The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1912-07-27
STILL SEEK TREASURE
PEOPLE OF SCOTCH HIGHLANDS
FIRM IN FAITH.
Tradition Of Buried Wealth IIngers
and is Occasionally Made Stronger
by Finds-some Heavy Gold
Ornaments unearthed.

For centuries the search for ancient
treasure has been pursued in the glens
and wild places of the highlands OF
| finds" have been made, writes the
duke Of Argyll in Youths Companion.
For instance, a tradition that treas
ure was hidden at Inverary had long
been handed down. According TO the
legend, 1t would never be found except
by a stranger. Generation after gen
Grafton OF children searched for it. II
a badger made a hole in the hillside
the children believed that the bad
ger had the scent. and dug up his bur.
row; but no young or old badger ever
came forth with bangles on its neck
or its nose. The children watched
every rabbit scrape or hen scrape to
see if animal or bird had been at
tracted by anything shining under the
sod or in the sand.
Then drainage was introduced. For.
merly the glen was TOO wet to be cul-
tiyated, except on dry slopes where
water could not gather, and hand
plow did all the necessary furrowing,
But now red tiled pipes We're put down
to drain of water from fiatter ground,
and it was possible to SOW in com.
paratively level places.
One pretty piece of grass land un.
der a cliff was pointed out as good
bit for plowing. From the precipice
above great rock had fallen in long
past ages This had to be removed
The man at the plow tail was a
stranger, an Englishman.
He put bag of powder under the
rock to blow it up. The explosion
followed, the partly splintered rock
heaved and fell on it's side. Under.
meath where 1t had been was a CLEAN
of the lost treasure. There were three
bautiful, heavy gold bracelets, two Of
which had cups at their ends. The
treasure had been found. and by a
stranger" as prophesied.
Those bracelets were beautifully
wrought; one OF them had plain ends
where the wrist was slipped through
AS for the pair with the hollow cups,
an old tradition was recalled which
declared that no person who had com
mitted fault could be forgiven unless
the cups Of gold at the gap in the
bracelets were filled with his peniten-
tial tears. There is just room for the
nose. like the wrist to slip in between
the golden ends. and it is possible to
hold the cups under the two eyes
Sometimes ignorant men who have
found such bracelets have looked on
the gold as mere brass. In one case
q number OF bracelets found in an
island of the Hebrides were used as
drawer handles for an old pine chest
Of drawers. A peddler came to the
cottage. found that the old chest had
very heavy handles, and gave Is shil.
EnRs, OF s3.75, for it. He took il
away and sold the old handles for
EGO each.
Such heavy ornaments as the brace.
let's must have been a burden to a
Celtic beauty. Fer warrior the gold
was beaten out until it was thin, for
then 1t was more portable and easily
worked. Patterns OF all kinds could
be punched in it, SO as to give good
effect in front. We can imagine how
grand an old chief from Brittany or
Wales or Ireland looked with shin.
ing yellow band on his conical helmet.
broad plate of gold on his right
shoulder and on his left long yellow
mantle girt in by the belt itself.