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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1913-8-7, Page 71 A Night on a Dog -buoy Thrilliin Adventure That Befell a Greenhorn with a Scotch Fishing Fleet There is a small village in t Highlands near the border line Banffshire and Aberdeen that ago by the name of Mountblairy, and was in the bracing air of the vie/ ity that I lived up to the time the adventure I am going to relat -says a writer in the Wide Wor Magazine. My father was a croft and had a small holding on the bet ren hillside, and it was all we coul do, work as hard as we might, t get a bare living out of it, In ord to improve shatters I determined try if a living could not be made i tonne other way, and so; in the let spring, after we had sown what li tie seed we had, I resolved to down to the coast, about a, doze miles away, and try my luck as fisherman, having heard good ac counts of the wages that were give en` the boats. The road to Banff was soon go over, and. that evening found me o the quayside watching the men a their work, and gauging as well a I could my own fitness for the call ing. On making inquiries of one of the hands I Was directed to go to the fish -curing establishment, where I should Very likely find the owner of the fleet. He would most proba- bly engage me, I was told, as all the boats were not completed with crews, which usually consisted of six men under a captain, with a boy as cook,, On Board The Donald Dim The owner, Mr. Duff, put me through .a sort of physical examina- tion, and, after a little talk about the kind of work required, finally engaged me in the capacity of greenhorn on board the herring boat Donald Dhu. I thought the terms were very good—a £l0 -note for three months' fishing, free liv- ing and a share of a shilling a cyan with the others for the whole per- iod. This, with good luck, would leave me about £16 at the end of the season which -would be a good help to the people at home. On the following morning I made my way to the Donald Dhu, and, on presenting my papers, was shown to the berths in the bow of the boat, which was fitted for four green- horns, the remainder of the crew finding quarters in a similar place at the stern. The Donald Dhu was a splendid craft, being compara- tively a new boat. When I went aboard the remain- der of the crew were employed in mending and joining up the nets ready for the drift. There were 50 nets aboard, each about 30 yards long by seven yards deep, the mesh- es being about an inch square. When made up for casting the 50 were joined together, end on, un- til the whole formed one long net nearly a mile in length. Along the bottom, edges stones were seepend- ed in order to keep the nets up- right when in the water, while through the upper edges of the nets a stout rope, called the baulk, was woven, 'for hauling in the catch. id luck on our trip, and as the boats of moved out of the :harbor in proces- es sign. thee, people on shore gave us a dff it hearty seno. n Outside the Harbor of e, the full power of the breeze exert - cd itself, and, our sails bellying out elt in response, sent the fleet bowling r- merrily along. Our destination was d to be about six or seven miles from o a place known as the Skate Hole, er which was about fifty miles 1rum to the nearest shore. This place n was so called because fish of that a name were to be.caught there in, t- abundance. g About 4 o'clock we arrived in the n vicinity of our ground, and then the a boats drew away from each other so as togive room for work, at least n a mile being required by each boat to allow of the full drift being tak- t en: As the cast would not be rrlade n till dark we put out our sea anchors t and took in the sails. s At last' the wished -for time ar- _ rived. We had observed a flock of gulls settle down on the water about a nne.:away,' and, as. this sign is always looked for to denote the whereabouts of a shoal, we got our nets out beside the hatch and prepared for a cast. Night was fall- ing and the moon was on the wane, so that once the darkness set in we should have very little light to. work by ti]], the noon rose just after mid- night; the couple of deck lamps be- ing just enough to keep darkness away and nothing more. "Stand by1"-shouted the cap- tain, "Haul away I" Up went the mainsail to the chocks with a bang. The boat then got under way, and the sea anchor was get in -board. "Cast away!" the captain shout- ed, and the end of the net, with its large, dog -buoy and anchor stone, was thrown over the side. Our boat was well on the move now, and the net was being handed over the side as quickly as it came out of the well. There were two men handing out the bottom part of the net, with the stones attached, while I alone was Handling ,the Baulklino. All wenjawell till a rather larger buoy than usual came up out of the well in a rather awkward way. It caught on the edge of the hatch- way and then came over the desk with a swing, catching me across the loins and, in the 6i:asling of an eye, pitching me overboard. The force of the Blow was such that, while not hurting are, it lifted me about five yards from the side of the boat into the trough of the sea. The thing all happened so sud- denly and aio unexpectedly that for a moment I could not realize what had occurred. I went under for a yard or two, and on rising found I was caught just under the baulk - line of the net. I had no difficulty in releasing myself from it, how- ever, and on coming to the'surface found myself close to one of the dog -buoys, which I hastened• to seize. During this time the boat, had got well away from me, and although I shouted to the men on deck to give them some idea of my whereabouts, the boat still held on its course. The net was still being paid out, so it was quite evident that I had not beeu heard, the noise of the stuns and buoys coming over quite over- powering any other sound. It was no good shouting. The only thing I could do was to hold on to the buoy and await developments. In any case, I realized, it would be quite an hour before they could stop the boat and haul in the net to pick me'' up, Keeping my gaze fixed on the craft as long as. I could see the lights on board gave me a hope of thecae, but at last the lights passed out of sight and my last hope of being picked up vanish- ed with them. I hung on to the slimy dog -buoy for dear .life, the sea as it rose and fell making me tearful of losing my grip en its slippery surface. As iny feet dangled in the water I could feel theenet below, into which I'en- deavor•ed to force my feet, so as to obtain A Somewhat "'inner Position.. T gave "up all. thoughts now of be- ing resohibd tefitil the nets should be hauled in, at' clasybro ak_ If I could only hold on till then,,I told myself, all would be well. As it happened, however, I was not to be left in possession of the dog -buoy without a strong fight for it. I had the shoal of fish to reckon with, The herring now began to coni. against the Lace of the .net, net in scoree but literally, in mil - liens. Y, liens. '.Dime very sea was soon one seething, pushing, lenrrying, seur- rying mass of herrings, Low thick they were, to he sural I think they were scarcely thicker in , the "gut- ters" (troughs) ashore than they were around me. One could almost walk onthem, they were so closely asked. .When the first 'shoal 'ivee• reeked by the net the, other fish. In the Centre of EachNet and at the'places where the several nests are ,joined, were the buoys, or bows, as they are called in the vernacular, Some of these were made of tin or thin sheet iron, of the usual float shape, and painted to protect them from the action of the salt water, Others were of a more primitive kind, being nothing .more than inflated dog skins, slight-. y tanned, with the hair still on. _These were known as the dog - buoys. These were also in demand; consequently stray dogs were scarce in the village. Shonld'one make its - appearance about the place its de- mise speedily followed, and a few days afterward its skin was doing duty as a dog -buoy. For the first half of the season we were kept pretty busy, the shoals of fish Doming 'along fre- quently and koepiug us well on the run. Ourfleet consisted of about thirty boats, and it was a pretty sight as we left the harbor with our sails set and our bows pointing to the open sea. We were fortunate in our catches, and nearly every trip placed about ,70 crane of fish to our credit. This, at a shilling a Bran to be divided among the erew, gave: us an addi- tional incentive ho work hard while the season lasted. m went w t wall withus till about the middle of the season, when an incident occurred which nearly cost me my life, and which placed me in one of the most curious positions it is possible to conceive,, a Wo had not been out for ample of cls s, aD iliq, weather had been 'eery`yy ' Eliseo hes �-, anEliseoWAN a 'gtiocl deal of thunder, but when it be- came clear again we made ready to take a trap a little farther out than nsua•1, It was 10 o'eloolc an the morning when word was passed round by Mr. Duff, for the fleet to hoist sails and be off, All was lnrrry and seur, ry for a few minutes: • The own- ,p er stood on fho beach to wishne el MEXICAN RAILWAY DESTROYED BT GUERILLAS. Pictorial Comment on Mexican Situation. "Why the United -States Ambassador to Mexico has been rushed to Washington to confer with the President is no longer a mystery in the light of such pictures as the above. The guerillas are destroying rail- ways in which European and American capital is interested, and such acts are said to have been common since Huerta assumed the reins of power. pressing on behind filled up what little space there was to spare, un- til they became crowded into a cern- pact mass and almost forced me from any hold, But I was determined to hold en as Jong as I could and not give in until 'I was actually forced to do so. I kicked and splashed as well as T was able, thinking ,by that means to drive them away. The herring, however, driven on by the pressure from behind, forced them- selves inside my shirt and up the legs of my trousers, and I think that of all the horrible tortures that could be conceived, this was about the most dreadful. The sensation was awful, and I began to shout and yell in despair, The shoal of fish had now filled the nets in my vicinity and was be- ginning to flow, as it were, over the top. The pressure of the fish as they crowded past nye forced my legs up until -they were straight out. in the direction in which the shoal was heading. Luckily for me I had any hands well twisted in the rope that held the dog -buoy, and as long as my endurance lasted I knew I should be able to hold on. My only thought now was of the strength of the rope that held the dog -buoy. If That Should Snap I was Lost. - After a while the fish began to get perceptibly less numerous. The shoal, then, must be nearly past— a fact that I hailed with joy, for it meant that I should be able to get a better position on the net -than the ono I had held for an hour past, My spirits rose accordingly, Pre- sently I felt myself coming once more to an upright position beside the net, and seen I could touch the baulk -line under my feet, and was then enabled to obtain a long- wislied-for rest, I could new disen- gage one of my hands to free my- self of the fish that had accumu- lated inside my clothing. This was a great boon to me, and I felt much relieved when the operation had been performed, Luckily the water was not cold. I felt warm enough, but the exertions of the last hour or two had a weakening effect upon me. I began to feel drowsy, and es I held the. dog -buoy to my breast T felt inclined to rest any head on it acid go to sleep. I conquered this fatal desire, however, and began to sing and shout to pass away the time and keep ins awake. After much weary waiting I saw the first signs of damn appeal' in the sky, and after a time, ee it grew lighter, I felt a curious vibration of the baulk -line under my feet, and I knew then that iny mates were battl- ing in the catch. Some time elapsed; then I was overjoyed to observe the top of a sail a few hun- dred yards away, I shouted wildly in iny excitement, acting se foolish- ly that I almost lost my hold of the buoy. This se frightened me that I ceased my antics, and quietly wait- ed till the beat came up. I was laid up for about a month through this mishap, end in my dreams for a year afterwards I would repeal: my adventure end the horrible squirming of the herr angs against•my flesh would awaken me, With a start. ' A.'marl's future is his own. IEe• Makes it every clay as 110 5045 along, Grains of Gold. There is justice in the world, but sometimes it takes a deal of finding. —Mr. Filson Young. There is nothing trivial if you Jove the person to whom it hap- pens,—Mr, E. F. Benson, I decline to admit that there is any stimulus in poverty or any in- spiration in squalor —Lord Cur- zon. Cowards and weaklings curse the world; the strong do not blame the world; it gives them all that they desire:—Lafeadio Hearn. Every happy moment that' com- eth in your way treasure as a prize 1 Let no one delay, for who knoweth what the end will be?—Halfz. Love does not spring up and grow great and become perfect all at once, but requires time and the nourishment of thoughts,—Dante. The men whom I have seen suc- ceed best in life have always been cheerful and hopeful men, who went about their business with a smile on their faces, and took the changes and chances of this life like leen, facing rough and smooth alike as it came,—Charles Kingsley. Bismarck and the Eggs. The dinners and luncheons that King Ferdinand of Bulgaria had served him in the field during the late campaign are in startling con- trast to. the fare with which other victorious monarchs have content- ed themselves under similar con- ditions. After the Battle of Sedan, for example, the odd Emperor Wil- liam supped off a piece of dry bread, while he sat on a ladder that was supported on one side by a barrel, and on the other by the body of a dead horse. Bismarck used to delight to relate that, when he was foraging with two companions in an almost deserted village daring the Prance -Prussian War, he came upon a man from whom he got five eggs. Unable to divide the five equally among three, he swallowed two, Then calling his companions, he shared the three remaining eggs with them — truly Bismarckian idea of an equable division, says the writer who describes the incident, "Conlin' Thro' the llye." Probably .very fcw persons under- stand the expression "Corrin' Through the Rye," 'There is in Scotland a ,small stream called the Rye. The girls forded it; going to church, school and to market, and as the they had to hold their iris up, The boys would meet the in mid -a stream and kiss thein • wit tout -one difficulty, as the girls cool n't drop their skirts to make any r sistanoe. That's what the poet aneent when he wroto "Conlin' Thrbegh the Rye," but most people think he meant a field of rye. 'N . 'sot . "Don't go near that, eild fellow in. the . pasture, sonny," the ,farmer warned the fresh -air child. ''He's terribly fierce." "I tried him olit a'ready," the lad replied, "Tits ain't half as fierce es An einteniebile in the city, Got any bear's or lions around here 1" TIM wuu CSt.114 11:0 �•�,stoaliyp� o, rse • feplrap r FAA emtf.si•Thv. Snrcewani uus';1 cohrA/NoAO's READ THE LABEL OR THE PROTECTION QF THE CON- SUMER THE INGREDIENTS ARE P6L THEONLY PRINTED IA Y WELL PNOWNMEDIUM- PRICED BAKING POWDER MADE iN CANADA THAT DOES NOT CONTAIN ALUM AND WHICH HAS ALL THE INGREDIENTS •PLAJNLY STATED ON THE LABEL, MAGIC BAKING POWDER CONTAINS No ALUM ALUM If3 SOMETIMES REFERRED To AS SUL- PHATE OF ALUMINA OR SODIC.ALUMINIC SULPHATE. THE PUBLIC SHOULD NOT SE MISLED BY THESE TECHNICAL NAMES. E. W. GILLETT COMPANY LiMITED WINNIPEG TORONTO, ONT, JMONTREAL SOMI yl'RVIVALS. ('forks On Your Glovers—The Bow I - Insides Man's Hat. The three marks on the back of a glove and the clocks on a stocking are due practically to the same sir cumstanee. The glove marks cor respond to the fourchette pieces be tween the fingers, and in other day these pieces were continued alon the back of the hand, braid bein used to conceal the seams. A somewhat similar origin is as signed to the ornamental clock o the stocking. In the days whe stockings were made of cloth th seams occurred where the clocks d now, the ornamentation -then bein used to conceal the seams. The useless little bow in the lea then band lining a ,man's hat is survival of the time when a h was made by taking a piece of lea tiler, boring two holes through it, and drawing it up with a piece of string. s g g n n e 0 g a at Fact and Fancy. The best test of honesty, after all, is horny hands. Bicycling is good for asthma. Sophistry means the other man's argument. Mushrooms are nine - tenths water. In the banquet of life the scum ie usually mistaken for the cream. - Men wear their hats in Holland churches, A friend in need is a friend you don't need. . Glass bonnets are worn in Ven- ice. There are some people,-ihet ,the more you think of them the less you think of them. The French are the worst dressed soldiers, the Americans the next worst. Are You Left -Handed.? Why don't you make more use of your left hand i It has been- esti- mated that 87 per cent. of the Eng- lish-speaking people are right- handed when they grow up. Sev- enteen out of every hundred ,.are born right-handed, but the remain- ing eighty-three are born without any inclination to use one hand more than the other, and, there- fore, become right-handed owing to influences brought to bear on them during, their childhood days. It is impossible to calculate how much leen lose by neglecting their left hands. Formerly—in primitive times, that is to say—everyone was ambidextrous; and the sooner peo- ple become ambidextrous again the better. In Japan, for many j -ears past,.soldiers and schoolboys have THE WORLD IN REVIEW A great calm has settled down upon The Political storm centres. Old timers in Ot- tawa say they never. saw Capital Hill as quiet as at present,. The Premier is at St. Andrews by the Sea in New Braaswick, attending to urgent matters of state by wire, but chiefly recuperating from the arduous work of the past year. The Min later of Finance le in England, Hon. J. D. Hazen, Minister of Marine, and .Hon; Mr. Coderre are on a trip to the Yukon. Others are taking briefer holidays and a few remain at their posts to transaot the necessarybusiness of the country, In Toronto 1t is -much the same. though Premier Sir James Whitney is in his office everyday. Sir James does not often take a holiday. His favorite trip is a voyage across the Atlantic, but it is only occa- sionally he is able to And time. This year Dr. Pyne, who is a close personal friend as well as a colleague of the Prem. ier's, is in England on business in con- nection with the Education Department, $e Is the only one as yet.to go on an ex- tended trip. but the holiday spirit is In the air. Col. Sam Hughes and the Canteen. A critic of militarism said recently of Colonel the Honorable Semi. Hughes, Ming toter of Militia, that he was trying to re. duce the science of murder by warfare to u Sunday School basis. The quip referred (TREASURE HUNT A FAILURE MUD INSTEAD OF ZINE MTL- LION ODD PfitINDS, I After Thirteen Tears' Work the "Sacred Lelte" Ie Aban- doned, The exploitation of treasure trove is seldom successful, though the lure of such undertakings is a eon stent temptation to the speculator and the adventurer. Another ad- dition to the list of failures has now to be made in the winding up of the company formed 13 years ago iu England to raid the sacred Lake of Guartavita in Colombia. The reputation of this lake as a depository of jewels and ornaments of vast wealth has persisted for centuries, and has been frequently referred to by travellers, from Fa- ther Simon to Humboldt and Mow- bray Morris, The lake is situated in the mountains, about half a clay's journey on. horseback from Bogota, and lies about 10,000 feet above sea level. The origin of its reputed vast wealth is the praetice attributed to the ancient Indian tribes residing ;. in the locality of casting vessels and ornaments of precious metals, and also offerings of gold dust and precious stones into the waters as A. Religious Rite. A computation—obviously more or less guesswork—of the value of the treasure at the bottom of the lake, made in the early part,.. of the nine- teenth century, put it at £1,120,- 000,000. Various atteanpts have been un- dertaken from time to time to re- cover this supposed wealth, and the Spaariards are said to haveto Colonel Hughes' unrelenting hostility low - to the canteen or to any toleration of ered the waters to within 14 feet of drinking mons soldiers- the bottom, when the sides fell in In thie attitude Colonel Hughes is un- doubtedly a judicious Minister of Militia, and brought their labor tq nought. because it is unquestionable that a great itia hoe been based on the more or lase The modern effort to retrieve the deal of prejudice and hostility to the mil - among the men m camp treasure was .commenced. by a na- in. habits which in former days prevailed five company in Colombia about 20 Now Colonel Hughes as gone a step years ago, butt progress was slow farther and has attaoked d the olircere of the ri eking among permanent force,on account of the lack of proper have hitherto been regarded as som who what plant and the absence of direction Privileged Parsons, Ata -recent garrison dinner in Halifax all intoxicating. liquor by a Scientific engineer. was forbidden- by the Minister. Notwith- -After spending £1,000 the native standing this a number of the officers present behaved themeeives in a manner company invited the eo-operation which could only be explained by asaum- Of more ex -pert assistance, and the ing that they had obtained access to a private supply. Several of the speakers English company which. 1s now be - were interrupted in a most uncomfortable ing wound Up was the Tesnit. This manner. Colonel .Hughes was not the g man to let such an. incident pass nano- concern,. which possesses the. vary tired and he took occasion to arise and unromantic name - of - C ntraetoi'S,. deliver a castigation to the offenders that they will .not soon forget, Talk of resignation on the part of some was registered in 1900, with a Capi,- et the officers followed immediately, and tal of £30,000, and took over the.. rumor Las it that Colonel Hughes' reply work of the native concern. It was. 'see that they could not resign any faster arranged that if the treasure were then be would accept their resignations,. Now it aeome proiablo that the troubhe found the capital the latter had ex- noel hie°onevrho wniho 0010me second es Is pended and the capital to be laid The New Poet Laureate, out by the new undertaking should a Robert Bridgee is the new.poet laureate. pfirrostfitbse remrepainid.ingand that then the should go as to It is likely that not one Canadian in moo ever heard • of Robert Bridges be 59 per cent, to the English core - fore. But we are assured he is a verypalsy and as t-0 41 per cent.+to the competent poet of the ere Oxford h of verse,and that he will b bl Colombian company. eacreditable holders to a long ]inns of distinguished holders of the position. Over 48 Feet of Water. However, it seams undeniable that Rob- ert Bridges becomes poet laureate because T1m0 lake is, or war, 46 Poet deep of his negative and not of le positive at the lowest point, and the plan virtues. He is unobjoetionable to rho the powers that be. Therefore he got the of the engineers was to drain it by is probably almost unanimous opinion Job. Apart from political prejudices there means of a tunnel through the that the one poet with the real spark of mountains 1,100 feet long and car- Kienius in the Empire to -day is Rudyard Tied down 70 feet below the level of pling. It is quite true that Kipling has written a tremendous `lot of trash. But the surface of .tlie water, The cost that was inevitable in an age which de. was estimated at £13,000. The monde from its favorites a tremendous has the true ring of genius and he could accomplished in volume of output. But much of his work. drainage scheme was successfully the end, but in-, have taken his place beside Tennyson and Wordsworth and the others with no .apo]- stead of a clear bottom the - ex - 087' • Kipling a Partisan. ploaters came en 25 feet of mud. net Kipling, in hie Interyears narttau Their work took much longer than lady, hasbecome a was expected, violent political Parti- p , tt nd 1110 lake was not been taught to use both hands. And the outstanding political controversies of this wise example is now being the last deeads. And he rise not heei- talight in Germany, 1i10 to use lice pooh° genhie to Purthor his opinions- The Home Rule issue wa San, He hoe been mixed up in most of emptied till 1903, and then kept partially refilling through heavy rains and springs. Why Harriett hien Live Long. The reason a married man lives longer than a single mea is because the single man leads a selfish exist- ence. A married man can double his pleasures, Any time he has a streak of good luck it tickles him all over, but it makes him feel twice as good when he tells his wife about it, And she is so pleased and proud that he feels like a two-year-old. There isn't a chance in the world of a man's arteries hardening or his heart weakening when he can get a million dollars' worth of pleasure out of making his wife happy, ,p The ane thing a man is anxious to share with the world is the good i opinion he has of himself, Idle Money UL' SONS hnvitfg Idle funds on r hand for temporary o r fonent Investmeds,nt, or nn a taro 'OUR PER invoetmni,, enn obtain POUR PER CENT. interest, compounded quar- terly by opening rol'A an Qeeea Yin tis Company. Tlie Those a of iths. drgwa lye These funds aro With. est frhla by a rocs and boar inter.. te est from date received uuntil lain' withdrawn. We solicit pup ntdtby necnunti,, wldch may, be opened by 'nail, Write Tor Book$oe we Union Corvt,Pany, Lirnited Temple :building, Toronto CAPITAL fpaltl.55) • 44000,000 *etcher. •. - 5550,005 • the most recent oontroverev on which be drew blood, As he has been generally against the government it was scarcely within the range of human possibility that he would be selected for the vacant laureateship. Similarly the one other outstanding poet of the time, Mr, William Watson, is -non Persona grata with the powers that be, Not only line he been mixed up in no- fltioal eontroverey, Including also the Home Rule issue, but, his publication a few years ago of "The Woman with the Serpent Tongue," in which he attacked with virulence membersof the Primo Min= later',, family circle would to. many minds be quite sufficient in itself to place him- self outside the pale. Lacrosse 58111 Languishes, Canada's national game, Lacrosse, le EMI -under the ehatlow of "roughhouse" tactics. Ono incident in whiali a player nearly, had hie eye gouged out led R. Z. Fleming, owner of 'tate Toronto Lacrosse Club, to threaten the disruption of the big professional leagao. The incident is not without Significance. There seems little doubtthat there hasbeen a spirit of toleration of rough tactics On the part of those: responsible for the conduct e,f the players. Meanwhile public interest continues to languish. Promoters do not seem to remise thn.t they havo got the. I game out of favor, and that the only way to get It beck le by a long campaign of playing lacrosse mid not by giving - i ne r ht bit o of brutality. Lord Chancellor Coming. 'When Lord Haldane comes to Canada on Monday, the first of September, it will be the first occasion since the days of Usury. the EIghili that a •Lord- Clnnnrellor of Saleso tl has ]fend onteideChan- Isras on a p001le infesion..'Shi Lord Chan- cellor le the eustedian of the great Boal, Cls"this coonskin, with the approval of 500 Hing, the groat seal is to bbflailed in Commission during the Chaticeilor'e ab - sotto, which will last only a little over n fortnight, Ills etas in Canada will That about two and a half days, during which Ito will address the annual meetingf the America Bar Aaeosiatlon in Montreal, Its will leave England- on Augnet 21rd on ono of the Atlantic,.geogheutads and be home again .. t f0 to me,e The last Claucoller of 'England to laavo the man. try on nublic mleaion wag Cardinal Wolooloy. w�to 1i,'0:0 abut en a mission to Franco, Englent�'a Volley at that time be ing i0 cheek, fife ambition of the Em. poror. :i aehclds' quarters unav he est changed for better halves. • Meanwhile a few ornaments and , jewels had been found whichsnit= ficed to whet the appetite of the seekers. But by this time all the available cash capital of £6,000 had been spent, and'more money was wanted. The capital of Contrac- tors was .accordingly inereased from £30,000 to £35,000 in 1904, and still further to £40,000 in 1908: When the rains hacl oeased and the springs had dried up fresh dif- ficulties arose, for the mud set lined and the water to sluice it away through the tunnel that had drain- ed the lake was No Longer Available. • An attempt was made to carry the tunnel from the. edge of the. lairs tothe centro, the idea being that the mud would more expedi- tiously be got away from that point, but there was never' enough money available to. finish this pro- ject. •ect In default of the completion of the prolongation of the tunnel shafts were slunk in the dried mud and ehanpe.ls driven through it at various spots and more small erne. ments and precious stories came to' light, blit altogether the value of these diseoveriee was cot much more than £9,000, These modest operations have filled up the lust few years, stud ea signs of the vast treasure reported Ur repose in Gtra- tavita having been found, :the coni- pany, after en outlay of some £15,- 000, has finally decided to aban- don time hunt, and' the meeting of the creditors is to take plaee, Thus Another ellaptcr, has to be lidded to the Annals of Melly fettle,. less searches after hidden wealth,