The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-02-05
FINDING THE TREASURE.
Inn Clifford in the Boston Globe.

Ta,t Indies and Honduras. The Golden
Cam was acknowledged. and Yves little
=, IT a thing of about $50 tons burden; she
Gas owned by the captain, a Welshman
rsned Thomas Thomas, and had made
nv voyag, in the W est Indian trade.
Nm our second voyage we took out a gen
.-aI cargo from London TO Santos, on the
Sonth american coast; We had a fair aver
a,s massage out, aud 1t was the captains in-
oesStion. after be had discharged our cargo
,Ssre TO run up to Honduras and load up a
.srgo of mahogany for home, as usual.
However, when we were discharging
- santos, he changed his mind and instead
~ going for mahogany, we sailed to Rio jan
sir9 and there loaded lot of war material
inns. cannon, gunpowders and other stuff
sor Valparaiso, for the government of Chile.
This was longish voyage for the little
Can. but the Chilean government were anx-
jous to get their ammunition round quickly,
and offered such tempting freight that our
cantain could not resist the chance of max
ing big haul
an went we'll, and in due course we ar
rived at our destination and discharged our
cargo successfully. We learnt at VAL
nsrsiso that trouble was brewing between
Chile and Peru and that hostilities might
break out at any time. This of course, ac-
counted for the anxiety displayed for the
war material we had brought round.
Capt Thomas had intended going to
Callao, in Peru, for cargo OF guano for
soue port on our way home, but with such
a close prospect of war between the two
countries he concluded to give the idea up.
We had been discharged some few days
and our captain was on the point Of sailing
in ballast when messenger from his agents
came down TO the schooner and asked him
to 60 up to the office.
Night passed and we saw nothing of our
skipoer till late next day, when he came on
board with a strane er.
OF course we we're all agog to know what
was going on. Every man of us felt a keen
personal interest in the little craft, and
when the mate was sent for to join the
captain and the stranger we guessed some-
thing special was on.
After awhile the mate came forward,
and we all clustered round him to hear the
news.
"Have any of you any experience of
diving" said he, 81 mean," be continued,
going down below in Divers dress"
Yes, sir" answered two of the men
Bob Green and Tom Swift. They had been
employed in some harbor works in England
ana knew all about the business.
That's frst-rate." replied the mate.
"The captain is thinking of going on little
expedition where you will be OF service
and If the job turns out a success there will
be a nice little bonus all round for u.s.
1t appeared that the stranger mad char
tered the schooner TO sail for Ambrose
Island. which was little bit of an island
about 600 miles northwest of Valparaiso.
The stranger was a Spanish Rrandee,
named Don Carlo de Astigara; and from
what had transpired In the cabin, it seemed
tha5 Spanish merchantmen had, many
years before, been wrecked on the island,
and become a total loss, and none Of her
crew had ever been heard OF.
Two suits Of diving dress were sent on
hoard, with the accompanying pumps and
other arrangements, and another ex-
perienced diver was engaged to superintend
matters.
After we had got our supplies of fresh
provisions on board, the anchor was weighed
and we stood out to sea.
The run up was soon accomplished and
by noon of the third day we were at anchor
eff the western side of the island. After
making all snug aloft, we got a boat out
and Don Astigara, the captain, Harris, the
diver, whom we had shipped at Valparaiso
and four men, Of whom was one, started
off for the shore.
The Island was surrounded by a belt OF
coral reef, which in ordinary fine weather
did not make their whereabouts visible, as
they lay quiet and trescherous under about
afathom or 80 of water.
But when the sea ran high and the long
rolling swell of the Pacific ocean broke from
It's gentle mood, then the vicious, wicked
looking sDags showed their ugly teeth.
When we got ashore we pulled the boat
IN, and then, under the captains instruc-
tons, we separated and spread ourselves
over the shore to hunt for any remains OF
signs of the lost Spaniard.
After time we heard hail from the
northern end of the island and hurrying VI
we found the captain and the others grouped
around mass OF black and rotting timbers
which was Immediately recognized as the
debris of wrecked vessel. This was evil
dent proof that at some time or another q
vessel Of considerable size had been cast III
at this spot
Don Astigara was satisfied that his quest
was here, so after we had cast about for
awhile, hunting for further evidence, We
ret rned to our boat and went aboard
IL wGs then arranged that a camp should
be set up on the island, aud the don, witt
the three divers and three other men should
prosecute their operations from laud. Thi,
would leave the schooner free to put to sea
in case of / ad weather, and also allow div,
ing operations to be commenced at once
by the aid of boat on the inner side of the
coral reef.
Next dayvwe were busy getting the things
ashore, and it took US till we'll on to moor
before this was completed; then, while some
OF the men commenced rigging up couple
OF tents, the boat was made ready, anc
Harris, the head diver, with his suit anc
necessaries, went Off, with Capt. Thomas
and the Don, to make his first descent on the
margin of the reef. opposite the remains Of
the wreck on SHORE
| went in the boat with them, and car
assure you 1 did not envy Harris, when he
got rugged up in his awkward suit o.
clothes, with his unwieldy looking meta
helmet, with its great big staring glass
eyes, he appeared like some uncanny, ante
dlluvian monster.
For some while we had no intimatior
IRON him, beyond his various calls fol
more or less air. After he had been dowr
ten minutes, or perhaps quarter of al
hour, we received the call to pull up thu
rope, and when we got it to the surface WI
found the ends made fast to a small iron
clamped chest
The iron was all rusued and rotten, bu
The box itself was fairly preserved. VIZ
soon had it open, and had it's contents out
Iney consisted chiefly of papers and books
out from their long immersion in the SCI
we could make nothing of them; they fel
10 pieces as we handled them-the ink haC
disappeared into lines of undecipherablt
stains,
The books were little better, sodden a
L,ney were, but we hoped when they weri
cried something might be learned from
While we we're examining these we re