Jan. 16, 1897.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
43 
PODGERS'S COMMENTARIES. 
Burled Treasure. 
San Francisco, Dec. 28.— In your issue of Dec. 19 your 
correspondent Tarpon writes of the "Islands of the 
Pacific," and in the last chapter of Cocos Island, and 
speaks of the legend of pirates' treasure being buripd 
there, and of an expedition having at one time been fit- 
ted out from San Francisco to search for it. If he had 
said half a dozen expeditions he would have been within 
the facts. 
The story of an immense treasure having been buried 
there by pirates is one of the standing legends of the last 
half century, and it has been the occasion of the fitting 
out of at least four expeditions, that I can remember, 
from this port to search for the fabulous wealth. 
The story is that a sailor, lying sick unto death in some 
hospital, and being 
afflicted at that late 
day with a con- 
science, confessed 
to a comrade in at- 
tendance that he 
was the sole surviv- 
ing member of a pi- 
ratical gang that 
had looted a Span* 
ish galleon off the 
coast of Peru; and 
after the crew and 
passengers (several 
rich Peruvians flee- 
ing from political 
persecution with all 
their wealth) had 
been made to walk 
the plank, the pi- 
rates took the treas- 
ure aboard and, 
burning the ship, 
sailed gaily away for 
their rendezvous, 
wh'ch was Cocos 
Island. There they 
held high revel and 
drunken quarrels 
until the Kilkenny 
practice left but four 
survivors. They, 
fearing to be seen 
with so much 
wealth, agreed to 
bury it: and after 
filling their pockets 
with doubloons each 
was tattooed with 
the latitude and 
longitude of the is- 
land, which was 
then unknown. 
They then sailed for 
Panama; and when 
near the port burned 
their vessel; landed 
in a boat as ship- 
wrecked mariners, 
and making their 
way across the isth- 
mus scattered. One 
by one three of the 
four died, and this 
last one made the 
confession impart- 
ing the secret of the 
buried treasure. The 
man receiving it 
turned up in New 
Orleans; and hap- 
pening to be there 
fitting out a clipper 
schooner for a voy- 
age to Mexico, I 
was importuned to 
change my destina- 
tion and go for this 
treasure. The man 
who possessed the 
secret showed a 
sketch of the exact t 
locality where it 
was buried under a 
big dead tree; and 
he had the latitude 
and longitude of the 
island tattooed on 
his arm. He gen- 
erously offered half 
the find; and as evi- 
dence of good faith . --^^^..^^-.^ . ^ 
agreed that we 
might hang him 
from the yardarm if 
he proved false. But 
I lacked faith, and 
declined the attempt at the making of a big for- 
tune so easily, romantic as it was to a young chap 
fond of adventure. But singular to relate, I subse- 
quently purchased a schooner yacht in New York and 
sent her around- to San Francisco, and in less than a 
month after her arrival sold her to a party to go in quest 
of the Cocos Island treasure. That same surviving pi- 
rate had turned up here and had succeeded in enlisting a 
number of credulous people to furnish the necessary 
funds. The expedition sailed, loaded down with shovels 
and pickaxes. With an eye to possibilities, or as they 
thought certainties, they had a lot of canvas sacks made 
to contain the doubloons and jewels, and a strong iron 
tank or box located under the after deck with a huge 
lock and fastenings to prevent any tampering with the 
treasure on the return voyage, Some six months later 
they came back, quietly sneaking into the harbor without 
a doubloon or a jewel, their wealth consisting of some 
second, hand shovels and pickaxes. The schooner was 
sold and the concern wound up Since that time more 
expeditions have been fitted out from here, quite a uum- 
))er, a»a periodically the f^ver breaks out, ftnotbei- 
expedition sails, and returns with the same result; ao 
credulous can people be found, by whom the romance 
and fascination of buried treasure cannot be resisted, 
and who will put their money into these wild goose 
schemes. That Cocos Island treasure is one of the stand- 
ing jokes of the water front. 
A book was written some few years ago called "The 
Myths of the Middle Ages," wherein the author sets out 
to prove that all the old legends of William Tell, Pope 
Join, Rip Van Winkle and others are the veriest bosh; 
that there never was any such person as William Tell nor 
Gassier, and that the same legend was recited as occur- 
ring in every country on the face of the earth. What 
shou'd be done with a fellow who thus destroys the cher- 
iahed beliefs of our childhood? Confound him, hanging 
is too good for him. It is a wonder that he never got on 
to the Cocos Island legend. He would have proved as 
ingeniously that there never were any pirates, never any 
RTJFFED GROUSE AND WOODCOCK. 
From the original photograph. 
Cocos Island, never any treasure, and that sailors innu- 
merable had died all over the world with the same story 
on their dying lips; but happily there are still people that 
believe implicitly in William Tell, Pope Joan and Rip 
Van Winkle. It was only the other day that I saw in a 
Swiss saloon a large painting of William Tell in the act 
of drawing his bow, and a big apple on the head of a 
very fat, bandy-legged, overgrown boy, who seemed to be 
wondering what his chances were for bagging the apple 
as his perquisite. 
I hope Tarpon will continue his description of the 
"Islands of the Pacific," for there are but few that I have 
not visited. Especially did I make it a point to take in 
Juan Fernandez, on which I bagged one of Robinson 
Crusoe's goats, or a descendant, a patriarchal old Billy 
that we pssayed to eat; but he was of the Samson brand, 
and even old Jack in the forecastle could not stand him, 
but threw him to the sharks. By the way, I read in a 
recent newspaper that a ship reports that the island has 
been completely destroyed by the bursting out of an ex- 
tinct volcano. The rumor needs confirmation. 
{a readi&g the last number of Forest xsq Qm&m, 
I see you quote from the British Medical Journal some 
opinions on the injurious effects of bicycle riding by chil- 
dren under seven years of age, which changed my views 
in regard to an investment for a "bike" for a young gen- 
tleman who had claims on me for a "Christmas," and he 
will not thank you for being the cause of his not receiv- 
ing it. But while the article opposed the first proposi- 
tion, it advocated the use of the machine for old duffers 
as invigorating exercise, which accounts for our seeing 
so many old parties wabbling through the streets, which 
I contend is an undignified practice for gray hairs, es- 
pecially several judges of the courts, whom I see hard at 
it; but it is not quite as objectionable as seeing girls in 
bloomers. Of course I shall be set down aa an old fogy, 
and behind the times, but it is too masculine, and that 
ungraceful pumpipg of the limbs I object to, and when 
it comes to a rear view— well I there is an explanation of 
why jou"g gentlemen's eyes bulge out so when one 
chair is doing the 
duty of two ; weighty 
reasons. 
, . ^ .. . .. A year or two ago 
there was an ani- 
I mated discussion in 
the Eastern news- 
papers, which has 
been recently re- 
newed, as to wheth- 
er sharks ever dined 
on human beings. 
Mr. Herman Oel- 
ricbs^ challenged the 
production of any 
reliable proof that 
there was ever any 
such instance, 
whereat he was in- 
undated with letters 
from people who 
had witnessed sharks 
eat men, and he 
had to take water, 
that is, the northern 
waters as meant. 
I see that some 
skeptic suggests that 
Mr. Oelrichs try the 
experiment by 
jumping into the 
tank in the Castle 
Garden Aquarium 
containing a shark, 
which proposition 
he wisely declines. 
I doubt if the shark 
would be so impolite 
as to make a meal 
of him; but what a 
drawing card it 
would be to witness 
the experiment. If 
the shark should 
happen to be an ar- 
ticle imported from 
say Port Royal, I 
would not care to 
insure Mr. Oelrichs 
coming out un- 
scathed, as I have 
myself witnessed the 
gobbling of a sailor 
in the bay of Pan- 
ama, who fell over- 
board and was torn 
to pieces before he 
could be rescued. I 
hope Mr. Oelrichs 
will never try the 
experiment in those 
waters, as he is too 
valuable a member 
of society to furnish 
the menu for the 
well-known appe- 
tites of those deni- 
zens of the deep. 
Sharks and alliga- 
tors are consider- 
ably in my debt, es- 
pecially alligators — 
for one cocker span- 
iel and one pointer 
pup, not to mention 
one three-year-old 
little darky, in 
which I had not so 
much interest. 
PODGERS. 
[We may add as 
commentary upon 
Podgers's Commen:- 
' taries that an expe- 
dition has recently 
gone out from this 
city to look for hid- 
den treasure; and our recollection of the account, as 
given in the papers at the time, is that the sanguine for- 
tune hunters were bound for this same alluring Cocos 
Island. We have had in these columns from time to 
time several accounts of hidden treasure expeditions, in- 
cluding the search for the plunder concealed by Black- 
beard, the pirate of North Carolina waters. D. Henshall 
once wrote of the Punch Bowl , a great spring of fresh 
w^ater on the shore of Biscayne Bay, Fla. , fabled to have 
been the hiding-place of treasure for the buccaneers and 
pirates who once infested the Florida coast.] 
Dog Fancier: "Yes, madame, I have all kinds of dogs 
here. Is there any particular breed you wish?" Old lady 
(who reads the papers): "Oh, anything that's fashionable. 
Lemme see an ocean greyhound." — New York Weekly . 
"My child," said the old herring to the young herring, 
by way of parting advice, "the whole ocean is before you, 
but don't go too near those canneries along the coast of 
Maine unlpsa ygu yf^u^ |o tgi; ^ saT^iPe,"— (7/^^ 
go TrMiWi 
