The Somerset reporter., 1897-11-11
over and assure himself that the stuff


before him was actually gold and ivory.
Then he made Scott proposition The
sailor knew the worth of what he lad
secured-knew that he was fixed for
life, and having knocked about on the
raft for nine days before we sighted
him he was not at all anxious about
what he had left behind in the cave.
Our captain was, however, and 50 WAS
every man of the crew. The matter was
talked over, and it was finally agreed
that Scott should pilot us to the island
and take another jar Of gold DIST for his
share. He would then be landed at Ba-
tayia to go where he pleased. The rest
of the treasure was to be recovered for
the owners Of the bark, but we were
told that they would be liberal with all
1t was hard bargain the Scotchman
drove with the rescued sailor, but Scott
fell in with the idea and the course of
the ship was changed. We were 200
miles to the south of the Chagos, hay
ing passed them so miles to the east,
and as the wind was from the north we
had to beat back. This was slow work,
and we had not yet made half the dis
tanoe when we got gale from the
west which sent us driving away to-
ward the Javanese coast until we were
almost in sight of it. We had then to
recover our lost ground, but what with
the loss of two topmasts and several
sails i'll squall and a continuation of
bad weather it was 16 days before a
man was sent to the masthead to look
for land
The Chagos archipelago consists of a
score of islands, banks and reefs. Scott
believed that his island was the eastern
most one Of all, but as he could not be
sure of it we had to examine all. Run
ming between them and around them
was slow work, and we had to feel our
way, and it was six or seven days be-
fore we reached the last. We had found
no such island rs described by the sail
or, and in our disappointment and
chagrin he came in for plenty of abuse.
He retaliated by pointing to his treas
ure. If there were no island, no cave and
no treasure how did he come by the
ivory and gold dust? 1t was convinc-
ing argument, and our captain decided
to bear away to the east and search at
| Az tlt ClObt VI -G1lc IOuTln
day, sailing back and forth across a sea
supposed to contain no land for hun
dreds of miles in every direction but
the west, we sighted Scott island Our
man identified it as soon as it could be
seen from the deck, and we ran in and
came to anchor for the night within
mile from the beach. Had the night not
been SO dark | believe the captain would
have had boat down, but as it was he
dared not chance it. Such was the ex-
element aboard that no man slept for
an hour, and as soon as daylight had
come and the men had bite to eat we
set off to secure the treasure.
We soon found the opening of the bay
and rowed into it. Scott had been on
the island for over year aud the hut
he occupied and the flagstaff he erected
were in plain sight. At the end of the
bay we came to the cave, and, leaping
out of the boat, the captain was the first
to enter A moment later he reappeared
and for the next quarter of all hour he
cursed as | never heard seaman before
or since. The cave had been plundered
One broken tusk had been left behind,
and there was perhaps an ounce of gold
dust lying ON the spot where Scott emp
tied the jars. That was proof enough
that he had told a straight story. When
we landed and went up to the hut, we
soon solved the problem. Some whaler
had touched there for wood and water.
For wood they had used all the wreck
stuff lying about and had also partially
| no h,,t ~, l.,
their casks at the spring, and we could
still see the marks where they had been
rolled down hill to the boats
Then the Scotchnan did "a mean thing
by the rescued sailor. He made a great
ado of how he had deviated from his
course and lost fortnight's time and
insisted that Scott divide with him. l
| believe he threatened to leave him on
the island if he didn't. There was trou-
BILE for few hours, and then the sailor
| came to terms, but not SO much as n
| penny's worth was ever handed over to
the owners or distributed among the
| crew. Scott was transshipped to u craft
! bound for Java and that was the last
ever saw or heard of him. a year later,
| however, | met an American runaway
sailor i'll Batavia, and he told me that
his craft, the Bessie Herrick of Marble
head, put i'll at the island remained for
two days, and her captain discovered
the cave and the treasure while fishing
in the bay. He gave every man aboard
| 500 i'll cash as present, but kept the
dust and the ivory and turned them into
cash at Singapore. 1t was rich haul
of treasure, and the captain must have
been made Independent for life. How
old the island was, how the treasure
came to be deposited there, who We're
the rightful owners of it-well, those
are questions | cannot answer. 1t was
at least two years after we visited the
place before it was surveyed and char.
tered. C. b. Lewis.
In Bohemia.
g urpparp all my meals myself - oh