The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1914-02-28
BURIED TREASURES
Some Strange Tales of Hidden
Gold and Jewels.
Pirates Loot Is Elusive, But Not q
Few Have Dreamed Of Digging
Spanish DoubIoons From the
Earth-Only Dreams.


What child is there who cannot re-
call hearing at mothers knee stories
Of buried treasures. And what child
has net dreamed of digging from the
damp, dank earth Spanish doubloons
or golden nuggets? Nor we're they in
childish fancy tainted, though hid bTG
some uwashbuckling pirate who rovsd
the myin with plank ever set for LUCK
less %s0afarers who came his way, the
Kansaj City Star states.
Down the generations has come the
story Df n who took his talents and
buried them, and there is nothing to
d%isproSe the theory that he then but
confor med to common custom.
A farmer digs a well, the drill
strikes metal, and q pot of gold Is n
earthed. In the walls of a dismantled
house a black box is revealed and its
shiny treasure makes the finder a rich
man From New Haven comes the
story of an Italian laborer, who, dig
ging abe foundation bitches for his
modest home, disinterred enough gold
en- ggineas to clear his place from
debt.
Few towns away from the prairie
country but have their treasure caves,
and veteran river men will point in
passing to where some vessel treasure
laden went to the locker of the fresh
water David Jones, Esq. 4
At New London, Conn, townspeoplS
still narrate a weird tale of treasure
which disappeared from a SpanisET
vessel there $50 years ago. In 1853, to
be exact, the galleon Stas, Jose y
Elena, gold laden and bound from
Mexico to Spain, was disabled In
southern water and carried north
ward. After weeks of idle drift
ing, the boat was sighted by a relief
ship and towed to port at New Lon
don.
When repairs had been made and
the ship was ready to sail it was
learned that from it's hold the bullion
had disappeared.
There was but one conjecture. The
gold had been stolen and buried along
the water front close by. Townspeo-
pie kept close watch, but no one ever
came to reveals the hiding place.
Something more than half a cen
fury ago came there a seeress, who
gave directions as to the whereabouts
of the buried riches. Two youths
gave credence to her powers and,
their story goes on, on a murky night
she led them to a cache where stood
a chest marked plainly Jose y FL
ena," but that when they tried to lift
it the ruste6 handles broke away un-
der their grip.
Abandoning the quest for the night,
they returned the following day, but
never again we're they able to locate
the mysterious box.
Not far from Buffalo an island in
the Niagara riyer is said 70 be the
trove of a French refugee aid fairly
dotted with boxes of jewels and pots
of gold. Many prospectors have sunk
their picks about the reputed site Of
the exile's cabin, but not one ever has
discovered any treasure, save that
once in 1883, at unusually low water,
some coins dated 1887 were found ut
the very edge of the island.
1t is known that Gardeners island
was once the rendezvous of buc-
cancers, and many rumors tell of
buried treasure there, long hidden loot
of pirates.
Nor is the rumor of treasure troVe
confined to the Atlantic seaboard or
the east, for from Oregon to Lower
California beach dwelling folk cherish
and retell the stories of their fathers
to the little folks, who dream of grow
ing up and finding the great stores OF
gold along the Pacific coast.
Even along the lower Mississippi
there is a tale of 100000 gold buried
neal Natchez, and a classic of Colo
RADIO is the legend of Peg Leg Smith,
whose vast wealth died with him for
ali the world is concerned, no one
ever having located the cache OF the
one-legged mi2er who did his trading
with nuggets of huge size.
Out in the Three Hills regions there
are some who still seek the cache
where Peg Leg boarded up his wealth
some indeed have persisted in the
eearch-but no one eve found the
rumored gold.
Nearer home there is the wartime
tale of buried silver teapots stacked
to their brim with family jewels and
American gold coin and left in bitches
hastily dug, where owners, frightened,
fed before the soldiery of the Civil
war which came foraging.