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It is only a speck of rocky land just east of Wisconsin, surrounded by the chilly waters of Lake Michigan. It is called Poverty Island, an apt name, especially when treacherous storms sweep in across the lake without warning. Furious winds and lightning-swift currents have spawned a graveyard of sunken ships and over the years, intriguing

tales of lost treasure. One legend in particular has claimed that, just offshore of Poverty Island, there are five chests stuffed with gold bullion and coins, which would today be worth more than $400 million.

Richard Bennett, a professional diver and author, has spent more than 20 years and $100,000 of his own money searching for the sunken fortune:

“Any story that survives 100 years has to have some validity to it. If they survive 100 years, they probably have an 80, 85% chance of being true.”

The treasure story reaches back to 1863, when the tide of the Civil War was turning in favor of the Union. The beleaguered South, strapped for capital, put out a desperate call for relief to France. According to the legend, the French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte III, secretly dispatched a shipment of gold across the Atlantic to Canada. It was then spirited down the St. Lawrence River and into Lake Michigan. However he also believes, while traveling inland to Chicago, the ship was attacked and sank. Others believed it was shipwrecked in a storm. In either event, the chests of gold never arrived.

Steve Harrington, a maritime historian, is convinced the treasure is still located off the coast of Poverty Island:

Underwater journey to Poverty Island

Historian Chuck Feltner disagrees. He has spent many years in the Great Lakes searching for shipwrecks. Feltner believes that the legend of the treasure is a good story, but holds no truth:

“Records of shipwrecks on the great lakes in the year 1863 are extremely good. We've not been able to find any evidence that any of these vessels that were recorded to have been lost were sunk in the vicinity of Poverty Island or that they were French vessels, as the legend would have it to be.”

Despite the lack of a paper trail, the legend of the secret shipment has persisted. In 1929, a group of sailors were said to have snagged the five chests with their anchor. Up it came, just seconds away, a fortune in gold, when suddenly the chains broke. The treasure plummeted back to its watery grave.

68% of my opinion suggests the treasure does exist because

there are so many facts about Poverty Island Treasure and pictures,

also some shippers almost (at least they said so) had it but it fell

just as they were pulling it up.

However, the other 32% of my opinion is that the treasure is false,

for many people have tried to find it but never could...

A few years later, a group of investors in Chicago raised $50,000 to try again at Poverty Island. According to Richard Bennett, a boy named Karly Jesson, whose father was light house keeper, was said to have watched the ship for 3 whloe summers, here is what he said:

“One day, he was sitting on the rocks watching this ship, and there was a lot of rejoicing, revelry—obviously a real... congratulatory party that was going on, on the ship.”

However that night the ship had sunk with all the men on board and the mystery still remains in Poverty island.

Until that day Poverty Island still holds the unsolved mystery

Richard Bennett feels confident that he will succeed.

Richard has created a sled that will help him find the tresure.

“The only way to really find this treasure is to have human beings on

the sled visually looking at the bottom. It's cold. It's deep. The area is

very treacherous. But I'm a dreamer, and I'm a gambler. As long as I

have those things working for me, I'll probably continue to do it.”

Thank you for

watching!!!

By Angelique Rea-Chapman

6B

Once tried but......

2002 March

Unsolved Mystery of Poverty

Island Treasure

Case Details:

My opinion:

Will Richard Bennett ever find

the Poverty Island Treasure???

(cc) image by jantik on Flickr

Richard Bennett opinion of his research:

What Richard Bennett assumes

happened.

Chuck Feltner opinion of

his research

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