New-York tribune., 1912-02-11
THE LUTiNE SAILING FROM VAR
MOUTH, ENGLAND, OCTOBER 9,
1899.

THE LUTINE SAILING FROM VAR
MOUTH, ENGLAND, OCTOBER 9,
1899.
.the bars OF treasure previously recovere5
many years before--not trace remained.
The captain of the Lyons was about ready
to abandon further work but fortune had
A surprise in store and the second officer
OF othe ship. {. n. Miller, tells as follows
lust how the salvers virtually stumbled
upon the position of the long-sought and
elusive riches
I'VE kent our suction dredge working
night and day. whenever the weather al
lowed. nut Il was a bit of task at that 70
get down through those forty feet OF sana
and 10 clear away hole big enough to
uncover the old wreck. We drew UP and
sent overheard astern some millions OF tons
OF sand We had no time to take this aWaF
in scows and Il formed about US regular
bank which we had TO dodge In approach
ing and leaving the site. and there were
times when we had 10 up anchor and scut-
,Io away at short notice when the wind
and a rising sea threatened We dldn
draw much water. but toward low toe
thers was none too much between our keel
and tho sand bottom over which he had 10
mass in making harbor. and even a moder-
ate swell meant danger. II wasn't
healthy position, but we were working IN
haste and for large stakes and had to take
some chances.
"To the man of history, the old junk We
brought I'D was Of interest, but that was
not what we were after and the divers
reported the bottom around the ship clear
there was only a fair.sh hump on the port
side forward that seemed TO cover some
thing solid OF course that could not DC
the treasure area, because the gold ana silver
had haen slowed in the stern OF the Lutihe'
and that had disappeared. 1t was known 70
the old natives that the afterbody or the
! I,utIne had cracked away from the rest OIL.
: tho shir when the frigate first foundereur
ard the frames of the rest Of the old yes
sci were stiIl there. That was the coho'-
tion Of affairs when the captain turned tn7
shin over 20 me one night toward the latte'
mart Of last September and went OeIo" "
turu in-tired and somewhat discourage
.,T took over the duties Of the snip am
bagan pacinC the deck forward to pass
away my lonesome watch. The onIy sou'u'
were the hum Of the dynamos ana the ll'o'
OF the pumps Under water. In the ho'
below us | could see the glow or the SUI
marine lamps by which the divers guldeu
tho intake of the working suction tuo-
Tboro was a steady splash aft as the eN-
1 haust OF sand and water passed oNeroo'''
again through the big wire screen about
. the ship's stern This had been going on
, steadily for nearly two weeks, and the mo-
notony Of it made me drowsy. Shortly oe- ?,
r fore midnight the man in the cage AT siE'
: nailed that he had something, and between
5 me and the glare of his WORKING lamp 10
held up a chunk OF something DARK
, AT that time the dredge was working on
, one edge OF the mound OF sand, when per-
, sisted in holding its position near inc po,'
bow OF the wreck II was matter OF acc''
dlnt or chance that the dredge was at tnat
, point. | hastened aft upon getting the Sis-
, nal. and found we had pumped up piee'
Of iron rust weighing about ten pounds
Nhe crust OF oxide had formed about
rectangular bar of some sol, but that dld
not indicate anything of importance How
ever called the skipper, for such "erS
my orders When We scraped the surface
OF the impress we uncovered bright speeNs
and these the captain proved 10 be paru'
cles OF gold by means OF the acid test
) THE TREASURE LOCATED.
Naturally we we're all excited, because
we did not expect to find any trace u
treasure in that particular neighbornood u
the wreck-that was why we mad maue u,
efforts to clear away the obstinate noun"
OF sand. A day or two later We iou',u
that the impress In the rust eNa0''.
agreed with the form and dimensions ..
gold bars known to have been recoVe'ee
from the Lutine many years previously anu
now preserved in a museum in Amsterdam
We did rot bring up any more tei'ao
pieces OF rust that night The next day We
attacked that hillock and uncovered sou''
frames of the old frigate, and their snaps
showed plainly that they were the remains
of the long-mIssng stern. Strange as II
may SEEM the currents at some time Whe'
the wreck was clear of sand, had beeh
strong enough to drift that detached part
Of the hulk from its proper position, sweep
ing II up along the port side, where IL "a'
turned bottom uppermost. When the stern
was turned over the treasure was spilled
out upon the hard clay which underlay tne
sand and the iron ballast was dumped on
top OF the precious bars of gold and silver
In time. the sea water had rusted the iron
and cemented II together in the form Of
solid mass covering the bullion securely,
The shifting Of the stern explains why 81
many salvage efforts subsequent TO tne
| rroatable ones back In the SOS had failed 81
20 make good. even though they worker
| o,,ar tho area which had once yielded ingots
OF gold and silver
..,ye are keen TO get back TO the Dut'p
! coast aud start the springs work OF clear
,n,, nm rho treasure awaiting us-yalued 0y
,ho lowest estimate at close to, &L0W,Wl
"a ,,,av no more, but the lower figure WIZ
more than satisfy us