Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1889-10-18

course was had to the meIlclnc cncSC, out
nothing seemed to act as an antldote.
The agony Of the men increased with
time, and by three o'clock in the morn
lug four of the foremost hands were
dead, while the others were without
hope. Renfoe was dazed and helpless,
and he could do nothing but pity the
poor fellows around him. Half an hour
after sunrise he was the only living man
aboard the brig, and as he saw one after
another pass away his feelings were
wrought up 20 such pitch that
he almost lost his mind. He could
not give a clear account of what fol-
lowed. He could not say whether he de-
serted the brig that day or a week sub
sequently- He did not remember
whether he threw the bodies overheard
or left them where they lay. Time was
a blank to him for the next ten days,
when he was picked up by trader two
hundred miles below the straits and
! twenty miles off the Java coast. He
was then afoat in the briggs yawl, and
had neither water nor provisions. His
talk was Eighty and received little atten-
! ton, and he was carried to one of the
eastern islands and was there seriously
i'll for a month with fever. When he be
gan to mend of that the particulars of the
tragedy came back to him, but as the
bng had not been seen by any Of the
| traders his story was not believed. He
worked his way down to TimOr, and
from thence across to Port Darwin, and
he finally got ship from there around to
Melbourne.
The Ben Hammond had been reported
lost in the Indian Ocean, but her fate
was considered a mystery. Vessels which
had preceded and followed her had met
with the most favorable weather, and
there was much speculation as to what
had brought about her loss Renfoe's
story explained a portion Of the mystery,
and several crafts We're sent out to search
for the brig. She could not be found or
heard Of, and it was at last concluded
that she had gone to the bottom.
In the month of June, 1865, eleven
years later, [ passed through the Straits
| of Sunda on the English ship Prince
John, bound for the port of Melbourne.
We had scarcely cleared the Java cape
when it came on 10 blow a gale from the
west. The gale increased to a hurricane
after a few hours, and, although we
kept the old ship afioat, she was driven
long ways to the east. We had ter
rifle wind and sea for four days, and by
that time, our drift had carried us we'll
down to the eastern end of Java. One
morning, about 9 o'clock, just after I had
heard the Captain say that the gale was
breaking, we were boarded by a sea
which swept the ship from stem to stern.
We were lying to, you understand, with
the usual watch on deck. Three of us
were carried overheard by the wave, but
[ did not see either of the others. I was
whirled end over end and buffetted about
until | thought [ should drown before
had seen the surface, but after time [
was heaved up to daylight, and had no
sooner got my eyes clear than [ saw one
of our quarter boats close to me. 1t had
been torn loose by the same wave, and
was floating right side up, but full Of
watel. | got hold of it, and after rest
ing bit l pulled myself in and secured
myself bya lashing to one Of the thwarts
The waves ran over me at brief intervals,
but the weight Of the water held the
boat down until she drove like log, and
she could not therefore upset as she
turned broadside to the sea.
It was, as | said, about 9 o'clock when
I went overheard. At about 4 in the af-
ternoon [ sighted land to the north, and
an hour later I found myself driving be-
tween two islands. Half an hour later
a current set me to the right, and I drove
in for the land and brought up at the
head Of bay or inlet half a mile long
and not over two hundred feet wide
Hard aground at the head of this bav,
with her bowsprit touching the trees on
the trees on the shore, was the old Ben
Hammond, the long-lost and almost-for-
gotten brig. I drove right in past her
and was heaved on the sands by the
swell, and the first thing | did was to
sit down and wonder whether I was
really in my senses or had gone daft.
There rested the old brig on an even keel,
masts standing as plumb as ever, yards
braced as they were left years before, but
the sails rotted and blown away, and
many ropes broken and frayed and stream
ING in the wind. | had heard of her loss,
and had read Renfoe's story as related bv
the papers, and it took the pluck out of
me to find her there. Indeed [ was so
awed and overcome that | did not dare
board her that night, but made my bed
on the sands and slept soundly till morn
ing. 7 had secured my yawl when I
drove in, and as | came to examine it
next morning | found it almost free from
injury. while the mast and sail and tiller
We're secure under the thwarts. By this