Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-02-10
LURE OF SIINKEN TREASURE
Has Cost Men More Than Has Euer Been
Recovered.
Recovered.
Va w w Va Va va va va va

his Investigations Oh tne leaSuie S-H
of the Spanish armada in Tobermory
harbor in 1903 more money mas Deen
spent in labor and modern appliances
for the recovery of few missnapen
pieces of eight" than the entire treas
IRE of the armada could have amount
ed to. Let no one suppose, however,
that this will deter any treasure seeker
from continuing his researches, 1or
treasure seeking is a disease, MANIA
having little to do with the value Oh
the cache. A hidden treasure IS 10 the
treasure seeker the epitome OF the
mysterious and the intangible, and the
lengths to which he will not go 10
bring It to light are beyond specula-
tion.
IF a man were forever eXiled TO
rocky island where he had no nope OF
ever seeing a human face, the mere
suggestion of a hidden hoard through
q chart, a scrap of pirates sasn' OF
q rusted knife would set him burrow-
ing for the rest Of his natural days.
and death would find him wild eyed
in his monomania, jealousy watching
the horizon by day and prying into
rocky crevasses by torchlight.
Thrill of Adventure Easily Aroused.
Even in this age it is no difficult
matter to thrill the staidest product oi
an unromantic civilization with the
mention of Capt. Kidd's wealth, the
stories of Spanish galleons sunk in the
harbors of the Azores, hint 10 tne
location of the lake Of old Ell Doraoo'
a clew to the location of the tomb Oh
Alaric the Goth, with whom lies the
accumulated treasure OF overrich
Rome or a warn about the mountain
where the khans of Tartary lie ourieo
with their gigantic harvests OF orlen-
tai gold and gems. The mere mention
of q modest kettle of gold pieces VIII
turn the gentlest soul into the raven
Gus spirit of a pirate, imbued' with
cunning, cruelty, and quenchless ar
dor.
So far as is known no pirate chlei
has murdered his crew to conceal the
location of the treasure at the bottom
of Tobermory harbor, its location was
ALWAYS 100 we'll known to occasion any
attempts at monopoly. The hrst at-
tempt to recover the fortune was maze
in 1865, and from that time down 10
the present season one fortune hunter
or another has hovered over the harpor
spending his time, wealth, and patience
in a fruitless effort to bring some OF
the Spaniard's wealth to the surface
Now they have suction pumps to ltt
the sand and mud and filters to sepa-
rate crabs from pesos, all at great ex-
pense, and occasionally they do get
handful of pesos, but the expense OF
operating has certainly far outreacneo
the possible returns from the snip
still il is treasure hunting and must De
nersisted In. like the solution Of an
eternal problem.
sinkino of "Duque di Florenzia."
When Drake had driven his fire ships
into the armada and scattered the sur
viyors along the coast of Flanders ana
the eastern coast of England tew
ships sailed around to the north ana
came down through the Irish sea,
though most Of them went to the bot
tom among unknown shoals and reefs
in the rocky passage. The "Duque oil
Elorenzia-" reached Tobermory, and the
crew, being in dire need Of supplies
decided to sack the town and make
away with provisions enough to carry
them to Spain. They found Sir LAUGH
Ian Maclean too well prepared for
them, however, and an agreement was
reached by which they were to help the
Scot in a war upon his enemies, and in
turn were to be given their stock OF
food and new rope gratis.
Hostages were given on both sides,
but at the first opportunity the Span
iards clambered on board their ship
with whatever they could steal and
prepared to sail away. The Scotch
captive fired the powder magazine be-
fore the sails were well raised, and in
the sight Of the whole town the ship
went down with all its tabled store OF
gold aboard. A quarter Of century
later the search for gold began, and 1t
has continued down to the present sea-
son, while the elements mock the ef-
forts of the treasure mad mortals who
hover about the harbor with their
dredges and diving outfits.
Treasure has an elusive quality
which adds to the zest of the hunter.
When one thinks how all the tabled
gold of Babylon, Nineveh. Tyre. Sidon,
Rome, Carthage, and the cities of the
east have been buried and forgotten in
times of siege, carried away by con-
ouerors, and dropped into river beds
by the wagonload, there seems some
justification for the armies of treasure
hunters who nightly tear up the earth
in every quarter of the globe and peer
under marble slabs by Pickering can
die light, every moment breathlessly
expecting to be dazzled by the flash OF
yellow gold and piles of precious
stones.
The thought of it is a drug to the
imagination, the mind reels at the
thought of the mountain of gold which
the Aztecs are said to have piled up in
the southwest, not because of its great
value entirely, for If a man were to
find it he would probably build a hut
upon it and spend the rest of his days
miserably warding off intruders, but
because the love of the search is in
the blood of all men and the mention
of a cache puts fever in the veins.
Treasure Stories Most Fascinating.
In fiction the most fascinating
stories that men have ever told have
been tales of treasures hidden in the
earth. There are Dumas Monte Cris-
to-" Poe's Gold Bug" Rider Hag-
CARDS King Solomon's Mines" Stew
enson's Treasure Island" and a thou
sand yarns of as many peoples, all ca
gerly devoured and absorbed by the