The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-12-31
SEEKING FOR A
SUNKEN TREASURE.

From the Chicago Times.
On the night of July 10, 1858, the Eng
fish steamer Badger, which had run the
blockade at Charleston no less than five
times, crept in through the outside line
and was proceeding up the harbor when
discovered by the federal blockader Cats
kill A hot fire was Immediately opened
upon her, and in her efforts to get away
she ran on shoal and was set on fire
and abandoned. The second shot from
the blockader passed through the steam
er's upper works, and some of the splin-
tiers knocked overheard sailor named
Henry Lee. Half an hour later we on the
Catskill picked this man up as hewas
floating about in the bay. Thathe should
have survived even ten minutes after
going overheard was wonderful thing,
for his left arm was broken and he pc
ceived internal injuries which caused his
death four days later. He was only a
common steamboat hand, having 20 edu-
cation, but a very intelligent man in CON
versation. At his request / wrote some
letters for him, and when he knew that
he must die he told me the story of his
this story
In the year 1853 Che India clipper ship
Rising Sun left Melbourne for London,
having under her matches one of the most
valuable cargoes ever carried by a sailing
vessel. 1t consisted of WOOL tallow, skins,
and wines In the treasure room were
deposited four consignments of crude
gold amounting in value to $s50,000 In
addition there were over thirty gold
miners among the passengers who had
made their fortunes and were going home
to England to enjoy themselves. These
men deposited with the purser an aver
age of $4,000 each, making considerably
over 81, 100000 in all You may wonder
that such a large treasure was sent board
of sailing ship, and that all should be in
trusted to one ship. At that date a clip
per ship was preferred to a steamer, and
the bankers and brokers at Melbourne
were anxious TO get rid of the treasure
on hand as quickly as possible. To miss
the opportunity of sending by the Rising
Sun might mean delay of three or four
weeks.
SET SAIL UNDER CURSE.
The day the ship was to sail an old bag
of woman, known to most residents of
the city as q fortune teller, met the cap
tain in the town and asked him for aims
He brusquely refused her, and she cursed
him, his ship, passengers and treasure.
She followed him for two blocks, predict
ing storm, mutiny, murder and disaster,
and was finally arrested by the police.
Her curses and predictions had nothing to
do with what befell the ship and her peo-
pie, of course, but to this day the people
of Melbourne remember them in conjunc-
ton Had the captain given her 800 it
would have made no difference with fate
'hn oh in cpfl nA ut flaa a1e
tised, ran to the south until clear
of the peninsula, and then set her
course to the west TO cross the vast
expanse Of the Indian ocean. She had
crew of thirty-tive men and a passenger
list of over sixty, and for many long days
everything went we'll with her. One
third of her run to the cape had been
made when she one day encountered a
French brig which had been dismasted
and abandoned and was driving about
with wind and wave. The mate was sent
to overhaul her, but found no living thing
aboard. The crew Of the brig must have
been stricken with a plague, and after a
few deaths the survivors abandoned her.
The mate reported peculiar odor from
cabin and focastle, but no weight was
given it until he fell sick. The captain
was taken i'll the same day, having pre-
cisely the same symptoms, and inside of
four days both were dead and others had
been attacked.
Lee did not go into particulars about
the plague which ragged for many days,
but he told enough to satisfy any listener
that horrible state of affairs must have
existed The third mate took command,
but was not competent man, and the
bounds of discipline were soon broken
over by the crew. The passengers sug-
gested this aud demanded that, and every
day the epidemic claimed new victims.
The mate tried to make the island of st.
Paul, but missed it, When thirty-one of
the passengers and twelve of the crew
had died, the latter rose in mutiny and
depOsed the mate and took general pos
session. No one could navigate the ship,
and she was therefore stripped of her can
vas and left to drive about in hopes of be-
ing sigh ted by some sail which would
come to her relief. AS the doctor was
the fifth or sixth victim of the plague, it
ran on unchecked until only about dozen
people were left, and nine or ten of them
were old sailors.
THE SICK THROWN INTO THE SEA.
Toward the last the victims were
thrown overheard as soon as stricken
down. and by and by no fresh cases were
reported There were survivors enough
to have worked the ship TO the cape or to
have brought her to the coast of NADIA
gascar, but the idea now was to possess
themselves of the treasure OF the thirty
gold hunters only two were left; Of the
other passengers only two or three men.
They agreed with the sailors on a pro
rata division of the wealth, and the plan
was to head to the north and reach the
coast of India. They had the chart of the
Indian ocean spread out before them, and
IL seemed as If they had but to steer in a
They figured that they were TO the north
of ST Paul, but as q matter of fact they
were hundreds of miles to the south of
it, and it was their drifting down toward
the ice belt which probably abated and
exterminated the plague.
Lee related that the survivors got along
pretty well for a week after settling on q
plan. Then came a terrible storm which
wrecked the ship aloft and at the end of
three days drove her ashore on wild md
desolate island. II was night when She
struck. She bumped heavily on reef,
was carried over it by a monster wave
which swept her decks, and was finally
beached on the island. Lee, with three
others, was swept overheard by the big
wave, but he alone was carried to the
beach alive, and he was so bruised and
battered and exhausted that it was hours
before he could move about. When morn
ing came he knew that he had been cast
on an island. The dead bodies Of three of
his comrades were lying on the beach,
but the others he never saw. In break
ing of the reef the ship had swung around
IL M dVfrr oahprp stern fret N nm