CHAPTER I

HOW TREASURE WAS BURIED

The word, "treasure," has excited people the world over for centuries. When we were mere children we read about hidden treasure being buried on lonely isles, by bands of cutthroat pirates, also the burying of caches of money by the outlaws and bandits of the old West.

The early settlers were always hiding their money from the Indians and bandits, and the best place to put their money was, of course, in the ground, as they had no bank vaults in which to keep it safe.

So down through the years thousands of dollars in coin was hidden in this fashion. Many of these caches are being discovered today in the back yards of rustic old houses, in old wells, along the stone walls of century-old homesteads, in fact almost anywhere around the property.

The many islands in Casco Bay were choice locations for the early settlers; to settle on an island was one way to slow up the advance of Indian raiding parties. The Indians, of course, would raid some of the islands; but it was not convenient for them because of the trip across the open water in order to reach their destination; therefore many treasures that were buried on these islands still remain to be discovered by the modern day treasure hunter. A good many of these hidden caches were buried in old iron kettles, tough bags made of animal hides, old iron chests and almost anything that would keep the coins from getting too wet and corroded in the ground.

Now for some treasure hunting locations for the modern hunter armed with his metal detector. First, we will go to an old fort in Casco Bay, Maine, namely, "Fort Gorges," we will call this location number one on our list.