Chapter 8: Historical Perspective

During the next week the treasure was moved from the treasure room to a vault at H. J. Hendley & Company, a company that specialized in storage and appraisal of collectable coins, gold and antique jewelry. I took no chances with the transfer and contracted an armored car service to make the actual move. The brief appearance of the armored car in the neighborhood was hardly noticed by our neighbors.

Leo Hoskins proved to be a fount of knowledge concerning property law and more specifically laws concerning what is more properly called 'treasure trove.' Treasure trove being defined as objects that contain more than 50% gold or silver. Leo explained, "Laws pertaining to treasure trove vary widely from state to state."

Seeing our frowns Leo continued, "Fortunately, the law that applied to the chest you dug up on Ms. Anderson's property is one of the more simple ones. If Mrs. Anderson is one of the finder's then it's finders-keepers as long as the treasure was buried long enough that it is doubtful that the original owner will return to claim it. In your case, the age and condition of the items you found should be proof enough that the original owner will no longer be returning."

After he saw the smiles that produced he once more continued, "I think you need to get an appraisal to ensure that each person receives a fair share. You're all friends now but I've seen arguments about money destroy friendships."

Audra spoke up and said, "We'll just have Hendley & Company do an appraisal since the treasure is already in their vaults."

Leo agreed that Hendley was the best company to do the job and then said, "You've been lucky so far. In some other states the law requires that finds be promptly reported to the police"

When Irma asked what would have happened in those states, Leo shrugged and answered, "It would be subject to confiscation and considering the value of the treasure you can be sure that it would be confiscated."

Then he added, "Other states consider marshland or land within so many feet of navigable waters to belong to the state. In those states you would have to fight the state in court for the treasure."

Elise spoke up and said, "That's terrible," to which everyone murmured their assent.

Leo got their attention and said, "Nevertheless, in this case the law is clear. The chest and all its contents belong by law to Mrs. Anderson who has given each of you an equal share."

At that point everyone was smiling and hugging Irma.

Several days after this Lenora returned to Bell Whistle with conservators from the museum and experts from the historical society. We allowed them to take possession of the vellum pages, the logbooks and the treasure map. The conservator was overjoyed to see that the vellum pages had been kept from drying out. I was told that later in the museum laboratory he and his assistants slowly, under controlled conditions, dried out the three hundred and fifty year old pages. Lenora, who kept us up to speed on what was happening, told us that the conservator was somewhat surprised when faint traces of handwriting began to appear on the apparently blank pages as they were properly dried. She explained that this was due to a property of the iron gall ink, a common ink used during that period of history. Later she explained that an analysis of that ink would lend a certain authenticity to the pages, as iron gall ink is no longer in use, as it severely corrodes the metal used in modern fountain pins.

During this time we were visited by Lenora on almost a daily basis. She was normally accompanied by one or more experts from either the museum staff or the historical society. Audra told me on one day that Herbert Watkins, the museum's archaeologist-in-residence, made a complete inventory of the contents of the treasure room. She said he was returning to complete the inventory with photos and illustrations showing the exact placement of the items within the room. I asked her to make sure that someone from our group was with each visitor during these excursions. Audra, Elise or Irma usually were the ones who were available and each would report to me on what had been accomplished. For several days Audra was quite tired as she followed several members of the society who spent considerable effort in constructing detailed drawings and maps of the tunnel and cavern.

All of this work kept us hopping for several weeks. I had almost forgotten about the vellum pages when I got a call from Lenora late on a Friday evening. "Joe, they've finished transcribing and translating the writing on the vellum pages."

Knowing Lenora better I could hear the controlled excitement in her voice. She continued, "This is as good as the slave journal. Can we come by tomorrow and present this to all of you?"

Of course there was no chance I would say 'no.'

The next morning Lenora arrived at Bell Whistle along with Matt and a young man about my age whom I did not recognize. As soon as we were all seated in the den Lenora excitedly introduced him. Waiting until she had our undivided attention, she said, "This is Peter Wright. Pete is a most unusual member of the society. He has an almost eidetic memory and has a particular passion for what he calls 'the golden age of the buccaneer.' He also has a love of colonial history and lore. More importantly, Pete is the member of the society responsible for monitoring the restoration of the vellum pages from the treasure chest."

Edward raised his hand and after being acknowledged remarked, "I thought a conservator at the museum was in charge of the restoration."

Lenora gave Edward a tolerant smile, "That's right, but Pete was there monitoring the expert as the Historical Society's representative. Anyway, as soon as the conservator finished with the pages, Pete made a duplicate copy on regular paper. After that he shifted gears and began the task of deciphering the writing on the pages. I'll let him give you the details, but I must say that you are lucky that we have someone with Pete's talent to take this on. Pete, they're all yours."

At that moment Mr. Whiskers walked into the room and, after sniffing around Pete's legs, moved over to Audra's lap as if he also wanted to hear what the young man had to say. I could tell Pete was unaccustomed to public speaking as he cleared his throat several times and shuffled nervously through his notes. I spoke up at that point and said, "Pete, I'm sure I speak for everyone. We're glad to have you with us. Take your time. You're among friends. We're all extremely interested although we are not experts by any means."

Pete gave us a nervous smile and then said, "As Lenora mentioned my first real task was to translate the journal into understandable modern English. Early 17^th century writings, in the Old English of the time, are not easily understood. Many words had different meanings at that time and even with excellent penmanship certain letters of the alphabet were formed differently. In addition, the writer of the journal did not have what I would call excellent penmanship."

Looking at each of us he explained, "That's why the work took so long."

Nervously shuffling his notes again he continued, "The thirty-two pages you found proved to be the personal journal of one Captain Theodore J. Gallant. Captain Gallant was first a 17^th century privateer and later a pirate. Almost all of what I am going to tell you comes from the journal. I say that so that you will understand that the accounts might be embellished. Although the journal narrative might be exaggerated, it is certain that Captain Gallant did exist. We have confirmed his identity from English birth records and certain land grant records. In addition, I have personally verified the historical accuracy of the main events in his narrative. Unfortunately, there is no way to verify all of the details in the journal.

"Captain Gallant began his career as a British privateer. He stated in the journal that he was thus authorized by a letter of marque issued by the personal secretary of Oliver Cromwell in 1651. As you probably know, Oliver Cromwell was not a king of Great Britain but rather at that time a general who would in 1653 become the head of state that led the country during a short period of history when the monarchy was overthrown.

"Captain Gallant stated that his letter of marque, like most that were granted, was very specific in detailing who and where he could attack. We know from historical records that Great Britain had made peace with Spain and was close to war with the Dutch, who were the bane of British merchants throughout the world. The Navigation Act of 1651 was designed to foment that war. That act declared that only British ships could trade with British colonies. This would have cut off a lucrative source of trade for the Dutch, and so they went to war rather than accept the loss of so much of their sea commerce. Captain Gallant's letter of marque specifically authorized him to attack, capture and secure cargo carried by Dutch ships found between Great Britain and the new world to the west."

Looking matter-of-factly around the group Peter's nervousness seemed to leave him as he continued, "As you may or may not know, the Dutch during that time had colonies all over the world. In the west they had colonies in New York and New Jersey in North America. They had island colonies on St. Martin, St. Eustasius, Aruba, Curaçao and many small islands in the Caribbean. Then they had a large number of small colonies in South America as well as controlling most of the coast of Brazil, even though that was nominally claimed by the Portuguese.

"You also need to understand that a privateer's ship was privately owned and funded. If you were attacked by a privateer, you probably wouldn't be able to distinguish that attack from one made by a pirate. These ships were not under the orders of the Royal Navy, which was then in its infancy. In fact, privateers operating under a letter of marque were a way for countries to avoid the expense of maintaining large navies.

"In addition to providing and provisioning the ship Captain Gallant was required to post a performance bond with the government to ensure he lived up to the terms of his authorization. In order to make any money he would have had to locate and capture Dutch ships involved in illegal trade, take the cargo and then sell it at certain specified ports. As soon as he did that he was required to turn over 40% of the value of any ships and cargo to the British Governor. If he failed to follow these exact procedures, even once, his bond was forfeit and he would be declared a pirate.

"Captain Gallant purchased a ship in England and named it Estelle after his mother. The captain had Estelle, originally designed as a fast merchant ship, refitted to carry16 guns. After taking possession of the ship and recruiting a crew, he sailed towards St. Martin, which at the time was a rich island in the possession of the Dutch. He proved his abilities as a captain by capturing several smaller Dutch merchant ships while sailing in the vicinity of that island. Not having recruited enough men for prize crews, he only took high value cargo and provisions from these ships, which he then sank."

At that point Camilla nervously interrupted and asked, "What happened to the crews of these ships?"

Pete, gaining confidence, smiled at her and said, "The captain didn't mention that in his journal. We do know that the British hated the Dutch so most were probably killed in the battle for the ship or sunk with the ship. Anyway, using this tactic, he was able to stay at sea for most of a year and subsist off the provisions he had taken. Finally he sailed to Barbados, then held by England, sold the high value items and turned in the log books of the sunken ships and settled up with the governor. The governor demanded that he pay the port tax in addition to the 40% specified in his letter of marque. The end result was that Captain Gallant was left with enough to pay the crew and reprovison the ship for another voyage but almost no profit for himself.

"Upset with this turn of events, he decided to try his luck around Curaçao, a Dutch island off the northern coast of South America. The Dutch had been at war with Spain up until 1648. The French, Dutch allies in that struggle, were still at war with Spain. Curaçao was the port where many Dutch privateers had brought in their captured cargo and ships to settle up during the war. Many of those Dutch privateers, after having their letters of marque revoked, had turned to other options. Some obtained French letters of marque and continued attacking Spanish galleons at will. Others turned to piracy and attacked ships of any nation.

"For both of these groups the victims of choice were the rich Spanish galleons. The Spanish colonies were still the richest in the New World in terms of gold and silver. Heavily laden Spanish galleons routinely transported this gold and silver, as well as other precious cargos, from those colonies back to Spain. Valuable cargos were normally transported by a small number of heavily laden but lightly armed treasure galleons escorted by heavily armed war galleons. Dutch, and now French, privateers and pirates of all nationalities attacked these small convoys. They would often work together to secure their prizes. The French privateers would then take the cargo to Martinique. The pirates continued to sell their cargos to the Dutch banking houses on Curaçao.

"Captain Gallant's plan was to attack the cargo ships that the Dutch banking houses used to transport the gold and silver back to Holland. Failing that, he would attack the pirate vessels after they had split up but before they reached Curaçao. The plan was a bold one that did have certain obstacles.

"The main obstacle was that, for the most part, these ships traveled in groups. The Dutch cargo ships in these convoys traveling back to Amsterdam usually had escorts of Dutch warships. Most of these warships carried more sail, more guns and more men than the Estelle. The only advantage that the Estelle had was her ability to turn and tack quicker. This meant that it was possible with skill and cunning to pick off any ships that strayed from the already loose formation of many convoys. According to his journal, Captain Gallant would flit around the tail end of these convoys like a gnat. He became an expert at this tactic. Acting quickly, his crew would board and quickly remove any gold, silver or other precious cargo and then set the ship afire. This usually meant that the warship escorting the convoy would stop to render assistance to the crew of the burning ship, giving the Estelle the needed time to escape.

"Usually is a word that will get you killed, and there were several times when his ship was damaged and almost captured. Still, the rewards were worth the effort. After less than six months at sea, the precious cargo he carried back to Barbados was ten times greater than the cargo from his previous trip. At that point he began to have visions of himself as a wealthy man. Unfortunately for the captain, the British governor at Barbados saw things much differently.

"Sir Roger Chadwicke, the British Governor of Barbados, was the third son of His Grace, Cecil Chadwicke, fourth Duke of Northampton. His posting to the island was fortuitous, a prestigious posting for a third son. His salary was only a small portion of his remuneration. A portion of the port tax and of any privateer's cargo also went into the pocket of the governor."

As Pete paused to take a drink of water, Elise said, "I have a question."

Pete's quickly swallowed a sip of water and answered, "Yes, it is."

The rest of us looked puzzled as Pete continued, "I assume you were going to ask if it there was a connection between Sir Roger and the Duke of Northampton's silver service that was found in the treasure room. The answer is 'yes.' If you don't mind, I'll explain that when we get to that part of the journal."

Looking at his watch Pete continued, "As there was no merchant or group of merchants in Barbados that could pay the full value of his cargo, Captain Gallant's crew brought the treasure up the hill to the official governor's residence and laid it out before Sir Roger. Since much of the treasure was silver and gold, he was hoping that the governor might agree to take the government's portion directly from the treasure so he would not have to sail all the way to Britain to make the split. The governor, however, was greedy, and once the treasure was brought into his possession he wanted it all. He told Captain Gallant that he would need a few days to make a decision. When the captain tried to take the treasure back to his ship the governor made it clear that it would be well protected where it was. The governor then abruptly dismissed the captain.

"The next day the watch onboard ship reported a contingent of British soldiers approaching. The officer accompanying the soldiers hailed the ship, tied up at the dock, and met Captain Gallant on the dock. The captain, who was unarmed except for his sword, was informed that he was to be escorted back to the governor's residence. Captain Gallant smelled a rat but was unable to resist. As soon as they were out of site of the ship he found himself stripped of his sword and marched as a prisoner to meet the governor. As soon as he was taken into the residence the governor informed him that his cargo was being confiscated, but gave him no other information. The governor then had the captain placed under arrest and confined him in a small room in the residence.

"Later that day, when the ship's first mate came to inquire as to his captain's whereabouts, an underling informed him of the treasure's confiscation and the captain's detention. The reason given was that the treasure was of Spanish origin. The evidence cited for this was that there were many Spanish milled dollars as well as ingots of gold with Spanish assay markings among the treasure. This, the governor declared, was a violation of Captain Gallant's letter of marque.

"Captain Gallant was stunned at hearing this. Had he not clearly explained to the governor how he had come into the possession of the treasure during their first meeting? After a second audience with the governor the captain was informed that he was to be shipped back to London to face charges of piracy. Immediately after that, the governor had the guard move the captain from the small room into the jail proper. The jail was a dank cell built into the basement of the governor's residence.

"All of this might have spelled an end to our good captain, except for one small problem. The British Navy was very small and was stretched thin during that era. That meant that not only was there no British warship in port to take the captain back to London but there was none expected in the near future. On the other hand, Captain Gallant was very popular with his crew of 108 battle-hardened sailors. That crew had also been promised a share of the captain's portion of the treasure that they had bled and died for. Needless to say they were very unhappy with the governor's decision.

"At first the crew showed their dismay by ripping apart all of the taverns in the port town. Members of the garrison sent out to quell these disturbances were attacked and many soldiers were thrown into the bay. This was more serious than it sounds since hardly any of the island's 50 soldiers could swim. Some of the soldiers drowned. As the disturbance spread and other members of the brotherhood of the coast joined in, the governor began to fear for his own safety.

"As his fears mounted the governor began to draw the garrison closer and closer to his private residence. In the end, the governor decided that 40% of the treasure plus the port tax, with him alive to claim his share, was a much better deal than having his descendants claim all of the treasure while wearing sack cloth and ashes."

At that point our group, who had been following the story closely, broke out into smiles. Audra, who was on the edge of her seat, actually applauded.

Pete smiled and continued, "As you can imagine, Captain Gallant was greatly relieved when he was freed and given the portion of the treasure that he had expected. The governor even rescinded a portion of the port tax to make amends. Although he maintained a civil tongue in his dealings with the governor the captain never forgot the time that he spent in that jail. He vowed never to return to Barbados while Sir Chadwicke was governor.

"In the exchange he did manage to keep most of the Spanish milled dollars and was even able to convert some of the gold bars into gold sovereigns. He divided most of these up among the crew as their portion and used some of the remainder to reprovison the ship. Before leaving he also managed to acquire a small sloop, which he renamed Lucille in honor of his younger sister. He transferred two of the guns from the Estelle to the new ship. He then sailed north to the British island of Nevis and there recruited additional crew and was also able to buy six additional cannon. He placed these six smaller cannon on the Lucille and returned the two guns borrowed from the Estelle so that she regained her full complement of armament.

"Captain Gallant then promoted his first mate to captain of the new vessel and spent the trip back to the vicinity of Curaçao training the crews and learning to operate the two ships as a team. The Lucille, although small, was fast. Her slim lines gave her more speed and maneuverability than the Estelle. He was hoping that she would be able to slip into the Dutch convoys and fire at the warships and then use superior maneuverability to avoid any returned fire and draw the protecting warships into a chase. This would allow the Estelle to take more time and get at larger and hopefully richer cargo ships.