The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1869-06-24
Sunken Treasure.

Specie in the zuydCr zee-An Attempt to
Recover the Riches Of the Deop-Roman-
tic Story.
I On the night of Oct. z, 1899, Her Maj
estys ship Lutine, freigted with an enor
nous amount of specie, varying from
e1, 100000 to 100000, foundered on the
sand banks off the Northwest coast of
Holland, and the greater bulk of that
treasure still lies buried, with but nine
fathoms of water over it. The Lutine
was bound to port in the Zuyder Zee,
and the G1,500,000 she had en- board
was subsidy money for the English troops
who were then serving under the Prince
of Holland-Holland being at war with
France. She had also on board large
assignments of specie for merchants in the
country, as we'll as for bullion dealers and
| bankers at Hamburg, towhichport she was
to have proceeded after landing the gov
eminent subsidy at the port In the Zuyder
| Zee. There were also en- board the crown
| Jewels of Holland, which had been sent to
this country by the Prince OF Orange to
be reset and polished by Messrs. Rundell
e. Bridges, the then famous jewelers. to
the English Court on Ludgate Hill. They
| had been placed in strong iron case,
Theoretically sealed, and were shipped on
board the Lutine, at Lowestott, few days
before she sailed, on the morning of Octo-
Der 6 and it is alleged that the comman-
der was SO elated with his important com
mission from the bankers that the night
before the vessel took her departure on
her fatal voyage he entertained all the
elite of Lowestoft and Yarmouth to a
grand ball on board. Of the circumstan-
ces of her loss very little is, known be-
yond the fact that on the following night
the Lutine, in making her entrance OF the
Zuyder Zee, encountered fearfnl storm,
and was driven ona sand bar between the
Islands of Tarschelling and Vleland, and
subsequently foundered, all her officers
and crew except one man perishing. The
survivor, however, only lived few hours.
He was picked up by some Dutch boat
men, who found him floating on some
spars, and after stating the facts of the
dreadful wreck, he died. Nearly 200 per
sons persisted in the i'll. fated vessel After
much exertion the sunken wreck of the
Lutine was discovered, lying In nine ia
thoms of water, within three miles OF the
western portion of the island of Terschel-
ling; but no attempt, we believe, was
made to recover the sunken treasure for
one or two years, owing in great
\ measure to tile drifting sand-banks and
the rapidity Of the tides which swept over
the spot. The Dutch Government offer
cd reward of $4,000 for the recovery of
: the Crown Jewels, which, with other in
ducements held out in England, led to a
company being formed, who commenced
operations, and in few years they rccov-
cred about e160, 900 Of the specie, of which
the Dutch Government claimed 100000 as
a royalty. Subsequently their operations
were stopped by the wreck becoming en-
bedded in the sand, and in that state 1t
continued for three years; and the conse-
auence was that the company became
, bankrupt, and the salvage operations
ceased. Since then several other compa+
MES have been formed, and they all fail
, ed after seires of years working. The
last operations on the wreck were about
three or tour years since, when the divers
/ found that the bottom Of the ship, with
: her keel where the bulk of the treasure
is, is entire, with the skeleton other ribs
} remaining. The sand buried her from
/ time to time, but as certain currents set
in the sand-banks shift, and the wreck is
: exposed 1t was only for an hour, or halt
an hour, that the divers could remaindown,
} at the slack of the tides, and only in very
) fine, calm weather, and even then they
could hardly keep footing on account
of the rapid current. In addition to the
i $3.50, 900 recovered, another 100000 was
: recovered 10y the companies. The last
recovery took place few days since, and
about 100000 was paved as royalty to the
Government, who, up to that time, had
repudiated all claims Oh the wreck by
English underwriters and marine insu-
rance companies who had taken lines OF
insurance on the specie, and had paid the
81, 100000 as total loss. The English
underwriters were prepared with better
appliances to work at the wreck but all
offers were refused, and it is only lately
that the Dutch Government admitted that
they had no right to the wreck whatever,
and, if we are correctly informed, the rep.
resentatives of Lloyds have now full power
J to take possession of the wreck, together
with it's treasure. All the underwriters
who were interested and paid on the total
loss have been dead some years, and 1t
being impossible for any claim to be set
up by any surviving relatives OF the I'M
derwriters, Lloyds, it is said, intended to
apply to Parliament for powers to appro-
pirate all moneys recovered from the
wreck for purposes named in theproposals.
4 Of the $50 900 which the Dutch Govern
ment formerly received asroyalty money,
no portion has been returned but OF the
second amount of 100000, this was made