The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-10-10
HEROIC TOLL AND DARING.
Diving for Lost Gold Amid Huge surf RoI
iers and THROUGH Fifteen Feet OF sand
Nearly S1,3OO,OOO Won FROM n Wreck


The Pacific steamship Golden Gate,
when off the west coast of Mexico on
July ~, 1862, took fire, and her com.
mander, Capt. Hudson, ran her ashore
on the beach about eighteen miles north
OF Manzanillo. The vessel was burned
to the waters edge, 228 human beings
lost their lives in her destruction, either
by the flames or the waves, and the rich
treasure she had on board, of 81, 800, 900
in gold and bullion, sank to the bottom.
The treasure was inclosed in ninety six
boxes, the contents of which varied in
value from $4,000 to $4,000 each.
Several expeditions were sent down from
San Francisco to recover the treasure,
but all came back empty handed. The
surf along the coast where the vessel was
wrecked is terrible in its might, and its
roar can be heard for miles. At last an
expedition went down which took along
two divers, johnson and Sidney Cook.
Mr.. Cook succeeded in overcoming her.
culean difficulties and recovering large
amount of treasure.
The first dive was made by johnson,
who went down outside the surf and
worked his way in as we'll as he could on
the bottom, to the wreck. But he only
took down with him the ordinary weights
that divers use, and The waves made q
plaything of him. The big rollers going
in would heave him along at race horse
speed, and the under-tow would seize
his bulk and roll him back to the sur
face, q badly scared and discouraged
man.
Cook made the mex; dive, for which
he had prepared himself according to his
views of the requirements of the occa-
sion. Two hundred pounds of lead were
disposed firmly on and about him. That
weight kept him down, and as he crawl
ed on his abdomen over the sand he es.
capped the force of the billows and had
only the under.tow to contend with.
Relating the story himself, he says:
"Shortly after reaching the locality of
the broken end of the keel-which was
confined in the sand under the engine
bed-plate, was violently forced along
the bottom by the under-tow. After
being dashed in-shore by huge break
er, came in contact with two square
ends of wood sticking out of the sand
about six inches, but before I could
make an examination of them I was
dashed away. When I again found
them I clasped both arms around them,
while the surf and under-tow would
swing me around in q circle. 1 did not
know what I had hold of, whether the
ends of timbers or boxes of gold, until
the under-tow running under my arms
cut the sand away around the boxes so
that they tilted over. 1 then realized
what held clasped in my arms. 1
shouted and chesred to myself, as I
knew all would do when the boxes
would reach the lighter. Now, I did
not know what to do with them.
could not handle them both, and was
divers might find it, or it might become
buried before could return for it. 1
finally took one in my arms and gave a
quick, strong pull on my lifeline, which
is Lsignal of distress, and is never
given except when the diver wants to be
drawn up in haste. I lay about 800
feet from the lighter. The bottom was
winrowed in small ridges OF sand run
ming parallel with the shore. Over
those drifts I was dragged as fast as
four men could haul me with an inch
rope about my waist. On being haul.
ed up under the end of the lighter my
back came out of the water first, my
feet being loaded with loaded boots,
and the box of gold in my arms. ]
could family hear excited words-that I
was dead. In the excitement the men
ceased pumping air to me. The skiff
came round to where I was suspended,
and could distinctly hear the men say
I was dead. One of them reached
under my head to unscrew my face
glass and discovered the box in my arms.
Then all was changed from sadness to
extreme Joy, and three cheers went up
for the diver. After being relieved OF
my burden waved my hand to be low.
cred to the bottom again, and soon
found the other box. gave the same
signal on the lifeline, but received
kind treatment compared with my first
trip to the lighter. I never want an.
other such ride as I had over those
sand-ridges, with box of gold weigh,
ing IT'S pounds in my arms, lying on
my side, and dragged at the end of q
rope. I thought every bone in my
body would be broken"
One or two more boxes were found
the next day, making up total value
of some $1OO, 900, which had been kept
up near the surface of the sand by some
broken planks, but all the rest were
deeply sunk in the sand, and it seemed
for a time impossible to reach them.
After some days spent in inaction and
consideration, the bright idea occurred
to Mr.. Cook of employing hydraulic
power to bore through the hard sand
bottom, down to the gold, holes suf.
ficiently large for him to descend and
explore. The carpenters constructed 9
rude wooden force-pump. A hose was
made of canvas, and a rolled-up piece
of sheathing-metal answered for a noz
zle. With that crude apparatus ht
made his first attempts at submarine
hydraulic washing, and found that i
would fully realize all he hoped TO-
from it.
Sitting on the sand, he would poin
the nozzle downward between his legs
and in a few minutes a hole about a
big as a barrel would be bored, int
which he would gradually sink. A
long as the stream of water from tn
pump was kept up it would keep tn
hole open around him, and the risin,
current from it would maintain stronI
current, laden full with sand, boiling
and bubbling up around him. But
the stream slackened for an instant, tn
heavy sand would Immediately pack il
about him, confning him as tightly a
if he had been in a mold. In such a
event he would, of course, have bee
beyond all possibility of human help
and every moment thus employed b
him was fraught with deadliest peril