New Britain herald., 1930-03-01
Connecticut Man Believes He Can Recover $4,8OO,- 900 Lost When British Evacuated New York.

Milford, Mar. 1. (UP)-Thc indc- fatigable genius of that 63-ycar- old inventor, Simon Lake, father of the modern submarine, has turned to a romantic quest for sunkcn golI.
 Speaking; with the fervor Of youth, Lake told the United Press how he hoped to salvage pure gold bars valued at s4,S0o.0o0 from the hold of British barkentine whi ,,l sank in Hell Gate narrows during the British evacuation of New York in the revolution.
 He revealed he has invented d new contrlvan1e for locating and recovering suIkcn treasure vhi >h he believes will overcome the ob- stacles that baked British anl American salvagers in their inter- n1ittent attempts to locate the for- tune during a century and a half.
 Asks Treasury Permit
 Lake has applied to the U. S. Treasury department through Con- ercssman John Q. Tilson for cx- elusive jurisdiction in the search Such authority was granted Captain George Thomas, who died 50 years ago after an unsuccessful attempt to locate the British bark.
 T do not fear the tide which was the greatest handicap of oth er searchers," said the man who trans lated Jules Verncs wild dream of a boat which could go twenty thon- sand leagues under the sea- into the first practical submarine.
 The inventor was forced to with hold details of his latest invention because foreign patent, are pending. l. is simple device, he said, anl one which might be nanufactur ] in any shipydrd at reasonable cost. Experiment with models has prov en it's ability, he asserted.
 The British vessel was bringing gold with which to pay the troops, according to the stary told me by Captain Thomas" Lake related. "Jt struck on Pot Rock, an obstruction in Hell Gate which has since been blown up, and went to the botto.n with several of it's crew and some prisoners chained below decks.
 The treasure" he continued, was ill solid gold bars buried De- low the ballast and was estimated by Captain Thomas to be worth about s4.so0,ooO. Sixty years after the sinking the British sent over diving bell but the current was too strong for that type Of salvage work. The depth, nevertheless, :s1 only 75 feet.
 Watched Divers Work
 Captain Thomas's divers never were able to locate the wreck. As a boy I watched them working The current was so severe diver could only stay down 5 minutes at time and hence could accomplish very little.
 Tt is possible the vessel is par tially or totally covered with silt by this time but I anticipate no great difficulty in finding it. It was built of good stout oak and should have held together
 Lake said he believed his experi- ence in raising and pumping more than 50 wrecks, some of which h3 d been sunk in Long Island Sound for more than 100 years, would La of assistance in his proposed treas ure hunt. For years Lake has be 91 recovering cargoes of coal and orc from sunken ships by his own unique salvage methods.
 Discovery of the sunken fortune would enable Lake to push one ot his fondest projects, the construc- ton and operation of giant, cargo carrying submarines for use under the ice in northern regions now isolated in all but a few weeks of the year. Such vessels, he believes, would make it practical to open ID yrcat territories in northern Rus sia, fertile in soil and rich in nas- ural resources, which have lain un- developed because of ineffective transportation facilities.
 The inventors person fortune was wiped out some years ago in a mod cl home project which went awry.