The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1903-12-04

Miami has at last been discovered.
The supposed cargo of silver bars il
the wreck has been libeled in TIL,
United States court and marshal pit
in charge of digging the ancient yes
sci out of the sand.
According to the story told by IT.
habitants but one person, a negro
sailor, escaped when the vessel wen:
ashore. He sailed for New York sool
after the event, and later confided the
. secret OF the treasure ship to well
known sailor character called "uncle
Ned Pent." who was familiar with
Florida waters. He was an ignorant
man, but skilful as boat builder AMI
sailor
Unfortunately, he was unable to or
ganiZe company to search for the
treasure, for he drank to excess, ami
it was only when intoxicated that be
would talk. During his spree he gave
away all the facts about the treasure
ship but no one would believe him
because he was drunk.
When he became sober and com.
panions sought to verify what he had
stated While in his cups he had moth.
ing to say and so they concluded that
the story was a romance and un.
worthy of investigation.
When not intoxicated on land
Uncle Pent' was sailing the raging
seas, and. of course. could not be in
terylewed. Afterward he spent con.
siderable time securing the beach for
ten miles in search of the treasure
ship, which had been buried in the
sand, leaving only a broken mast
above the waste of the Florida coast.
Between paroXysms of drinking and
cruising, he continued his search, and.
finally, in 1859, located wreck
which he was sure answered the des-
cription he had received from the
negro survivor. On examination he
found several bars or ingots, which
he decided, after taking a few drinks.
were only lead. and, being short of
cash and anxious to make a cruise, he
loaded his boat with the metal, using
it as much needed ballast. Then he
proceeded to Key West, and, finding
money plentiful and liquor on every
mis- boat to get more.
The man who purchased the boat
with its curious ballast was not long
in discovering the character of the
bars. The result was handsome
clean up" and the assayer. of the
bullion was sought to discover
whence it came. This made the new
owner of the boat wary. He kept the
secret to himself and returned to
Key West in search of the original
owner for particulars of where the
silver came from. But Uncle Ned
Pent' had spent his money for rum
and shipped as sailor to South
America before the man returned.
About this time the civil war came
and Uncle Ned was so busy in block.
ade running that he had no time to
look for the old wreck with its silver
bars. He had heard of the great luck
OF the man who had bought his boat
and sold the lead for solid silver.
After the war was over he found that
storms had destroyed the wreck or COW
cred it SO deeply with sand that not
Meanwhile the negro sailor who
had fled to New York so impressed
a citizen of that city with the story of
the treasure ship that he formed
company to look for it, and spent
thousands of dollars in vain search.
When he had exhausted his funds he
got position in the neighborhood
and for years, after every storm, he
Travelled up and down the beach,
hoping to find trace of the ancient
ship. This searching was taken up
by different parties and continued for
years, in fact for half a century, until
the beach and even back under the
trees for miles became filed with
picks and abandoned implements of
the men who had vainly sought the
precious cargo.
All this naturally tended to excite
others to take up the search. Men
came with long steel rods, sharpened
to point, with which they prodded
the sand. Recently something, evil
IDENTIFY wood, was struck at point
thirty or forty miles above Miami.
A squad of men with shovels dug
away the sand and finally came upon
the wreck Of a ship, and then pro-
ceedings followed in the courts. The
wreck was libeled and force of men
then began the exhumation of. the
| ship.
1t is said that she was used to carry
treasures from Mexico to Europe, and
It was during one of these voyages
hat she went ashore in great storm.
The treasure ships used in those days
for carrying bullion were built In the
strongest manner, with arrow of bunk.
.rs and lockers. constructed along
Zach side Of the vessel of, heavy oak
imbers, strapped and braced with iron,
4 ,olted and riveted to the ship itself.
hat they could not be torn away with.
tut destroying g part Of the vessel. i
IT was in thsse.lo lockers that the pre-.
:ious metal was hidden--an equal
mount distributed ,on. either side to
X rim the ship and make her sail ~,