Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1901-01-06

his story would nave Deen nooleu d.,
Even with the evidences before us we
could hardly credit ais statement.
The plumber Bareas had brought
away was worth $4,000, but he as
sured us that this was a mere flea bite
compared to what had been left be-
hind. He had counted $50 tusks, which
did not include all. He had counted
1870 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 81 100000 and
ballast trading brig. 1t was very
Gignified and respectable firm, that OF
Daypne & Co., but it got down off its
high horse pretty fast to make a bar
gain with Barcas to bring that treasure
away and dodge customs officials and
government authorities. What they
offered to do after a consultation was
tC fit out a ship, bring the stuff off,
convert it into cash and give him a
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 a trading brig called
the Foam, and as soon as she arrived
III 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. 3.
who had cut and run from q merchant
man. Barcas was to act as captain, and
l 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 $500
extra We left Mauritius with the os-
tensible object of visiting the islands
to the east to establish trading sta
tions, 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
a storehouse filled hundreds of years
before and worth hundreds of thou
sands of dollars, but the voyage was
prosaic None Of us were excited over
il until the last day, and then it was
through fear that the cave might have
been discovered by some other caller.
We ran into 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, 80
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 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 Cey-
Ion and the mainland of India. the sill
yer from Indian 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
looosened q hair. and the kegs and bar
rels 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 storehouse?
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
beach, and his men carried it aboard
and slowed it away. 1t was a rugged
path we had to travel, and though We
worked IS hours out of "a we re-
duced the piles very slowly. AS
checked off the goods as they wer.
brought out of the cave let me tell you
what we took out in the five weeks re
we're at work. The tusks counted up
1873, the boxes of silver 307, the barrels
OF wine GA, the kegs of wine lie, the
bales of fur 81, the bales of shawfs and
silks 100. the boxes of coined gold of
native Indian money "a. and there
we're $1,000 to the box. In add. ton to
these we found two boxes of pearls. ru-
bies, diamonds, etc, most Of them un-
-