The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1880-10-01
A Colorado Yarn.

A COlOraQO 1afns
The Leadville Chronicle publishes an
account of the most marvellous discovery
yet made by mortal man, provided that
it is true, which is more than doubtful.
Two miners, while sinking shaft near
Red Cliff, are represented to have found
deep subterranean chamber without
apparent communication with the open
thus described:
The cave seemed at first empty, but as
their eyes gradually became accustomed
to the deep gloom, the men saw in the
further extremity a huge black object,
which, not without some trepidation,
they approached As@they neared it,
to their unbounded amazement, they
made out the lines of some sort Of
sailing craft. It was, as nearly as they
could judge about sixty feet long by
some thirty feet wide, and lay tilted at
an angle of about fifteen degrees over a
rough pile of stone. The body of the
craft was built of short lengths of some
dark and very porous wood, resembling
our black walnut if it could be imagined
with the grain pulled apart like sponge
or piece of bread, and made perfectly
square. Both ends lit was evidently in
tended for sailing either way), were
turned abruptly up like the toe of a
peaked Moorish slipper. The planking
was apparently double riveted on the
nails of extremely hard copper, only
slightly rust eaten, and with the heads
cut or filed in an octagonal shape, while
along the upper edge of the ship eleven
large rings of the same metal, and
evidently for the securing of rigging,
were counted. At the bottom edges of
the craft, and running its entire length,
were two keels some four and half feet
deep and six inches thick, hung on
metallic hinges, and at the ends were fas-
tened rough copper rods, extending up
ward and bent over SO as to attach to two
masts rising from the upper edges. If
the cross of an inverted letter v be con-
ceived to represent the deck lines, the two
stems are at about the angle and position
of the masts. These were upward of 20 feet
long; and, as evidence that a sail was at
one time stretched across, some ragged
remnants of what appeared to be cording
were found clinging to the inner edges.
The ends of the masts were secured in
pivots, and it was evident that In tacking
one could be moved forward and the
other back, thus bringing the sail at an
angle with the body OF the ship-an idea
which it might not be bad for our mod
ern navigators to emulate. This, it is
believed, also explains the copper rods
which moved the keels SO as to recipro-
cate the position of the masts. While the
whole ship was intact, the wood crum-
bled like dust beneath the finger touch,
and fearful of trapfalls the two prospect
ors did not venture to explore the in
terror Lying on the ground near by,
however, was discovered gold instru-
ment bearing rude resemblance to the
sextant of the present day, and possibly
used to calculate the longitude. No
trace of any writing was found save at
one end of the ship, where about midway
on the bow of the ship, inclosed in a
medal ring, were 26 copper characters
riveted to the wood and bearing much re-
semblance to the Chinese hieroglyphics
of the present day. No human remains
of any sort were found, although it is
possible that search in the hold will re-
veal something of this sort.
Without pushing their investigations
further, the two miners, lost in wonder
ment, retraced their steps to the upper
air, leaving the ghastly ship once more in
the gloom and silence.
By this time it had grown quite dark
above, and with that tacit understanding
existing among men who had seen that
which borders upon the supernatural,
they spoke but little between themselves
of the discovery, butsought rest by their
kindllng camp fire. In the morning the
whole thing seemed SO much like dream
that they were seriously inclined to
regard it as some morbid phantasy, some
disordered vision of the brain alone,
having no substance i'll reality, and
eagerly, yet with strange dread, they
descended the rope again. Assuring
themselves, by short survey of the
facts they had learned the night before,
the prospectors hurriedly ascended the
shaft and spent the rest of the day in
concealing, as well as possible, the traces
of their excavation. This done, they
went to the cabin of well-to-do miner
living some thirty miles down the gulch,
and to him first told their extraor
dinary story. This gentleman is per-
fectly reliable, and, together with
we'll known mining expert residing in
this city, has seen and examined the ship,
and will take steps to preserve the won
derful discovery to the world in all its
possibly great historical value. The
minute particulars as to locality are at
present WltQuelO IOT very ODV1OuS Ted-
son-they would attract horde of van
dal sight-seers who would soon destroy
the mouldering dust beyond hope of
restoration, and until the proper authori-
ties can be sent for they will not be pub
ished.
The discovery of the junk-like ship
with its unknown architecture, hermet
ically sealed in cavern fifty feet below
the surface of the earth, gives scope to
indefinite speculation. The only posi-
BILE explanation seems, however, that
ages, or aons, perhaps, agone, a YES
sci bearing a crew of bold dis
coverers, tossed by the waves,
sought a harbor in cave
within cliff. The waves then receding
left it stranded there, and the great con-
tinental divide, the awful upheavals and
commissions of nature, which we know
SO little of and can only blinkly specu
late on, pressed the face of the earth to-
gether and sealed it in living grave.
.Will you please pass the milk, Miss
Brown" asked young man of fdgety
maid at the supper table. ..Do you take
me for. waiter, sir?" she answered.
"Well, said he, 'sas no one has taken
Jou thus far, and you've waited SO very
long, should think you were one."