TREASURES OF COCOS ISLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20958, 22 August 1931, Page 3 (Supplement)

TREASURES OF COCOS ISLAND.

SEARCHERS LEAVE CANADA

ISLAND OF BURIED WEALTH. .Armed with a device supposed to indicate the presence of metal under earth or water, a party of Vancouver men, headed by Colonel J. E. Leckie, lias sailed for Cocos Island. 500 miles off the coast of Costa Rica, to search for the fabulous treasure buried there, legend has it, by pirates who flourished in the brave days of banditry on the high seas. According to stories which Colonel Leckie and his companions hope to prove correct, Cocos Island has buried treasure of more than 300 tons, worth £12,000,000, the boofy of famous freebooters liko Thompson and Davis. Wealthy citizens of Peru are said to have added to this ricli store by hiding there jewels and gold in the revolution of 1883. Colonel Leckie has sailed direct to Costa Rica, where his expedition will be joined by a party of nine Costa Rican soldiers to protect the interests of that country. Costa Rica owns Cocos Island and will claim one-third of any treasure recovered.

Many parties have made fruitless search of the Jit tie island, including several from British Columbia, and Sir Malcolm Campbell, holder of the world's speed record for automobiles, was reported last year to be fitting out an expedition in England designed to reveal the pirates' hidden treasure. The Leckie party has maps and diagrams and ;ill the traditional equipment of such parties, but its hopes largely are based on the new electrical device with its mysterious affinity for buried metals.