Explore the early history of Oregon by delving into the journals of explorers Alexander Mackenzie, David Thompson, and Lewis & Clark. Read about journeys into Oregon and first encounters with Native Americans on the coast. Hear legends of white-winged ships that first came to these shores and eyewitness accounts of survivors from shipwrecks who intermarried with local tribes. Return to the days of treasure ships and their mysteries along the Oregon coast.

Historically, mariners considered the Oregon coast one of the most dangerous in the world. In 1852, explorers discovered gold in the rivers and along the beaches in Curry County, which is located in the southwestern corner of the state. Subsequent settlement concentrated on the coast. With few roads, water transportation was crucial for early settlers. The area contained many potential dangers to ships, including unpredictable weather, frequent fog, and submerged rocks and reefs. There have been many shipwrecks in the area like that of the tanker Larry Doheny, which was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine during World War II. Curry County is home to Cape Blanco, the second most westerly point in the continental United States, and Port Orford, the only open-water port on the Oregon coast (and one of only six "dolly" ports in the world). Modern technology and port improvements have reduced the number of shipwrecks, but accidents still occur.

Do Indians living today know the location of the supposededly cursed Lost Gold of Devil's Sink? Did Sir Francis Drake bury millions of dollars'worth of ancient Incan treasures? Has anyone found the box of gold coins buried by a reputed giant in the Washington rain forest? Is there a noble family's fortune buried near an old log cabin in the Cascades?

Lost Treasure Ships of the Twentieth Century contains intriguing stories of lost treasure, dramatic sinkings, heroic feats of survival and technically sophisticated salvage. The locations of about 170 lost ships are shown on detailed maps.'

When the elderly gentleman who showed her a tapestry his grandmother made, which, he believes, reveals the location of pirate treasure, is murdered and his house ransacked, embroidery shop owner Marcy Singer investigates.

The ghosts of ships long dead on the Oregon coast have been brought to life in this stirring account of shipwreck and disaster off the mouth of the Columbia River, whose treacherous bar has been the bane of mariners for generations. Sailing vessels and steamers; freighters, tankers, and passenger ships--all take part in the gripping drama of the sea and the tragedy of marine loss. Here are true stories of man's age-old struggle with the sea, recounting, from the dim past to the present, exciting tales of ships that perished on the Pacific shore, of watery deaths, and of thrilling rescues, and of the gallant work that has made the sea safer and aided in the conquest of the Columbia River bar.

A collection of stories about mines and miners of southern Oregon; includes tables of mine coordinates in Douglas, Coos, Curry, Josephine, and Jackson counties.