White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume], July 09, 1857, Image 1

About White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872

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SOL. MILLER, EDITOR LSD f CBLISflEtt. , , . THE CONSTITUTION AND THE UNION. - . , : ' f j TERMS--S2.M FEB ASXCM, IS ADTA.fCE.
VOLUME I.f " WHITE CLOUD, KANSAS, THURSDAY, JULY 9, 1857. NUMBER C;
old siDEinra hill.
I have wsaotrea thmfh aaay e veBev,
Ami rrsTellro o'rr wiiiii sad !;
Bat there if MtMac "J epirit na rOIr,
Like ifaa birth at eT ewa bilb arsis.
I hat bke a ttaU, whea Pa streriaf
. By Um aiee ef each tata HP;
I taint afthe Uom I was elaviaf
Haw Ika fxx efoU market HilL ,
Bart the an man la thiae aan brirNtlr,
- Aatt rieaeVrthersnaotaia tee,
Lika it sheae whea Via aat ee etaialr.
Whoa eiy ti,ia ra tbrobbiaf with hope.
I with I had a oat Bear' that faanteie,
fftaH laa hm at water eoth will;
I weehj asset a warm frieae aa the aMaataia,
Tkst woale stop at old Sidebar; Bill.
There lb people art frank aad kiodbetrtee,
With ) both aisaple aad pUia;
Oftaa I think ef tbe tiane wa all parted,
N'Vt la meet ia thts wida warid arsia.
These asset af j aid Cncod, have aqtjaalrree,
Thar; see same whe ara brief ibrra Mill;
Aad they'll weleeaae ika aaa wka has waadend, '
Whaa aa cones to old Sideline BUL
Whoa I Hred by that swift link river.
With hia-wrd aad Weeds I wit bl.it,
Aad a seed etat la aw tht I eeer
MoveeatfletWfw distant West.
Wan I left hera. la life's beppv saeraias;,
I kad a eertaie (onboAing of ill;
far better I bad takes that waniaf,
Aad tUTed at aid Sideliaf UilL
My lacks art sow bWaching wilb sorraw.
My chaaka hare lost their aaea easy kac;
Bat I kaow if I die hare to aieriow,
111 die aaaoaf the friends that are ma.
8a pus roaad the bowl, boys, be raeiTT,
Aad at the rood liquor well ill.
My cheeks will trow red aad cherry,
At I driek ta old r-ideliaf Bill.
I ara tired I sm tired of raanlaf.
My heart Is dreary aaJ lane;
Aad I kaow the tiaie is fast ramiae,
Whra IH (o ta air loaf, tileal Hama.
WHiea air hut day ia lire I shell mushes,
Aad bid earhlr serraws frr-'well.
Oh! then be the plates nf bit loraVr,
The foot afelJ Sideline Bill.
3ikt Ml
(From the rkUadelphlm Dnllir Nnetpavrr.)
THE GOLD-BUG,
A PRIZE STOEY.
BY EDGAR A. POE, ESQ,
(CoKclndeJ.)
Her my-friend, about jrhos aiadncu ! now
saw, or fancied that I a, certain indications of
method, removed the peg nearest the tree, to a
pot about three inches to the westward of its.
former position. Taking, now, the tape meas
ure from the nearest point of the trunk, as be
fore, and continuing the extension in a straight
line to the distance of fifty feet, spot was in
dicated, removed, by several yards, from the
point at which we had been digging.
Around the new position a tfirele, somewhat
larger than in the former liutauce, was now de
scribed, and we again tut to work with the
spjfdes. I was dreadfully weary, but, scarcely
understanding what had occasioned the change
in my thoughts, Lfelt no longer any preat aver
sion from the labor imposed. - I had become
most unaccountably interested nay, even exi
ted. Perhaps there waa something, amid all
the extravagant demeanor of-"Legrand some
air of forethought, or of deliberation, which
impressed me. I dng eagerly, and now and
then caught myself actually looking, with somr-
Ihing that rery much resembled expectation, for
the fancied treasure, the avision of which had
demented my unfortunate companion. At a pe
riod when such vagaries of thought most fully
possessed me, and when we had been at work
perhaps an boor and a half, we were again inter,
rupted by the violent bowlings of the dog. His
uneasiness, in the first instance, bad been, eri'
dently, but the result of playfulness or eaarics,
bnt he sow assumed a bitter and serious tone.
Upon Jupiter's sgain attempting to muzxle him,
he mads furious resistance, and, leaping into the
hole, bs tore up the mould frantically with his
claws. In a few seconds bs had uncovered a
mass of human bones, forming two complete
skeletons, aad intermingled with several buttons
of metal, and what appeared to be the' dust of
decayed woollen. One or two strokes of the
spade uptarned the blade if a large Spanish
knife, and, aa we dug farther, three or four loose
pieces of gold and silver coin came to light.
At sight of thee the joy of Jupiter could
scarcely be restrained, bnt tbe countenance of
his master wore an air of extreme disappoint
ment. He wrged us, however, to continue our
exertions, and the words were hardly uttered
when I stumbled and fell forward, having caught
the toe of my boot in a large ring of iron that
lay half buried ia the loose earth,
i We new worked ia good earnest, and never
d I pass ten minutes of more intense excitement-
During this interval we bad fairly un
earthed an oblong chest ef wood, which, from
its perfect preservation and wonderful hardness
had plainly been subjected to some mineralizing
process perhaps that of the bi -chloride of mer
cury. This box was three and a half feet long,
three feet broad, aaJ two and a half feet deep.
It was firmly secured by bands of wrought iron,
riveted, and forming a kind of open trellis-work
over the whole. On each side of the chest, near
the top, were three rings of iron six ia all by
"ns of which a firm bold could be obtained
by six persons. Our utmost united, endeavor
erred only to disturb the coffer very slightly in
Its bed. Wsat ones saw tha impossibility or
ressoring so great a weight. Luckily, the sole
fastenings of tbe lid consisted of two sliding
bolt. These we drew back trembling and pan
ting with anxiety. In aa instant a treasure of
Incalculable ?lne lay gleaming before na. 'As
ha swea et tfaa 1antrna Calf all).;. .V .
- .uuu, w, p, uve
6uba wnvarde a rlow and a r'ain. t. . I
I u o f m vvu
fused heap ef gold and of jewels that absolutely
dizzied our eyes.
shall not pretend to describe the feelings
with which I gazed. Amazement was, of course.
predominant. Legrand appeared exhausted with
excitement, and spoke very few words. J up!
ter's countenance wore, for some minutes, as
deadly a pallor as it was possible, in the nature
of things, for any negro's visage to sssntne. He
seemed stupefied thunder-stricken. Presently
be fell upon his knees in the pit, and, burying
his naked arms ud to tha elbows ia sold, let
them chare remain, as if rjjoying tha luxury of
a bath. At length, with a deep sigh, he exclaim'
ed, as if in a iff soliloquy
" And dis alt come ob de goole-bug! de patty
goole bug! de poor little goole-bug! what I
boosed in dat sobage kind ob style! Ain't you
shamed ob yourself, nigger? answer me dat!
It becitme necessary, at last, that I should
arouse both master and valet to the expediency
of removing the treasure. It was growing late,
and it behooved us to make exertion, that we
might get everything housed before daylight It
was difficult to say what should be done, and
much time was spent in deliberation so con
fused were the ideas of ail. We, finally, light
ened the box by removing two-thirds of its con
tents, when we were enabled with some trouble
to raise it from the hole. The articles taken
out were deposited among the brambles, and the
dog '. ft to guard them, with strict orders from
Jupiter neither, upon any pretence, to stir from
the spot, nor to open his mouth until our return
We then hurriedly made for home with the
ehest; reaching the hut in safety, but after ex
cessive foil, at one o'clock in tbe morning.
V orn out as we were, it was not in human na
ture, to do more immediately. We rested until
two, and had supper; starting for the hills inline
diately afterwards, armed with three stout sacks.
which, by good luck, were on the premises. A
little before four we arrived at the pit, divided
the remainder of the booty, as equally as might
be, among us, and, leaving the holes .unfilled,
again set out for the hut, at which, for the seer
ond time, we sain dpoyted our poMon bur
thens, jurt as the faint rtreak3 of the dawn
gleamed from over the tree-tops in the Eist.
IV'e were now thoroughly broken down; but
the intense excitement of the time denied ns re
pose. After an unquiet slumber of some three
or four hours' duration, we arose, as if by pre
concert, to make examination of our treasure.
Tbe chest had been full to the brim, and we
spent the whole day, and the preater ptrt of the
next night, in a scrutiny of its contents. There
h ad been nothing like order or arrangement.
Everything had been heaped in promiscuously.
Having assorted all with care, we found ourselves
possessed of even vaster wealth than we had at
first supposed. In coin there was rather more
than lour hundred aad fifty thousand dollar
estimating the value of the pieces aa accurately
as we could by the fciMes of the period. There
wts not a particle of silver. AM was cold, of
antique date and great variety French, Srcui'
ish and German money, with a few English pnin
rae, and some counters of which we had never
se.-n specimens before. There were several ve
ry large and heavy coins, so wom that we could
mike nothin? of their inscriptions. Thera was
no American monev. The vale of the towels
we found more difficulty In etimtin. There
were dinmoni's some 'of them exeeedincly
larre and fine a hundred anJ ten in alt. and not
one of them small; eichteen rubies of remark
able brilliancy; three hnnlred and tn emeralds.
all very beautiful; and twenty-one sapphires,
with an opal. -These stones had alt been bro
ken from the'r set'.inje an1 thrown loe in the
chest. The gettinps themselves, which weptck-
ed out from among the other gold, appeared to
have teen beaten np with hammer, as if to pre
vent Identification. BesMes all this, there wal
a rat quantity of solid gold ornaments; nearly
two hundred tnaealve finder and ear-rings; rich
chains thirty of thee, if I remember; eightr.
three very large and heavy cmcifixes; fine gold
oenaers of great value; a rodigions golden
punch howl, ornamented with richly chased vine,
leaves and BicehanaHan figures; with two word
handles exquisitely emhossed, a.nd many other
mailer articles which 1 cannot recollect. The
weight of these valuables exceeded three ban
dred and fifty pounds avoirdupois; and in this
estimate t hare not included one hundred and
nlnety-seren rmperfe gold watches; three of the
number being worth each five hundred dollars,
if one. Many of them were very old, and
time-keepers valueless; the works having suffer
ed more or less from corrosion but ail were
richly jewelled, and in eases of great worra
We estimated the entire contents of the chest,
that bight, at a million and a half of dollars
and, upon the subsequent disposal of the trink
ets and jewels (a few being retained for our own
use) it was found that we had greatly underval
ued the treasure.
When, at length, we had concluded oor ex
amination, and the intense excitement of the
time had, in some measure, subsided, Legrand,
who saw that I was dying with impatience for a
solution of this most extraordinary riddle, en
tered into a full detail of all the circumstances
connected with it.
" You remember said he, - the night whea
I handed you the rough sketch I had made of
the sorstVnt. You recollect, ato, that I be
came quite vexed at yoa for insisting that my
drawing resembled a death's-head. When you
first made this assertion I thought you were jes
ting; but afterwards I called to mind the pecu
liar spots on the back of the insect, and admit
ted to myself that your remark had some little
foundation in fart. Still, the sneer at my graph
ic powers irritated me for I sm considered a
good artist and, therefore, when yoi, handed
me the scrap ef parchment, I was about to crum
ple it p and throw it angrily into the fire." .
The scrap of paper, you mean," said L
" No; it had much the appearance of paper,
and at first I supposed it to besacn.but, when I
came to draw upon it, I discovered it, at once,
to be a pftec of rery thin rjarchmenta It was
quite dirty, you remember. Wall, as I was in
the very act of crumpling it up, my glance fell
upon tbe sketch at which you had heea looking.
and you may imagine my astonishment whea I
perceived, in fact, the figure of a death's-hea3
just where, it seemed to me, I had made the
drawing of the beetle. For a moment I was too
much amazed ts think with accuracy. I knew
that my design was very different in detail from
this atthough there was a certain similarity in
general outline. Presently I took i candle, sod,
seating myself at the other end of the room,
proceeded to scrutinize the parchment more
closely. Upon turning Uovesfsaw my own
sketch apon the reverse, just as f bjI made it.
My first ides, now, was mere surprise at the re
ally remarkable similarity of outline at the
singular coincidence involved in the fact that,
unknown to me, there should have been a skull
on the othnr side of the parchment, immediate
ly beneath my figure of the tearg&ctts, and that
this skull, not only in outline, but in size, should
so closely resemble my drawing." I say tbe sin
gularity of this coincidence absolutely stupefied
me for a time. - This is the usual effect of such
coincidences. The mind struggles to establish
a connection a sequence of cause end effect-
and, being unable to do so, suffers a species of
temporary paralysis. But, when I recovered
from this stupor, there dawned upon me gradu
ally, a conviction which startled me even far
more than the coincidence. I began distinctly,
positively, to remember that there had been no
drawing upon the parchment when I made my
sketch of the scarooovis. I became perfectly
certain of this; for I recollected turning up first
one side snd then the other, in search of the
cleanest spot. Had the skull been then there.
of course I could net have failed to notice is-
Here was indeed a mystery which I felt it im
possible to explain; but, even at that early mo
ment, there seemed to glimmer, faintly, within
the most remote and secret chambers of mv in
tellect, a glowworm like conception, of that
truth which last night's adventure brought to so
magnificent a demonstration. I arose at once,
dismissing all further reflection until I should be
alone.
" When you had gone, and when Jupiter was
fast asleep, I betook myself to a more method
c 0 investigation of the affair. In the first place
I considered the manner in which the parchment
had come into my possession. The spot where
we discovered the temmbtut was on the coast
of the main land, about a mile eastward of that
island, and bnt a short distance above bigh-wa
ter marie, upon my seizing it, it cave me a
sharp bite, which caused me to let it drop. Ju
piter, with his accustomed caution, before seiz
ins: the inect. which had flown towards him.
looked about him for a leaf, or something of ttrat
nature, by which to take bold of it. It was at
this moment that his eyes, and mine also, fell
upon the scrap of parchment, which I then sup
posed to be paper. It was lying half buried in
the sand, a corner sticking up. Near the spot
where we found it, I observed the remnants of
the hull of what appeared to have been a ship's
long-boat The wreck seemed lo have been
there lor a great while; for the resemblance to
bost timbers could scarcely be traced.
" Well, ' Jupiter picked up the parchment,
wrapped the beetle in it, and gave it to me.
Soon afterwards we turned to go home, and on
the way met Lieutenant G . I showed him
the inject, and he begged me to let bim tike it
to the fort. Upon my consenting, he thrust it
forthwith into his waistcoat pocket, without the
parchment in which it had been wrapped, and
which I continued to bold in my hand during
his inspection. Perhaps he dreaded mv chang
ing my mind, and thought it best to make sure
of the prize at onee you know bow enthusias
tic he is on all subjects connected with natural
history. At the same lyne, without being con
scions of it, I must have deposited the parchment
in my own pocket.
" You remember that when I went to the ta
ble, for the purpose of making a sketch of the
beetle, I found ne paper where it was usually
kept. I looked in the drawer aod found none
there, I searuhed my pockets, hoping to find an
old letter, when my hand fell upon the parch
ment. I ti.tts detail the preoise mode in which
it came into my possession; for the circumstan
ces impressed me with peculiar force.
" No doubt you will thick me fanciful but I
had already established a kind of tnetvm. I
had put together two links of a jreat chains
There was boat lying en the Ma coast, arid not
far from the boat was a parchment wot swatr
with a skull depicted on It You will, of
course, ask ' where b the connection V I reply,
that the skull, or death's-head, is the well-known
-emblem of the pirate. The flag of the death's.
head is hoisted in all engagements.
" I hav; said that the scrap was parchment,
snd not paper. . Parchment is durableaa-aluas
imperishable. Matters of little moment are rare,
ly consigned to parchment; since, for the mere
ordinsry purposes of drawing or writing, it is
not nearly se well adapted as paper. This re,
flection suggested some meaning some relev
ancy in the death's-head. I did not fail to ob
serve, also, the eras of the parchment Al
though one of its comers had been, by boh3 ac
cident, destroyed, it could be seea that tbe orig
inal form was oblong. It was just such a slip,
indeed, as might have been chosea for a mem
orandumfor a record of something to be long
remembered and carefully freserved."
But," I interposed, - you say that the skull
was wot upon tbe parchment when you made tbe
drawing of the beetle. How then do you trace
any connection between the host and the skull
since this latter, according to your own admis
sion, must have been designed (God only knows
bow or by whom) at some period subsequent to
yosr sketching the Karaite. . .
" Ah, hereupon turns the whole mystery; al
though the secret, at this point, I had compara
tively little difficulty ia solving. My steps were
sure and could afford but a single result I rea
soned, for example, thus: When I drew the
ea-reoeeaa there was no skull apparent upoa the
parchment When I had completed the draw
ing I gave it to you, and oWrved you narrowly
until you returned it Vew, therefore, did not
design the skull, and ne one else was present to
do it Then it was not done by human agency.
And, nevertheless, it was done.
A. this stage of my reflections I endeavored
to remember, and did remember, with entire dis
tinctness, every incident which occurred about
the period in question. Tbe weather was chilly
(oh! rare and happy accident!) and a fire was
blazing upon the heanh. I was heated with ex
erase and sat near tjie table. You, however,
bad drawn a chair ctase to the chimney. Just
as I placed the parchrjent in your hand, and as
you were in the act of inrpeoting It, Wolf, the
Newfoundland, enteid,- and leaped upon your
shoulders. With yourVt band you caressed
him and kept tiirn elffaKile your right, holdjqg
the parchment, was permitted to fail listlessly
between your knees, and in close proximity to
the fire. At one troment I thought the blaze
had caught it, and was about to caution you, but
before I could spea'c, you bad withdrawn it, and
were engaged in its examination. When I con
sidered all these particulars, I doubted not for a
moment tha, leaf had been the agent in bring
ing to light, upon the parchment, tbe skull which
I saw designed upon it You are well aware that
chemical preparations exist, and have existed
time out of mind, by means of which it is possi
file to write, upon either paper or vellum, so that
the characters thai! become risible only when
subjected to the action of fire.
" I now scrutiaized the death's-head with care.
Its outer edges the edges of the drawing near
est the edge of the vellum-e-were far more git
tinet than the othtrs. It was clear that the ac
tion of the caloric had been imperfect or une
qual. I immediately kindled a fire, and subjec
ted every portion of the parchment to a glowing
heat At first, the jnly effect was tbe strength
ening of the faint ines in the skull; but, upon
persevering in the experiment, there became
visible, at the eorwr of the slip, disgonallv op
posite to the spot in which the desth s-head was
delineated, the figure of what I at first supposed
to be a goat A closer scrutiny, however, satis
fied me that it was intended fur a kd."
Ha! ha!" said I, - to be sure I have no right
to laugh at you a million and a half of money
is too serious a matter for mirthbut you are
uot about to estiilish a third link in your chain
you will not find any especial connection be
tween your pirates and a goat pirates you know.
have nothing" to do with goats; they appertain
i to the larnnng interests.
But I have just said that the figure wis not
that of a goat."
" Well, a kid then pretty much the same
thing."
Pretty much, but not altogether," said Le
grand. " You may have heard of one Captain
Kidd. I at once louatj apon thr -figure of the
auimal as a kind of puraing or hieroglyphical
signature, I say signature, because its position
upon the vellum suggested this ides. The
death's-head, at the corner diagonally opposite,
had, in the same manner, the air of a stamp, or
seal, BuJ I was sorely put out by the absence
of all e lie of the body of my imagined instru
mentof tbe text for my context."
" I presume you expected to find a letter be
tween tbe stamp and the signature."
Something of that kind. The fact is, I felt
Irresistibly impressed with a presentiment of
some vast good fortune impending, I can scarce
ly say why. Perhaps, after all, it was rather s
desire than an sctua belief; but do yon know
that Jupiter's silly words about the bug being of
solid gold, had a remarkable effect upon my fan
cy? And then the series of accidents and coin-cidences-these
were so aerjf extraordinary.
Do you observe how mere an accident it was
that these events shoald have occurred upon the
wit day ef all the year in which it has been, or
may be, sufficiently cnol for fire, snd that with
out the fire, or witnost the intervention of the
dog at the precise moment in which he afVeared,
l should never have become aware of the
death's-head, and so never the possessor of the
treasure '
" But proceed I am all impatience."
Well: you have heard, of course, the many
stones currentn-rhe thousand vague rumors
afloat shout money buried, somewhere upon the
Atlantic coast, by tfidd and his associates
These rumors must have had some foundation
in fact And that tbe rumors hare existed so
long snd so continuously, could have resulted,
it appeared to me, only from the circumstance
of the buried treasure still rrmmimng entombed.
Had Kidd concealed his plunder for a time, and
afterwards reclai med it, the rumors would scarce.
ly have reached us in their present unvarying
form. You will observe that the stories told
are all about money-seekers, not money-find ers.
Han the pirate recovered his money, there tbe
affair would hare dropped. It seemed to me
that some accident say the roes of a memoran
dura indicating its locality had deprived him
of the means of recovering it, and that this ac
eident had become known to hi followers, who
otherwise might never have heard that treasure
had been concealed at all, and who, busying
ttteeaselres in vain, because unguided attempts,
to regain it, ha1 given first birth, and then uni
versal cnevrncy, to the reports which are now so
common. Have yoa ever heard of any impor
tant treasure having been unearthed by the dig.
gers of monev along the coast 7"
- Never."
" But that Kidd'f accumulations were Im
mense is well known. I took it for granted,
therefore, that tbe earth still held them; and
you win scarcely be surprised when I tell you
thst I felt s hope, nearly amounting to certainty,
that the parchment so strangely foend. Involved
a lost reerd of the place of deposit
" But how did you proceed?" . . .
" I held the vellum again to the fire, aftrr In
creasing the heat; but nothing appeared. I now
thought it possible that the coating of dirt might
have something too with the uilure; so I ease
fully rinsed tbe parchment by pouring warm wa?
ter over it, and, having done this. I placed st ia
a tin pan, with the skull downwards, and pot the
pan upon a furnace of lighted charcoal. Tn a
few minutes, the pan having becoaae titorcaghty
heated, I removed the slip, and, to my inexpres-
sible joy, found K spotted. In several places,
with what appeared to be figures arranged ia ;
line- Agaia I placed it in tbe pan, and suffered !
it to rewiaia another aulnata. Upoa taking it off, '
the whole was just as yoa see it now."
Here Legrand submitted the parchment to my
inspection. The following characters were rede
ly traced between the death's-head and the goat:
53;:305)56;4926)4t)4);en6i48tf")))P5;l
;:i883(t)5tt;48t96T:8)J(;45)ia:
Jf ;49562(5 4)8r8:492S5);)68 )4t:;l(:9
,-48l;8;8;ii rf$85;4 ;485t528806ol(9;48;(Sd
;4(,T34;48;4i;161;:188rfT;
" But," said I, re taming him the slip, -1 am
as much in the dark as ever. Were all the jew
els of Golconda awaiting are upon my solution
of this enigma, I am quite sure that I should be
unable to earn them." ' ' -
" And jet," said Legrand, "the solutionis
by no means so difficult as you might be led to
imagine from tbe first hasty inspection of tha
characters. These characters, as any one might
readily guess, form a cipher that it to say, they
convey a meaning; but then, from what ia known
of Eidd, I could not suppose bim capable of con
structing any of the more abstruse cryptographs.
I made up my mind, at once, that this was of a
simple species such, however, as would appear,
to the crude intellect of the sailor, absolutely in
soluble without the key."
M And yj really solved it?"
" Readily; I have solved others of aa abstruse
ness ten thousand times greater. Circumstan
ces, and a certain bias of mind, have led me to
take interest in such riddles, snd it may well be
doubted whether human ingenuity caa construct
an enigma of tbe kind which human ingenuity
may not, with proper application, resolve. In
fact, having once established connected and leg
ible characters, I scarcely gave a thought to the
mere difficult of developing their import
" In the present ease indeed in all cases of
secret writing the first question regards the
language of the cipher; for the principles of so
lution, so far, especially, aa the more simple ci
phers are concerned, depend upon, and are va
ried by, the genus of the particular idiom. In
general, there is no alternative but experiment
(directed by probabilities) of every tongue
known to him who attempts the solution, until
the true one is attained. But, with the cipher
now before us, all difficulty was removed by the
signature. The pun upon the word Kidd is
appreciable in no other language than the Eng
lish, But for (his consideration I should have
begun tyy attempts with the Spanish and French,
as the tongues iu which a secret of this kind
would most naturally have been written by a pi
rata of the Spanish main. As it was, I assumed
the cryptographs to be English.
" You observe there are no divisions between
the words. Had there been divisions, the task
would have been comparatively easy. In such
case I should have commenced with a collation
and analysis of the shorter words, and, had a
ward of a single letter occurred, as is most liker
ly, (a or I, for example,) I should have consid
ered this solution as assured. But there, being
no diruion, my first step was to ascertain the
predominant letters, as well as the least frequent
Counting all, I constructed a table, thus
Of the character
8 there are 3.1 t I there are 8
; 26 0 " 6
4 -19 9 0 5
t ) " 16 9 3 - 4
" 13 T 3
5 " 13 T " 2
6 " 11 2 " 1
' Now, in English, the letter which most fre
quently occurs is c Afterwards the succession
rnnsthus: (lif't arit(;Ia a il
M't E predominates so remarkably that an
individual sentence of any length is rarely seen,
it which it is not the prevailing character.
" Here, then, we have, in the very beginning,
the groundwork for something more th a mere
gqess, The gcnryal use which msy be made of
the table is obviouso-but In this particular ci
pher we shall oqly rery partially require its aid.
As our predominant character is 8, we will com
mence by assuming it as the s of the natural al
phabet To verify the supposition, let ns observe
if the 8 be seen often in couplesT-for t is dou
bled with great frequency in English io such
words, for example, as 'meet, 'fleet," speed,
seen, been,' agree, tc In the present in
stance we see it doubled no less than fire times,
although the cryptograph is brief.
" Let as sssume 8, then, aa . Now, of U
irvrit in the language, tbe is most usual: let
us see, therefore, whether there are not repeti
tions of any three characters, in the same order
of collocation, the last af them being 8. If we
discover repetitions of such letters, so arranged,
they will meet probably represent the word the.'
Upon inspection, we find no less than seven such
arrange menu, the character being 43. We
may, therefore, assume that ; represents t, 4 rep
resents k, and 8 represents e the last being now
well confirmed, Ttj2J 1 xreat step has been ta
ken. " But, tasiag esUblisbed a single word, we
are enabled to establish a vastly important point;
(bat is to say, seTeral commencements and ter
minations of other wore. Let as refer, for ex
ample, to the last instance, but one, in which
the combination j48 occurs not far from tbe end
of the cipher. We know that the ; immediate!
ly ersuing Is the commencement of a word, and
of the six characters succeeding this 'the,' we
are cognizant of no less than fire. Let as set
these characters, thus, by the letters we know
them to represent, leaving a spaoe for the oce
unkjaovin
t eeth.
" Here we are enabled, at onee, to diseasd he
(i as forming no portion of the word
eing with the first I ; since, by experiment of
the entire alphabet for a letter adapted to the
vacancy, we perceive that no word can be form
ed of which this U can be a part We are thus
narrowed ia to
tee,
aaa, going inrougn tne alphabet, if necessary, as
before, we arrive at tha void ' tree,' as the sole
possible reading. We thus gam another letter,
r, represented by (, with the ward tbe tree is
juxUprautioa.
" Looking beyond these words,' for s short dis-
tance, we again see the eosabtaatioa ;4S, aad
employ it by way of termimmtitm to what immer
itIy precedes. Ws have thus this arrange-!
ment: '
the tree ?fT.?34 the, I
or, substitutiag the natural letters, where known,
it reads thus:
the tree thri?3h the.
" Now, if, in the place of the unknown char
acters, we leave blank spaces, or substitute dots,
we read thus:
the tree thr h the,
when the word ' Anagk ' makes itself evident
at once. But this discovery gives aa three new
letters, s, a, and e, represented by i T and 3.
" Looking, now, narrowly, through the cipher
for combinations of known characters, we Una,
mot vet fr from fcae beginning, this trrr.g
Bient:
83(88, or egree,
whieu, plainly, ia the conclusion of the word 'de
gree,' and gives us another letter, d, represent
ed by t.
Four letters beyond the word 'degree,' we
perceive the conibi nation
" Translating the known characters, and rep
resenting the unknown by dots, as before, we read
thus:
thrtee,
an arrangement immediately suggestive of the
word 'thirteen, and again furnishing us with
two new characters, i and a, represented by 6
and.
" Referring now to the beginning of the cryp
tograph, we find the combination,
53JJt.
" Translating, as before, we obtain
good.
which assures us thst the first letter is A, and
that the first two words are " A good.'
" It is now time that we arrange our key, "as
far as discovered, in a tabular form, to avoid
confusion. It will stand thus;
5 represents a
I m d
8 e
6 represents 1
a n
t " O
( " r
; t
- We have, therefore, no less than ten of tbe
most important letters represented, and it will
be unnecessary to proceed with the details of (he
solution. I nave said enough to convince you
that ciphers of this nature are readily soluble,
snd to give ycu some insight Into the rational
of their development But be assured that the
specimen before us appertains to the very sim
ple species of cryptograph. It now only remains
to give you the full translation of the charac
ters upon the parchment, aa unriddled. Here it
"A good glau ia At Bukep't kotel iu At
PeeiTa teat fory-na degrm and Airttn aria
vltt uortk-tatt and iy mru nain kranck ttvenlk
limb test tidt sloe from AeUfttyeof At dratk't
kttd 9 lot lint from At free Ajougk At liol fifty
fttt out.' "
" But," said I, " the enigma seems still in ss
bad a condition as ever. How is it possible to
extort a meaning from all this jargon about
'devil's seats,' death's-heads,' and 'Bishop's
hotels V
" I confess," replied Legrand, " that the mat
ter still wears a serious aspect, when regarded
with a casual glance. My first endeavor was to
divide the sentence into the natural division in
tended by the cryptogrsphist-"
" Yo'u mean, to punctuate itT"
" Something of that kind.'
" But how was it possible to effect tbisT"
" I reflected that it had been a point with the
writer to run his words together without divis
ion, so as to increase the difficulty of solution.
Now, a not over-scute man, in pursuing such an
object, would be nearly certain to overdo the
matter. When, in the course of his composition
he srrired at a break in bis subject vhsb would
naturally require a pause, or a point, he would
be exceedingly spt to run his characters, at this
place, more than usually close together. If you
will observe the M3, in tha present instance.
yon will easily detect five such cases of unusual
crowding. Acting upon tins hint, I made the
division thus:
"A good glatt in A Buses' hasiel in At
Deotl't otatfrrtfnt dtgrett and Avrtrrn aria.
mie tterU east sad km aorta -main Irantk sev
en i limb rest tidt thoot from On Irjt eye of
A dtatk't-ktod Sec lint from Vit tret Awgk
At $kot fi.tf fttt out.'
" Even this dirision," said I, n bares me still
in the dark."
U left me also In the dark," replied Le
grand, " for a few days; during which I made
diligent Inquiry, hi the neighborhood of Sulli
van's Island, for any building which, went by the
name of the Bishop's hotel; for, of Coarse, I
dropped the obsolete srord ' hosteL. Gaining na
information en the subject, I was on the point ef
extending my sphere of search, and proceeding
in a more systematic manner, erhrn, one csorn
ins, it entered Into my head, quit suddenly,
that this Bishop's Hostel 'might have son
refereuo to an old family of the nam of Bee
sop, which, time out of mind, bad held poasii
sion of aa ancient manor-house about four mile
to the northward of the Island. I accordingly
went over to the plantation, and re insti tiled my
inquiries among the older negroes ef the place.
At length one of the most aged of the women
said that she had heard of such a place a Bt
tata'i Cattle, aad thought that she could guide
me to H, but that it was not B castis, nor a tar
am, but a high reck.
" oflued to pay herareHtor her trouble, and,
after some demur, she consented to aecoespatry
me to the spot We found it without much dif
ficulty, when, dismissing her, I proceeded to ex
am! na the place. . The ' castle ' consisted of aa
irregular assemblage cf cliffs snd rocks oca of
the latter beicg quite reaiarkabl for it height,
as well as for it insulated and artificial appear
ance.. I dambered to its apex, and then felt
much at a toss as to what shoald be next done.
" While I was basied in reflection, my eye
fell apoa a narrow ledge ia the eastern fits of
tbe rock, perhaps a yaw ttelow tbe summit upon
which I stood. The .ledge projected about
eighteen Inches, and wis act more than a foot
.-. ....
wide, whoe a niche in the cliff just above it gave
U a rede resemblance to an ef the hollow,
backed chairs aed by otar aacerators. . I made no
doubt that here was the ' devil's seat I alladed
alluded to in the MS., and bow J ,emed to grasp
the fall record of the riddle.
The ' good glass, I knew, could have refer
ence to nothing but a telescope ; for the word
glass ' is rarely employed la any other sense by
seamen. Now here, I at once saw, waa a tele
scope to be used, and a definite point of view,
admitting as aartaJioa, from which to use it
Nor did I hesitate to believe that the phrasea
'forty-one degrees and thirteen minutes,' and
' north-east and by north,' were intended as di-
rrcuuoi tuv we lerriung oi tire glass, ureauj
cretM y VK-a discovered, I humet h3.
procured a telescope, and returned ta tse rocki
" I let myself down to the ledge, aad found
that it was Impossible to retain a seat upon it,
except in oue particular position. This fivct eon
firmed my pre-conceived idea. I proceeded to
use the glass. Of course, the forty-one degrees
and thirteen minutes could allude to nothing
but elevation above the visible horizon, since the
horizontal direction was clearly indicated by the
words ' north east and by north.' This latter di
rection I a once established by means ef a pock -et-eompass;
then, pointing the glass as nearly at
an angle of forty-one degrees of elevation as I
could do it by guess, I moved U cautiously up or
down, until my attention was arrested by a cir
cular rift or opening, in the foliage of a Urge
tree that overtopped its- fellows in the distance.
In the centre of this rift I perceived a white
spot, but could not, at first, distinguish what it
was. Adjusting the focus of the telescrope, I
sgain looked, and now roade it out to he a hu
man skull.
"Upon this discovery I was so sanguine as to
consider the enigma solved; for the phrase
' main branch, seventh limb, east side,' could re
fer only o the position of the skull upon tha
tree, while ' shoot from the left eye of the death'
head admitted, also, of but one interpretatiop.
in regard to a search for buried treasure. Iaer-
ceived that tbe design was to drop a hull from
the left ere of the skull, and that l bee line, or
in other words a straight line, drawn from the
nearest poiut of the trunk, through the shot,'
(or tbe spot where the bullet fell,) aad thence
extended to a distance of fifty feet, would indi
cate a definite point and beneath this point I -thought
it at least pt libit that a deposit of val
ue lay concealed."
All this," I said, "is exceedingly clear, and.
although ingenious, still simple and explicit.
When you left the Bishop's Hotel, what thenr'
" Why, having carefully taken the bearings of,
the tree, I turned homewards. The instant that
I left 'the devil's seat,' however, the circular
rift vauUhtd; nor eouhi I get a glimpse of It af
terwards, turn as I would. What seems to me
the chief ingenuity in this whole business, la the
fact (for repeated experiment has convinced me
it is a fact) that tbe circular opening ia question
is visible from no other attainable point of view
than that afforded by the narrow ledge upoa the
face of tbe rock.
In this expedition to the 'Kshoo's Hotel.' I
had been attended by Jupiter, who had, no doubt.
observed, for some weeks past, the abstraction
of my demeanor, and took especial care not to
leave me alone. But, on the next day, rettinr
up very early, I contrived to give him the slip.
and
went into the mils In search of the tree.
After much toil I found it When I came home
at night my valet proposed to give me a flog-
ging. With the rest ef the adventure, I believe,
you are as well acquainted as myself.''
I suppose," said I, "yoa missed the net
in the first attempt st digging, through JuDitera
stupidity in letting the bug fall through the right.
msteaa or through tbe left eye of the skull.
" Precisely. This mistake made a difference
of about two Inches and a half in the 'shot'
that 1 to say, in the position of the peg nearest
the tree; and had the treasure been ktntatk the
'shot, the error would hare been of Bttl mo
ment; but the shot,' together with the nearest
point of the tree, were merely two points for tha
establishment ef a Lne ef direction: of course
tha error, however trivial In the beginning. In
creased as we proceeded with the line, and, by
the time w had gone fifty feet, threw as suit
off the scent But for my deep-seated Impres
sions that treasure was her somewhere actually
buried, we might have had all our labor la rain.
- xJu yotrr randiloquence, and yottr eondsot
ia swinging the beetle hew excessively odd
I wa sure you were mad. And why did yoa in
sist npon dropping (be bug, Instead of a bullet.
from thf stullT"
"Why. io be frank, I felt somewhat snnoyed
by your evident suspicions touching my sanity,
and c resolved to ptmiah yon quietly, la my
own way, by a little Wt of sober mystification.
ror this reason I swung the beetle, and for this
reason I droviped it from tiia tree. Aa cbsrra
Hon of yours about iu great weight, turgested
the latter Idea."
Yet, I perctirea and nrva ther I ante eras
poinT whloh puzxJe me. Whst s w to msi
caTtheskelatceaforad In the holeT" ,
This is a question I am no mora able ts as
swer than ycetrself. There seems, however, up.
Ty one plausible way of acouriting for them esd
yet h I dreedhl to beliete hi such atrodre as
aiy suggestion would iarplv. It is dear that 7dd
if Kidd indeed secreted this trtisme ahVcb
I doubt not it ts clear, that he must bar had
assistance in the labor. But, this labor eoucis-
ded, he may bar thought h expedient to re-,
ore all participants ia bis secret Perhaps a
wtrple of Wows with a mattock were scSaect,
while his coadjutor were busy ia the pit; per
haps It required a dozen wh shall ten
Ther are very few people who caTJ thr mi sirs
our friends, but wha smi! apon a mere ia tha
day of prosperity than ia the dsy af adversity. '
If man's mirnmanity to man stakes ooA$es
tboeaanis mourn, what Is the effect ef assn's In
humanity I woman!
Carlyls says: " Make yotstaeif good ta.'
! then you may be sure tl)r Is one rascal ih
i leas j, t&a world.
A wife fall of truth, iunocrace, and love, Is
be prettiest flower a ssan eaa wear aext to h:i
heart. ''