The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-08-18
TO DIVE FOR SHIP SANK
FORTY YEARS AGO
Captain sorenson Ready to start For
General Grant, Wrecked of Island
Of Auckland.

Of Auckland.
Captain Neils Peter Sorenson, of
the United States and the whole wide
world, believes that he has Robert
Louis stevenson's Treasure Island
beaten to death.
He claims to know where 100000.
600 in gold bullion lies buried at the
bottom of the ocean just where he
can get at It, and shows documets to
prove the existence Of the wreck
laden with gold, tallow and wool, just
where 1t has lain for forty-two years.
Captain Sorenson has organized an
expedition to go after the buried gold,
aud has given himself just 1S months
to return rich man. He has devised
a clever scheme TO circumvent old
ocean, to defy swirling tides and
smashing waves, and he has made
capitalists believe in the feasibility
of his scheme.
The captain is square set, hardy
and fiorid, a Dane by birth. He ar.
rived in New York City from his lat.
est wanderings about 20 months ago.
For 80 years he has been planning an
other assault upon the treasures that
lies Ia fathoms deep in the bowels of
the hulk. Twice he has met defeat in
the project. Briefly told, the cap.
tain's story of the hidden treasure,
as related in the American Office, runs
like this
MAY 10. 1866, the American clipper
ship General Grant was wrecked on
the west coast of the Island of Auck-
land, an inhospitable blum 20 miles
long, lG0 miles from the southern
most land OF New Zealand. TLG
General Grant was one of the four
clippers owned in Boston, which
were chartered by London firm Of
shipping merchants to put on u
packet line between Melbourne and
London.
THE first vessel to sail With treas.
ure was the General Grant. Her sis
ter ship, the General Scott, followed
her. The General Grant had aboard
G3,0O00O0 sterling in gold bullion,
shipped by the banks, and another
million pounds in value of gold bars,
in boxes, which $50 returning miners
were taking back home with them. 1t
| took 10 days to load the gold aboard
| the vessel at Melbourne, and the
| treasure was locked into strong
compartment under the captains
! cabin.
THE General Grant sailed from
| Melbourne May 3, 1896, and was next
: reported missing by the Victoria
papers. In 1868 newspaper accounts
of the wreck were published in Amer
lea, including this statement:
"On November 81, last, the ten
survivors, after eighteen months
hardship and privation on the island
were picked up by the whaling brig
Amherst Captain Gilroy, and taken
to Bluff Harbor, New Zealand. The
cave into which the General Grant
was thrown is twenty-five fatboms
deep, and $50 yards long, and the
masts just reached 10 the Top. The
captain and lGS perlshed.
Several of the passengers did es
cape" continued Captain Sorenson
"One of them. Fritz William Albert, q
German, worked for me on my oyster
dredger in New Zealand in 1878 or
1879. He also told me the story OF
the wreck. For forty-two years al
that gold has lain there. ! have not
seen the wreck for thirty years about
But she still lies there, as sound a.
the day she went down.
Now we are going TO get that gold
The New Zealand government makes
no claim to 1t. | have arranged for q
concession permitting me to land {
crew on the island. | shall doubtless
find the hulk sound and strong.
shall have 10 blow out the side. TC
do this | will prepare canvas hose
six inches in diameter, with loops
along the side, and viii hll this viii
dynamite.
when I go down after the fash
will find hole knocked in the side o
the hulk just under the captains
cabin, and $2O,OOO,OOO In gold bullion
will be awaiting me. The gold is al
packed in cases, each case valued a
$4,000. The treasure can't sink in thu
mud for It is hard sand and rock bot
tom. ! have but TO fasten the boxes
to cables and have them hauled uD,
THE expedition will start from SaI
Francisco. in one of the Spreckle'
vessels, for New Zealand. We shal
outfit the expedition in Dunedin, II
the south of New Zealand, and sal
for the Aucklands in chartered
schooner"
Captain Sorenson has served in tn,
United States navy. II was he wht
dived to the wreck of the ill-'fate,
Pacific Mail steamer, Rio Janerio
which sank in the Golden Gate, cost
ing the lives OF many passengers, in
Gliding United States Consul wild
man, his wife and daughter.