Misc data and adventures of a Tayopa treasure hunter

How amazing treasure hoard or caches can turn up in strangest of places as much as the human imagination can allow.:icon_thumleft:

Mal


It is amazing, SSM, that human beings will come-up with the strangest and most interesting places to store their goodies. This lady or gentleman was obviously a "player" and probably played their music safe in the knowledge that their goodies were close by...It must have been a secret and the owner more than likely had an untimely demise without relaying their information..


IPUK
 

Time gents

It appears my time lurking on internet is over. My officers have completed all their assignments and I have get clearance papers in order. Will be leaving on the tide.

You know whats funny typing here has made me dream speaking in English and not Chilean:laughing7:

Mal


Good luck - it has been super sharing stories and thoughts with you, SSM.


IPUK
 

Time gents

It appears my time lurking on internet is over. My officers have completed all their assignments and I have get clearance papers in order. Will be leaving on the tide.

You know whats funny typing here has made me dream speaking in English and not Chilean:laughing7:

Mal

Good to share stories with you amigo...wish u nice travel!
TT
 

mal. always temember." red sky in the morning, sailors mourning,red sky at night, sailors delight. To hell with those fancy gadgets :hello:
 

mal. always temember." red sky in the morning, sailors mourning,red sky at night, sailors delight. To hell with those fancy gadgets :hello:
"Red Sky in morning. Sailor take Warning"
Actually saw that on the Atlantic, then we went through Hurricane Beulah.
Watched the Flight Deck Elevator on the America break free from the bottom position and go all the way past the Flight Deck and into the water, gone. She went down as the water was going up. Don't know if they didn't have the breaks/locks set or not but it was impressive to watch from our Destroyer. Swells were breaking almost up to the Bridge on my destroyer.
 

more AU, MORE``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]ooooOOOOOOOOOOQD1

DOVE HELPING ME TYPE. Actually looking for cookie crumbs between the keys.
 

Last edited:
OK you'll have a laugh about this but it shows the mind set of military types. lol When we left Norfolk in January 1966, I was made a "MessCook" for 3 months. THat was for cleaning the dining area, washing the metal trays the food was served on and dumping the garbage over the Fantale/back of the ship. As we were in the middle of the storm, I and another guy carried/pushed 2 metal trash cans up the ladder from the scullery to carry back to the rear of the ship to dump the garbage. Right there was protection from the swells for about 15 feet(?) that we could look over at the other ships in sight on that side(Starboard). THat was when I saw the America loose the Flight Deck Elevator. We looked at the back or our ship and watched 4-6 foot waves washing over the back of the ship. "F That!" We lifted both garbage cans one at a time and tried dumping the first one and almost got washed away, so we then just threw them both overboard one at a time. Not much later, we had the Duty Boswain come down to the Mess Decks and ask us if we threw the garbage over the side and not over the FanTail.
"You bet we did." The Sonar techs got good signals from the garbage and the garbage cans when we tossed them. LOL "Why didn't you take them to the back of the Ship?" "Because we wanted to stay alive!" They didn't think about the water breaking over the back of the ship, just that the garbage messed up the sonar readings for 1-3 minutes. Actually didn't get in trouble for that one. LOL
 

Ladies and gentlemen. I swore that I would never post any experiences during WWII, since the majority of the men and woman had considerably more violent ones. How ever having experienced insomnia during the past week, sometimes only getting 1/2 hr sleep a night, I found my self groggily remembering some of the less violent periods sooooo.\\

As I rember it was in early 1943, things had quieted down on Guadalcanal, so being bored, when I heard rumors of a small Japamese ammo dump about 7 miles from Henderson I decided to take advantage of it to collect suitable souvenier trading materiel for the newcomers. That is where I acquired my Collins Legitmus Bowie knife from a disgruntled Marine who wanted some bootleg booze, I had it on my Yucatan / Quintana Roo explority trip looking for Mayan ruins -- but that is another story.

Anyway one day I used differt trail and soon found myself on a flood basin, it was almost a mud. around it were a series of one man foxholes,, apparently of a squad. All were filled with human remains, but with no weapons or ammunition. Apparently s quad had been caught ny the Japanese and wiped out during the night, In one, the dog tags were still visible, so I removed one, then posted the oiher overlooking the foxhole for future identification. Later, aftert the war I reported the incident to the Marine Corp for their grave registration,, The tag was issued to James Francis Pierce, a corpman 3 rd class and subsequentally was recovered and buried in Arlington.

I can just barely feel the fear of being in an isolated foxhole, afraid that every little noise was an enemy covered with grease so as to be very slippery and armed with two knives sithering into your foxhole in an especially dark part of the jungle. The worst of nightmares come true.

I had a soft, easy, war in comparison. I have often wondered how many Japanese looked at me over their rifle signts and debated with thenselves if I was worth discovery to shoot me >
 

Last edited:
More Navy humor and true story. Just can't make these up. We sailed out of Key West for our ORI (Operational Readiness Inspection). After we got out a ways from land, the Inspectors stated handing out slips of paper saying we were under attack and where the ship was taking hits. Suddenly the ship lost 1/2 the forward speed and pulled to one side. They used the sound phone to call the after boiler room but no one answered. The Capitan looked at the Inspectors and asked "Is this part of the Drill?" "No!" So he sent a messenger back to find out what happened. Well he got tired of opening and closing the hatches on the way, so he opened and outside hatch and went down the outside of the ship. As he got near the outside hatch for the after boiler room, he sees all these reserves sitting on the deck outside the hatch and steam coming up through the hatch. "What happened?" "We don't know, all we know is that the first and second class told us to get out!" He Yelled down the hatch, "What happened?" "One of the pipes for the boiler blew." "Why didn't you answer the phone?" Because the steam is still blowing out and it is between us and the phone." Super Heated Steam leaks are found by waving a broom in front of you until it has the straw cut off. He went back to the bridge and told the Capitan. The Inspectors started yelling we had to go back to Port, right now. The Capitan looked at them and said, "Did we Pass?" "What?" "We can still steam and still fight, so if you are going to call it off, did we pass?" "Yes! You passed, now get us back to Port." As we were coming in to the Pier at Key West (Reinforced Concrete), we lost all water pressure to the forward Engine Room. Reasoner (more stories about "Big Al" later) was on the Helm and cut it as hard over as he could. We hit the pier as the Boswain called "Away all lines" and Leslie who was holding a sledge3 hammer to knock the Pelican Hook holding the Anchor chain, thought he meant him too. He hit the Hook and freed the chain just as we hit. The anchor went out onto the Pier and into a Dumpster. As we got pressure back and backed away from the pier, the Boswain had run over to the Anchor Winch and locked the brake. Si we then dragged the Dumpster off the pier and sunk it. When they raised the anchor, all that came up was some garbage. So we Sunk a Dumpster at the Pier, and messed up the bow of the destroyer and took out about 4 feet long by 3 foot deep of the concrete pier. Ah the Joys of being in the service. Had to stay in port while they patched the bow. LOL Like I said you just can't make some of these up.
 

good one swabbie. more. (" I "was an airdale) Hooligan navy, humph.
When I first met "Big AL", I first got to the ship about 10 P.M. I was showed to what was to be my bunk for the next year. Bottom bunk of 3. I put my stuff away in the locker and lowered the bunk and crawled in. At 6 AM I crawled out and stood up and saw this guy asleep in the top bunk wearing Western shirt, pants and boots. One of the other guys shook him awake and he slid out and started yelling. "Oh no! I did it again" "Both of my dress Blues are in the locker in town!" How an I going to get them?" That was Al Reasoner from Muleshoe, Texas. He had come back from Liberty 2 nights running wearing his western clothes drunk. LOL One of the others had to go over that night and get his Dress blues for him so he could leave the ship in uniform. It was a shock to see first thing in the morning on a Navy vessel. He was a 3RD Class Gunners Mate. Really nice guy, but a little strange, but he was from Texas. His best friend Dusty Pate was more "normal". LOL
 

Well folks, as promised, I've got another little story (all true as can possibly be verified), concerning a pirate in the 17th century on the northeast coast of the States.

There was a chap in New England who started his working life as a fisherman and sailor as many did in that far distant age and environment. He picked up valuable skills, knowledge and experience that would 'help' him very much in his later, more nefarious career choice. As such, he earned the then reputation as a dependable person for hiring as a crew member for any voyage.

At the time, as was the case for many, many years the East Indies (as well as the West),was being plagued by corsairs of ill-repute of many varied backgrounds. The British had sent one of its ships to try and combat this problem. "The Adventure" as it was known, had a fair-weather captain onboard who, at the first opportunity, went ashore with his officers to hunt on the pretext of getting water and supplies for the ship. This wannabe pirate who had been hired as a boatswain, had been making plans with other undesired crew about how they were "wasting their lives and efforts" under a woolly captain and his officers.

Well, he was placed in temporary control whilst the others were ashore, and seeing his chance, he had the cable cut and put The Adventure to sea...

His first act as 'captain' was to get two sailors to make a flag with the necessary signage to declare, openly, their intent. Once the "Black Flag" was raised, it was game-on for the cutthroat desperadoes. They made back for the east coast of the States and were determined to loot, burn, pillage and destroy anything that crossed their path. Now this rogue captain wasn't stupid, he had a twenty-gun ship and knew that the word would be out to apprehend them, so he only looked for prizes where he'd outgun the opposition and not encounter any resistance.

Sure enough, their first target turned out to be a merchant ship which provided much in way of booty for these sea-robbers. The pirates couldn't believe their luck. In addition to looting The Adventure which had nine chests of Spanish dollars, they found aboard the merchant ship, rich traders from the East with gold, jewels and pearls that they were hoping to exchange in Europe for goods...

For a period of 3-4 years, this pirate crew, found prize after prize because they always but always went after ships knowing their limit and never trying to fight it out or show any bravado or putting into any port where they might encounter serious difficulties with the authorities. By showing caution, ensuring discipline and being very discreet, they had an extraordinary run...

Knowing that all successful 'reigns' come to an end, Mr Pirate Captain and his crew wanted to somehow go home with their wealth and not have to face any consequences. As a precaution, the captain landed on or near a place called Montauk Point on Long Island with a small cohort of his fellow criminals, and they buried some of their loot as an 'insurance' policy whilst they tentatively tried to see what the current climate was for those wishing to renounce their piratical ways.

The Adventure by now was unseaworthy and the captain sent some of his crew to purchase a sloop from Rhode Island where he thought they'd be safe as that particular community always welcomed those with ill-gotten gains to spend. Well, as one's luck surely takes a turn at some point, the pirates were seized, charged and jailed in Newport as in their absence Great Britain had stepped-up its efforts and did not take kindly to one of its ships being seized with such large resources onboard and the officers made to look like idiots.

The pirate captain now knew that the authorities were making moves against him and his small crew so it was necessary to try and keep a low profile. He scuttled The Adventure , setup a base on an isolated island called Block, and then proceeded to tell his men that it was now necessary to disband and go their separate ways. Some agreed with him but others had become fully taken with the life of piracy and elected to continue their careers as such. The unrepentants bided their time on Block and managed to buy a sloop which was passing the island for a generous sum. As a last "cheerio" to their ex-colleagues, they landed the captain and his adherents at various points on the coast and bid them farewell. By ones, twos and threes, the pirates slipped away with bags of valuables slung over their shoulders...

At small farms and settlements, they bought horses and made their way inland and back to their families/homes/communities in a secretive manner without trying to attract any attention...

Now the captain wasn't a fool and knew it would be extremely difficult for him to resume his former life, so attempted to try and buy influence and political goodwill. He contacted a friend of Earl of Bellomont (of Captain Kidd infamy) who was the governor of New York, to see if there was any possibility of amnesty. The mistake the captain made was he made a huge "gift" to the earl's friend rather than to him, and the thoroughly corrupt earl was furious. He sent a message to the captain that all pirates, active and retired, were being seized, charged and hanged.

Word also reached the now nervous, jittery and stressed captain that most of his former crew had been seized in Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island- including those that hand wanted to continue roaming the seas. Furthermore, the captured pirates were being forced to show where they'd deposited any goodies, what was left and most worrying for the captain, where the authorities could find him...

The captain realised that it was too "hot" for him to hang around and made haste for Boston.

But, alas, now as then, wealth and envy and corruption are very good bedmates, and the captain was traced and captured. The captain was jailed awaiting transportation to England with his faithful personal servant. But as Lady Luck would intervene again, the guard at the jail was a distant relative of the captain, and one summer morning, the cell was empty...

No doubt the gold bars helped the jailer to provide some assistance...

The earl made a terrible uproar about this 'affront' to British justice (he was still extremely upset that the captain had the temerity to give the "gift" to the earl's friend rather than to him). At this time the earl was in a predicament with the Captain Kidd fiasco and was facing repercussions from London and needed to show he had a grip on the situation in the States. The captain had fled into the interior with his man-servant and was living with some Injuns and partaking of their hospitality. Well, alas, one of the Injuns who was a visitor to Boston heard about the reward offered for the two outlaws and did his civic duty by reporting them...

Sure enough after this second capture, the captain was jailed where a certain ex-gentleman called William Kidd was being kept at His Majesty's pleasure for transportation back to England for trial and their inevitable date with the hangman. Every ruse was used to try and get The captain to reveal where he had deposited the majority of his ill-gotten gains which were in the form of Spanish dollars, gold bars and gems. The captain was resigned to his fate and knew of the duplicity of the avaricious earl and refused to even entertain any visitors.

The captain, Captain Kidd and other pirates were sent to England and hanged early in the 1700s as there was much controversy about illicit deals and agreements concerning the king himself about licensing piratical activity in the pursuit of gaining ever more wealth.

This is where it now gets interesting...

This captain had cached some valuables at Montauk Point along with some of his men, and this had been discovered by the governor's men. The captain had also paid a huge bribe to the earl/governor's 'friend' in a vain attempt to get himself a reprieve from the pirate charges against him. He'd also had some of his wealth on his person when living as a fugitive...what became of the bulk of his wealth that he simply couldn't carry around...?

When Captain Kidd had written to the authorities in the vain hope of escaping the hangman, was it his own treasure he was referring or that about someone else's he'd heard about?

Furthermore, after the captain was swinging from a rope on the Thames river in London alongside poor old Kidd, a friend of the captain came forward on the east coast of the States claiming that the deceased captain had met him whilst a fugitive, and had given him a "chart and instructions to be passed to his family in the event of my certain demise..."

Is there more to this than meets the eye....

:dontknow:




IPUK
 

Well folks, as promised, I've got another little story (all true as can possibly be verified), concerning a pirate in the 17th century on the northeast coast of the States.

There was a chap in New England who started his working life as a fisherman and sailor as many did in that far distant age and environment. He picked up valuable skills, knowledge and experience that would 'help' him very much in his later, more nefarious career choice. As such, he earned the then reputation as a dependable person for hiring as a crew member for any voyage.

At the time, as was the case for many, many years the East Indies (as well as the West),was being plagued by corsairs of ill-repute of many varied backgrounds. The British had sent one of its ships to try and combat this problem. "The Adventure" as it was known, had a fair-weather captain onboard who, at the first opportunity, went ashore with his officers to hunt on the pretext of getting water and supplies for the ship. This wannabe pirate who had been hired as a boatswain, had been making plans with other undesired crew about how they were "wasting their lives and efforts" under a woolly captain and his officers.

Well, he was placed in temporary control whilst the others were ashore, and seeing his chance, he had the cable cut and put The Adventure to sea...

His first act as 'captain' was to get two sailors to make a flag with the necessary signage to declare, openly, their intent. Once the "Black Flag" was raised, it was game-on for the cutthroat desperadoes. They made back for the east coast of the States and were determined to loot, burn, pillage and destroy anything that crossed their path. Now this rogue captain wasn't stupid, he had a twenty-gun ship and knew that the word would be out to apprehend them, so he only looked for prizes where he'd outgun the opposition and not encounter any resistance.

Sure enough, their first target turned out to be a merchant ship which provided much in way of booty for these sea-robbers. The pirates couldn't believe their luck. In addition to looting The Adventure which had nine chests of Spanish dollars, they found aboard the merchant ship, rich traders from the East with gold, jewels and pearls that they were hoping to exchange in Europe for goods...

For a period of 3-4 years, this pirate crew, found prize after prize because they always but always went after ships knowing their limit and never trying to fight it out or show any bravado or putting into any port where they might encounter serious difficulties with the authorities. By showing caution, ensuring discipline and being very discreet, they had an extraordinary run...

Knowing that all successful 'reigns' come to an end, Mr Pirate Captain and his crew wanted to somehow go home with their wealth and not have to face any consequences. As a precaution, the captain landed on or near a place called Montauk Point on Long Island with a small cohort of his fellow criminals, and they buried some of their loot as an 'insurance' policy whilst they tentatively tried to see what the current climate was for those wishing to renounce their piratical ways.

The Adventure by now was unseaworthy and the captain sent some of his crew to purchase a sloop from Rhode Island where he thought they'd be safe as that particular community always welcomed those with ill-gotten gains to spend. Well, as one's luck surely takes a turn at some point, the pirates were seized, charged and jailed in Newport as in their absence Great Britain had stepped-up its efforts and did not take kindly to one of its ships being seized with such large resources onboard and the officers made to look like idiots.

The pirate captain now knew that the authorities were making moves against him and his small crew so it was necessary to try and keep a low profile. He scuttled The Adventure , setup a base on an isolated island called Block, and then proceeded to tell his men that it was now necessary to disband and go their separate ways. Some agreed with him but others had become fully taken with the life of piracy and elected to continue their careers as such. The unrepentants bided their time on Block and managed to buy a sloop which was passing the island for a generous sum. As a last "cheerio" to their ex-colleagues, they landed the captain and his adherents at various points on the coast and bid them farewell. By ones, twos and threes, the pirates slipped away with bags of valuables slung over their shoulders...

At small farms and settlements, they bought horses and made their way inland and back to their families/homes/communities in a secretive manner without trying to attract any attention...

Now the captain wasn't a fool and knew it would be extremely difficult for him to resume his former life, so attempted to try and buy influence and political goodwill. He contacted a friend of Earl of Bellomont (of Captain Kidd infamy) who was the governor of New York, to see if there was any possibility of amnesty. The mistake the captain made was he made a huge "gift" to the earl's friend rather than to him, and the thoroughly corrupt earl was furious. He sent a message to the captain that all pirates, active and retired, were being seized, charged and hanged.

Word also reached the now nervous, jittery and stressed captain that most of his former crew had been seized in Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island- including those that hand wanted to continue roaming the seas. Furthermore, the captured pirates were being forced to show where they'd deposited any goodies, what was left and most worrying for the captain, where the authorities could find him...

The captain realised that it was too "hot" for him to hang around and made haste for Boston.

But, alas, now as then, wealth and envy and corruption are very good bedmates, and the captain was traced and captured. The captain was jailed awaiting transportation to England with his faithful personal servant. But as Lady Luck would intervene again, the guard at the jail was a distant relative of the captain, and one summer morning, the cell was empty...

No doubt the gold bars helped the jailer to provide some assistance...

The earl made a terrible uproar about this 'affront' to British justice (he was still extremely upset that the captain had the temerity to give the "gift" to the earl's friend rather than to him). At this time the earl was in a predicament with the Captain Kidd fiasco and was facing repercussions from London and needed to show he had a grip on the situation in the States. The captain had fled into the interior with his man-servant and was living with some Injuns and partaking of their hospitality. Well, alas, one of the Injuns who was a visitor to Boston heard about the reward offered for the two outlaws and did his civic duty by reporting them...

Sure enough after this second capture, the captain was jailed where a certain ex-gentleman called William Kidd was being kept at His Majesty's pleasure for transportation back to England for trial and their inevitable date with the hangman. Every ruse was used to try and get The captain to reveal where he had deposited the majority of his ill-gotten gains which were in the form of Spanish dollars, gold bars and gems. The captain was resigned to his fate and knew of the duplicity of the avaricious earl and refused to even entertain any visitors.

The captain, Captain Kidd and other pirates were sent to England and hanged early in the 1700s as there was much controversy about illicit deals and agreements concerning the king himself about licensing piratical activity in the pursuit of gaining ever more wealth.

This is where it now gets interesting...

This captain had cached some valuables at Montauk Point along with some of his men, and this had been discovered by the governor's men. The captain had also paid a huge bribe to the earl/governor's 'friend' in a vain attempt to get himself a reprieve from the pirate charges against him. He'd also had some of his wealth on his person when living as a fugitive...what became of the bulk of his wealth that he simply couldn't carry around...?

When Captain Kidd had written to the authorities in the vain hope of escaping the hangman, was it his own treasure he was referring or that about someone else's he'd heard about?

Furthermore, after the captain was swinging from a rope on the Thames river in London alongside poor old Kidd, a friend of the captain came forward on the east coast of the States claiming that the deceased captain had met him whilst a fugitive, and had given him a "chart and instructions to be passed to his family in the event of my certain demise..."

Is there more to this than meets the eye....

:dontknow:




IPUK

IPUK...great yarn for the cold winter!I enjoyed it very much!
Please do continue the Friday treasure yarns
TT
 

good one swabbie. more. (" I "was an airdale) Hooligan navy, humph.
More Big Al. We had an ASROC, Anti Submarine Rocket assisted torpedo launcher. Because it had a Nuke war head capability, they would have a security drill with some ONI, Operation of Navy Intelligence, personal to watch the results. They called a drill just after I got to ship. "Borders, Borders, All ASROC Sentries to the Small Arms Locker. Al was the duty Gunner's mate. The first guy there got a BAR, the next 2 Thompsons, then the 2 Shotguns, and then M1's. It was supposed to be .45's. As the inspectors saw what had been handed out they hide below the window on the bridge where the Captain was also present. Al Threw open the door to the bridge and jumped in wearing a flak jacket, helmet, Asbestos Glove holding the barrel of a .30 cal air cooled machine gun with a 300 round short belt. "Hit the Deck Captain, I'll get them." "Damnit Al put that down!" Both inspectors had wet spots in the groin area and one fainted. We were supposed to have one every 6 months, but didn't have another for a year. ;)
 

good one swabbie. more. (" I "was an airdale) Hooligan navy, humph.
The next "drill", Chappel was the Duty Gunner's mate. The first one to the small arms locker was to get 2 .45's, one for him and one for the duty Weapons officer. Well Gunderson was a Sonar tech and had been in the shower when it was called. Gunderson had glasses about 1/4 to 3/8's of an inch thick. But was not wearing them as he had been in the shower. So here he was running down to Port side of the ship with flip flops, soap suds, and trying to keep his towel tied on. As the inspectors saw him running along, shoving clips into the guns, jacking the rounds home and bouncing off the railing and the bulkhead of the ship, they slide down below the window on the bridge. Gunderson makes it to the top of the ladder to the ASROC Deck and the Duty Weapons Officer calls out, "Here". Gunderson turns towards him leveling both .45's yelling, "Who's there?" "God D---it, Gunderson it's me". "Oh sorry Sir, here's your gun and sticks it out towards his voice. ;) another year went by before they tried again.
 

OK, next Asroc story. The Asroc senty had to only always loaded gun on ship. Access to the Asroc deck was visual recognition unless they were escorted by the Captain, Exec, or Officer of the Day. I had made Asroc sentry after I made 3rd class and was standing in the shack on the Asroc deck. We were in Port and it was a Sunday. I heard people walking up the side of the ship and as I heard them start up the ladder to where I was, I took the with the slide open and put the clip in it. As I stepped out of the shack this man came into view at the top of the ladder in a 3 piece suit and started to unhook the chain across to ladder. I was holding the 45 up pointed at the shy, so I hit the slide release, which also throws your arm forward as it pokes one into the chamber. "Halt, Halt, Halt". I was aiming at center body mass. He frozen and the Duty Officer, my weapons division Officer popped up to the right side of him and yelled, "Don't Shoot!". I had the officer unhook the chain from the other side of the guy and come up on deck and move to the right until no one could be holding a gun on him and said, "Is he OK?" "Yes" I then popped the clip jacked the slide, put the clip back in and picked up the round from the deck. The guy started to walk towards me and at 3 feet said, "You were going to shoot me!" "Yes" What happened to my warning shot?" "After I shot you, I was going to shoot on the recoil in the air. If I missed you that was your warning shot. Because no one but me would know which was the warning shot. We didn't have an other Asroc Borders Drill while I was still on the ship, About 5 months or so later we went into the ship yards and they offloaded the nuke heads before we went in.
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top