Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-11-09

| Bound for an island OF the Yves, coas,
| of Australia. the South Sea Island
! pearl fishing expedition party recently
| left Kansas City for San Francisco.
where a ship will be purchased for the
subsequent trip by water The seek
ers anticipate the uncoverins on an
| unknown island Of treasure OF $780,
100000 in English sovercipns. buried
there in 1859 by pirates.
The leader Is Captain James Brown,
OF Bangor. Me, who was the only sur
vivor OF the pirate ship. Alva ID. Mil
ligan, OF Springfield. Mo. president Of
the Missouri Wholesale Grocerymen's
terested in the company. and other in
nuehtial men OF Kansas City and
Springfield contributed toward nnanc-
Ing the expedition.
The party is composed of r. c. Har-
din and a. I. Swanson, grocer and
lumberman. respectively. OF Mountain
Grove. Mo: Fred Ellis. insurance agent
Springfield. Mo. and +. =. Blair, clerk
Mt the Muchlbach Hotel. Kansas City.
Ihey expect to reach the island by
November 80
Great secrecy attended the forma-
tion oil the company and it's departure
from Kansas City. Captain Brown said
g.
ure island to which they were going
belonged to Great Britain, and If
johnny Bull found out that the treas
ure was about to be lifted he would
schd warship 10 watch. When the
treasure was found ne would demand
20 per cent OF IL. Browns theory was
inc finders should be keepers, and he
didn't propose TO lot the British gov
eminent hnd out anything about II.
no Stree. and so nothing about the ex
petition leaked out until after the
party was far on its way to San Fran
cisco.
The party will take ship for sydney
Australia where IL will charter a
schooner and sail for the island. the
exact location of which no one knows
except Captain Brown
Other similar Expeditions.
NAp'hlh Brown Is picturesque man
OF eighty-one. He has been several
staying Mt the Muehlbach Brown told
inc same story that he told in New
iork In 1913, when he formed a com
nhny 10 go after the same treasure.
That time the expedition pe:ered out
because the newspapers got hold OF the
Iacts before the expedition started, and
TOT some mysterious reason the men
who were to put the money In refused
when they found that In the last half
century q dozen different men, claim
ing to be pirates and sea captains and
what not, had sold maps OF the same
mysterious island. and that a score OF
expeditions had sailed to hunt for the
treasure. but had never found SO much
AS dollars worth.
Browns chief hackers in New York
in 1913 were George T.. Crater. q law
yer; Edward +. Carruthers. "A business
man OF Chicago, ana some others from
ST. Louis. Captain Browns story then,
ns printed In the New York papers, the
same story he told here. was az fol-
lows:
I'm July. 1850. sailed from King
ston. Jamaica, as first mate Of a
schooner. The captain vas Henry
Smith, and he told me he was going
to the South Sens on a pearl fishing ex-
petition. After we were at sea four
days he told me he was going to Cocos
Island, 300 miles off Costa Rica to get
some treasure his father buried there
In lS22 Then he told me about his
father, Jonathan Smith He command
ed the schooner Black Witch. out Of
Salem Mass. Smith told me his father
was on the west coast. off Peru, when
the Spaninrds were fighting there in
1920.
Before his father died. Smith told
me, he gave him the secret. Every one
was rObbinG right and left in Peru.
The pirates Benito and Blair and some
other pirates were picking up Spanish
treasure ships. Smith said his father
got in touch with some OF he others,
with some Of the Spanish ships. Didn't
say old Smith was 4 pirate. However.
! draw my conclusions on that. fIc took
all their treasure from some Of them
and the other pirates took their share.
They took the treasure TO Cocos Island
and buried il in three parts. separate.
They were afraid OF being pursued by
the Chilean feet that was pursuing the
Spaniards.
81 know that treasure I've seen it.
I've handled it. ! helped bury it. I've
stood over it. I've seen dead men by
the score lying around there. I've seen
score Of men murdered for that treas
urc. I know how much there is or 1t.
It's between 800 and 400 tons. hg-
ured II out to he sG0.000,ooo or there
abouts. The treasure Is In gold SOW
ereigns. gold bars, bullion, silver dol
lars. There are gold crosses. gold plate
and gold angels. that they took out OF
the churches, and plenty Of diamonds,
great diamonds as big ms hazelnuts.
was first mate. and when II came on
board I took count and entered 1t in
the book"
Maps and Mystery.
That is the story Captain Brown
tolls. and sober minded business men
believed in 1t enough to invest good.
hard dollars to send him on a search
for the treasure.
Now 1t is n fact that somewhere
about the year 1870 an immense treas
urc, estimated Mt s3O.00O.000. was hid
den on Cocos Island. II came about
in this way: 4 Peruvian coast city
was besieGed by Chileans. The
wealthlest citizens and the church
dignitaries gathered their treasures to-
gether and intrusted them to Captain
Thompson. OF n British brig, who
agreed to take care OF it. But he
proved false to hIs trust and, putting
to sea at night, no buried tho Peruvian