The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1915-11-23
THE TOLL OF THE SEA.
Treasure Ships of Wealth Pave Ocean Floors would
Enrich the Whole World Could Men But Reach Them
BY r.. S. Spears in Saturday Globe.

The loot of the world has paid
tribute to the storms of the seas and
the ravages of enemies ships. The
buccaneers of the Spanish main some
times sank galIeons heavy laden with
silver. saving only the gold and pre-
cious stones and some silver coins for
gambling game counters. The Bar
barry coast pirates failed to find the
hidden treasure in many looted
craft in the Mediterranean.
The loss of treasure ships began
with the Phonecians, the first people
to undertake the development of a
great sea commerce. Many a Phone
clan craft. laden with treasure, went
to the Port of Missing Ships, but
those which returned made Carthage
wealthy with the profits of trade and
carrying.
Beginning with them the Mediter-
ranean commenced to take it's toll in
Jewels and precious metals. There is
record of lost treasure enough to pave
square miles of that sea with metal
and stones. Talents in gold and sill
yer beieweled armor, cups of precious
metals poreclains beyond price sank
into the depths.
The Grecians in their heyday, Ven
ice, Genoa, Rome, the Caesars, the
Pharaohs the Kings of Spain, the
Sultan of Turkey, and all the north
coast of Africa paid unwilling tribute
in great treasure galleys, which lie
in the blue depths.
During the Crusades vast sums in
the most treasured jewels OF antiqul-
tv were sunk in storms and battles
Then came the sea lane from India to
England. and from the far east to the
Dutch republic, and from South and
Central America to Spain, on which
the sunken ships would almost serve
for pontooris of a continuous bridge
from shore to shore, and the lost
treasures serve for years holiday
Of all the nations overseas.
In the Mississippi, Too.
In the shifting sands beneath the
streams of the Mississippi basin are
the wrecks of more than 5000 steam
boats and tens of thousands of keel
boats. flats, canoes and other river
craft. Never a steamboat was lost
but what coin went down with her'
Tens of millions in gold coin went
into the river depths, One heet OF
harses which came out of the Black
Hills was captured by Indians ana
tho crews killed. The barges were
SINK where the fight occurred. In
them was the first great shipment OF
gold out of the Black Hills, amount
ing to not less than $9,OOO,OOO. IL
would be easy to name thousand
steamboats, that were lost on the MIS-
sissippi. Ohio and Missouri, most OF
them with safes containing thousands
in gold and jewels. James b. Eads'
the great river man, got his start in
life salvaging the coin in sunken
steamers.
Among the famous treasure ships
was the Rosario, a Spanish galleon.
Can't. Wafer, a buccaneer, captured 1t
in the West hides. He found IN the
hold 700 pigs of plate, which ne
thought were lead, but took one on
board to melt up for bullets. Water
the plates for bullets, and then mer-
chant recognized the other third as
silver and paid IS pounds for it. Thus
the raiders sank $4,000 in the Car
ibbean or about $4,000 each, for
there were 80 men in the raid. TO
this day oyster tongers in the Ches-
epeake bay find pieces of eight in the