Editing Treasure (section)

== Burial ==
{{main|Buried treasure}}
Buried treasure is an important part of the popular mythos surrounding [[pirate]]s. According to popular conception, pirates often buried their stolen fortunes in remote places, intending to return for them later (often with the use of [[treasure map]]s).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Stewart|first=Charles|date=December 2003|title=Dreams of Treasure|journal=Anthropological Theory|volume=3|issue=4|pages=481–500|doi=10.1177/146349960334005|s2cid=61425777|issn=1463-4996}}</ref>

There are three well-known stories that helped popularize the myth of buried pirate treasure:<ref>Paine, pp. 27–28</ref> "[[Wolfert Webber]]" (1824) by [[Washington Irving]], "[[The Gold-Bug]]" (1843) by [[Edgar Allan Poe]], and ''[[Treasure Island]]'' (1883) by [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]. They differ widely in plot and literary treatment but all are derived from the William Kidd legend.<ref name=Paine28>Paine, pg. 28</ref> Stevenson's ''Treasure Island'' was directly influenced by Irving's "Wolfert Webber", Stevenson saying in his preface "It is my debt to Washington Irving that exercises my conscience, and justly so, for I believe plagiarism was rarely carried farther.. the whole inner spirit and a good deal of the material detail of my first chapters.. were the property of Washington Irving."<ref name=Paine28/>

[[Image:Pyle pirates burying2.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Howard Pyle]]'s illustration of pirates burying [[Captain Kidd]]'s treasure, from ''Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates'']]
Although buried pirate treasure is a favorite literary theme, there are very few documented cases of pirates actually burying treasure, and no documented cases of a historical pirate treasure map.<ref name=Cordingly>Cordingly, David. (1995). ''Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates''. {{ISBN|0-679-42560-8}}.</ref> One documented case of buried treasure involved [[Francis Drake]] who buried Spanish gold and silver after raiding the train at [[Nombre de Dios, Colón|Nombre de Dios]]—after Drake went to find his ships, he returned six hours later and retrieved the loot and sailed for England. Drake did not create a map.<ref name=Cordingly/>

The pirate most responsible for the legends of buried pirate treasure was [[Captain Kidd]]. The story was that Kidd buried treasure from the plundered ship the Quedah Merchant on [[Gardiners Island]], near [[Long Island]], New York, before being arrested and returned to England, where he was put through a very public trial and executed. Although much of Kidd's treasure was recovered from various people who had taken possession of it before Kidd's arrest (such as his wife and various others who were given it for safe keeping), there was so much public interest and fascination with the case at the time that speculation grew that a vast fortune remained and that Kidd had secretly buried it. Captain Kidd did bury a small cache of treasure on Gardiner's Island in a spot known as Cherry Tree Field; however, it was removed by [[Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont|Governor Bellomont]] and sent to England to be used as evidence against him.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8bu7WAHrd9kC&q=gardiners+island&pg=PA241 The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd, pg. 241], [https://books.google.com/books?id=8bu7WAHrd9kC&q=gardiners+island&pg=PA260 The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd, pg. 260]</ref> Over the years, many people have tried to find the supposed remnants of Kidd's treasure on Gardiner's Island and elsewhere, but none has ever been found.<ref name=Cordingly/>