When The Nature Conservancy purchased Palmyra from the Fullard-Leo family back in 2000 for $30 million, there were some stipulations to the sale. One that I talked about back in 2013 was the request that several dogs and cats who lived on the islands would be allowed to live out their lives on Palmyra. This was done, but they have all since died.
When the atoll was bought by The Nature Conservancy, the purchase did not include Home Islets. This is because the previous owner, Judge Henry E. Cooper, retained ownership when he sold it to the Fullard-Leo family. Ownership of Home Islets are now shared by about 36 children and grandchildren of Judge Cooper.
Back around 1815 the Esperanza, a Spanish pirate ship loaded with gold and other plunder from the Inca temples of Peru, was attacked by another pirate ship. The crew abandoned ship and then wrecked on the reef surrounding Palmyra. Those who made it ashore survived about a year before building two crude rafts to try to make it back to civilization. One raft was allegedly picked up by a whaling ship, and no one knows what happened to the second raft. What happened to the treasure is a mystery. Did it sink on the Palmyra reef? Was it on the raft that disappeared? One rumor is that it was buried on Palmyra Atoll. This brings me back to another unusual stipulation in the sales agreement. Should the treasure ever be found on Palmyra, the Fullard-Leo family retains rights to 25% of it.
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| south beach Palmyra This is probably what greeted those stranded pirates |
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