The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1912-08-06

70 finance the expedition, and VINO
telegraphed TO a friend in Fort
Worth TO furnish the travellers WIN
$4,000
The expedition is made as re-
sult of information given Mr.. bur
roughs by Jose Guerrero, VINO dleu
a pauper in Mr.. Burroughs country .
home near Kansas City, Kan, two
months ago.
Guerrero said the secret OF the
treasures existence was told nm .
by his father while the latter was
on his deathbed
About the middle of the eighteenth !
century. according to the story hahd-
ed down in the Guerrero family
Spanish galleon was captured py |
pirates south of Cuba. The captain
of the galeon, Miguel Guerra tine
name later was changed to Guerrero
was badly wounded in the hand-to-
hand battle on the deck of the sal-
leon. and was captured by the pI-
rates.
The bravery that he showed dur
ing the fight stirred the admiration
of the pirate chieftain, and the me
of Guerra was saved When the cap
tain recovered sufficiently the pirate
offered him part OF his crew ana
command of the galleon if Guerra
would Join the pirates and share
with them the spoil.
Piracy was not so much a CRIME
as hazardous profession III those
days. and the offer was accepted by
the Spanish captain.
| The galleon was fitted up with
cannon and crew and Guerra started
out in search of victims. In those
days the seas east of Central Amer
| lea were rich with treasure-ladeh
vessels. bearing pure gold bullion
from the mines of South America
to Spain.
Sinks Rdded With Shot.
Guerra realized this, so did not
try to stop any of the westDouhH
vessels. lie crused back and forth.
and then one day he sighted an east
bound ship. AS soo1 as he changei
his course to follow the strange ship,
the stranger could be seen cro"d!nS
on sail, and then it vas slralel'
away race. The ilc:cuant vessel was
! too heavily lad@n TO rhn ~el', Ec"'
ever. bat succee1ol in running INTO
the bay of Campeche before being
ovelhauled =, the pirates,
There the battle started about
O'Clock in lie evening, a.d iasled
until early the next morning. Then
it stopped only 1e;4I>e the merchant
vessel. riddled by cannon shot, Sunk,
cai irving down all on board.
Some of the more hardy divers
among the pirates succeeded in find
ing out that the boat was carrying
a cargo of bullion but no effort was
made to raise the ship.
Eight days later the galleon COM
manded by Miguel Guerra was sunk
by a Spanish war vessel Guerra
went down with his ship, but was
thrown to the surface, more deal
than alive and taken on board the
Spanish boat. He was the only one
of the pirate crew that survived.
This fact he ascertained before
the captain of the war vessel knew
that he had recovered conscious
ness, so while he lay apparently in
a stupor, Guerra worked out a plan
to save his neck.
Two hours later the crew of the
Spanish ship We're astonished by a
frightened shrek from the man they
and a moment later he sat up an
looked around him. AS he looked "a
expression of Joy came over his face
and he began thanking God for
saving him from the pirates. His
manner convinced the officers of the
ship that he had been a captive on
the vessel and the fact that one of
them had known him when he COM
manded other vessels caused them
to believe this all the more fully.
So Miguel Guerra went back TO
Spain with his name untarnished
But the thought of the treasure at
the bottom of the sea where none
other knew of it, stayed with him.
He made a chart OF the bay from
memory and on his deathbed turn
ed 1t over to his son. Jose, and also
asked Jose to change the family
name to Guerrero. The paper and