Clay County Courrier 1953
Dr. J. S. Schirmer, operator of a cancer clinic at Corning, has been ordered to give a deposition to a representative of the state attorney general's office at nine o'clock next Saturday, according to Eugene Warren, handling the case for the state.
NBC television cameramen were at the digging site for the Jesse James loot Wednesday morning, shooting 300 feet of movie film for nationwide television broadcast. The cameramen were at the camp, one mile north of Black River bridge, for over two hours, taking pictures of the 23 foot deep by 12 foot square hole. Other scenes also taken were of equipment being used, including a two ton truck and winch, two water pumps and other equipment in operation, removing the seepage water and sand from the bottom of the treasure hole. Also filmed were armed guards and the diggers. Jesse James stories, like Captain Kidd thrillers, have always ranked as A-1 priority with people the world over. The Courier story two weeks ago about a group of men setting up camp and, after 27 years, renewing efforts to recover bank bandits' loot supposedly buried on the bank of the Black River near here, was certainly no exception. The news spread like fire in a hay field. Other information released by AP news service Monday related that visitors at the camp would pay a $1 fee to inspect the hole where the legendary loot is being sought. Another report by AP was that the diggers were within five feet of the loot and would probably unearth the treasure this week. Gene Wirges, news editor-photographer for the Paragould Daily Press, covered the story for his paper with pictures of the eight men at the "treasure camp". All were armed with guns warning signs were posted. A photo of the 12 by 12 foot hole showed two of the men at the depth of about 20 feet. The Courier credits Wirges report as one of the best we have ever read of modern day legendary treasure hunting, in reprinting the account of one of his regular trips to the site of the diggers. Ever since the Daily Press broke the big story nationally last Thursday, a number of appalling questions have developed. For example: (1) How did the 13 farmers who originally dug for the fabulous loot in 1926 learn its whereabouts in the first place. (2) Why, after bringing the chest to the surface as claimed, did the 13 farmers suddenly abandon the project, never to return. (3) How did the present crew of treasure seekers learn the exact location of the loot, 27 years after it was reported seen? (4) How much farther do the present hunters figure to dig before unearthing the treasure, and why? These and many other questions were answered in detail in exclusive interviews by the Daily Press staffer Friday afternoon and night. In order, here are the answers in detail: (1) L. C. Sells, father of Floyd Sells, both of McDougal. is 68 years of age and in good health. All of his senses seem sharp and he does not bat an eyelash when he says frankly: Sure, I saw the treasure chest, in fact I was the man who originally found where it was located. Having heard the many Jesse James' treasure stories for years, I decided to see a fortune teller. "I went to Newport and the fortune teller told me the treasure was there and even backed up the stories on where it was located. But, just to check, I went to see another fortune teller and got the same story.
"So, with 12 other farmers, we formed a partnership to make the excavation. We dug some 36 feet and finally found the chest. It was shaped like a suitcase, about three and one half feet long, 18 inches wide and eight inches thick.
"It was very heavy and required almost all of us to put it to the surface by using tongs. Just as we got it to the top, it slipped and crashed to the bottom of the pit. It struck the south corner of the hole and disappeared.
"It may seem strange that we walked away from the treasure but there was a reason. We had worked for over two months and there was a lot of disappointment in the group. We had spent a lot of money and were discouraged and had lost a lot of time. We went to the bottom of the pit and could poke the chest with six foot sticks. But the going had been plenty rough and we did not know what to do. I went back to the fortune teller again." The fortune teller said it was best we did not get the money then, because two of the 13 men were planning to kill the other 11 of us and take all the money. The fortune teller suggested we wait for two months and give the "two evil men" a chance to drop out willingly. "After that, I suppose we were afraid." Sells said.
And that was how the whole deal began and how it was abandoned in 1926. But how about questions three and four.
It has been explained that Mr. Sells told the story to his son (Floyd) and that he and Pleas Becham, a 28 year old sawmill operator, are spearheading and financing the project. But how did they find the right place to dig? George Emerson, 60, one of the six men still working on the heavily guarded job, is known in the camp as a "diviner". It was with a divining rod that he located the treasure, the men said. Emerson, a slightly balding, chunky man, demonstrated the divining rod for the Daily Press staffer Friday night. Here's how the divining rod functions, according to Emerson. Divining rods are used primarily to locate water underground, but only persons with a God-given gift have the power to be diviners, Emerson said. First, a diviner takes a stick about three or four feet long and stands erect holding the small limber end of the stick just at his forehead, so that the heavy end falls and forming a horizontal line to the rear. Then, the diviner's power comes into play. The stick will swing to the direction where water is located. Next, the diviner takes a forked stick and bends the two fork ends in his hands, so that the stick is shaped much like a stethoscope. Then, the diviner walks slowly in the direction of the underground stream. When the stream is reached, the stick turns directly toward the ground from its former horizontal position, Emerson said. Having located the stream, the diviner then takes the straight stick and holds it horizontally about six inches above the ground. Then, Emerson says, the stick begins counting the number of feet it is to the well. The counting is done as the stick bobs vertically. Emerson used a peach stick to demonstrate for us.
Now in order to hunt treasure with a divining rod, the divining rod, the diviner must "kill the water's affect on the rod," Emerson said. This is done by using two pairs of heavy water soaked gloves, he added. When searching for gold or silver, the divining rod is slit at the end not held by the diviner and a small piece of gold or silver is inserted in the slit. Emerson says this is done because a large treasure will attract the small piece in the diving rod. He declined to say what he used at the treasurer site, but illustrated with a half dollar. At the reputed treasure site, Emerson used his diving rod and the stick counted 30, indicating 30 feet deep. Friday the men had reached 22 feet, but the wall of the old excavation collapsed and about ten feet of water rushed into the new project. It was pumped down to about five feet when they left late Friday. In addition to Pleas, Floyd and George, the other three men working on the job are Fred Emerson, 28, Charles Emerson, 19, and Bill Samples, 53.
From the Arkansas Gazette-Buried treasurer never looses its appeal. Right now in Arkansas near Corning some fellows are engaged in an interesting adventure. They are digging a shaft through drifting sand, seepage water, dead trees, roots and mussel shells at a spot once covered by the waters of Black River. The sought-for gold and silver are said to be in a chest three feet by 18 inches by eight inches. In 1926 the chest is said to have been recovered but slipped from the tongs that were holding it and fell back into the excavation and buried itself. The preferred story is that Jesse and his gang, hotly pursued after a robbery in Missouri, dumped the chest in Black River. How it was carried on horseback-maybe at a gallop-we do not know. Another story is that the treasure was on a steamboat that sank, and a third is that a Union or Confederate force dumped the strongbox to save it from capture.
