Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-04
plan ANOTHER SEARCH
FOR PIRATE MILLIONS
Cocos, Tiny Island in Pacific,
to Be Visited by Expedi-
ton This Summer.
Special cabiesram to The star.

Special Cabiegram to The Star.
LONDON, August 3.-Once more Cocos.
a tiny island in the Pacific ocean. is to
be visited by an expedition in search OF
the fabulous treasures reputed to have
been buried there by pirates.
Two women who were on the island
last year are said to have located the pre-
else position of the hoard. which success
sive parties have failed to discover, and
a syndicate has been formed to pursue
Investigations. At Plymouth the steamer
Melmore, vessel with a ten-knot capac-
ity. hitherto engaged in the cross-channel
traffic, is fitting out for the search. ard
will shortly leave the port for Barry. 60
take in coal. preparatory to sailing for
Panama. where she will pick up the two
women said to hold the key to the treas
ure.
Films of Search to Be Made.
Thence she will go to Cocos. 800 miles
southwest of Panama. Included in the
personnel of the expedition is cinemato-
graph operator, to obtain films of the
treasure seekers at work.
1t is reported that another expedition,
with the treasure as it's object is on the
way to the island. but in London last
night the rumor was discredited.
Cocos was invested with its romance of
buried treasure nearly century ago.
but though there have been twenty diff
ferent expeditions to the island. the Sc
cret Of the whereabouts of the hoard has
remained impenetrable SO far.
1t was in 1921 that the notorious pira te.
Bonita, having ravaged the West Indies
and the west coast of South America, en-
gineered his last great coup Of capturing
the Mexican treasure. The worth Of this
haul is estimated at twelve millions, and
he buried it on Cocos. where. fierce
fight ensuing among his cutthroat crew,
he left fifteen of them dead ere he set
sail for the West Indies. His infamous
career ended in that region.
Spanish Treasure Stolen.
Fourteen years later the British bar
kentine Mary DER Capt. Thompson
was lying in the harbor of Caliao when
! the Spaniards who were being evicted
from Peru decided to consign their
treasure, valued at e4OOO,OOO to her
hold for safety. The honesty of the captain
and crew melted away before the vision
of undreamt wealth. and, numbering the
guard. whom the trusting Spaniards had
left in charge of the riches. they slipped
away from Callao in the darkness.
This treasure also was hidden at Cocos
before the Spanish man-o-war sent in
pursuit captured the captain and his
crew. most of whom were shot. The cap
tain escaped this fate and confided the
position of the treasure to a Canadian
named Heating. who. legend states twice
recovered valuables to the amount of
81 600.
Thus Cocos has acquired the reputation
OF veritable Treasure Island. and. like
all the vague islands of that type. it is
practically uninhabitable. For sixteen
years a German. having obtained conces-
sions from the Costa Rica government,
which controls Cocos. existed there in a
Robinson Crusco prin,iiiveness and sought
high and low for clues to the hiding
place of the pirates ill-gotten gains, and
at intervals exploring parties have hunt
ed over its extent of sixteen square miles.
Admiral Palliser Unsuccessful.
In 1895 Admiral Palliser Of H. NJ. S.
Imperieuse landed party of sailors and
marines on the island. but without re-
suit. Seven years afterward the admiral
made a second essay, and in 1905 was q
member of the expedition under Earl
Ftzwilliam, which left England in the
Veronique. ostensibly to look for poten-
tial coal fields, but was next heard Of on
Cocos.
In a landslide some native laborers
lost their lives, and members of the ex-
pedition-the earl among them-were in
jured. AT that time sensational reports
obtained currency that the party had
met rivals in quest of the treasure ana
battle had ensued, but these were re-
pudiated.
The women who are said to have dis
covered the hiding place of the treasure
are Mrs. Barry Till and Miss Davies,
who already are on their way to Panama
to join the Melmore when she arrives
there. The exact date of departure o.
the latest expedition to Cocos Island has
not been fixed. but it probably will be
1xrft hi AAL