Page 15 - Demo

July 2026 | Gazette Life | 15In the novel, the Hispaniola sets sail after the young narrator, Jim Hawkins, discovers a mysterious map, on which %u201cX marks the spot%u201d where buried treasure lies. This tale is believed to have arisen from an incident in which pirates chased a British galleon laden with spoils down to the island of La Grasciosa. There, the sailors are said to have buried the treasure. Stevenson used the name of this real-life boat %u2013 The Walrus %u2013 for his fictional treasure ship. However, to this date no treasure has ever been discovered on La Graciosa. In the novel, the ship%u2019s cook, Long John Silver, and other sailors plan to murder Captain Smollett and steal the treasure. This crime is believed to be inspired by the murder of George Glas in 1765. Glas is a key figure in Lanzarote%u2019s history as one of the first foreign writers to publish detailed descriptions of the island.In 1764 Glas was arrested by the Spanish, who intended to frustrate his plans for a settlement on the African coast in what they considered to be their territory. He was held for a year before being released, when he boarded a ship called The Earl of Sandwich and headed back to London with his wife and daughter. The boat was laden with large amounts of gold coins and Glas himself also carried a considerable amount of wealth. This attracted the attention of four sailors: George Gidley, Peter McKinley, Andrew Zekerman and Richard St Quintin. In the English Channel, the sailors mutinied and murdered the boat%u2019s skipper, Captain Cochrane, and two other sailors who were not involved in the plot. Then they came for Glas. The Scot was a big man and a skilled swordsman, but was eventually overpowered and stabbed to death. His wife and young daughter were thrown overboard to drown.The four mutineers changed course for Dublin, scuttled the ship off the coast of Waterford and headed for shore in a rowing boat loaded with coins. Once ashore, they spent wildly, unaware that the Earl of Sandwich had not sunk, and evidence of their crimes had been discovered.All four were rapidly arrested, hanged in Dublin and their bodies displayed on gibbets. The pretty cove of Dollar Bay in County Wexford is named because of rumours that the murderers of Glas concealed some of their treasure there. The Cueva de los Verdes.The Torre de %u00c1guila