Pirates! Treasure Hunting in Boston Harbor
In 1945, a Times article shared the remarkable tale of a treasure hunt tied to the Narrows ‘Bug’ Light featured in William F. Halsall’s Ship in Boston Harbor near Narrows ‘Bug’ Light.
The King of Calf Island, a pirate who had sailed the West Indies early in the 19th century, was evading capture after being accused of murder. He took on the lonely job of keeper of Bug Light in 1846, and supposedly buried his treasure somewhere on Boston Harbor’s islands. He died in 1882, leaving his hidden treasure behind.
This remarkable story found its way to Edward Rowe Snow, through one ‘Pegleg Nuskey’, who mysteriously wound up murdered after passing on the story. Snow, a Boston write, historian, and amateur treasure hunter, took up the search. After combing Great Brewster Island, which was connected to the long, narrow spit of land that the light marked, and failing to find a map, he unearthed a 17th-century Italian book beneath the floorboards of a deserted shack.
William F. Halsall (1841-1919)
Ship in Boston Harbor near Narrows ‘Bug’ Light
(sold to private collection)
Bug Light, courtesy of Lighthouse Friends
Upon taking it to the Boston Public Library to have it appraised, a pattern of pinholes on page 101 was discovered that formed a coded message: “Gold is due east trees Strong Island Chatham outer bar.” The pirate had buried his treasure not on one of Boston Harbor’s islands, but somewhere on Strong Island, off of Cape Cod. Snow searched the island, and eventually discovered the treasure, a small copper box full of coins minted in Peru, Mexico, Portugal, France, and Spain, worth approximately $1,900 (roughly $32,200 today).
Unfortunately, in 1929, the light was completely destroyed by a fire, ending its 75-year tenure of guiding the way into Boston Harbor. It was immediately replaced by a gas-operated bell buoy, and today an automatic light on a steel skeleton tower stands guard near the original location of Bug Light.
