Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1930-12-05
DIVERS BATTLE
FOR BIG Prize
Seek Fortune in Gold and
Silver Aboard Lost Brit
ish Steamer Egypt.

Brest, France.-On the coast OF
Brittany is now being waged thrill
ing and desperate fight with the seas.
The prize is big one-lOS9 bars of
gold. 1929 bars of silver and SS30,OOO
in gold coin, in the form of British
sovereigns.
This fortune-actually S6,124,395-
lies in the strong room of the PENN
sular and Orient steamer, Egypt, sunk
in 1929 off Ushant. And today divers
are battling with the problems and
perlls presented by the 400 feet Of wa
ter covering the wreck
The bullion in the Egypt had been
insured by Lloyds for S5,294,29o,
and the great underwriting organiza-
ton, aghast at the terrific loss, new
ertheless accepted the verdict of div
ers and salvage experts that the
treasure was beyond all hone of re-
covery and settled the claim to the
last farthing Then on the very next
day it rendered a check to the PENN
sular and Orient Steamship company
for the insured value of the Egypt, a
sum of nearly S3,000,000.
Paid More Than 100000.
But that is not all, for when the
great liner plunged to the bottom of
the sea she took a toll of 81 lives, Of
whom 16 carried shipwreck policies
with Lloyds, the aggregate value OF
which totaled $T9000o.
All in all, the loss of the Egypt cost
Lloyds the staggering total of $9l00,-
COO.
Since that day, some eight years
ago, an Italian salvage corporation
has been searching for the wreck and
between times conducting NEST thor
ough experiments on deep-water div
Ing
For the last two summers divers
have been walking the ocean bottom
at depth Of 400 feet, looking for
their golden quarry. and just a few
weeks ago they happened upon the
treasure ship. 1t was only when a
specially devised diving machine was
so perfected as to insure absolute
Sdiety lof IT'S occupant ti"t 'i'N ''e"
could be lowered into the ocean far
deeper than any diver for treasure
ever went before, that the wreck was
located
Ushant is spot noted for storms,
gales and fogs, and it may possibly
mean that another eight years will
elapse before the gold and silver is
recoverable ever.
Three Italian divers attached TO the
salvage ship, Artiglio-Gianni, Barge
fni and Franceschi-are huge men OF
supeTphysique. They have TO be 10
withstand conditions at the tremen-
dous depth at which the Egypt hes.
Fave Keys TO Treasure.
The chief diver, Alberto GiannL
probably knows the layout Of the
Egypt better than his two companions,
for time and again he has been low
cred to the bottom of the sea. Through
going down repeatedly he found tie
captains small box or ship safe, and
in it the keys to the strong room Of
the Egypt. Getting INTO the strong
room and removing its treasure, how
ever, is Herculean task.
Admiral Stephenson, Lloyds repre-
sentative, who has been an interested
observer of the salvaging operations
of the Italian corporation, declared
that it was too early to predict wheth-
er or not the $6,124,895, now in the
strong room of the Egypt would he
recovered. He said one good blow
would undo the work of many years,
though the work of the Italians up to
this time has been little short of mar