Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1900-01-04
1 REAL TREASURE ISLAND
Romantic Spot Of Unusual In
terest Which Is Located
Near Porto Rico.
T1E HAUNT OF PIRATES.
an Ideal Spot for FreebootetS to Hide
Their Booty-Caves Galore, In.
tricate and InacceSsi BILE.

Vicinity of Cape Cai$o Present SELL the
/ Undoubted Traces of rirates--WaIls Are
J Craven with Sinister Desig MS s1.O. 900
I: IN Coins and Jewels Unearthed.
at the centre Of the sea of the An
Nlles, at the middle of the passage
which separates Sc. Domingo from
Porto Rico, there raises itself above
the waves steep rock, to which the
ancient Spanish navigators gave the
name of la Mona" or "Monita," the
Little Monkey. Among the sailors of
the Antilles, La Mona is always called
the Island of Pirates, and it is thought
to conceal mysterious treasures.
It Is an immense chalky block, seven
kilometres long and four or five wide,
rearing it's summit. flat as Il table. TO
thirty or forty metres above the sea.
The waves, always agitated in these
coasts, have shaped this block into Il
pedestal of pointed cliffs, and, except
In two or three points. where narrow
stretches of shore advance, the island
is almost inaccessible. Ships are kept
at distance, as much by the violence
Of the waves as by chain OF rocks
which surround it. and where alone
open few passages for small vessels.
At the southern point of the island
an enormous rock seems miraculously
suspended from the crest of cliff. The
sailors have named it "Caigo no
caigo," which means, shall l fall, or
shall not fall" In spite of its peril
Gus position, the rock in equilibrium
has resisted for many ages the attacks
of storms and waves.
But one of the. most curious particu-
lars of this island. so strange from
many points of view, is that its chalky
mass is throughout pierced by immense
caves, innumerable grottos, which ram
ify In all ways, and, having their en-
trance under the face of the cliff, con-
duct by Sinuous passages to the very
summit of the plateau. The grottos,
inhabited by bands of seabirds, We're
but lately in part obstructed by guano,
which has been nearly all taken away.
The adventurer intrepid enough to
engage himself in this formidable
struggle soon finds himself arrested by
two very unexpected obstacles; in ef
feet, among the tangles of plants are
hidden swarms of immense wasps,
which, at the least rustling, precipitate
themselves on the intruder. and can by
their dangedOus stings put his life in
danger; again, If he escapes from these
guardians of the jungle, he has to
their dangerous stings put his life in
dwarf cactus, which in many places
stud the EARTH, and the pricks of
which, without being as dangerous as
those of the wasp, are very painful,
and cause Il high fever.
One can understand that this rocky
isle, so well 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 in
tricacy of the cliff and established
themselves in these grottos which
formed impregnable natural fortresses.
There no one could reach them,
and supposing that daring assailant
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 it would be impossible to track
them.
Some of these caverns in the vicinity
of Cape Caigo present still the un-
doubted traces of pirates. One of
them called Cueva Negra-Black Cave
covers its vault, is vast chamber,
around which spreads network of
other chambers and passages. The
walls of this chamber are still craven
with sinister designs. representing gal
lows supporting rows of bodies and
above which are inscribed the names
of the victims, names where are found
represented oil the nations among
which these rascals recruited their
band, and which are doubtless those
of traitors or rebels executed by their
companions. unless they We're the un-
fortunate captives sacrificed by these
wretches. Some cannon balls still en-
crusted in the walls of the cliff, near
the entrance, also prove that the place
was besieged, without doubt, by some
war vessel sent in pursuit of the
pirates.
These grottos did not serve as places
Of refuge merely: the pirates used them
as storehouses and kept in them the
products of their captures. So, when
at the close Of the last century, France
and England had succeeded in destroy
ing this breed. 1t was thought that the
island must contain some of the i'm
mense 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 no result was obtained.
However, about forty years ago, an
American, guided, 1t appears, by q
mysterious document, landed on the
island with troop of negroes from
San Domingo and succeeded In un-
earthing in one of the grottoes an iron
box containing S120,0OO 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 seabirds
on the floor of the grottoes; hut out.
side the precious guano no treasure
was gained.
Thu saa,onn vt Fcms.