Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-11-01
on THE OCEANS BED.
TREASURE OF INEsTIMABLE WORTH
LOST BENEATH THE WAVES.
Notable Successful Efforts at Recovery
Diamonds in q Swordfsh's Stom-
ach-Lord Nelson's Coffin.

Wedges of gold, great anchors heaps of pearl,
Inestimable tones, unvalued jewels,
All scattered in the bottom of the sea.
The above lines are from Clarence's
dream in Richard Ill. and were first pub
lished about 800 years ago. They form a
theme on which many a vivid tale of ship
wreck might be written. Few of us, says
CasSelrs Magazine, can form the smallest
conception of the yastness of the treasures /
which the sea has entombed. Public opin-
ion has, however, been recently called to
the subject by the successful floating of a |
company formed for the purpose of recov-
ering treasure of two French ships, one
Torrent, ine-of-battle ship, blown up |
by Nelson at the battle of the Nile, and \
the other, the Maza Mundo, large trans
port, both wrecks sunk in Aboukir Bay. |
The result of this adventure is being |
watched with deep interest, and, if success
full, will assuredly lead to many similar ex
peditions. 1t seems, therefore, convent |
ent opportunity for drawing attention to
some curious particulars concerning the
recovery of specie and other valuables lost
at sea by battle, fire or tempest, together
with some instances in which money has
been left to the next-of-kin of persons be-
lieved to have been lost at sea.
The first of the two ships above referred
to IOrient) is stated to have had on
board specie of the value of no less than
100000, besides other treasure, the spoil
of raid on a Roman Catholic cathedral
| at Valetta, and an immense quantity of
| other valuables. The vessel had been dis
patched with money to Bonaparte to pay
| the arrears due to the French army. In
some recent experiments an officers sword
| and several other articles were recovered
| from the deck A more important and far
more curious recovery was the finding of
two boxes of rough diamonds in the
stomach of an enormous sweydhsh that so
ANNOYED the divers at work On the wreck
age that it was killed An interesting fact
connected with the history of the wrecked
vessel is found in the presentation of a
coffin made from the Torrents mainmast
to Lord Nelson, his pleasure and accept
ance, and burial in it after death.
A parallel case to l. Orient is that of the
Lutine, a war ship of thirty-two guns,
wrecked off the coast of Holland in 1799
This vessel sailed from the Yarmouth Roads
on October 9th of that year with an i'm
mense quantity of treasure for the Texel.
In the course of the day it came on to
blow a heavy gale; the vessel was lost
and went to pieces. Salving operations
during months resulted in the recovery of
100000 in specie.
| In 1914 further attempts were made to
get at the wreck, which had become deep
" imbedded in the sand, but with very
Indifferent SUGGESTIVE result of seven
years toll (1S1f1S21)-being the recov-
cry of only few pieces of silver. In 1922
several thousand pounds were spent in
diving operations, but the result was abso-
lutely NIL. Next, Lloyd's appeared on the
scene, and, and, after much negotiation,
the Dutch Government agreed to hand
over half of any further salvage recovered
to Llyod's. From 1920 1857 spasmodic
efforts were made to fish up further specie,
but the result was merely anxiety and
vexation of spirit to these engaged in the
venture. In 1857 a further agreement
was entered into between the Dutch Gov
eminent and Lloyd's, and from 1857 to
1861 sixty years after the wreck took
place. great good fortune attended the
efforts of the searchers, about e25,000 be-
ing the amount of Lloyd's share. Some
interesting relics were also found, includ-
| ing part of the ships rudder and her bell.
In 1871 the Society of Lloyd's obtained
a special act of Parliament for the purpose
| (among other things of applying the said
sum of e25,000 towards further saving
operations. These efforts seem to have been
further successful, for only two years ago
gun was salved and presented to the city
corporation. 1t is predicted that should
the bed of sand now covering the wreck be
shifted in torn, the saving operations
! could be continued much more success
! fully.
Another remarkable case of recovery of
specie is recorded in 1906, when sixty-two
chests of dollars, of the value of about
10000, were fshed up by means of div
ing-bell from the Abergayenny, sunk some
years previously at Weymouth. The close
| of the last century seems to have been
very prolific in wrecks Here is another
instance: The British frigate De Brook.
lost in storm off Lewes in the United
States, in 1898, is stated to have had on
board no less than S52,000,000 worth of
specie and Jewels, taken from an inter
cepted Spanish fleet while on her way to
Halifax, and with it were also taken 200
prisoners. The latter were in irons on the
lower decks when the vessel foundered,
and all were lost. Many year afterwards
lin 1881 search was being actively prose-
cuted by diving company for the purpose
of recovering this specie, the result of
which has not yet been chronicled.
1t would scarcely be believed that val
uables have been discovered nearly $50
years from the date of the wreck, but
nevertheless it is recorded that the good
ship Harlem, which was driven ashore in
Table Bar, in May, 1913, and became
total wreck, had on board many cases full
of curiosities and antiquities for sale to
European museums. These cases con-
tanned idols, rare china, glass, silver, etc
As lately as 1888 saving operations were
rewarded by the recovery of several of
these articles The china was not at all
injured by having been 225 years under
the sea- but the silver articles had suffered
considerably.
Another very notable case-not only for
the amount of treasure on board, but also
for the big 'windfalP for the salvors-is
that of the Thetis, British frigate,
wrecked off the coast of Brazil in 1880,
with G162,000 in bullion on board. The
hull went to pieces, leaving the treasure at
the bottom of five or six fathoms of water.
The Admiral of the Brazil station and the
captains and crews of four sloops of war
were engaged for eighteen months in re-
covering the treasure. The service was
attended with great skill, labor and
danger, and four lives were lost. A good
deal of litigation was the result as dis
putes arose between the parties as to the
amount of reward for salvors. The Court
of Admiralty awarded eli 900; the Privy
Council $4,000, and 25,S00for expenses.
In the reign of James II. very success
ful saving expedition took place. A rich
Spanish vessel, which had been lost on the
coast of South America. rewarded her