The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-02-19
AN ISLAND
STOREHOUSE.
BY M. Quad.
copyright. 1900, by c. B. Lewis.l


group Is TIE lOue lSlduu VI ASdlSSdS. II
is an island about six miles in circum-
ference, with its highest point about
100 feet above the sea. There were no
inhabitants up to 1882, though traders
and shell gatherers often called there
for wood and water. A part of the is
land was covered with vegetation up to
that date, but it is now little better
than tumble of broken rock.
1t was in the year 1881 that the cap
tain of a trading schooner entered the
port of st. Louis, in the Mauritius, to
tell a wonderful story about this island
of Agalegas. He had called there to
wood and water and make repairs, and
while his crew was at work he explor-
ed the island. Amid the rocks he
discovered a great cave, and from that
cave he had taken and brought away
two elephants tusks, box of silver
bars and a jewel handled sword. He
was cunning chap, this trader, and
he had got the stuff aboard without
his crew being the wiser and had said
nothing about the caves. He did not
report his find to any consul or other
official at st. Louis, but after hanging
about for awhile he decided to make
confidant of the firm of Daypne & Co.
This was French trading and export
ing firm, and as / was in its employ /
came to hear the story first hand. If
the trader, whose name was Barcas
and who was half breed Frenchman,
had not brought evidences of his find,
his story would have been hooted at.
Even with the evidences before us we
could hardly credit his statement.
The plumber Barcas had brought
away was worth $4,000, but he as
sured us that this was mere flea bite
compared to what had been left be-
hind. He had counted 250 tusks, which
did not include all. He had counted
$50 boxes of silver bars worth over
$1,000 per box, but there were others
behind them. There were bales, boxes
and barrels he had not attempted to
open, and he believed the contents of
the cave would pan out $1,0O000O and
ballast a trading brig. 1t was very
dignified and respectable firm, that Of
Daypne & Co., but it got down off it's
high horse pretty fast to make bar
gain with Barcas to bring that treasure
away and dodge customs officials and
government authorities. What they
offered to do after consultation was
to fit out ship, bring the stuff off,
convert it into cash and give him
quarter. 1t wasn't a liberal offer on
their part, but Barcas closed at once,
and the enterprise was turned over to
me to engineer.
The firm had trading brig called
the Foam, and as soon as she arriv-
ed in port she was cleared of cargo and
her crew discharged. l then began to
pick up Madagascar sailors and soon
had ten of them, with an English A. b.
who had cut and run from a merchant
man. Barcas was to act as captain, and
/ was to go along as supercargo. 1t was
easy enough to deceive the Madagas-
carites, while the sailor was satisfied
with an offer of double wages and 5000
extra. We left Mauritius with the os-
tensible object of visiting the islands
to the east to establish trading stations.
but when we had made good our offing
we headed for the north and the island
Of Agalegas. We were on our way to
fill our craft with plumber from store
house filed hundreds of years before
and worth hundreds of thousands of
dollars, but the voyage was prosaic.
None of us was excited over it until
the last day, and then 1t was through
fear that the cave might have been dis
covered by some other caller.
We ran into a bay and dropped an
Choir at 10 O'Clock in the forenoon, and
before midday Barcas had visited the
treasure house and reported all safe.
After dinner the three officers of us
went up together. The mouth OF the
cavern had once been sealed. but had
been uncovered by a fall of rock and
earth. 1t was a natural chamber, 9O
feet deep, about 80 feet wide and from
10 to 20 feet from floor to roof. There
was good ventilation, and the place was
as dry as a bone. No man could say
when that cavern had first been made
a storehouse, but judging by some OF
the arms found it must have been 100
years before-perhaps twice that. The
tusks had come from Ceylon and the
mainland Of India, the silver from In
dian mines, the wines and liquors and
shawls and cloths from no farther
south. Nothing had decayed. There
were Chinese silks and India shawls
and Persian wraps as stout and strong
and as lively in color as the day they
left the looms. There were bales OF
furs from Madagascar and the African
coast from which time had not loosen
ed hair. and the kegs and barrels OF
wine with French and Spanish marks
on them had doubled in value ten times
over since they were hoisted up from
the beach.
Who had created the storehouse9
Why had they sealed it up and gone
away? Was it the plumber of pirates
or the treasure house of some prince Of
India or Ceylon? We wondered and
speculated, but we were no better off.
Our first move was to establish a
camp on the highest spot of the island
and divide our force. took charge OF
the land party and Barcas of the brig.
My party removed the plumber from the
cave and carried it half way down to the
beach, and his men carried it aboard
and slowed it away. 1t was a rugged
path we had to travel, and though we
worked 16 hours out of the "a we re-
duced the piles very slowly. As l
checked off the goods as they were
brought out of the cave let me tell you
what we took out in the five weeks we
were at work. The tusks counted up
1873, the boxes of silver BOT, the barrels
of wine GA, the kegs of wine 10, the
bales of fur GA, the bales Of shawls and
silks 100, the boxes of coined gold of
native Indian money p, and there
was $4,000 to the box. In addition to
these we found two boxes of pearls, ri
bies, diamonds, ETC., most of them I'M
cut, which / roughly valued at $780,
900. On a certain evening when we
knocked off work figured the value OF
gems already taken out at $1,500,0O0,
and there was yet weeks work to re-
move the rest. The day had been hot
and sitting and the work harder than
usual. The cook was half an hour late
In rubbing his eyes open, and he had
hardly reached his feet when his shout
of surprise alarmed the rest Of us. AT
some hour during the night and so
quietly that not man Of us had been
disturbed the waters had retreated In
every direction from the shores Of the
island until there was only the bed Of
the sea to look at. Here and there q
deep hole created little laEe, but one