Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1897-09-19
A Rl|DIKE
UNDER THE SEA.
The "Arg0naut' Stays Out Next Week
to Bring Back the Gold.
Begins at Asbury Park--Inventor
Lakes Boat for Recovering the
$1OO,OOO,OOO Lost Annually.
Goes Next to Delaware Bay.

Asbury Park, September 17.-There
will arrive here within few days the
most distinguished visitor Asbury Park
has ever known This will be the loco
motive diving boat Argonaut, which
was recently launched at Baltimore
and will soon make it's trial trip.
Immediately after the trial trip, or
on the conclusion of it, it will be toweu
to Asbury Park, where it will go to
work upon the great business for which
1T was built.
The Argonaut is a diving boat in
vented by Simon Lake and built at the
Columbia Iron Works, of Maryland.
Its object and the entire purpose
Tor which it was constructed is the re-
covery of the treasury that lies on the
bottom of the ocean.
There has been a great deal written
about the sunken ocean treasure, ana
great deal has been conjectured
about 1t, but all uncertainties aside, the
official statistics show that every
year 1000 vessels sink to the bottom of
the ocean. These average $4,000 each
In value, which is a very low estimate
of the cargo of a vessel, so that there
SoCo QONn W LIE DOIlOul vi Tic oCct
every year S100, 100000 in valuabes.
One of the most famous of these
sunken vessels is the New Era, which
was sunk off Asbury Park forty-five
years ago. It had 200 passengers
aboard and very large quantity of
gold and silver. Few of the bodies
were ever recovered and none of the
! treasure.
Another boat which lies at the bot
tom of the sea is the Orient, which
was sunk by Lord Nelson at the battle
OF the Nile, with 100000 aboard in
ammunition, specie, firearms and other
valuable cargo.
The De Brake was lost off Delaware
Bay and was loaded with Spanish bull
lion, and about forty years ago the
Golden Gate, while on its way from
California loaded with gold, was sun
ken off Cape Hatteras.
In Zuyder Zee the La Tune, with
100000, 900 in specie went down, and
on Hawaii the Tacoma took fire, burnt
and finally sunk with $25. 900, 600 in ore.
These are only a few of the celebra-
ted ships that lie at the bottom of the
ocean-only very few of the 1000 YES
sells that have gone down every year
since the statistics of the country were
compiled. The reason for their going
down is varied. 1t is always due to an
ocean mishap, but these mishaps are
only what must be expected, consider
ing the uncertainty Of the element with
which the ships havc to deal.
The first work of lie Argonaut will
be necessarily expeE mental, and, as
the New Era has SINK not so very far
from the mainlapd, it is thought best
hat she shoYldI be brought bTe to do
ii1ll awards getting Up the
Ius1 now lie in the
1ie oce1h's bottom.
0gonautIis built on entirely
an mt principles from any other
submarine craft. 1t looks like a
cigar, and in that respect is not so
different from the torpedo boat, but
here all resemblance ends.
Underneath the Argonaut there are
wheels, smooth ones for the rear and
spiked ones for the front
When at work on the bottom of the
sea the Argonaut runs by means of
these spiked wheels, which are pro-