s of
Tortuga find coins of ancient dates, fragments of gold chains, and
pieces of quaint jewelry cast up by the waves or revealed by the
shifting sands.

"It was not without reason that the only harbor of the buccaneers was
called Treasure Cove, nor for nothing that they dug the deep caves
deeper, hollowing out lateral tunnels and blasting holes beneath the
frowning cliffs. The island now belongs to Hayti, the inhabitants of
which have not the requisite sagacity to conduct an intelligent search
for the long-buried treasures; and as they resent the intrusion of
foreigners, it is probable that the buccaneers' spoils will remain an
unknown quantity for many years to come."

Captain William Phips lay at anchor off one of the rude settlements of
Hispaniola for some time, and his rough-and-ready address won him
friends, among them "a very old Spaniard" who had seen many a galleon
pillaged by the pirates. From this informant Phips "fished up a little
advice about the true spot where lay the wreck which he had hitherto
been seeking ... that it was upon a reef of shoals a few leagues to the
northward of Port de la Plata upon Hispaniola, a port so called, it
seemed, from the landing of some of a shipwrecked company, with a boat
full of plate saved out of their sunken Frigot."

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[Illustration: Map of Hispaniola (Hayti and San Domingo) engraved in
1723, showing the buccaneers at their trade of hunting wild cattle.
The galleon due north of Port Plate on the north coast is almost
exactly in the place where Phips found his treasure.]

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On the very old map of Hispaniola, reproduced herewith, this place is
indicated on the north coast as "Port Plate," and due north of it is
the spirited drawing of a galleon which happens to be very nearly in
the position of the sunken treasure which the old Spaniard described to
Captain Phips. The _Rose_ frigate sailed in search of the reef and
explored it with much care but failed to find the wreck. Phips was
confident that he was on the right track, however, and decided to
return to England, refit and ship a new crew. The riff-raff which he
had picked up at Jamaica in place of the mutineers were hardly the lads
to be trusted with a great store of treasure on board.

At about this time, Charles II quit his earthly kingdom and it is to be
hoped found