TO HUNT FOR BURIED TREASURE.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXIII, Issue XXI, 18 November 1899, Page 933

TO HUNT FOR BURIED TREASURE.

A TALE OF THE BUCCANEERS. An expedition is about to leave New York to dig for the long lost treasures of ancient Panama, sacked by the buccaneers of the Caribbean Sea in 1671. The scheme is being pushed by a syndicate of capitalists who have bought outright two good-sized islands off tihe Cuban coast, supposed to contain beneath t>helr sands veritable mines of silver and gold, wrought and in ingots, besides precious stones of priceless value, all transported from the ill-fated city of the isthmus when it was the -wealth centre of the old Spanish Main. General A. G. Greenwood, formerly of the staff of the Confederate General Rol>ert E. Lee, is tihe active promoter of the enterprise. The islands are Cayo Romano and Cao Cruz, satellites of Cuba, closely adjacent to the eastern half of her northern coast, within a day’s sail from Puerto Principe. Cayo Romano is eighteen by ninetyone and Cayo Cruz but eleven by fourteen miles in dimensions. They were purchased for a round million, paid to certain French and Spanish owners. The clue to the alleged location of the lost treasure was recently unearthed from certain ancient historical records telling an adventurous story outdoing the most bloodthirsty tales of Captain Kidd. In 1510, the story runs, one Vasques Nunez de Balbao, escaping in a bread cask from Hayti, -where he had been sentenced to undeserved execution, crossed tihe isthmus of Panama, upon whose Pacific coast he found a beautiful Indian village, since called Panama. which became a Spanish settlement. A landing was built upon the nearest convenient harbour, soon afterwards connected with the village by a paved mule road. This harbour became the depot for all Spanish trade with the Southern Pacific coast, especially for the dazzlinar products of the Peruvian mines, already yielding enormous wealth to the Spaniards, who endeavoured to keep their El Dorado a secret from other nations. GOLD PILED IN STREETS. Soon the village of Panama spread to this harbour, and when the slow and bulky galleons of those days—fearing tihe perilous trip round the Horn —anchored now and then on ihe Atlantic side, heavy shipments of gold and silver were carried across the isthmus, loaded upon .these lumbersome craft, and transported to Spain. Thus Panama, became a flourishing port, richer than any settlement founded in those days in any of the Americas. Indeed, according to the story, “bars of silver and ingots of g 0... were piled in the streets without fear or anxiety for their safety. When Pope Alexander VI., in 1524, issued a bull conferring all of the Americas upon Spain, England and France cried aloud with ridicule, and soon Europe rang with stories of cruelties inflicted by the jealous Spaniards upon luckless traders caught trespassing upon the guarded waters skirting their new-found treasureland. The American seaas speedily swarmed with English, Scotch, Welsh and French adventurers, named at that time “buccaneers,” because they rationed their ships with “boueon,” a strange food furnished them by the island tribes of Caribbean Indians. These buccaneers left their native lands ostensibly with the patriotic motive of bringing down vengeance uj>on the heads of the Spaniards for the torture of their countrymen. They pounced upon every Spanish ship spied in Western waters, and soon afterwards, when England and Spain went to war, many received licenses from the King as privateers. One of these buccaneers, the hero—rather the villain—of this story, was one Henry Morgan, a Welshman. Hearing of the fabulous wealth of Panama, he formed a giant conspiracy, by which, in 1670, thirty-seven vessels, English, Scotch, Welsh and French, belonging to buccaneers in Jamaican, Tortugan, and Santo Domi ncian waters, were, with 2,200 freel>ooters aboard, to rendezvous off the coast of Santo Domingo, then, as now, the cradle of bloodshed and intrigue. HARRY MORGAN’S EXPLOIT. Morgan, in his ship, the Kite, was elected admiral on sea and command-er-in-chief on land. Sailing first to the island of St. Catharine, he captured it, and found there in a dingy prison three Spaniards, who had been deported from Panama on account of crime. Appreciating that these wret-

ches must know the hiding places of the magnificent treasure, Morgan gave them choice of treachery to their country men or horrible desith. They ehose the former.

Landing at the mouth of the Chagres river, which flows from the middle of the isthmus into the Atlantic, the buccaneer Admiral left, an assignment of his crew with fhe ships, ami. taking 1300 with him. built a mosquito fleet of canoes. With these he ascended the stream, and after a march of nine days from its source he and his men defeated a large detachment, of soldiers w'hom the Spaniards, warned of his approach, had sent to meet him. Utterly routing these, the buccaneers entered the city only in time to see a fleet of ships laden with the bulk of the treasure —the gold, the silver, t'he precious stones, and the defenceless women —of the city putting out to sea.

Through horrible tortures inflicted upon surviving Spaniards, Morgan learned the destination of this expedition to be the island of Taboga, in the Pacific. Boarding a galleon anchored in Panama harbour, the buccaneer slaughtered its crew, replaced it with twenty-five of his own men, and sent it after the fleeing treasure ships. Soon this galleon returned with three of the larger vessels. “laden with specie and valuable goods,” also the wives and daughters of many wealthy Spanish residents of hig'h station. Scouring the environs of the town, detachments of the freebooters further captured about a hundred mules heavily packed with valuable treasures and escaping to the forests. THE SACKING OF PANAMA.

Morgan found Panama to contain seven thousand houses, built of 'heavy cedar and adorned with costly hangings, rare paintings—everything which luxury could afford. Interspersed among these elegant homes of grandees and rich merchants were beautiful gardens, villas, and haciendas. Surrounding fhe city were walls, with parapets and watch towers, heavily fortified. But the Spaniards were poor marksmen, and fled in terror before their pursuers.

I’anama had become the see of a Roman Catholic Bishop, with fifteen thousand communicants, and contained, besides a cathedral, a large church, several hospitals, and seven monasteries and convents, all richly adorned with ceremonial ornaments of gold, silver, and costly jewels. Portions even of these valuables had been conveyed away by the inhabitants, but by administering more of their horrible tortures upon the priests and friars, many of w'hom died on the rack, nearly all were discovered in wells and caves. Many warehouses yet remained full of valuables. Another excursion in the captured galleon brought back from Tabogilla, another Pacific isle, rich prizes which had been hurried there.

Dazzled by all of his ill-gotten riches, yet craving for still more, Morgan remained in Panama three weeks, taking possession of the richest villa in the city for his head-quarters. Here he held captive the Beautiful wife of a wealthy Spanish merchant, who protected her virtue only by aiming a dagger at her heart whenever he approached her. Meanwhile his men violated the helpless women deserted in the city and those returned with the captive treasure ships, sparing not even the nuns in their convents. Although their leader had endeavoured to suppress drunkenness among them by declaring all of the liquor in the city to 'have been poisoned by the escaping populace, these ruffians sank into such lawless debauchery that the new-found paradise became transformed into a veritable hell. Learning or a plot of certain of the buccaneers to make away with his booty over the Pacific, Morgan ordered every ship in I’anama harbour to be burned. His command was obeyed.

When t'he time for departing had arrived, the collected treasure had become so enormous that one hundred and twenty-five pack animals, mules, and cattle, heavily laden, were required to carry it back to the source of the Chagres, whither the murderous buccaneers retraced t'heir steps, followed by six hundred prisoners, most of them women, the latter deafening the heavens with their moans and cries, as behind them they saw the flames devouring their 'homes. MUTINY GF THE BUCCANEERS. Reaching the canoes, which had awaited his return under guardian-

ship of a small detail of men, Morgan summoned his six hundred captives l.efore him ami gave them fhree days in which to furnish an extravagant ransom or lie trans|M>rted as slaves. A few were able to find the sum required, aming them the lieautiful woman whom Morgan had held in his villa. The remainder were borne away. The night previous to the day set for the sailing of the galleons Morgan made a distribution of his enormous spoils, allowing each of his followers the worth of only about L’4o in our money, or a total share valued at £9OOO.

That fhis was but a meagre fraction of the total booty is borne out by the fact that most of the buccaneers became enraged to such a degree that Morgan was faced by a serious mutiny. probably the loss of his life. While the crews of all but three of 'his attendant ships were sleeping, on the same night, he slyly raised his sails. 1 lie three vessels in question, whose crews were promised more, and which contained fhe great bulk of the treasure, followed. The enraged buccaneers did not discover their predicament until far too late to give cfiase.

Before morning had dawned upon these sluggards the admiral was well on his way towards Cuba. Skimming the north coast and keeping a careful look-out behind, he came upon Cayo Romano and Cayo Cruz, then, as now. unin'habited. In one of these islets, in a spot to which the new owners hold the mysterious clue, the treasures were quickly buried; only a few of the crew, allowed to come ashore, being admitted to the secret. The galleons weighed anchor again and sailed to another point in the island coast. Here the unhappy women and girls were left, under guard to await the pleasure of their new lord and master.

Morgan thereupon put off for Eng-

land, where. upon relating his victory over the hated S|Ninish. he was graciously levtivrtl by Charles 11.. made commander in t'he naval establishment of (treat Britain and knighted. Hr set to work to formulate another extensive biiccaneerii<|g scheme, but the King, fearing criticism, prevented its organisation by a Royai order. T'he bloodthirsty pirate admiral, now Sir Henry Morgan, was disposed of through his appointment to the lieutenant - governorship of •himaiea. While in t'hat island hr was haunted by constant dread of his surviving comrades, sharing, as they did. the secrets of his buried treasures. Hr took pains to put several of them to death.

Seventeen years after the sack of I’anama. Morgan died, liearing with him to the ot’her world, according to common belief, the hidden key to his earthly storehouse of gold, silver, and precious jewels.

Cayo Romano and Cayo Cr.iz since l then have remained practically insignificant and undeveloped.