The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-07-31
CENTURY-OLD RELICS.

THE DISCOVERY OF HUMAN REMAINS IN THE
BROOKLYN NAVY YARD-sUIPosED VICTIMS
or THE BRITISH PRISON SHIPS.
Strange relics are something's given up from the
void of the persisted years-century old memontoes to
set speculation free and take fancy out OF loading
strings or such kind are the human remains which
were dsinterred the other day in the Brooklyn Navy
Yard. they had rcposed quietly through a hundred
years OF chance ana change and progress until al
length the necessity OF sinking an anchorage at ths
end Of the Navy Yard brought them 10 light. sur
rounding them, however, unlike common relics.
With curious glamour Of uncertihed his-
tory. Fancy ana romance will undoubtedly insist
that the Wondering heroes once Revolutionary
heroes lacts il attainabe, might attest that tbey
were some of the Hessiuns OF De Hester. But hero
or Hessian, patriot bathing and dying for his country
or mercenary staying liberty for hire, the fast pull
worrying remains have lain 80 long in literal high
way OF history it unrsaso enable 10 suppose
that they have history OF their own. But who
shall find Its threads, put nssh on dry bones.
restore the Promethean fire and tell tho story OF their
fortunes and their perish 64RaM aa iI
AN INQUEST DECLINED. faatT
Ills curious irony that calls upon q Brooklyn
coroner Of year grace to hold inquest on The
remains OF mon who died a hundred years before.
Where would the quest end, or rather where would
It begin? Where be the wItnessesf 10 what
acts OF hsroism could they testify and how
did The poor fellows meet their doom Did
they come by their deaths between docks 10 the reex
ing hulk Jersey, which killed. II Is estimated, II ood
viaimsg or died thoy on tho Good Hope, the Fa
mouth the Whtby, the Prince OF Wales the Scorpion
or any vessels that those dark days lay
moorod in Wallabout Bay and served The British
commanders as floating prisonsY These are PROPOSE.
lions which Coroner Smns declines TO encounter md
doubtless no shows hts wisdom In the DISCRIMINATION
rnE PRISON SHIPS. 81
After ALL the presumption is strong that the poor
fellows whose remains have been thus uncsrthed
ofthe Hsssan leader. Tho place where the remains
were discovered was once part Of Wallabout Bay,
whore tho prison ships lay at anchor ana me waters
the Navy Yard now stands of these prison ships
Jersey tho worst repute. but 1t is pretty GER
tain tnat the treatment of prisoners on the
other vessels was hardly anything a.
all better. Originally sixty iosr gun ship.
was strippea oil spars aud rigging, fulfilled the
functions Of s,oreship and at last was turned into
prison ship, IN which capacity she was used until
the end Of the war. 30 infamous was her notoriety
that she was "tns he'll afoat,' and she was
IN tact hotbed OF pestiience IL was the custom 70
gather many 900 400 men in the hold, all
| OF whom were compelled 10 put up with whatever
Tney wore covered with rags aud Nth were com.
PEELED to breathe The poisonous and pestontiai air,
| and were the victims OF various diseases, such ad
| typhus lever, dysentery and smallpox. from which
| the hulk FREQ. Their iood was Of
the most disgusting kind the biscuits being mouldy
ana crawlina with worms the butter and suct rancid,
tainted, the peas damaged and the meal and
hour sour pecuiation appears to have hoarisnea 10
| King by the royal commissioners Tor the damaged
provisions, and in ta,s way large fortunes were
by cry, ''Rebels, turn ent your dead and the
parting saluta.ion Tor tho night "Down, rebels
| downp' Thcn the hatchway was closed, and only o
small trap door, large enough for one man TO pass
tarough was LETT open. This was guarded BY . sem
| tinel. The notorious Jersey nov lies buried under
| the Navy Yard.
| FRAGMENTS SIX SKELETONS
Tho conjecture the Navy Yard Is that the romans
which have been discovered are these OF victims Of
the humanity practised on the Jersey or some oil
the other prison SHIPS ,aS % satssan, 1pose
Of the Marine corps who The custodian Of the YORK
street entrance was by him pointed our me locality
| where the remains discovered, and also shown
the remains themselves Subsequently, the assistant
medical attendant arrived and converted with the ro-
| porter concerning the discovery. without having
made minute examination OF the bones he estimated
that there fragments OF six skeetons The
| bones, although much decayed, were stiil IN iair
preservation. One skull, the Doctor said. had its
| perfect formation when discovered, but had since
been broken up into pieces. These he put together
aud pointed out tnat the skull OF unusual size
and thickness, and must have belonged TO an
bones which the reporter picked up also indicated
pretty plainly that thero must have been giants IN
| shose cays Two OF these we're matches and be-
ionpod The Doctor supposed to the same skeleton az
the phenomenaIiy sized skull Others wore singla
bones and the exceptionally large ones were at least
two incncs longer than the iomurs OF average sized
men, ''What m ght be tho size OF a man with tnign
bone of that sizs2" asked the reporter:
.these bones are console raDy more than the ordi-
nary szs" Then he took tho reporter into MS stuay
|
with a perfect set ofteeth. Not one was tantoa or
spotted-all perfectly regular, and most assur-
cdy their was, In mis- day, whatever nus otner
| calamities, ut least Tree OF loothacha 'Judglng
nv Tho said the Doctor, " should say tnat Inc
an was In the prime OF lie. Tho tceth as you see'
| are perfect ana the jaws are unusually strong
In reply 10 the query OF Tho reporter as 20 wna'
dspos ton II proposed TO make Of the remainsl
| he said no really did not know, rs the Coroner did
not propose 10 interfere IN tho matter Tue remains
of other supposed victims OF the prsop SHIPS having
been inferred Fort Greene, that would be probably
the lifting resting place for those which nave oeen
| now discovered.