GREAT DISCOVERY OF HIDDEN TREASURE.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 640, 24 February 1870, Page 4

GREAT DISCOVERY OF HIDDEN TREASURE.

The Panama correspondent of the Nc<o York Sun, writing on November 8, relates the following : — Your readerswill remember the story concerning 10, 000, 000d015. in silver buried on Cocos Island, which was started in San Francisco ten years ago, and has been probably published in every country newspaper in the United States. The tale was that a doctor in San Francisco was one night called to the bedside of a sick and poverty - stricken sailor. The doctor watched over him carefully, and made and paid for all his own prescriptions. In spite of all his precautions the sailor grew '. worse, and at last the doctor told him he must -die. The :mari was deeply affected, and wept bitterly. Death came over him slowly, but surely. On his dying bed, with tears in his eyes, he thanked the doctor for all his kindness, and said that he could and would repay him for all his trouble. In a few short breaths he told him that in his younger days lie had been a pirate. With twenty companions he had shipped at Callao, on a Spanish treasure ship, bound to Cadiz. When five days out, they rose and butchered the officers and passengers, after which the course of the vessel was ohanged due \vo3t. Three weeks afterwards, during a drunken carousal, the ship ran upon a reef of rocks fringing an island in. the Pacific, and before morning eight of the buccaneers were drowned. At the break of day they reached the shore in boats; and found the island fertile and pleasant. . After three days' hard work they brought tlie kegs of silver dollars to the shore, arid buried them. -The treasure amounted to over 10,000,000d015. As water. was scarce, and the provisions ori the wreck were totally damaged, the twelve , pirates took 0 to their boats, and steered for the coast of South America. Nothing was ever heard from one of the boats, .and it was probably swamped in a great storm which occurred three days after they had left 1 the islari'd. The provisibns'in the other boat soon gave out, arid ■ the men gradually became delirious from want of sustenance. Two jumped overboard, and were drowned. One of their icompanipns died in the boat, arid a fourth was killed by his comrades, who drank his blood. After drifting under a burning sun for two weeks; the survivors were picked' up by a passing vessel. • One of them died, on the following day, and the other lived to tell his ; story to hundreds of incredulous listeners, and to seek in vain for the means to return to the island. He was now about to end a life of disappointment* in death. At the conclusion of his story, the dying sailor drew from under his bolster a roll of papers, giving . the .latitude and longitude of the island as near as possible, and handed them to the doctor ; but before the physi1. cian could examine them, the old sailor died. The mutiny occurred during the Peruvian revolution against Spain, and the. sailor died in Sanj Fvanciscq 1 soiiie thirteen years a ; go. A caref ul'stndy of the chart located the island in;-. the vicinity of Gocos. The doctor embarked in the scheriie with ail' his wealth,; rigged out a schooner, andjvsailed from San JFrancisco .in searqh of the El Dorado. ; He returned a ruined man^unable to discover'the island. Other expeditions were fitted out, but none were successful. . . : In July, 1868, several gentlemen in this'city bought a -schooner and fitted out aii expedition/ There were • twenty-six persons in the pilrty. .They left in high spirits, with complete charts, and. seemed confident of success. The most of the party were - old - Californiaris, and were used to a life of adventure. Among the. party was one George Ctimmins^a man of large experience, who had; accompanied one of the previous expb'ditibns. They reached the island after fifty-six days' ! navigation, thoroughly Worn out and disgusted. They spent nineteen d'ayajthere, vainly looking for the hi^cUin: riches^ and then gave up the hunt as Entirely Utopian, setting sail again foi?*'Pl&j\vna, whence j Cummins came up to this city with the i news o| their blasted hopes. I Last winter. some of the superstitious and wealthy 1 citizens of Costa Rica began to agitate' the subject anew, A company was organised, cotriposed of some of the prominent Government oflHals, The matter was brought before the Costa I Rican Congress, and after an investigation they authorised the purchase of several Bhares of. the stock qn Govern-

meut account. A large majority of the members of the new expedition were soldiers, probably sent to look after the interests of the Government,-- A priest was also sent along to look after their spiritual welfare. They left Costa Rica in June last. N6thing was heard of them until yesterday, when a letter was received from one of the party by a friend in this city, oontalining intelligence of the discovery of the treasure. The letter states that all the treasure has not aa yet been obtained, and therefore no estimate of its value can 1 be given. The greater part of that which has already been dug out is silver, the most of it Spanish dollars.