The Saint Paul globe., 1896-08-09

L. GLObE: SUNDAY,
by five miles wide. The account Of the
treasure SAID that there were three ma
hogany trees growing in the form Of a
triangle near the east side OF the ISL
and. After sailing through an opening
In the coral reef surrounding the ISL
and the treasure hunters shouted with
JOY as they SAW the. three trees rearing
their branches higher than the shrub
berry surrounding them No other large
mahogany tree was in sight.
inside the coral reef the water was so
shallow that the Maria could approach
no closer thani a half-mile of the ISL
and Here the yacht was anchored
and the crew and passengers went
ashore in small boats The trees were
found separated by exactly the dis
tance which the pirates memorandum
said they We're.
The treasure was buried. according to
the same account, f1fty-nine yards due
north of the northernmost mahogany
tree, near the bed of a boiling spring.
The spring was found, and at this cor
roboration of the truth of the story
which had taken them such a long jour
ney the treasure hunters again shouted
with joy.
DIGGING FOR THE GOLD.
The digging was easy work and in a
short time a depth of six feet was
reached. Here few human bones were
found. The smaller ones were gone,
but the thigh bones and a portion of
the skulls and spinal columns of the
dead pirates had resisted the action of
time and were intact, mute and elo-
quent proof Of the truth Of the story
70 nr axyi-
son.
With eager hands and without stop
ping to rest the work of excavation was
pushed. At depth of eight feet a few
conch shells were brought to light. The
weary men could almost see the shin
ing gold in their hands. Nine feet, ten
feet, eleven feet, and then-disappoint-
ment!
The toilers struck bed of quicksand.
The boiling spring had shifted it's posi-
ton somewhat and the water in the
bottom of the hole begun boiling and
bubbling. To dig was impossible. To
make matters worse the sides Of the
bank caved in and threatened to bury
the entire party. They scrambled out
and held consultation
The caisson was brought from the
Maria, placed in position and sunk
until the quicksand was reached Then
an effort was made to dip out the
quicksand. 1t would have been as
easy to dip up the Gulf of Mexico. The
entire island seemed to be resting on a
bed OF quicksand a few feet below the
surface of the water at low tide Evi-
IDENTIFY the heavy gold had sunk into
the quicksand and had gone straight
down to the bottom.
For several days the men continued
digging. They found more bits of bones
a few pieces of oak and plenty of conch
shells. Finally iron rods were tied to-
gether and the quicl1sand was sounded.
AT the depth of thirty feet hard bottom
was struck Realizing the utter futllity
OF trying to reach that depth with the
tools they had. the disheartened men
sadly gathered Up their belongings, re-
turned to the Maria and set sail for
New York
The Maria was not intended for cruis-
ing In the Caribbean sea and did not
nave a copper bottom While anchored
on the coast of Tuarniffa the keel rest
ed on the bottena at low tide. The
paint was soonworn off and the tere-
dos began boring their holes in the bot
tom of the vessel. AS a result. when
her head was turned northward the
null was almost gone. Three days
later she sprang a leak. The crew
worked all night at the pumps, but the
water gained on them and in the morn
ing they took to the boats
The sails of the Maria were not fur
led and after she was abandoned she
sailed straight on before the wind The
crew and passengers remained in the
beats but a few hours, being picked UP
by the Lady Bird, bound from Belize
to New York. They reached this port
April 5, 1888, having been absent since
Oct. 10, 1887
John B. Peck has since died and the
only one e1of the crew that sailed on the
Maria whose whereabouts is known is
Cornelius Healy. He has never given up
hopes of returning to the island with an
expedition properly equipped with a
caisson thirty-five or forty feet long
and a steam pump, so that the bottom
OF that bed of quicksand can be ex-
amdned. He has finally interested men
who will advance the money, and as
soon as suitable vessel can be secured
he will sail at the head of the expedit-
ion.
~ The ill-fated expedition of nine years
ago was more expensive to Mr. Blevin,
the owner of the Maria, than to any
one else. All he received was $500. and
he lost, his boat, which was worth
5000
He knows Healy well and says that
from what the sailor has told him he
does not doubt that the treasure will
be found if the search for it is con-
tinued long enough.