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In July of 1999 Jeremiah returned to Tahiti on another black pearl buying expedition.
Along the way he investigated reports of a buried treasure from turn of the century. After
interviewing several Polynesians from the area he determined the best place to
start looking was on the deserted island of Tepoto. Our good friend Teiki agreed to take us to the island. His grandfather planted the first coconut trees there more than eighty years ago. He'd heard of the treasure but didn't think we'd find much since we don't have a treasure map... yet. Tepoto is a small coral atoll about two miles across. There is only one tiny pass to get into the lagoon and if the weather isn't cooperating it is impossible to enter. We were lucky that the seas were calm otherwise, our boat would have been smashed against the reef or the jagged coral beach. But once inside the lagoon the natural beauty is overwhelming. The legend of the treasure has it that in the late 19th century four mercinaries robbed several tons of gold from a church in Peru. They were making their escape to Australia but for some reason stopped in the Tuomotu islands of Polynesia and buried their loot on a small uninhabited island. We also heard that for several years now the Discovery Channel has been interested in this legend and even made plans for an expedition in 1994. Well, we didn't find the treasure but we collected a lot of data and will continue the search. What we did find however were many fish and sharks!
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