Evening star., 1925-12-06

- thC SIcdl etIlflQudke IcNOlullOIl
year when Don Carlos AranZas
Alonzo Bolivar made his scoop. His
real name was Smith and he came
from Hoboken, and he scooped five
million dollars in gold coin and bars,
the property of the acting Chilean
government. just before it died.
Bolivar Smith could talk Spanish
like native, play on the guitar, roll
a cigarette with one hand and smell
of garlic. He dropped into Valparaiso
from somewhere in Peru. with plenty
of money at his command. stolen, no
doubt, and before he had been a
month in the place things began to
move; at the end of two months a
revolution was well under way, with
Bolivar as chief designer and engi-
neer. On the eve of the burstup the
acting president. under the suasion of
Bolivar, had all the gold coin and
bullion bars removed from the bank
for safety and placed on board the
Leonora, a 400-ton brig captained by
an American by name of Scudder
The shipment was done by night with
secrecy and dispatch. and at dawn
the Leonora put out under forged
order to the port authorities done by
Bolivar, who was on board as super
cargo. The earthquake and the reVo-
luton came along a few hours later
when the Leonora was far at sea.
Nothing more was heard of her till
years later. somewhere in the sos,
when an old salt dying on board the
Kermadec made confession to Capt.
Jim Lubbock, owning to the fact that
he had been bo'sun of the Leonora,
and stating that she had been lost at
sea after caching the treasure on
Farragut Island.
Farragut or South Island lies south
of Naumoo in the quadrilateral
bounded by 10 and no degrees south
latitude. and longitudes 120'-l30'.
North of Naumoo lies Farallone or
North Island the three islands equal
ly spaced and in a line as straight as
the line that holds the belt stars of
Orion. Dowsett was the name of the
old salt, and he gave explicit direc-
tions to Capt. Lubbock as to the exact
position of the cache: then he died.
having done his mischief, and the
hunt began.
1t broke Lubbock. who put all his
savings and all he could borrow into
an expedition. Jarvis was the next
man on the job and it broke him.
Then in the passing years came
others. They turned Farragut Island
upside down and shook 1t, but not a
coin escaped Then the thing died
down for 10 years or SO. and woke to
tragic life again with the Knott eXpe.
dition in 1902. The story of that eXpe.
dition has never been told till now.
Tt was given to me by Chandler.
ma ster of the Brunhilde, a steam
yacht owned by Burton Williams of
San Francisco.
Burt was the name he went by"
said Chandler He'd made his money
in phosphates-a big red-faced man
with an open manner and a breeze
about him better'n an electric fan in
hot weather. I've never seen that
chap down in the mouth or complain
Ing: always in good spirits and up to
any game, from deck quoits to poker.
He didn't look to have brains,
much, nor to be a noticing chap, but
I reckon what Burt didn't see wasn't
worth seeing and what he didn't know
wasn't worth knowing.
II was out of a job. I'd been 10
years on the Emperor Line and was
working up to commodore when the
Emperor of Japan, my boat. got ram
med into Frisco Bay by a Shireman
freighter that smashed her bow plates
and flooded her fore hold and left her
Off the Preside with her nose down
like diving duck and her propellers
beating the air, 1000 worth of dam
age done in 15 seconds. and all
through a tomfool of a first officer
who'd made a. misjudgment of speed
and distance. / took the blame and.
having a temper of my own, managed
to get fired instead of suspended.
Then I. met in with Burton Williams.
He kneW all about the business. but
being a man who knew men, it didn't
worry him. ! was engaged after 10
minutes talk. and week later l was
sailing his boat out of Frisco. 1t was
a business and plea sure cruise, for
Burt had an idea to look into the
island trades. He didn't want money.
but he wanted to make it. Work was
Burt's idea of fun.
"WE touched at Honolulu and
then came along down to the
Gilberts, then right across to the
Marquesas, taking ST. Augustine and
Penrhyn on the way. After that we
struck Farallone Island. which is
north of Naumoo. which is north of
Farragut. Those three islands are
spaced about equal distance from each
other. Farallone is the biggest. We
raised 1t one morning about an hour
after sun-up: it's clean surrounded by
a reef with a break to the west, and
when we got into the lagoon white
chap came out in boat manned by
kanakas to give US the best anchor
age. He was the trader of the place.
from Devonshire, and back of the
beach he had his house with a big
garden, the best I've seen for its size
in the Pacific. The native village lay
beyond. along road where the palm
trees stood like soldiers. We sat on
the veranda and had drinks, and
CarStairs gave us news of trade.
which wasn't flourishing any too
much just then. and after we'd had
Of >,,t h.,cl hn c-1,i
and let out for Naumoo, wha clling up
the engines to 15 knots. Burt. who
was standing by me on the bridge.
asked me what l thought of Farallone.
I said what was in my mind-that it
was as pretty as picture, but week
of 1t alone like Carstairs would drive
me clean bughouse: and he agreed.
Then he hung silent a bit, till he
begins talking Of copra and allowing
there was little trade to be done now
adays, since the best pitches We're
collared by the soap companies. That
brought him up to the subject of the
treasure that was supposed to be hid
den on Farragut, the next island
beyond Naumoo. ''I'd heard some
thing about it and the expeditions that
had started after it years ago. and lit.
tie thinking how close we were to put
ting our hand on it. I suggested to
Burt that we should go and have
try. I was Joking. of course. and then
we forgot the thing, watching Nau
moo rising out of the sea with its two
lumpy hills cut on the sky and the
sea a-gulls banked like a cloud rising
and falling over the western reef
spurs.
In all the seas, I've never struck
an island so lonesome-looking as
Naumoo. Black rocks and cliffs,
broken reef and gulls. and something.
l don't know what, that seemed to
shout. Get away" The nearer we
got. the worse it looked. and it's the