The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-11-05
A ROMANCE OF GOLD.
A Story of an Island in the south
Pacific.
From the BOSTON Transcript.

10 exert over those who start on the quest
without knowing whether the long-for
treasure is really to be found where they
intend to look for it or is only a Pigment
of the imagination. Apparently, the eA>
petition that is now being fitted out here
in prosy, conservative Boston is of this
nature; and, on the other hand, the gold
may be exactly where the searchers hope
| that it may be found.
! The expedition, one Of the members of
which is G, H. Bailey of No. Al Boylston
street, is not after the buried doubloons OF
some old buccaneer who roved the Span
/ ish main, or the spoils of one of those
/ spanish explorers who plumber
ed the coast of the Southern
Pacific in the fifteenth century.
There is real piracy in the story, to be
sure, and hanging, and all that, but this
comes in very different way. The oD.
/ Ject of the expedition is to find a GER
tain island, the position Of which is pref
| ty accurately known to those most con-
| cerned, which is supposed to be so In
! tested with gold that one can scrape Il
up in large heaps The secret of this ISL
| and has been transmitted from one man
| to another, and jealously guarded for
nearly quarter of a century; but for
various reasons none of them has been
able to avail himself of his knowledge
until 1t came into the possession of-but
this is one of the mysteries of the story,
| that the name of the originator of the
| expedition, as well as all specific details
bearing upon the location of the island,
are to be kept strictly secret until after
the expedition has started, and the
| chances of its being forestalled are, there
fore, placed beyond the range of posi-
| bility. With the omission of few details
which might lead to Identification, this
| is the story, which has led to the organ:-
cation Of the expedition, as related to the
writer by an iold sea captain now living
in Merose.
About 1877 a carpenter, whose home was
In Maine, stopped at the Panama on his
way home from California, where he had
earned fair measure of success in the
gold fields. In such places men are not
discriminating as regards the acquaint-
ances they make and while staying here
he fell in with a couple of rough-looking
sailors, who had deserted from whaler
that put into the port for provisions. One
evening. upon learning that he was a
miner, and therefore familiar with met
ais, they took him one side and showed
him a strong bag filled with some hard
substance, which they asked him to ex-
anime and pronounce judgment upon.
He examined the contents which he
found to be gold of the finest quality;
whereupon, after having first imposed an
oath of strict secrecy, they told him that
| d
ship had touched at an island to take on
water. The casks were RATED ashore and
quickly filled, the ship meanwhile stand
ing off and on. While waiting for the
ship to stand in, these two sailors strolled
along the beach for about two miles until
they came to a place where a raVine or
watercourse came down from a high noun
tain, passed under a natural stone arch
and emptied into the sea. Here they no.
ticed that the sand on the beach was filled
with a number of shining particles resemb-
ling gold and that the crevices or seams
of the watercourse also seemed full of it..
Not sure whether it was gold, they gather
ed small package and retraced their
steps to the boat, saying nothing, how
ever, to their companions of their discov-
cry.
Being assured by the carpenter that they
had discovered genuine gold, the sailors
proposed that the three of them fit out a
small vessel and return to the island. The
plan was agreed to at once, a vessel was
purchased, and six or eight more men were
induced to join the expedition. There was
so few men available that they had to
take such as they could get, and they got
as precious a lot of rascals as ever went
unhanged. There were two big negroes,
two villainous Spaniards, who could not
be trusted out of sight, a hunchbacked
snaky-looking fellow, who, is was after
|
the penal colony in French Guiana, and a
surly, SCARED old fellow, who had been
warned out of California by a vigilance
committee He was feared by ever mem
Der of the crew, and even before the
coast lines had sunk below the horizon
he had let out little suggestions that filled
the carpenter with premonitions that he
was going to make serious trouble. Sur
" and morose, he slouched about the deck
without a word to anybody. The other
members of the crew were Indifferent char
acters.
The vessel was fitted out, ostensibly for
| coasting purposes, with mining tools, pro-
visions for two or three months, and a
| couple of barrels of rum. A man and
woman were taken along as cook and
| steWardess. Along toward evening Of
the second day out they sighted the is
| land. 1t was a lonesome, cherries look
ing spot with a rough, irregular beach,
along which the surf was tumbling in
long curls of creamy foam, and little
| farther in upon the rocks were groups Of
| Shiny, black creatures which gave voice
to the desolation with their hoarse bark
ing There was a sporadic growth of
palms on the island which dwindled away
into a scraggy growth Of underbrush upon
| the slopes of two mountains which rose
symmetrically from the two extremities.
! A small cove bordered by a sandy beach
offered a Sate anchorage, ana INTO lnlS
| the vessel was cautiously steered, and
the crew was set to work at once at land
ing the stores.
That night there was a grand carousal
aboard the vessel in celebration of the
successful termination of the voyage,
during which the rum flowed freely and
quarrels we're frequent. The carpenter
| and one of the sailors, however, held
aloof from these orgies, remaining on
deck prepared to leave the vessel should
matters come to a crisis. Matters did come
to a crisis with a crash when one of the
Spaniards dragged the poor, frightened
| stewardess into the cabin and insisted
that she sing a Spanish song for the COM
| pany. The big ruffian with the livid scar,
| who claimed to be an American, declared
that she should sing nothing but Yankee
| Doodle" The Spaniard attempted to
force matters by drawing his knife. but
the American anticipated him with his
| gun" which he began to discharge right
and left. In a moment the fight became
generals out Of the cabin and up onto the
deck they tumbled, shooting and cutting
and cursing in a manner that was fright
| ful 10 hear Half of them would have