A LOST TREASURE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 280, 24 November 1881, Page 4

A LOST TREASURE.

Tbo war of the Foulh American Allied Powers, consisting of theEnpire of Brfzil end tbe Argentine aed Uruguuyen Republics, egainst the litt'e inlard S^afp of Puta«uay, which contnerced in 1865 aud only terroinsted in 1870, faaa row passed out of the memory of the Briti-h public, except in she case of (hoje persons who e till hold the bonds of the clefr.uiling State, and li\-e io hopes thtt circumstances may occur to increase ihe value of the comparatively unless securities they cow po.=aees. But at the ti-rr-e is was ws-ged (he war uttracsed a good deal of atie:i?ion, en! (be English public svaipnthis.'rJ wiih the sufferings or the Pjra^n'-ysns, admired their courage and stolii resistance, and watched with interest the phosfs end incidents of the lon^ and terrible combat, uatil &t length it t'lrmir-nted on the banks of the Aquedarun, where Francisco Sohno loppz, Mjinhcl-President of the Republic, ?md promottr cf endless carnage and misery, fo'jnd an almost heroic death, fiiliinjr, with his eldest son at his si- : e, in a last struggle with the Br&ziii-m cavalry. One incident of the loo^ weary mf<rch northward, on which tLe Marshal started in the hope ot p&capio» from .hi* energetic pursuers, by passing into Bolivian territory, ie not without inierecr, end possesses & certain attraction on accouDt of the mystery with which it ia surrounded, Before proceeding to relate it a few prefatory remarks are requisite. Paraguay had, prospered for many yearsuaud its wealth had been very constantly increasing. Internally it possessed nearly every resource necessary for the maintenance of its population, and the vlaus of the goods exported to the riverine portE of t'Baenos Ayres end Montevideo far exceeded the. value of the imlorta ; the balance consequently was paid io hard cash, aad the Treasury had accumulßtad a Lr^e amount of specie. On iha declaration of war tbe sobservient Chambers a! outvoted an extraordinary supply of five millions of dollars to carry it on effectually* which sntn they placed entirely at the disposal of the Presilent, and on this security he immediately in troduced a large forced issue of paper money. - Before loog he further added to his store by a levy; supposed to be voluntary, but which was rigidly enfolded, not only on the "moveable. property of the male inbabitacts, but eveiron the jewels and ornaments oi the "female portion of the population. It is difficult to ascertain the value of tbe property thus realised, which heß been ettiimt ted at from fifteen to twenty millions of dollars, but undoobtedly a very large gum wes accamuloted, for ihe war was popular, the women possessed many ornaments in gold and silver, often enriched with precious stonea, and thfse tbey willingly poured into tbe lap of Mrs Lyocb, an Englishwomac, who, although previously: married, was the life partner of the Marshal, B nd until the end shared with him his pleasures and troubles. The drafts on the wealth thus colif-cieJ were exceedingly email. No cash payments were required. The troops wer&only doing their duty in leading th«ir services to the fatherland, ani consequently there waa no necessity to pay tbem. True, they must have food, but the requirements of a Paraguayan Boldier sre few, and beef was euppiied without expe&se from the innun:erabh cattle that herded oo the pasture lauds, while the forests furnished the ,s yeroa mate." Thus it happened that whee the last scene opened, and the Mcrshal, accompanied by Mrs Lynch and their eon, commenced Lis march northward, he took with him a tr*io of carte containing,, still needy intact, the moneys voted by the Chambers and the property collected from the iohabitsnia Preeeed by the Brazilian cavalry, ihe s&lvation of life soon teceme the fire? consideration, snd yet he coold no bear to sscrifice his wealth. He determined to bury it, and although u number of laborers would be r; quired to effect its interment, he tcok hie me&Bures bo that tbe secret hidiog place should be kno\yn to only a few people. A soperior officer, with thirty men, end accompanied by a civil engineer, were told eff for the duty. The working party soon completed their labors, and the engineer lock the exact bearingaof the spot where tbe treasure had been deposited, and within a few hours every tran who had been engaged in tbe work had been executed, sn.l the secret remained only in the possession of the Marshal, his private secretary, and Mrs. Ljtch. The two formei' died together, end it j 3 sttti:that the secret of the "lost treasure "is known only to the latter, and that ss yt-.t she his never bad the opportunity of recovering it. Foro* years afterwards she returned to Paraguay, but the authorities refused ber permission to remain, and attempte — one nnder tie auspices of English merchants at Buecos Ayree, have been made to And if, but onsnccessfnily. No rumors have been current that it has been abstracted, nor hss any Monte Cbrieto appeared to startle tbe world with fabulous wealth. Probably, to this day, hidden in one spot in the wjLis of Paraguay, there is lying a treasure sufficient to place that unhappy country on its legs, and wipe out its debt to England.—" Bullionist."