Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-03-28

C.
 ducks Coawtshjp," ''My Watch Be-
 low, "''lhe Lady Mud Etc.
 tion, the daylight being broad enough now that the hatch lay open on top, remarked S, ding door on the larboard side of the mast l put my shoulder to it and very easily ran it along it's grooves, and then found myself in the way of a direct communi cation with all the fore portion of the schooner. The ar rangement indeed was so odd that l sus- pected a piratical device this uncommon method of opening out at will the whole range of deck The air here was as vile as in tine cabins, and I had to wait bit
 On entering 1 discovered a little compart- ment with racks on either hand filled with small arms I afterward counted 13 muskets, blunderbusses and fusls, all of an antique kind, while the sides of the vessel were hung with pistols great and little, boarding bikes, cutlasses, hangers and other sorts of sword This armory a sight to set me walking very cautiously, for it was not likely that powder should be wanting in a ship thus equipped; and where it stowed9
 There was another sliding door in the for ward partition; it stood open, and I passed through it into what immediately saw was the cook house. l turned the lantern about and discovered every convenience for dress ing food. The furnaces were of brick and the oven was a great one-ereat, mean, for the size of the vessel. There were pots pans and kettles in plenty, a dresser with drawers dishes of tin and earthenware, a Dutch clock in short, such an equipment of kitchen fur niture as you would not expect to find in the galley of an Indiaman built to carry two or three hundred passengers. About half chaldrOn of small coal lay heaped in a wooden angular fence fitted to the ships side, for the ,e if,l, T flo,, ,l-ol OI I hD1l {bo lantern to the furnace, and observed crooked chimney rising to the deck and pass ing through it. The mouth or head of it was no doubt covered by the snow, for had not. noticed any such object in the survey had taken of the vessel above Strange, I thought that those men should have frozen to death with the material in the ship for keeping a fire going. But then my whole discovery l regarded as of those secrets of the deep, which defy the utmost imagination and ex- perience of man to explain them. Enough that here was schooner which had beef in- tered in sepulcher of ice, as might ra- tionally conclude, for near half a century; that there were dead men in her, who looked to have been frozen to death; that she was apparently stored with miscellaneous booty; that she was powerfully armed for craft of her size, and had manifestly gone crowded with men, All this was plain, and I say it was enough for me.
 Before I could make fire the chimney must be cleared. Among the furniture in the arms room were @ number of spade headed spears-the spade as wide as the length of a mans thumb and about foot long, mounted on light, thin wood. Armed with one of these weapons, passed into the cabin to pro- cecd on deck.
 Ispeedily spied the chimney, which showed of+ f,o& ,oJx short work of the snow that was frozen in it, as nothing could have been filter to cut ice with than the spade shaped weapon carried This done, I returned to the cook room, and with butchers aA that hung against the bulkhead 1 knocked away one of the boards that confined the coal, split it into small pieces and in short time had kindled a good fire. When I was thoroughly warm and con- forted 1 took the lantern and went aft to the stewards room and brought thence a cheese, a ham, some biscuit and one of the jars of spirits, all of which l carried to the cook room and placed the whole of them in the oven. 1 was extremely hungry and thirsty, and the warmth and cheerfulness of the fire set me yearning for hot meal. But how was to make me bowl without fresh watera I went on deck and scratched up some snow, but tho salt in it gave it a sickly taste and I was not only certain it would spoil and make disgusting whatever 1 mixed it with or cooked in 1t, but it stood as a drink to dis order my stomach and bring on an illness. So, thought 1 to myself, there must be fresh water about-casks enough in the hold, I dare sly; but the hold was not to be entered and explored without labor and difficulty, and l was weary and famished, and in no temper for hard work.
 In all ships it is the custom to carry one or more casks called scuttlebutts deck, into which fresh water is pumped for the use of the crew. Istepped along, looking earnestly at the several shapes of guns, coils of rigging, hatchways, and the lilze upon which the snow lay thick and solid, but perceived noth- ing that answered to the shape of cask. At last I came to the well in the head, passed the forecastle deck, and, on looking down, spied, among other shapes, three bulged and bulky forms. I seemed by instinct to know that these were the scuttlebutts, and went for the chopper, with which 1 returned and got into this hollow, that was four or five feet deep. The snow had the hardness of iron; it took me quarter of an hour of severe labor to make sure of the character of the bulky thing wrought at, and then it proved to be a cask Whatever might be it's contents it was not empty, but I was pretty nigh spent by the time had knocked off the iron bands and beaten out slaves enough to enable me to get at the frozen body Jain. There were tbree-quarters of cask full It was spark ling clear ice, and, chipping off piece and sucking it, I found it to be very sweet fresh water. Thus was my labor rewarded.
 cut off as much as, when dissolved, would make couple of gallons, and returned to the cook room.
 The fire burned brightly, and it's ruddy glow was sweet as human companionship. put the ice into a saucepan and set it upon the fire, and then pulling the cheese and ham out of the oven found them warm and thawed. On smelling at the mouth of the jar, l discovered it's contents to be brandy. Only about an inch deep of it was melted. I poured this into pannikin and took a sup, and a finer drop of spirits I never swallowed in all my life; it's elegant perfume proved it amazingly choice and old I fetched lemon and some sugar, and speedily prepared small smoking bowl of punch The ham cut readily; fried couple of stout rashers, and fell to the heartiest and most delicious repast I ever sat down to. At any time there is something fragrant and appetizing in the smell of fried ham; conceive, then, the relish that the appetite of a starved, half frozen, shipwrecked man would find in it! The