Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1910-02-23

| to twine ropes Of sand. When they
| break, the children believe, his roars
Of anguish can be heard for miles.
Their mothers tell them, though, that
Is only the fury OF the storm or the
beating Of the surf on the bar.
| The imaginative collector who
owns this gold pistole adds still fur
| ther to the romance Of It's finding by
! saying that the man who dug there
did SO because he had dreamed that
he would find the pirates treasure
In that particular spot. While he
was at work, by lantern light, and
had just uncovered this first and last
OF the gold pieces that he was to
! find, he suddenly noticed that he was
surrounded by ar army Of black cats,
who we're glaring at him with fiery
eyes. OF course he screamed Scat"
and threw his; lantern among them as
he took to his heels. At any rate he
was never able to find the place
again, although he spent much time
stimulating his memory in the tay-
crnS OF Ipswich.
Another numismatist has a Massa-
chusets shilling, coined about 1862.
lie claims that 1t was found in ere,
vice OF a fireplace Of an ancient
mouse near East Hampton, l.. l., and
| "hiSh " 40 toih uo"i IL SOulC twenty
years ago, and tells this astounding
| tale OF how it got there:
An old miser lived in this house
so years ago, and one night was sit
| ling before the fireplace wondering
what he could do TO get more money.
lie had just made the usual remark
! mat IL lie could get enough he would
Seil his soul for it, The next thing
ne knew he awOkc from tho browse
he had fallen into and saw a thin,
t&ntcrn-jaweG man standing beside
him, holding live coal in his fingers
in front Of the face OF the clock on
the mantelDiece. This thin gentle
man remarked that he would make
the east Hampton man the richest
| person on Long Island If he would
sign certain paper that he presented
to him. The old man demurred at
first, but finally agreed, stipulat-
ing that he should be paid two boot
| luiS OF Massachusetts ShillingS on the
night Of the first Of each month. He
was afraid to take gold because it
| might excite much suspicion among
his neighbors and specified Massa-
| chusets shillings, rs they were the
coin furthost above par in those
| days. OF course the thin gentleman
was the devil. He instructed the
East Hampton man to hang his boots
on the crane in the fireplace when he
went to bed. The old man did so,
! but first cut the Soles from the boots.
| The result was that he found so much
| money In the fireplace next morning
| and worked SO hard hiding it away
| hat 1t brought on an attack Of fever
| from which he died quickly. This
shilling that the collector now has
! is the sole relic OF this Long Island
mans ill-gottcn wealth.
| Among tho numisma fists in New
| Orleans are preserved number OF
| gold maravcdi, Portuguese coin
that has not been minted for over
Il century. According TO the best
traditions they should be cxtraordi-
n"rily unlucky, for they were gained
| by piracy and murder. Capt. Dane
was one Of the pirate band who
worked under the guidance Of the
Lafittes when they had their maraud-
ing stronghold in Barataria Bay. One
night the people in the village of
| Pass Christian saw a ship burning in
the Gulf. They attempted to rescue
| the people on board, but before they
| could reach the vessel it had sunk
| Next morning Cant. Dane and li"n Of
| MS crew reached the shore and he
brought big chest Of gold with him.
! He decided to quit the sea and set
| tie at Pass Christian. He bought a
| house there and established himself
| IN what was luxury for those days.
| one by one his crew died shortly af-
| ierWard OF yellow fever. and in their
| rawlings they betrayed the story Of the
horrible things they had seen their
captain 90 on the high seas. His
last act had been among the most
atrocious-thc capturing Of a sma' /,
Portuguese vessel, with several rich
! passengers and much treasure on
| board He killed his captives in the
most shocking manner. The people
OF Pass Christian, although they were
| accustomed to tranicking with pirates
| began to look askancc at their new
| nclBhbor. One morning they found
| Capt Dane dead from stroke OF
| lightning beneath a great oak. He
had gone there to bury what remain
ed OF his gold, and the chest lay open
| beside him. AS there was no one else
10 claim it, the villagers divided the
contents among themselves, and thus
! 1t was that a few OF these old Portl-
! &NeSc coins have come to be prcScrv
| ed in the New Orleans COLLECTIONS,
Rare coins are found in the most
! unexpected places, as well as being
me reward OF systematic search The
! expeditions OF archacOlOgiStS and
! their excavations OF the prehistoric
! buried cities OF Asia have brought to
| !lSht some hitherto unknown speci-
| mems OF the earliest kinds Of money
| -merc Jumps OF metal, crudely
! stamped. Other rare coins Of more
modern mintagc have been found he
hcath the corner stones OF old build
! !nSS in Europe. a still smaller guam
j u ii.