The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-08-23
Vain Quests for Capt. Kidd's Gold

VISIONS Of $sfOooooo in gold and sill
Y yer buried by Captain Kidd lured
Henry Endum, a Manhattan en-
gineer. to dig last week with force of
men in the cellar of the Arbuckla Coffee
mills, as the foot Of Bridge street.
Brooklyn. Numerous cave-ins in the
treacherous quicksands, in which some
of the WOrkmen nearly lost their lives,
did not damDen the ardor of Endum.
His own son was caught in one and was
rescued only with the greatest difficulty.
but still the search continued. II was
only stopped when the men had dug 70
such a depth that the safety Of the
foundations of the building was threat
ened. Then w. A. Jamison, the head of
the big mills. locked the doors against
the treasure hunters. FORGETTING $40, 500,
e0U-the share promised to him for per-
hitting the search to be made
EndUm. in explaining why he is sure
the great treasure is hidden benearth
the Arbuckle mills. says he had
dream two years ago. and in thai
, dream Captain Kidd told him where the
treasure was hidden. He is somewhat
discouraged because his work has been
stopped. but he has not lost hope.
Besides the $40 500. 900 promised -
1amison. Endum agreed to give various
others who assisted him. When the en-
gineer began his search he was afraid
that some one would steal his secret
that he worked only with his wife and
twelve year-old son. When the boy
was nearly suffocated Endum called in
John F. and James Frost. coal dealers
there. and they agreed to lend him
block and tackle to hoist the heavy
chests from the hole. The services Of
George A. Genther, fOrman in the Ar
| buckle mills, was also enlisted under
promise Of 100000 in the event Of sue
cess. Thomas Murray, Louis Elkman
and James Collins were employed to do
| the digging. The arrangement made
with them was that they were to be
paid . cents an hour each and $500
apiece for every chest or hOgshead they
/ dug out. In addition to this they re-
ceivcd half a pint of beer each every
hour they were in the pit Then. in
order TO keep Mike Quinn, the bar
keeper in the neighboring saloon where
they were served. in good humor. he
was promised $500 when the treasure
was brought TO light
we had a good time Of it while it
/ lasted said Collins. but I am of the
opinion that Kidd must have been kid
ding when he put up that secret to En-
dunn"
Re that as it may. either the late
]
mistake in the figures. Kidd never had
in all his life SS1 100000. Soon after his
arrest in Boston in 1899 he offered to 20
back to Hispaniola, where he had LETT
his ship. the Quedah Merchant. and de-
liver her with her treasure to the Earl
OF Bellomont. Kidd said that time
that the treasure amounted to about
$500. O00 Bellomont refused the offer,
however and no one knows what be-
came OF the Quedah Merchant after
that One story is that Kids sailors
started for New York with her, ana
passing at night up the North river,
sank her under the belief that they
were pursued. and then fed 70 the
woods. Another story is that she was
sunk near the Long Island coast.
Since then thousands OF searching
! parties have been organized to unearth
! the pirates lost fortune. The shores Of
| Long Island and the Hudson river have
| been dredged and all methods from
/ black magic to scientific rules have
| been resorted to by the searchers. There
/ were many stories thirty or forty wears
ago as 90 the wherea bouts of Kids
buried treasure. but all agreed on or
point and that was that Satan pro
! tected his secret for him.