Year: 1872

There has been an old man named
Stoner, living at - Inlet, on the
east coast of Florida, for the last
thirty years. His nearest neighbor is
fifteen miles, except three men who
keep the light house about three miles
off the coast. He livcs in little cab
in built on posts six or eight feet high.
He scarcely ever sees any person, |
have heard him say that it had been
the case frequently, that he had not
heard his own voice for two weeks at
time. The bears aud other varmints
would run his dogs up on the platform
in front of his door, where they would
howl all night long. lie said that his
dogs was the only musical instrument
he had.


Were you to ask him his object for
living there, he would say, its none of
your business" But read on, have
his secret. | had walked one hundred
miles in three days to get to the light
house, to leave on the first ship, and
happened to get acquainted with Mr..
Stoner, and stayed a month with him.


His secret is this, about the year
1902, private ship was pursued and
put in at this inlet. The pirates took
the treasures they had on board and
threw four yawl loads of safes and
iron chests containing English coin,
into the river, seventy-tive yards from
where Stoners cabin is, and hid the
jewelry, etc, in a hollow tree near by,
intending to return after them, if they
escaped. But they were captured and
all hung, except two boys, whom the
pirates had stolen. One of the boys
died before he was grown, and grim
fate took the other almost around the
world, until he was sixty years old,
when he returned to look after the
buried treasures, and found Stoner
near, to whom he divulged the secret.
To prove the truthfulncss of his story,
he told Stoner about the jcwclry hid
in the tree, (Stoner had found that,
but it was then worthless) and that
there was a natural cross in the solid
rock, on the bank opposite the treas
ures. The cross is there to be seen to
this day. The chests were in twelve
feet water, and Stoner had struck them
many times with his pole, as he crossed
and re-crossed the river, he noticed it
made his pole ring, but supposed it
was ballast thrown out by some ship.
Soon after this, the old man died, and
Stoner set his wits to possess the for
tune so near, yet so far away.


One day as he was looking over the
beech, he found trunk containing a
quantity of money, with which he went
off and bought large schooner, fit
ting it up with everything heart could
wish, or money buy, and hired a crew
to raise the chests, etc. But fortune
didn't favor him, the schooner was too
large to go up the inlet far enough, so
ne set his crew to cutting box wood,
intending to take cargo of that to
market, but unfortunately storm
came up and wrecked the schooner
before they could get her out to sea,
/ Stoner was again poor man, and
almost hopeless. The same storm
made bar across the intent, stopping
that mp and covering the treasures
with eight feet of gravel, and leaving
four feet of water. Stoner discharged
his crew, but never breathcd a word
to them about his plans for the future


| arrived there soon after this mis-
fortune, and he seemed to place con
6dcpcc in me, and told ME the wholt
secret, aud proposed that We shVulc
get il out aud then il would be ours
lie having hired two indians, we Sc
to work to open the inlet about quar-
ter Of a mile farther up, 20 the rive
would run round his place The rive