The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-10-21
A COLORADO YARS.
Full Rugged Ship Found In u Sealed
Cavern Shaped Like Chinese Junk,
with Monaghan Characters on the Prov.

WIN WOnkOilan characters on the prOw.
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
q deep subterrancan 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 huge black object,
which, not without some trepldation,
they approached 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 imagined, with the
grain pulled apart like II sponge or a
piece of bread, and made perfectly
square. Both ends ut was evidently III
tended for sailing either way were turned
abruptly up like the toe of peaked
Moorish slipper. The planking was ap-
parently double riveted on with nails OF
extremely hard copper, only slightly rust
eaten, and with the heads cut or filed IN
an octagonal shape, while along the up
per edge of the ship eleven large rings
of the same metal, and evidently for the
securing of ringing, were counted. AT
the bottom edges of the craft, and run
ming its entire length, were two kcels
some four and half feet deep and SIX
inches thick, hung on metallic hinges,
and Mt the ends were fastened rough cop
per 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 rep
resent the deck lines, the two stems are
at about the angle and position OF the
masts. These were upward OF twenty
feet long and, as evidence that 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 Sc
cured i'll pivots, and it was evident that
in lacking one could he 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 modern navigators to emulate. This,
it is believed, also explains the copper
rods which moved the keels SO as to re-
ciprocate the position of the masts.
While the whole ship was intact, the
wood crumbled like dust beneath the
finger touch, and fearful of traptalls the
two prospectors did not venture to OK
rlore the interior. Lying on the ground
near nv, however, was discovered gold
instrument bearing rude resemblance
to the scxtant of the present day, aud
possibly used to calculate the longitude,
No trace of any writing was found save
at one end of the ship, incloscd IN a
medal ring, were twcnty-six copper char
acters rivitcd to the wood and bearing
much resemblance to the Chinese hero
glyphics of the present day. No human
remains of any sort were found, although
it is possible that a search i'll the hold
will reveal something Of this sort.
They went to the cabin of well-to-do
miner living some thirty miles down the
gulch, and to him first told their extra
ordinary story. This gentleman is per
fcctly reliable, and, together with a well
known mining expert residing i'll this
city, has seen and examined the ship,
and will take steps to preserve the Won
| derful discovery to the world i'll 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, hcrmeti-
cally sealed in cavern fifty feet below
the surface of the earth, gives scope to
indefinite speculation The only possible
explanation seems. however, that ages,
OF icons. perhaps, agonc, n vessel hearing
a crew Of bold discoveries, tossed by the
waves, sought a harbor in cave within
n cliff. The waves then reccdinG left 1t
stranded there, and the great continental
divide, the awful uphcayals and convul-
sions of nature, which we know So little
of and can only blindly speculate on,
pressed the face of the earth together
and sealed it in a living grave.