Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-06-13
I. TREASURE TO BE FOUND
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Great Fortunes That Haze Been Lost For !.
=. Il. Centuries Still Sought. ~ :.. =
Centuries Still Sought.

work; and accordingly an oval steel
tube was made, nearly 100 feet long
and wide, enough to allow man to
walk erect down the center. There
was a metal chamber provided with
windows and doors at one end and at
the other there was medley Of giant
hooks and tackle Of various kinds. One
end Of the tube was to be clamped to
the side Of a steamship or barge, and
the other by, means of water ballast
tanks, was to be. sunk until 1t touched
the. bottom. Then, by using compress
ed air. all the water would be forced
from the tube and also from the
chamber at the bottom of 1t, which
would be flush on the bed Of the sea.
Divers would. walk down the stairway
in the center Of the tube until they
reached the submerged chamber,
where they would assume their diving
costumes, and then, opening a series
of water-tight doors, would step
straight out into the water. Engineers
would be stationed in the chamber,
and, following the instructions Of the
divers, who would communicate with
them by means Of portable telephones,
they would operate the mechanism Of
two powerful suction pumps or dredg-
ers fitted to the sides Of the tube. The
idea was entertained that these dredg-
ers would suck away the sand around
the sides Of the heavy chamber until
1t would gradually sink by its own
weight right down onto the deck OF
the wrecked ship. The divers would
then make their way from the cham
ber to the deck of the ship, and from
there to the hold; after which success
nothing would be simpler than to con-
vey the treasure Of the Lutine to the
ship above by easy and comfortable
stages with something Of the regu-
larity and method Of unloading a big
cargo boat in the East India docks.
Such is one Of the most ingenious and
best organized schemes for the recov-
cry Of treasure ever planned, and in
good season 1t will be carried to exc
cution.
And then there is Tobermory. All
have heard Of the treasure that lies at
the bottom of the sea at the northwest
corner Of Null, one Of the fairest parts
OF the western coast Of Scotland. There
Is some substantial fact and much
fiction in the stories that have been
told about the easure-ship Of the
Spanish Armada that was sunk In this
place, and both are attractive. 1t Is
only comparatively recently that we
learned from the Spanish admiralty
the proper name and particulars OF
the ship that was blown up and sunk
at Tobermory. She was the Duque di
Florenzia Duke Of F1orence), and was
one Of the largest and best equipped
vessels in the whole Armada, being
the senior ship Of the Tuscan squa-
dron. She was of 940 tons burden,
built Of African oak, was armed with
fifty-two guns of various caliber,
manned by 3S6 sailors and 100 ma
rines, and was commanded by Captain
Pereira. She was treasure ship, and
carried bullion to very high value;
but 1t begins to appear unlikely that
she had on board the 30,00o,000 pieces,
equal to 100000 pounds sterling In
British money, with which she was
generally filled. Some have late
ly been arguing that she was not a
treasure ship at all. that there has
been some confusion in names, and
that that of the Tobermory ship Is
really San Juan Bautista.
During the latter part Of the seven
teenth. century many attempts at sal
wage were made, and a few guns and
coins were brought up; while it is said
that in 1888 Swedish engineer, bring
ing q diving bell to his assistance, did
actually recover a great deal Of treas
ure. Some fifty or more years after
wards the diving-bell was employed
again, and a very magnificent gun,
the work of Benvenuto Cellini, was
recovered, with other things more or
less valuable. This and others are
now at Inveraray. In the last few
years some very thoroughly organized
efforts have been made to recover the
treasure, all the most up-to-date me-
chanical and electrical salvage applt-
ances-submarine tubes, diving-bells,
dredging apparatus, and all the rest
having been brought to the assistance
of the searchers. The first Of these
thorough efforts was carried out by
Captain Burns, of Glasgow; but
though many things were brought up
from the wreck-which Is really still
there-the treasure in bulk was not
gained. Skeptics began to say that the
hunters Of the seventeenth century
must have got most Of it, but others
are more sanguine. During the sum-
mer Of 1910 eight acres Of the mud al
the bottom Of the sea were probed In
the search for the chests Of gold; and
though they were not found, 1t Is said
that the sensitive electrical apparatus
which was employed, indicated that
masses Of gold and silver were still
hidden beneath the waters. Later en-
deavors have not disclosed the treas.
ure.
All this was treasure that went tc
its hiding place in the time Of Eliza
beth; and, II that seems far enough
back, what of the treasure that was
lost (and, as some say, may still be
recovered) in the last days of King
John at the beginning Of the thir-
teenth century? At the extremity Of
his career and his long-drawn out
conflict with the barons, John, witt
his army and wagons-these latter Ia
den with the plunder of half a king.
dom and the costly treasure Of kine
was making his way northwarc
through Lincolnshire; and, coming t
Cross Keys, which was then on the
border of the Wash, he attempted tc
cross the sands to the other side, bu
was caught by the tide, and horses
wagons and baggage were swallowed
up by the quicksands. The king, IL
the rear, saw it happen from the Lin.
colnshire coast, and 1t Is said that HI