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Show FIGHT BETWEEN TWO BANDS OF SEEKERS FOR COCOS ISLAND TREASURE PANAMA, Jan. 14. From Costa Rica comes the news of an encounter between be-tween rival bands of treasure hunters en Cocoa island, where a pirates' hoard is said to be buried. The expedition under Lord Fitzwll-Ham Fitzwll-Ham was defeated by the men under command of Harold W. S. Gray. Lord Fltzwilllam and his party reached the island on the yacht Vero-nique Vero-nique to find it had been prepeded by the Gray expedition on the yacht Rose Marine. The latter party claimed to have a Costa Rican concession to search for the treasure, and objected to the presence of the Fltzwilllam force. A fight is said to have followed, and Fits wllliam and his company were beaten off. The Costa Rican Government has sent the gunboat Turrialbia to establish estab-lish and preserve order on the island. The foregoing dispatch is the first intimation in-timation of an encounter between rival gold seekers on the island of Cocos. A dispatch last week brought the information infor-mation that the Lord Fltzwilllam party par-ty had met an accident, in which several sev-eral men were hurt, but that the leader of the expedition was safe and had sailed for England by steamer, having given up the search. His yacht, the Veronlque, was in Panama harbor two days ago. According to English yacht registers, Harold W. S. Gray is a resident of London and a member of the Royal St. George Yacht club, Kingston, Ireland, of which the Prince of Wales is Commodore. Com-modore. Failure of , the Fltzwilllam venture ends another of the numerous expeditions expedi-tions to the romantic isle where Is supposed sup-posed to He buried bullion, plate and jewels estimated to be worth from $30.-000,000 $30.-000,000 to 8100,000.000. For nearly a century Individuals, corporations, and even a Government have made periodical visits to the island., striving by every means to unearth un-earth the carefully-hidden treasure which since 1820 is supposed to have lain undisturbed. While the history of the treasure is regarded as more or less of a myth, many men have sunk fortunes for-tunes In a vain endeavor to penetrate the mystery which has surrounded the ' oft-repeated story that, following a revolution in Peru, the citizens of Cal-lao Cal-lao removed to the island of Cocos 600 miles southwest of Panama, their place, bullion and valuables, returning to perish during a -chaotlo period when Governments were changing. Hard-headed men of business have Invested thousands of dollars with a view to clearing the mystery and enriching en-riching themselves, and expeditions have one after another pursued a fruitless fruit-less search for the treasure. When Earl Fltzwilllam purchased the Veronlque, formerly the Halleck Castle, used In the South African trade, the British press was led to be-i be-i Ueve that the boat was fitted up solely with a view to scientific research. The i Earl Is one of the wealthiest peers In England ' j Cocos Is one of the most picturesque 1 spots in the world. It is of volcanic origin, and the shores Is buttressed by high, ragged cliffs Indented here and there by caverns into which the sea is hurled and flows back in shimmering 1 streama -The Interior. is thickly covered cov-ered with a rich growth of cedars. Tropical vines, undisturbed for centuries, cen-turies, have entangled themselves among the cedars, so that now It Is almost al-most Impossible to penetrate into the interior. Numerous pirate bands are said to have made their headquarters there, and it -.was a well-known biding place for bnocanears afte the War of WX |