Evening star., 1903-08-15
The Story of Haytian Treasure.

In Hayh, not long ago. hidden treasure
was brought to light in the picturesque
town OF Gonaives in a rather curious way.
A mulatto lived there who, as the saying
goes, was not worth 30 cents. He in
habited desolate ruin which had once
been fine old planters chateau in the
days when the French owned the islands,
and he eked out a miserable existence by
cultivating a feeble yam patch.
Suddenly this mulatto blossomed out as
man of wealth. He bought fine house,
a provision store, rum shop and horses
and mules galore. Little sums like a hun.
dred dollars "cut no Ice with him. Every
body wondered where he had got his
money, but only one man, another Haytian
mulatto. had sense enough to figure the
matter out.
See here" said the second mulatto, I've
taken a fancy to that old ruin of yours.
Kind of picturesque, isn't it? I'll give you
$500 for it,
The first mulatto jumped at the offer. AS
soon as the deal had been effected the pur-
chaser had the house carefully pulled down.
brick by brick, and the foundations dug up.
AS the result he found nine small IRON
bound chests filled with treasure. They
contained great deal of French gold and
silver coin OF the eighteenth century. gold
and silver plate jewelry, church orna-
ments and other valuables Altogether the
nine chests were valued at over S5O0,000.
When the first owner heard of 1t he was
furious. 1t then came out that one day by
accident he had found similar chest hid
den in the wainscoting of the hall, and had
realized upon 1t. 1t never struc,s him that
there might be more, behind, so he gladly
sold the house, fondly imagining that It
was empty shell from which he had ex-
tracted the kernel. He raved like a mad
man when he heard the news, but the Other
mulatto possessed political pull and soon
quieted him by the simple expedien- of
having him thrown into Jail.
There Is firm belief, throughout the
West Indies that there are many other hid
den treasures of the same character in
Haiti and Santo Domingo. When the ne
groes rose in insurrection against their
French and Spanish masters the latter had
to fly to the towns or the woods for refuge.
In most cases they could not take their
valuables with them, and they concealed
them somewhere about their chateaux.
These fine old mansions are now mere
ruins. overgrown by the rank luxuriance
of tropical vegetation, and inhabited only
by the goats and the vultures. If a man
must go treasure hunting these are the
places he should select y in preference to
mythical pirate lairs vaguely Indicated by
legend or by some incomprehensible chart
drawn in blood on piece of rag, after the
fashion of King solomons Mines"
Finding Pirate Hoard.
In the Bahamas they tell queer story
of big haul recently made there by a
mysterious American. He arrived In his
own schooner of West Caicos, an islet in
the Bahama group, and dropped anchor.
There he stayed for some days. doing MOTH
ing and telling nobody his business, He
evidently had not come for salt, or sponges,
or coral or any OF the other things that
seafaring men ordinarily visit the Caicos
for. Nobody could imagine why he was
there. for West Caicos is the last place a
man would think of visiting unless he had
business there.
One day the American lowered boat
from the schooner. hired a couple OF ne