New Orleans Republican., 1873-07-13
the shade of the ragged scrub, and sleep for

razors. A negro was freighted with hair
oil and cotton batting. while Methodist
minister was Juggling OF about 3o0 yards OF
leather pipe, which he afterward burned
for the copper nails that 1t contained. Inc
pipe was worth about 81 50 per yard. but
the minister was ignorant of its value:
dug. Scovey," a well known cracker, had
a half bushel of pocket knives and barrel
Of tine-toothed combs. One OF his comrades
loaded his boat with chignons, and sailed
for home. He had heard thar human hair
was worth its weight In gold, and he
thought his fortune was made. His wife
opened his eyes. The chignons were jute
and had been ruined by the action OF the
salt water The wrecker had brought them
over eighty miles, and they were mot even
good tor manure" he said. Ore man had a
small pyramid of rat traps, and another
was loaded down with lip salve.
man from the Hillsborough river bag
ged several thousand yards of printed
calico. and another, who was unmarried,
fell upon five hundred pairs Of women 5
stockings. A third man found boat load
of garters, and fourth sailed away with
tooth brushes enough to stock . wholesale
store As a general thing the more useless
the articles the more eager the finder to re-
tain it. A negro had q thousand sticks of
whisker pomade. He refused to trade any
portion Of it for valuable articles of cloth
ing.
Early on the morning Of the fourth day a
man rushed down the beach shouting that
Alden, the collector at Smyrna, had landed
near bv and was descending upon the
wreckers. This caused great excitement.
The wreckers began to tote their piles into
the saw palmettos and hide them. Har-
risor and Dug. Scovey, who lived near the
wreck, had accumulated immense piles of
goods. They were 50 frightened that they
gave them away to whoever wanted them.
It afterward turned out that the announce
ment of Alden's arrival was untrue.
The report was started by Colonel Titus,
of Kansas and Nicaragua memory. The
colonel had got to the wreck at a late hour,
and he adopted this ruse to secure his
share of the plumber. It. succeeded ad-
mirably. The colonel is said to have hagged
property valued at $lO9D. He declares that
he earned it, and laughs at the Indian river
people who fled from their booty OF tie
mere rumOr of Alden's arrival. A day
afterward however, Alden really did put
in an appearance, but nobody paid any at
tention to him. He fretted and stormed,
but the wreckers smiled at him, and when
he threatened them with United States
cavalry the idea was SO absurd that they
fairly hooted him from the beach. Finally,
it is said, Alden turned wrecker himself.
/ have said that each wrecker had his
pile of goods upon the beach. Some OF
these piles were watched and some were
not. 1t one man saw anything IN another
mans pile that struck his fancy, he watched
his opportunity and stole it. The owner
made himself square by stealing from his
neighkOr, and so the thing went round. An
old corduroy pair of breecnes changed own
ers at least a dozen times.
On the fifth and sixth days the bodies CT
the dead became SO offensive that the
wreckers turned in and buried them. They
were scattered along the sand for miles.
By the light Of a lantern DR.. Fox discOv-
cred the body of the purser. Il saw from
his clothes" said he. that he was some
thing more than a common sailor; so dug
grave high up on the sand, and buried
him. found in his pocket letter from
his wife. So took his watch, bis knife, his
keys and comb from his pockets and sent
them to her. She lived somewhere in Con
necticut. l have forgotten where. But
got letter from her afterward thanking
me for sending the things, and asking ne if
could not pick out the spot where her
husband was buried, as she wanted to send
for the body. Well, went down to the
wreck again, but couldn't find the grave.
You see had buried him by the light of
lantern. and the waves had washed out all
the landmarks. / might have looked for
MY NcdLS dhu ACN Cl udfC lOuuU uiu1 %
wrote his wife, and that was the last Of it,
Two weeks rolled away before the
wreckers stripped the Ladona and left her.
visited the steamer last month. There
was nothing left but her PROV, and the
water was pouring through her hawse
holes Her cabin seemed to be hidden
away under the sand and waves. Immense
timbers lay upon the shore, and small
shed stood at the foot of a nest of sand
hills half buried. The sand was so white
that the little hut seemed to be sunk in the
snow. While proving about the sand hills
found keg OF white lead which had been
forgotten by some careless wrecker. An.
cient shoes and old hats peeped from under
the sandy ridges, reminding one of an old
battlefield.
In talking to native to-day he said that
a good wreck was very much needed n
this part OF the country just now. The
people were out of clothes, whisky and
other necessaries OF life for which they de-
pended ON stranded vessels. He said that
he hoped the next wrecked ship would
carry better stock of goods than the La
dona. "They were the poorest stock Of
ing mis- fist down upon the railing Of stoop.
"The Yankees don't make nigh az good
goods as the InglIsh. We're really suf-
ferin' for an Iuglish wrack lis now"
Most of the inhabitants here wear wrecked
goods. Even their hats and shoes come
from stranded ships. Their wives and
daughters have dresses and aprons made of
calico. their tables are covered
with wrecked linen, and their beds are
spread with wrecked muslin. A good wreck |
will supply an economical family for years
TIE ship ashore is regarded as legitimate !
prey. The people are honest and passably |
industrious, but they will go for wreck |
like gulls after dead fish. They reason
like philosophers. A vessel freighted with |
runs ashore. The goods drift |
upon the beach in sandy wilderness, miles |
away from any residence. Before the au.
thorlties can take any action everything |
vii! be ruined. The people declare that |
they might better secure what comes ashore |
than leave it upon the beach to rot. SO |
they take what they can find. They look |
upon it as the gilt Of Providence. The dit |
iculties of transportation are such that it |
will not pay the underwriters to secure a |
ships cargo unless it is unusually valuable |
and imperishable.
In nine cases out of ten a government |
,tfieial will help himself 70 the booty. and |
the wreckers seem to think it |
4 duty they owe themselves and the coun-
.ry to get ahead OF him. They are kind |
hearted and generous to ship wrecked pas
'ShSoIS anu s"AAois, aiiu UuuesI ItdtiHeiy y |
oeril their lives to save them. They will |
70 miles out of their way to forward them
IN their Way North, feeding and clothing |
hem without asking a cent il return. They |
brow cilt no false lights. but calmly await |
whatever the wind ard the Lord may send |
hem. They bury the dead il the sand,
md regard the cargo as common property. !
Ministers. deacons, Free Masons. Christians |
md sinners all run race for the pluncer. |
They do not call it stealing. but simply !
aving an immense amount of property |
rom being wasted. 4 man would be safe |
among them with million of dollars iC lis |
safer than he would he in |
New York city. but they would pluuder a