Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1886-06-17

believe she had made o great deal o
water.
The decks had been swept of ever,
movable thing except the water butt
and went to that to find it two-third
full of good fresh water. When hat
taken long swig, l went aft to thu
cabin. There was foot or more o
water in it, and all the furniture wa.
afloat. So it was in the pantry, but ii
the lockers discovered bread and colo
meat and other stuff, and l stood there
in the water and ate until my appetite
was satisfied. When came out tool
look into the staterooms and was i'm
mensely relieved to find the spare cloth
ing of Captain and mates there. This
was proof to me that the brig had been
abandoned in hurry, and before there
was good reason for believing that she
would soon 60 down.
1t is but natural to associate dead
men with abandoned ships, and the
thought that had yet to investigate
the forecastle was burden on me.
went on deck and walked up and down
for awhile to get my nerve, and
finally lifted the scuttle and called out
to know il anybody was there. 1t was
absurd to think there could be, but l
shouted again and again. Then l de-
scended the ladder far enough to get Q
view of the hunks. and after my eyes
had become accustomed to the gloom I
made careful survey without finding
anything to alarm me. The clothes
bags of the men and all the bedding
had been left, and there was a terrible
musty, mouldy smell to the place. |
felt much better when / realized that
there were no corpses aboard, and as l
left the forecastle / determined on a
look at the cargo. Owing to the shift
of wind the sea did not come aboard
now, and pulled off the cover of the
main hatch to find, as | had all along
suspected, that the brig was timber la
den. The cargo was not all atloat, as
would have been the case had she
sprung Il leak and | made up my mind
that what water she had in her must
have come in some way from above.
When | had replaced the hatch l
climbed the broken mast for look
around. A careful survey gave me no
encouragement. The sea appeared
to be absolutely deserted. When |
came down l began to search for pro-
visions, and at the end of half an hour
| had discovered sufficient supplies to
last five or six men for a month. The
blankets and bedding were not wet, but
l selected what | would need and
brought them on deck to air in the sun
shine. BY this time it was noon, and |
had begun to feel quite at home aboard.
The weather had cleared off as fine as
you please, and the hull was drifting
high and dry, without so much as a
damp spot on her decks. The stove in
the cuddy had been upset and broken,
so that must forcgo cooked provisions,
but to offset this | found many cans of
meat and fruit among the cabin stores,
and there was a large amount of ship
bread in good condition. Soon after
noon, and again before the sun went
down. | climbed the mast for q survey
of the sea, but nothing was in sight. |
made my bed on deck that night, and
slept as soundly as you please, and it
was the bright sun shining in my face
which finally awoke me.
The experience of that first day and
night was the experience of the follow
ing five days and four nights. During
all this time had light winds and dry
decks, sometimes driving to the west
and then again to the north or east, but
moving only few miles in the twenty
four hours. | made practice of as
cending the mast every two hours dur
ing daylight, but not one single time in
all those days did l catch sight of a
sail. no matter how distant. Just at
dusk on the evening of the fifth day |
sighted a steamer long way off, but
headed for me, and as the night came
on | made flare, and the light attract
ed her attention. She was British
steam whaler bearing up for Valpa-
raise, and after hearing my story the
Captain figured out that | had made a
drift of over 100 miles The hulk was
inspected, pumped clear, and taken in
tow, and the bit of salvage which your
humble servant came in for some time
afterward is put away in the bank
against the day when l shall leave the
sea and its terrors and mysteries, and
settle down in snug cabin on solid
ground.