fleet as they had been charted by a Spanish navigator who 

 had visited the area a few years after the disaster, when 

 many of the hulls could still be distinguished beneath the 

 water. They were scattered from the Martires rocks off 

 Key Largo to Key Vaca. We had also noted on the same 

 charts the known locations of cannon and ballast which 

 had been seen upon the bottom in recent years. This in- 

 formation we had gleaned from many sources. 



The most promising area, where both ancient and 

 modem indications overlapped, was in the vicinity of the 

 reefs east of Hen and Chickens light, near Plantation key, 

 where we had attempted searches many times before, only 

 to be driven off by rough seas and murky water. Here, 

 when the weather had become more amenable later in 

 the year, we hoped to return for a thorough search. 



A new problem had arisen, however, since the previ- 

 ous year, when we had paid our first visit to the little 

 Museum of Sunken Treasure which Art McKee had es- 

 tablished on Plantation key. 



We had become acquainted with Art on our initial 

 diving venture out of Marathon. He was the only profes- 

 sional diver in the party, and I had been very much im- 

 pressed by the heavy diving equipment which he wore 

 and his evident familiarity with tlie bottom. Ed, too, had 

 learned many valuable pointers on underwater salvage 

 from Art at that time. 



The visit to his museum had proved most interesting. 

 In addition to two weighty silver bars, labeled mysteri- 

 ously as having been found "east of Key Largo," we had 

 seen a huge anchor at least fifteen feet in height, rows of 

 ancient cannon, bar shot and cannon balls, a black iron 

 kettle as big as a bathtub, and many smaller artifacts 

 which Art said came from "his" wreck out on the reefs. 



He told us in a confidential tone of voice that he 

 thought he had discovered a Spanish galleon. He was 



86 Sea Diver 



