By Angel Nuñez
I have written about buried treasures along the shores of Ambergris Caye that the pirates hid in the 18th and 19th century. However this time I will reveal about buried treasures right in the town proper, in the very yards of the villagers about 150 years ago.
My father lived during an era when regular currency was in use in San Pedro. However, his grandfather lived here during a time when currency was not in use and some villagers accumulated gold and silver coins. Bear in mind that there were no banks in operation back then, so the villagers had to do something to prevent their coins from being stolen. To secure their gold coins those few wealthy villagers would put their coins in a clay vase or jar and bury it underground at some spot in their yards.
So here goes this true story of buried treasures. If in the darkness of the night you happen to see a small burning flame at some corner of your backyard that is a sign that there is a buried treasure at that spot. My father saw this flame one very dark night at the right corner of his lot right on the back street, now Pescador Drive. He marked the spot and told his dad about it. My grandfather instructed him that he would have to dig at that spot in the middle of the night when no one would see nor interrupt him.
One night not too long afterwards, my dad woke up in the middle of the night and proceeded with his shovel to dig where he had seen the burning flame. He had dug about three feet deep when my mom woke up and noticed his absence. Thinking that something weird was happening she went out to look for my dad and spotted him busy digging the hole. Just when she touched him on his shoulders and called him by his name, my dad had hit something rocky with his shovel. A little disappointed he proceeded to take out a clay base broken in two spots but it was full of ashes and sand.
When my dad narrated the incident to my grandfather, they both lamented that someone had interrupted him, because it was common knowledge that many people had had this similar experience and had actually dug a jar with a lot of gold coins.
According to my dad, he did get up on other occasions to try to see the burning flame but never did. Now when I was growing up electricity had come to the island and the village was not dark; in fact it was quite bright so I never got a chance to see such a burning flame. Today the chances of seeing it is even less, except when there is a total blackout in electric power and the night is very dark around midnight; those people who live in the town core only can be on the lookout for this burning flame that could be an indication a buried treasure right in their yard. If you happen to be lucky, remember to share a small commission of your wealth with Mr. Twenty Five Years Ago.
