Happy to oblige dear friend.
Unfortunately, this will be the last one for a while; I am due to depart on my little trip fairly soon and will be spending the next few days tying-up the last few loose ends before proceeding. Truth be known, I am fairly anxious to try and ensure all goes as planned, well, most things, because I am acutely aware that it is all very 'new' to me and I am deeply alert to being taken for a ride by those well versed in the trade. But nothing ventured, nothing gained and all that...
Back to the story.
In the 1820s in Bonney Scotland, there was a baby born out of wedlock to a mother who lived in a small village. This child grew-up and moved to London to make his fortune and ensure that the pass wrongs done to him and him mum were rectified. He gained meaningful employment in a banking institution and soon became a trusted and liked member of staff.
After a while in this position, this person took a one way trip to the west coast of the Americas. It was unplanned and something had happened where he needed to make a hasty exit. On the journey around the Horn, he decided that he would make a fortune regardless of what he had to do, who he had to deceive and who he had to cheat. It was a strange journey with families hoping to settle in California, traders looking to expand operations, financiers bringing their considerable wealth and power to the aristocracy in the New World who were going through lean times for various reasons and, of course, the desperadoes and shysters hoping to carry out their nefarious activities in this vast new land of opportunity and possible incredible riches.
This chap was very reticent to talk about where he was coming from, where he was going and what his hopes and aspirations were for the future. Some took it as a sign of simplicity, others as aloofness. When serendipity sometimes calls, you have to stay prepared and this chap managed to find a position with a small company that traded goods and was based in Mexico and run by an Englishman. Because of his tendency to keep quiet and carry out instructions to the letter, the owner called him around his home along with some of his confidants. At this meeting, Scot and English were joined by three chaps from the same family who were friends and associates of English. By this time, Scot had become friendly with them as well. English gave a nice dinner to them and said he wanted to tell them about a secret he had been carry for the last 25 years and had never divulged to a single soul before. This intrigued the others and over drinks, English told his story.
In the 1820s when English worked for a trading company, he was stuck in Lima at the time of the Bolivar revolution. There was perfect turmoil and apprehension everyday for a considerable period and the wealthy families, church and authorities were extremely concerned with their accumulated wealth and it falling into the hands of the rebels. There was pandemonium in trying to secure passage out of the port - Callao - and there was a dearth of suitable transportable shipping. Vast treasures built up at the port and was literally there for the taking. Some in desperation sought to bury their goods in the mountains or try mule trains to Chile. Most wanted to ship their treasures and wealth to the west coast of Mexico or Central America. Anyway, Johnny Englishman through trading connections managed to get a berth on a ship to Vancouver that was carrying vast amounts of rough silver plate of various traders and gold from some aristocratic families. The captain of this ship had no intention of completing the journey and took a detour to the Galápagos Islands. But he had not banked on the reception committee waiting there. Without taking much precautions they tried to land but were met with a barrage of fire and shot from pirates that were holed up there and had no intention of letting them land. English was thrown overboard in the confusion and was dreading being washed up on the island and being captured by the Pirates there. The ship was hit badly and slowly but surely sank. By a fortuitous piece of luck, English found driftwood and managed to cling onto safety and dear life. He was picked up by a small boat that had avoided the islands after seeing the fire and mishap to the ship when it had tried to land its crew. The captain of this boat had spied the drama through his eyeglass. English told his story to him and was told that they'd let him stay with them. One night, English found some boxes in the hold that had the name of a French company he had often traded with and knew instinctively that they held bullion... The captain found the Englishman and demanded to know what he was doing. English came clean that he was literate and knew the French trading company the boxes belonged to. The captain confessed that his small boat and ruffian crew had been hired to take the wealth of the Frenchies to Valparaiso but had no intention to and they were intent on hiding the goodies until the furore died down and they could retrieve it. They had set course for Cocos Island...
During the trip the only literate other person was the first mate who kept the log and navigation records, and he was taken ill so the captain started to rely on English and he knew that to stay alive, he would have to ingratiate himself with the devious captain. After reaching the small island, the captain circled it twice to ensure that not a single soul was there and after some hesitancy, they came ashore. The boxes were brought after they selected a 'secret spot' that the captain believed would be secure until his return. English being wise in the ways of playing cutely, suggested he would draw a map and leave markers for the captain that would be instinctively known when he returned. English purposely chose an ambiguous spot where he knew that foliage would regrow quickly and a landslide or movement would easily obscure the spot and make it seem one of a hundred there. English surreptitiously made notes of the exact location and immovable markers such as a huge boulder that is still there in Chatham Bay on the island.
After the captain, English and two others had spent some time carefully concealing the treasure, the captain told English about the "Loot of Lima" which an English captain and recently stolen and reputedly buried somewhere on this lonely island. At this moment, the Englishman only had thoughts of getting away but listened to the story intently.
Even though the captain was now an outlaw, true to his word to English, he set him free in Central America with the warning never to divulge what had happened.
English 25 years later, with his business not doing too well, wanted to try and find out what had happened. He learnt from contacts that the captain and his crew had been caught and possibly hanged and the Frenchies had never recovered their wealth...
He now wanted to arrange an expedition as he truly believed the treasure was exactly where they had buried it. English asked Scot to buy a small boat, with provisions for the five people present and they would try and recover it. After making the necessary arrangements, the motley group set off. They reached Cocos Island and English started to think back to that day a quarter of a century earlier....
English was excused from labour due to his health and age but the other four set to work industriously. There was much debris and waste to clear and it was obvious that the island was now a regular stopping spot for passing ships. There was much earth to clear but the chaps didn't grumble and looked forward to retrieving the treasure if it was still there. After some time, they found it alright, but English started to hesitate...He said he could not be sure it was the same treasure!
This perplexed the others but they realised it was simply a tactic to try and not assume any guilt as he knew very well who the true owners of the hoard really were...
The others played along to ease their own consciences and didn't dwell on it too much.
After securing the treasure, they let greed assume their thoughts and they asked English did he think he knew were the Loot of Lima might be? He explained that the captain had simply said it was in a cave at the base of a mountain. They made a halfhearted attempt to look for it but knew that they were pushing their luck.
They went back to Mexico and split their find and all became extremely rich. Scot made a further fortune in the quicksilver mines of California during the gold rush there. English became a hugely successful property magnate and went back to England where he bought a title and sumptuous castle. The three others became mining, rail and trading barons who are well remembered in the annals of San Francisco history...
And it all started with a little treasure story over drinks one evening...
IP
NP
