The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-01-16

paratively easy task to prowl around
on the bottom of the sea and discover
these old wrecks and loot them of their
gold.
LOST Loco, 900 EVERY YEAR.
A little research into the musty rec
ords of Madrid shows that during the
early part of the seventeenth century
over thirty million dollars worth Of
silver alone was shipped from Spain.
During the latter part of the seven
teenth century, one mine, the Valen-
ciana of GuanaZuatO, employed 1000
slaves and the company owning it lost
$1,00G,000 every year by pirates and ac-
cidents at sea, without in the least i'm
pairing it's credit in European mar
kets. Most Of these enormous losses
strew the ocean bottom around the
West Indian islands. a careful search
of old Spanish records would reveal the
approximate location of scores of the
treasure wrecks, so that they could be
visited with very little difficulty.
My researches have been limited to
such ancient Spanish records as may be
found in America, and from these alone
and their number compares with the
immense libraries Of such works in Ma
drid SIS a drop to a stream-I have IN
eaTthed the stories of more than score
which now lie in American waters.
FLEETS OF TREASURE WRECKS.
East of the Isle of Pines are the
Gardinillos, or famous Jardine rocks,
where lies a whole fleet of good ships.
1t was here that the daring buocaneer
captain, Barthelome Portuguese, lost the
richest prize he ever took in his adj
venturOUs career, and it lies there to-
day, awaiting the lucky submarine ex-
ploger. The account of the wreck in
the old books is NEST circumstantial.
BarthelOme Portuguese had fitted out
a small three-pCunder vessel at GolphO
Triste, on the Gulf of Campeachy, and
with q crew of thirty menrhe had cap
tured 4 treasure gaIecn bound from
Cartagena to Havana. It was a lucky
adventure. The inventory Of the ships
goods showed over $1,000 worth Of
gold and silver bullion. with as much
more in coin. Portuguese set his sails
for TOrtuga, but as they were passing
Cape COrrientos, three sWift-sailing
guard vessels from New Spain swept
down upon the ship and captured him
and the entire crew, and took them in
irons to San Francisco in Campeachy.
The old account tells how Portuguese
escaped that night, and after an almost
incredible journey through the swamps.
thirty men. and actually recovered the
ship that had been taken from him.
Then he sailed away again for TOrtuga,
that island of blood and spoil.
Off the Isle Of Pines q hurricane
brought down vengeance upon him and
carried him irresistibly on the Jardine
rocks, and the galleOn with all its
treasure went down. Some of the hardy
buccaneers escaped in a small boat to
+oII he e-fC hit JA Gil
bullion for which they rislzed so much
is still heaped in some hollow of that
rCck-bound bed of the sea. This treas
ure would pay richly for the recovery.
FIFTEEN TONS OF SILVER BARS.
Another account of sunken treasure
is told as a nusty joke on a musty
tome. In 1850 three canoes. manned by
fifteen buccaneers, each crept around
the western end of Cuba and came sud
denly upon one OF his majesty'S treas
ure ships. bound from Caracas to Ha-
vana. They swarmed over the side of
the great vessel like so many rats, and
threw every Spaniard overheard. The
Uncouth victOrs TanSacked the vessel
for booty, but to their disgust, found
only a small quantity of wine in the
officers quarters, and in the hold a
lot of greyish metal, which some wise
not wishing their newly acquired YES
sci TO be laden with such trash, the
leader ordered it to be thrown over
board; and there it lies to this day, not
far from the Colorado banks, not less
than fifteen tons of fine silver bars.
Sir William Phipps, a baTonet of New
England, who was once governor of
Massachusetts, enriched his ancestral
house and left his descendants among
the wealthiest in New England by shar-
ing the secret Of a smuggler, who saw
a plate-fieet go down IN a storm, about
half way between the nearest points of
Cuba and Hayti. "Phipps' fortune"
has been famous ever since. And yet
It is said that he found only one of the
sunken ships of the fleet containing not
less than thirty-two tons of silver, with
Jewels enough to make $2,GO0.O00. The
of the vessels still lie off the
eastern point of Cuba, and they are es-
timated to contain many millions of
dollars.
OF THREE MILLIONS
Another treasure wreck is the center
of most romantic and thrilling story
of crime. In the year III Charles
Vane, a notorious pirate of the West
Indies, captured about $4,000 in pieces
of eight that were being taken by
divers from one of five plate ships that