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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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092589
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09258900.041
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1990-09-17
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NATION, Page 29American NotesSOUTH CAROLINASunken Garden Of Gold
In 1857, on its 44th voyage carrying passengers and gold from
Panama to New York, the S.S. Central America ran into a killer
hurricane and sank in 8,000 ft. of water 200 miles off the South
Carolina coast. On board were an estimated 77,000 ounces of gold
bullion worth at least $28 million today. Last week a salvage
syndicate that located the wreck two years ago began recovering
what engineer Thomas Thompson, 37, said was "like the classic
sunken treasures you read about as a kid. It is like a garden of
gold growing from the bottom and hanging from beams. It is dripping
with gold coins." One gold brick weighed more than 62 lbs. No one
can guess how much more gold might have been brought aboard by the
425 passengers who died in the sinking; many were Californians
fresh from the gold rush.
The salvage operation is financed by a group of Ohio investors
who put up $7 million. Aboard the recovery ship Arctic Discover is
a team of scientists studying the ecosystem around the sunken
steamer. But Thompson concedes that new knowledge is merely a
fringe benefit. Says he: "Without the gold, we would not be here."