The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-01
GOLD BY THE KEG FULL
ISLAND IN THE PACIFIC WHERE
GREAT WEALTH Is HIDDEN.
Boston Men Preparing an Expedition
to Find Mines known Only
to One Man Living.


hunt for the shining ore itself seems TO eX
ert over those who start on the quest with
out knowing whether the longed-for treas
ure is really TO be found where they intend
TO look for it or is only a Pigment of the
imagination Apparently, the expedition
that is now being fitted out here in prosy.
conservative Boston is of this nature; and
on the other hand. the gold may be ex-
actly where the searchers hope that it may
be found. The expedition, one of the mem
bers of which is G.. H. Bailey, of Al Boylston
street is not after the buried doubloons of
some old buccaneer who roved the Spanish
Main, or the spoils of one of those Spanish
explorers who plundered 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 object of the
expedition is to find a certain island, the
position of which is pretty accurately
known to those most concerned, which is
supposed to be so infested with gold that
one can scrape it UP in large heaps.
The secret of this island has been Grams
mitted from one man to another, and jeal-
ously guarded for nearly quarter of
century; but for various reasons none of
them has been able to- avail himself of his
knowledge until it 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 we'll as all specific de-
tails bearing upon the location of the ISL
and, are 10 be kept strictly secret until aft
er the expedition mas started, and the
chances of it's being forestalled are there
fore placed beyond the range of possibility.
With the omission of a few details which
might lead to identification, this is the
story which has led to the organization of
the expedition, as related to the writer by
an old sea capain now living in Melrose.
About 1877 carpenter, whose home was
in Maine, stopped at Panama on his way
hCme from California, where he had earned
a fair measure of success in the gold fields
In such places men are not discriminating
as regards the acquaintances they make
and, while staying here he fell in with a
couple of rough-loolling sailors. who had
deserted from a whaIer that put into the
port for provisions. One evening, upon
learning that he was a Liner, and there
fore familiar with metals, they took him to
one side and showed him strong bag filled
with some hard substance, which they
asked HIM to examine and pronounce upon.
He examined the contents. which he found
after having imposed an oath OF strict Sc
c:ecy, they told him that shortly before ar
irving at Panama their ship had touched
at an island to take on water.
THE RICH DISCOVERY.
The casks We're RATED ashore and quickly
filled, the ship meanwhile standing 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 place where a ravine or water course
came down from a high mountain, passed
under a natural stone arch aud empted
into the sea. Here they noticed that the
sand of the beach was hled with number
of shining particles resembling gold and
that the crevices or seams of the water
course also seemed fun of it. Not sure
whether it was gold, they gathered a small
package and retraced their steps TO the
BOAT, saying nothing, however to their
companions of their discovery.
Being assured by tAstearpenter 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 q vessel was
purchased, and six or eight more men were
induced to JOIN the expedition. There We're
so few men available that they had to take
such as they could set, and they got as pre-
clous lot OF rascals as ever went un-
hanged. There We're two big negroes, two
villalnous- looking Spaniards who could not
be trusted out of sight, a hunchbacked,
snaky-lOoking fellow, who, 1t was after
ward learned was an escaped convict from
the penal colony in French Guiana, and
surly, scared old fellow who had been
warned out of California by a vigilance
committee.
The vessel was fitted out, ostensibly for
cOasting purposes, with mining tools, pro-
visions for two or three months ana
couple of barrels of rum. A man and wom-
an We're taken along as cook and steward
ess. Along toward evening of the second
day cut they sighted the island 1t was a
lonesome cherries looking spot, with
rough, irregular beach, along which the
surf was tumbling in long curls Of creamy
FOAM and little further in upon the rocks
were, groups of Shiny, black creatures
which gave voice to the desolation with
That night there was a grand carousal
aboard the vessel in celebration of the sue
.cfr, tn~F in IN Of orc
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 crisis
Matters did come to a crisis with crash
when one of the Spaniards dragged the
poor, frightened steWardeSs into the cabin
and insisted that she sing a Spanish song
for the company. The big ruflan 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 knife, but
the American anticipated him with his
gun" which he began to discharge right
and left. In moment the hght became
general; out of the cabin and up onto the
deck they tumbled shooting and cutting
and cursing in manner that was trlghttul
to hear. Half of them would have been
killed or wounded, had it not been for an
accident that drew their attention from
the lighting to a danger that threatened
them all in common. In the scuttle in the
cabin a large lamp was overturned, ana
before any one attempted ~ put out tiiS
flames the whole cabin was in blaze
Without trying TO save the vessel, all hands
piled into the single boat remaining, leaV-
ing one man dead in the companion way
and another severely wounded on deck
Thus ell the stores, tools, etc, except a
few provisions which had been set on shore
during the afternoon, were burned, togeth-
er with the poor wounded wretch on deck
The mex. morning party set out to eX-
plOre the island and soon round simple
minded old German on the opposite side,
who lived all by himself, sort of Robin
a couple of fishing boats. That night some
of the more desperate spirits of the party
proposed that they should steal one of the
old Germans boats, sail TO the mainland
seize a small vessel and bring it back to
the island with more provisions and tools.
The carpenter and sailor, who had joined
him the night before, tried TO diSsuade them
from putting the plan into execution, but
they persisted and sailed away the next
day.
THE LAST SURVIVOR.
In about two weeks the sail boat hove in
sight, and when she was beached an
emaciated, wounded wretch crawled out
the sole survivor of the crew that had sailed
away so confidently two weeks before. Be
fore he died he told how the rascals had
succeeded in reaching the coast in safety
and with little difficulty had found a small
vessel suited to their purpose. They tried
to get away with it in the night, but the
owner discovered them and attempted to in
terfere, with the result that he paid for his
vigilance with a knife slash which settled
him in a minute. But the pirates did not
get far away before they were oVerhauled,
taken back 10 port and every one or them
III col