610 A. JE. Verrill — The Bermuda Islands. 



juncks, clefts, timber, boards, chests or plancks more than what they 

 have sufficient order for, shall for every offence in this nature, for- 

 feite and pay the some of 50 lbs of tobaco or the full value thereof 

 in good commodities, out of every w'ch such forfeiture, the Informer 

 of the same shall for his paines and fidelity receave 20 lbs." 



Probably it was highly prized in England as a cabinet wood, in 

 those days, on account of its hardness, fine grain, and peculiar color, 

 and the high price of the wood led to the illicit shipping of it, as in 

 the case of the cedar. 



Governor Lefroy, who identified this tree as above named, stated 

 that only one tree was then (1876) known to exist on the islands. 

 That one was in the Walsingham region, on a hill east of Paynter's 

 Vale, and was about ten inches in diameter. Whether it still exists 

 I do not know. 



He stated that he also found a few seedlings in the same locality, 

 but did not succeed in his efforts to transplant them, owing to the 

 very long tap-root, nor did he ever find the tree in flower or fruit. 

 He supposed that this was the only survivor of the tree in Bermuda. 



So rare a tree should have been carefully protected and saved from 

 extinction. But it is evident, from the several Governors' proclama- 

 tions and the early laws passed, that some effort was made to pre- 

 serve it. It is a native of the West Indies. 



This true Yellow-wood tree, which has aromatic, pinnate leaves, 

 belongs to the Rue family (Rutacea?), and is related to our Prickly 

 Ash. 



The Yelloto-wood Tree and the Legends of Buried Treasures. 



In 1690 a royal charter was granted to Thomas Neale, for the 

 recovering of treasures which, according to traditions, had been 

 buried on Ireland Island and Cooper's Island by the crews of ship- 

 wrecked Spanish vessels, before the Bermudas were settled. In con- 

 nection with this project, a number of interesting and curious depo- 

 sitions were taken, in 1693, from several of the aged inhabitants, 

 who had, many years before, seen the signs alleged to have been 

 erected to indicate the spots where the treasures were buried. Some 

 of them stated that about fifty years before they had themselves 

 engaged in searching for the treasures. Most of the depositions 

 referred to Ireland Island, where it was said a large amount of gold 

 coin had been buried under the sand and beneath the ship's hatches. 



In nearly all of the depositions, relating to both localities, a 

 Yellow-wood tree is said to have been found with an inscribed brass 



