The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1893-01-31
PIRATE HOARDS.
Enormous Wealth Concealed on .
Pacific Island
An Expedition from the United State.
Win Visit tho Island and Make an
Extended Search for the
Hidden Millions.


The yacht Hayseed, under the COM
mand of Capt. August Gisler, recently
sailed from Stockton, bound for Cocos
island, four hundred miles southwest Of
Panama. The object of Capt. Gisler's
visit to the distant isle Is to endeavor to
discover the spot where gold and silver
coins, plate and jewelry to the alleged
value of sixty million dollars were
buried by pirates nearly seventy years
ago.
Capt Gisler, says the San Francisco
Chronicle, expects to reach his destina-
ton after thirty-two days sailing. The
length Of his stay at the island viii de-
pend upon the work undertaken The
island will first be surveyed under the
direction of Capt. Gisler, who owns con-
siderable property on the place. The
buried treasure will be hunted for on q
secret plan in the captains possession.
Capt. Gisler spent four years on the
island, and during that time made =
vigorous search for the gold. He is con.
fdent of success, and is determined to
keep up his search. This will be his
fourth trip to the island. He left there
in May, 1890. On that visit he and three
companies subsisted for i've months on
wild hogs, fish ana sea birds while
awaiting the vessel sent to Valparaiso
for supplies
The captain made . contract with the
Costa RIGA government to populate the
barren island within five years, and he
proposes to do this work in connection
with the search for the hidden wealth.
A month ago he went to Stockton to
meet A. 0. viertong, who claims to
have gold indicator" by which the
presence of the buried gold can be dis
covered Capt. Gisler looked upon the
indicator" favorably, and made an
agreement under which viertong will
accompany him to Cocos island
Capt. Gisler will have with him
Joseph Refine, q blacksmith; John
Hamlin, an English man, and an old
sailor, who will be the mate Of the
Hayseed; August Weiste, the cook, and
Andrew Johnson, an able seaman. These
men, with the exception of Refine. have
accompanied Capt. Gisler to Cocos
island on several previous trips, and
they know what to expect on such an
expedition. They believe they win be,
successful, and are willing to make the
trip without a dollar of wages and
take chances on unearthing the gold.
The cook, Weiste, is so certain of sue
cess that he came roundabout way
from Germany to join the treasure
seekers. He learned that Gisler was
organizing company, and to reach
California he sailed to Australia. and
from there worked his passage to Cali
fornia. When he arrived in this port
he was told by the German consul that
Gisler was in Stockton, and he found
the captain there at work on the Hay
seed Two men who could not be &C
commodated on the yacht win go by
the Pacific mail steamer to Costa Rica.
where the Hayseed will stop and pick
them up.
Gisler will carry about fifteen tons OF
supplies. He purchased In Stockton
about two thousand pounds of -four,
dried fruit and canned meats and other
articles. A lot of supplies will be
shipped by steamer to Costa RIGA to be
sent for as required. The cost of fitting
out the Hayseed and supplying Capt,
Gisler with small fund to deposit in
Costa Rica was two thousand dollars.
The expense was divided among more
than twenty men, and consequently
the speculation will not distress any
member of the company. When Capt.
Gisler left Stockton he was In happy
mood and seemed almost certain of
| finding the treasure. He gives his
time the same as the rest of his party,
and cannot make dollar unless sue
cessful.
The story Of the buried treasure has
been told many times and in many
tongues. The treasure was buried by
pirates who operated in the brig Relam-
pago in 1899. Cocos island was selected
as the treasure repository after the pi-
rate ship had been driven In the Pacific.
| The island Is about four miles across
and contains sixteen thousand acres OF
rocky and rolling land, well watered.
The pirates. after capturing . number
of Spanish galleons, buried church
plate, jewels and coin in two places. On
the northeast end of the island the pirate
crew buried one hundred and seventy
five tons of silver dollars. At another
spot gold-hilted and jeweled swords
were deposited In third excavation
they deposited fifteen million dollars
worth of gold bricks. The captain him
self buried a large number of emeralds,
diamonds, rubies and pearls. The
whole treasure, placed in various vaults
in the sandstone and hidden in the sand,
is estimated, according to the story Of
two of the briE's piratical crew, as
amounting in value to more than sixty
million dollars. The pirates were
killed off before they could return to
Cocos island, and the story Of their
buried riches came from two English
men who were the only men left to tell
of the hiding place Of many millions Of
stolen gold. Their stories came out as
deathbed confessions