Evening journal., 1904-09-05
SEARCH IS MADE
FOR SUNKEN GOLD
Scenes on Shipboard at the
Time Good Ship St. John
Went Down
GAVE NAME TO LIGHT AND SHOAL

Whether there be gold or not some
where in what is left Of the hull Of
the good ship John, which for
nearly two centuries has reposed at
the bottom Of the Delaware river the
attempt now being made to find the
precious metal brings into interests a
tragic event I'm the early history of
Philadelphia. No record or history
available establishes the fact that the
John carried gold on her last trip, but
that there was "A large amount Of it,
and also Of silver, in her strong room
is generally believed on evidence of
sufficient strength to make the search
as fascinating as such quests always
are.
The John sailed from Gravesend,
England. early in 1882, for Phila-
delphia. She grounded In the river
on one OF the coolest days Of a bitter
winter. and her total loss. together with
the drowning of four of her crew, fur
nshed an object lesson to the Assem-
bly, of Pennsylvania, which finally re-
suited in the buoying OF the channel
and the erection of additional light
houses.
The Delaware was then choked up
with ice. The only aid to its naviga-
ton was the light at its mouth, the
lighthouse at Cape Henlopen, which
ouilt i'm 1925 by the British Govern
ment, still stands as n monument of
constructive stability.
Boat Launched and Four Drowned.
Upon the grounding OF the ship her
passengers begged Captain Jones to
launch the boats. The long boat was
got ready, but it was stove i'm as soon
rs launched. causing the death of four
people An ancestor Of George Vaux
wrote as follows I'm "a diary story of the
wreck:
1T was grlevous to behold us I'm this
ieplorable condition, but TO stand still
would not do; so our captain advised
as to tighten the ship I'm hopes of get
ting her off. Accordingly we went
lbout 1t and got out, I believe. near
20 tons of ballast The next morning
early we cut away our main mast. but
an TO no purpose. for we could not
get her off This being done. our cap
tain looked TO see If he could see any
sail coming our way. which he spied,
and there was no less than six seemed
10 come pretty near us, which put new
ife i'm us all, expecting no less but
hey would send out their boats and
save us. which might easily have been
lone at that time. They drawing near
we made all the signals of distress inn
tginable. by firing off guns, and maxi
ing false fires, yet so nhuman were
they (although they have confessed
they saw us). they would take no notice
Of as. which we thought harharous tc
he highest degree.
"They laid the fault upon the pilot
hat went on the first ship. We con-
rived at last to make little boat
though we had no tools fit for IL, foi
he carpenters tools were lost In thl
ong- boat: however, they nailed
few boards togetha, and three people
were appointed to go in it-two sailors
md a clergyman who went purely tC
ierve the company and TO get relief
with letter from our captain of my
writing. These poor creatures were %
hours upon the open sea, in this small
hing. and the weather being excessive
cold froze the sailors legs to the boat
md the clergyman. who was not used
o such hardships. was froze to death
soon after he got TO shore, the top Of
lis ANuilh hlhlllHb bNf as Ait1. luiu
us, little before he died"
Rescued on Sixth Day.
on the sixth day Of their predcament
an hands were rescued by a slooT
which put out from Lewes The pas.
sengers were landed at Iewes an,
made to pay high prices for every.
hing they needed. Most of them made
the journey TO Philadelphia on horse.
back. the trip taking three days on ac-
count of the snow and cold weather.
The wreck of the John gave a nam'
to one of the most famous obstacles {,
The navigation of the Delaware. Hal
a century later brig laden with peal
and beans from New England was Gu
Through by the ice while coming M
the bay. The water caused the peas
land beans to swell, and the brig was
wrecked on the shoal called Pea Patel
Island" ever afterward.