[figure description] Page 001.[end figure description]

Many years ago, I contracted an intimacy with a Mr. William
Legrand. He was of an ancient Huguenot family, and had once
been wealthy; but a series of misfortunes had reduced him to
want. To avoid the mortification consequent upon his disasters,
he left New Orleans, the city of his forefathers, and took up his
residence at Sullivan's Island, near Charleston, South Carolina.

This Island is a very singular one. It consists of little else
than the sea sand, and is about three miles long. Its breadth at
no point exceeds a quarter of a mile. It is separated from the
main land by a scarcely perceptible creek, oozing its way through
a wilderness of reeds and slime, a favorite resort of the marshhen.
The vegetation, as might be supposed, is scant, or at least
dwarfish. No trees of any magnitude are to be seen. Near the
western extremity, where Fort Moultrie stands, and where are
some miserable frame buildings, tenanted, during summer, by the
fugitives from Charleston dust and fever, may be found, indeed,
the bristly palmetto; but the whole island, with the exception of
this western point, and a line of hard, white beach on the sea-coast,
is covered with a dense undergrowth of the sweet myrtle,

[figure description] Page 002.[end figure description]

so much prized by the horticulturists of England. The shrub
here often attains the height of fifteen or twenty feet, and forms
an almost impenetrable coppice, burthening the air with its fragrance.

In the inmost recesses of this coppice, not far from the eastern
or more remote end of the island, Legrand had built himself a
small hut, which he occupied when I first, by mere accident,
made his acquaintance. This soon ripened into friendship—for
there was much in the recluse to excite interest and esteem. I
found him well educated, with unusual powers of mind, but infected
with misanthropy, and subject to perverse moods of alternate
enthusiasm and melancholy. He had with him many books,
but rarely employed them. His chief amusements were gunning
and fishing, or sauntering along the beach and through the
myrtles, in quest of shells or entomological specimens;—his collection
of the latter might have been envied by a Swammerdamm.
In these excursions he was usually accompanied by an old negro,
called Jupiter, who had been manumitted before the reverses of
the family, but who could be induced, neither by threats nor by
promises, to abandon what he considered his right of attendance
upon the footsteps of his young “Massa Will.” It is not improbable
that the relatives of Legrand, conceiving him to be somewhat
unsettled in intellect, had contrived to instil this obstinacy
into Jupiter, with a view to the supervision and guardianship of
the wanderer.

The winters in the latitude of Sullivan's Island are seldom
very severe, and in the fall of the year it is a rare event indeed
when a fire is considered necessary. About the middle of October,
18—, there occurred, however, a day of remarkable chilliness.
Just before sunset I scrambled my way through the evergreens
to the hut of my friend, whom I had not visited for several
weeks—my residence being, at that time, in Charleston, a distance
of nine miles from the Island, while the facilities of passage
and re-passage were very far behind those of the present day.
Upon reaching the hut I rapped, as was my custom, and getting
no reply, sought for the key where I knew it was secreted, unlocked
the door and went in. A fine fire was blazing upon the
hearth. It was a novelty, and by no means an ungrateful one. I

[figure description] Page 003.[end figure description]

threw off an overcoat, took an arm-chair by the crackling logs,
and awaited patiently the arrival of my hosts.

Soon after dark they arrived, and gave me a most cordial welcome.
Jupiter, grinning from ear to ear, bustled about to prepare
some marsh-hens for supper. Legrand was in one of his
fits—how else shall I term them?—of enthusiasm. He had
found an unknown bivalve, forming a new genus, and, more than
this, he had hunted down and secured, with Jupiter's assistance,
a scarabœus which he believed to be totally new, but in respect
to which he wished to have my opinion on the morrow.

“And why not to-night?” I asked, rubbing my hands over
the blaze, and wishing the whole tribe of scarabœi at the devil

“Ah, if I had only known you were here!” said Legrand,
“but it's so long since I saw you; and how could I foresee that
you would pay me a visit this very night of all others? As I
was coming home I met Lieutenant G—, from the fort, and,
very foolishly, I lent him the bug; so it will be impossible for
you to see it until the morning. Stay here to-night, and I will send
Jup down for it at sunrise. It is the loveliest thing in creation!”

“What?—sunrise?”

“Nonsense! no!—the bug. It is of a brilliant gold color—
about the size of a large hickory-nut—with two jet black spots
near one extremity of the back, and another, somewhat longer, at
the other. The antennœ are—”

“Dey aint no tin in him, Massa Will, I keep a tellin on you,”
here interrupted Jupiter; “de bug is a goole bug, solid, ebery
bit of him, inside and all, sep him wing—neber feel half so hebby
a bug in my life.”

“Well, suppose it is, Jup,” replied Legrand, somewhat more
earnestly, it seemed to me, than the case demanded, “is that any
reason for your letting the birds burn? The color”—here he
turned to me—“is really almost enough to warrant Jupiter's
idea. You never saw a more brilliant metallic lustre than the
scales emit—but of this you cannot judge till to-morrow. In the
mean time I can give you some idea of the shape.” Saying this,
he seated himself at a small table, on which were a pen and ink,
but no paper. He looked for some in a drawer, but found none.

“Never mind,” said he at length, “this will answer;” and he

[figure description] Page 004.[end figure description]

drew from his waistcoat pocket a scrap of what I took to be very
dirty foolscap, and made upon it a rough drawing with the pen.
While he did this, I retained my seat by the fire, for I was still
chilly. When the design was complete, he handed it to me without
rising. As I received it, a loud growl was heard, succeeded
by a scratching at the door. Jupiter opened it, and a large Newfoundland,
belonging to Legrand, rushed in, leaped upon my
shoulders, and loaded me with caresses; for I had shown him
much attention during previous visits. When his gambols were
over, I looked at the paper, and, to speak the truth, found myself
not a little puzzled at what my friend had depicted.

“Well!” I said, after contemplating it for some minutes, “this
is a strange scarabœus, I must confess: new to me: never saw
anything like it before—unless it was a skull, or a death's-head—
which it more nearly resembles than anything else that has come
under my observation.”

“A death's-head!” echoed Legrand—“Oh—yes—well, it has
something of that appearance upon paper, no doubt. The two
upper black spots look like eyes, eh? and the longer one at the
bottom like a mouth—and then the shape of the whole is oval.”

“Perhaps so,” said I; “but, Legrand, I fear you are no artist.
I must wait until I see the beetle itself, if I am to form any idea
of its personal appearance.”

“Well, I don't know,” said he, a little nettled, “I draw tolerably—
should do it at least—have had good masters, and flatter
myself that I am not quite a blockhead.”

“But, my dear fellow, you are joking then,” said I, “this is a
very passable skull—indeed, I may say that it is a very excellent
skull, according to the vulgar notions about such specimens of
physiology—and your scarabœus must be the queerest scarabœus
in the world if it resembles it. Why, we may get up a very
thrilling bit of superstition upon this hint. I presume you will
call the bug scarabœus caput hominis, or something of that kind—
there are many similar titles in the Natural Histories. But where
are the antennœ you spoke of?”

“The antennœ!” said Legrand, who seemed to be getting unaccountably
warm upon the subject; “I am sure you must see

[figure description] Page 005.[end figure description]

the antennœ. I made them as distinct as they are in the original
insect, and I presume that is sufficient.”

“Well, well,” I said, “perhaps you have—still I don't see
them;” and I handed him the paper without additional remark,
not wishing to ruffle his temper; but I was much surprised at
the turn affairs had taken; his ill humor puzzled me—and, as for
the drawing of the beetle, there were positively no antennœ visible,
and the whole did bear a very close resemblance to the ordinary
cuts of a death's-head.

He received the paper very peevishly, and was about to crumple
it, apparently to throw it in the fire, when a casual glance at
the design seemed suddenly to rivet his attention. In an instant
his face grew violently red—in another as excessively pale. For
some minutes he continued to scrutinize the drawing minutely
where he sat. At length he arose, took a candle from the table,
and proceeded to seat himself upon a sea-chest in the farthest
corner of the room. Here again he made an anxious examination
of the paper; turning it in all directions. He said nothing,
however, and his conduct greatly astonished me; yet I thought
it prudent not to exacerbate the growing moodiness of his temper
by any comment. Presently he took from his coat pocket a wallet,
placed the paper carefully in it, and deposited both in a writing-desk,
which he locked. He now grew more composed in his
demeanor; but his original air of enthusiasm had quite disappeared.
Yet he seemed not so much sulky as abstracted. As
the evening wore away he became more and more absorbed in
reverie, from which no sallies of mine could arouse him. It had
been my intention to pass the night at the hut, as I had frequently
done before, but, seeing my host in this mood, I deemed it proper
to take leave. He did not press me to remain, but, as I departed,
he shook my hand with even more than his usual cordiality.

It was about a month after this (and during the interval I had
seen nothing of Legrand) when I received a visit, at Charleston,
from his man, Jupiter. I had never seen the good old negro look
so dispirited, and I feared that some serious disaster had befallen
my friend.

“Well, Jup,” said I, “what is the matter now?—how is your
master?”

[figure description] Page 006.[end figure description]

“Why, to speak de troof, massa, him not so berry well as
mought be.”

“Not well! I am truly sorry to hear it. What does he complain
of?”

“Dar! dat's it!—him neber plain of notin—but him berry
sick for all dat.”

“Very sick, Jupiter!—why didn't you say so at once? Is he
confined to bed?”

“No, dat he aint!—he aint find nowhar—dat's just whar de shoe
pinch—my mind is got to be berry hebby bout poor Massa Will.”

“Jupiter, I should like to understand what it is you are talking
about. You say your master is sick. Hasn't he told you what
ails him?”

“Why, massa, taint worf while for to git mad about de matter—
Massa Will say noffin at all aint de matter wid him—but
den what make him go about looking dis here way, wid he head
down and he soldiers up, and as white as a gose? And den he
keep a syphon all de time—”

“Keeps a what, Jupiter?”

“Keeps a syphon wid de figgurs on de slate—de queerest figgurs
I ebber did see. Ise gittin to be skeered, I tell you. Hab for
to keep mighty tight eye pon him noovers. Todder day he gib
me slip fore de sun up and was gone de whole ob de blessed day.
I had a big stick ready cut for to gib him deuced good beating
when he did come—but Ise sich a fool dat I hadn't de heart arter
all—he look so berry poorly.”

“Eh?—what?—ah yes!—upon the whole I think you had better
not be too severe with the poor fellow—don't flog him, Jupiter—
he can't very well stand it—but can you form no idea of what
has occasioned this illness, or rather this change of conduct?
Has anything unpleasant happened since I saw you?”

“No, massa, dey aint bin noffin onpleasant since den—'twas
fore den I'm feared—'twas de berry day you was dare.”

“How? what do you mean?”

“Why, massa, I mean de bug—dare now.”

“The what?”

“De bug—I'm berry sartain dat Massa Will bin bit somewhere
bout de head by dat goole-bug.”

[figure description] Page 007.[end figure description]

“And what cause have you, Jupiter, for such a supposition?”

“Claws enuff, massa, and mouff too. I nebber did see sieh a
deuced bug—he kick and he bite ebery ting what cum near
him. Massa Will cotch him fuss, but had for to let him go gin
mighty quick, I tell you—den was de time he must ha got de
bite. I did n't like de look ob de bug mouff, myself, no how, so I
would n't take hold ob him wid my finger, but I cotch him wid
a piece ob paper dat I found. I rap him up in de paper and
stuff piece ob it in he mouff—dat was de way.”

“And you think, then, that your master was really bitten by
the beetle, and that the bite made him sick?”

“I do n't tink noffin about it—I nose it. What make him
dream bout de goole so much, if taint cause he bit by de goole-bug?
Ise heerd bout dem goole-bugs fore dis.”

“But how do you know he dreams about gold?”

“How I know? why cause he talk about it in he sleep—dat's
how I nose.”

“Well, Jup, perhaps you are right; but to what fortunate circumstance
am I to attribute the honor of a visit from you to-day?”

“What de matter, massa?”

“Did you bring any message from Mr. Legrand?”

“No, massa, I bring dis here pissel;” and here Jupiter handed
me a note which ran thus:

My Dear—

Why have I not seen you for so long a time? I hope you have
not been so foolish as to take offence at any little brusquerie of
mine; but no, that is improbable.

Since I saw you I have had great cause for anxiety. I have
something to tell you, yet scarcely know how to tell it, or whether
I should tell it at all.

I have not been quite well for some days past, and poor old
Jup annoys me, almost beyond endurance, by his well-meant attentions.
Would you believe it?—he had prepared a huge stick,
the other day, with which to chastise me for giving him the slip,
and spending the day, solus, among the hills on the main land.
I verily believe that my ill looks alone saved me a flogging.

I have made no addition to my cabinet since we met.

[figure description] Page 008.[end figure description]

If you can, in any way, make it convenient, come over with
Jupiter. Do come. I wish to see you to-night, upon business of
importance. I assure you that it is of the highest importance.

Ever yours,
William Legrand.

There was something in the tone of this note which gave me
great uneasiness. Its whole style differed materially from that
of Legrand. What could he be dreaming of? What new crotchet
possessed his excitable brain? What “business of the highest
importance” could he possibly have to transact? Jupiter's
account of him boded no good. I dreaded lest the continued
pressure of misfortune had, at length, fairly unsettled the reason
of my friend. Without a moment's hesitation, therefore, I prepared
to accompany the negro.

Upon reaching the wharf, I noticed a scythe and three spades,
all apparently new, lying in the bottom of the boat in which we
were to embark.

“What is the meaning of all this, Jup?” I inquired.

“Him syfe, massa, and spade.”

“Very true; but what are they doing here?”

“Him de syfe and de spade what Massa Will sis pon my buying
for him in de town, and de debbils own lot of money I had to
gib for em.”

“But what, in the name of all that is mysterious, is your
'Massa Will' going to do with scythes and spades?”

“Dat's more dan I know, and debbil take me if I don't blieve
'tis more dan he know, too. But it's all cum ob de bug.”

Finding that no satisfaction was to be obtained of Jupiter,
whose whole intellect seemed to be absorbed by “de bug,” I now
stepped into the boat and made sail. With a fair and strong
breeze we soon ran into the little cove to the northward of Fort
Moultrie, and a walk of some two miles brought us to the hut.
It was about three in the afternoon when we arrived. Legrand
had been awaiting us in eager expectation. He grasped my hand
with a nervous empressement which alarmed me and strengthened
the suspicions already entertained. His countenance was pale
even to ghastliness, and his deep-set eyes glared with unnatural
lustre. After some inquiries respecting his health, I asked him,

[figure description] Page 009.[end figure description]

not knowing what better to say, if he had yet obtained the scarab
œus from Lieutenant G—.

“Oh, yes,” he replied, coloring violently, “I got it from him
the next morning. Nothing should tempt me to part with that
scarabœus. Do you know that Jupiter is quite right about it?”

“In what way?” I asked, with a sad foreboding at heart.

“In supposing it to be a bug of real gold.” He said this with
an air of profound seriousness, and I felt inexpressibly shocked.

“This bug is to make my fortune,” he continued, with a triumphant
smile, “to reinstate me in my family possessions. Is it
any wonder, then, that I prize it? Since Fortune has thought fit
to bestow it upon me, I have only to use it properly and I shall
arrive at the gold of which it is the index. Jupiter, bring me
that scarabœus!”

“What! de bug, massa? I'd rudder not go fer trubble dat
bug—you mus git him for your own self.” Hereupon Legrand
arose, with a grave and stately air, and brought me the beetle
from a glass case in which it was enclosed. It was a beautiful
scarabœus, and, at that time, unknown to naturalists—of course a
great prize in a scientific point of view. There were two round,
black spots near one extremity of the back, and a long one near
the other. The scales were exceedingly hard and glossy, with
all the appearance of burnished gold. The weight of the insect
was very remarkable, and, taking all things into consideration, I
could hardly blame Jupiter for his opinion respecting it; but
what to make of Legrand's concordance with that opinion, I could
not, for the life of me, tell.

“I sent for you,” said he, in a grandiloquent tone, when I had
completed my examination of the beetle, “I sent for you, that I
might have your counsel and assistance in furthering the views
of Fate and of the bug”—

“My dear Legrand,” I cried, interrupting him, “you are certainly
unwell, and had better use some little precautions. You
shall go to bed, and I will remain with you a few days, until you
get over this. You are feverish and”—

“Feel my pulse,” said he.

I felt it, and, to say the truth, found not the slightest indication
of fever.

[figure description] Page 010.[end figure description]

“But you may be ill and yet have no fever. Allow me this
once to prescribe for you. In the first place, go to bed. In the
next”—

“You are mistaken,” he interposed, “I am as well as I can
expect to be under the excitement which I suffer. If you really
wish me well, you will relieve this excitement.”

“And how is this to be done?”

“Very easily. Jupiter and myself are going upon an expedition
into the hills, upon the main land, and, in this expedition,
we shall need the aid of some person in whom we can confide.
You are the only one we can trust. Whether we succeed or fail,
the excitement which you now perceive in me will be equally allayed.”

“I am anxious to oblige you in any way,” I replied; “but do
you mean to say that this infernal beetle has any connection with
your expedition into the hills?”

“It has.”

“Then, Legrand, I can become a party to no such absurd proceeding.”

“I am sorry—very sorry—for we shall have to try it by ourselves.”

“Try it by yourselves! The man is surely mad!—but stay!—
how long do you propose to be absent?”

“Probably all night. We shall start immediately, and be
back, at all events, by sunrise.”

“And will you promise me, upon your honor, that when this
freak of yours is over, and the bug business (good God!) settled
to your satisfaction, you will then return home and follow my advice
implicitly, as that of your physician?”

“Yes; I promise; and now let us be off, for we have no time
to lose.”

With a heavy heart I accompanied my friend. We started
about four o'clock—Legrand, Jupiter, the dog, and myself. Jupiter
had with him the scythe and spades—the whole of which
he insisted upon carrying—more through fear, it seemed to me,
of trusting either of the implements within reach of his master,
than from any excess of industry or complaisance. His demeanor
was dogged in the extreme, and “dat deuced bug” were the sole

[figure description] Page 011.[end figure description]

words which escaped his lips during the journey. For my own
part, I had charge of a couple of dark lanterns, while Legrand
contented himself with the scarabœus, which he carried attached
to the end of a bit of whip-cord; twirling it to and fro, with the
air of a conjuror, as he went. When I observed this last, plain
evidence of my friend's aberration of mind, I could scarcely refrain
from tears. I thought it best, however, to humor his fancy,
at least for the present, or until I could adopt some more energetic
measures with a chance of success. In the mean time I endeavored,
but all in vain, to sound him in regard to the object of
the expedition. Having succeeded in inducing me to accompany
him, he seemed unwilling to hold conversation upon any topic of
minor importance, and to all my questions vouchsafed no other
reply than “we shall see!”

We crossed the creek at the head of the island by means of a
skiff, and, ascending the high grounds on the shore of the main land,
proceeded in a northwesterly direction, through a tract of country
excessively wild and desolate, where no trace of a human footstep
was to be seen. Legrand led the way with decision; pausing
only for an instant, here and there, to consult what appeared
to be certain landmarks of his own contrivance upon a former
occasion.

In this manner we journeyed for about two hours, and the sun
was just setting when we entered a region infinitely more dreary
than any yet seen. It was a species of table land, near the summit
of an almost inaccessible hill, densely wooded from base to
pinnacle, and interspersed with huge crags that appeared to lie
loosely upon the soil, and in many cases were prevented from
precipitating themselves into the valleys below, merely by the
support of the trees against which they reclined. Deep ravines,
in various directions, gave an air of still sterner solemnity to the
scene.

The natural platform to which we had clambered was thickly
overgrown with brambles, through which we soon discovered that it
would have been impossible to force our way but for the scythe;
and Jupiter, by direction of his master, proceeded to clear for us
a path to the foot of an enormously tall tulip-tree, which stood,
with some eight or ten oaks, upon the level, and far surpassed them

[figure description] Blank Leaf.[end figure description]

[figure description] Page 013.[end figure description]

or two narrow escapes from falling, at length wriggled himself
into the first great fork, and seemed to consider the whole business
as virtually accomplished. The risk of the achievement was, in
fact, now over, although the climber was some sixty or seventy
feet from the ground.

“Which way mus go now, Massa Will?” he asked.

“Keep up the largest branch—the one on this side,” said Legrand.
The negro obeyed him promptly, and apparently with
but little trouble; ascending higher and higher, until no glimpse
of his squat figure could be obtained through the dense foliage
which enveloped it. Presently his voice was heard in a sort of
halloo.

“How much fudder is got for go?”

“How high up are you?” asked Legrand.

“Ebber so fur,” replied the negro; “can see de sky fru de top
ob de tree.”

“Never mind the sky, but attend to what I say. Look down
the trunk and count the limbs below you on this side. How
many limbs have you passed?”

“One, two, tree, four, fibe—I done pass fibe big limb, massa,
pon dis side.”

“Then go one limb higher.”

In a few minutes the voice was heard again, announcing that
the seventh limb was attained.

“Now, Jup,” cried Legrand, evidently much excited, “I want
you to work your way out upon that limb as far as you can. If
you see anything strange, let me know.”

By this time what little doubt I might have entertained of my
poor friend's insanity, was put finally at rest. I had no alternative
but to conclude him stricken with lunacy, and I became seriously
anxious about getting him home. While I was pondering
upon what was best to be done, Jupiter's voice was again heard.

“Mos feerd for to ventur pon dis limb berry far—tis dead
limb putty much all de way.”

“Did you say it was a dead limb, Jupiter?” cried Legrand in
a quavering voice.

“Yes, massa, him dead as de door-nail—done up for sartain—
done departed dis here life.”

[figure description] Page 014.[end figure description]

“What in the name of heaven shall I do?” asked Legrand,
seemingly in the greatest distress.

“Do!” said I, glad of an opportunity to interpose a word,
“why come home and go to bed. Come now!—that's a fine fellow.
It's getting late, and, besides, you remember your promise.”

“Jupiter,” cried he, without heeding me in the least, “do you
hear me?”

“Yes, Massa Will, hear you ebber so plain.”

“Try the wood well, then, with your knife, and see if you
think it very rotten.”

“Him rotten, massa, sure nuff,” replied the negro in a few
moments, “but not so berry rotten as mought be. Mought ventur
out leetle way pon de limb by myself, dat's true.”

“By yourself!—what do you mean?”

“Why I mean de bug. 'Tis berry hebby bug. Spose I drop
him down fuss, and den de limb won't break wid just de weight
ob one nigger.”

“You infernal scoundrel!” cried Legrand, apparently much
relieved, “what do you mean by telling me such nonsense as
that? As sure as you drop that beetle I'll break your neck.
Look here, Jupiter, do you hear me?”

“Yes, massa, needn't hollo at poor nigger dat style.”

“Well! now listen!—if you will venture out on the limb as
far as you think safe, and not let go the beetle, I'll make you
a present of a silver dollar as soon as you get down.”

“I'm gwine, Massa Will—deed I is,” replied the negro very
promptly—“mos out to the eend now.”

“Out to the end!” here fairly screamed Legrand, “do you
say you are out to the end of that limb?”

“Soon be to de eend, massa,—o-o-o-o-oh! Lor-gol-a-marcy!
what is dis here pon de tree?”

“Well!” cried Legrand, highly delighted, “what is it?”

“Why taint noffin but a skull—somebody bin lef him head up
de tree, and de crows done gobble ebery bit ob de meat off.”

“A skull, you say!—very well!—how is it fastened to the
limb?—what holds it on?”

“Sure nuff, massa; mus look. Why dis berry curous

[figure description] Page 015.[end figure description]

sarcumstance, pon my word—dare's a great big nail in de skull,
what fastens ob it on to de tree.”

“Well now, Jupiter, do exactly as I tell you—do you hear?”

“Yes, massa.”

“Pay attention, then!—find the left eye of the skull.”

“Hum! hoo! dat's good! why dare aint no eye lef at all.”

“Curse your stupidity! do you know your right hand from
your left?”

“Yes, I nose dat—nose all bout dat—tis my lef hand what I
chops de wood wid.”

“To be sure! you are left-handed; and your left eye is on
the same side as your left hand. Now, I suppose, you can find
the left eye of the skull, or the place where the left eye has been.
Have you found it?”

Here was a long pause. At length the negro asked,

“Is de lef eye of de skull pon de same side as de lef hand of
de skull, too?—cause de skull aint got not a bit ob a hand at
all—nebber mind! I got de lef eye now—here de lef eye! what
mus do wid it?”

“Let the beetle drop through it, as far as the string will
reach—but be careful and not let go your hold of the string.”

“All dat done, Massa Will; mighty easy ting for to put de bug
fru de hole—look out for him dare below!”

During this colloquy no portion of Jupiter's person could be
seen; but the beetle, which he had suffered to descend, was now
visible at the end of the string, and glistened, like a globe of burnished
gold, in the last rays of the setting sun, some of which
still faintly illumined the eminence upon which we stood. The
scarabœus hung quite clear of any branches, and, if allowed to
fall, would have fallen at our feet. Legrand immediately took
the scythe, and cleared with it a circular space, three or four
yards in diameter, just beneath the insect, and, having accomplished
this, ordered Jupiter to let go the string and come down
from the tree.

Driving a peg, with great nicety, into the ground, at the precise
spot where the beetle fell, my friend now produced from his pocket
a tape-measure. Fastening one end of this at that point of the
trunk of the tree which was nearest the peg, he unrolled it till it

[figure description] Page 016.[end figure description]

reached the peg, and thence farther unrolled it, in the direction
already established by the two points of the tree and the peg, for
the distance of fifty feet—Jupiter clearing away the brambles
with the scythe. At the spot thus attained a second peg was
driven, and about this, as a centre, a rude circle, about four feet
in diameter, described. Taking now a spade himself, and giving
one to Jupiter and one to me, Legrand begged us to set about digging
as quickly as possible.

To speak the truth, I had no especial relish for such amusement
at any time, and, at that particular moment, would most
willingly have declined it; for the night was coming on, and I
felt much fatigued with the exercise already taken; but I saw no
mode of escape, and was fearful of disturbing my poor friend's
equanimity by a refusal. Could I have depended, indeed, upon
Jupiter's aid, I would have had no hesitation in attempting to get
the lunatic home by force; but I was too well assured of the old
negro's disposition, to hope that he would assist me, under any
circumstances, in a personal contest with his master. I made no
doubt that the latter had been infected with some of the innumerable
Southern superstitions about money buried, and that his
phantasy had received confirmation by the finding of the scarab
œus, or, perhaps, by Jupiter's obstinacy in maintaining it to be
“a bug of real gold.” A mind disposed to lunacy would readily
be led away by such suggestions—especially if chiming in with
favorite preconceived ideas—and then I called to mind the poor
fellow's speech about the beetle's being “the index of his fortune.”
Upon the whole, I was sadly vexed and puzzled, but, at length, I
concluded to make a virtue of necessity—to dig with a good will,
and thus the sooner to convince the visionary, by ocular demonstration,
of the fallacy of the opinions he entertained.

The lanterns having been lit, we all fell to work with a zeal
worthy a more rational cause; and, as the glare fell upon our
persons and implements, I could not help thinking how picturesque
a group we composed, and how strange and suspicious our
labors must have appeared to any interloper who, by chance,
might have stumbled upon our whereabouts.

We dug very steadily for two hours. Little was said; and
our chief embarrassment lay in the yelpings of the dog, who took

[figure description] Page 017.[end figure description]

exceeding interest in our proceedings. He, at length, became so
obstreperous that we grew fearful of his giving the alarm to some
stragglers in the vicinity;—or, rather, this was the apprehension
of Legrand;—for myself, I should have rejoiced at any interruption
which might have enabled me to get the wanderer home.
The noise was, at length, very effectually silenced by Jupiter,
who, getting out of the hole with a dogged air of deliberation, tied
the brute's mouth up with one of his suspenders, and then returned,
with a grave chuckle, to his task.

When the time mentioned had expired, we had reached a depth
of five feet, and yet no signs of any treasure became manifest.
A general pause ensued, and I began to hope that the farce was
at an end. Legrand, however, although evidently much disconcerted,
wiped his brow thoughtfully and recommenced. We had
excavated the entire circle of four feet diameter, and now we
slightly enlarged the limit, and went to the farther depth of two
feet. Still nothing appeared. The gold-seeker, whom I sincerely
pitied, at length clambered from the pit, with the bitterest disappointment
imprinted upon every feature, and proceeded, slowly
and reluctantly, to put on his coat, which he had thrown off at
the beginning of his labor. In the mean time I made no remark.
Jupiter, at a signal from his master, began to gather up his tools.
This done, and the dog having been unmuzzled, we turned in
profound silence towards home.

We had taken, perhaps, a dozen steps in this direction, when,
with a loud oath, Legrand strode up to Jupiter, and seized him by
the collar. The astonished negro opened his eyes and mouth to
the fullest extent, let fall the spades, and fell upon his knees.

“You scoundrel,” said Legrand, hissing out the syllables from
between his clenched teeth—“you infernal black villain!—speak,
I tell you!—answer me this instant, without prevarication!—
which—which is your left eye?”

“Oh, my golly, Massa Will! aint dis here my lef eye for sartain?”
roared the terrified Jupiter, placing his hand upon his right
organ of vision, and holding it there with a desperate pertinacity,
as if in immediate dread of his master's attempt at a gouge.

“I thought so!—I knew it! hurrah!” vociferated Legrand,
letting the negro go, and executing a series of curvets and cara.

[figure description] Page 018.[end figure description]

cols, much to the astonishment of his valet, who, arising from his
knees, looked, mutely, from his master to myself, and then from
myself to his master.

“Come! we must go back,” said the latter, “the game's not
up yet;” and he again led the way to the tulip-tree.

“Jupiter,” said he, when we reached its foot, “come here!
was the skull nailed to the limb with the face outwards, or with
the face to the limb?”

“De face was out, massa, so dat de crows could get at de eyes
good, widout any trouble.”

“Well, then, was it this eye or that through which you dropped
the beetle?”—here Legrand touched each of Jupiter's eyes.

“Twas dis eye, massa—de lef eye—jis as you tell me,” and
here it was his right eye that the negro indicated.

“That will do—we must try it again.”

Here my friend, about whose madness I now saw, or fancied
that I saw, certain indications of method, removed the peg which
marked the spot where the beetle fell, to a spot about three inches
to the westward of its former position. Taking, now, the tape-measure
from the nearest point of the trunk to the peg, as before,
and continuing the extension in a straight line to the distance of
fifty feet, a spot was indicated, removed, by several yards, from
the point at which we had been digging.

Around the new position a circle, somewhat larger than in the
former instance, was now described, and we again set to work
with the spades. I was dreadfully weary, but, scarcely understanding
what had occasioned the change in my thoughts, I felt
no longer any great aversion from the labor imposed. I had become
most unaccountably interested—nay, even excited. Perhaps
there was something, amid all the extravagant demeanor of
Legrand—some air of forethought, or of deliberation, which impressed
me. I dug eagerly, and now and then caught myself
actually looking, with something that very much resembled expectation,
for the fancied treasure, the vision of which had demented
my unfortunate companion. At a period when such vagaries
of thought most fully possessed me, and when we had been
at work perhaps an hour and a half, we were again interrupted
by the violent howlings of the dog. His uneasiness, in the first

[figure description] Page 019.[end figure description]

instance, had been, evidently, but the result of playfulness or caprice,
but he now assumed a bitter and serious tone. Upon Jupiter's
again attempting to muzzle him, he made furious resistance,
and, leaping into the hole, tore up the mould frantically with his
claws. In a few seconds he had uncovered a mass of human
bones, forming two complete skeletons, intermingled with several
buttons of metal, and what appeared to be the dust of decayed
woollen. One or two strokes of a spade upturned the blade of a
large Spanish knife, and, as we dug farther, three or four loose
pieces of gold and silver coin came to light.

At sight of these the joy of Jupiter could scarcely be restrained,
but the countenance of his master wore an air of extreme disappointment.
He urged 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 in the loose earth.

We now worked in earnest, and never did I pass ten minutes
of more intense excitement. During this interval we had fairly
unearthed an oblong chest of wood, which, from its perfect preservation
and wonderful hardness, had plainly been subjected to
some mineralizing process—perhaps that of the Bi-chloride of
Mercury. This box was three feet and a half long, three feet
broad, and two and a half feet deep. It was firmly secured by
bands of wrought iron, riveted, and forming a kind of open trelliswork
over the whole. On each side of the chest, near the top,
were three rings of iron—six in all—by means of which a firm
hold could be obtained by six persons. Our utmost united endeavors
served only to disturb the coffer very slightly in its bed.
We at once saw the impossibility of removing so great a weight.
Luckily, the sole fastenings of the lid consisted of two sliding bolts.
These we drew back—trembling and panting with anxiety. In
an instant, a treasure of incalculable value lay gleaming before
us. As the rays of the lanterns fell within the pit, there flashed
upwards a glow and a glare, from a confused heap of gold and of
jewels, that absolutely dazzled our eyes.

I shall not pretend to described the feelings with which I gazed.
Amazement was, of course, predominant. Legrand appeared exhausted
with excitement, and spoke very few words. Jupiter's

[figure description] Page 020.[end figure description]

countenance wore, for some minutes, as deadly a pallor as it is
possible, in the nature of things, for any negro's visage to assume.
He seemed stupified—thunderstricken. Presently he fell upon
his knees in the pit, and, burying his naked arms up to the
elbows in gold, let them there remain, as if enjoying the luxury of a
bath. At length, with a deep sigh, he exclaimed, as if in a soliloquy,

“And dis all cum ob de goole-bug! de putty goole-bug! de
poor little goole-bug, what I boosed in dat sabage kind ob style!
Aint you shamed ob yourself, nigger?—answer me dat!”

It became 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 every thing housed before daylight. It was difficult to say
what should be done, and much time was spent in deliberation—
so confused were the ideas of all. We, finally, lightened the box
by removing two thirds of its contents, 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 left 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 chest; reaching the hut
in safety, but after excessive toil, at one o'clock in the morning.
Worn out as we were, it was not in human nature to do more immediately.
We rested until two, and had supper; starting for
the hills immediately afterwards, armed with three stout sacks,
which, by good luck, were upon 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 second time, we deposited
our golden burthens, just as the first faint streaks of the
dawn gleamed from over the tree-tops in the East.

We were now thoroughly broken down; but the intense excitement
of the time denied us repose. After an unquiet slumber
of some three or four hours' duration, we arose, as if by preconcert,
to make examination of our treasure.

The chest had been full to the brim, and we spent the whole
day, and the greater part of the next night, in a scrutiny of its

[figure description] Page 021.[end figure description]

contents. There had been nothing like order or arrangement.
Every thing 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 four hundred and fifty thousand dollars—estimating the
value of the pieces, as accurately as we could, by the tables of
the period. There was not a particle of silver. All was gold
of antique date and of great variety—French, Spanish, and German
money, with a few English guineas, and some counters, of
which we had never seen specimens before. There were several
very large and heavy coins, so worn that we could make nothing
of their inscriptions. There was no American money. The
value of the jewels we found more difficulty in estimating. There
were diamonds—some of them exceedingly large and fine—a
hundred and ten in all, and not one of them small; eighteen rubies
of remarkable brilliancy;—three hundred and ten emeralds,
all very beautiful; and twenty-one sapphires, with an opal.
These stones had all been broken from their settings and thrown
loose in the chest. The settings themselves, which we picked out
from among the other gold, appeared to have been beaten up with
hammers, as if to prevent identification. Besides all this, there
was a vast quantity of solid gold ornaments;—nearly two hundred
massive finger and ear rings;—rich chains—thirty of these,
if I remember;—eighty-three very large and heavy crucifixes;—
five gold censers of great value;—a prodigious golden punch-bowl,
ornamented with richly chased vine-leaves and Bacchanalian
figures; with two sword-handles exquisitely embossed, and
many other smaller articles which I cannot recollect. The
weight of these valuables exceeded three hundred and fifty pounds
avoirdupois; and in this estimate I have not included one hundred
and ninety-seven superb gold watches; three of the number
being worth each five hundred dollars, if one. Many of them
were very old, and as time keepers valueless; the works having
suffered, more or less, from corrosion—but all were richly jewelled
and in cases of great worth. We estimated the entire contents
of the chest, that night, at a million and a half of dollars;
and, upon the subsequent disposal of the trinkets and jewels (a

[figure description] Page 022.[end figure description]

few being retained for our own use), it was found that we had
greatly undervalued the treasure.

When, at length, we had concluded our examination, 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, entered into a full detail
of all the circumstances connected with it.

“You remember,” said he, “the night when I handed you the
rough sketch I had made of the scarabœus. You recollect also,
that I became quite vexed at you for insisting that my drawing
resembled a death's-head. When you first made this assertion I
thought you were jesting; but afterwards I called to mind the
peculiar spots on the back of the insect, and admitted to myself
that your remark had some little foundation in fact. Still, the
sneer at my graphic powers irritated me—for I am considered a
good artist—and, therefore, when you handed me the scrap of
parchment, I was about to crumple it up and throw it angrily
into the fire.”

“The scrap of paper, you mean,” said I.

“No; it had much of the appearance of paper, and at first I
supposed it to be such, but when I came to draw upon it, I discovered
it, at once, to be a piece of very thin parchment. It was
quite dirty, you remember. Well, as I was in the very act of
crumpling it up, my glance fell upon the sketch at which you had
been looking, and you may imagine my astonishment when I
perceived, in fact, the figure of a death's-head just where, it
seemed to me, I had made the drawing of the beetle. For a moment
I was too much amazed to think with accuracy. I knew that
my design was very different in detail from this—although there
was a certain similarity in general outline. Presently I took a
candle, and seating myself at the other end of the room, proceeded
to scrutinize the parchment more closely. Upon turning it
over, I saw my own sketch upon the reverse, just as I had made
it. My first idea, now, was mere surprise at the really remarkable
similarity of outline—at the singular coincidence involved in
the fact, that unknown to me, there should have been a skull upon
the other side of the parchment, immediately beneath my figure of
the scarabœus, and that this skull, not only in outline, but in size,

[figure description] Page 023.[end figure description]

should so closely resemble my drawing. I say the singularity of
this coincidence absolutely stupified me for a time. This is the
usual effect of such coincidences. The mind struggles to establish
a connexion—a sequence of cause and effect—and, being
unable to do so, suffers a species of temporary paralysis. But,
when I recovered from this stupor, there dawned upon me gradually
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 scarabœus. I became perfectly certain of this; for I recollected
turning up first one side and then the other, in search of
the cleanest spot. Had the skull been then there, of course I
could not have failed to notice it. Here was indeed a my stery
which I felt it impossible to explain; but, even at that early moment,
there seemed to glimmer, faintly, within the most remote
and secret chambers of my intellect, a glow-worm-like conception
of that truth which last night's adventure brought to so magnificent
a demonstration. I arose at once, and putting the parchment
securely away, dismissed all farther reflection until I should
be alone.

“When you had gone, and when Jupiter was fast asleep, I be-took
myself to a more methodical 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
scarabœus was on the coast of the main land, about a mile eastward
of the island, and but a short distance above high water
mark. Upon my taking hold of it, it gave me a sharp bite, which
caused me to let it drop. Jupiter, with his accustomed caution, before
seizing the insect, which had flown towards him, looked about
him for a leaf, or something of that nature, by which to take hold
of it. It was at this moment that his eyes, and mine also, fell
upon the scrap of parchment, which I then supposed 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 to have been there for a very great while; for the resemblance
to boat timbers could scarcely be traced.

“Well, Jupiter picked up the parchment, wrapped the beetle

[figure description] Page 024.[end figure description]

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 insect,
and he begged me to let him take 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 had
continued to hold in my hand during his inspection. Perhaps he
dreaded my changing my mind, and thought it best to make sure
of the prize at once—you know how enthusiastic he is on all subjects
connected with Natural History. At the same time, without
being conscious of it, I must have deposited the parchment in
my own pocket.

“You remember that when I went to the table, for the purpose
of making a sketch of the beetle, I found no paper where it was
usually kept. I looked in the drawer, and found none there. I
searched my pockets, hoping to find an old letter, when my hand
fell upon the parchment. I thus detail the precise mode in which
it came into my possession; for the circumstances impressed me
with peculiar force.

“No doubt you will think me fanciful—but I had already established
a kind of connexion. I had put together two links of a
great chain. There was a boat lying upon a sea-coast, and not
far from the boat was a parchment—not a paper—with a skull
depicted upon it. You will, of course, ask 'where is the connection?
' 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 have said that the scrap was parchment, and not paper.
Parchment is durable—almost imperishable. Matters of little
moment are rarely consigned to parchment; since, for the mere
ordinary purposes of drawing or writing, it is not nearly so well
adapted as paper. This reflection suggested some meaning—
some relevancy—in the death's-head. I did not fail to observe,
also, the form of the parchment. Although one of its corners had
been, by some accident, destroyed, it could be seen that the original
form was oblong. It was just such a slip, indeed, as might
have been chosen for a memorandum—for a record of something
to be long remembered and carefully preserved.”

“But,” I interposed, “you say that the skull was not upon the

[figure description] Page 025.[end figure description]

parchment when you made the drawing of the beetle. How then
do you trace any connexion between the boat and the skull—
since this latter, according to your own admission, must have
been designed (God only knows how or by whom) at some period
subsequent to your sketching the scarabœus?”

“Ah, hereupon turns the whole mystery; although the secret,
at this point, I had comparatively little difficulty in solving. My
steps were sure, and could afford but a single result. I reasoned,
for example, thus: When I drew the scarabœus, there was no
skull apparent upon the parchment. When I had completed the
drawing I gave it to you, and observed you narrowly until you
returned it. You, therefore, did not design the skull, and no one
else was present to do it. Then it was not done by human agency.
And nevertheless it was done.

“At this stage of my reflections I endeavored to remember,
and did remember, with entire distinctness, every incident which
occurred about the period in question. The weather was chilly
(oh rare and happy accident!), and a fire was blazing upon the
hearth. I was heated with exercise and sat near the table. You,
however, had drawn a chair close to the chimney. Just as I placed
the parchment in your hand, and as you were in the act of inspecting
it, Wolf, the Newfoundland, entered, and leaped upon your
shoulders. With your left hand you caressed him and kept him
off, while your right, holding the parchment, was permitted to fall
listlessly between your knees, and in close proximity to the fire. At
one moment I thought the blaze had caught it, and was about to
caution you, but, before I could speak, you had withdrawn it, and
were engaged in its examination. When I considered all these
particulars, I doubted not for a moment that heat had been the agent
in bringing to light, upon the parchment, the 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
possible to write upon either paper or vellum, so that the characters
shall become visible only when subjected to the action of fire.
Zaffre, digested in aqua regia, and diluted with four times its weight
of water, is sometimes employed; a green tint results. The regulus
of cobalt, dissolved in spirit of nitre, gives a red. These
colors disappear at longer or shorter intervals after the material

[figure description] Page 026.[end figure description]

written upon cools, but again become apparent upon the re-application
of heat.

“I now scrutinized the death's-head with care. Its outer
edges—the edges of the drawing nearest the edge of the vellum—
were far more distinct than the others. It was clear that the action
of the caloric had been imperfect or unequal. I immediately
kindled a fire, and subjected every portion of the parchment to a
glowing heat. At first, the only effect was the strengthening of
the faint lines in the skull; but, upon persevering in the experiment,
there became visible, at the corner of the slip, diagonally
opposite to the spot in which the death's-head was delineated, the
figure of what I at first supposed to be a goat. A closer scrutiny,
however, satisfied me that it was intended for a kid.”

“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 mirth—
but you are not about to establish a third link in your chain—
you will not find any especial connexion between your pirates
and a goat—pirates, you know, have nothing to do with goats;
they appertain to the farming interest.”

“But I have just said that the figure was not that of a goat.”

“Well, a kid then—pretty much the same thing.”

“Pretty much, but not altogether,” said Legrand. “You may
have heard of one Captain Kidd. I at once looked upon the
figure of the animal as a kind of punning or hieroglyphical signature.
I say signature; because its position upon the vellum
suggested this idea. The death's-head at the corner diagonally
opposite, had, in the same manner, the air of a stamp, or seal.
But I was sorely put out by the absence of all else—of the body
to my imagined instrument—of the text for my context.”

“I presume you expected to find a letter between the 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 scarcely say why. Perhaps, after all, it was rather a desire
than an actual belief;—but do you know that Jupiter's
silly words, about the bug being of solid gold, had a remarkable
effect upon my fancy? And then the series of accidents and
coincidences—these were so very extraordinary. Do you

[figure description] Page 027.[end figure description]

observe how mere an accident it was that these events should have
occurred upon the sole day of all the year in which it has been,
or may be, sufficiently cool for fire, and that without the fire, or
without the intervention of the dog at the precise moment in which
he appeared, I 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 stories current—
the thousand vague rumors afloat about money buried, somewhere
upon the Atlantic coast, by Kidd and his associates. These
rumors must have had some foundation in fact. And that the
rumors have existed so long and so continuous, could have resulted,
it appeared to me, only from the circumstance of the
buried treasure still remaining entombed. Had Kidd concealed
his plunder for a time, and afterwards reclaimed it, the rumors
would scarcely have reached us in their present unvarying form.
You will observe that the stories told are all about money-seekers,
not about money-finders. Had the pirate recovered his money,
there the affair would have dropped. It seemed to me that some
accident—say the loss of a memorandum indicating its locality—
had deprived him of the means of recovering it, and that this accident
had become known to his followers, who otherwise might
never have heard that treasure had been concealed at all, and
who, busying themselves in vain, because unguided attempts, to
regain it, had given first birth, and then universal currency, to
the reports which are now so common. Have you ever heard
of any important treasure being unearthed along the coast?”

“Never.”

“But that Kidd's accumulations were immense, is well known.
I took it for granted, therefore, that the earth still held them; and
you will scarcely be surprised when I tell you that I felt a hope,
nearly amounting to certainty, that the parchment so strangely
found, involved a lost record of the place of deposit.”

“But how did you proceed?”

“I held the vellum again to the fire, after increasing the heat;
but nothing appeared. I now thought it possible that the coating
of dirt might have something to do with the failure; so I carefully
rinsed the parchment by pouring warm water over it, and,

[figure description] Page 028.[end figure description]

having done this, I placed it in a tin pan, with the skull downwards,
and put the pan upon a furnace of lighted charcoal. In a few
minutes, the pan having become thoroughly heated, I removed
the slip, and, to my inexpressible joy, found it spotted, in several
places, with what appeared to be figures arranged in lines. Again
I placed it in the pan, and suffered it to remain another minute.
Upon taking it off, the whole was just as you see it now.”

Here Legrand, having re-heated the parchment, submitted it to
my inspection. The following characters were rudely traced, in
a red tint, between the death's-head and the goat:

53‡‡†305))6*;4826)4‡.)4‡);806*;48†8¶60))85;1‡(;:‡*8†83(88)
5*†;46(;88*96*?;8)*‡(;485);5*†2:*‡(;4956*2(5*—4)8¶8*;40692
85);)6†8)4‡‡;1(‡9;48081;8:8‡1;48†85;4)485†528806*81(‡9;48;
(88;4(‡?34;48)4‡;161;:188;‡?;

“But,” said I, returning him the slip, “I am as much in the
dark as ever. Were all the jewels of Golconda awaiting me
upon my solution of this enigma, I am quite sure that I should be
unable to earn them.”

“And yet,” said Legrand, “the solution is by no means so
difficult as you might be lead to imagine from the first hasty inspection
of the characters. These characters, as any one might
readily guess, form a cipher—that is to say, they convey a meaning;
but then, from what is known of Kidd, I could not suppose
him capable of constructing 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 insoluble without the key.”

“And you really solved it?”

“Readily; I have solved others of an abstruseness ten thousand
times greater. Circumstances, and a certain bias of mind,
have led me to take interest in such riddles, and it may well be
doubted whether human ingenuity can construct an enigma of the
kind which human ingenuity may not, by proper application, resolve.
In fact, having once established connected and legible
characters, I scarcely gave a thought to the mere difficulty of developing
their import.

[figure description] Page 029.[end figure description]

“In the present case—indeed in all cases of secret writing—
the first question regards the language of the cipher; for the principles
of solution, so far, especially, as the more simple ciphers
are concerned, depend upon, and are varied by, the genius 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 be 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 English. But for this consideration I
should have begun my attempts with the Spanish and French, as
the tongues in which a secret of this kind would most naturally
have been written by a pirate of the Spanish main. As it was, I
assumed the cryptograph 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 word of a single letter
occurred, as is most likely, (a or I, for example,) I should
have considered the solution as assured. But, there being no division,
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	33.
	;	⪆“	26.
	4	⪆“	19.
	‡ )	⪆“	16.
	*	⪆“	13.
	5	⪆“	12.
	6	⪆“	11.
	† 1	⪆“	8.
	0	⪆“	6.
	9 2	⪆“	5.
	: 3	⪆“	4.
	?	⪆“	3.
	¶	⪆“	2.
	— .	⪆“	1.

“Now, in English, the letter which most frequently occurs is

[figure description] Page 030.[end figure description]

e. Afterwards, the succession runs thus: a o i d h n r s t u y c
vf g l m w b k p q x z. E predominates so remarkably that an
individual sentence of any length is rarely seen, in which it is not
the prevailing character.

“Here, then, we have, in the very beginning, the groundwork
for something more than a mere guess. The general use which
may be made of the table is obvious—but, in this particular
cipher, we shall only very partially require its aid. As our predominant
character is 8, we will commence by assuming it as the
e of the natural alphabet. To verify the supposition, let us observe
if the 8 be seen often in couples—for e is doubled with great
frequency in English—in such words, for example, as 'meet,'
'fleet,' 'speed,' 'seen,' been,' 'agree,'&c. In the present instance
we see it doubled no less than five times, although the
cryptograph is brief.

“Let us assume 8, then, as e. Now, of all words in the language,
'the' is most usual; let us see, therefore, whether there
are not repetitions of any three characters, in the same order of
collocation, the last of them being 8. If we discover repetitions
of such letters, so arranged, they will most probably represent
the word 'the.' Upon inspection, we find no less than seven such
arrangements, the characters being;48. We may, therefore, assume
that; represents t, 4 represents h, and 8 represents e—the
last being now well confirmed. Thus a great step has been
taken.

“But, having established a single word, we are enabled to establish
a vastly important point; that is to say, several commencements
and terminations of other words. Let us refer, for
example, to the last instance but one, in which the combination;
48 occurs—not far from the end of the cipher. We know that
the; immediately ensuing is the commencement of a word, and,
of the six characters succeeding this 'the,' we are cognizant of
no less than five. Let us set these characters down, thus, by the
letters we know them to represent, leaving a space for the unknown—

t eeth.

“Here we are enabled, at once, to discard the 'th,' as forming
no portion of the word commencing with the first t; since, by

[figure description] Page 031.[end figure description]

experiment of the entire alphabet for a letter adapted to the vacancy,
we perceive that no word can be formed of which this th can be
a part. We are thus narrowed into

t ee,

“Looking beyond these words, for a short distance, we again
see the combination;48, and employ it by way of termination to
what immediately precedes. We have thus this arrangement:

the tree;4(‡?34 the,

the tree thr‡?3h the.

“Now, if, in place of the unknown characters, we leave blank
spaces, or substitute dots, we read thus:

the tree thr...h the,

“Looking now, narrowly, through the cipher for combinations
of known characters, we find, not very far from the beginning,
this arrangement,

83(88, or egree,

“Four letters beyond the word 'degree,' we perceive the combination

;48(;88.

“Translating the known characters, and representing the unknown
by dots, as before, we read thus:

th rtee.

“Referring, now, to the beginning of the cryptograph, we find
the combination,

53‡‡†.

[figure description] Page 032.[end figure description]

“Translating, as before, we obtain

.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
†	⪆“	d
8	represents	e
3	represents	g
4	represents	h
6	represents	i
*	represents	n
‡	represents	o
(	represents	r
;	represents	t

“We have, therefore, no less than ten of the most important
letters represented, and it will be unnecessary to proceed with the
details of the solution. I have said enough to convince you that
ciphers of this nature are readily soluble, and to give you some
insight into the rationale of their development. But be assured
that the specimen before us appertains to the very simplest species
of cryptograph. It now only remains to give you the full
translation of the characters upon the parchment, as unriddled.
Here it is:

'A good glass in the bishop's hostel in the devil's seat forty-one
degrees and thirteen minutes northeast and by north main branch
seventh limb east side shoot from the left eye of the death's-head a
bee line from the tree through the shot fifty feet out.' ”

“But,” said I, “the enigma seems still in as 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?' ”

“I confess,” replied Legrand, “that the matter still wears a
serious aspect, when regarded with a casual glance. My first
endeavor was to divide the sentence into the natural division intended
by the cryptographist.”

“You mean, to punctuate it?”

“Something of that kind.”

[figure description] Page 033.[end figure description]

“But how was it possible to effect this?”

“I reflected that it had been a point with the writer to run his
words together without division, so as to increase the difficulty of
solution. Now, a not over-acute man, in pursuing such an object,
would be nearly certain to overdo the matter. When, in the
course of his composition, he arrived at a break in his subject
which would naturally require a pause, or a point, he would be
exceedingly apt to run his characters, at this place, more than
usually close together. If you will observe the MS., in the present
instance, you will easily detect five such cases of unusual
crowding. Acting upon this hint, I made the division thus:

'A good glass in the Bishop's hostel in the Devil's seat—forty-
one degrees and thirteen minutes—northeast and by north—main
branch seventh limb east side—shoot from the left eye of the
death's-head—a bee-line from the tree through the shot fifty feet
out.'”

“Even this division,” said I, “leaves me still in the dark.”

“It left me also in the dark,” replied Legrand, “for a few
days; during which I made diligent inquiry, in the neighborhood
of Sullivan's Island, for any building which went by the name of
the 'Bishop's Hotel;' for, of course, I dropped the obsolete word
'hostel.' Gaining no information on the subject, I was on the
point of extending my sphere of search, and proceeding in a more
systematic manner, when, one morning, it entered into my head,
quite suddenly, that this 'Bishop's Hostel' might have some reference
to an old family, of the name of Bessop, which, time out of
mind, had held possession of an ancient manor-house, about four
miles to the northward of the Island. I accordingly went over to
the plantation, and re-instituted my inquiries among the older negroes
of the place. At length one of the most aged of women
said that she had heard of such a place as Bessop's Castle, and
thought that she could guide me to it, but that it was not a castle,
nor a tavern, but a high rock.

“I offered to pay her well for her trouble, and, after some demur,
she consented to accompany me to the spot. We found it
without much difficulty, when, dismissing her, I proceeded to examine
the place. The 'castle' consisted of an irregular assemblage
of cliffs and rocks—one of the latter being quite

[figure description] Page 034.[end figure description]

remarkablefor its height as well as for its insulated and artificial appearance.
I clambered to its apex, and then felt much at a loss
as to what should be next done.

“While I was busied in reflection, my eyes fell upon a narrow
ledge in the eastern face of the rock, perhaps a yard below the summit
upon which I stood. This ledge projected about eighteen
inches, and was not more than a foot wide, while a niche in the
cliff just above it, gave it a rude resemblance to one of the hollow-backed
chairs used by our ancestors. I made no doubt that
here was the 'devil's-seat' alluded to in the MS., and now I seemed
to grasp the full secret of the riddle.

“The 'good glass,' I knew, could have reference to nothing
but a telescope; for the word 'glass' is rarely employed in any
other sense by seamen. Now here, I at once saw, was a telescope
to be used, and a definite point of view, admitting no variation,
from which to use it. Nor did I hesitate to believe that the
phrases, “forty-one degrees and thirteen minutes,' and 'northeast
and by north,' were intended as directions for the levelling of the
glass. Greatly excited by these discoveries, I hurried home, procured
a telescope, and returned to the rock.

“I let myself down to the ledge, and found that it was impossible
to retain a seat upon it except in one particular position.
This fact confirmed my preconceived 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, 'northeast and by north.' This latter direction I at once
established by means of a pocket-compass; then, pointing the
glass as nearly at an angle of forty-one degrees of elevation as I
could do it by guess, I moved it cautiously up or down, until my
attention was arrested by a circular rift or opening in the foliage
of a large 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 telescope, I
again looked, and now made it out to be a human skull.

“Upon this discovery I was so sanguine as to consider the
enigma solved; for the phrase 'main branch, seventh limb, east
side,' could refer only to the position of the skull upon the tree,

[figure description] Page 035.[end figure description]

while 'shoot from the left eye of the death's-head' admitted, also,
of but one interpretation, in regard to a search for buried treasure.
I perceived that the design was to drop a bullet from the
left eye of the skull, and that a bee-line, or, in other words, a
straight line, drawn from the nearest point of the trunk through
'the shot,' (or the spot where the bullet fell,) and thence extended
to a distance of fifty feet, would indicate a definite point—and beneath
this point I thought it at least possible that a deposit of
value lay concealed.”

“All this,” I said, “is exceedingly clear, and, although ingenious,
still simple and explicit. When you left the Bishop's
Hotel, what then?”

“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 vanished; nor could I get a glimpse of it
afterwards, turn as I would. What seems to me the chief ingenuity
in this whole business, is the fact (for repeated experiment
has convinced me it is a fact) that the circular opening in question
is visible from no other attainable point of view than that afforded
by the narrow ledge upon the face of the rock.

“In this expedition to the 'Bishop'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, getting up very early, I contrived
to give him the slip, and went into the hills in search of
the tree. After much toil I found it. When I came home at
night my valet proposed to give me a flogging. With the rest of
the adventure I believe you are as well acquainted as myself.”

“I suppose,” said I, “you missed the spot, in the first attempt
at digging, through Jupiter's stupidity in letting the bug fall
through the right instead of through the left eye of the skull.”

“Precisely. This mistake made a difference of about two
inches and a half in the 'shot'—that is to say, in the position of
the peg nearest the tree; and had the treasure been beneath the
'shot,' the error would have been of little moment; but 'the shot,'
together with the nearest point of the tree, were merely two
points for the establishment of a line of direction; of course the
error, however trivial in the beginning, increased as we

[figure description] Page 036.[end figure description]

proceeded with the line, and by the time we had gone fifty feet, threw us
quite off the scent. But for my deep-seated impressions that
treasure was here somewhere actually buried, we might have had
all our labor in vain.”

“But your grandiloquence, and your conduct in swinging the
beetle—how excessively odd! I was sure you were mad. And
why did you insist upon letting fall the bug, instead of a bullet,
from the skull?”

“Why, to be frank, I felt somewhat annoyed by your evident
suspicions touching my sanity, and so resolved to punish you
quietly, in my own way, by a little bit of sober mystification.
For this reason I swung the beetle, and for this reason I let it fall
it from the tree. An observation of yours about its great weight
suggested the latter idea.”

“Yes, I perceive; and now there is only one point which puzzles
me. What are we to make of the skeletons found in the hole?”

“That is a question I am no more able to answer than yourself.
There seems, however, only one plausible way of accounting
for them—and yet it is dreadful to believe in such atrocity as my
suggestion would imply. It is clear that Kidd—if Kidd indeed secreted
this treasure, which I doubt not—it is clear that he must
have had assistance in the labor. But this labor concluded, he
may have thought it expedient to remove all participants in his
secret. Perhaps a couple of blows with a mattock were sufficient,
while his coadjutors were busy in the pit; perhaps it required
a dozen—who shall tell?”

p321-050

Previous section

Next section