The Rock Hill estate in Medford, Massachusetts, was plagued by a specter that some thought to be that of a New Hampshire farmer who was robbed and murdered there. Though it is 200 feet up the cliff, inaccessible either from above or below, and weighs many tons, still, as pirates and devils have always been friendly, it may be that the corking of the cave was accomplished with supernatural help and that if blasts or prayers ever shake the stone from its place a shower of doubloons and diamonds may come rattling after it. It is a projecting knob, like a bung closing an orifice, which is believed to conceal a cavern where the redoubtable captain placed a few barrels of his wealth. ![]() Kidd’s plug is part of the craggy steep, Cro’ Nest on the Hudson River. This diversion was the appearance of a monster horse that flew toward them from a distance without a sound but stopped short at the circle where the process of banning fiends was still going on, and, after grazing and walking around them for a time, it dissolved into air. Still, it slid sideways into the ground as they tried to uncover it, and at last, an interruption occurred that caused them to stop work so long that when they went to look for it again, it had entirely disappeared. Presently their implements clicked on an iron chest. Gorge at Appledore, Isles of Shoals, Maine by Detroit Publishing, 1900Ī spot near the Piscataqua River, which defines the border between Maine and New Hampshire, was another hiding place, and early in the 19th century, the ground was dug over, two of the seekers plying pick and spade, while another stood within the circle, they had drawn about the spot and loudly read the Bible. ![]() For years no fisherman could be induced to land there after nightfall because an islander once encountered “Old Bab” on his rounds, with a red ring around his neck, a frock hanging about him, phosphorescence gleaming from his body, who peered at the intruder with a white and dreadful face, and nearly scared him to death. This island, too, has been held in fear as haunted ground.Īppledore, in the Isles of Shoals in Maine, was another hiding place, and Kidd put one of his crew to death so that he might haunt the place and frighten searchers from their quest. Ring bolts were thought to have been driven to tie buoys, thus marking the spots where the chests went down. Yet Kidd was believed to have sunk some of his valuables there and to have guarded against the entrance of boats using a chain hung from rock to rock at the narrow entrance, bolts on either side showing the points of attachment. On Damariscotta Island, near Kennebec, Maine, is a lake of salt water, which, like dozens of shallow ones in this country, is locally reputed to be bottomless. Some years ago, the cave was enlarged by blasting in the hope of finding that chest, for an old saying had been handed down among the people of the island - from whom it came they have forgotten - that was to this effect: “Dig six feet, and you will find iron dig six more, and you will find money.” The spell was broken, for the watchful spirits heard and snatched away the treasure. Searchers found within it a heavy chest, which they were about to lift when one of the party - contrary to orders - spoke. Monhegan Island, off the Maine coast, contains a cave opening to the sea, where it was whispered that treasure had been stored in the care of spirits. When the diggers returned, their spades and picks were gone, and the ground was smooth. ![]() The figure leaped into the pit that had been dug, and blue flames poured out of it. Near Milford, Connecticut, Charles Island was dug into one night by a company from that town that had learned of Kidd’s visit to it - and what could Kidd be doing ashore unless he was burying money? The lid of an iron chest had been uncovered when the figure of a headless man came bounding out of the air, and the work was discontinued. Interest in the subject was now and then revived by reports of a discovery - usually by a farmer plowing near the shore - of an iron kettle with a handful of gold and silver coins in it, the same having doubtless been buried for purposes of concealment during the wars of 17. The hope of getting something for nothing was the impetus for these searches. The belief is that large deposits of gold were made at Gardiner’s Island, Dunderberg, Cro’ Nest, New York City, Coney Island, Ipswich, the marshes back of Boston, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Isles of Shoals, Money Island, Ocean Beach, the Bahamas, the Florida Keys, and elsewhere caused numerous reckless expenditures of actual wealth in the hopes of recovering doubloons and guineas. If his earnings in the gentle craft of piracy were frugally kept, he possibly left some pots of money in holes in the ground between Key West, Florida, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Captain William Kidd is the most ubiquitous gentleman in history.
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