The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-01-16
SITTING THE SANDS.
How the Beach Oombers" Woxle
When q Storm Comes.


| Honey. 81:
A storm is Just as good Is fire
though. When the "beach combers''
see one coming across the waters they
| pull on their rubb er boots and oilskina
and forth they sally. The first wind
picks up the light d ~ sand and blows il
away in little swh9s. That takes OF
one layer. The ''comber" hurries
around after the svvirls and picks up
| whichever is exposed to sight. Layer
| after layer of sand is removed. uncover
| ing moro and more coins and trinkets
for the scayengers Of the seashore. On
the day of the last great storm one man
picked up s32. which is the best days
work remembered by any Of the men
talked with. This storm chasing is
pretty hard labor The men have to
run around from place to place after
the "hlows of sand" and the wind soon
begins to lift and throw in big waxen,
which, with the tide, pour in shore and
cover the beach. So profitable is it,
however, that the co1nbers search till
the water is over their boot tops.
The most profitable work of all is the
hardest. That is digging around the
base os the piles of the iron pier. The
pier in summer is q promenade as we'll
as waitiag-room. From II all sorts OF
things drop. and, sinking in the water,
are given up by the owner as lost. The
comber knows otherwise. He has
learned that the ebb and aow of the tide
washes little eddy holes around every
pile, and that everything that comes
anywhere near these holes.is deposited
in them. He is aware, moreover, that
even heavy objects arc borne backward
and forward by the waves. and thai
consequently the chances are in favor
of the pile hole receiving, on some in
and outfowof the tide, all things worth
recovering. So when the beaches are
left by the summer crowds and tho
hucksstrs, the combeTs 60 out with
theirH6g shovels and sleeves and dig up
the sa i'd in the holes. They say that
the finds are Of good value and very mis-
cellane.,us. Most numerous are the
pickings from the surface of the "harl
pan" frsm two or three feet down
through the surface sand. Upon this
hard floor the coins stand on edge IN a
position 10 penetrate to the safe regions
below bmt the comber, understanding
this, sho,fels down three or four feet
further, and though it is heavy work
and exhausting afterward when the
sieve has to be used to release the sand
the psts.ntp placer miner makes sure he
has rea~ed the summer harvest before
ne leaves off his task.
Theme, are two rich places which have
not bam explored. One is defended by
d rnanaud hisAvife who own the ground.
1t is a lEre ofpoles set up for the BATH
ing patrons. Four years ago young
man wen tinto the water there with two
$50 gold pieces around his neck. He
was about to be married and was saving
up the ,nonev for the event. 1t was too
precious to be left in the bathhouse
keepers safe,. so he kept it in the little
leather bag at his neck. When he came
out of the water the bag and the gold
were gone. lie wept and cursed and
made such a noise about his loss that
everybody "on Coney" knewof it. The
combers were 1ot alone in the search
for it, but it wasssnot un1during tie
season and in til e. fall the winter men
prepared to dig around the lifeline
poles. Gebbard was afraiu they would
dig up the poles orelDosen.them and he
forbade them to work three. The police
assisted him when they.were within
call, but whenever they and Gebbard
were away down swoppeGthe combers
10 search for tho gold. The owner
rcVnd il necessary to Qeave Ibis wife to
watch while he was away and the CON-
berslhave been kept of eversince. But
theyl mean to have tfnse double eagles
yet; tthey know they are. in the polo
holesHand Dave Stewart, the negro
said recently:
Use goiR to have them goldbugs il
il takes till Gabriel blows"
The other untouched spots are also
lifeline poles, those that once carried
q line from the pier to the Scenic rail-
read. When the bathing houses there
were torn down the poles were left and
the combers are welcome to delve be-
sA1e them. But every year they have
ba,n passed over because there were
enc ugh other plsces.equally'rich to last
thrc ugh the winter, and now the tide
md the sand drift arc gradhaly risin;y
over the tops of the poles. They, will
soon N1e buried and tGseir location will
be forgotten unless some energetic
comber attacks them.--N. Y.Post.