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 The Treasures of Roatan Island, Honduras (cont.)After all it had been a long hot mosquito ridden day, but as Howard dug into the last hit which was near the foundation of the ruin his shovel hit something hard. Jeff and Robin quickly joined him digging furiously around the metal, their fading hope quickly returning as they unearthed every treasure hunters dream: an ancient encrusted pirate treasure chest. For a several minutes the treasure hunters sat there only staring in awe at what they had found.Howard tried to open the chest but the hinges were so rusted shut it proved impossible. Robin told him to move out the way and began smashing the chest with the shovel, smashing the rusty hinge to bits. Howard opened it with hungry eyes and when he looked he found himself staring at a pile of silver and a golden chain. However it was not the Golden chain of Huascar. Several hours after their discovery at Augusta, Howard and Robin were cruising with Jeff back to Port Royal Harbour lost in the sense of wonder that comes with discovery. Heading back towards Oakridge, Howard spotted a small island. He pointed it out to Jeff, who told him that the island was known on Roatan as the Cow and the Calf. Howard thought that it looked like an excellent place for a pirate to stash a treasure and having been so lucky already Howard decided to push his luck. He asked Jeff to pull up closer to the island so he could have a better look. They cruised around the island for several minutes when it started to rain lightly. Howard spotted what looked like an ancient stairway going up towards the top of the rocky island, which was nothing but two huge chunks of limestone sticking out of the sea. Why would someone build a stairway on such a rocky island like this, if not to hide something? They pulled the boat up to a small beach on the island and made their way up the ancient stairway. When they got to the top they came across the foundations of what was once a building. Howard ran the detectors across it hoping to find a strong signal like the one at Augusta but there was nothing. It was now starting to rain rather hard and the treasure hunters decided to call it quits. As Howard was making his way down the stairs his detector let out a strong signal. He was shocked at his luck and yelled for Jeff to grab one of the shovels he had just loaded on the boat. The rain now pelting down on their heads, turning the area into a stream of muck,and the heat was almost unbearable as the three treasure hunters dug frantically to unearth their find. After several minutes of digging Robin's shovel hit something solid, the treasure hunters fell to the muddy ground on their hands and knees and began scraping away the mucky ground, unearthing a huge crack in the rock but no treasure. Howard ran the detector over the crack and sure enough there was metal down in that crack. Robin stuck his hands inside and ran his hands across the rusty surface of what felt like a treasure chest. Howard and Jeff reached into the crack and they all began pulling on the metal object. Within minutes it became loose and they pulled it to the surface. Sure enough they found themselves staring at yet another rusty old treasure chest. Howard smashed its hinges open with the shovel and the three treasure hunters found themselves staring at a chest loaded to the brim with golden doubloons. The rain poured down harder and the winds stared howling making the sea very rough. They had to escape the island as soon as possible or be trapped for the night. Howard loaded the golden doubloons into his backpack as Robin and Jeff headed back to the boat. Howard was just about to cast the ancient chest into the sea when he noticed it was still very heavy. So he smashed at the bottom with his shovel and sure enough the blade of his shovel went right through the ancient wood revealing a secret compartment in the chest. It was loaded with huge silver bars. He loaded them into his backpack as well and walked down the muddy stairway back to the boat, where the treasure hunters made haste for Oakridge, their boat thrashing in on the crest of the swollen ocean. When they returned to the place they were staying, they were muddy and exhausted. Howard was told by Merle, a kind old woman who owned the guest house, that the police had been looking for him that day. So Howard and Robin gave Jeff Tree his share of the treasure and quickly fled the island leaving with a fortune in pirate loot. After Howard and Robin's adventure on Roatan the two split company. Robin was off to Vietnam and Howard went off to find the legendary river of Gold in Honduras which in itself is another story. Howard Jennings never forgot what happened to him on Roatan. He moved there with his wife several years later where he helped build the first airport on the island. On my visit to Roatan I talked to a fellow named David who was the owner of the hotel in Oakridge where I was staying about Howard Jennings. He told me that he had heard of an American who found a coffin loaded with treasure in a secret underwater cave under an island in the bay who went by that name. He also showed me a map of Roatan which showed several of the old ruins and archaeological sites around the island which was drawn by a lady by the name of Anna Jennings. I told him that Howard Jennings had lived on the island himself and perhaps the creator of this map was Howard's daughter. He explained that that was nothing unusal because the name Jennings had been on the island since the days of Henry Morgan. So perhaps Captain Jennings did visit the island, leaving behind not only buried treasure but offspring as well. After my conversation with David, I strolled down to the beach and gazed off across the beautiful blue ocean at mainland Honduras and the Mosquito Coast. I wondered what it would be like to visit there. Howard went there after selling off his Roatan loot. It was there where according to his memoirs he discovered a river loaded with placer gold. However the area where its located is somewhere in the Mosquito Coast but unlike Roatan it is very inaccessible even to this day. My mind drifted with thoughts of heading there but I was running short on time and had to get back to Belize, but as I stared off in the distance one sentence kept running threw my mind. My god, there is still so much to find and I will return one day.
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