The Jasper news. [volume] (Jasper, Missouri) 1898-1924, 1912-09-05
Of It could be reached with compare.
tive ease now.

tive ease now.
Just above Pine Bluff, Arkansas,
steamboat said to have been the Car
| lyle j. Harrison. with several hundred
| thousand dollars in gold TO pay for
cotton, was sunk In 1869 None OF 1t
has ever been recovered.
There is a fascinating story about
an old barge that is buried in the Mis-
souri, sand.nats near Fort Rice, North
Dakota with II is buried silver worth
more than half million dollars AZ
the time when the unsuccessful pros
/ pectors were tolling empty handed,
back from the gold fields OF California.
a little band Of men struck rich find
near what Is now Virginia City. Mon
tana
The built a rude camp and, with the
poor implements that they had, work
/ ed feverlshly for many months until
they had taken out all that their
/ packs could carry across the miles OF
uncivilized country they must cross to
/ the navigable rivers Of the upper MIS-
/ souri. Toiling across the mountains,
always in danger OF massacre, facing
| starvation and privations, breaking
roads in the frozen flats and blazing
trails through the forests. they finally
reached the river near Painted Woods,
and there built a rude barge and load
ed It to the waters edge with the rich
silver ore
Travelling by night, in constant fear
| OF Indian outbreaks. they wended slow
| ly down the partly frozen river, know
| ing that soon they would reach the
| frontier town and safety. II was In
/ "a and the few scattered settlements
| had been deserted No Indians had
been seen for days and, taking cour-
age, they Travelled faster and with less
caution, When they we're near Fort
| Rice they we're attacked by the In
| dians and all OF the little band were
| killed with the exception OF one man,
| Pierre Laselle.
Ignorant Of the wealth aboard, the
| Redskins sunk the float, and Pierre
/ Laselle escaped to Fort Rice leaving
| behind him no trace of the expedition;
| the secret Of the hardships and toll
and wealth we're with the river and
with him. He told no one anything
about II for some time-not until he
| had enlisted in the army and maneu'
| vered SO as to get back to be near his
| treasure Then he took an old Quak'
er. named Richard Pope, into his con
/ fidence and at the urgent request OF
/ the Quaker his son was also told the
secret
Three months later the little party.
well armed and we'll provisioned, went
/ quietly to the spot that Laselle remem-
/ bered so we'll, only to find that the
river course had changed and a bar
/ Of sand had formed over the barge
Not dismayed, however, they dug un-
/ III they found the prov OF the old
scow and on the very eve Of success
they too we're attacked by the Indians
and Lasellc was killed, Pope and his
son, too badly frightened to work
| again within the year, went back with
the secret to the town and while there
young Pope died
After many years the old Quaker
| and with the drawings that Lasclle
and he had made they went back to
| the place Of trove and found that the
/ sand bar had grown and that the river
/ ran many hundreds OF feet away from
| the spot where the fortune lay buried
/ In glistening sands Where Pope said
/ the old diggings would be found a
] WHu G n.
ing. They spent weeks digging for
many feet around the place. hut found
nothing Some mistake had evidently
been made in following ont the former
| instructions. but the barge was there,
because Pope and Laselle found Il on
their first visit Pope is dead, but
Emerson is still alive and has the old
drawings, letters and records. Maybe
he can be induced TO part with II, and
maybe not, but somewhere IN the flats
near Fort Rice is a snug little fortune
awaiting some finder.
Behind the city Of St Augustine, IN
some likely spot, another rich treasure
is located. When II was a rich Span
ish town a favorite puttingin port for
the heavily laden Spanish gallcons
that we're coming through the Straits
of Florida to avoid sailing the waters
made dangerous by Peter the Terrible
and Sir Henry Morgan, its wealth at
tracted the attention Of the free-boot.
ers and word OF their preparations to
attack and loot the city was carried
70 the captain-general.
For weeks the city was In state OF
great perturbation and when some
English ships, probably privateers, ap-
pcared off the coast the public treas
ure. the church treasure and the valu-
ables OF the wealthy citizens were as
sembled. removed inland and hidden.
For months the state Of suspense CON
tinued unti the Spanish Admiral Quin-
tana appeared with his feet. Then
the St. Augustinians thought they
could safely bring back their wealth.
To their horror the three prominent
men entrusted with the secreting OF