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Newspaper

“The Treasure?” — The Evening Record (1905)

Also Have Located the Treasure?

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypeNewspaper
WithinBeaver Island archipelago
ErasModern era
On this page
Newspaper
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
heritagehistoriographyModern era
Within
Beaver Island archipelago

Summary

“The Treasure?” is the earliest newspaper report currently held about a treasure-search episode on North Fox Island. It reports two secretive, older travelers returning through Traverse City with a gunny sack and handbag after a North Fox trip. A report attributed to an employee of launch operator Gus Petander described stones, written directions, cedars, a tree marked 1870, and a chest of gold. The reporter interviewed the travelers, who hinted that they had found something but showed no treasure and gave no verifiable account.

What the article does—and does not—say

The article’s most important subheading is “Not Strang’s Money.” Its version of the alleged cache is not the royal treasury or Strang’s plunder. It is a different story, later explained as gold stolen in Chicago and carried north. The newspaper therefore cannot be used as direct corroboration of the later claim that Strang buried Spanish gold on North Fox.

What it does support is narrower: two travelers went to or returned from the island, carried luggage consistent with tools or supplies, guarded their privacy, and answered a reporter evasively. The chest, the marked tree, and the contents are reported hearsay. A suggestive journey is not proof of treasure.

Citation discrepancy

Kathleen Craker Firestone’s 1996 The Fox Islands: North and South cites “Hidden Wealth Wasn’t Found,” September 9, 1905, page 1. The held TADL issue is September 14 and uses “The Treasure?” / “Have Located the Treasure?” The later history may have cited another issue or may contain a date-and-title error. Until the Northport Leader source named in the Record is recovered, both citations remain visible rather than silently harmonized.

Open questions

  • Can the earlier Northport Leader report be recovered?
  • Do Northport launch, hotel, or train records identify the two travelers?
  • Does another 1905 newspaper name Joe Gagnon, Jay Spangle, or Gus Petander in this episode, as the 1996 account does?

See also

Sources

  1. “The Treasure?” *The Evening Record* (Traverse City, Mich.), September 14, 1905, p. 1, continuing on p. 3.
    TADL scan and repository-supplied OCR. The issue date and headline are visible in the held scan. OCR column order is imperfect, so short wording should be checked against the PDF.
    research · strang_treasure · evening_record_1905-09-14_omeka_ocr