DOWN IN THE DEEP.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 59, 24 October 1911, Page 3

DOWN IN THE DEEP.

A SEARCH FOR TREASURE

BY AN AUCKLAND SYNDICATE

BULLION LOST 45 YEARS AGO

A venturesome project to recover bullion that has been buried in fathoms of seething surf for-45 years, at the base of perpendicular cliffs on the western side of the Auckland Islands, at a point almost abreast of Disappointment Island, is contemplated by a New Zealand syndicate, says the Auckland “Star.” The treasure was lost in the wreck of the barque General Grant on May 11th, 18G6, on the voyage from Melbourne to Sydney, and several.attempts made to recover the valuable'shipments of gold which (lie vessel Is believed bo Have had on board, have not only ended in failure, but in. mis' case ‘disaster overtook the salvaging party, a small craft being lost withy* six on board. An' ingenious l scheme has now been planned by a couple of investors, one with capital to risk on the hazardous venture, and the'other, Captain N. P. Sorenson, a diver, who lias a great deal of experience to aid him in the enterprise. They have been making extensive enquiries both in New York and England, gathering full details of the wreck and other information of value, and Captain Sorenson, who recently arrived in Auckland, and is staying at the Grand Hotel, has been securing further particulars locally, while his partner is in Dunedin, where it is proposed to fit out the boat for the expedition. Captain Sorenson is not unknown in Auckland. Many years ago he was in the employment of the Harbour Board as a diver, and in addition to 'otlidr work was one of the first to b'd engaged in, blasting rocks in the Mannkau. He is also familiar with 1 the Auckland' 1 Islands, having visited ;them?;on more than one occasion in ,the past, and is no stranger to the, 'possibilities; of recovering the General Grant bullion, because he had prcyiously arranged for a salvaging party but . forestalled. He now comes from America, with wider experience of lost'treasure hunting, and though over sixty, years of age he enjoys splendid health. ■ He is in good form physically, and is philosophically prepared to defy the ocean, confident of success aiid of securing ,i fair reward for''the risky undertaking, and for the expenditure of the 10,000 or 50,000 dollars involved in equipping the expedition and carrying out the work. The wreck of the General Grant is only one of the long list of disasters for which the Auckland Islands have 'men responsible. The locality was always treacherous for sailing vessels if the old days, and as one writer puts it, “the weather thickens, squall ■succeeds squall, the wind gathers hurricane force, the mist obscures the land, a sudden lurch, a dreadful concussion and tiie gallant barque sinks beneath tho\ boiling,' seething sea.” lue General . Grant \\;as a wooden vessel, built in the.’ State of Maine, of 1300 or 1400 tonnage—a largo vessel for the sixties—and owned by the Park-Richardson Company, cf Boston. On the eventful trip, officers, crew and passengers-numbered 08, all told, and die cargo w.as of a miscellaneous character, including such articles as wool, leather, bark, hides, skin, felt, and horns, and most important of all/the ship’s manifest shows two boxes of gold. , Different narratives vary as to, the exact,.story of the wreck, but an authenticated account declares that the barque van butt into a cave' or iverbgad m;pjpction of rocks, at the >asq. ,bf, ;,tne islands on the i western -.ido,, where the water is fathoms deep. , Tossed about in the seething caldron, he vessel’s masts were brought‘into iolent collision with the rocky ceiling >f the cave, and in a little while were dove through the bottom of the )arque, and she sank. Sixty-four of vho passengers and crew perished on die spot, and fourteen got away in i bolit, and gained the island. The 4uef officer and three men loft safe and three months later in the pinmce with tlje desperate intention of niching the shores of New Zealand, ut wore never again hoard of. The -n remaining on the island, including lie stewardess,, were rescued in a delorable condition through exposure ad want of proper sustenance, by ie whaling ship Amherst some 18 ninths later, and reached the Bluff n January 13th, 1868. Then it was , hat the first news of the disaster .•as received. Captain Sorenson gave a “Star” oporter some particulars of the proected enterprise. The site of the reck is on the western side of the daud, in deep water, at the veyr oot of the perpendicular cliffs, aiid finally in the surf, and ;s completely xposed to the prevailing wind. \ erf-fic sea 1 as, therefor" u. be enountered, making it almost imposible to get a boat close up. That ms been the experience of. previous lartics, and after lying about for as mug as ten months they have been '.impelled to relinquish the task. The. iressnt treasure hunters propose to uako the attempt from the landward ■ide instead of the seaward. , The mat they intend ■ chartering and filing up will be taken to Port Ross, a tarbour as safe as Auckland, on the ipposite side of the island, and they 'ill construct a road i from the point, 'f navigation across the arm of land o the cliffs overlooking tlie spot! of ho disaster-—a distance of about three ailes. In that way machinery and pparatns will bo delivered at the ■cone of operations. Derricks will be milt, cables lowered and anchored, Hid a cage, to wind up and clown lie cables, will be used to lower the liver over the cliffs, and the latter, >.V .means of clasps attached to his living gear, will lie securely held '’bile he spies out the treasure clown m the deep. “1 have only to defy the ocean,” remarked the* taptaiii, “and the treasure is ours. It’s a risk, certainly, but if I got my head into it, I will 1 have to get ■ out as best I can,” he added philosophically. One record gives the value of the hidden bullion at £IO,OOO, but Captain Sorenson considers that the 60 miners wbo were on board wore hot- returning to the Old Country from the / ustraliau goldfields without treasiue of value in their possession. It is on that supposition that the treasurehunters base their calculations for a rich haul. The - expedition will sot out from Dunedin immediately full arrangements are made.