The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1896-02-08
THE DIVERS STORY
BY J. ii.

BY J. Il. CoNNELLY.
(Copyright, 1896, by American Press Associa'
ton
"AN fool superstition, Ell? Well,
you keep on thinking so. But l know
better, because I've tried it. The II l
had was only a little one, but it mighty
nigh did ms up. And the chap that got
it from Newell, it finished him in
great shape. Iguess l know about opals.
Yes, I've no objection to telling you.
/ was, when a young man, a diver, and
considered O good one too. A company
that had got a concession from the
Venezuelan government to recover the
treasure Of the Spanish line Of battle
ship San Pedro Alcantara engaged
seven other divers and myself to do the
work. That company was formed in
Baltimore, but five of the eight OF US
were hired from New York, myself and
my chum, Alec Paterson, among them.
THE ship was burned, and her re-
mains sunk in Margarita bay in 1918,
during the war between Spain and her
South American colonies. Seven hun
dred men, out Of the 1000 she had
aboard, persisted in the flames and the
waves, and it was believed that a couple
of millions in gold, a million in silver,
the rich plumber Of several Venezuelan
towns and the great wealth of some ca
thedras-put aboard for safety-all
went down to the bottom with her.
That was the stuff we were after, and
thoughts Of it set Us all pretty near
wild.
1--WE worked with a diving bell, W
men going down at a time and having
a very smooth job. The water was only
60 feet deep, the bottom a sandy floor,
and cleaning up was easy. That we re-
covered some of the lost treasure Is suth-
GENTLY evidenced by the fact that after
giving up the Venezuelan government
share the expedition took back $500, 900
to Baltimore. And we were supposed to
be getting it all up, just for days wages.
So we would-if we'd been chumps. 1t
was observable that none of the jewels
known to have been lost was found.
They seemed to have melted away-sO
far as the company superintendent and
the Venezuelan fiscal knew, anyhow.
Many months afterward, when we had
all got back, somehow, one Of the boys
sold in New York for $l3, 900 a dia-
mond crop that he said he had found,
but he didn't tell where.
lone day Alec and l were down in
the bell together when we both saw at
the same instant, in the shallow water
covering the sand at u feet, something
that seemed to blaze with flames of all
imaginable >~colors, and together we
jumped for it. l clutched the thing, and
we had a solid fight for it. The moment
it was in my hand, l felt myself i'm
PEELED to kill Alec, but luckily l didn't.
Got the best of him without that, for ]
was the stronger. But it was a fool
thing for me to do he being a revenge,
full sort of devil, Is l we'll knew, and
me engaged to his sister Jenny, who wa:
dearer to me than life. He gave up, but
said, III get good and even with you
Ben Trumbull''-and be did.
when l came to look at my prize,
found it was an opal, Of about the big
ness of your %thumbnail, quite thick anC
the most brilliant in its play of color,
that l ever saw. Fine as it was I didn'
happen to think of reporting it to TIT
superintendent, but we gave him abou
a peck Of black silver dollars we ha,
raked up, and he seemed pleased. O
course Alec couldn't say anything t.
him about it, for he himself had SOM
unconsidered trifies slowed away in hi
dunnage and did not care to have an
suspicions awakened. The other boy
would have dubbed his head off if h
had.
About a fortnight after that ever
diver with the expedition disappeare
one night. Some Of them could not Ell
dure the thought Of possessing SO niue
wealth as they had in their clothes will
out going on a spree, and the steadie!
of us, who would have been glad to sta
as long as possible and get all he coult
had to give i'll and 60 with them, fl
fear Of suspicion and search when the
were gone. We took the longboat. Til
superintendent said we stole it, but v
didn't, we just took it. He was WELDON
to his old longboat any time after
carried US to La Guayra.
"As soon as we were missed he d
vined the whole thing at once, and crac
ing on all sail, with the help of a favo
ing wind, got down to La Guayra
pursuit Dol enough to have ne all u
rested just in the opening up Of O
spree. Luckily We had taken the p,
caution t 0 hide away, in hands ,
thought we could trust or in secure hi
ing places, most of the valuable thin
We happened to have with rs, and Sol
of that stuff was actually recovered a
~ward. But I was in hard luck. VIII
We were getting into the boat, some Il
who went down the rope ahead Of