The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1880-10-28
A COLORADO YARN.
A Full Rugged Ship Found in a
Sealed CaVern-Shaped Like
Chinese Junk, with
MOngOlian Characters
on the Prov.

on the Prov.
The Leadyil.e 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 a shaft near Red Cliff,
are represented to have found
deep subterranean chamber without
apparent communication with the
open air. What they claim to have
seen is 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 with
out sCrIe trepidation, they APP
preached. AS they neared it, to
their unbounded amazement, they
made out the lines Of some sort of
sailing craft. 1t was, as nearly as
we could judge, about sixty feet
long by some thirty wide, and lay
tilted forward 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 i'm
agined, with the grain pulled apart
like a sponge or a piece of bread,
and made perfectly square. Both
ends lit was evidently intended for
sailing either way were turned alb
ruptly up like the toe of a peaked
Moorish slipper. The planking
was apparently doubly riveted on
with nails of extremely hard cop
per, 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 evi
dently for the securing of ringing,
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 fastened rough
copper rods, extending upward and
bent over so as to attach TO two
masts rising from the upper edges.
If the .cross Of an inverted letter V
be conceived to represent the deck
lines, the two stems are at about the
angle and position of the mas is.
These were upward of twenty feet
long; and, as evidence that a sail at
one time was sire tched 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-8n idea which IL might
not be bad for cur modern naviga-
tors to emulate. This, tits 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 crumbled like dust be
meath the finger touch, and fearful
of trapfalls the two proSpectors did
not venture to explore the interior.
Lying on the ground near by, how
ever, was discovered q gold instru-
ment bearing a rude resem blance
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, inclosed in a medal ring, were
twenty-siX copper characters rivited
to the wood and bearing much re-
semblance to the Chinese hero
glyphics of the present day. No
human remains of any sort were
found, although it is possible that
a search in the hold will reveal
something of this sort.
They went to the cabin of a we'll
to-do miner living some thirty miles
down the gulch, and to him first
told their extraordinary story. This
gentleman is perfectly reliable, and,
together with a well 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
it's possibly great historical value.
The minute particulars as to the
locality are at present withheld for
very obvious reasons.
The discovery of the junk-like
ship with its unknown architecture,
hermetically sealed in a cavern fifty
feet below the surface of the earth,
gives scope to indefinite specula
ton. The only possible specula-
tion seems, however, that ages, or
@ons, perhaps, agone, vessel bear
ing a crew of beld discoverers,
tossed by the waves, sought har-
Dor in a cave within a cliff. The
waves then receding leftit stranded
there, and the great continental di-
vide, the awful upheavals and con-
vulsions of nature, which we know
so little of and can only biindly
speculate on, pressed the face OF the
earth together and sealed it IN a
living grave.