The Cruise of the Alerte · Chapter
The History of the Treasure explained
This chapter recounts the history of treasure hunting on the island of Trinidad, beginning with a young man's perilous swim ashore and his discovery of a treasure site buried under a landslip.
What happens
This chapter recounts the history of treasure hunting on the island of Trinidad, beginning with a young man's perilous swim ashore and his discovery of a treasure site buried under a landslip. It details subsequent expeditions, including the ill-fated Aurea expedition and the American attempt, all of which faced extreme dangers, surf, and failure. The narrator learns of these stories and decides to organize his own expedition aboard the Alerte.
Themes in this chapter
Danger and Risk
The chapter emphasizes the extreme perils faced by treasure seekers: deadly surf, landslips, fever, and the risk of drowning or being eaten by land-crabs.
Perseverance and Disappointment
Multiple expeditions persist despite failures, yet each ends in disappointment, with the Aurea crew suffering fever and death, and the Americans leaving empty-handed.
The Allure of Treasure
The treasure's legend drives adventurers to risk their lives and money, with many 'shrewd Tynesiders' believing in its existence despite past failures.
Characters to notice
- Captain P⸺
Retired sea captain who commanded an East Indiaman and befriended a foreign quartermaster known as 'the pirate'; he is a key source of the treasure story.
- Mr. A⸺
Prime mover of the Aurea expedition from South Shields; he provided the narrator with the detailed history of the treasure and previous attempts.
- The Narrator
The author and organizer of the Alerte expedition; he investigates the treasure story and decides to mount his own search.
- Mr. Wilson
Ship-chandler in Bahia who confirmed the story of the American expedition to the narrator.
- John Wright
The barquentine John, whose captain assisted the first treasure seeker (young P⸺) in landing on Trinidad.
Key passages
“very disinclined to return without having effected a landing, and persuaded the captain to allow him to swim ashore from a boat.”
The young man was determined not to go back without landing, so he convinced the captain to let him swim to shore.
Describes the first attempt to land on Trinidad by young P⸺.
“We failed to find the treasure, but we did what our predecessors did not—we had a very good try for it; and we have, I think, at any rate proved that it is not worth the while of any other adventurers to go in search of this too carefully concealed hoard.”
Although we did not find the treasure, we made a thorough attempt, and I believe we have shown that it is not worthwhile for others to search for this well-hidden cache.
Reflects the conclusion of the Aurea expedition members after their exhaustive digging.
“It would seem as if this was one of those forlorn islands of which one reads in the old romances of the sea, on which the bloody deeds of the pirates have left a curse behind, so that the treasure is protected by evil spirits;”
The island seems like something from a sea romance, where pirates' bloody acts left a curse, and evil spirits guard the treasure.
The narrator muses on the supernatural aura surrounding the island's dangers.