Evening star., 1939-05-14
By CAPT. JOHN ID. CRAIG.


BY CAPT. JOHN ID. CRAIG.
ABOARD S. S. FALCO, off Cape
Charles, Va, May 13 (N.A.N.AD.-
Sailing in this little italian salvage
ship are the high hopes of a group
Of seafaring men whose lives are
as romantic, as colorful and as
hazardous as any fiction writer
might imagine. They are on deep
sea treasure hunt, and their quest
Is the sunken wreck of the Ward
liner Merida, which lies in 22O feet
OF water 60 miles off Cape Charles.
Aboard the Falco are tons Of.
special deep-Sea salvage equipment;
great anchors and chain to hold
the ship in position over the wreck;
miles OF 1l2-inch steel cable to op-
crate the great iron w-grapples
and wreck-tearing equipment; tons
OF underwater explosives to blast
and break through steel plates, and
tulip-buckets to lift out the bars of
gold and silver after they are un-
covered.
In neat locker behind the bridge
are two sleek, white observation
diving chambers, each with five
glass eyes, from which the diving
observers will direct the work from
the sea floor. Phone lines and lift
Ing cables are already rugged, and
one catches an eagerness in the
eve and manner of the "busos" as
" they show me these chambers and
demonstrate the oxygen breathing
masks which they wear inside. 1t
is an eagernass to get into them
and be about more exciting work.
Masts Unusually Heavy.
On the decks. fore and aft, are
many steam wincheS with cables
wound in readiness. The masts are
unusually heavy, feet in diameter,
OF hollow steel construction, and
stayed with l-inch steel cables to
aid in taking the strain of lifting
tons Of wreckage and. they hope,
Welghty treasure they anticipate re-
covering.
= Comdr. Luigi Faggian, in charge
OF this expedition, is a huge man,
powerful and thick, with the roll of
the sea in his legs and the kind
illness of sailor in his eye He
laughs often. but it is the nervous
laugh OF man working under pres
sure, with great responsibility on
his shoulders.
In Comdr Faggian's mind there
may be doubts as to the amount
of treasure carried by the Merida
when she sank, but reefs of docu-
mentary proof, insurance claims and
the like, are convincing evidence
that there is worth while treasure
aboard.
He has the self confidence of
great dlver-a man who has worked
= in $50 feet of water and who has
the record, among others, of having
successfully salvaged over S8.00O.OOO
from the liner Egypt, sunk in the
Bay of Biscay.
Wind and Tide Factors.
Wind and tide and sea are all
important factors in a successful
deep-sea treasure hunt. Last year
Comdr. Fagglan and the Falco To-
Gated and lay for weeks over the
Merida. but they worked only IL
days, blasting through to where the
strongrooms should have been. Then,
almost within reach of the treasure,
they were forced off by storms that
= pounded them numerically and
broke their moorings. This season
they have stouter cables in their
hold. The great mushroom and
claw anchors will hold out a hurri-
cane. And they have come early
to take advantage of the calm seas
OF May and June.
Comdr. Faggian will decide which
part of the wreck to probe first for
treasure. He has more information
this year and there is little matter
OF baggage room full of silver bars
to investigate
There will be masses of twisted
steel plates to blast and cut through,
which may take weeks of patient,
relentless effort There are the haz-
ards of diving; of becoming fouled
in Wreckage undersea; of handling,
laying and shooting explosives. Just
living aboard TNT-laden vessel
is like sitting on a live mine. And
once the Artiglio blew up, taking II
men to their doom.
Comdr. Faggian says, The sea
and explosives are often asleep
You never know when they might
wake up"
And this uncertainty, this nerve
tingllng suspense mingles with the
fascination of seeking sunken gold.
Crew of Falco Optimistic.
Can 1t be located? What amount
Is there? Can we get it up? Al
ways an optimistic note enters into
the answers to these questions. The
crew of the Falco will argue for
. hours convincing themselves that
they have that chance. In the
spirit and optimism of this Italian
crew one catches the enthusiasm of
small boys about to dig under the
roots of the big oak at the foot
OF the pasture. Tom Sawyer and
>Huck Finn never were more sin
cere or enthusiastic in their quest.
Yet these men of the Falco are ex-
perienced seafarers who have
grand record of successful salvage
operations back of them.
They know hardship and toll;
they handle nitroglycerin and sing
as they work; they have just come
through Is days of the toughest
tossing an angry Atlantic can ad-
minister, and still they are eager
to be at sea again. Twenty-six of
them are crowded into acccmmo-
G9tlO0S meant for IL mon
That look of doubt in the COM
manders eye? That is not worry
about relocating the wreck. He
probably is wondering about that
silver. Third Officer Henry Middle
ton of the Merida said he super
vised the slowing of the silver in
the baggage room, midships aft.
There were two or three layers of
bars covering a floor space Is by