The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-12-27
STORIES OF TREASURE TROYE.

in a, port known as Southwest Bay,
marking the spot with three cairns of
rough stones. 1t was left there with
the expectation of recovering it When
safe to do So, for Admiral 'Dundonald
was cruising actively in the pirate
scourged seas. But the entire band
was captured by the Spaniards, and
We're all hanged on the Island Of Cuba,
save one, a Russian Finn, who, in
1850, revealed the secret of his life to
an English captain engaged in the
opium trade. An inspection OF the
archives of Cuba certifies to the fact
that a gang Of pirates who had plum
dered Spanish ships from Lima had
been hanged at Havana at the precise
date stated by the Russian Finn. Then
it was known that. a large part of the
treasure known to Dundonald as hav-
ing been taken from Lima, valued by
him at over 100000, had never been
traced. Some portions of it fell into
the hands of the Peruvians. Dundon
aid seized other rich shares from the
pirates he captured; but a large por
ton remains to this day unaccounted
for, with official evidence in favor of
the Trinidad deposit.
This island is one of the most mac
.cessible spots on the face of the earth,
veritable ocean waif in its savage Sc
clusion. The mountains rise sheer from
the boiling, laundering surf, their sides
rlYen by yaWning raVineS and per-
pendicular precipices. Lofty pinnacles
and blackened craters rear their naked,
rugged heads on all sides, reaching an
altitude of 5000 feet or more above the
sea, and are continuously wreathed in
vaporous clouds. On this weird island
silence is unknown, the sorToWful moan
and beating of the sea is never quiet;
and at times the majestic thunder of
he 1vfie n ,fo11i tod
the shrill, discordant cries OF myriads
of sea birds. The island swarms with
countless troops of land crabs infest-
ing every conceivable nook, their hard
shells of a bright saffron color, and
their hideous, google eyes, rolling con-
tinuously, bullying prominently from
their ugly shaped head. When ap-
preached by a human being they as
sumo an upright position, waving their
! pincers threateningly, rendering 1t
1 dangerous for man to seek repOse in
| a shady nook
Several expeditions have essayed to
recover the Lima treasure from the is
land. The spot described by the Rus
sian pirate has been carefully located,
but the treasure remains intact. This
probably results from great landslides
and the numberless changes to be at
! tributed to volcanic agitations The
l
a vessel, and. guided by the pirate s
plan, reached the island. but after beat
| ing about for week was unable to find
| either anchorage or shelter. The plucky
! leader then swan through the surf,
| spending a night alone on the island
| He found the spot as described, was
nearly devoured by the land crabs
and regained his boat by a line to
T! which he chung as he was dragged
through the surf. His experience had
been sufficient, and not all the buried
treasure would tempt him to spend an
| other night amid such horrors. He
stated that a mass of reddish earth
had fallen on the location of the pi-
| rates booty.
In 1885 another expedition, fitted out
| with a complete mining outfit, hydraul-
ic jacks, boring apparatus, and every
requisite to insure success, effected 6
landing, undergoing hardships and ar
Incredible amount of labor. For three
| months the party worked early anC
late, searching the ravine where the
/ hidden wealth should have been. Blu
their efforts resulted in dismal failure
In exploring the island, the remains o,
what had evidently been a Portuguese,
settlement was stumbled upon Verf
huts and stone walls lying amid tht
debris of loYerhanging cliffs. Possib
a search among Portuguese records
might produce some light on the D1vs
ferrous colony. The Russian Finn may
have disclosed his secret to others be
fore he met the English captain, bu
whether the treasure of Lima's ca
thedral has ever been removed or still
lies buried on the Well-guarded islant
of Trinidad will probably remain a Sc
cret until the end of time. Six eXpedi
tions in II years have failed to recoVe
the Spanish gold.
Toward the end of the year ISL:
states the st. James Gazette, Danisl
sailor, named Christian Cruise, obtain
ed an interview with a. lord of the Brit
ish admiralty, and related q strang
| and stirring story. A few years earle
he had been stricken with yellow feve
while at the hospital at Santa Cruz
There he met with a Spanish sailor
who was dying, and received from hir
the following confession:
In 1904 l Was returning in a Spanis
ship from South America to Cadis
with cargo which included 100000
! in stout chests. When within a fey
days sail of Cadiz We spoke a vesse
learning that war had been declared
and British cruisers would surely pre-
vent our reaching port The master re
solved TO return to the West Indie:
and so endeaYor to save the treasure
demurred, and one morning, when o.
a small cluster of inhabited islands,
short distance from Madeira, they mu
tinted, killed the master, and haule
the ship to one of the islands, the nam
of which 1 do not know. The cre'
landed the chests of gold, cut a trenc
in the sand above high-water mari
buried the treasure, depositing upon
in a box the body of the murdere
. captain, and then put to sea. OF cours
. we intended to return at a fayorabl
opportunity, but the ship got ashore o
one OF the barren keys near Tobag'
and went to pieces, only two men es
! Gaping. One has since died, and 1 al
the only survivor in possession of til
buried treasure"
Such was the confession of the Spar
; lard, and he also died soon after cor
I fiding his secret to Cruise. The admil
! atty, through Lord Liverpool, wrote
$ Sir Richard Bickerton, the commando
{ in-chief at Portsmouth, directing hi
I to put Cruise on board the first king
q ship that was likely to touch at M
deira, and to instruct the captain
make researches into the truth of II
Y mans statement. 1t happened Thu
e Captain (afterward sir admiraD He
V cules Robinson was at the time ref
e ting his ship, the Prometheus, at Port
1 mouth. Admiral Bickerton place
= Cruise with him in January, 1913, ar
e told him to undertake the mission. tt
S record Of what followed is taken fro
+ Sir Hercules Robinson's own accoul
:, of it. Captain Robinson carefully e,
T amined the man, and was speedily col
WINGED of his honesty. Cruise asked f,
no reward unless the expedition prove
~, f,,1, 80 ,fc r~fo