he Omaha
Miss Genevive
. 'Davies, Who
uy Heads One
t Expedition for the
Fabled Treasure
'on Cocos. Island.
1 (
UniqUi
Quest of
Two Rival
Expeditions,
the FamMs
BLOOD may again be shed over ,
.the buried treasure of Cocoa
Island.
To recover the thirty million
. dollars' worth of gold hurled there
nearly a hundred years ago by
pirates, thousands of men have
.already paid the penalty with their
live. Now two more expeditions
are being fitted out to pursue the
dangerous quest, and both of them
, are .headed by women!
- The search for the Cocoa treasure
is hazardous enough in itself, as so
, many nave iouna out w uieir cost,
but an additional element of danger
it involved in this latest douwe
quest because of the intense rivalry
of the two women.
' .V'lf thees Ingleesh woman get in
'my way, there will be too much of
trouble, that'B all!" declares Mile.
. Matilde Durand, of Marseilles,
..France,. the organizer of one of the
expeditions.
. i bianea ursi. i eoeni. a ioi 01
time and money and trouble in this
Campitr
Map Showing the Location of
thing, and I certainly shall not allow
this Frenchwoman to come between
ms and the fruits of my labor!" in
sists Miss Oenevlve Davles. the
.beautiful English girl . who heads
the rival expedition, and there is
something about her manner which
bodes ill for her fair rival.
.- Both women are -plentifully sup
plied .with ca$h and each claims to
have the only authentic map in
existence which definitely points out
the bcaticn of the sunken treasure.
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Each Headed jby Determined Ladies, for
$30,000,000 ) of Hidden
If both parties should arrive at the
Island together, which is not at all
Improbable, it will be quite be
yond the power of the women. .
even If so disposed,' to hold their
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XTBASOt
CAVt
Htai
the Cocos Island Treasure.
followers in check, and a battle to
the death for the thirty millions of
buried loot is almost inevitable.
Cocos Island lies in latitude 5 de
grees 33 minutes N., 86 degrees 59
minutes W. It is a deserted, rocky
island about three hundred miles
from the coast of Costa Rica.
The treasure which lies burled
there was derived from two sources.
In 1820, when Peru was being torn
asunder by a revolution, the trem
bling citizens, realizing how feeble
-ir jitj
Sunday. Bee Magazine
by American-Examiner. Great Britain
- was the protection afforded by their
' banks and the altars of their
churches, Intrusted it to the captain
of , an English vessel. - This man
, weighed anchor and sailed for Cc-
In the Pirates' Graveyard on
Cocos Island.
cos Island, wnere he buried the
treasure, amounting to twelve mil
lion dollars.
The balance of the treasure was
buried on the island by no less a
character than the notorious pirate
Benito Bonito, who with a loyal
crew of cutthroats did an immense
amount of damage in the Western
Atlantic from New York to Rio
Janeiro in 1816-1817.
Bonito then doubled Cape Horn
and ravaged the Pacific shore of
America as far as Mexico, sacking
the churches and other repositories
of plate, jewels and specie until bis
loot amounted to nearly twenty mil
lion dollars In value. -
In searching for a spot to bury
this treasure, he came upon Cocos
Island. There he buried his share
of it in a cave, while his officers
and crew chose other hiding places.
The following year the pirate and
his crew were captured by a British
corvette, and slain.
From that time to this as many
as a dozen notable expeditions have
been organized to recover this pirate
loot, but for one reason or another
every one failed. '
The latest expeditions to be or
ganized to recover the sunken treas
ure are perhaps more ambitious
than any ever before undertaken.
Miss Davies has chartered a large
fcteamer, which is now completing
its outfit at Plymouth. The only
other' woman on board the vessel
will be her friend, Mrs. Barry T11L
Besides the crew, there will be a
Rights Reserved.
Gold and Jewels
number of mining experts, geolo
gists and other scientific men.
In preparing for this adventure,
Miss Davies has constantly kept in
mind the possibility of hostilities
with her French rival. For this
reason she has had her vessel
practically converted into a pro
tected cruiser. Her hull and decks
have been sheathed with steel a
quarter of ah inch thick and she
has had mounted four slx-pounderi.
In addition to this a large supply of
small arms and ammunition has
been provided, and every member
of the crew has been , picked with
due regard to his fighting calibre.
"I am going after this treasure
and Intend to get it at any cost,"
declared Mi&s Davies. "If this
Frenchwoman happens to get to
the island while I am there, there
' may be trouble, and I am prepared .
for It.
' "I have what I believe is an au
thentic map of the island with cer
tain marks indicating the biding-,
place of the treasure. This French
woman's idea, I suppose, is to take,
advantage of the Information I have. '
and beat me out in quest for the
treasure. I shall - consider myself .
justified In resisting by force any
attempt of that kind." t
Mile. Durand, on the other hand,
declares that she has information of
her own and is in no wise depend
ent upon Miss Davies' expedition,
"Indeed," she deolared, "I am
straining every nerve now to get to
the island before this English
woman, and if my plans turn out
right I will be on my way back
with the treasure safely stowed be
fore this MiBS Davies appears
upon the scene.
"My vessel is now being equipped
at Marseilles. I will be the only
woman on board, but my crew con
sists of friends who are eager to
follow me in this great adventure
and to share in the spoil w ex
pect to bring home.
"I have full information regarding
this pirate treasure. It -comes direct
from the son of a man who as a
lad served under Bonito the pirate.
This man, now seventy-five years eld,
obtained from his father a diagram
which clearly marks -the cave in
which Bonito buried most of his
Ill-gotten treasure, besides numerous
other spots where members of the
pirate crew buried their individual
shares.
"I am not looking for trouble with
this English woman .No,, no.' But
if when I have located the treasure
she should arrive at the island and
attempt to interfere with my work,
I will not be, answerable for the
consequences. She will bring it
upon herself. I will not be respon
sible. , "Altogether there is thirty million
dollars' worth of it, I understand, If I
succeed in locating only a portion
of this vast sum, my investment will
prove profitable, but it is the ad
venture itself which Impels me prin
cipally. The fact that this English
woman is going to try to beat me
out makes the quest all the more
interesting. We shall see who
wins!"
::Ony.m ,.!!!
Wffly' -,;:r ft I
Cocos J .tfSk d& A
Island , .TO
Mme. Matilde Durand, the Dashing Marseillaise Who Heads
I
AQE
as
the Second Treasure Expedition