Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-12-27
THE MISSING WEALTH
A GOOD STORY OF BURIED TREAS
URE AT NEW LONDON

1
ed From the Spanish Galleon-Futile Eff
forts of the Descendants of Witch striclr-
land, Whose Charm Failed.
The late John r. Bolles of this city
used to relate very good story of witch
craft digging for buried treasure, and the
robbery of Spanish galleon, all of which
occurred inside the limits of New London
within $50 years. The last two features
of the story are facts in history.
AS late as July II, 1927, two men from
| Vermont, said to be descendants of an ante
| Revolutionary witch named Strickland,
dug by the side of what is now Law
rence's wharf for buried gold, by the ad-
vice of some Of their forefathers who dug
there before them in the seventeen hun
dreds. The diggers were hunting for the
treasure of the Spanish galleon st. Jo-
seph and st. Helena, which was plundered
at her mornings while lying there for re-
| pairs and shelter in 1884. None of the
diggers was successful The first party
were grandsons of the Stir and woman,
who as a witch was expelled long before
from both the Connecticut and Massachu-
sets colonies
The state of Vermont however, will
ingly harbored all gray, lean sisters of
| tho airy broomstick race, and this ac-
counts for Witch Strickland's settling
| there.
This witch was said to have possessed
magic pebble, as clear as crystal into
which she could look and see treasure
buried under land or water. 1t was
through this happy medium that she
CHANGED upon the missing treasure of the
St. Joseph and St. Helena.
This galleon, which left so much bullion
about Now London, was the occasion of u
local event which was not only discredita
| bic to tie Connecticut colony, but showed
that our old time solons were not above re-
proach. y lively political disturbance re-
| suited.
Tho ST. Joseph and st. Helena, while
putting in here in distress in 1853, ran
| upon reef of rocks outside the harbor.
Before she could be floated it became nee
essary to unload her. Then she was re-
paired here. Her freight was put in charge
of Joseph Hill, at that time collector of
the port. The supercargo. of the galleon
was Don Joseph Miguel de st. Juan. His
vessel was bound from Havana to Cadiz,
and her cargo consisted in part of gold
bars and coin.
That he might proceed with his cargo
early in the spring Don Miguel chartered a
smaller vessel Of 200 TONS which was
ready to sail the following April But
when he had shipped a part Of his cargo,
other parts of it were withholden from
him or lost and he was unable to recover
them. The don could obtain no relief,
and finally, in the following October, he
petitioned the general assembly upon the
matter.
In his petition he said that much Of his
cargo had been embezzled, and he prayed
that he might Ireland that portion of his
| cargo which remained and secure it at
their expense. The general assembly, after
much debate, decided that they did not
know what the don's losses We're, and
neither could they prevent them. They
declared the don's requests were too I'M
reasonable to be granted, but "as protec-
ton was due foreigner cast among u.s."
the government was directed to grant all
due relief to the don, according to the laws
of trade, nature and nations. Tho govern
or was also empowered to direct full
search after the missing portion of the YES
sells cargo.
Collector Hill was hotly censured. How
such quantity of treasure could be stolen
without his knowledge and no search made
for so long time was held to be unao-
countable. Nothing was ever found, and
the colony was not put to any great ex-
pense for this shameful proceeding, which
was finally lost sight Of in the causes which
led up to the war of the Revolution.
After this war the pioneer Vermonters,
two in number grandsons of Granny
Strickland, appeared. They were sent here
through the old ladys written instruc-
tions. 1t seems that years before, after
prolonged observation through the pre-
cious pebble she possessed, she distinctly
viewed, deeply buried in the ground, many
boxes Of shining dollars packed edgewise.
She also espied bullion as we'll. The To-
cality, which was all about the moorings
of the Spanish galleons, was pointed out
to an inch. Not long after she died.
New Londoners, the story goes, laughed
at the efforts of the raw boned Normonters
10 recover the buried treasure. The ira
dition says the delivers worked only at
night, in accordance with the witch's in
structions, and that finally they uncovered
the lids OF number of iron boxes just
under the surface of the river. No sooner
were these revealed than it was said troop
of snarling black dogs and flock of green
eyed geese interpOsed themselves, barking
kissing and yelling so furiously as to hold
in check and finally to drive them away.
They went back to Marin Strickland's
home to request her presence in the spirit
at New London, with her witch hazel
wand, to hold in check the vicious water
sprites, which were so vehement in pro-
tecting the buried treasure. But it was
in vain. Although the witch came 70
earth at their invocation, she refused to
come to Connecticut to help them out, it
was said, because she believed the same
laws expelling witches still existed here
as when she was in the flesh.
So the money diggers were compelled to
give over their quest. Their descendants
who came many decades later were no
more successful They worked by the side
of the wharf in the hours of daylight, from
plan left by their ancestors. They used
oyster tongs, clam rakes and grapnels, and
although no ugly dogs and Kissing geese
hinderod their movements they were I'M
able to find anything of value-New Lon
don Comm Day.