Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1892-10-13
THE AUSsAR'S TREASURE.
Again the Rainbow vanishes at Whose
Foot il Lies.


| had not discovered the fact
| When he came to think the matter over,
I Capt Williams concluded that Hungry Joe
/ had made historical discovery. and that
| most of the army of gulhble people which
Hungry Joe believed was being recruited at
the rate of 80 an hour really enjoys the ex-
element of being sw:ndied. Perhaps this
explains the ease with which people are in
duced 10 embark in schemes to recover
Capt khids treasure. or, more recently, to
recover the British gold which is believed
TO have gone down in the Hussar liz years
ago or so OFF Port Morris. When the frigate
| Hussar bumped hole in her bottom on the
| sharp rocks off North Brother island, her
| captain tried To beach her. Again he was
unfortunate. for instead of running high
and dry on sloping beach. he struck head
on against rocky ledge, from which the
frigate recoiled and sunk in some 30 feet
of water. A big treasure, estimated among
the millions, went down with her
At the close of the war the English sent
an expedition over TO recover the sunken
treasure. The Americans concluded that
they had captured the frigate and contents
along with their liberty and lands and other
desirable properties which the English had
hitherto though, they held a prior right to.
But they took so long to prove their claim
upon the sunkcn vessel that the English
men had time to cut down through the deck
timbers of the Hussar and possibly to Sc
cure a part or the whole of the treasure. If
they did get any of the gold they wisely
kept their own counsel.
The English having been barred from
continuing the search, it was taken up by
an American company. No one knows
what treasure either of these first
searching parties recovered, and the
hope that they secured nothing has
since proved SO alluring to seek
ers of sudden wealth that five several com
panies have been formed at different times
to search for the sunken gold, and they had
no difficulty in selling stock. II would be
hard TO discover an easier mine to salt, and
a decline in stock has generally been fol-
lowed by the finding of odd bits of ancient
coin and consequent boom in iussar
shares.
The Little Giant lIussar Wreckiug Com
panv has been at work dredging for the
treasure since July last. Capt. Symonds,
typical Yankee skipper, owns the plant
1t includes small scow, a tug, a two-story
house built on fatboat now anchored at
the mouth of the Bronx Kills, and used as
boarding house for the captain and his
men, and powerful little dredge fitted up
with an electric plant for lighting purposes
and TO aid the divers in their work. The
dredge has brought up cut fiints and pre-
sumaby English shot in abundance. mis-
cellaneous collection of musket trimmings
buttons and pieces of worm-eaten oak, and,
it is claimed, two guineas and half
guinea.
There are small stockholders and big
ones in the enterprise, and the small stock
holders concluded that Capt SymOnds has
made some valuable discoveries, but is
keeping the knowledge to himself until
October oath, when his contract expires.
Then. under the protection of marine law,
which makes him owner of all within the
boundary lines of his buOys, the stockhold-
ers believe the captain will dredge up gold
enough to make them all wealthy, if prop
erly divided, but will keep all he gets I'm
pressed with this belief the stockholders ap-
pointed committee to wait on the captain.
and they will secure possession of his plant,
if possible This leads the captain to de-
clare that there is no gold mixed up with
the rotten timbers of the old Hnssar.
This conclusion was reached 20 years ago
by Prof c. b. Boyle, who at that time was
civil engineer in the lighthouse department
and had charge of the construction of
the lighthouse on Penfeld reef, near
/ Boston. He believes that it is
more profitable to run stock
companies to search for the treasure than
to rely upon finding anything which has
/ been allow ed TO lie at the bottom of the
sound the past century. lie further be-
leves that all the treasure that went down
with the Hussar was recovered by either
the English or the American company-Or
BY both-who first attempted the work and
together had year or more in which to ac-
compli-h the task and very many reasons
for keeping the fact to themselves if they
succeeded. This is what be says in sup
port of his belief.
There is no difficulty in locating the
wreck. Twenty years ago the few deck
tmbers left on the wreck were on level
with the muddy bottom Of the sound while
the hull was filed with clay and silt which
has hardened almost into stone. The task
of emptying the hull was comparatively
simple as there need be no blind scrap
ing of the bottom to recover the gold but
systematic clearing out of the hull
beginning at the stern where
the treasure would mostly likely be.
and working forward. The entire hnll
would not have to be cleaned out because
the treasure from its weight would be
stored well astern. A single season would
be sufficient to clear the hull and recover
all it might contain.
The company then at work were anxious
to have Prof. Boyle engage in the enter
prise Satisfied there was no treasure
there he declined The company had as
whole diver alleged to be especially ex-
pert, while the small stockholders had
diver of less pretensions. The stockhold-
ers diver did all the investigation until the
small stockholders begun to complain that
they had spent considerable money and saw
no prospect of return. The company's
diver with the big reputation then assumed
charge of the submarine word. A blast
was then fired ard this diver went down to
see the result. He came up with an air of
excitement and story of the end of a
heavy oaken chest such as must con-
tain treasure. having been uncov-
cred. Another blast would be necessary to
dslodge the chest. The blast was pre-
pared, while the stock rose in favor and
was doomed industriously. The blast had
to he fred at last, aud the compsny's diver
went down to investigate again, and the
stockholders hopes went higher than the
price of the stock.
The diver came up despondent with an
other wonderful story. This time it was
one of disaster. The blast had been too
heavy. he said, and every remnant of the
chest and the treasure it was thought to
contain had disappeared under the force of
the oyerefHcient shatterer. II was the last
the stockholders ever heard of the osken
chest, and dividend was never declared
hv the company.
Capt Symomis seems to have entered
into this present search for the treasure
with grea; hopes, and he owns ID shares OF
the stock himself. He says he has been in
receip, of a small salary. and the company
has paid the expenses of working the plant.
Now he declares he is convinced that there
il no gold there, and that if the sanguine
stockholders want him TO continue the
search after his contract expires they will
have TO pay him an additional so per day
for the use of his plant.
They want Mr.. Smith Recalled.
trrr,wt Ont tct i2-The secretary