Any person may pick up and save animals, timber, products of the soil, furniture, or other products of industry which may have been swept away by the current of public waters or which may be submerged therein, and immediately turn them over to the local authority, who shall direct that they be placed under custody or that they be sold at public sale when it is not possible to keep them. The salvage shall be advertised in the town in which found and in the towns lying above it, and if the owner should file his claim within six months, the object or its value shall be delivered to him, upon payment of the cost of keeping it and the salvage fee, which shall consist of ten percent (10%). Upon the expiration of such period without the owner having filed any claim, he shall forfeit his rights, and everything shall be returned to the person who recovered it, upon payment of the cost of keeping.The provisions of the foregoing paragraph shall not apply when the owner of the objects contributes to their salvage. History —Law of Waters, art. 48.