Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1888-06-01
AN ANCHOR CENTURIES OLD.
Hooked by Some Fi>hermen or Chat
ham.

About a year ago, when Captains "Web'
Nickerson, Albert Kendrick and J. N.
Bloomer were outside the beach on their an
nual spring cruise after anchors lost by ves-
sells during the winter just passed, they
raised large anchor of curious shape and
antiqulted design, about mile southeast
from where the Chatham life-saving station
now stands. Soon afterward, on the same
spot, they hooked something of such extreme
weight that it broke their grapplngs after
being raised some distance towards the sur
face. AS this something" went down these
captains curiosity rose, and as they found
nlal is .. .nctol on their grapplings they
could not keep back the hopes that
it might be something of value, perhaps a
metallic chest, full Of specie from some un-
known wreck. The anchor raised made it
quite certain that the vessel it belonged to
must have been of an cient build, and who
could tell that much stuff of value might not
wash out from under the sand with this an
chor. They took the ranges and kept their
own counsel, and this spring Captain Bloom
er went to Boston and related the circum-
stances to w. d. Duncan a diver who is
known all along the Atlantic coast. He de-
cided to come down, and if they could To-
cate it again he would investi gate, he to
have share of the treasure when found.
He arrived in town on Monday, the 14th
inst. They tried in vain to locate the treas
ure, but were not able to hook any
found themselves over the un-
known Something" Diver Duncan de-
scended and found another immense anchor
Of antiquated pattern without any stock, the
shank being 13 feet 8 inches in length, and
the ring 20 inches in diameter. 1t had no
stock, which accounts for their being unable
to hook it. He next found near it part OF
fbo,, ,,,l - Af
bottom that contained her ballast, the bal
last being Of pig iron in large chunks. which
had been there so long that the chunks had
become welded together with rust. The
diver says that what they hooked last wear
must have been some of this ballast which
their grapplings got hold of and lifted till its
extreme weight broke the grapplings. The
diver next found two iron cannon of per-
haps 1000 pounds each of very curious and
extremely ancient pattern. They were very
| thickly crusted over with deposit from the
ocean and with rust, and the iron was as soft
as lead, where n piece of this crust was
broken off in being raised to the deck of the
schooner Emulator. These cannon are curl
Gus looking objects as they now lie,
covered thicliy with barnaclcs, shells, etc.
The diver and the others firmly claim that
they found nothing of very great value, but
| their self-satisfied looks and actions and
their every movement give people the idea
that they found much more than they are
willing to divulge. A part of the wood
work of one of the gun carriages is in good
state of preservation, having been covered
up in the sand for perhaps more than three
centuries. The question now uppermost
here is: "Whqt vessel was it2 What was her
nationality. and when was she wrecked2'
The Oldest men living have no recollection
of ever hearing their parents speak of any
foreign frigate ever having been wrecked
there Some think the anchor is of French
style Of manufacture; some say it is Dutch,
but how many years ago this vessel met heI
| doom on Chatham beach no one can tell