The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1909-08-05
C0CoS TREASURE IS
STILLIN The GROUND
"only Man Who Knows" Re.
turns Empty Handed-To
Make Another Search.

&A40s0V AAOkuOI
San Francisco-Captain James Brown
says he Is The only man who knows
just where h $780, 900, 900 Cocos island
hidden treasure Is. Captain Brown has
returned from a vain hunt for It. The
treasure is still hidden.
Captain Brown left San Francisco
February 2 and went to Sydney. There
he took a schooner and four men and
started to get the treasure. Two days
out the schooner struck a reef. A
French ship rescued them.
captain Brown comes from Provi-
dence, X. I. He says that in 1850,
when he was first mate of the schooner
Sea Foam, he learned the Cocos island
secret from his captain, Henry Smith,.
The treasure had been discovered and
transferred to another island near AUS
tralia for safety, Captain Smith told
Foam would bring it back, but. says
Captain Brown, everybody on board
died through one mishap or another
before the musty millions could be-
found. Brown says he is going after
the reasure again.
Like as not the International Order
of Buried Treasure Seekers will expel
Captain Brown at its next meeting. OF
Rll the men, dreamers and hard-headed
atilitarians, who nave grubbed for the
$50, 900, 600 Of gold and silver that lie
buried in Cocos island, this Rhode
Island Yankee apparently is the first
who has returned with not even an
Aztec drinking cup.
Accounting for Treasure.
Cocos island, known also as Treasure
island, lies ONE 300 miles to the westA
ward of Costa Rica, and about the
same distance north of the equator It
belongs to Costa Rica. The presence
nf <1aH trnoe s,,~1 q. ,,1 >j n.
for, but all good believers are agreed
that h bulk of 1t was carried to the
island by Bonita-the pirate-Don PEE
dro Bonita, who, after he got tired OF
plundering IN West Indies early in the
seventeenth century, turned his dread
America.
Their there is the Mary Dicr treasssS
ure. There was a rebellion in Peru In
1885. Before ~surrendering to the in-
surgents, the Spaniards gathered up
all the valuables in the churches, tho
moved them to n bank at Callao. From
Callao they were transferred to the
British merchant ship Mary Diea
which lay in the harbor. At sight OF
the gold and Jewels and riches OF the
sanctuary. so the story goes, Captain
Thompson n his crew were them
selves seized with piratical zeal. They
murdered the Peruvians in charge OF
the immense treasure and lit out for
Cocos island. which had been recom-
mendede by the mate as a salubrious
treasure resort.
Two Eseape.
Having landed and cached their loot.
they left the island and straightway
were captured by a Spanish man Of
enteen were executed. Captain Thomps
son and the mate were reprieved on
condition that they should disclose tho
hiding place Of the treasure. But once
back at Coco the prisoners walkedi
their captors all over the island ands
at length escaped.
) Figuring that Captain Thompson.
and the mate would die Of hunger tho
Spaniards quit the island; but two.
weeks later a Whaler touching at Cocoa
for water, found two sad-eyed
strangers on the beach, who said thew
had been shipwrecked and had fioated
ashore on a spar. They were taken to
the mainland. The mate died Of vel
low ever. The captain vent to Can-
ada, intrusted a map Of Cocos island
to a man named Heating, and ev911-
tually was frozen to death in a snow-
storm.
When Heating died he bcoueathcd
IN turn bequeathed 1t to Admiral Pail
User. commander of Great Britain's
Pacific squadron from 1896 to 1899.
Palliser believed the story and becauso
of his belief no less than Is expeditions
sailed for Cocos. They got many an
lngot.
In 1905 Earl Fitz William. a friend
of the admiral's, went to the island
and began blasting at the point where
erom 800 900 900 to 500, oOo,o 600 was
supposed to lie. A blast shook down
q landslide IN seven of the party
were injured. Lord. Fitz William said
later that he had made the attempt
vather as a jolly lark han as a serious
sing out another ship. the Attiarin.
The wrecking of the Attiquin left his
!ordship shy $500, 600. His recover
from the buried treasure fever was
rapid.