The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1911-08-09
STILL HUNTING FOR
SHAKESPEARE CIPHER
DR.. Owen Undeterred by Nuner-
GUS Failures to Find the
Cryptogram

LONDON, Aug. g.-There Is one
town in England where they believe
Bacon was Shakespeare or that Shak-
espeare was Bacon.
In Chepstow, in Monmouthshire, the
inhabitants are ready to swear Bacon
wrote all the plays attributed to ON
obscure actor called Shakespeare, and
it is an equally firm article OF faith
with them that the manuscripts of
these plays are buried in the mud at
the bottom of the River Wye at Chep-
stow, and that DR.. Orville w. Owen
of Detroit will dig them up-some
day.
I have tust returned from Chep-
stow, and while had heard that "the
eminent Baconian," DR.. Owen, had
been exploring the neighborhood of
Chepstow for the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
manuscripts. ! was unprepared 70 find
how he had imposed himself on Chep-
stow. S.atM
DR.. Owen is a Chepstow institution,
and Chepstow would rather part with
the Duke of Beaufort, who owns il
and most of the country about it, than
with Dr. Owen. For one thing. the
duke never brought hordes of Amcri-
can tourists in motor cars to spend
good money in the town and inciden-
tally to look at the holes DR.. Owen is
making in the Wye.
There have been dukes Of Beaufort
for hundreds of years, but they have
only taken money out Of Chepstow.
There is only one DR.. Owen, and he
is making the fortunes of a score OF
hotel and inn keepers.
Dr. Owen has been at work al
Chepstow two years. He came with a
cipher which he had extracted from
Shakespeare works--or is 1T Ba-
con- st-indicating exactly where the
manuscripts had been buried by Ba-
con, who once lived at Chepstow cas-
tie, and he interested the duke of
Beaufort, who allowed him to dig in
the bed of the river and even sup
piled some of the money needed and
continued to support him until re-
Gently.
A few weeks ago the duke got
tired of putting up money and get
ting no manuscripts, but he has no
objection to DR.. owen digging all
the holes he likes in the bed of his
river, and DR.. Owen is still digging.
Ophers are peculiar things, and
in the absence of expert knowledge
am not prepared to criticise DR..
owens, but l will say it is a most
adaptable cipher. The doctor has
dug up the Wye for nearly a mile
and each hole was exactly indicated
by the cipher. When a hole failed
to pan out" the accommodating
cipher indicated a new spot and DR..
owen started a new hole. The near
est he came to finding anything was
when he struck coffin-shap ped
wooden structure under the mud.
Now the cipher said that the man
uscripts were contained in just such
structure in that exact spot, but
the structure turned out to be the
remains of a Roman bridge, and then
the cypher pointed to a spot close 10
the water gate of the castle. and
there DIR. owen. still full of hope, IS
digging.
Chepstow Castle is a most romant-
ic ruin. 1t is of immense extent,
and for a ruin is in excellent state
OF preservation. 1t stands on the
edge of a cliff that falls sheer away
for couple Of hundred feet to the
river. and the water gate, where DR.
owen is digging, communicates with
flight of steps cut In the rock lead
ing to the castle dungeons.
The castle commands a wonderful
view of the beautiful Wye Valley
every inch of which, have no doubt,
will be dug up il the cipher Of DR..
owen holds out.