The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-07-27
RARE FIND REEVES
PIRATE TRADITIONS
Articles Picked Up on Eastern
Beaches Thought to Be of
Old Hoard.

The recent discovery by surfman
at the Knobs Life-Saving Station on
Palm Island, of a curious pewter por-
ringer of a bygone age has once again
given rise to the tradition so long cur
rent in Newburyport concerning the
cache of treasure somewhere in the
sand dunes Of the island. saws Bos-
ton dispatch to the New York Herald
For the porringer find by Gardiner
Lettime is only one Of many similar
discoveries Of late, in which silver
buckles, gold coins of the early Span
ish regimes, strange household uten-
sis of silver, gold and pewter and val
liable jeweled ornaments have been
brought to light, evidently through the
action Of the waves along the shores.
Oddly enough-and this is a fact that
strangely comedies with the oft re-
peated story of great Captain Kidd
treasure concealed here-these finds
have all been made within a short
distance of each other en- the shore,
and near high bluff where it is i'm
possible to tell whether the different
objects have been washed up by the
action of the waves from the bottom
Of the sea or whether they are gradu-
ally being unearthed from a place in
the shore line, which once before the
waves had eaten away the sand stood
much further back and afforded a
seemingly secure cache for a treasure
trove.
In fact, so frequent of late has been
the discovery of odd valuabIes of a
date long gone, that there is no little
interest now evinced among two groups
of life savers, those at the Plum Island
and at the Knobs station, concerning
the mystery of these treasures. More
over, not a few secret excursions have
been made along the shore by natives
with view to locating some "huge'
chest or iron bound box that might hold
millions in rubies, pearls and stolen
wealth plundered from off the seas by
some rowing band of old time marau
ders. In fact, the growing frequency
of these discoveries on Plum Island
has changed what originally only pass
ed as rumor into well-credited
tradition relative to the reason for
these finds,
The story goes, and, indeed, there
ho+ =
upon facts handed down from the early
days of the founding of Newburyport,
that one misty morning, when Plum
Island sat apart from the then primi
tive village which is now Newburyport
and when only few scattering set
tiers occupied humble cabins in the
town, huge, high decked galleon lit
orally swarming with swat faced men
put madly is toward the shore and sud
denly came to anchor.
During the progress toward the
beach, which was indeed risky place
for such a huge vessel to approach.
there had been the continuous sound OF
firearms aboard the vessel. Some sort
of battle was in progress on the
decks. it appeared to the few settlers
VINO Witnessed iAt dti thl VI LIZ
strange vessel. In fact, so near to the
land did the vessel approach before
she east anchor that those hidden IN
the woods thought that she was going
to be run upon the beach. After the
anchor was dropped the fighting, swear
ing and shouting continued aboard the
ship nearly all day, during which time
scores of men were seen to fall or be
thrown into the sea Finally the com
motion gradually ceased, and, much to
the amazement of those who had
watched as best they dared the strange
actions aboard the vessel when the fog
lifted there appeared to be only hand
full of men left alive from the entire
company.
That night a settler who had remain
ed on the island to watch the vessel
and notify the villagers if anything
threatened from that direction is said
to have witnessed a strange nocturnal
expedition from the ships side to the
shore of the island-a trip in which
| three pirate boats brought ashore half
! a dozen great iron boxes and chests.
When the boats returned to the yes
! sci side after several hours delay
ashore, they appeared to be empty save
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