The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-06-21
RIVALS FOR LAFTTTE'S GOLD.
IT wO parties are now at White
Lake seeking the supposed
buried treasure of the pira,s


buried treasure Of the pirate
Lafitte. White Lake IL in the western
part Of vermilion Parish. La. twenty
miles north OF vermilion Bay. There
Is a tradition that Laftte sailed up from
the Gulf OF Mexico to Vermilion Bay.
thence up the vermilion Bayou into
White Lake, and there buried his treas
ure One tradition Is that the treas.
ure amounts TO $1,000 900 in American,
Spanish and English money, gold and
silver and Jewels. Another tradition Is
that there is s91, 900 in Spanish
doubloons. Each prospecting party has
a map or chart.
The man who IL prospecting for the
100000. says that he found the
chart in the treasure vault. He has
the chart. but has lost the vault This
is the story as told by Price Choate, the
treasure hunter.
| While he was hunting alligators his
chance grounded. In attempting to shove
It free his paddle struck a hard sub
stance, which proved to be brick He
examined the obstruction and found
brick vault, six feet in length, six feet
wide and about five feet in depth. From
the vault he took out a handful Of
doubloons and went home.
| Then he set about to get assistance
: to build n canal and a large Ncat, so
! that he could bring the gold out to ne
tvta To ,nt f,,
the ground floor, In the strictest con-
fidence, for $3.50, $500, or as much as
he could get. lie continued this for
several months, and gathered in about
$4,000 from his partners, each of whom
believed that he was the only one.
Finally one partner heard that there
was another and still another. and they
began to compare notes. Choate was
arrested for obtaining money under
false pretences, pleaded guilty to tx
charges, and was sentenced to six years
in the penltentiary. BY good conduct
he shortened his term and Is now back
at White Lake looking for that buried
treasure
of New Orleans, and NJ. Pearson, q cNil
engineer OF Houston. Tex are the men
behind the other search They are
working with the help OF what they ne
lieve Is a map drawn by FELTON,, or Full
ton. who was Lafltte's secretary Tho
map locates the tire ,sure in lake
twenty miles from the entrance to
shell mound. The holders Of the map
believe II they can find the shell mound
they will have easy sailing to INC
treasure.
The manner in which the Strat'on
party became possessed OF the map
under which they are operating Is th'
usual pirates story OF handing down
documents when at deaths door. FeNoh
had organized an expedition IN Ne"
York to search for the treasure Du'
died at sea. Just before he died no
gave the chart to his faithful negro
servant. The negro servant dra'e'
, to Louisiana, and when about 70 u''
gave the chart to his employer CAPT.
/ MCGEE at Opelousas.
The Stratton party recently emp'o''
. a divining rod expert to locate INV
, treasure. The services Of PROF. Drum"
, mitt of Houston. Tex. were secu,ou,
his fame as locator OF minerals
spread abroad. With Engineer fea'so"
, he visited Pine Island, where the 10,
ure is supposed to be. He un'hgu.
his dlyining rod and waited for it.ulea
a lions. Finally It moved, pointing cow"
, ward o-,
, "There It is" exclaimed the eNP
: "It is about six feet" ,,.,
: Pearson dug down eight feet anu u,
9 sank a steel rod TO depth OF re"
!, feet In the soft soil without s'rIN'",
q the treasure. The expert eNP'",,r
: that there was gold in the SAT- "' ,bs
and that his rod was attracted u' ,,.
n metal in bulk or in the minutes '
z ticles. ,,s,.
Pearson did not wish furtheI "a
@ having lost faith in the divlh'hs ,.d
: But ne firmly believes that t'e '1
o treasure is on one Of the is'ahu''