Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1899-10-23


the cruiser and the captain and
his crew were fast losing hope
OF escape when land was sighted
straight ahead. AS last des-
perate effort to elude the cruiser the
brig ran into little cove sheltered by
a long reef. The cruiser could not en-
ter the cove, but hove to outside and
prepared to lower her boats. The only
refuge for the crew was on the island
and there they were safely landed in
hurry. 1t was at this moment that
Henderson learned the secret which
had puzzled him. Captain Summers
took him down into the cabin and, clos
ing the door, said:
Henderson, have here chest con-
tanning nearly $175,000. l want you TO
help me take it ashore and hide it. II
we succeed in getting away we will d1-
vide the money. If one of us dies the
other shall have it. We can find a
place on the island to conceal it.
Henderson agreed. After the crew
had gone ashore he and the captain
| lowered the chest into the boat and
rowed toward a part of the beach as
remote as possible from where the
crew had landed. Although all this
had been done in less time than
it takes to tell it, they were none too
soon. for a moment later the boats of
the cruiser dashed into the cove. Hen
derson and the captain jumped into the
| luxuriant underbrush which grew down
to the waters edge, dragging the heavy
chest between them. After travelling a
| considerable distance they stumbled
upon a natural cave and, entering It
as far as they dared, concealed the
chest and lay down to rest, not, how
ever, before hiding the entrance as
we'll as they were able.
They remained there the rest OF that
day and all the following night, and
it was not until the afternoon OF the
next day that they ventured out.
Creeping cautiously down to the beach,
they discovered that the cruiser had
disappeared They also saw that the
Lark had been scuttled and sunk in
the waters of the cove. Soon after
wards almost all the members OF the
crew Joined them and it was evident
that the crew of the cruiser had made
only a superficial search for them.
That night the captain and Henderson
carefully prepared two accurate charts
of the location of the cave, each taking
one.
An exploration of the island, which
hn ChOWpd
small it was, and Captain Summers de-
termined to try to reach the Tristan
d. Acunah group, which he calculated
were only about thirty-five miles to the
north. So the captain and the mate set
sail in the small boat and the crew in
the larger one. The treasure was LETT
behind, and the officers did not dare
to let the crew suspect its existence.
The boats were separated during the
night and the larger one was never
heard of again, but on the morning OF
the second day the captain and Hender-
son sighted land and finally reached
the largest of the Tristan dAcunah
group Here Summers caught the
smallpox and died and after several
months delay Henderson was picked
I'D by passing vessel and landed at
New Orleans.
Henderson returned to Jackson and
managed to save enough to buy the
Louisa B. at New Orleans last January.
He oyerhauled her and rechristened
her the Rover Claude Thompson OF
Jackson was taken along as mate, be-
ing a man upon whose courage and
honesty Henderson could rely.
Feb. % last the Rover started from
New Orleans. Her departure and the
purpose of it were noted at length in
the New Orleans papers. The Louisa
B. had formerly been the Frollc, one or
the fleet Of the Southern Yacht CLUB,
and was a stanch little vessel On
April II the Tristan d'Acunah group
was reached. On April IA Captain
Henderson landed on the treasure
island, and with but little trouble dis
covered by the aid of his charts the
cove and the treasure chest The latter
had not been touched, and scarcely
showed a trace of the years 1t mad
passed into the depths of the cave. lts
contents were found intact. The wreck
of the Lark still lay undisturbed at TIE
bottom of the cove.
One thousand dollars of the treasure
was distributed among the members OF
the crew. The return trip was almost
without incident, save for the fact that
the Rover met battling head winds and
was four months getting back to the
United States, narrowly escaping cap
ture by Spanish cruiser on the way.
Captain Henderson landed at Phila-
delphia, where he deposited $4,000 of
the treasure, bringing the remainder
home with him. This $4,000 he has
shown to many people in proof of his
remarkable story, which is confirmed
in every detail by Mr.. Thompson. He
also has his certificate of deposit in
the Philadelphia bank, and the most
persistent doubters have finally had to
admit the truth of the story.