The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-02-01
CAPTAIN DREAMS.
RY NJ OuAnA

q
OF the ship Reindeer. dischargfng cargo
at Madras. and was sent to the hospita
with broken leg. 1 found myself in 8
ward with seven other men. one o.
whom had been stabbed in a street
praWL He was a native Hindoo, ano
ms wound was so serious that the doc
tors had no hope from the first. As q
matter of fact, he hung on for tnree
weeks after II was agreed on all sides
mat he ought to be a dead man. HIS
cor was next to mine,- and when ne
found 1 could speak the lingo he was
inclined to be very friendly. 1t is alto
sether likely that what he told 10 an
-otner. would have come my way Dut LOT
accident. A coasting vessel on Whlcn
the dying man had once served, and IN
some manner saved the captains lie,
put in to Madras in distress, and near
ing about the native the captain came
10 see him. The captain must nave cali
ed a dozen times in all, and he saw TO
1t that the patient had every care that
money could influence. During the nrst
rev calls the three of US talked togetn-
ed and the conversation was general.
After that the mans cot was moved
out of earshot, and I could only guess
what they We're talking about.
The name of the captain was Dralnes-
a Few weeks later people were calling
MIN Dreams. He was a good sailor pu5
poor in pocket. The native hao toIo
him a secret before he died. 1t all came
out afterward. so that it can be related
right here. Two hundred miles on the
west coast of India, and opposite the
Island group. There are II islands in
all, and up to ten years ago there were
no permanent Inhabitants. Since that
time colonies have been living on SIX
Of them.
The father of the dying native had
been Sepoy in the great mutiny, and
when the rebellion had been stamped
out he had to go into hiding and lived
{ his last days in the Jungle. When 1t
became apparent that the English
would conquer. a move was made by
all the wealthy Hindoos to save their
fortunes. The father was attached to
the force of the Nabob Of Mysore, and
with certain others removed treasure to
the amount OF a million dollars from
that province to the coast, and thence
by sailing craft to one of the Lacca-
dives. There it was buried. The father
could not tell the son what particular
island ii was, nor did he know whether
the treasure was recovered after the
war. He was wounded in battle soon
after his return to the coast, and when
save himself. The treasure was taken
ashore at night and deposited in a cave:
He did not even know where the island
was situated at the time
That was the story told to the son. |
and that was the son who told it to the
captain. The story was over twenty 1
years old then. You will ask why the |
son hadn't made try for the treas |
ure. In the first place, for twenty /
years after the war the English were
very vigilant about such things, but /
claimed a big share of whatever the |
natives found. Again.. the son was
poor in pocket and distrustful of his
fellow men. If he had had the money
to fit out an expedition he would have
had to take five or six persons into his
and the chance of his be-
ing murdered and despoiled was good
indeed. Had he gone to the owner or
any craft and offered half he would
have been laughed at. He had simply
come to the conclusion that the island
was one of the Laccadive group, and
he could not say that the treasure had
simply hung on to his secret and he
was waiting yet when he was fatally
stabbed in street brawl.
Captain Draines at once determine ]
to try for the treasure. He had to have (
money and he had to have men, and in
this way 1t came to be known that he
was off after million. No one knew I
whittier he was bound, but every ]
and laughed at. Before he left port
he was spoken of as Captain Dreams. !
He resigned from his ship, chartered
4 native craft and selected a crew to ]
be depended on. He fitted the craft to s
fight as well as to sail, and he got
away from Madras in the night ana i
was out of sight of the coast next
He had his all in the enter {
prise. and it was a case of make or
break with him.
The run down to the group was :
made, but that was only the begin J
ming. Some of the islands are only I
sandbars or rocky islets, while others
are four or five miles in circumfer- {
enee. and heavily wooded. They had {
TO be searched in rotation. The craft t
would be anchored in the channel be-
tween two islands, while parties land
ed on either to search for a cave This
searching took up lots OF time At the
end of three months only eight of the )
Stands had been explored, and the
men were ready for mutiny The pro- 7
visions were gone, and a hundred diff i
ferent disappointments had soured the I
tempers of the men. They agreed to |
search the ninth island. but would go
no further. If nothing was found
there the captain must head for the
coast, even if he had to go in chains | {
Fortune stands by some men in !
strange ways. Half the island had I