Captain Gregory Dwargstof was a notorious Russian pirate that operated around the northern islands of the Pacific Ocean in the 1980s. He was part of a Russian seal poaching ring that engaged in the illegal hunting of seals for their skin and oil. Captain Gregory Dwargstof was rumored to have hidden a large amount of gold on the island of Adak in 1892.
As to whether Captain Gregory Dwargstof was real, well, a few discoveries of gold caches on the island of Adak in the 20th century seems to confirm that he indeed existed and had, in fact, hidden gold on the island.
Was Captain Gregory Dwargstof Real or Fake?
During the 19th century, the maritime fur trade became a booming industry that supplied furs and oil to countries in Southeast Asia. In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from the Russians, giving them control over the waters in the Alaskan Peninsula. This meant that the U.S. Navy waged war against the poaching of seals within the region.
As mentioned earlier, Captain Gregory Dwargstof was a Russian seal poacher who was active in the late 1800s. He worked with a trading syndicate known as the Sealing Association. With the booming trade and unchecked poaching, the association had a lot of money at hand. Captain Gregory Dwargstof, who commands a number of the association’s fleet of ships, was therefore in charge of their illegal hoard.
With these details, the plausibility of someone like Captain Gregory Dwargstof existing during the maritime fur trade boom is highly possible. Then coupled with the fact that tins of gold were discovered on the island of Adak on two separate occasions:
During World War II, the U.S. military occupied the island of Adak. And in 1943, during the construction of the military base, a soldier unearthed a tin can full of gold coins stamped with issue dates between 1880 and 1890.
Again in 1959, another stash was found during the construction of a housing project on the island. This verified finding points to the fact that the legend of Captain Gregory Dwargstof and his hoard of hidden gold has some truth to it.
What Happened To Captain Gregory Dwargstof?
He was the captain of a ship called Hitslop. This ship was part of a fleet of ships belonging to the sealing association that operated illegally in the Alaskan waters. In 1892, Captain Gregory Dwargstof and his fleet of ships came under the radar of the U.S. Navy. A raid was imminent, and Captain Gregory Dwargstof decided to load all the gold (3000 pounds of gold) from his fleet into the Hitslop as it was the fastest ship on the fleet.
He then commanded his men to stuff the gold coins into empty tin cans and canisters. This amounted to 150 tin cans of gold. His flight led him to the far-off Islam of Adak, where he had the stash of gold cans buried all over the island. He, of course, left tiny indiscreet clues only he could interpret.
Meanwhile, he was still trying to escape from the Navy and so took an unfavorable sea route. The result; bad weather and a subsequent shipwreck that killed most of his crew. However, he was captured and detained by the U.S. Navy.
Captain Gregory Dwargstof’s Death
After he was captured, the notorious pirate was imprisoned by the U.S. Navy, and of course, he kept the secret of the location of his hoard to himself. Unfortunately, Gregory Dwargstof became ill, perhaps due to his ordeal at sea. Just weeks after his capture, he died of pneumonia, taking with him the real location of stashed gold coins.
Most discoveries of buried gold coin treasures have been accidental. Still, a large portion of the said treasure, estimated to be worth more than $300 million, is yet to be found.
