COCOS— A TALE OF TREASURE 253 



grass, steep ravines and all-too-frequent torrents 

 of rain, the spade in his hand dwindles to an inade- 

 quate toy, and his compass-bearings seem always 

 to bring him to spots where recent landslides have 

 obliterated the clues that he was so sure of find- 

 ing when he should reach this island El Dorado. 



The origin of the treasure of Cocos goes back 

 to the year 1820 or '21. At this time there was an 

 ex-officer of the Portuguese navy, a man of good 

 family, who fell upon evil days and turned pirate. 

 His name was Benito, and he is generally referred 

 to by the euphonious appellation of Benito Bonito. 

 He lived up to the best traditions of swashbuckling 

 and bloodthirsty piracy, and ravaged the West 

 Indies and the east coast of South America with 

 great success. He dealt savagely with his crew 

 when necessary, and owing to certain prudent 

 habits, such as never appearing on deck without a 

 drawn cutlass in one hand and a cocked pistol in 

 the other, he flourished for several years. At length 

 the Caribbean became too hot even for one of his 

 ebullient ways, and he rounded the Horn to ply 

 his trade along the western coasts from Peru to 

 Mexico. He made several rich hauls, and is sup- 

 posed to have buried on Cocos a collection of loot 

 worth millions of dollars. Not long after, he was 

 captured, and he and most of his men were hanged. 

 Two who escaped were called Thompson and Cha- 

 pelle. 



Some years later, after Peru had won her 

 independence from Spain, that South American 

 republic was in the throes of civil war and counter- 



