The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-23
ROMANCE OF THE MISSOURI.
BoatIoad OF whisky Submerged for
Thirty Years. Just Recovered.

From the Chicago Chronicle
One fOggy morning. just about dawn. IN
August, 1865. the side wheel steamboat
Twilight was making her way cautiously
up the Missouri river. In the WheelhOuSe
the pilot stood dripping, with the heavy
mist calling to the Wheelnan:
Keep her tackstaff on the lone cotton
wood on the starbOard shore ana swing her
stern around
The Twilight was chug.chugging along
slowly against the current. Right ahead
was a bend in the river. Suddenly there
was a jar. The hog chains snapped with
a report like a cannon ana the boat, heav-
lily "hogged," or bulged UP I'm the middle,
began 10 sink. She had struck a sub
merged sycamore tree of huge dimensions,
having got out OF the channel in the fog.
The passengers were cared for by the
farmers in the vicinity ana taken to Kan
sas CITY. twenty miles distant, 10y a boat
that came up the river that night. The
cargo OF the Twilight was very rich. It
was composed of 80 barrels of whisky
hundreds of cases of wines, liquors and
canned goods, and large stock of general
merchandise. For several years she lay
on the log in the river visible when the
water was low, and again covered. She
was thing of Fascination TO country boys
who dreamed of all sorts of exploits to
get the treasure out of her. There was an
air of mystery about her that thrilled the
farm lads like the tales of Capt Kidd or
the stories of the adventures of wreckers.
Four years after she sank an unsuccess-
full attempt was made TO get the cargo
Several years after that farmers in the
vicinity got two barrels of whisky out of
her, and when they went for more she
could not be found. The treacherous river
had shifted and she was buried I'm a sand
bank Then the river cut I'm along the
south bank, close under the blum, and the
great rise of 1887 made a sand bar on top
of her, buried her deep and left her far in
land, under thirty-nine feet of sand, 100
yards from the bank of the river at high
water. and half a mile from shore when
the river was down.
Last year a number of Kansas City
gentlemen organized a company to re-
cover the sunken cargo. BY a series of
ingenious mechanical devices they located
the wreck in thirty-nine feet of water
and found the fright in comparatively
good condition. There have been many in
terruptions of the work, but a large part
of the merchandise has already been re-
covered. The 800 barrels OF whisky in the
hold are in a perfect state of preserva-
ton. One of them was tapped, and the
whisky was found to be beyond compare.
glass of it, which was poured out before
a company of men in the Kansas City
Club, filled the entire room with its aroma.
1t was thick and oily, almost of the con-
sstency of New Orleans molasses, and
after the glass was emptied it chung to
the sides as syrup would.
The whisky will not be taken out until
the government officials shall become sat
isf1ed that IL is tax free. The taxes were
paid at the distillery where the stuff was
made more than thirty years ago. There
is rumor that abaft of where the whis.
ky was found in the pursers cabin and in
1t is a safe containing a large sum OF
money, which was being carried from ST
Louis to up the river merchants and
army posts. The money question, how.
ever, is forgotten for the present in the
joy of the wreckers at the finding of the
whisky. Speculation is rife as to what
will be the. profits of the wreclxers. Elk,
perienced dealers say that the whisky
will sell readily at least $500 a barrel.