A survey of the sunken wreck of the steam rum-runner John Dwight will begin today, weather permitting; Eugene Nohl and David J. Curney of Vineyard Haven having made their plans to begin the work. This same crew has completed its survey of the Port Hunter, and has reported that salvaging her cargo of steel is feasible.
The wreck of the John Dwight may reveal some interesting things, and possibly a clue as to the cause of her tragic end may be uncovered when work begins. Sunk in a fog some twelve years ago in Vineyard Sound, the steamer, a seining vessel, went down with her load of contraband liquor, and several men lost their lives. Not a survivor of the wreck was ever found, although it was known that some made their escape from the wreck and reached land safely. Although divers descended to the wreck at the time, no one, save perhaps the mysterious survivors themselves, ever knew what caused the vessel to sink, or how the victims met their end.
The only possible clue offered was a report from the Cuttyhunk coastguard, who observed the steamer lying still during a brief lift of the fog, and later heard some sort of explosion and other muffled sounds through the mist.
That the Dwight still holds a cargo of liquor is believed, and that it is extremely valuable, beyond a doubt, providing the salt water has not penetrated the bottles or other containers.
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