay to the habitations OF
| man was a long and almost hopeless Jour
ney. Swamps impossible barred their way
and their scant supply OF provisions gave
out. To make a long story short. only one
man reached New Orleans. His compan
Ions died one by one in the morasses. His
trials after reaching the Crescent City have
already been told.
The directors OF the exchange are evidently
| inclined to look upon the scheme with SONS
favor. chimerical though IT may be. TIL,
proposition OF the merchant is to pilot 3
| searching party to the locality where tn,
| treasure is buried, and then, with the as
sistance of charts and instruments in tn,
| hands of scientific men, to locate the spo
| and unearth the treasure. He does not pro
pose to surrender his claim to the wealth