Kidd visited on at least two occasions, once striding boldly through the coastal town, tipping his hat in courtly fashion to the ladies who came to gape.
And if they chose to secrete any ill-gotten goods, what better places could be found than the coves or islands of Nutmegian waters? And so the old legends persist at Milford, where town records say Capt. Kidd and other less noted buccaneers did, in fact, cruise Long Island Sound. And in a way, there is more reason to believe the old tales of buried treasure here than in the rest of New England, for Capt. "ĭespite the testimony of the Gardiner family and the records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the dream of pirate gold has never died along the Connecticut shore. But I think it doubtful whether there was ever any buried except that which was buried here.
Gardiner, over a hundred years later, "There has been much digging here upon this island for Kidd's money, even within half a dozen years, all along the coast. All of the treasure was then dug up and returned to Boston. Once Gardiner was convinced that Kidd was secure in a Boston prison and could not come for his head, he reluctantly showed the colony's officials the spot where the chests were buried. Meanwhile, the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony sent messengers to Lord Gardiner, claiming Kidd's treasure for the state. Kidd was captured soon after leaving Gardiner's Island and from the time of his arrest until he was hanged in London in 1701, he was always in safe custody. Gardiner's itemized receipt to Kidd, dated July 17, 1699, listed precisely 1371.625 ounces (85.73 pounds) of gold, silver and precious stones.īefore he sailed off, never to be seen again, Kidd warned Gardiner that if he ever revealed the burial site, he would "answer with his head." However, that proved an idle threat, for Capt.
#Captain kidd long island full#
Moreover, such treasure as Kidd did have - twenty four chests full of it - was all brought ashore on Gardiner's Island, off eastern Long Island, carefully inventoried and, with the permission of John Gardiner, feudal lord of the island, buried in a swamp there. For the record has proved time and again that despite his reputation, the redoubtable Kidd accumulated little booty from the time he began his buccaneering in New York harbor around 1698 until he was captured and permanently put out of business in the summer of 1699. Never mind that their labors have not been in tune with history, for tradition ever scoffs at historical fact and often transcends the limits of common sense. William Kidd and his fabulous pirate hoard. What force has sent so many forth with tools in hand and spines atingle to probe the margins of Connecticut's tidal waters? What else but the lure of buried treasure, the legacy of the legend of Capt. Along the Connecticut River, too, they have gouged and plumbed the storied spots from Old Lyme (Lion's Rock) to Windsor (Clark's Island), caught in the spell of the old stories handed down from generation to generation. From Stonington (Lambert's Cove) to Milford (Charles Island) - and a score of shoreline sites between - they have searched with spade and pick, following the dream.
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