Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-08-02
HUNTING FOR BURIED GOLD.
Pirate Treasures Hidden Around New
York.

York.
Every once in awhile some one fits
out an expedition to search for hid
den treasure, and the world at large,
reading of it in the newspapers, smiles
and wonders If the adventurer will be
successful. The world would never
for a moment think of showing the
very real interest 1t takes in this sort
of thing.
OF course hunting treasure in a
really scientific manner Is an eXpen-
sive business. Still II there Is any one
who would like to go on treasure
hunt at small expense or live in a
neighborhood where buried treasure
Is said to exist he can do so by max
ing a little trip to the Great South
Beach. There is very little likelihood
that he did, but on the other hand
there is some reason to believe that
Tom knight and Jack Sloane, two mi
nor buccaneers, secreted number Of
Jars of doubloons among the sandhills.
The Great South Beach lies to the
south Of Long Island. 1t varies in
width from a quarter to a third of a
mile and is perhaps fifty miles long.
reaching from the ocean channel and
light house at Fire Island eastward
to Quogue.
The beach is nothing more or less
than a huge sand bar and consists Of
three parts. There is the smooth. lev
ell ocean-shore, from which the sand
dunes rise abruptly; low, rounded hills
covered with a coarse reedy grass. On
the north side of the beach the dunes
diminish gradually and sink into the
meadows where grows the meadow
grass the farmers cut for hay. Min
gled with the grass are stunted shrubs
of various kinds, chiefly beach plum
bushes.
Beyond the meadows to the north
lies the great South Bay, fine shall
low body Of water from three to sew
en- miles In width, which all sportsmen
know. 1t is in such a region that pi-
rates of the end Of the eighteenth GEN.
tury are said to have hidden money.
The tradition which associates Capt.
Kidd with the beach seems to have
arisen in two ways. In the first place
that redoubtable sea rover actually did
bury loot on Gardeners Island, little
isle lying off the eastern end Of Long
Island and belonging in earlier days
to the Gardiner family. Lyon Gardi-
ner. proprietor Of the manor, enter
tanned Kidd and a part Of his crew.
At Kidd's request Gardiner took two
negro boys and a negro girl ashore
and cared for them with the rest OF
his servants. He also sent out to the
ship six sheep and barrel Of cider.
In return for these favors Kidd gave
Gardiner two pieces Of Bengal muslin
for his wife and to each Of the serv-
ants four pieces of gold, at the same
time Offering to pay for the cider.
Three days later Kidd ordered Gar
diner to take and keep for him a chest
and a box Of gold with some other
things. The chests were buried In
a swamp near the manor house.
1t must not be thought for a mo-
ment that Gardiner was an accom-
plice of Kidd. He declared later that
"he knew nothing Of Kidd's being pro-
claimed a pirate, and II he had he
burst not have acted otherwise, hav-
ing no force to oppose them" This
was perfectly true. In those days-it
was in the 1690s-the police general
alarms did not travel very fast In
1901 after Kidd's execution. this treas
ure on Gardeners island was dug up
and turned over to the representatives
of the English government.
From this circumstance there prob
ably arose the story that Kidd cruised
along the southern coast Of Long Is
land and buried treasure on the beach
tradition says at Watch Hill, a sand
dune opposite Patchogue. Another
thing that lent color to the tale was a
legend that toward the end Of the
eighteenth century three men who
were moving meadow grass on the
beach on a foggy day were frightened
by the appearance Of ghostly look
ing ship that emerged from the fog
close off shore. BY the for'ard rail
stood a woman as white and ghostly
as the ship itself
The ship, so the story runs, manoeu-
vred outside the beach for a whole
week. Then two men who chanced to
be on the beach one day saw her low
er a yawl. From a dip in the sand
they watched the yawl come ashore
and five men land. The men went to
the top of one of the highest Of the
sand dunes and commenced to dig.
They dug for a long time and then
buried something which they had
brought ashore with them. The
watchers could not see what 1t was,
but there is no reason why it should
not have been a chest, and II 1t was
chest it must have contained treasure.
Finally the men finished burying their
charge and returned to the yawl. But
only four men returned.
The fifth man was a prisoner, cap
tured by the pirates. When they had
lowered the treasure chest into the
pit they killed him. The treasure was
thus sealed with human blood and his
spirit guarded it from disturbance.
At another time, perhaps a hun
dred years ago, Tom knight and Jack
Sloane went ashore on Long Island
and travelled through the eastern
towns They were free with their
money until Long Island town mag
istrate got after them and sent out
constables with warrants for their ar
rest. The two buccaneers fled, but
not before they had divided up their
gold into small lots and sealed the
doubloons in little earthenware jars,
which they buried at various places
on the beach.
Forty years later jar Of the doub-
looms. supposed to be some Of Tom
knights booty. was found on the
beach by an old Long Island captain.
He had long remarked that each day
the contour Of the sandhills was