Eventually Mr. A⸺ and seven other men succeeded in landing, carrying with them a limited quantity of provisions and some of the tools. They remained on the island from March 25 to April 17, during which time the vessel had been blown out of sight. Insufficient food and exposure to rain dispirited the men, and their imaginations were dismayed by the dismal aspect of these barren volcanic crags, and by the loathsome appearance of the land-crabs, which swarmed everywhere and continually attacked them.
They found what they considered to be the spot described by the pirate, but do not appear to have been quite so certain on this point as was young P⸺. Very little digging was actually done, “for,” says Mr. A⸺, “we had few hands on shore capable of standing the heavy work under such a burning sun.” They had only dug a small trench four feet deep into the landslip when the Aurea was sighted; then the sick and disheartened band refused to stay any longer on this accursed island, and insisted on being taken on board. So, leaving all their tools behind them—for in their anxiety to get away safely they would not be burdened with these—they were carried off to the vessel, so emaciated, weak, and ill that the captain came to the conclusion that he would lose most of his men if he landed them on so uninhabitable a spot, and, abandoning the search, he set sail for the West Indies.
This expedition, therefore, practically accomplished nothing. The problem as to whether the treasure was or was not lying under the landslips in Southwest Bay was as far from solution as ever.
Before the departure of the Aurea expedition from South Shields, a good deal had been written concerning it in the English papers, with the result that some other adventurous spirits, having had their attention drawn to this possible El Dorado, hurried away to Trinidad in order to anticipate the Tynesiders. The following letter appeared in an English paper on May 14, 1885. The Aurea people, of course, knew nothing of this rival expedition, until they returned to England:—
Trinidad in the South Atlantic
The Hidden Treasure Expedition
[From a correspondent.]
Kiel, .
Under this heading I have just now noticed a paragraph sent to the editor of a Danish daily paper, which, in its bearing on the well-known search-for-treasure expedition, may prove of interest to your readers, being in the shape of a letter sent from New York:—
New York, .
On my arrival in New York from Aracaju, I read in your paper of January 14, 1885, about an expedition to be started from Newcastle, to proceed to the island of Trinidad in the South Atlantic, with the object in view of finding a treasure buried there some time ago by pirates: and I am in a position to furnish some particulars which, in all probability, are connected with this affair. On January 13, 1885, I was chartered with my vessel in Rio de Janeiro to take over to the above mentioned island an American captain and four Portuguese sailors, together with a number of pickaxes, spades, etc., and a whaleboat. I was told that these people intended to go to this island to investigate if any “guano” was to be found. A voyage of eleven days brought us there, but we had to keep off the shore on account of breakers for over three days. The men were then put ashore, and remained on the island for four days, during which time they were occupied with boring and digging, whereupon we sailed back to Bahia, and landed them there. I believe that these men, either by telegram from England or by other means, had heard of the existence of a treasure on this island, and that they meant to anticipate the English expedition. However, they found nothing. I noticed very well that the American captain, as well as his men, were highly disappointed. Let me take this opportunity to dissuade all masters of vessels to search in this uninhabited island for fresh water. It is a matter of great difficulty and danger to put boats on shore, through coral reefs. The indications on the charts for casting the lead should be a good deal further from the shore. During the time we were there the wind was N. N. E. and the current to S. W., upon a speed of from 12 to 15 quarter-miles in 24 hours. In Southwest Bay, two cable-lengths from the shore, there is a reef not mentioned on the charts.
I found that the correspondent who sent this letter was correct in his information. When I called at Bahia with the Alerte, my ship-chandler, Mr. Wilson, told me the whole of this story as it was related to him by the American adventurer on his arrival at Bahia from Trinidad. It is somewhat strange that the excavations made by this party were not seen by the Aurea people, who landed on the island within two months of the departure of the Americans; but this islet has been so shaken to its foundations by earthquake
