Gwen Thomas of Torrance, California, has heard conflicting reports on the settlement of the treasure from the Brother Jonathan and wants the authentic results. Thanks to Phil Bergeron and Dave Finnern of the California Wreck Divers for sending the facts and figures on the distribution of coins and other artifacts from the Gold Rush-era steamer that sank off northern California in 1865. Deep Sea Research of El Cajon, California, was awarded more than 1,000 $5, $10 and $20 gold coins it salvaged. The California State Lands Commission retained 200 coins, worth approximately $1 million, to be distributed to the Crescent City Museum and other state museums. DSR donated all other artifacts to the Crescent City Museum.The settlement terminates a more than five-year court battle over ownership. State officials, who wanted everything, lost in a historic Supreme Court decision. The U.S. District Court approved a stipulation between both parties in the case, granting title to the wreck to the state while allowing DSR to continue its salvage. Divers will be searching for the ship's safe, which purportedly carried an Army payroll and more gold coins. David Canales of Westland, Michigan, requests information on a wreck near Harbor Beach, Lake Huron. A search is difficult without the ship's name, but I did find a possibility in Shipwrecks of Lake Huron by Jack Parker (Avery Color Studios, Au Train, Michigan).The schooner Chickamauga foundered off Harbor Beach in 1919. She was a sister ship to the Chattanooga, now part of the breakwater at Great Dutch Island. For details, contact the Great Lakes Historical Society, Vermillion, Ohio, and the Great Lakes Maritime Institute, Detroit. Readers who have knowledge of this wreck or others in the area may contact me and I'll pass it on to David. Franco Perone of Opa-Locka, Florida, asks if anybody has verified the discovery of the Gil Blas that sank in 1835 off Hillsboro Inlet, Florida. The Marine Archaeological Council of Pompano Beach, Florida, has information on this ship. Council members Steve Attis, David Kaplan and Steve Singer have retrieved artifacts they believe are from the Gil Blas. Working in shallow water near the beach, they uncovered the keel of what appears to be a 200-ton, twin-masted Spanish brig. Singer says the Gil Blas was on its maiden voyage from Havana to Spain, carrying sugar and cigars, when it ran aground in a hurricane. A brief history of the vessel appears in Singer's book, Shipwrecks of Florida (Pineapple Press, Sarasota, Florida). Lance Barkok of Massapequa, New York, writes: "I would like information on the research ship Alva that the Vanderbilt family owned. I believe it sank, and I would like to know where and how deep." There are two Alvas listed in the Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks by Bruce Berman (Mariner's Press, Boston, Massachusetts), but the book gives no details of their demise. Since you're not far from the Vanderbilt Museum in Huntington, New York, I suggest you call or drop by and ask the curator what happened to the vessel. Readers may also respond if they have further information.