Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1897-11-07
THIRTY MILLIONS
In Gold and Jewels. Officers of the
Bri ish Warship Imperieuse Believe
HarfordS Story.

Victoria. B. c., November Char
ford is no dreamer The treasure is at
Cocos Island, but we have not recoy-
cred it,
So say the officers of the British flag
ship Imperieuse, which returned yes
terday from an unsuccessful search at
ter the buried millions in Peruvian
State jewels and bullion These Brit
ish officers add that if Admiral Pallister
had allowed them two days more they
would have found the treasures. They
had but two days, and these days were
very rainy, and, although 200 men can
do much work in a day, water-filled
excavations are hard to handle.
The blue jackets followed Harford's
orders and the Spanish chart. They
dug as he directed for six feet, and
there uncovered the great slab of gran
ite described on the chart with its dis
tinguishing other marks. They were
pushing on to strike the tunnel said to
lead to the cave of the jewels and gold
when a cavern blocked their progress
and came very near burying the work
men. Guncotton was tried with the hope
Of helping matters, but it brought down
the entire hanging hillside, then the
Admiral said his warship could no long
er be delayed and left the island deaf
to the pleadings of his sanguine officers.
At San Jose de Guatemala, Hartford
was dropped, and there, with Admiral
Pallister's aid, he succeeded in interest
ing the commander of the United States
warship Alert in his ta.e of riches. The
officers of the Alert, it is said, will take
I'D the search where it was abandoned
by the Imperieuse.
The treasure on Cocos Island is said
to be worth $50 100000, consisting of
Jewels, gold coin and several tons Of
silver. 1t was the property of the Peru
Wan government 70 years ago, when,
because the danger Of it's confiscation
by the Chilians, the Peruvians put the
treasure aboard a ship to take it to
some point of safety.
The treasure ship was seized by pi-
rates, headed by the notorious Berrits;
and the jewels, gold and silver were
taken to Cocos Island and buried The
pirate band was broken up soon afie"-
ward, and although the Peruvlans
made several efforts to recover the
treasure they were unsuccessful.
Charles Hartford who has chart
which he says will show the exact loca-
ton of the treasure, received commits
sion from the Costa Rican government
about a year ago to head an expedition
to Cocos. He went to the Island, but
the Costa Rican agents did not come
and, after remaining there nine months,
he returned to Victoria, B. c., on a
schooner Hartford since has devoted
his efforts to get assistance in search
inc for the treasure.
He SAYS that there are several parties
on the island who have made unsuccess-
full attempts to find the riches and he is
afraid to undertake bringing the treas
IRE from the island without being
backed by a sufficient number of men
to repel any attack that might be made.
Washington, D. c., November o.
Nothing whatever is known at the Navy
Department about the Alert going to
Cocos Island for the Peruvian treasure.
She was at San Jose, Guatemala, at
last accounts.
The authorities do not believe that her
commander would have gone on the
mission reported without permission
from the Navy Department..