TREASURE TROVE.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 348, 31 December 1915, Page 4

TREASURE TROVE.

The Berlin police are busy investigating one of the most extraordinary and mysterious cases with which they have ever had to deal,, says an Amsterdam correspondent. One day recently a mai appeared in Dusseldorf, where he began, to misbehave himself to a degree that was a scandal to the records of that -highly respectable city, spending money with such prodigality that he attracted the attention of the police. The man, when arrested, gave his same as Hendrik Andersen, declared himself to be a sailor, of which he had every appearance, was uncertain as to his nationality, spoke German with a strong foreign accent, and said that he was born in Sumatra in 1877.

He declared further t-hat on his last sea-voyage he had been one of a crew ,of a schooner, also of uncertain nationality, which had encountered in the Irish Sea a sloop which had evidently been torpedoed and abandoned. The schooner captain bad sent four men, of whom Andersen was one, on board the slpop. ThSre they discoverd a dead sailor and several coffers. Having thrown the dead seaman overboard, they opened the coffers, and found—shade of .Captain ! —120,000 gulden. The four men divided the money, gave -the-scbooner the slip, and steered for Holland, arriving at Flushing. Here a "smug- 1 gler’s agent’’ exchanged " Andersen’s Dutch money for German notes, with which he made haste to travel to Germany in order to spend his wealth like a true son of the sea in. sucb fortunate circumstances. Whatever truth there may be m Andersen’s story there is the fact that, when searched, no less than - 150 marks was found on him. Though speaking broken German, tbe police say that he employs a number of Cano- terms usual among German sailors. His body is covered with tattoo.