The Washington herald., 1907-09-18
by FREDERIC J. HAsKIN.


been men in all countries and in all ages
Who have been eager 20 brave dangers
cross unknown seas, and penetrate alien
lands 10 find treasure of which they had
heard vague rumors. When Columbus
sailed westward with the Pinta and Nina
and Santa Maria he opened the doors OF
adventure 10 thousands of war weary
men of the Old World, and across the
seas in the paths he charted went caravel
and man-of-war TO gather for their most
Catholic majesties the gold Of the Incas.
the hidden treasures OF the New World
a tide Of conquest set in toward Central
America and Mexico, and caciqUe after
cacique in the land of the Aztecs saw the
gold and pearls OF his people taken away
10 enrich the Golfers Of decaying mon
arches over sea.
Long before jamestown, struggling for
foothold in the Virginia tidewater re-
gions, was threatened with abandonment
by the London Company If gold were
not forthcoming, Spain had destroyed the
free schools Of the Guatemalans. looted
their treasure houses. and had estab-
Ashed a fleet of traders between her old
and new possessions. The way, however,
was not always clear and many good
ships went 10 the bottom Of the sea,
where the bars of gold and strings of
pearls spread on the sands as the wave
action loosed the bands of the great
chests in which the treasure had been
packed. Treasure ship after treasure ship
was sunk on the coast Of Central America
or on the shores of the West Indies. 10
lie in an unknown place until this day
In lIo2 a fleet laden with gold and silver
from Vera Cruz was scuttled by its own
ers of the very coast Of Spain. TO keep
II from the English. This has never been
recovered, though treasure hunters have
tried for two centuries.
Treasure in the Isle of Pines.
Buccaneers and pirates arose in the
wake Of the treasure ships, and before
England's American settlements could be
counted on the fingers Of the two hands.
the Southern seas had been crimsoned in
blood that was exacted as a forfeit for
the keeping OF too much gold Pirates
ot the most daring type committed depre-
cauons on the Spanish trade ships and
buried their !u-gotten gains somewhere
them was that prince Of pirates Henry
Morgan. Of England, later krighted by
his king and made governor Of Jamaica,
where DE hid his treasure and melted out
severe justice 10 other pirates II was
Morgan who sacked Puerto CabellO. Ma
racaibo, Panama, and the Indies, and il
IS said that among the hills of the Isle
OF Pines, Stevensou's Treasure Island"
there are still great chests Of gold and
bags Of precious stones that he buried
and never recovered.
The American Hotel in Nueva Corona.
on the Isle OF Pines, is said to have been
built with Norgaus gold. Some years
ago "a citizen there after a short Journey
70 another part OF the island, became
suddenly prosperous and built for him
self fine house Of concrete and tiles
with marble baths He lived in il until
his death, when the editice became a
hotel Il is believed that he found some
Of MOrgan's treasure, because. q few
years later, when an old sailor brought
an American adventurer and his Yacht
10 an almost inaccessible part of the
island 90 find, according 10 an old monks
chart some treasure placed in a cave. the
cave was found opened. with parts OF
broken chests scattered about 10 show
that some one else had found the way
before him.
Threw Gold Into Sacred Lake.
The Bahamas are favorite hunting
grounds for buried treasure. and Amer
lean ships and fishing boats, backed by
private funds, have secured the coasts
from New Providence as far south as Tor
tuga and the Virgin Islands. In the Hal
taian rcbellian great treasure was hidden
away and never found, and the hoard OF
money, jewels and bullion accumulated
by King Christophe IN his meteoric career
in Haiti has never been discovered
though more than one American has set
himself the task Of finding It. In the
parish Of Trelawny, Jamaica, there is
said 20 be great private treasure buried
doubtless part of Morgaus riches. Re
Gently Americans have tried TO reach the
treasure IN the sacred lake Of GuatIvifa
twenty miles from Bogota. Here in olden
times giant vases filed with gold coin
rare jewels. and bars Of silver were
thrown as offerings 10 the gods.
The treasure of Jean Lafitte. the I.ouisi-
ana pirate. is still believed to be buried
on the Island Of Barataria, where he had
his headquarters for so many tuuultuous
years Where he buried il Is not known
but when England offered him q commits
sion N the war Of 1872 he sCorned il and
paid Edward Livingston and United
States District Attorney John r Grimes
$4,000 apiece TO get him q place In the
United states army. With his rollicking
crew he helped win the battle of New
Orleans, and then, despite the efforts Of
the government 10 Illustrate him. he went
again 20 preying on the commerce Of the
high seas. In 1917, when Louis f'Aurv
another pirate, deserted the island on
which Galveston stands, Lafitte made II
his headquarters, capturing slave ships
and selling the slaves. He remained there
until the Enterprise, with United States
troops aboard, made Il too warm for him
Putting 20 sea LATTE took his treasure
and disappeared from the pages Of Amer
lean history. while the daredevils he
commanded became a part Of song and
romance.
BOnitO BOnitO's Pirate Crew.
Bonito Bonito and his pirate crew, who
terrorized the few vessels on the Pacific
coast 100 years ago, are said to have
buried his treasure on Cocos Island. and
during the past twenty years nearly as
many expeditions have gone out TO dis
cover it, all without reward. though It is
claimed one man found the hoard and
brought away a handful Of jewels to
prove IT, He died soon after. and his Sc
cret persisted with him. The most recen:
effort 10 recover lost treasure from the
sea was the unsuccessful attempt of c.
w. Johnston, of Boston to recover the