Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-08
ROMANTIC QUEST.
Search for Pirates Buried Treasure

From the London Express.
Much interest has been aroused in LIVER
pool by the presence in the Coburg dock of
the sailing yacht Catherine. In command OF
Capt Small. which Is fitting out for an ad-
venturous voyage to the Caribbean sea in
search Of buried treasure. said to be Of the
value of more than million sterling. The
Catherine Is the smallest sailing craft that
has ventured on such a voyage. but her
captain and crew are confident Of her abil-
ity to perform the task.
: According to Capt. Smalrs story to me,
he intends starting of early next year,
calling at Queenstown. and thence going
direct to New York. The voyage to New
York may occupy from six to eight weeks.
and from that port to their destination In
the Caribbean sea about q month. The en-
tire voyage will therefore take from two
and half to three months. The yacht it
self though ugh. small is perhaps the most
out Of any port In the world. She has
plenty OF beam. Is remarkably well built all
over with three keels. and she is undoubt-
edly capable of withstanding any kind OF
weather with which she may meet In
side she Is well fitted with all that she may
require. both on and at the end of her
Journey. and nothing that human foresight
The story of the buried treasure is par
tfculariy romantic and fascinating. Twen-
ty-eight years ago doctor named David
son, while on a voyage from Hawaii to San
Francisco. attended an old sailor, who be-
fore he died ccnfided to him a remarkable
secret. He stated that in 1905. while q
young boy. he. with others. was captured
by the notorious pirate Latrobe. Soon after
the pirate vessel. which contained a large
omount Of Hl-gotten wealth, was closely
pressed by Spanish man-of-war and a
Yankee corvette. For time Latrobe con-
tinued to evade his pursuers, and took adj
vantage of this opportunity to disembark
his treasure on one OF the islands which
abound in what was then known as the
Spanish Main. Here he buried the gold
and jewels. estimated to be worth in mod
ern currency f1,900.0O0. The boy was pres
ent at this interesting juncture Latrobe
and his bloodthirsty crew were captured by
the pursuing vessels the next day, and
taken to Kingston, Jamaica, where they
had melted ont to them the justice they had
so long evaded. The boy was able to prove
his innocence, and was allowed to go free
Before the execution Latrobe gave to the
youth papers indicating the locality of the
treasure, enjoining him to convey the doc
uments to LATTE, who was the head of the
fleet of pirates This trust the boy failed
to carry out, and instead kept the papers.
He was. however, prevented. mainly by
lack of funds, from recovering the treasure
himself. On his deathbed he gave the pa
pers to DR.. Davidson.
This gentleman succeeded in interesting
some New York men in the matter, and in
1887 started, with several others for the
island. When the expedition arrived there
they found the place where the treasure
was buried, and unmistakable indica tons
of the existence of the treasure itself. The
Noight of the boxes had, however sunk the
gold some thirty feet in a quicksand, and
as they had none of the implements neces-
sary they were forced to turn back. On
their way their yacht met with disaster, and
they were obliged to take to the boats be-
Ing picked up afterward by a passing -ves-
sci. One other very feeble attempt was or
ganized eight years afterward, but owing to
lack Of financial support 1t was abandoned.
Capt. Small has In his possession all that
is necessary for the finding Of the treasure,
and implements for the recovery of it when
located. He and his men are hardy, expe-
rienced and resourceful, and intend to
prosecute the search to finish.