The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-04-05
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TREASURE IN JERSEY SANDS.

Hand Down From Generation to
Generation.
IF you and I only had the gold and
silver that lie covered with sand at the
bottom of the sea off this coast, a cou-
pie of hours sail from here, we would
be mlllionaires, my boy" said Captain
Kit Ludlam, keeper of the Stone Har-
Dor life-saving station. Treasure
Why there's any quantity Of it out
there" and his eyes wandered out over
the sand dunes to where the mist
darkened ocean began. 1T isn't all so
far out at sea, but for all that it might
be lying at the north pole, for all the
good it has ever done any one"
Captain Kid, for by that name his
| friends know him BEST was in a talka-
tive mood
There's the Guatemozin, Spanish
full-rigger that found a resting place
on this coast Of Seven-mile beach ear
ly in the century," he went on. "She
was covered with sand before any Of
us were born, but for all that there's
half million, in gold and silver bull
lion in her water-logged hulk. She was
bound from Vera Cruz to Cadiz and
carried in her strong boxes this treas
ure of the Mexican mines When she
foundered during a bowling nor easter,
many of her crew were drowned. Those
that lived were pledged to secrecy and
said not a word to the folks on the
mainland about the gold and silver
that went to the bottom with their
ship. The secret leaked out months af-
terward, when a Spanish galleon made
her appearance off the cape coast and
made a futile effort to find the sunken
wreck. The ocean currents had cover
ed her deep under the sand, and there
she has been ever since. The Town
send boys of the now defunct Atlantic
and Gulf wrecking company of Som
ers Point tried to locate her few years
ago, but they were stopped in their
search by the Seven Mile Beach COM
pany, which owns the riparian rights
to the spot on which the wreckers were
working. Just why they did this has
never been made public.
did ever see anything of the Qua
temozin? Why, yes, my boy, I saw the
black, mussel-covered ribs of her sew
eral years ago during an extremely low
tide. She, lies only short distance
from the beach, but it set me to think
ing so hard those pieces of her re-
mains did, that | never took her exact
bearings. In few hours the sea came
up and covered her, maybe forever I've
watched for the sand to uncover the
wreck and often at the dead of the tide
/ have scanned the sea beyond the line
of breakers, but there has been no sign
of the old Guatemozin. I'm poor man.
1t takes money to hunt treasure ships
and I never expect to make the effort"
The Guatemozn is but one of half
dozen ships that have sunk with their
treasure cargoes off the cape coast, so
tradition says. Out at sea, less than
a score of miles from the Delaware
breakwater, lies the ship De Braak. In
her sand-covered hulk there is the snug
fortune Of $1,5OO,OOO in gold and silver.
Many men have coveted this wealth.
They have searched for it at various
times, but with no success The De
Braak went to the bottom during a
terrific storm in the winter of 1893, and
with her persisted every soul on board
Several incoming ships saw the UNI
fortunate craft, but could render her
no assistance. A company was organ
lied some years ago for the purpose of
locating the wreck and recovering the
treasure. A steamer, well equipped for
making the search, was purchased. On
board We're several divers of experience.
They put to sea and spent nearly all of
one summer in dragging the seas bot +
tom in the vicinity where the De Braak
was supposed to have foundered, but .
not a vestige of the wreck was found.
Many wrecks were encountered, but .
none was the one sought. DR.. Seth Pan .
coast, the Philadelphia surgeon, now
dead, is said to have spent $4,000 in
he company that tried to find the De
3raak and fully $4,000 was expended
n the work by others.
Lying at the bottom of the sea, few
niles off Townsend's Inlet, N. j., are
he remains of the Spanish galleon
Like the Guatemozin, she
90 went down in a furious northeast
torn while conveying large amount
# gold bullion from the mines of the
Aztecs to the Spanish treasury, at least
says so. The exact amount
# gold she carried was never known,
ONE stories placing it at $1,000,000,
while others say it was more than
ouble that sum. The Spanish gov
rnment sent out ship to recover the
ullion, but while the crew was trying
o locate the wreck gale arose and
rove the ship upon the shores of Sew
n Mile Beach, where even as late as
S65 part of the wreckage was seen
t times protruding through the sand
the beach. Only a few years ago the
townsend brothers made an exhaus-
i've search for the MonteZuma, but all
forts to locate her proved futile. At
be time the Guatemozin and the Mon
azuma found resting places off the !
ape coast, Cape May county was in
ested by beachcombers, but they could
o nothing toward recovering any Of ,
ne treasure, as the appliances in their ,
were too crude for such .,
.ork. 7
1t was a rough night in the winter Of {
1872 when the ship Merrimac ran her I
Ow deep into the north bar of Town t
ends inlet. She, too, was treasure {
zip, but instead of gold and silver her $
irgo consisted of pig lead, silks and /
sneral merchandise. The lead in this '
Ierrimac's hold was valued at $4,000. /
one of it was ever recovered In e
oeaking of the wreck recently Captain \
utton, who is more at home on the q
eek of a for-an' after than he is on Y
lore, said: a