The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922, September 17, 1909, Image 3

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    NEW SEARCH FOR
BURIED TREASURE
OF CAPTAIN KIDD'S
For inoro than two centuries adven
turous and ovor hopeful persons havo
been seeking the trensuro which that
bloody plrnto, Cnpt. Kldd, is supposed
to hnvo hurled in Chester Basin, Nova
Scotia. Now it is announced that
another organized search for the vast
amount of gold and Jewels is to bo
made.
Capt. Kldd was said to havo secret
ed this treasure, estimated at more
than $10,000,000, when on ono of his
cruises about 200 years ago hu land
ed on Oak Island. Probably many
thousands of dollars havo been spent
in undTnlllng search for the loot.
About tlio close of the eighteenth
century that part of tho country wan
sparsciy soiiicu anu mo ibiuiiu in
question was without an inhabitant.
In 1705 threo men Smith, McQlnnis
and Vaughan visited tho island and
whllo rambling over tho western part
of 'it enmo to r spot of which tho un
usual and strange conditions at onco
attracted their nttentlon. It had ev
ery nppenrnnco of having been cleared
many years before. Itcd clover and
other plnnts altogether foreign to
tho soil woro growing. Near tho cen
ter stood a largo oak trco with marks
on tho trunk. One of tho lower nnd
larger branches of this, tho outer end
of which had been sawed off, project
ed directly over tho center of a deep,
circular doprosslon in tho land about
13 feet in diameter, Thcao and other
"signs" led tho threo men mentioned
to commonco work soon nftor.
Old Shaft Discovered.
They started digging In tho spot
whoro they had found tho depression,
and ns they got down thoy discovered
'n well doflnod shaft, tho walls or
which woro hard and solid, and it is
said that in somo placos old pick
marks woro to bo seen, whllo within
tho walls tho earth wan bo soft that
picks woro not required. On reaching
a depth of ton feet nn oak plank was
struck. Thoy kopt on digging until
a dopth of 30 feet was reached, find
ing oak platforms at each ton foot.
At this potnt tho oarth proved to bo
too hoavy for thotn. Superstitious
bollofu woro in full forco in that part
of tho country at that ttmo, and on
this nccoOnt thoy woro unablo to got
nny hell) to contlnuo tho work and
wcrpobllgod to abandon It.
A&ernn interval of six or sovon
yeorf8 accounts. of tho wonderful dis
coveries mado at Oak Island, had
spread all ovor tho provlnco and n
gold Booking expedition was formod
In Truro, N. S. Work was at onco
rcsutnod and tho shaft was excavated
to a dopth of 90 foot, Marks woro
found ovory ton foot ns boforo, nnd
nn Iron bar was frequently used In ta
king soundings. At tho 00-foot mark
sumod, but again tho water forced tho
toilors to stop working.
In 18C3 nnothor effort wan mado to
overcome tno water anu obtain tno
trensuro. Tho undertaking proved to
be most dldlcult, as the flow of water
was very heavy. About this tlmo tho
men who wcro engaged in tho under
ground work got tho idea that the
shaft wan in danger of caving in and
refused to ontor.
Halifax Syndicate Tries.
An examination wan mado of tho
shaft and experts found it to bo in a
very unsafo condition, and It was
forthwith condemned. Tho pump was
withdrawn and tho shaft wnn abnn
doned and work suspended, Tho
management wero at thoir wits' end
and did not know what to do or what
courso to tako to surmount tho over
flowing difficulty. However, It ap
pears that in tho meantime some Hal
Ifax men had boon Interested and en
tercd into nn agreement to clear out
tho "monoy pit" nnd recover the
trensuro for a sharo of tho amount so
received. This syndicate spent a lot
of money sinking a new shaft and
mado heroic offortn to ovcrcomo the
flow of wator but woro forced to aban
don It. It was at this tlmo that a
copper coin weighing nn ounco nnd a
half, dated 1317, and a stono boats
wain's whistle were found in tho bot
torn of tho pit.
Among the other "signs" which led
tho discoverers to dig woro tho re
mains of a hoisting block, such ns is
used on sailing craft, hanging to tho
limb of n treo which overhung tho
"monoy pit." Ono of tho ton foot
marks found in tho "monoy pit" was
a layer of putty. This was used In tho
glnzlng of tho windows of a house
built thoro afterward. Othor layers
woro charcoal. Theso articles aro
usually found among tho stores. of
seagoing craft. Among othor things
tlint go to prove that theso things
woro put thoro by seagoing men is
an iron ringbolt imbedded in the
rock. This can bo scon only at very
low tldo and can bo accounted for in
no other way than that it was put
thoro to moor vossols to, long ago.
Attempt to Pump Out Pit.
In 1800 a now Nova Scotlan com
pany was organlzod to look for tho
trensuro. In tho autumn of that year
work wttB again started, with two on
glnos and steam pumps, with tho In
tcntion of pumping out the "monoy
pit" nnd forming a way down tho pit,
which wan then opened to a dopth of
68 feet. At 108 foot n tunnel cribbed
with timber wafl struck. Tho men
wont into this tunnol to explore and
had gono but a short dlstanco whon
thoy discovered a largo pit about
eight feet squaro and open as far as
the pit and commenced boring, with
tho idea of striking tho treasure at a
depth of not greater than 125 feet.
No ono dreamed of thero being any
thing below that depth. They bored
through puddlo clay down to a dopth
of 130 foot and struck nothing but
several pieces of wood from 120 to
120 feot.
They started another hole and
Btruck Iron at 126 feet. Thoy struck
this iron on tho edgo and it prevent
ed them from gottlng tho three-inch
pipe deeper. Thoy, however, got a
small chisel nnd succeeded in pass
ing tho iron nnd worked down with
out, piping tho hole. At 153 feet thoy
struck wood. They put n common au
ger at tho end of tho rods and bored
through tho Wood, when tho auger
went through tho wood it dipped two
or threo Inches nnd then struck some
thing hard that thoy could not boro
through. Tho auger was worked for
somu tlmo in an attempt to get it
deeper, but it would not go down, nnd
IN A REVOLUTIONARY CAMP
Letter of Gen. Greene
Strategies of 1777
Sale,
Discussing
In a
E
A particularly good lottor of Oen.
Nathaniel Qreeno was sold in Phila
delphia a few days ago, tho Now York
Times says. It is addressed to Qen.
Varnum and is datod "Camp at Cross
ItoadB, August 17, 1777." It is in
part:
"I roadily acknowledge tho propri
ety of your observation that delays
aro dangerous and that tho prime of
tho season la wasting whllo wo aro
basking In tho sunshlno of Pennsyl
vania; but repentance often comes
too late. Could wo havo divined how
Oen. IIowo would havo directed his
futuro operations somo part of your
plan might havo been carried into ex
ecution. The destruction of Qen. Bur
goyno's army is ono of tho first ob-
GERTRUDE'S LOVERS
BY CHARLES L. DOYLE
(Copyright, by W. G. Chapman.)
Map of Workings On Oak Island.
Captain Kldd'a House In New York City.
when brought up tho boro was
cleanod in a basin and tho dirt
washod out tho same as if looking for
gold.
A pleco of parchmont with soveral
pieces of wood was tho result of this
washing.
New Pit Bunk and Filled.
Another holo wns then started and
wobd was struck at 120 feot and 'tho
soft stono at 152 foot.
This 'tlmo. however, they struck tho
box on Its edgo and the chlsol worked
down past it to 157 feet, when soft
stono wns again struck. Thoy bored
through this and found It threo feet
thick, Undor this they found ten feot
of puddlo clay, and at 170 foot thoy
struck iron, ploces of which thoy
brought up, but thoy did not attempt
to got through it.
After thoy gave up tho boring thoy
decided thnt tho host plan was to
sink another pit. A pit was according
ly started, but at 108 feet tho water
drove them out. Starting a now pit
was cheaper than pumping, bo again
a now pit was started, but much
further away from tho "monoy pit."
This wns sunk to a dopth of 160 feet,
and if it had not been for tho ill
luck that nlways followed them at
Onk Island tho mystory would havo
boon solved. At 1G0 feot, without n
momont's warning, with a great rush
tho water once mora broko In.
Caving of the Tunnel,
Tho "monoy pit" at onco began to
fill and circumstances at onco showed
that thoro wob n perfect connection
betwoon tho two pits. This was just
what was wanted, although not qulto
deep enough. Thoy nt onco toro tho
cribbing nnd everything olso to pieces.
Upon close examination It showed
that no vent hnd been mado for tho
water on the down stroko of tho pis
ion, anu it iook mom mora than a
week to fix this mlstako nnd get the
pumps running again.
In tho menntlmo tho pit had been
standing full of wnter, with tho crib
bing in a damaged condition. Tho
wator Worked Into tho tunnel nt a 95
foot lovol and it caved in.
That was tho ond of tho venture
Slnco thnt tlmo three pits hnvo been
sunk, but they havo all proved failures.
Tho present thoory Is that, a tunnel
runs through from Smith's Cove into
tho "monoy pit" to tho opposito
shoro. This pit is very close to tho
tunnel and the water broke Into tho
pit from It.
It Is now generally bolieved that
tho tunnel running to the cove was
either choked by work dono on tho
shoro by tho Halifax syndicate or by
tho dynamlto used by the company
working In 1896.
Jects upon tho continent, but how to
effect it is tho question.
"You sco, ho moves with caution,
notwithstanding our nrmy Mies beforo
him. It Is now a month sinco ho
landed at Skenesborough, his ad
vanced parties havo advanced only
about twenty or thirty miles and noth
ing, or next to nothing, to oppose him.
Surtf I nm ho never would havo dared
to penetrate an inch if he had mot
with a serious opposition.
"Could I persuade myself that Bur-
goyne would not rotrent upon tho
northern army's being reinforced, I
would run nil the hazard to attempt
his destruction, but I am well per
suaded that ho would rotreat itnmodl
atoly to Ticondoroga, whoro it would
bo out of our power to do him nny
great Injury.
"Our situation is not n llttlo awk
ward, burled in tho country out of
tho hearing of tho enemy. His excel
lency (Washington) Is exceeding 1m
patient, but it Is said If Philadelphia
is lost all is ruined. It Is a great ob
joct to bo sure, but not of that great
magnltudo thnt it claims.
"Rest assured wo shall not remain
Idlo long. This is a curious campaign.
In tho Bprlng wo had tho enemy about
our cars every hour. Tho northern
army could nelthor sco nor henr.of
an onomy. Now thoy havo got tho en
omy nbout their heads and wo havo
lost ours.
"I can assuro you I was no ndvo-
cato of coming so hastily hero, for I
ovor thought Gen. Howo's motions
very equivocal; but tho loss of Phila
delphia would Injure us moro than our
taking Now York would thorn, nnd
It is not certain our Tnpkl march did
not hinder tho oncmy from coming up
tho bay to tho city. That thoy woro
moving about tho coast for soveral
days is very certain."
This loiter brought $195 nt tho Phil
adolphln sale.
Getrudo Dcsborough, daughter of
old Mcrton Desborough, tho conl-oll
millionaire, was attractlvo In more
ways than ono. To begin with, sho
possessed nn enviable sharo of good
looks and a genorous Bupply of com
mon sense. Naturally thero woro not
lacking suitors who'caBt longing oyes
on tho heiress of tho Desborough mil
lions, and of these Lionel Wayno and
Hugh Winslow wero tho most favorod
Gertrude showing perhaps a slight
partiality for tho former.
Wayno was a ready talker, always
entertaining and hnndsomo In what
somo pcoplo considered a rather of
fetninnto way, whllo Winslow wns re
served, sclf-posscsBed and built on
sterner lines than his rival. Both
moved in the best social circles, but
neither was overburdened with monoy.
Tho question that troubled Gortrudo
was whether It wob hor wealth or her
self which formed tho principal at
traction for her admirers. Sho cared
nothing for tho fact that neither of
tho young mon in question was rich
in this world's goods, but sho cared
a great deal to know whether their af
fection was slncero or nssiimcd,
In he,' heart sho felt that Wayne
had made a deeper Impression on her
thnn Winslow; ho wns moro out
spoken and dashing In mnnner than
his reserved rival, whoso attitude to
ward Gertrude was nlmost roveren
tlal. Still sho hesitated, for ono of
ler jnost lntimnto friends had dropped
a hint In her hearing to tho effect that
Wayno was an uuscruplous, calculat
ing fortuno hunter. Sho did not bo-
Hcvo tho nsscrtlon, but It troubled her
nevertheless and left her in a doubt
ing frame of mind. Sho had no moth
er to consult in tho emergency, for
Mrs. Desborough had died when Ger
trudo wns In her Infancy and sho
shrank from asking her father's ad
vlco in tho matter.
But an ovent was scheduled to oc
cur which Gertrude had never counted
:a lint stone two foot long and II
'inches wida wns discovered. On it
wero out characters which an export
troadfls follows: "Ton foot bolow aro
two million pounds burled." This
Save tho sonrchers ronowed hopo.
Water Fills tho Tunnel,
This wnB Saturday night. Monday
morning when tho mon roturned to
work tho shaft wns discovered full
of water. It was then decided to sink
a now Bhaft and to tunnol under tho
"monoy pit" and to take the treas
ure oat from bolow. Tho pit was Bunk
'to a dopth of 110 feot, and Just as
itho workors thought that tho trcaB
luro was theirs tb wator burst In on
'them nnd the men barely escaped
with their lives.
This ended tho offort, and it waa
.not till 18-16 tbnt operations wero ro-
thoy could aoo. Tho pit was oponed
up ana at 33 root a platform was
struck.
Tho pit from this dopth was open
and well cribbed down to a dopth of
108 feet. Tho workers nt onco pumpod
tho pit out and commenced digging,
but had n groat deal of trouble InJ
Auuiuuti witi viniui uui, uim ib wua an-
or a great deal of work and time tho
113 foot was at last struck. At this
dopth tho water bocamo vory heavy
nnd tho pumps hnd all thoy could do
to koop it out. Tho pit was eight
foot squaro. At this tlmo ono of tho
pumpa went wrong nnd beforo sho
couia uo repaired tno pit tilled . up
with water.
Strike Chest by Boring.
Thoy swung in n throe-inch plpo
through tho wator to tho bottom of
Her Choice.
They wero slstors-ln-law and reason
ably well disposed toward each othor.
Ono wns tho mother of Georgo, aged
six months, nnd tho othor was the
mother of Marlun, aged six months
and four days. It was Impossible that
a slight parontnl rivalry should bo al
togethor concealed.
"Marian does not seem to grow very
fast," snld tho mother of George, with
a suggestion of commiseration in hor
tones. "Georgo is much taller"
(height being measured In Inches).
"Perhaps ho Is," roplled tho mother
of Marian, coldly, "but Marian weighs
more."
"Oh, well," responded tho slster-ln
law, with a emtio of high-bred super!
orlty, "of courso I should not wish
Georgo to bo gross,"
DO NOT FEAR AUTOMOBILES
of
Shetland Ponies the Only Breed
Horsea That Motor Cars Don't
Frighten.
About tho only breed of horses
which docs not scorn to fear tho au
tomobile Is tho Shetland pony. As to
that, however, tho Shetland tnkes
fright nt nothing so different Is ho In
his mental makeup from other horses,
ivo n well broken Shetland to a
child, and no trouble will bo expe
rienced through his becoming fright
ened at motor cars.
Children who drlvo Shetland ponies
may now uso the roads and parkways
In comparative safety, so far as nuto-
mobllista nro concerned, provided thoy
havo been properly Instructed as to
tho propor sldo of tho road to keop
on and tho ruloB regarding turning out,
turning corners, otc, which should bo
taught to every person who ossays to
drlvo a horso, grown pcoplo ns woll as
children. Tho Horso World.
Another Matter.
Judgo Gllos linker, of a Ponnsylvn
nln county, was Ukowlso cashier of his
homo bnnk, says Browning's Mnga-
zlne. A man presented a chock ono
day for pnymcnt. Ho was a stranger.
Hlu ovldenco of identification wns not
satisfactory to tho cnshlor. "Why,
judgo," said tho man, "l'vo known you
to senteuco n men to bo hanged on no
better ovldenco than this!" "Vory
likely," roplled tho Judgo. "But when
It comes to letting go of cold cash wo
havo to bo mighty careful."
"Her 8mall Hands Were Caught Tight-
ly In His Strong Ones."
upon. To all outer appearances her
fathor had long ago ceased to par
ticipate actively in tho strife of tho
business world and was supposed to
bo living a life of luxurious case, re
gardless of tho fluctuations of tho
stock market; so great was tho girl's
surprise and consternation ono night
wnen Morton ucsuorougn gravely in
formed her that a series of unlucky
speculations had resulted in tho loss
of his largo fortuno, and that they
would bo obliged to retire from tho
world of society wherein sho had so
long reigned ns an acknowledged bollo
and heiress. Yet whon tho first shock
of tho announcement hnd passed away
Gortrudo's pride and courago camo to
tho reBcuo and sho. threw her nrms
nround hor father's neck and kissed
him tenderly.
"Never mind mo, papa," sho said,
bravely; "as long na wo have each
other it doesn't matter. Wo will bo
just as comfottablo In n quiet llttlo
homo nB In this big houso with all its
grand furnishings, nnd I can go to
work tho samo ns lots of othor girls
do and help you."
"I don't think-that will bo neces
sary, Gertlo; wo'll probably havo
enough loft to llvo on," said her fa
ther, but a look of intense gratifica
tion shone in his eyes as ho spoke.
Gertrude was true to tho ostlmata ho
had formed of her character; It was
evident that the unlocked for termina
tion of her butterfly existence did not
daunt tho girl, nnd Morton Desborough
had nover felt prouder of his daughter
than at that moment.
Gertrude did not abandon hor reso
lution of joining tho humble ranks of
tho wago earners. No sooner wero
they sottled in tho narrow confines of
tho llttlo flat which hor father se
lected as their futuro residence than
sho started out In senrch of work, nnd
tho following wcok saw hor Installed
at a switch-board In the employ of
tho tolophouo company, fulfilling the
duties of nn operator. Hor fathor
smiled when sho triumphantly In
formed him of hor success, but did
not try to dlssuado her. Tho battle
of life had coinmonced for Gortrudo
ic grim earnest.
It must be confessed that after tho
novelty of tho thing had worn off
thero wero times when sho regretted
tho leisure hours and luxuries whloh
hnd onco been hers. But sho did not
complain, and stuck to ber task he
roically, although at this Juncture she
began to realize how vory few friends
tho averago person can rely upon. Her
acquaintances in bygono days had
been legion In number, but with tho
change in hor nocial position they be
came wonderfully scarce. Threo or
four of her girlhood chums remained
faithful to tho deposed princess ol
their merry clrclo and loyally ex
pressed their admiration of tho man
ner in which sho confronted her ad
verso destiny, but thoy woro shining
exceptions to tho general rulo.
Perhaps tho sharpest sting of all
wns contained in tho knowlcdgo that
Lionel Wayno was utterly unworthy
of tho good opinion sho onco hold of
him. From tho day when bo first
learned of her father's financial ruin
that astuto gentleman had kopt caro
fully out of sight, and novor ovon
camo forward to express his sympathy.
Yet Gertrude, in Bplto of tho disap
pointment which tho revelation of his
truo charnctor inflicted upon hor sen
sltlvo nature, felt thankful that Bho
had found him out in tlmo to savo her
self from thq bitterness of a loveless
mnrrlago. Whether Winslow would
provo equally faithless remained to bo
seen. Business had summoned him to
California beforo tho downfall of the
Desboroughs had becomo public and
ho was still absent from tho city. Gor
trudo's belief In mankind had been
sovercly shattered by her oxperionco,
und sho hnrdly know what to hopo for
when ho returned.
"Tlmo will show," Bho said with a
wlso shako of her llttlo hcrau, and ad
dressed herself anow to tho fight for
oxlstoncc.
A month had passed away, and Ger
trude, weary from a hard day's work,
was reclining on a sofa in tho parlor
of their flat, an open book bcsldo hor,
while her father sat placidly smoking
n cigar nnd busied himself with a
formidable array of papers covered
with endless rows of figures. A loud
knock at tho door caused Gortrudo to
spring to her feet, and an Instant later
tho tall form of Hugh Winslow ap
peared on tho threshold. Tho color
roso to tho girl's faco at tho sight of
tho unexpected visitor, but Winslow
gnvo her no tlmo for a commonplace
salutation. Bcfofo sho could spoak
her small hands woro caught tightly
In. his strong ones, and tho glow of;
affection In his eyes told her that ho
was still tho samo stalwart and un
complaining lover who had submitted'
so meekly to her caprices In the past.
"My own llttlo girl!" ho murmured,
gently, and Gertrude's wealth of brown'
tresses rested quietly on his breast
"You young folks seem to havo set
tled this matter very satisfactorily
between you," broko In Merton Des
borough's voice. Ho smiled aa ho
apoke, and WInBlow grasped tho ex
financier's hand and shook it warmly.'
'yrkank heaven for your mlsfortuno,"
ho said, fervently; "it has gained mo
tho heart of tho dearest girl on oarth.
Her money was tho only bar between
us, Mr. Desborough."
Mcrton Desborough's oyes wero
moist with fcollng as he gazed at tho
speaker. "You aro Just tho kind of
man I fancied you to be," ho said,
flnnlly. "Gortrudo knows by this tlmo
what valuation to put upon fair-weather
friends and money-seeking suitors.
And now I'll lot you both into a secret.
My supposed ruin was nothing bu a
scheme to test tho worth of thoso who
sought my daughter's hand. Morton
Desborough is Just as heavy a weight
in tho financial scales as he waa seven
weoks ago. I don't regret the experi
ment, for it not only proved Gertrude's,
courago and affection, but also gavo
her a husband who really loves hor
for horself."
Ono of Gertrude's arms crept around
her father's neck and tho othor rested
upon Wlnslow's broad shoulder.
"Tho two pcoplo I lovo most In tho
whole, wldo world," eho Bald, saftly.
"I am n vory happy girl to-night,
papa." "
Attitude of Birds In Flight.
When tho now $20 gold pleco was
Issued In 1907, a critic of tho design
on tho coins asked: "Who ovor saw
an eagle in flight with its legs trail
ing behind it?" This touches upon
a question thnt has often been de
bated, but Dr. C. W. Townsend thinks
that tho designer was right and tho
critic wrong. All birds of prey, ho
says, habitually carry their legs be
hind in flight, except whon about to
strlko their quarry. Water birds also
fly with thelr legs extended bohlnd,
and pheasants, grouso and othor gal
linaceous birds do tho samo thing nn
soon as they aro well -under way.
But the paBseres or perching birds,
Buoh as English blackbirds, sparrows,
robins, ravens, cocksy- crows nnd
swallows when In flight carry their
legs drawn up in front. Tho habit of
humming birds la uncertain, although
somo havo been photographed, carry
ing their legs In front.
Refrigeration In Wine Making.
From experiments inado in Frnnce
in tho employment of artificial refrig
eration in wlno making, tho following
conclusions havo been drawn: Grapes
may bo kopt at a temperature of 29
degrees Fahrenheit for a year, but It
Is not advlsablq to keop them longer
than a few months becnuso of tho in
evitable softening of tho seeds. In tho
clarification of liquors nnd their pre
paration for exportation to cold cli
mates very good rosulta aro obtained
by cooling to 29 degrees for 72 hours.