The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-09-12
MILES OF OCEAN
BOTTOM SEARCHED
FOR TREASURE SHIP
Master Diver Tells Of Difficulty In
Locating Wreck of
the Merida
CASH IN PURSER'S SAFE,
BESIDES SILVER BULLION
Other Wrecks Found, One of Them
Being Apparently That of Steamer.
Merida sunk with Rich Burden.

Norfolk, Va, Sept. 11.--Search-
ing for a sunken ship on which there
is over $1,000, 900 in money and silver
bullion the treasure hunting crew OF
thirty-four men under the command
OF Captain George Stillson. a master
diver, inventor ord expert in sub
marine engineering is not proving an
easy task Stn1son SAYS.
The treasure-laGen snip Is. or was.
the ward Line steamer Merida. She
was sunk in the summer Of 1911.
about fifty-five m les of Cape Charles
l..Ehtship when she vas rammed ny
the freight steamer Admiral Fartagut.
The Merida carried over 800 passen
gers, all of whom We. taken off by
the Farragut and transferred to the
Old Dominion steamer Hamilton,
which landed them in Norfolk.
Among the passe lgers were
number Of Americans fleeing from
Mexico They had with them the
savings 0f their lifetime and these
savings they say, were locked in the
safe in the office of the purser of the
Merida When the steamer was
struck the water poured through the
hole in her atarhoard side so fast that
of their valuahes
J The Merida also carried silver bull
ion said to have been worth over
5000 600. The pursers safe is fill ID
with money and jcwelry. The yes
sells cargo was fruit
Treasure Hunting Fleet.
The treasure hunting fleet is com
posed Of the yacht j. H Beckwitn
the trawler Fearless and barge used
II FT
divers In the outfit, including # Mil
son. who is said to have been me
first to explore the bottom Of the
Atlantic near where the Merida went
down
Captain G. Hermanson, who is in
command Of the flagship OF the fleet,
Is of the opinion that II the Merida
is found she will he some miles away
from the spot where she went down.
The treasure hunters. barring bad
weather have been searching for the
eunken ship for nearly a month now.
They have been driven to port sew
eral times by high seas and wind.
but with the coming of fair weather
have gone forth again to renew the
search
Divers have explored two miles of
the Atlantic Ocean. II is said and
have found several wrecks, one of
them apparently steamer, but it
. was not the one they sought Divers
sent up portions of deckhouse of
the steamer There was nothing of
value in the wreck.
Sharks were encountered by the
divers on several occasions, but they
stood off at a distance, apparently
watching with interest every move
Of the divers who were armed with
axes. and also carried large knives
in their belts,
May BE Miles Away.
Captain Stillson says he has not
given UP hope Of finding the Merida
and is not disappointed at not finding
the vessel a the point where she went
down
"A vessel seldom goes right
straight to the bottom when she
sinks" he says especially where the
water is deep and the currents
strong" II is possible that the
Merida is ten miles away from the
spot where she went down. Under
ICurrents sometimes carry a vessel
miles away before she settles on the
bottom, And after she strikes the
hotton. shifting sands sometime.
carry vessel several miles.
If we find the Merida within ten.
or even twenty, miles OF the spot
where she went down II will not be
unusual When we do find her It
Will not prove very difficult to bring
up the treasure in her, and l he,iev"
we are going TO he successful. Our
tgreatest difficulty Is to locate her.
Captain Hermanson also is or tne
opinion that the Merida will be
found, and he divers. too, are conf
dent
The men tell of encountering
strange-looking objects under water
OF stumbling against a sunken vessel
tor meeting = ark face 20 face
Search Is Thorough.
| After scare hing five miles in one
direction. the treasure hunters will re-
turn to the spot where the Merida
went down and search five miles in
another direction. After they have
gone north. south. east and west for
five miles, they Will continue the
search for five miles further In the
same directions. If she la not found
| before winter comes on 1t Is probable
that the search will be abandoned un-
I'll next spring.
| The expedition is a costly one. The
divers are paid as high as $40 a day.
1t Ia said that Captain Stillson will
receive big bonus II the expedition
is success. and fair compensation
| II It fails.
| In marine circles II is believed that
he Merida will not be found. It fs
| figured that in the five years since
she went down she Is probably com /
pletely covered by sands. and divers
might walk over the spot where she
lies without knowing It.
The treasure hunters come to Nor
FOLK and Newport News about every
| two weeks to take on fuel ana sup
plies.
Glad Crbanna Road Is Coming.