The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1921-08-11
FINDS PERUVIAN
COLD ON ISLAND
Man Who Befriended Beggar Is
Rewarded With Key to
Buried Treasure.
ROMANCE is NOT YET DEAD
Locates After Search of More Than
Seven Years Gold Hidden Half Gen.
fury Ago-Church Despoiled
by Four Sailors.

Papeete, T.. hiti.-ROmance is no
yet dead. Tales Of buccaneering, muir
der on the high seas, buried gold OF
lonely, u~ninhabited islands and chart.
and ~cryptograms of hidden treasure
trove are not all inventions of imag
NATIVE minds or legends of 4 day
which is long past.
Such a tale is that Of the treasure
of the island of Pinaki, whose hiding
place, after a patient search Of more
than seven years, has at last been
discovered. And now a schooner from
Tahiti has been dispatched to bring
away the gold.
Sailors DespoiI the Peruvian Church.
A half century ago foul sailors, de-
Serters from a cOaStwiSe vessel,
joined revolutionists in Peru and
learned of a vast treasure of jewels,
plate and fngots, the property Of the
church, which had been hidden in Peru
to prevent it from falling into the
hands of one of the warning factions.
Secretly, the sailors searched for the
treasure, found it concealed in a
church and moved it to another hiding
place on the coast.
Going to Panama, the seafarers, at
night, boarded a small schooner, muir
dered the crew and, after putting the
treasure aboard, set sail across the
Pacific. intending to make some Eu-
ropean port later TO dispose of their
wealth. Recalling that they had no
clearance papers and probably could
not enter a European port safely, they
decided to hide the gold on some I'M
Inhabited island and then get it later
in a vessel they would charter at Sgd
ney, N. s. W., for trading purposes.
Across their path lay the island of
Pinaki, In the Paumotu archipelago of
the south seas, n at this ~uninhabited
spot they stopped and hid their loot.
One native, who observed them from
a ~neighboring island and rowed across
to see what the men from the strange
schooners were doing, was killed and
his tribal brothers, who crossed later,
found only his empty n and
markings on the trees.
Sailing on to Australia, the four
their vessel a few miles from
shore and, rowing to land, told Of a
storm at sea which opened the seams
If their ship. Not all believed them,
or some residents had seen h ship
and had witnessed it's
mysterious sinking. There were no
,olice, however, in that section, and
is the four looked desperate, they
~ Ill 800 ox-or1r 4 l
or Sydney unmolested.
Beggar DivuIges Hiding Place.
In 1914, years later, a Mr.. Howe
yas accosted on a Sydney street by an
ged beggar. Howe gave the man a
NV shillings and was surprised to
ear the man ask his name and adj
ress. Some time later Howe re-
eived an urgent summons to a Sgd
ely hospital. There he found the beg
ar, who told of how he and three
hers had buried their treasure, had
liled on to Australia and had set out
for Sydney. Blacks had at
,cked them and killed W. Of the
'ilors. The beggar and his surviving >
,mpaniOn, Brown, tried for years to 3
It a ship to go for the treasure, Dut
,ver obtained money enough. Brown
lally disappeared, and he, Killrain, !
I'd fallen into misfortune and knew ]
S end was near. He gave Howe a
ap of the island, begged him to be-
we the story and to search for the
The following day the beg
+ died.
Since then Howe has been search (.
Z for the treasure. and lately an :,
unced that he had found it in a y
allow lagoon on Pinaki. Lately he a
a schooner at Papeete to ~
TO lift the gold after making a q,
ntract with the colonial government m
to his rights in the matter. 1t is w
d the treasure is worth several mil m
n dollars. sh
w