The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1899-06-07

The adventurer intrepid enough to
engage himself in this formidable
struggle soon finds himself arrested
by two very unexpected obstacles; in
effect, among the tangle of plants are
hidden swarms Of immense wasps,
which at the least rustling, precipitate
themselves on the intruder, and can
by their dangerous stings put his life
in danger; again, II he escapes from
these guardians of the Jungle, he has
to brave the darts Of opuitias, kind
of dwarf cactus, which in many places
stud the earth, and the pricks of
which, without being ms dangerous as
those of the wasp, are very painful
and cause high fever.
One can understand that this rocky
isle, so we'll defended by the forces of
nature, may have offered refuge to
the daring filibusters who have been,
during many centuries, the terror OF
the Antilles. After having passed by
secret passages in the belt of rocks,
they sheltered their vessels in some
intricacy of the cliff and established
themselves in those grottoes which
formed impregnable natural fortresses.
There no one could reach them, and
supposing that daring assalant had
succeeded in forcing an entrance to
their haunt, the bandits would fly
through the detours of the inextricable
labyrinth and would gain the impene-
trable thicket of the upper plateau,
where IL would be impossible to track
them.
Some of these caverns, in the vicin-
ity of Cape Caigo, present still the un-
doubted traces of pirates. One of
them called Cueva Negra-Black Cave
from the thick coat of SCOT which
covers the vault, is vast chamber,
around which spreads n network OF
other chambers and passages. The
walls of this chamber are still craven
with sinister designs, representing
gallows supporting rows of bodies and
above which are inscribed the names
OF the victims, names where are found
represented all the nations among
which these rascals recruited their
band and which are doubtless those OF
traitors or rebels executed by their
companions, unless they were the un-
fortunate captives sacrificed by these
wretches. Some cannon balls, still
encrusting in the walls OF the cliff, near
the entrance, also prove that the place
was beseiged, without doubt by some
war vessel sent in pursuit of the
pirates.
These grottoes did not serve ms
places Of refuge merely; the pirates
used them as storehouses and kept
in them the products Of their captures.
SO, when ut the close of the last cen
tury, France and England had sue
ceeded in destroying this breed, it was
thought that the island must contain
some of the immense treasures which
the pirates had hidden there during
many years. Searches were made, but
the extent Of the caverns to be gone
over was so great that 10 result was
obtained. However, about forty years
ago, an American, guided, it appears,
by mysterious document, landed on
the island with troop of natives
from San Domingo aud succeeded in
unearthing in one of the grOttoes an
iron box containing nearly 100000
in ancient golden coins and jewels.
Allured by this result, an American
company was formed in 1880 and
undertook to search methodically
while taking up the thick bed OF guano
deposited by the sea birds on the floor
Of the grottoes; but outside of the pre-
cious guano, no treasure was gained.