While the mission was still being planed a vessel arrived from the Caribbean reporting that the crew left on the Adventure Prize, I assume this means Captain Bolton, sold the cargo, had burnt the ship and had departed for Holland.
With this bit of knowledge, Governor Bellomont authorized Captain Nathaniel Cary to go to the island and verify that the ship had been burnt and to try to recover the treasure.
This included trying to recover any treasure the Governments in the area and as far away as the Dutch Island of Curacao, which may have come in to possession of the treasure.
Meantime Governor Bellomont looked else wear for Captain Kids Treasure, he sent teams to the Bay of Fundy, Mahone Bay, he searched Grand Manan Island and the hundreds of islands of Mahone Bay, and the peninsula of Nova Scotia.
He searched Cape Cod and Maratha’s Vineyard, Block Island and Cherry Tree field on Gardeners Island off the north shore of Long Island.
On Gardeners Island satisfaction was achieved. Captain Kidd was invited to Boston to meet with Governor Bellomont who conveyed that clemency would be extended with the delivery of the treasure.
The offer of clemency however was a trick to draw Captain Kidd out into the open. Governor Bellomont was afraid that he would be charged as a co-conspirator in piracy along with Captain kidd. The Governor was a financial backer, and a partner in the profit sharing of the proceeds of the treasure.
Also the Earl of Oxford, the Baron of Romney, the Duke of Sherosburry, Sir John Somers and King William III of England were also profit sharing partners in this venture.
A letter of Marque was issued based on this partnership. The King or crown was to receive 10% of the proceeds. This would come out of the 40% of the treasure that Captain Kidd would receive.
It is unclear if the 10% was solely for the crown or if it was split with the investor group. When Captain Kidd landed on the Island, which was owned by the Gardener Family of Nantucket Island, the only resident of the island was living in the Manor house.
Captain Kidd was said to have a treasure worth 30,000 colonial dollars. It consisted of gold dust, bars of silver, Spanish dollars, rubies, diamonds, candle sticks and small bowels used for porridge, in colonial times, called porringers.
Captain Kidd compensated Mrs. Gardner a length of gold cloth, (which is in the East Hampton Library today) and a bag of brown sugar. He also told her the treasure better be here when he returns!
Captain Kidd wanted to hide the treasure, which he did, in a ravine in between Bostwick Point and the manor house.
He wanted to hide it because he thought and rightly so, that he may need it for bartering for his release. When he arrived in Boston on the 6th of June, 1699, he was immediately arrested and his wife was arrested shortly afterwords.
Captain Kidd was held at Stone Prison in solitary confinement for over a year. He was transferred to London where the Tory party had just taken control of parliament. They were going after the Whig party which were the investors in the Captain Kidd privateering Marque.
Captain Kidd woudn't name any of the people that he was doing business with, they didn't receive any information at all out of him.
Captain Kidd didn't realize that they also were prosecuting him for the murder of the Chief Gunners mate while on the Indian Ocean Campaign.
They had a ton of evidence including eye witness accounts. Several crew members were also convicted along with the Captain for piracy, but they executed Captain Kidd for murder, they wanted to make an example out of him.
The crew was given clemency the day before the execution. Captain Kidd was held in Newport Prison. He was executed by hanging on May 23, 1701.
He was then gibbeted and hung over the Thames River at Tilbury Point where he hung for three years, as a warning to any other sailors who wanted to cross the line and go for a life of piracy.
Clark Island which is in the Connecticut River at North field Massachusetts can be accessible from Long Island Sound. By taking the river up to where the water falls forces one to portage around them and continue up the river across from Pine Meadow.
There is A legend that is passed down from generation to generation. Captain Kidd followed the Connecticut River up to Clark Island, searching for a place to cache treasure. They were looking for someplace out of the way but rememerable.
They burried a chest of treasure, then drew lots to see who would remain behind to protect the treasure! The lucky pirate who won the draw was promptly killed and his body was laid on top of the treasure chest.
This would frequently take place after a evening of party and rum consumption. The reason for this is the dead pirate was to protect the treasure from other treasure seekers!
The legend began to grow over the years, the legend states that the treasure could be only recovered by three men, at midnight with a full moon directly overhead.
They must stand around the treasure forming a triangle and work in complete silence. Words would break the spell! The legend continues that around 1840, three men followed the directions explicitly.
They were digging at midnight fearing to make a sound, not even so much as swatting at flies when one of them struck iron.
They looked at one another illuminated under the shadowy light of the full moon, they had dug very deep before striking iron, in a maze of mosquito's, not daring to swat at them, fearing to make noise that would break the spell, they slowly dug in a wide circle around the object.
They slowly began to raise the chest, when one of them exclaimed “we've got it!” And then immediately the chest began to sink out of reach, they fell to their knees trying to grasp it but the chest sunk into the depth of the muck. Like so many tales of treasure, you knew where it is, it's just out of reach!
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