A, E. Verrill— The Bermuda Islands. 619 
Davids Island in lieu of his pesent which consists of tenn times 
more land and intrinsick vallue then this Coopers Island, which he 
rather chose than the said Davids Island for the hopes he had as 
aforesaid, and likewise oblidged himselfe to the proprietors to man- 
taine seven men continually at his owne charge towards manning the 
forts of the said Islands. 
JosepH MING.” 
“ The Depositions of Mr. John Hurt, senior, of Tucker's Town, 
an antient inhabitant of these Islands, who deposeth and saith :” 
“That there was upon Cooper’s Island a yellow wood tree upon 
which was nayled a copper plate with a cross engraven upon it, with 
an inscription underneath, alsoe a great cedar tree oposite to it, upon 
which was engraven or carved many lettrs. Tryangle to them was 
a great heape of stones round about a Spanish jarr buried in the 
middle thereof, and on the middle of these tryangles was a leavett 
or plain piece of ground, which would never bare anything planted 
or sown thereon, though many tryalls have been made time after 
time in vaine, untill the said yellow wood tree were cutt downe, 
after which itt became as ffertill as any other ground. 
And this depont. ffurther sayth there was a person here accounted 
an expert astrologer, by name Ffrancis Jones, who informed one 
Mr. Ffarmer, a man of good repute here in these Islands, that in his 
opinion there was a great treasure hid in said Coopers Islands, which 
said Ffarmer did informe this depont. that the way to ffind it was by 
stretching or running a line in this tryangle, and this depont. 
ffurther sayth that hee with sundry others dugg downe ffour ffoote 
under ground and ffound the under part to be like marll or rock. 
And this depont. ffurther sayth that he has sundry times seene 
fire drakes rise out of the said place or ground, and assend the aire 
towards Ireland, by which scimtomes or marks this dpont. supposes 
a great rich shipp or Spaniard to be cast away or lost right off from 
this Cooper’s Island and that the people or Spaniards belonging to 
the said shipp gott on shore and buried some wealth in the tryangle 
or bare place aforesad.” .... 
The mark of Joun Hurt, senr. 
d.— Other Native Trees and Shrubs partially destroyed. 
Governor Moore, in 1612, stated that there were but four ‘ timber 
trees” on the islands. Besides the Cedar and Yellow-wood there 
was a third, which he says was similar to the Yellow-wood (perhaps 
only in quality), but its wood was white. 
