From the October 7, 1955 edition of the Vineyard Gazette:

That the map is old is obvious. It is faded, torn, stained with blood in places, and the ink is blurred, so that you just barely make out the directions which are scrawled in an ancient hand. It reads: To whom it may concern —

Where the ocean rolls on a beach

called South,

Between two dunes is the ocean’s

mouth.

When at the mouth look north and

see

Two ancient posts and maybe

three.

Stand at the first — walk 30 paces

Stop short and dig — My treasure’s

here.

  Signed

Captain Figg

  the buccaneer.

This rare document fell into the hands of some amateur hunters of Edgartown last Saturday after they heard about some buried treasure which might be hidden at South Beach. The group, numbering five in all — J. C. Mello, Patrick Mello, Billy Bassett, Neale Bassett and Shawn Tully — struck out in the direction of the beach with the proper equipment for excavation, shovels and the necessary requirement for any expedition, food. They embarked on a search which eventually led them to riches, sapphires, diamonds and topaz, hidden, many many years ago by the notorious pirate, Captain Figg.

Two of the party stopped in at the Gazette office this week to relate their adventure to an amazed and incredulous audience, which examined the map and listened to their store in awe and wonder.

“First we looked for clues,” began Shawn Tully, age 7, who said he first heard about the possibility of treasure from his mother, who apparently had heard it from someone who had heard it from someone else. “We looked around for a while, and then we found the map, in an old bottle.”

Neale Basset spoke up, elaborating: “The bottle was a very old fashioned one, and it was stuck in the sand near a rock with a mark of blue paint on it.”

“Have you ever heard of Captain Figg?” asked Shawn as the reporter looked at the map Neale had pulled from his pocket. The reporter shook his head and said that he had not, but admitted that his knowledge of the piracy committed in the old days in these waters was negligible.

“Neither have we,” Neale said, “but he must have lived a long time ago because of the ink and the paper. My mother says you never see paper like that any more.”

Neale began to describe how the group had carefully figured out the directions and followed them step by step, to the “ocean mouth,” to the posts, and then to the spot where the loot was buried.

“He probably left the treasure for his friends,” said Shawn, “and he made the directions in rhyme to fool people but he didn’t fool us. We just began to dig.”

“That’s right,” his companion agreed, “we just kept on digging. The rhyme didn’t fool us.”

The boys explained with a little pride mixed with modesty that they had gotten an adult to pace off the steps for them, “because our steps would have been littler than Captain Figg’s paces. Paces are steps,” they added.

The treasure hunters dug and dug when they reached the exact spot, and, after much toil and struggle, helped by time out for grilled frankfurters, a shovel struck against something with a rewarding scrape. It was the treasure chest! The crew dug on, soon revealing an old tin box. They tugged at the handles, but they were weak with age and salt water corrosion, and gave way in their hands when they tried to pull it up. After more struggle the chest was brought to the surface and the top pried off.

There was the treasure left many years ago by the buccaneer! “There was a diamond brooch and a sapphire brooch and turquoise beads,” Shawn said with excitement.

“And an old silver plate and a topaz bracelet. The plate had the date — 1836 — on the back of it,” Neale added.

“And there was a decoy duck.”

“Yes, a very old decoy duck.”

The boys divided up their loot and took it home, and all seemed satisfied with their share in the haul, but the matter has not ended.

“We’re going out there again next Saturday,” Neale said,

“That’s right,” Shawn chimed in. “See, I think that probably Captain Figg left this treasure there so that people would think that was all of it, and he probably has a really big treasure hidden somewhere else, with millions of diamonds and rubies.”

“We’re going to look for more clues and dig everywhere,” Neale said with determination.

“But,” Shawn reminded him, “we many not find anything. You know, it’s very rare that a person finds two treasures in a lifetime.”

Census figures are revealing at any time, but when they suggest the Vineyard and its way of life a century ago they have an inescapable fascination. Those were the days when Edgartown and Tisbury were running neck and neck in population, with the shire town claiming 1855, to match the year, and Tisbury 1826.

But Edgartown was by no means satisfied with the result, even though it remained in the ascendant. In 1850 the town had 1990. No one was willing to admit that whaling, although still in its late prime, was due to lose its lucrative place in the scheme of things.

Compiled by Hilary Wallcox

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