More 19th Century Reports of Captain Kidd's Treasure Buried Off Pelham Shores

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It should come as no surprise that by the 1870s, nearly the entirety of Huckleberry Island off the shores of Pelham had been dug up by treasure hunters.  By that time, rumors that Captain Kidd once buried a portion of his storied treasure had circulated throughout the region and been reported in newspapers throughout the nation!

Introduction

I have written before about the infamous 17th century pirate William Kidd, known as Captain Kidd, and rumors that he buried part of his storied treasure on Huckleberry Island off the shores of Pelham.  See Fri., Jan. 22, 2016:  Did the Notorious Captain Kidd Bury Treasure on an Island Off the Shores of Pelham?  The story of Captain Kidd's buried treasure is merely part of Pelham's long and storied history of legends of buried treasure as well as actual discoveries of buried treasure.  For examples, see:  

Tue., Nov. 24, 2015:  Another True Tale of Buried Gold Found in Pelham.

Wed., Sep. 23, 2015:  Yet Another Tale of Buried Treasure in the Town of Pelham.

Thu., Aug. 20, 2015:  Pre-Revolutionary War Pewter Plates Were Discovered in Pelham in 1938.

Mon., Jan. 26, 2015:  Hidden Treasure that Once Belonged to the Father of John Hunter of Hunter's Island in Pelham Found in a Discarded Chest in the 19th Century.

Thu., Feb. 19, 2015:  Another Account of Gold and Silver Treasure Found in a Pelham Manor Backyard in 1889.

Wed., Jun. 11, 2014:  Buried Treasure Off the Shores of Pelham: The Legend of Pirate's Treasure.

Wed., Oct. 14, 2009:  1879 News Account Provides Additional Basis for Some Facts Underlying Ghost Story of Old Stone House in Pelhamville (tells legend that Mrs. James Parish hid gold on the grounds of the home).

Mon., Apr. 06, 2009:  Paper Recounts Burial of the Bell of St. Paul's Church in Eastchester To Save it from the British During the Revolutionary War.

Mon., May 01, 2006:  The Legend of the Recovery of Pirate's Treasure on an Island Off Pelham.

Mon., May 16, 2005:  The Discovery of a Gold and Silver Treasure in the Backyard of a Pelham Home in 1889.

"William Kidd, Privateer, Pirate," an 18th Century Portrait by

Sir James Thornhill. Source: "William Kidd" in WIKIPEDIA --

The Free Encyclopedia (visited Jan. 16, 2016). NOTE: Click

on Image to Enlarge.

William Kidd

William Kidd (1645 - 23 May 1701) was a Scottish sailor who sailed as a privateer and became infamous as "Captain Kidd," a notorious pirate.  According to one source:  "Some modern historians deem his piratical reputation unjust, as there is evidence that Kidd acted only as a privateer.  Kidd's fame springs largely from the sensational circumstances of his questioning before the English Parliament and the ensuing trial." 

Source:  "William Kidd" in WIKIPEDIA -- The Free Encyclopedia (visited Jun. 4, 2017). 

As he neared the end of a lengthy career as a privateer, Kidd made his way back to the New York region.  According to one account: 

"Prior to returning to New York City, Kidd learned that he was a wanted pirate, and that several English men-of-war were searching for him.  Realizing that Adventure Prize [a ship he was returning with as a captured prize] was a marked vessel, he cached it in the Caribbean Sea and continued toward New York aboard a sloop.  He deposited some of his treasure on Gardiners Island, hoping to use his knowledge of its location as a bargaining tool. . . . Kidd found himself in Oyster Bay, as a way of avoiding his mutinous crew who gathered in New York.  In order to avoid them, Kidd sailed 120 miles around the eastern tip of Long Island, and then doubled back 90 miles along the Sound to Oyster Bay.  He felt this was a safer passage than the highly trafficked Narrows between Staten Island and Brooklyn."  Source:  Id. 

"Captain Kidd in New York Harbor," A Painting Created Ca. 1920

by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris. Source: "William Kidd" in WIKIPEDIA --

The Free Encyclopedia (visited Jan. 16, 2016).

NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

His efforts were all to no avail.  He was arrested and imprisoned in solitary confinement in Stone Prison until authorities sent him to England for questioning by Parliament.  Thereafter, he was tried in the High Court of Admiralty in London on charges of murder and piracy on the high seas.  He was convicted and, on May 23, 1701, he was hanged at Execution Dock in London.  During the execution, the hangman's rope broke and Kidd had to be hanged a second time.  His body was gibbeted over the River Thames for three years as a warning to "would-be pirates."

The Gibetted Body of Captain Kidd Hanging Over the River Thames

from "The Pirates Own Book" by Charles Ellms. Source: "William Kidd"

in WIKIPEDIA -- The Free Encyclopedia (visited Jan. 16, 2016).

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Nineteenth Century Reports of Kidd's Treasure Buried on Huckleberry Island

There is no doubt that Captain Kidd sailed in Long Island Sound and the waters of New York during the late 17th century.  Of more dubious reliability are the long-whispered rumors that Captain Kidd buried part of his storied treasure on Huckleberry Island off the shores of Pelham.  

Huckleberry Island, once known as "Whortleberry Island," lies in Long Island Sound about a mile east of David's Island.  It is about ten acres in size.  I have written before about the island that long has been used for celebrations of the "Huckleberry Indians" of the New York Athletic Club.  See Fri., Dec. 04, 2015:  Early Celebrations of the Huckleberry Indians of the New York Athletic Club. 

Google Maps Detail Showing Location of Huckleberry

Island (On Far Right). NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

As early as 1876 and 1877, newspapers as distant from New York City as The Kansas Chief in Troy, Kansas and the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser in Buffalo, New York were reporting rumors that part of Captain Kidd's buried treasure was hidden on Huckleberry Island in Long Island Sound.  (See below.)  Clearly, even before then the rumors had been around for years.  Indeed, The Kansas Chief noted that the entire island had been dug up many times over the years in search of the treasure.  According to the paper:  

"[Captain Kidd] usually provisioned his vessel in this vicinity, and many men of desperate fortunes from the neighborhood flocked to him, hoping by so doing to secure great treasures.  It was reported that he had buried great treasures in the islands in the sound and the shores around, and consequently almost every part of land and island has at some time or other been dug up by infatuated treasure seekers.  Every few years this mania is revived, and we hear of those that are in search of the pirate's hidden gold, but, as yet I believe none has been discovered.  Huckleberry island was a favorite resort of the renowned freebooter -- almost every inch of the soil of which has been turned up.  Kidd's Point, on the opposite shore of Long Island, has also received attention in this way, much time and labor having been expended there."  (See below.)

Huckleberry Indians Presented "The Kidding of Captain Kydd" in 1904

The longstanding rumors of Captain Kidd's treasure on Huckleberry Island prompted the Huckleberry Indians of the New York Athletic Club in 1904 to present a comical play based on the rumors during one of their famed celebrations on Huckleberry Island.

One news article, transcribed in full below, details the entire story line of the "burlesque" in which Captain Kidd appeared before the Huckleberry Indians of Huckleberry Island and dug up his storied treasure in their presence.  That treasure included several amusing items as well as the "original" deed to the island proving that it belonged to the Huckleberry Indians, their heirs, and assigns forever.  

Artist's Depiction of Captain Kidd Overseeing Members of His Crew

Burying Treasurer on Gardiner's Island in Long Island Sound.  Illustration

by Howard Pyle Published by Harper's New Monthly Magazine in 1894.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Below is the text of a number of items that form the basis of today's Historic Pelham article.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"Colonel Kane has changed the time of the Pelham coach and now leaves the Brunswick on alternate days at 5 P. M., for the Neptune House, New Rochelle, a fashionable summer resort on Long Island Sound, sixteen miles from the city via a very beautiful route.  It will be, I fancy, quite the correct thing to go to New Rochelle on Saturday afternoon, spend Sunday at the Neptune House, and return to town, four-in-hand, on Monday morning.  The hotel has a historical reputation and was the homestead of the Underhills, who descended from the Rhinelanders, who fled to the country with the Huguenots from La Rochelle, France, as long ago as 1689.  Opposite the house is Locust Island, where Edgar A. Poe use [sic] to live, and just above is Huckleberry Island, which tradition gives as a rendezvous for Captain Kidd.  Three changes of horses are made, and the fare has been put at $2 instead of $1.50, and the coach has 

MORE WOULD-BE PASSENGERS

than it can carry.  Mr. Augustus Whiting, and Mr. Hugo Fitsch, Vice-Consul of Austria, both of this city, have established a coach line at Newport in emulation of Col. Kane, the popularity of which no one can doubt.  The fare has been put at one dollar."

Source:  [Untitled], Buffalo Commercial Advertiser [Buffalo, NY], Jul. 11, 1876, Vol. XLV, No. 15,018, p. 1, col. 6 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).

"THE HUGUENOTS.
-----
The Settlement and History of New Rochelle. . . .
CAPTAIN KIDD.

The harbors of the sound here and on Long Island, were frequented by the notorious pirate, Captain Kidd.  He was employed in 1690 to suppress the 'buccaneers,' from the knowledge he possessed of their numbers, strength and places of resort.  It is said he was unable to govern such a horde of men under no pay, as composed his crew, and therefore he was in a measure compelled to engage in the very business he was employed to suppress.  This, however, is more than doubtful.  

After a short but desperate career of a few years, he was captured at Boston, and sent to England, where he was executed in 1701.

He usually provisioned his vessel in this vicinity, and many men of desperate fortunes from the neighborhood flocked to him, hoping by so doing to secure great treasures.  It was reported that he had buried great treasures in the islands in the sound and the shores around, and consequently almost every part of land and island has at some time or other been dug up by infatuated treasure seekers.

Every few years this mania is revived, and we hear of those that are in search of the pirate's hidden gold, but, as yet I believe none has been discovered.

Huckleberry island was a favorite resort of the renowned freebooter -- almost every inch of the soil of which has been turned up.  Kidd's Point, on the opposite shore of Long Island, has also received attention in this way, much time and labor having been expended there.

The superstitious firmly believe that Kidd's ghost guards his treasures to this day, and many amusing stories are told of the adventures of those who have essayed to rob him.  Men have declared that they have reached and would have secured the gold harvest but for the sudden apparition of Kidd himself seated on his boxes, guarding them with a drawn sword.

M. M. T."

Source:  THE HUGUENOTS -- The Settlement and History of New Rochelle. . . . CAPTAIN KIDD, The Kansas Chief [Troy Kansas], Jan. 18, 1877, Vol. XX, No. 31, p. 1, cols. 4-5 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"HUCKLEBERRY POWWOW.
-----
INDIANS AND FLUB DUBS.
-----
Treasure of Captain Kidd Comes to Light at Last.

Yachtsmen from all of the clubs along the Sound gathered at Huckleberry Island yesterday to attend the annual powwow of the Huckleberry Indians of the New-York Athletic Club, and the Flub Dubs, of the Larchmont Club, which marks the close of the season.  For their burlesque this year the yachtsmen produced a comedy entitled 'The Kidding of Captain Kydd, a Komical Kid for Komical Kidders,' by Klay M. Greene.  About two hundred yachtsmen took part.  Owing to the prominence of the performers, a guard was stationed at the island during the performance to warn off all pale faces and inquisitive persons, such as reporters.

The performance was held in the open air in front of a log cabin.  It opened with the appearance of Chief Rudee, who emerged dejectedly from his wigwam, carrying a siphon of vichy and a glass.  He stalked feebly to his seat on the lawn, and putting his hand to his forehead, complained to the braves that he felt terrible, and was going to swear off drinking.

'What got you soused last night?' asked the medicine man.  

'Whiskey,' replied Chief Rudee.

'And what saw the great chief in his dreams?' asked the medicine man.

'Sea serpents!' yelled Rudee.

As the chief spoke a sea serpent, fifteen feet long came floating from behind a cliff, manned by two boys with canoe paddles.  Seated on its back were Neptune and Aphrodite, the latter clothed in pink tights with a sea grass skirt, and her flaming red hair floating in the breeze.  At the sight of the sea serpent the braves set up a war whoop and made a rush for the shore to carry off Aphrodite.  This fair maiden finally was carried off blushingly to the tepee of Chief Rudee.

A confidence man and a broker named Chinchenheimer, accompanied by Miss Broadway, Miss Metropole, Miss Stanley and a bevy of upper Broadway countesses then visited the island in an automobile and wanted to buy it.  Chinchenheimer offered as high as $100,000 for it, 1 per cent down, but Neptune advised the Indians not to sell their island because it contained the treasure of Captain Kidd.

The confidence man angrily told Neptune to go back to the briny deep and chase crabs and lobsters.  While the broker and the Indians were haggling about the price of the island a loud explosion was heard, and Captain Kidd and his crew of pirates, armed with cutlasses and pistols, came defiling through a pass.  The pirates were made up entirely of yachtsmen from Larchmont, and they came down the Sound on Lloyd Phoenix's big black schooner Intrepid.  Their first shout as they rushed on the island was:  'Drink, give us drink to warm our blood in this icy air!'

After warming his blood and washing away the thirst of his crew, Captain Kidd made a speech.  'Historians call me a pirate,' said he.  'Romance has made me a hero.  History is as good romance romance is good history, and both are liars.  I did exist somewhere about the time they wrote of, but there are more crooks, pirates, bandits and grafters here within the sound of my voice than all the Kidds ever written about.  None of my crew, to say nothing of myself, ever were hanged on Execution Rock, and there never was a treasure enough in the whole country at that time to make a decent bank roll.'

Captain Kidd then borrowed a spade and began digging up the hidden treasure.  The first thing he took out was an axe.  'This,' said he, 'is what President Van Wormer uses to enforce the payment of dues at the New-York Athletic Club.'  He then took out the boots with which 'Jimmy' Haslin does most of his kicking, and next followed a file which somebody else was sent to have used on his voice.  Thee last find among the treasure was the original deed for the island, showing that it was the property of the 'Huckleberry Indians.'

When Captain Kidd read the document, which declared that the title was invested in them, their heirs and assigns forever, a big shout went up from the tribe, and they took the pirates by the hand and escorted them to their reservation, where they treated them to refreshments and a clambake, while the band played the stirring refrain, 'The Ghost That Never Walked.'

The characters in the burlesque were:

Captain Kidd...................................Joseph Grisman
Fusejoti, his Bos'n's mate...............Peter J. Kane
Rock and Rye, his first lieutenant...Frank Unger
Applejack, his boatswain................W. A. Stadelman

IMMORTALS

Father Neptune, his dopes of the danky deep...........Forest Robinson
Aphrodite, her nymphs of the wooing waves.............Newton Linde

MORTALS

Con Wall Street, a Wall Street 'con'........................... ----------------
Cinchenheimer, a sure thing promoter......................Frank Hardy
Other promoters and 'cons.'

HUCKLEBERRY INDIANS.

Chief Rudee.................................Rudolph Shaffer
Medicine Man..............................W. E. Hinsdale
Sachem Fullgraff.........................Frank Fullgraff
Little Chief Haubold.....................E. W. Haubold
Sachems, squaws, and the balance of the tribe.

During the festivities a large fleet of yachts anchored off the island, among them William E. Iselin's Emerald, Wilson Marshall's Atlantic, Paul G. Thebaud's Normona and Arthur Cary's Wahneta."

Source:  HUCKLEBERRY POWWOW -- INDIANS AND FLUB DUBS -- Treasure of Captain Kidd Comes to Light at Last, New-York Tribune, Sep. 19, 1904, p. 9, col. 5.

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Captain Kidd's Treasure: Buried on High Island in the Town of Pelham

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Treasure Tales of Pelham

Treasure!  Gold and silver!  Finding a fortune!  Such words set the hearts of some racing.  

Buried and hidden treasures actually have been discovered repeatedly in our little Town for many years.  In addition, rumors and legends of hidden (yet still undiscovered) treasures long have been part of Pelham lore.  Among such lore are stories about the legendary Captain Kidd who once prowled the waters around New York City and those of Long Island Sound including Pelham waters.  

There long have been claims that the infamous Captain Kidd buried portions of his treasure on Huckleberry Island and Glen Island.  It seems that there now is evidence that the ubiquitous Captain Kidd, who seems to have hidden portions of his storied treasure on every single one of the thousands of islands and rock outcroppings surrounding New York, also left buried treasure on High Island, once part of the Town of Pelham.  

I have written repeatedly about tales of treasure in the Town of Pelham -- some stories rather fanciful and others absolutely true.  For a few of the many examples of previous articles regarding Pelham treasure, see, e.g.:  

Fri., Jan. 22, 2016:  Did the Notorious Captain Kidd Bury Treasure on an Island Off the Shores of Pelham?

Tue., Nov. 24, 2015:  Another True Tale of Buried Gold Found in Pelham.

Wed., Sep. 23, 2015:  Yet Another Tale of Buried Treasure in the Town of Pelham.

Thu., Aug. 20, 2015:  Pre-Revolutionary War Pewter Plates Were Discovered in Pelham in 1938.

Mon., Jan. 26, 2015:  Hidden Treasure that Once Belonged to the Father of John Hunter of Hunter's Island in Pelham Found in a Discarded Chest in the 19th Century.

Thu., Feb. 19, 2015:  Another Account of Gold and Silver Treasure Found in a Pelham Manor Backyard in 1889.

Wed., Jun. 11, 2014:  Buried Treasure Off the Shores of Pelham: The Legend of Pirate's Treasure.

Wed., Oct. 14, 2009:  1879 News Account Provides Additional Basis for Some Facts Underlying Ghost Story of Old Stone House in Pelhamville (tells legend that Mrs. James Parish hid gold on the grounds of the home).

Mon., Apr. 06, 2009:  Paper Recounts Burial of the Bell of St. Paul's Church in Eastchester To Save it from the British During the Revolutionary War.

Mon., May 01, 2006:  The Legend of the Recovery of Pirate's Treasure on an Island Off Pelham.

Mon., May 16, 2005:  The Discovery of a Gold and Silver Treasure in the Backyard of a Pelham Home in 1889.

Jim Murphy, The "King of High Island"

Today's tale involves more detail than most treasure tales.  Indeed, it reveals precisely where Captain Kidd purportedly buried part of his treasure on High Island.  We know this location thanks to the words of the "King of High Island."  

Known as the "King of High Island," Jim Murphy was an eccentric man.  In 1912, he claimed to a reporter that he came to the Town of Pelham in about 1833 (though research suggests he actually arrived in the late 1850s).  He settled on High Island in an ancient home that he claimed was built there many years before he arrived.  Though he took a wife who joined him on the island, she later died, leaving him a loner on High Island.

So far there is no evidence that the "King of High Island" ever owned the island (or any part of it), so he likely was a tenant, a squatter, or a tolerated resident.  By name, he also was known as Captain Jim Murphy, retaining the "captain" sobriquet from his younger days as an oysterman.  For most of his life, however, he made his living as a clam-digger.

Rumors swirled during the 19th and early 20th centuries that a portion of Captain Kidd's gold was buried on High Island.  Captain Jim Murphy fanned the flames.  In 1909, he told a reporter from The Sun, a New York City newspaper, that "About every two years I have chaps coming over here from the mainland trying to find some gold."  In his later years, the King of High Island claimed to know where Captain Kidd's Treasure was buried on the island.

High Island

High Island, once known as Shark Island due to the many sand sharks that swam nearby, is roughly an 18-acre island a few hundred feet off the northeastern tip of City Island.  It is part of the "Pelham Islands" that once were part of the Town of Pelham but since have been annexed by New York City.  At low tide a sandbar links the island with City Island.  A small private bridge wide enough for a single vehicle to pass also links the island to City Island.  It is said by some that the island is so named because it is comparatively high versus surrounding islands.  

Over the centuries, High Island owners have included Captain Samuel Wooley, New York City Mayor Elisha King, David C. Curtis, a "Mrs. Miller," and others.  For many years during the 19th and 20th centuries, the island was a popular tent and bungalow summer resort.  In about 1962, the bungalows were removed and, in 1964, Columbia Broadcasting System purchased the island as a new location for its transmission tower for WCBS Radio.  In 1967, a small plane crashed into the tower, knocking out radio transmissions the day before WCBS switched to an all-news format.  Consequently, that switchover was delayed by about a week.  Today, the island is believed to be one of only two places in North America where "a single tower radiates not one but two non-directional 50,000 watt signals."  See Tower Site of the Week from FYBush.com, High Island, New York (April 24 - May 1, 2003) (visited Jan. 29, 2017).  Today the private island is home to two famous AM radio signals:  WFAN (formerly WNBC) on 660 AM and WCBS on 880 AM.  

High Island and Its Transmission Towers.  Source:  Wikipedia --

The Free Encyclopedia, High Island, New York (visited Jan. 29,

2017).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Detail from 1867 Beers Map Showing High Island Off the

Northeastern Tip of City Island.  Source:  "Plan of East

Chester, Pelham and New Rochelle, Westchester County,

New York" in Beers, Frederick W., Atlas of New York and

Vicinity From Actual Surveys by and Under the Direction

of F.W. Beers, p. 7 (NY, NY:  Beers, Ellis & Soule, 1867).

King Murphy's Tale of Captain Kidd's Gold Buried on High Island

In 1909, a New York City newspaper described Jim Murphy as the "Crusoe of the Sound" and said that he was the only inhabitant of High Island.  According to that report, Murphy lived in "a two-story weather-beaten, ramshackle house, which is patched on the upper part with planks and pieces of wreckage which have drifted ashore on the beach.  On the lower floor a veranda patched and repaired in the same manner as the upper floor still seems to cling together."

Jim Murphy could spin entertaining yarns.  He claimed, in 1909, to be 73 years old and to have lived on High Island since before the Civil War.  Indeed, he claimed that during the Civil War Union Army deserters from the army post on nearby High Island frequently swam to High Island and begged and attempted to bribe him to take them to the mainland to further their escapes.  Instead, he captured each one and returned each to authorities on Hart Island where he was paid a $25 bounty for each.  As Murphy told one reporter, "that paid as good as digging clams."

Three years later King Jim Murphy had two "subjects" living with him on High Island.  He apparently had aged a good bit in the previous three years.  After telling a reporter in 1909 that he was 73 years old, he told a reporter in 1912 that "I am a good deal more than eighty years old now, and never knew a day's sickness."

King Jim spun a wild tale for the reporter from The Evening Telegraph in New York City in 1912.  He claimed that for more than 75 years, he had known, but kept secret, the exact location on High Island where Captain Kidd buried a portion of his legendary treasure.  He pointed out that rumors of the treasure had been rampant throughout the New York region for years.  He claimed that on "half a dozen" occasions, New Yorkers had sent "expeditions" to High Island "to dig for the treasure."  Murphy claimed "I never bothered them, for they always started digging in the wrong place."  Murphy further claimed that once, while he was away from the island, one such expedition broke into his house and dug up his cellar floor searching for the gold.  Murphy said that he would laugh at the treasure hunters and taunt them saying that "some day I would show them where the gold was, but I was too busy looking after the island and the folks."

King Jim told The Evening Telegraph reporter that he had simply been too busy for the last seventy-five years to dig up the treasure.  As Murphy put it:  "I could go out and dig it up easy as half a bushel of clams.  That's the trouble -- clams.  I've been kept so busy digging them darn clams for the last seventy-five years that I never did have time to go out and get that treasure."

The story that Jim Murphy told regarding how he learned of the location of the buried gold was just as entertaining.  He claimed that he came to live on High Island in 1833.  Shortly after he arrived, a "half breed Indian" paddled up to the island on a canoe and asked if he could camp on the island.  According to Murphy:  "I told him to go as far as he liked and to bring his whole tribe with him."

The grateful visitor stayed on the island.  According to Murphy, his offer to allow others to camp on the island in addition to his new friend:

"sort of pleased him, and one day he went out fishing with me and told me how his father had watched Captain Kidd and his men bury their treasure.  It was right north of my house, he said, and we went in and he showed me the exact spot.  I aimed to dig it up then, but I got an order for clams that day and put it off, and then the next there came other orders.  I've been aiming to go out and dig up the old pirate's treasure these many years, but something's always turning up.  One day it would be hurry orders for clams and the next day chasing the Long Island pirates off my clam beds or sand worm bank."

The reporter pressed King Murphy for more detail.  Murphy told the reporter that the treasure was buried fifty feet north of his house.  Murphy ended the interview with a tease.  He told the reporter:  "I've put off digging up that treasure of Captain Kidd's a good many years, but I'm going to do it this week and then the boys [his two "subjects" also living on the island] will be satisfied, for they wouldn't dare look for it themselves without my permission.  You come here, young fellow, on Thursday and I will let you see what we dig up." 

Alas, there is no record that the reporter showed up the following Thursday or that King Jim and his subjects ever found the time to dig up Captain Kidd's buried treasure on High Island that day.  It appears as though, once again, on that Thursday more than 100 years ago, Captain Jim Murphy was too busy digging clams or chasing Long Island pirates off his clam beds and sand worm bank to worry with digging up a fortune's worth of Captain Kidd's gold.

"KING JIM MURPHY" in 1912.  Source:  Source:  Captain Kidd's

Treasure Will Be Unearthed Soon by "King of High Island" --

"Jim" Murphy "Too Busy Digging Clams," Anyway, to Begin

Search at Once -- HAS KNOWN FOR 75 YEARS WHERE IT LIES,

HE SAYS -- Half Breed Indian, Whose Father Saw Pirate Horde,

Pointed Out Place to Him, The Evening Telegraph [NY, NY], Sep. 22,

1912, p. 4, cols. 6-7.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Below is the text of a couple of articles that form the basis for today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"A CRUSOE OF THE SOUND
-----
Capt. Jim Murphy the Old Inhabitant of High Island
(New York Sun.)

Off City Island on Long Island Sound lies High Island.  On it among the thick shrubbery and trees is a two-story weather-beaten, ramshackle house, which is patched on the upper part with planks and pieces of wreckage which have drifted ashore on the beach.  On the lower floor a veranda patched and repaired in the same manner as the upper floor still seems to cling together.

The only inhabitant of High Island is an old fisherman, Capt. Jim Murphy.  Capt. Murphy is always ready to extend a welcome to the visitors who come in launches to the island in the summer season; no one goes out to the dreary place in winter.

Capt. Murphy is his younger days was one of the best known oystermen around City Island waters.  He lives in the old house alone and says it is over a hundred years old.  He himself is 73.  

He remembers when Hart's Island, which is across from his island, was used as a military station in the Civil War.  Many a time the deserters swam across to Capt. Murphy and tried to bribe him to sneak them over to the mainland.  Tales of war and the history of the house the captain can spin, and after having done this he lets the parties make themselves familiar with the island.

'One thing I want to tell you,' he said to a Sun reporter.  'About every two years I have chaps coming over here from the mainland trying to find some gold.  One fellow said he had a dream that Capt. Kidd's treasure was buried down under my house over yonder.  I let him dig till he got sick and then quit.

'This old home of mine passed into about a hundred hands afore I ventured out in these regions.  When I first came, the oyster fishing was excellent -- that's nearly fifty years ago -- but now it makes me grin once in a while when I spy those city chaps up around here a-hunting for oysters.  Oysters are done for around here, and each year steadily sees less catching of fish.'

When asked if he did not feel like a Crusoe, the captain said:

'Living out here is like everything that appears odd to those who live in the city.  I am used to it.  In the winter months my friends are the big Sound steamers, who generally blow a salute to me.  Here comes the Yale up now!'

Sure enough when the steamer was off the island three sharp blasts sounded.

'Didn't I tell you she'd blow,' cried the old man gleefully.  'I hardly ever see a paper out here, but many a time I have picked distressed launches up from the beach here in one of them squally Sound storms, and even ventured out to tow them in.  No paper ever heard about that because the family pride is in old Jim and the Murphys never was puffed up about such things as they'd did.

'Well, come over ag'in some day and see me, for I grow lonesome many times after the missus passed away, God bless her!'"

Source:  A CRUSOE OF THE SOUND -- Capt. Jim Murphy the Old Inhabitant of High Island, The Tennessean [Nashville, TN], Sep. 27, 1909, p. 10, col. 5 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"Captain Kidd's Treasure Will Be Unearthed Soon by 'King of High Island'
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'Jim' Murphy 'Too Busy Digging Clams,' Anyway, to Begin Search at Once.
-----
HAS KNOWN FOR 75 YEARS WHERE IT LIES, HE SAYS
-----
Half Breed Indian, Whose Father Saw Pirate Horde, Pointed Out Place to Him.
-----

If he can spare an hour or two some day this week 'King Jim' Murphy, of High Island, is going to show his subjects just where Captain Kidd buried his treasure.  For more than seventy-five years 'King Jim' has known of the hiding place of the pirate's hoard, but between digging clams and laying down the law to the subjects of his island possession he just couldn't find time to go after the treasure.  'Jim' is monarch absolute of High Island, a twenty-eight acre piece of ground in Long Island Sound, just north of City Island.

Why, sure I know all about where Captain Kidd hid his treasure,' said 'King Jim' to-day.'  'It's right here on High Island, and I could go out and dig it up easy as half a bushel of clams.  That's the trouble -- clams.  I've been kept so busy digging them darn clams for the last seventy-five years that I never did have time to go out and get that treasure.

It's buried right here within fifty feet of my house, and I know where it is, and so do my subjects.
-----

Half Breed Showed Him.

'I came up here to live on High Island seventy-nine years ago, and I had only been here a little while when an old half-breed Indian came along in a canoe and asked me if I minded his camping on the island.  I told him to go as far as he liked and to bring his whole tribe with him.

'This sort of pleased him, and one day he went out fishing with me and told me how his father had watched Captain Kidd and his men bury their treasure.  It was right north of my house, he said, and we went in and he showed me the exact spot.  I aimed to dig it up then, but I got an order for clams that day and put it off, and then the next there came other orders.

'I've been aiming to go out and dig up the old pirate's treasure these many years, but something's always turning up.  One day it would be hurry orders for clams and the next day chasing the Long Island pirates off my clam beds or sand worm bank.

'Half a dozen times they have sent expeditions out here to High Island to dig for the treasure, but I never bothered them, for they always started digging in the wrong place.  Once they broke into my house while I was away and dug up my cellar floor, thinking the treasure was there, but they didn't find it.  I used to laugh at the treasure hunters and told them that some day I would show them where the gold was, but I was too busy looking after the island and the folks.
-----

He's the Healthiest 'King.'

''Folks call me 'High Island Jim' and say I'm king of the place, and I guess they are pretty near right.  I've only got two subjects living here now, and they are my two boys, 'Tinker' and Harry.  'Tinker's' nearly forty and Harry's nearly ten years older than him, but they mind me just like I was a real king.  You bet neither of those kids would dare go in swimming without asking my permissions, for I wallop them for it just the same as I did thirty years ago, and they mind their 'pop.'

'I'm the healthiest king in the world, too.  I am a good deal more than eighty years old now, and never knew a day's sickness.  I can lick any man my age in the world, and can row a boat with any fisherman in this district and dig more clams in an afternoon than any two of 'em.

Do you know what's made me so husky?  Doing just as I pleased.  When I want a drink I take it, and I've been chewing tobacco since I was a kid knee high.  I get wet every day on the clam beds, and can sleep just as good out of doors to-day and be ready for a day's work to-morrow as I could when I used to catch bounty jumpers who tried to desert the army camp on Hart's Island during the civil war.  I used to get $25 apiece for the deserters and that paid as good as digging clams.

'I've put off digging up that treasure of Captain Kidd's a good many years, but I'm going to do it this week and then the boys will be satisfied, for they wouldn't dare look for it themselves without my permission.

'You come here, young fellow, on Thursday and I will let you see what we dig up.  Before you go I just want you to say one thing when you print the story of our getting the treasure, and that is that High Island is going Democratic this fall.'"

Source:  Captain Kidd's Treasure Will Be Unearthed Soon by "King of High Island" -- "Jim" Murphy "Too Busy Digging Clams," Anyway, to Begin Search at Once -- HAS KNOWN FOR 75 YEARS WHERE IT LIES, HE SAYS -- Half Breed Indian, Whose Father Saw Pirate Horde, Pointed Out Place to Him, The Evening Telegraph [NY, NY], Sep. 22, 1912, p. 4, cols. 6-7.

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Did the Notorious Captain Kidd Bury Treasure on an Island Off the Shores of Pelham?

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Did infamous 17th century pirate William Kidd, known as Captain Kidd, bury treasure on an island off the shores of Pelham?  Since at least the 1870s, some have claimed that he did.  Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog will address the legend and provide clues to where Captain Kidd's treasure may be buried. . . . . . 

It should come as no surprise that there is yet another account of buried treasure reflected in the history of Pelham.  Pelham actually has a long and storied history of legends of buried treasure as well as actual discoveries of buried treasure.  For a few examples, see:

Tue., Nov. 24, 2015:  Another True Tale of Buried Gold Found in Pelham.

Wed., Sep. 23, 2015:  Yet Another Tale of Buried Treasure in the Town of Pelham.

Thu., Aug. 20, 2015:  Pre-Revolutionary War Pewter Plates Were Discovered in Pelham in 1938.

Mon., Jan. 26, 2015:  Hidden Treasure that Once Belonged to the Father of John Hunter of Hunter's Island in Pelham Found in a Discarded Chest in the 19th Century.

Thu., Feb. 19, 2015:  Another Account of Gold and Silver Treasure Found in a Pelham Manor Backyard in 1889.

Wed., Jun. 11, 2014:  Buried Treasure Off the Shores of Pelham: The Legend of Pirate's Treasure.

Wed., Oct. 14, 2009:  1879 News Account Provides Additional Basis for Some Facts Underlying Ghost Story of Old Stone House in Pelhamville (tells legend that Mrs. James Parish hid gold on the grounds of the home).

Mon., Apr. 06, 2009:  Paper Recounts Burial of the Bell of St. Paul's Church in Eastchester To Save it from the British During the Revolutionary War.

Mon., May 01, 2006:  The Legend of the Recovery of Pirate's Treasure on an Island Off Pelham.

Mon., May 16, 2005:  The Discovery of a Gold and Silver Treasure in the Backyard of a Pelham Home in 1889.

"William Kidd, Privateer, Pirate," an 18th

Century Portrait by Sir James Thornhill.

Source:  "William Kidd" in WIKIPEDIA --

The Free Encyclopedia (visited Jan. 16,

2016).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

William Kidd (1645 - 23 May 1701) was a Scottish sailor who sailed as a privateer and became infamous as "Captain Kidd," a notorious pirate.  According to one source:

"Some modern historians deem his piratical reputation unjust, as there is evidence that Kidd acted only as a privateer.  Kidd's fame springs largely from the sensational circumstances of his questioning before the English Parliament and the ensuing trial."

Source:  "William Kidd" in WIKIPEDIA -- The Free Encyclopedia (visited Jan. 16, 2016).

As he neared the end of a lengthy career as a privateer, Kidd made his way back to the New York region.  According to one account:

"Prior to returning to New York City, Kidd learned that he was a wanted pirate, and that several English men-of-war were searching for him.  Realizing that Adventure Prize [a ship he was returning with as a captured prize] was a marked vessel, he cached it in the Caribbean Sea and continued toward New York aboard a sloop.  He deposited some of his treasure on Gardiners Island, hoping to use his knowledge of its location as a bargaining tool. . . . Kidd found himself in Oyster Bay, as a way of avoiding his mutinous crew who gathered in New York.  In order to avoid them, Kidd sailed 120 miles around the eastern tip of Long Island, and then doubled back 90 miles along the Sound to Oyster Bay.  He felt this was a safer passage than the highly trafficked Narrows between Staten Island and Brooklyn."  Source:  Id.  

His efforts were all to no avail.  He was arrested and imprisoned in solitary confinement in Stone Prison until authorities sent him to England for questioning by Parliament.  Thereafter, he was tried in the High Court of Admiralty in London on charges of murder and piracy on the high seas.  He was convicted and, on May 23, 1701, he was hanged at Execution Dock in London.  During the execution, the hangman's rope broke and Kidd had to be hanged a second time.  His body was gibbeted over the River Thames for three years as a warning to "would-be pirates."

The Gibetted Body of Captain Kidd Hanging

Over the River Thames from "The Pirates Own

Book" by Charles Ellms.  Source:   "William Kidd" in

WIKIPEDIA -- The Free Encyclopedia (visited Jan. 16,

2016).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

It is unquestionable that Captain Kidd sailed the waters of New York in the late 17th century.  According to local legend recounted at least since the mid 1870s, Captain Kidd used an island off the shores of Pelham known as Huckleberry Island as a "rendezvous" and may have buried some of his famous treasure on the island.  Even before the mid-1870s, treasure seekers had dug up virtually the entire island looking for Captain Kidd's treasure.  

"Captain Kidd in New York Harbor," A Painting Created

Ca. 1920 by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris.  Source:

"William Kidd" in WIKIPEDIA -- The Free Encyclopedia

(visited Jan. 16, 2016).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

Below is the text of an article published in 1876 in The Sun of New York City that references the legend of Captain Kidd's buried treasure on Huckleberry Island off the shores of Pelham.  The article is notable not only because it references the legend of Captain Kidd's treasure buried on Huckleberry Island, but also because it describes historic sites in the Town of Pelham along the route of the famous "Pelham Coach" (also known as the "Tally Ho") driven by Colonel Delancey Kane through Pelham during the 1870s.  It is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"COL. KANE'S COACH ROUTE.
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Extending a Pleasant Drive to Historical Grounds.

Col. Delancey Kane mounted the box of his canary-colored coach at 7:30 yesterday mmorning, after every seat was filled with passengers, on the lawn in front of the Neptune House, New Rochelle, and started on the new route for his four in-hand to the Hotel Brunswick.  The time table now reads:  'On and after July 5 the New Rochelle and Pelham coach will make a single trip daily (Sundays excepted), between New York and New Rochelle, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7:30 A.M., will arrive at the Hotel Brunswick at 9:30 A.M.; and leaving the Brunswick every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 4:45 P.M., will arrive at the Neptune House, New Rochelle, at 6:45 P.M.'

Three changes of horses are made, in Mott Haven, Union Port, and Pelham Bridge.  The fare each way to $2, with a proportionately less amount to intermediate stations.  A pleasant feature will be in leaving New York on Saturday afternoon, remaining over Sunday in New Rochelle, and returning on Monday morning in time for business.

The extended route abounds in historical and local interest.  The Neptune House is on a wooded island facing New Rochelle Bay.  In the distance the white caps of Long Island Sound are seen as they dash on the shores of several islands that obstruct the passage way to the bay.  The house was built by Philip Rhinelander Underhill, a descendant of the Rhinelander who fled to this country with the Huguenots from La Rochelle, France, and landed on Davenport's neck in 1689.  The neck is across the bay to the left of the hotel.  Facing the hotel is Locust Island, a secluded spot, where Edgar A Poe spent some time when he lived in Fordham.  Further out in the sound is David's Island, a garrison post during the Civil War, and nearby is Huckleberry Island, which tradition gives as a rendezvous for Capt. Kidd.  The surface of the island has been dug over several times by the superstitious colored people of New Rochelle in search of the pirate's treasure.  It was last inhabited by a man who speculated in hogs for the garrison on David's Island.  At the close of the war he had a large drove of hogs, but no food for them.  They grew thin, and ran almost wild over the island.  One morning the hogs attacked the man, drove him into the house, battered down the door, and chased him to the roof.  The hogs surrounded the building and kept hi there for three days.  Their wildness and squealing attracted persons fro the main shore, and the speculator was rescued.

A hedged roadway leads from the rear of the Neptune House to a stone bridge connecting with the main land.  A short distance from the shore Col. Kane's route takes the road along the shore to Pelham Bridge.  On either side the roadway is lined with costly stone mansions, surrounded by large fields and beautiful lawns.  The word Pelham is of uncertain origin.  New Rochelle was formerly a part of Pelham Manor.  

The tract of land on the sound shore was originally included in the grant by the Indians in 1640 to the Dutch West India Company.  Sir Richard Nicolls, Governor of the province, granted it to Thomas Pell, gentleman, Oct. 6, 1666, and he, in 1669, granted it to John Pell, commonly called Lord Pell, the first Judge that sat in Weschester county.  The tract extended for six miles along the coast, and about eight miles into the interior.  The settlement of the Huguenots founded New Rochelle.  The remainder of the tract was sometimes called Pell Hamlet, but local historians say that Pelham is derived fro Pel (remote) and Ham (mansion).  It is one of the most beautiful suburbs of New York.  The roadway, after crossing the stone bridge, ascends a rocky ridge, and from there is a view across the Sound to Long Island.  Descending the hill, Sheffield Island, sometimes called Emmet's Island) is seen.  [HISTORIC PELHAM NOTE:  This is today's Travers Island in Pelham Manor.]  It is connected by a rustic bridge with the main land.  A small stone mansion, built in a grove of tall elm trees, is occupied by Mr. Wm. Hoyt, a New York merchant, whose wife  is a daughter of Chief Justice Chase, and was formerly tenanted by Wm. H. LeRoy (brother-in-law of Daniel Webster), who married the daughter of Thomas Addis Emmet.  On the west side of the road is a large mansion, the residence of the family of Judge Robert Emmet, and the scene of a daring raid by the masked burglars two years ago.  [HISTORIC PELHAM NOTE:  This is the home that still stands today at 145 Shore Road, partially in Pelham Manor and partially in New Rochelle.]  

A turn in the road brings the coach riders in sight of Col. Kane's first resting place, 'The Priory.'  It is an immense stone mansion; two large square turrets rise from either end, the roofs are quaint, and the outbuildings are old style.  This was the residence of the Rev. Robt. Bolton, an Episcopal minister.  It is on land that was granted to the Church of England.  The walls of the mansion are hung with family pictures by Etty, of the Royal Academy.  An original portrait of Bunyan is among them.  The library contains the original Italian edition of Piranesi, collected by Napoleon I., and bearing his initial, surmounted by the imperial crown.  There is also a copy of Macklin's Bible, printed in six royal quarto volumes, a copy of Elliot's Indian Testament, said to be the first work 'written and published in the present United States.'  There is a valuable cabinet of coins and autographs, the oldest of which is that of Henry VII, and Elizabeth, Queen Mary, and Oliver and Richard Cromwell.

'The Priory' is used as a young ladies' seminary, conducted by Miss N. Bolton.  A wide terrace surrounds the house, and the gardens are laid out in elaborate design.  The walks lead to several natural curiosities, among them a 'rocking stone,' of full twenty tons in weight, so nicely poised that 'a stripling's arm can sway a mass no host could move.'

Col. Kane's route then passes through a stretch of forest trees, and Hunter's Island seen in the distance, and the residence of Dr. R. L. Morris, grandson of Robert Morris, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.  The last mansion on the Pelham Road before reaching Bartow's, is occupied by Mrs. Bartow in the midst of over 200 acres of fields and meadow lands.

At Bartow the road leads to Pelham Bridge, and at Arcularius Hotel the coach route extends over the same boulevard that Col. Kane has driven for the past few months."

Source:  COL. KANE'S COACH ROUTE -- Extending a Pleasant Drive to Historical Grounds, The Sun [NY, NY], Jul. 6, 1876, Vol. XLIII, No. 297, p. 1, col. 2.  

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