Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1907-01-18


favorite theme of novelists, but one
earcely expects to meet them in real
life. They seem rather to be de-
igned by a considerate Providence
or rewarding the hero in the last
hapter and enabling him to marry
he heroine.
And yet buried treasures, as nys-
erious as any that ever figured in
he most romantic tales, do exist in
he islands of the Pacific, says the
San Francisco Call, and numerous
expeditions have gone out from San
Tri lcisco with the purpose of find
ng them. ~
Captain Parker, of San Francisco,
who has been cruising around the
Galapagos Islal DIS whaling for sperm
Ill, reports that in clear weather he
;ould plainly see the wreck of
spanish galleon under the water,
lose to the weather side of Hood
Island. He picked up some coins,
7hich evidently came ashore from the
broken cases of the wreck and had
>een thrown up on land by the power
If the waves. The coins were Span
sh dollars, and it is supposed that
he galleon came from Spain around
cape Horn, carrying money to pay
,ff troops in Colombia or Panama.
The vessel would pass not far
rom the islands, and must have
Lrifted on the rocky shore. Though
here is never a gale in the locality,
he strong currents and the fog are
lust as dangerous to mariners. The
Ihore rises very abruptly out of the
yater, and close to the steep rocks
he treasure ship is sunk. It would
.equire divers outfit and be ex-
)ensive as we'll as difficult to lift her
largo. That is probably why the
story of it can be published to-day,
Iince people who find hidden treas
Tres do not usually proclaim the fact
Inless there is fly in their ointment.
The Galapagos Islands seem to be
P.favorite place for buried treasures,
or there are rumors of another nice
little pile concealed on Tower Island.
Alas! it is no longer there, but who
ook it? That is the question. The
members of the scientific expeditions
that have sailed from San Francisco
20 explore the islands know only
hat it was there, but is gone, and
hey did not get it, more is the pity.
When the Lila and Matte sailed
rom San Francisco in 1901 it car
lied picks and shovels for unearthing
he treasure, which it seems Profess
or Harris and his learned colleagues
lad heard of in the East, After com
pletfng their scientific labors they
we're going to reward themselves with
whack at the buried dollars, but
he trouble was they did not know
The exact spot. While beating
lround the island for fresh water one
lay they saw sloop mysteriously
appearing from behind a point of
and. For a moment it was plainly
Tisible, masts and. all, then as sud-
lenly and mysteriously vanished.
rhis was something that needed to
be investigated by science. So boat
with six armed men was sent out
from the Lila and Matte and re-
urned within an hour with the sloop
n tow. 1t was manned by an Irish
nan who seemed to be the captain,
1 Portuguese and a native. They had
Ieen digging for treasure, the Irish
nan said, but though they had dug
ILL their parched tongues hung out
IF their mouths, they had found
lothing. s.f ia
Here, then, was a confirmation of
The report of the hidden wealth, but
Instead of giving a clue to the loca-
lion it seemed to indicate that even
learned professors would have a lot
Of trouble finding the spot. Perhaps
the men of science did not have the
true adventurous fortune hunting
Ipirit after .all;s at any rate they
abandoned the quest.
When the expedition was home
ward bound Captain r. Lindbridge,
If the Lila and Matte, heard the.
whole story of the treasure from Cap
ain T.Levick, then living on Charles
STAND. The Irishman and the Port
lguese who had been digging with
heir tongues out of their mouths
lrop out of the story at this point
md are not the same as the worthy
pair that shall appear later #
Captain Levick's blood curdling
.alesis as follows A small .partyAof
Ioldiersi in Ecuador had been sent
Town the mountains carrying heavy
loads of money for the Government
20 pay off the troops. The soldiers
woke up and found their moral fibre
al but wornsthrough with the strain.
So they took both money and cap
tain, got a vessel some way and
sailed for the Galapagos Islands. TN
fortunately it was necessary to let
the sailors into the. secret. and the
effect of the moneyi=on their morals
was even worse than that experienced
by the soldieFs.nssaThefew was MUM
blings in the forecastle and much ex-
cited talk when no outsider was lis
sening, and when the forecastle plot
sings had been carried out the SOL
diers who had distracted the money
in the first place were dead. So were
the officers of the ship, with the ex-
ception of the second mate, who had
been left alive to navigate the vessel.
The sailors planned to divide the
treasure between them and bury each
his share. Then they would wreck
The vessel and pass themselves off for
deserving shipwrecked mariners.
When they We're all gathered in the
cabin to divide the money bags, the
second officer took upon himself to
effect the distribution. Whenever he
gave out a bag he kept one for him..
self, claims g that he was entitled to
the lions share, because he was an
officer. But In being SO smart he
overreached himself. The Sailors re-