The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1911-11-10

:: !: !: :" !: !. !:
vii h Thompson's ~ ,MZyzlW
chart to guide them. 'MG/fMA1A
1.-THE cave, Keat- '/1'MXMkM>
ing said, was Is feet NWEA3j
long by u feet ~ E0.'
broad, with a CELL i 3ES
ing high enough to - vs.;
permit man to ...rc
stand upright. It - .,c*1
was full of bars of i
gold and sacks Of 81
money. Many of the ~
sacks bore the stamp 1el
of the Bank of >s61m@
Lima. There were W
many golden cruel IT.
fixes, chalices and
church ornaments.
A statue of the Ma
donna of solid gold lay upon the
floor. 1t was so heavy that Keat-
ing and Bogue together could not
lift it, but could only push it along.
The glitter of the piles Of gold,
Heating said, fairly made him reel
and seemed to fill the cave with a
ghostly radiance that at first
struck him with awe.
"Bogue and Heating tied few
coins in a handkerchief and rowed
back to their ship. They told the
sailors they had found spring OF
fresh water, but they were so excited
with what they had seen that they act
ed unnaturally and the crew. may be.
had suspicious Of the truth, anyway
One word led to another, and Bogu.
and Heating told as little as possible,
but it was enough for the crew, who
made them promise to go shares.
Fright here Heating and Bogue be.
gan to play their game more shrewd'
ly. They served out unlimited grog,
as if to celebrate treasure trove. Long
before night the whole outfit was glori'
ously drunk except Heating and Bogue,
who took care to remain strictly sober.
| All hands turned in early to sleep of
their rotations and be ready to bring
the treasure aboard next morning. AS
! soon as they were asleep, Heating and
Bogue slipped off to shore in a whale
boat. They beached their boat and
again made their way to the cave.
They filled their pockets with doub-
looms and pieces-of-eight and louis
doris. Not satisfied with the money,
Bogue, stuffed bar gold into his sea-
boots so that he could hardly walk
for the weight In launching the boat.
,1r1or and
was drowned.
"Keating," Captain Hackett went on,
ESCAPED to sea with his plumber, leav-
ing the ship to its fate, and the men
Four days later he was picked up by
Spanish coasting vessel which land
ed him safely nearsPunta Arenas. He
slowly worked his way back to New
foundland and deposited much money
in the St. Johns bank
"Keating made a second voyage to
Cocos island four years later. He
told us of this adventure too. wrote
the tale out afterwards in Keating's
own language as nearly as could re-
member it,
The first treasure was buried on
Cocos island by Benito Bonito few
months before his death in 1921. Bo-
nito was born in 1888. He was a
Spaniard of supposed gentle blood His
real identity is not known-BenitO Bo
nito was an assumed name. He be-
gan his career as lieutenant Of a
Spanish privateer At the close Of
the Napoleonic wars he became mate
of a Portuguese trading brig. In 1916
he quarreled with his captain, MUIR
dered him and seized the vessel. From
that date he followed the life of pi-
rate. One of his first prizes taken in
West Indian waters was an English
SLAYER named the Lightning. Having
cut her out Of Matanzas, where she
was lying at anchor one night, he
burned his own brig and, transferring
his flag to the British vessel, renamed
her the Relampago. which is Spanish
for chain-lightning. Most Of the crew
Of the SLAYER were made to walk the
plank. Two pleaded for their lives and
OuSICu ~ JUN OOAllO. OA SAAo ~OAAA-
ton Bonito spared them. These two
men we're Thompson. known in Cocos
island traditions as Bugs" and q
Frenchman named Chapelle. who also
figures later in the story Of Cocos is
land
In the long, low, rakish Relampago.
which could show a clean pair of heel7
to anything sailing the Spanish main,
Bonito had busy and prosperous
career as pirate. From Rio to the
Bahamas he became scourge and col.
lected an immense amount Of booty
When the Spanish government sent
| warships to hunt him, Bonito slipped
around Cape Horn to fresh pastures in
the Pacific.
The wealth of the churches OF
Spanish America is still considerable
but in the early days of the last cen.
fury the richness of the plate and or
naments with which they were adorn
ed was amazing. Bonito sacked cities