Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-24
which the Prince of Wales is the commo-

which the Prince Of Wales is the commo-
dore.
A Fortune-Hunting Earl.
An even more important expedition to
Cocos Island was that undertaken by Earl
Fftzwilliam early this year His ship.
which has been lying at Panama during a
great part of my stay. was recently sold
to the Peruvian government for 100000.
naval crew has taken her to Callao and
| she is now the Iqutos OF the Peruvian
navy.
Earl Fitzwilliam is amongst the richest
of the English nobility. One of his ances-
| tors under Queen Elizabeth was five times
lord deputy OF Ireland. and the present
| earl is said to own than 100 600 acres
| there. He has an income of a million and
1 a half dollars year, which means about
$4,000 day. He is a young man. and it
was probably the love of adventure rather
| than the lust for gold that sent him treas
Ure hunting in the waters above Panama
| bay.
| Admiral Palliser and Cocos Island.
/ Earl Fitzwiliam was inveigled into his
| treasure hunting by Admiral Palliser. This
! man is twice as old as the earl, but he is a
| keen sportsman and an ardent chaser not
| only of adventures. but the dollar The adj
| miral commander-in-chiefo OF the Brit
| ish fleet on the Pacific station from 1896 to
| 1899. He has long known of the wealth
hidden on Cocos Island, and indeed, 1t is
said here that he made several expeditions
in search of it while he was In the ravy,
and that at one time he landed marines
there and did some digging. At any rate.
he laid his maps and charts before the rich
young earl and the earl supplied the money
for what was perhaps the most remarkable
treasure-hunting journey since the Argo-
nauts started out after the golden fleece.
The Adventures Of the Veronique.
The first thing was to get ship. and
they bought this vessel which has just been
| sold to Peru. Her name was the Veron-
ique She cost Fitzwilliam Just 100000. SO
that Peru gets her for half price. ~
The Veronque steel steamer of
about 5000 tons, which had been used
| as a transport to carry troops to
| South Africa She is big enough to
| carry 1000 tons of freight, fifty first
class passengers and 1000 storage.
! ted up with all the luxures of a rich mans
| yacht. Partridges grouse hares and other
meats were put away in her cold storage
chambers and the steward laid in wines
| galore pate de foie gras and all sorts OF
| good things, many of which have been
| since peddled about Panama and some OF
| which I have eaten.
When the ship was manned and supplied
with good corps of men for digging and
blasting 1t was sent about through the
Strait of Magellan to Panama, and the
ocean to meet her The admrars party
took the Royal Mail for Jamaica and
thence came to Colon. The earl went to
New York and New Orleans. and on to
Panama, arriving just a little after the
VeroniQue anchored.
Leaving Panama on their ship they had
a quick sail to Cocos Island, but their ar
dor dampened to find that man
named Gsler had a concession from Porto
Rico, which gave him the exclusive right
to dig for treasure there. and that he
would not let them land. He was per-
suaded, however. by a goodly sum of
money offered by the earl. and that the
more easily when they told him where
they expected to dig. The landing at COcos
Island is difficult. The men. including the
white-bearded, gray-haired Admiral Palli-
ser and others had to wade through the
water up to their necks in reaching the
shore. and they carried the dynamite ana
tools on their heads.
The Pirate Hoard Dynamited.
Everything was landed at last. however.
and carried to the place marked on
the chart short distance inland.
The spot was at the foot of a beet
ling cliff and in order to expedite matters
they used dynamite, putting in a big
charge and then running away to avoid the
explosion. When the charge went off it
tore the earth to pieces, and all rushed
back to cast their eyes on the treasure.
While they were STOPPING over and pulling
above, which had been loosened by the
Shock fell with laundering crash 10 the
! ground. burying most of the party. The
earl was struck in the head with rock,
Col Gordon Carter of the LIST Lifeguards
had his foot badly crushed. and a number
of the men were seriously hurt.
The injuries, all told. were SO great that
the earl and the admiral became thor
oughly Disguised, and they asked nothing
else than get away as quickly as pos
sible They went back upon board and
eaiIa St,~ .ferhf for pa lima
wounded were carried 10 Ancon Hospital
and there treated, while the earl and the
admiral and the rest of the noble party
crossed post haste, 10 Colon. and took ship
for Europe leaving their steamer here TO
be sold
In the meantime the golden Madonna still
lies in Cocos Island, like the sleeping prin-
cess in the fairy tale, awaiting the adven-
turous youth who shall make his way 10
her and kiss her to life.
FRANK c.. CARPENTER.