The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1898-06-03
A FORTUNE In WHISKY.
The Valuable Cargo Of Buried
River Steamboat.
Change in the Course of the Missouri
River Leaves the Boat to Set
tie I'm Thirty Feet of
Sand.

In 1.4S the steamboat Arabia loaded
at ST. Louis with 1856 barrels OF whisky,
n large quantity of .quGensware and
general merchandise, and started on Its
usual trip for Onaha and Sioux City
It got no further toward its destina-
ton than Parlisville, Mo-, where 1t
struck IL snag of some kind, and its 30
or 40 passengers had all they could do
to scramble to safety before the steam
ersaLk. The women and children were
saved by the prompt lowering of the
boats, and the men had to swim ashore
as best they could.
Thereafter the Missouri river began
70 play tag with its course, shifting
and turning and forcing new channels,
until the spot where the whisiy-laden
boat went down was left high and dry.
The lost steamer was first discovered
in 1879, when its smOkestack and pilot S
cabin were seen prOtruding from the
Kansas side. They remained visible for
several years, and during all that time.
strange to say, no one thought of dig
ging out the boat for the sake of the
cargo of whisky with which it was
known to be filled from main deck to
keel 1t was only when it had sunk
out of sight and the location had been
forgotten and lost, owing to the con-
slant varying of the map caused by the
rivers freaks. that we began to realize
what we had missed in neglecting to
secure the treasure when we had it so
close to our hands.
When it was found one day the steam
er had gone from sight the people
around here woke up and began to
search for it. Soothsayers were con-
suited seventh sons of seventh sons
were urged over a vast extent of terri
tory, all to no purpose. 1t was ascer-
tanned, after great deal of inquiry,
that a survivor of the wreck was living
in the person of Charles a. Garside, but
as he was only six months old, and
me youngest passenger aboard at the
time Of the disaster, he was not able
to help the sanguine searchers with his
recollections of the affair, and so they
had to go back to the soothsayers, sew
enth sons and divining rods, and at last
everyone gave it up in despair.
Last January l began to think there
WAS a possibility of discovering the lost
steamer in systematic search with a
few practical men to help me, and few
Of us got together and formed a COM
pany. consisting of myself, Gale Hen
son, #. j. Reece and j. d. Henderson.
We procured a lease of five years on
several hundred acres of land around
the spot where it was thought the lost
steamer lay, and began prospecting in
earnest. We continued the search long
and patiently. and it is now shown that
we were SO near to the treasure in many
of our soundings that we almost
scraped the rusty sides of the steamer
with our drill points, but did not actual
~ touch the spot.
Our method was to drive iron rods
down % or 80 feet, and if we struck
nothing but soft earth to pull them
up ard strike again. We had driven
over nearly 100 acres of land, and were
losing heart. when suddenly the drill
struck something hard and metallic
We pulled it up and tried again few
rect to the right, with the same result:
then few feet to he left. metal again.
y third driving showed the same re-
suit. Then we knew we had struck our
snnken whisky mine
The spot where the boat was found
is Is feet below low-water mark and
about 26 to 80 feet deep in sand The
steamer is evidently deeper in some
places than in others. and apparently
lies with its howsprit lower than its
stern. and slightly on it's side. 1t is
ol0 feet long and GO feet wide We have
everything in readiness to begin the
work Of eXcavating the treasure. having
obtained air cOmpressorS, caissons, boil
ers and engines. and operations will
commence at once. We expect to get
1000 gallons of whisky and other mer-
ehandise worth in the aggregate at least
100000
AS to the quality of the whisky there
is no doubt in our minds, but some have
endeavored to show that it has been
spoiled by its long repose underground
II VIII certainly be the most remarka-
bic LIQUOR ever sampled. and should sell
at fancy figure for the mere sake of
the money it will realize if doled out
to those who will wish to taste it as
matter of curiosity. But believe it
will lie liquor fit for the gods. 1t was
originally splendid three-year-old Ken
lucky whisky.-.Iohn 4. Ely, in Chi
cago Tribune
Duration of Human Life.
That the human being was intended