The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-03-08
A PIRATES GOLD.
Wealth Beneath the Sea-
shore Sands.
JEWELS AND DOUBLOONS.
The Unsuccessful Search of Years to
Be Renewed by Two Diggers
for Wealth.
At last the pirates gold /, to be IN

At last the pirates gold Is to be IN
earthed.
Again the sanguine diggers are delving
for the ill-gotten but well-hidden treasure
of the old buccaneers.
And the sands of the seashore are being
disturbed once more by searchers for the
bIood-statned wealth.
And that is why there was such crowd
of sightseers out on the ocean leach yester-
day afternoon.
They were longing for the sights OF the
golden doublOons.
They wanted to be on hand when the beach
should yield up its buried treas ures.
So they came early and sought steadfastly
for one NJ. d. Nelson, who has Been granted
a permit by the Mayor to sink a shaft in the
beach roadway right over the spot where
the pirates gold lies hidden.
b. W Clark. an old. old miner who knows
all about this buried treasure and just where
1t lies, located it at this particular spot
about forty years ago.
II is sure to be there still, Mr.. Nelson
argues. for the bloOdthirsty pirates who
buried it are dead, and the secret spot was
known only TO them and Clark.
And the people waited. If it had not
rained so soon they might be waiting still.
For the tTeaSure-diggeT came not.
His apparatus was not quite ready, aud
this alone delayed hin.
Another day the crowd will be more for
tunate, for MI Nelson is determined. He
has sure tip He will come.
just what the apparatus is beyond COM
mon ok and shovel IS hard to say, but the
general opinion was that Mr.. Nelson lad
decided 10 walt until the excitement of his
projected search had somewhat died out
before commencing.
The story of the hidden treasure is not a
new one, and frequently parties have been
organized to hunt for II. but without sue
cess. II seemed TO be will O. the wisp"
aud was aiways right in the hands of the
seaTchers. but they were never quite able to
close their fingers on it.
The discovery of the location of the
treasure was originally made by B. w.
Clark, who Is now old and bent with age
and the hard work of miner, but lie is
still confident that the treasure is beneath
the sands near the park observatory.
Clark's story of The find IS interesting, and
he has not dtyerged hairs breadth from
1t since he first told It in confidence to some
OF his friends a score or more of years ago,
when the first search was made for il.
Clark says that in the early days of Cali
fornia, and when San Francisco was but
thlnly settled, lie worked on a ranch near
The ocean end Of what is now Golden Gate
Park. The ranch was owned by a POrtu-
guese, who, along with his peaceful farming
occupation, conducted gambling saloon.
As a consequence he was surrounded by
a very wild and woolIy element. One
morning al low tide Clark was walking
along he beach after rather heavy storm
and saw some timber sticking up throug h
the sand. His curiosity was at once
aroused, and digging around them be dis
tinctly traced the outlines of q vessel. Il
was, in his opinion, a Spanish corvette, and
going little deeper In the sand he un-
earthed several human skeletons, besides a
number of pistols and eutlasses.
Digging further he came unOu q IarOa
square iron chest, which was too heavy for
him to remove.
He ju dyed it 10 be full of treasure be-
longing 10 the ship, which he set down to be
a pirate ship, and what TO do with his ind
troubled him. He dare not tell his COM
panions at the gambling joint, so be care
fully marked the spot, and covering up the
traces OF the wrecks existence, let the
strong box sink deeper into the sands.
a few weeks later he got the mining
fever and went TO the mountains After
q twenty years in the mountains lie came
back TO unearth his treasure. but the ex-
act spot could not be found. The old marks
had vanished. The house kept by the
Portuguese had been burned; but a few
stones that had served for fire place still
remained, and from this point an approx
mate location was made, aud the search was
begun.
Shaft after shaft was sunk. but without
success. and the different persons the old
man had induced to help him gave up the
search in despair.
But Clark did not despair. He never
Will. About a year ago a company was
formed, which with improved machinery
commenced to probe for the strong iron
box, but it finally deserted the idea of ever
finding the pirates horde of wealth.
The ocean beach from Sutro Heights to
Point Pedro has been dug full of holes in
search Of the fabulous treasure, but the
iron box still remains under the sand.
NplS0n ha is IN find tbof IL
or dig hole big enough to hold the water
Of the Pacific Ocean. The chances are that
the Paelhc Ocean will remain where it is
regardless Of Mr.. Nelson's exertions.