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"We have buried at a depth
of four feet in the red earth: alter trimmings of cloth of gold with baldachin, monstances, chalices, comprising 1,244 stones; 1 chest; two reliquaries weighing
120 pounds, with 624 topazes, carnelian's and emeralds, 12 diamonds; 1 chest; 3
reliquaries of cast metal weighing 160 pounds, with 860 rubies and various
stones, 19 diamonds; 1 chest; 4,000 doubloons of Spain marked 8, 5,000 crowns of
Mexico, 124 swords, 64 dirks, 120 shoulder belts, 28 rondaches (small shields);
1 chest; 8 caskets of cedar wood and silver with 3,840 cut stones, rings,
platens and 4,265 uncut stones; 28 feet to the north-east at a depth of eight
feet in the yellow sand; 7 chests with 22 candelabra in gold and silver,
weighing 250 pounds, and 164 rubies, 12 armspans west; at a depth of 12 feet in
the red earth. The seven foot Virgin of gold with the child of Jesus and her
crown and pectoral of 780 pounds, rolled in her gold chasuble on which are 1.684
jewels. Three of these are four-inch emeralds on the pectoral and six are
six-inch topazes on the crown. The seven crosses are of diamonds.''
Having hidden
his treasures and shared out several chests of gold with his crew.
 He left
the island and was sighted by the Spanish Frigate 'Espsigle' which engaged and
captured them. The Spanish on finding some of the 'Loot of Lima' on board hanged
the crew sparing only Thompson and another man on condition they disclose the
hiding place.
Returning to the island they were able to break away from the
Spanish guards and took cover in the dense overgrowth. After they spent a week
searching for them, the Spaniards finally gave up and sailed away. Some time
later a passing whaling ship called into the island for water and found Thompson
and the other man who died shortly after from a fever. Thompson's mate's name in
some reports was Benito Bonito, in others it was a man named "Chapelle".
After
his rescue from Cocos island, Thompson returned to the sea as a seaman, where
he met Keating. Keating claimed Thompson gave him documents, maps and other
information to recover the treasure concealed on the island. Since 1860 Cocos
Island has been known chiefly as a treasure-hunting site.
It appears that
the 'Loot of Lima' as it is called lies not in Queenscilff as claimed by local
residents, but on an island many miles away. Sir Captain John Williams who
salvaged the Niagara became involved in Benito's treasure when he was
commissioned to dive at the scene in hope of recovering the virgin's effigy.
During an interview I conducted with him, he stated the individuals involved
were a weird bunch. He agreed to accept the deal on condition he was paid in
advance.
He was told that there was an underwater cave with a ledge inside
with the statue of the Virgin Mary resting there. Everything was as it was
described to his diver's except there was no virgin to be found. After which he
was accused of cheating the syndicate he had done the work for.
Historians
believe a shadowy figure of a man known as Benito Bonito did exist, although
they believe this name was used to disguise his real identity. It is agreed that
the true identity of Benito Bonito was Captain Bennett Grahame, a British naval
officer who had served with none other than Lord Nelson. In 1818 Grahame was
sent to the Pacific in command of H.M.S. Devonshire to survey the coast between
Cape Horn and Panama.
Grahame soon tired of his mundane task and instead
turned to piracy, his crew was given the option to join him or be put ashore in
Panama. Those that would not join him were instead taken to Cocos island where
after being put ashore were slaughtered by Grahame and his crew. Thus he became
know as Benito Bonito of the Bloody Sword. Treasure hunters, searching for the
treasure years later uncovered a number of skeletons; these remains are believed
to be members of Grahame's crew.
Apart from plundering richly laden Spanish
vessels carrying cargoes of gold and silver Bonito also came ashore at a spot
near Acapulco, Mexico where he seized a rich cargo of gold. According to reports
he took it to Cocos island and buried it in Wafer Bay. One story tells of an
occasion when Bonito spotted five Spanish ships, 3 of them being men-o-war and
the other galleons laden with gold and silver. Bonito successfully engaged the
Spanish in a running duel capturing the Latin ships. During the battle,
'Devonshire was extensively damaged and Bonito decided to load his treasure on a
Spanish ship,'Relampago', which he sailed to Cocos and buried his treasure in a
tunnel some 35 feet long.
Bonito's activities were common knowledge and
complaints had been made to the British Admiralty, which despatched a warship to
deal with him. However Bonito engaged the man-o-war and defeated it. Eventually
he was cornered in the Bay of Buena Ventura after his ship had been sunk. Bonito
and his crew were taken to England where they were tried convicted and hanged.
Several crew members were transported to Tasmania for life. Amongst them, a
young girl named Mary Welch or Welsh told a dramatic story. She claimed Bonito's
real name was Grahame who had picked her up in Panama several years earlier. It
was Mary who started the Queenscilff version of the treasure tale.
She
claimed the pirates came ashore at Queenscilff, buried the treasure in a cave
and dynamited the entrance. Shortly after passing through the heads, they were
spotted by a warship, which gave chase. After a running battle they were
captured but Bonito blew his brains out on the deck rather than face the
gallows.
 The amazing part of her story is that after she married and secured
her release instead of hunting for the treasure in the Queenscilff area, she
sailed off to San Francisco where she raised an expedition to go to Cocos
Island. The maps and documents she had in her possession proved worthless, many
historians believe her tale to be nothing more than a fabrication of the
imagination. Kenneth W. Byron wrote a book entitled, 'Lost treasures in
Australia and New Zealand.' In it he describes investigations made by Harry Riesberg, who visited the Cathedral at Lima.
He found that at no time was
there a war between Chile and Peru. He was astounded when a priest pointed to a
life-size effigy of the Virgin Mary, and also discovered that at no time had the
Cathedral been plundered. The British Admiralty has no records regarding the
capture of Benito Bonito, his trial, execution or even the transportation of
prisoners to Tasmania. Treasure and the thought of instant wealth and riches are
sufficient excuse for wealthy individuals to indulge themselves in making a
quick profit, especially if the story, documentation and maps appear to be
authentic and credible. Anyone owning such information in those hard times where
some individuals begged for a living were assured of living well at the expense
of others.
some portions courtesy
of Peter Disch-Lauxmann
A scholarly work |
Cocos
offered safe anchorage, and a plentiful supply of fresh water and food
- including coconuts from which the pirates brewed
alcoholic beverages. Deposits of loot on Cocos are associated with
notorious names such as William Dampier, Edward Davis, Benito Bonito,
Captain Thompson (who Captain McGuinness claimed to know the exact
location of his treasure) and some stories have it that even Captain
Kidd buried his loot there as well!
