Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-06-13
SUNKEN TREASURE
STILL LURES COIN
Rich Association Is Spending
Thousands to Recover La
Lutine's Treasure.
From the Nationa, Waterways.

their money TO Enance the search Tor
the treasure.
Such practical business men are be-
hind the National Salvage association.
which is conducting the enterprise OF
salving the So. 900, 900 sunk with the old
frigate La Lutine in 1909 off the coast
OF Holland. SO far the EXPEDITION has
a variety of silver coins,
cannon. c~annonballs. grape shot and an
anchor. but no great amoun of actual
treasure. Since the Lutine went down
In a gale off the entrance to the Zuy-
der Zee with all but two of her 300
souls aboard. after she struck on the
coast between the iSlands of Vliefand
and T~erschelling. some $500, 900 has
been recovered. Some of this vas OBJ
tanned by earlier expeditions, some by
independent divers and some by being
washed up on shore, or brought UP by
dredges.
The present expedition. which has
been working since the summer of 1911,
is the most perfectly equipped Of any
treasure hunt in history. The salvage
steamer Lyons is equipped with pow
erful pumps, which bring up the mud
dropped onto a huge sieve or screen
built over the stern. An auxiliary boat
lis used to lighter heavy articles
brought to the serice. A corps of di-
vers is also kept at work.
AT the and of the eighteenth century,
> w sb1Au N5CiL VIZ
ciral commercial port of northern Eu-
rope. All Europe had shown bremen
duous commercial development. The
war between England and France
caused delays on payments in
cial transactions, and these caused the
failure Of many German merchants.
TO make things easier. English mer-
c~handise sold to Germany was paid for
by bills of exchange made payable
some months later. to enable the Ger
mans to sell the goods and collect the
money before it came due. However,
the rate of exchange ran as high as 80
per cent, a rate which was prohibi-
tive. To relieve the strain, a group Of
wealthy English bankers determined to
send bullion and specie into Hamburg,
to enable their representatives to han
die their own payments on the spot
and thus avoid the ruinous exchange
rates.
The British admiralty was appealed
to for a naval vessel to convoy the
packet it was proposed to send with
Of the group heard of the plan and
asked also for a chance to ship gold
and silver. ST. many applied that it
was decided to send a fighting ship.
and so the Lutine. a S2-gun frigate
captured from France, was detailed.
So secretely was everything conducted
that 1t is not known to this day how
the treasure was conveyed to Var
mouth, nor is 1t known exactly how
much treasurer in bullion bars and
coin was shipped on the Lutine. From
bars already recovered by salvors
however, it Is believed that no less than
is banking houses were represeted. and
1t is also believed that the English
government sent 500. 900 in coin to pay
off the troops campaigning against
France.
La Lutine sailed from Yarmouth on
November 3, 1899. and that same night
she went ashore on the Dutch coast.
Ihe only two survivors were unable to
tell anything of the disaster. One died
q few hours later M the other became
insane from the exposure and hard
ships he endured.
In 1900 the king of Holland author
lied an official expedition to attempt
the salvage nj with the crude facil-
tiles h available about $27S.OOO was
recovered Then h wreck settled and
~ years, when. in 1914, Peter
Terschelling made another attempt, OBJ
tanning only a few small coins. But
he formed n company with a royal
Dutch charter. which is still legally
in existence, known as the Decretal
salvors. They spent about s25,O0O in
seven years of fruitiess attempts.
Finally the British underwriters were
aroused, and. in 1921, the king of Hol-
land made over to King George Nv. by
royal decree all his claimed rights In
the Lutine and her cargo. King George
Immediately conveyed the title to the
Lloyds' committee. They authorized
the Decretal Salvors to work on the
wreck for their mutual benefit. But
lew results were obtained in the va.
rious attempts made until 1858. when
divers sent up a total of $40, OOO worth
OF bullion in slabs. Then the sand
buried the vessel again and little could
be done. Up to 1860, by various at
tempts. 1920. 900 in bullion was added
70 the mounts heretofore obtained.
Then up to 1889 spasmodic attempts
made brought up Il total of l1.164 coins
valued at $4,000.
The present National Salvage associ-
atlon has gone at the work in the most
up-to-date manner. with powerful APP
paratus. They are attacking the wreck
on the theory that the greatest amount
or the treasure as yet uncovered is
within the wreck and not outside, az
heretofore has been supposed. They
believe the greater part of the treas
ure is at the bottom of the wreck,
underneath the heavy cannon which
crashed down through when the vessel
broke her ask On the rocks. On the
other hand. divers who had been down
and bullion on previous ex-
petitions declared that a space OF
twAlve feet square was literally paved
with silver bars that were wedged so
tightly together that they could not be
moved with crowbars or fingers. This
treasure was at the stern OF the yes-
sci, outside the hull. So 1t is a de-
batable question whether or not the
present expedition will be more sue
cessful. proceeding along Its mapped
out plan, than It's predecessors.
Embarrassing %Frankness.
From Norman e. Mack's National
Monthly.
How we'll behaved your children
are" said the ministers wife.