Where is the lost treasure of Captain Henry Steel?
Perhaps one of the biggest legends when it comes to
lost treasure is the story of Captain Henry Steel. Steel was among some of the
most feared pirates of his time.
It’s said that Captain Steel was just finishing up
one of his travels around the world when his ship The Ruby Dagger was making its
way to the Caribbean and more specifically, the island of Dominica. Seeing a
Royal Navy Ship in the distance, he knew that he and his small crew were being
followed. He knew that this Navy fleet was coming to capture him.
Captain Steel had a decision to make. He could try
to outrun his enemies, who were undoubtedly better equipped and with larger
numbers or, he could face them and do battle. The only problem was the Ruby
Dagger was full of treasure after the sail abroad.
Captain Steel created a plan. Dominica was known to
be a safe place for pirates and he and his crew would be welcome there.
Gathering his crew together, he laid out his plan. Every member of the crew
would get their enormous share of the treasure. They would then hide this
treasure in different areas of the island. Along with the treasure, they would
also bury a key. They would also create a map outlining where they had buried
their portion of the treasure. Once this was completed, they would return to the
captain with two maps leading to the treasure and a key. The captain would then
lock each of the maps in a separate compartment of his prized Chest of Zanzibar
and destroy the keys to these compartments. The different treasures needed to be
found in a specific order – finding one treasure would lead to the next.
So they docked at Dominica and started to carry out
their plan. When each pirate had returned with their maps and key, Captain Steel
made another map, marking an ‘x’ where each treasure was buried. He placed this
map in the final compartment of the Chest and hid the Chest under some boards in
his private cabin.
Knowing what they had to do next, they faced battle
with the Navy ship. The details of the battle are still unknown but the Navy
ship returned and Captain Steel and his crew did not. The crew members of the
Navy ship were sworn to secrecy about what happened that day but it is said that
Captain Steel was decapitated and his body thrown overboard. The rest of his
crew perished as well. The Ruby Dagger sank, taking with it, the Chest with the
keys to the lost treasure.
It’s unknown today whether this is just a story or in fact, truth. But there has
been evidence to show that the story actually took place and that the lost
treasure is still buried on the island of Dominica.
