7 minute read
The Strange Case Of Portland's "Algerines"
A lFew MeJrcbam&§ &: Sea~aJreJr§ Hall1l<glillI1l<glAJr01l111l1lJ [Jll1lnoll1lWhaJr~ 11l1lThe 1830§ &: 1840§ HaJ lPeJrlbajpl§ 100 M1lllch Tnme OIll JibenJr HaIl1lJ§ ...
By William David Barry
hen it came to dreams of hidden treasure, hardboiled Yankees of the last century .were as easily led as other men. In fact, one Portland group called "The Algerines" seemed to go out of their way to be gulled. Unlike their bloody namesakes on the Barbary Coast of Africa, the Down-East Algerines were made up of retired and nearly retired merchants and mariners who gathered on Union Wharf in the 1830's and 40's. Their number included Thomas R.Jones, John Averill, Charles Baker, Royal Williams, and Thomas McLellan. The last gentleman had retired from the sea and spent much of his new-found time with his schooner-rigged pleasure boat cruising Casco Bay. Capt. "Tom Mac" and his circle had been involved in many adventures during the war of 1812.Nostalgia bound them together, but the aging gentlemen itched for new How do you compete against the Goliath in your industry? By working harder and smarter! Today's forward thinking leaders are doing just that by leveraging online technology to boost productivity, enhance their public image, and deliver stellar customer service. We'd like to help. Our product, The Major BBS, is the world's leading online software. Thousands of top-ranked organizations like Gateway 2000, Holiday Inn, Symantic, the Miami Herald, AST ,Research, and Harvard University have chosen The Major BBS as their online platform. DOS, Windows, Novell, and UNIX compatible, as well as seamless Internet support connectivity. Whether you're looking for an in-house e-mail platform or a multinational customer service and file transfer system. The Major BBS fills all these functions effortlessly. We have been servicing online platforms since 1989 and want to help you compete with the Goliaths in your industry.
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glories. At some point, the group became intrigued with the possibility of locating treasure through spiritualists and "mesmerizers." They located a man with supposed "supernatural powers" and began to explore Casco Bay in boats rented from Edward Harlow. Their first trips took them to Jewell and Long Island. The first isle is one the most beautiful in the Bay and has a long, though doubtful, tradition of buried treasure.
Apparently deciding that local waters provided poor pickings, the Algerines hired the new topgallant schooner Rossius (156 tons) from Charles Jordan. According to Capt. Jesse K.Pierce, the vessel's master, the first treasure expedition was launched in 1841or 1842.A mesmerizer told the group that a pirate treasure was buried on Mona Island, near Puerto Rico. He described the island in detail and since McLellan knew the place himself, the group decided to take a chance. After an 11 day passage, the Rossius anchored off Mona. As Pierce recalled, "There was no harbor ...We were all right as long as the trade winds blew off shore. On reaching the shore we found four men who came down to catch fish and turtle,who seemed to be frightened. I went and talked to them as Icould talk some Spanish. The rest of the crew went into the woods with the mesmerizer to find out where to dig for the supposed treasure. I soon went in search of the party and found them digging. Near sunset we went on board. The third day we commenced again. At a depth of four feet we hit some-
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thing hard, and on digging it out found it to be a two-inch plank, four and a half feet long. So we thought we were indeed near something valuable. After we got the plank out, we dug two feet further, but found no other sign of treasure. In the forenoon of the fourth day we again went on shore with the mesmerizer to test his knowledge. About two o'clock a squall came up which blew on
shore, and we were obliged to hasten on board, get up the anchor, and make sail to save the vessel. The weather proved so bad that we have away for Portland where we arrived in seven days passage." he Algerines' enthusiasm for treasure hunting was . not dampened by this setback. Before the first Mona expedition, Capt. John Watts of Portland had told Thomas McLellan about a Welsh pirate who knew of the treasure on Mona. The pirate was enlisted in the United States Navy and was unavailable at the time of the first voyage.
While McLellan and the mesmerizer dug, Royal Williams traveled to Washington, D.C.,and procured the release of the Welshman from the Navy. When the Rossius docked at Portland, the pirate was ready for action. Jesse Pierce was not completely satisfied with the man's first story so he questioned him about the island's geography.
According to the Captain: "He said there was shelving rock about one quarter mile from the beach that would hold 14men. He said that near this rock, the money was buried and a young man was killed at the time and buried near to protect it. Iwas satisfied from his statement that the man had been on the island before, as on the first voyage Isaw the same cleft rock, and many other things which he described." The Rossius sailed with the pirate,in place of the mesmerizer and McLellan's son, John as a new recruit. According to Pierce: "We had a passage of 18days out. The morning after our arrival we went on shore taking the pirate with us. As soon as we landed the pirate ran for the woods and the . mate after him, the rest of us following in the trail. We soon came to the shelving rock and therein the cleft we found the pirate crying. He told us just where and how the young man was killed and buried. He then measured a number of paces from the rock. There, he said, is about the distance, and we commenced digging. It was not far from the spot indicated by the mesmerizer on the first voyage.
The pirate now said: "Diga little further this way." Then he cried out at the top of his voice, saying
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that he could hear the cries and pleadings of the young man not to killhim, but it was in vain. We did not do much digging that day. The pirate said the money was there and we should get it out the next day so that we could leave for home. The next morning we all armed ourselves and went on shore." Again the pirate went through his crying routine, finally saying that: "there were too many interested in the matter-that he
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was not going to do anymore at this time, but wished me to make an excuse to go home and get a small vessel, and with him, ~nd a small crew, come out, and then we could share something. The . man then ran for the mountain, where he remained all night. The next morning we could see him from the vessel with a glass. We went on shore again, and found him. His statements now became confused, and we abandoned digging." The weather changed and , the r Rossius . lhe returned to Portland. pirate left Portland for Cape Cod, where he was killed on his first voyage out on a merchant ves_ •• l- sel. Oddly, the desire to believe in the pirate and the
Mona Island trove persisted. The Algerines are said to have made two more undocumented voyages. Capt. Pierce wrote in 1884: "Ithink and believe that (the
Pirate) had been on the isle with pirates, and there is no doubt but that there is treasure buried there." •
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