La Crosse`s sunken treasure Traditional Cache
vtwinspin: changed to a puzzle
La Crosse`s sunken treasure
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(regular)
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just a stones through away from this cache lies a steamboat, the War Eagle well known by name and its resting place pinpointed in local,a sunken vessel which reputedly contains considerable wealth,yet divers through the decades have come up with only a few paltry souvenirs.
a little known fact is that they were eight vessels named the was eagle that plied the mississippi between St. Louis and St.paul durring the second half of the 19th century. The boat that burned and sank and now lies at the mouth of the black river was biult at Fulton,ohio in 1853-1854 Its regular run was between galena,il and st. paul,mn a trip that took 44hrs. The war eagle was a side wheeler packet boat that weight 296 tons,constructed of solid oak,was 219 feet by 27 feetwith a 29 foot beam . the boat eqiuped with three boilers each 14 feet long it held 49 state rooms for passengers with additional accommadations for its crew. it was described as one of the finnest boats a float on the mississippi a true queen of the waters
at about 6:00 o clock on saturday evening ,May 14,1870 the war eagle docked at milwaukee railroad depot on the black river warf to take on freight it was well past midnight when the stevedores on board began the process of loading and unloading freight primarly barrles of coal oil,the captain was supervising the job when he noticed one of the barrel was leeking realizing the potential danger he sent fot the ships carpenter to make repairs. the carpenter promptly fixed the barrels he was standing in a area about 3 ft by 5 ft took a hammer and a peice of iron commenced tighting hoops the watchman held the lantern till the job was almost done then he held the lantern with one hand and pounded with the other all of a sudden the lantern was a blaze and in a minnute it burst kerosene on the floor caught fire in a instant the dock was a baze
There was about 100 tons of freight on board,as well as 35 cabin passengers and several deck passengers,plus the regular crew A yawl was lowered into the water but not all of the passengers could get it. the baze spread rapidly before any one could contain the fire the main depot,the railroad wherehouse,sheds and elevadors were ingulfed in flammes at least five passengers that jumped in the river were known to have drowned it was one of the worst conflagrations La Crosse has ever witnessed.
the total losse was estimated to be $265,000 and included 225 tons of assorted freight and passenger belongings so under these muddy waters is true sunkin treasure to log this cache for the the 70th great river road cache event write down what sign is on the key to unlock the treasure
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
ybbx hc gb frrx gur xrl