PIRATE GOLD

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 October 1938, Page 2

PIRATE GOLD

SCOTTISH. LAIRD SEARCHING FOR TREASURE. CLUES FROM LOCAL HISTORY. In a lonely little glen among the Carrick Hills, near the village of Lendalfoot, a Scottish laird is searching for treasure believed to have been hidden over a hundred years ago. The laird is Mr George Anthony Cathcart Walker Heneage, of Killochan Castle, near Govan, on whose estate Carlton Glen lies. No clue to the exact location of the treasure in the glen is available. There is no actual proof of its existence, but local history is clear upon several significant points. The treasure is said to have come from the holds of a pirate vessel, wrecked oft Lendalfoot. The body of a sailor was washed up from the ship, his pockets heavily laden with gold coins. Local smugglers, who were then strong and numerous, raided the wreck and carried off its gold to the mainland. Sir John Cathcart, ancestor of the present laird, was said to have had a close understanding with the smugglers. They were unwilling to share their rich find, however, and, turning traitors ’to Sir John, they buried the gold in a secret hiding place in the glen—or so the legend goes. Sir John, incensed by this treachery, handed the smugglers over to Government prevention officers. They were deported to Australia. Tales are still told by many of the older fishermen on the Ayrshire coasts who maintain that, as boys, they saw fish from the Lendalfoot waters which, when opened, were found to contain gold coins. On the strength of these stories and other information, the present owner of Killochan Castle has embarked on his search. Gardeners from the castle are his assistants, and the work of searching the glen is going ahead. The Carlton estate was last year spoken of as the site of a great new £150,000 Scottish holiday lido. The scheme has not materialised, however, and for some time the estate has been in the market. A guard is* mounted on the glen to keep away sightseers while the treasure search is in progress. Deep secrecy is being maintained. Mr Heneage admitted that the searchers had made a. highly significant find which had given him great encouragement. “I am completely satisfied that we are now on the track of something which will astonish everyone,” he declared.