The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1903-04-03

The foregoing exactly expresses
desires of A L. Williams Of !
francisco, but 1t does not tel, :.
story OF piracy and plank-wa,.i
That Is responsible tor so much al
gold goin' a-begging like water-soot
oried apples at a fire sale. The nj
ratlve belongs to Mr.. Williams. evnn
q map drawn on q bible nv a Grt
man., n he gives it freely to the MI
1lc, reserying to himself only the ioaa
tlon or the treasure, that its recovea
may hereafter round the tale and y
able him to take more leisure in its j
scital. Here it is:
In 1885 l was a sailor on the Uni+a
States man-of-War Suwanee, corr
mande by Captain Paul Shirley. M
spent some time coaling at an isiandH
fhe Pacific which I will not mentio1
and then anchored in a harbor Of III
mainland. l was on shore leave. ana
as sailors sometimes do, visited q ~
loon. Behind the bar I saw three shin
spikes OF copper, the proprietor kindl5
related the n in which they ha
come into his possession.
Story of Three Spikes.
About twenty-five years ago, said
he, an Indian who had been gatherinS
breadfruit on an island off the coas1
brought them to me and EXCHANGED
them for liquor. I asked him where M
had found them, and he told me that 4
was on the island'I will not mentio1
Its name-'where he had been gath1
ertng breadfruit. 1t was the same Id
land at which we had just coaled, and
I was very familiar with it. A fan
days afterward,' continued my hosti
an Ecuadoran cruiser dropped into ths
narbor n some of the officers visited
the place seeking refreshment. Then
saw the copper spikes, and, like you|
asked where I had got them. When
Informed them they began a search fo1
the Indian, which they kept up fol
months without intermission, but nd
disappeared as If the earth had opened
n swallowed him up. When then
finally decided to abandon the scared
for the missing Indian, one of them
told me why they had sought him with
such ~persistency. The three spikes
had marked the hiding place Of an i'm.
mense treasure, which had been stolen
from their government. Then one Of
them told me the story Of the crime.
Account of Theft.
"A revolution a In progress in our
country" said he, land the rebels were
marching against the city with the in.
tention of sacking 1t. We had little
hope of a successful defense, SO we
took all of the governments gold and
the riches Of the churches and placed
them on an American schooner in the
harbor for safekeeping, knowing that
the rebels would not dare attack it.
That night the captain of the schooner
fled with the treasure, valued ct 81, 00O,.
600, and we pursued him as soon as
possible. We overlook the vessel but
not before the treasure had been buried
We compelled every one Of the crew to
walk the plank when they refused tc
tell us where it was concealed. The
captain and mate were last, and they
told us where 1t had been buried and
that the place was marked by thret
copper spikes. They walked the plank
then as punishment for their crime
but when we searched for the treasure
we failed to find it or the spikes. Tha'
is why we have searched for the Indian
and if he aver is found he will be hand
somely rewarded If he can guide US tc
the spot where he found the three
spikes. But he has never been seer
Since"
/. History of the Map.
but I have since learned that the
captain and mate were not compelled
to walk the plank. They sprang over
board and swan toward a whaler II
the harbor. The captain was drowned
put the mate, named Walker. was res
tued. He was taken to Honolulu
where he died Of fever, but just before
his death he drew q map of the islanC
upon which 1.-THE treasure was bidder
land gave 1t to Captain Rowland, who
had saved his life. The captain gave
It and the bible upon which it was
written to his son. who Is now in San
Francisco. The map bears no name
and I am the only one who know!
where the island is. A copy Of the ma
is now in my possession, and I know
that I a locate the treasure in a few
days, for I have an instrument Of m!
own invention which will find treasure
If it is not too deeply hidden.
II will give half Of that treasure t
anyone who will transport me to thai
island and provide the means Of carry
ing the treasure away in safety"