DAVY JONES' WEALTH.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 57, 23 February 1918, Page 13

DAVY JONES' WEALTH.

FORTUNES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. The most imaginative and romantic of Verne and R. L. Stevenson, for instance —never wrote of such fabulous wealth as now lies buried at the bottom of the sea. Even before the war the riches that the bed of the ocean held in its embrace were vaster than any "dreams of avarice." How much more so now is this the case after more than three years of warfare, during which the depredations of the U-boats, alone must have increased the treasures in "Davy Jones' locker" to an extent tLat makes the sunken'wealth of previous centuries quite insignificant by comparison.

Just take a great modern liner as a case in point. Without even a ton of cargo inside her. any one of these leviathans of the deep cost more than a million pounds. Yet a few torpedoes have sent several of these floating palaces down many fathoms in a few minutes.

Think, too, of the costly cargoes which ships of all sizes were carrying when they were ruthlessly sent to their doom. Merchandise of every description—gold and precious 6tones, and rare potteries and fabrics from India; more gold and precious stones from South Africa; still more gold, silver, and diamonds, copper, and lead from South America; 6ilks and velvets from China; and nearer home, quicksilver, copper, silk, and oils from Spain.

Much of this treasure, which was continuously pouring into Britain in the early days of the war, is now lying in hundreds of shattered hulks in the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Mediterranean, and the Indian Ocean. FISHERMEN'S FrNE HAULS. A slight indication of what the ocean salvage companies may expect. to find when they start to retrieve the "spoils of war" after peace has been proclaimed has already been witnessed in some of the valuable hauls that have recently been made around our coasts.

Just the other week, for example, on the South Coast of England, when some fishermen launched their nets. to trawl the foreshore, instead of catching fish they caught barrels of wine, wliich the heavy ground swell of the previous day had stirred up from the sea-bed and swept shorewards. These hogsheads, over twenty in number, were found floating a stone's throw from the shore, and they evidently formed part of the cargo of some ship sunk. Each barrel contained about 50 gallons of . choice wines—rsome red and some w-bite —in good condition, and untouched by the salt water. In all, there were over 1.000 gajlons, and as many as three barrels were taken at one time in one net.

Recently, too, the "Shipping Gazette" learnt that Swedish steamers passing reported having encountered an enormous mass of wreckage, including parts of aeroplanes and bales of rubber. A good haul for somebody later on, no doubt!

Fishermen have also picked up at sea large quantities of oil, spirits, and margarine, valued at several thousands of pounds. Three large barrels of wine, each containing 60 gallons (noae the worse of having been in the sea), were likewise washed ashore at Deal the other day. In another case treasure trove in the form of large quantities of peanuts have been found over many miles of the Coast. On some parts of the coast several tons of the nuts have been recovered from the sea, and for these substantial remuneration was paid by the salver of the cargo.

ISLAY'S HARVEST. 'Some months ago* about 120 of the good folks of TElay feceTved the rewards of their industry in. the salving of a large quantity of raw rubber wbich bad during the preceding months of the year floated ashore in the bays and creeks of the island: The collectors, who comprised ftihermen, farmers, . and many boys, received £2,300 at Bowmore, in sums varying from several hundreds of pounds down to a few shillings. More romantic, however, than any of the foregmng lucky hauls from the sea is-the story of a poor-Irish fisherman's' "catch of a packet of diamonds, worth' about £3,000," which was washed out of' the Lusitania after she was torpedoed on the Old Head of Kinsale. The gems i were consigned to a London firm, and weTe insured for 13,000 dollars with the j Union Insurance Company. j

The company paid the claim in - full when the ill-fated liner was sunk, and believed they had heard the last of the matter-, but a mont-h or two ago they received a letter stating that the diamonds had been recovered, and that the owners had much pleasure in refunding the 13.000 dollars. ■■ ' ' '

It seems that an Irish fisherman' had found the packet of gems among a quantity of fisTi he had hauled up in his net. and had thus made the most valuable catch of his life. Without telling anyone of his lucky find, he sent the diamonds to London as an ordinary postal

packet, where inquiries were made and

their ownership traced

The honesty of the fisherman has been rewarded by a gift of some hundreds Of pounds. TO SALVE THE LUSITANIA.

On both sides of the Atlantic com- j panics are being formed with a .view to ' the recovery of a large part of the ! treasun- which, as a result of the• war, i is lying at the bottom of the sea. In I. this connection it is quite certain a big ' attempt will be made to salve tie !' treasure of the Lusitanla. There is a•! belief that, with a reasonable amount of '■ luck, the treasure in the strong-room ;• and in passengers' baggage can be re- r trieved. The possibility of actually ; salving the vessel and beaching her on' the Irish Coast has been considered, but y the main deterrent is the condition of , the vessel. |, The Lusitania lies 270 ft below the ! surface off the Old Head of Kinsale. j Such a depth a few years ago would' have rendered salvage work practically I unthinkable, but modern improvement in diving apparatus has made it possible for divers to work at that and even' greater depths. I If the liner is lying fairly upright I there would be little difficulty in retriev-1 ing the contents of the strong-room, ; which is near the purser's office on one' of the upper decks. The belongings of! the wealthy passengers, like George j Gwynnc Vanderbilt, would present even less difficulty, as they would e be higher] up on the promenade decks. : Probably a great majority of the wrecks will be beyond the reach of divers—in fathomless deeps—but, on the other hand, many of the ships that have ' been Bunk are lying in comparatively shallow water, at a depth which the modern diver can reach. Why, only l about eighteen months ago, men employed by the Navy Department, Washington, found an American submarine off Honolulu at a depth,of a little over 300 feet. This vessel was ultimately salved. When, about five years ago, a j P. and O. liner foundered off Beatfhy j head in deep water, bullion to the value j of over a million sterling was recovered, i Divers, as a matter of fact, will have I the time of their lives after the war, and their earnings will easily eclipse all previous records in this most hazardous

profession. Brains have been at work to aid the diver, and. one of the most recent of inventions for exploring submarine depths

is that of an American, Captain Charles Williamson, of Norfolk, -Va.,l yrho,; has constructed what he calls a' 'Submarine flexible tnb**iai*!son." It is', claimed that tkifi apparatn-i is sufficiently rigid to withstand terrific water pressure, and makes submarine explorations easy and comparatively safe.