The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-12-10

- r the many hundreds Of health
AM and pleasure seekers who visit
kNv the Bermuda islands few take the
wv trouble to wander among the is
lands and talk with the inhnbi-
tants about the past of the colony.
1t would be safe, however, to state that
among the 5000 white and 5000 colored
people who inhabit the islands not one
can be found who has not heard stories
OF the finding OF treasure. buried In the
soil many years before and unearthed BY
some lucky finder.
Much treasure according to we'll
authenticated accounts published by tho
New York Press. was buried by the
pirates who made the ocean a dangerous
highway for the rich Spanish gaileons
and other merchantmen. During the
civil war Bermuda was the favorite hide
ing place for blockade runners. Officers
and crews were provided well with money.
They came TO the islands with large sums,
and left on their hazardous expeditions
without them. And for hundreds OF
years previously pirates and freebooters
had made the islands OF gt. George and
Hamilton their favorite resorts for rest
and repairs, as well as utilizing the
ground for safety vaults for their blood
stained treasures.
Capt. Kidd. while calling the high seas
under a letter OF maraue from England,
was captured and hanged at Tyburn In
1701. His plumber was not captured with
him, but from the fact that he was a FREE
quent visitor to the Bermudas, and these
islands being the most likely Of oil places.
and populated only sparsely ct that time,
It Is more than reasonable to suppose
that he buried his treasure here.
Alexander Smith, banker and merchant
of st. George, commissioned officer In her
maJesty's militia artillery, says: ut II
not often that we talk of these things
There seems to be a cloud Of secrecy
about all of It, but there Is not the least
doubt that great amount Of treasure
has been found within my recollection.
have the best of reasons for believing
that Kidd buried his wealth somewhere
about these islands, and, In oil PROBABLE
ity, here In St. George and within a
stones throw of my residence.
II was boy Of 10 when first heard of
a letter having been received from Ger
many. signed by an unknown man. and d.
rected to Postmaster Taylor This letter
stated that relative OF the writer many
years previously, for safety. had buried a
large sum of money and jewels at a spot
Indicated on the map. which gave three
bearings from central po.nt--a tree on a
kill-described as accurately as the writer
could, ON the island Of st. George. He de-
sired the postmaster to dig at this spot,
close by the tree, IL still standing, and IL
the treasure could be found there the
writer was to have half the value Of all
riches found, the other half to 60 to the
finder.
MANY other people besides myself knew
of its receipt after an unsuccessful search
was made, but at first 1t was kept secret.
If the contents of that letter had become
common property every man and many
women in Bermuda would have been upon
the spot In a few hours with picks ana
spades and even dustpans hard at work
building hills with the soil near the tree.
The postmaster made thorough search
on what he thought might be the right
spot and failed to find anything. Then he
abandoned the search and the secret leaked
out. Mr.. Taylor retained the letter. and
I am informed that 1t is among the effects
left after his death, his widow being a
resident of Brooklyn at this time.
''The postmaster certainly had made
m.scalculation, as Fort George had not
been built when the chart was made and
the hill was all open country, with many
cedars growing there, any one Of which
might have been that under or beside
which the treasure rested. And so thought
many people, among whom was poor