Wow.....A huge treasure story in Lake Michigan-or a tall tale???

[warthog]

In the Muskegon Chronicle from today's issue,is the tale of a boxcar loaded with gold bullion stolen from the Confederacy at the end of the Civil War,pushed off a ferry into Lake Michigan during a storm,sometime in the mid 1890's.Two Muskegon area divers,a Dykstra and Monroe,are going looking for it off of Frankfort,in Benzie County.....
Civil War historians are calling it 'hogwash,just a tall tale'....These two divers have also claimed to have found what could be Le Griffon,La Salle's personal ship that disappeared on Lake Michigan in the 1600's..Truth is,they claim,they were using the Griffon as a cover looking for the Confederate gold.....This is the very first I ever heard of this.Anybody else??

 

[Mike from MI "Iron Brigade"]

Boxcar on a ferry? Why was the stolen gold on a boat in a boxcar 30 years after the war?

 

[warthog]

n/t

 

[warthog]

n/t

 

[Mike from MI "Iron Brigade"]

sounds great but have to make sure logistics allow folks to come.

 

[JimmyCT]

I agree Mike this makes no sense. On a long stretch.... I feel the sheer weight of the gold / boxcar would of instantly sunk the "boat"

I visited a train website to find out how much a boxcar weighs (never mind the gold) - "For a modern "100 ton" boxcar, typical figures are 63000 lbs empty and 263000 lbs gross, for a 200000 lb load limit.

If it's old enough to have wooden sides it's probably a much smaller capacity, perhaps 40 tons maximum load. I wouldn't want to venture anything more than a "w.a. guess" at its light weight, but that guess would be about 30000-40000 lbs."

When I think of a ferry from the late 1800's This is what I imagine -

Boxcar on a ferry? Why was the stolen gold on a boat in a boxcar 30 years after the war?