SUNKEN PAY SHIP

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17234, 14 April 1930, Page 12

SUNKEN PAY SHIP

£BOO,OOO IN GOLD INVENTOR TO COMB SEA FLOOR NEW YORK, March 1. In tJio hope of finding £BOO,OOO of British gold believed to have sunk with it, pay ship Kent, to America by the British during the War of Independence, Captain Simon Lake, father of numerous submarine inventions, proposes to make an extensive search this summer of the floor of Long Island Sound. In recent years Captain Lake has discovered more than 30 vessels in an area, of five square miles at the bottom of the sound. Researches he lias made of the history of the war indicate beyond doubt, i lie says, that a British treasure ship now lies in the vicinity of. Hell Gate, a few mites from New York City. Mr; Tilson, of Connecticut, a member df the House of Representatives, is now seeking Government co-operation in Captain Lake's behalf. But whether thin wijl bo forthcoming or not, the inventor will devote the best part of the summer to a well-orpinised hunt to discover the soldiers' cash. A BROKEN HEART. Over 40 years ago Captain George Thomas, an American, looked up the records of the lost, ship in England, and ascertained to his satisfaction that the pay ship, with its gold hidden beneath the ballast in its hold, reached New York in 1783, just as the British troops were evacuating Iho city. She was instructed to go to a point in Connecticut and pay off the soldiers there. In attempting to obey those orders, she struck a rock in Hell Gate, and sank. Only a. few of the highest officers knew that the Vessel carried jjnld, and it was not till the war ended that efforts were made- to find the whereabouts of the missing treasure. Captain Thomas spent a large sum in exploring the floor of Long Island Sound, and died of a broken hen if. In support of the new enterprise, Captain Lak<> says that enormous advance has b«en made in recent years in submarine devices and salvage expertmenls. "If gold is there," he says, "rest assured we shall find it. He- intends to use a submarine equipped with a "diving trap" of his own invention. With the submarine as a base, ho declares, divers will bo able to ; work with short, air-lines.