Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-09-27


aground at the head of this bay, with her
bowsprit touching the trees on the shore, was
TIE old Ben Hammond, the long lost and al
most forgotten brig. / drove right in past
her, and was heaved on the sands by the
swell, and the first thing 1 did was to sit
down and wonder whether 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
streaming in the wind
had heard of her loss, and had read Rem
! foes story as related by the papers, and it
! took the pluck out of me to find her there
/ Indeed l 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. | had secured my yawl when | drove in,
and as | came to examine it next morning |
found i almost free from injury, while the
mast all sail and tiler were secure under the
thwarts. Rv this time the gale was over, and
/ was surprised to see how far the water had
fallen away from the beach.
My next move after inspecting the yawl
was to board the brig. This was an easy mat
ter as the water at low tide did not reach her
foremast was desperately afraid of facing
skeleton as | drew my head above the raj,
and made a lengthy survey before dropped
to the deck. There was great deal of litter
about, and much of the exposed woodwork
had begun TO decay.
A more lonesome sight one could not find.
/ moved slowly from stem to stern, and was
relieved when no ghostly relic of the dead
presented itself. The brig had the old fash
toned fo'castle, and | noticed that the slide
over the opening was secured. The cabin
doors wers also shut I dreaded to make
further investigation, but hunger and peace
of mind compelled me, and finally entered
the cabin. The medicine chest was upset in
the main cabin or eating room, and the bot
tlessscattered about the floor. There was a
spread the table, but it was black with
mold and, after a brief look, had to re-
tire until the fresh air could drive out the
heavy odors By and by 1 returned, and
when had looked into the berths and found
no moldering skeletons, great load was
taken off my mind. l had, however, to ex
anime the fo'castle yet, but, being encour-
aged by what | had failed to find in the
cabin, made short work of it. Not body
had been left aboard. Renfoe must have
heaved the dead overheard before he left
the brig, although he had no recollection of
the act.
In the cooks galley found everything in
good order, and when l looked over the stores
in the pantry everything smelled and tasted
as wholesome as if only a week out of the
warehouse Within an hour from the time l
boarded her / was eating a breakfast pre-
pared in the galley and was feeling quite at
home When l had satisfied nay hunger I
opened up the matches and the cabin skylight
and then turned to and cleared the deck of
much of the litter. When things looked a
bit more trim l went down and got the chart
showing the Sunda Islands, and, after little
calculation, located opposition as being on
the west side of Lombak Island. 1t was not
the main island exactly, but one lying so
close TO it that it went by the same name and
was separated only by half mile of shallow
water. Lombak proper was inhabited, but
for many years past the western end of the
island had been avoided on account of a
plague starting there and sweeping off hun
dredS of natives.
1t seemed strange that some Of the trading
craft had not entered the strait and caught
sight of the brig, and stranger yet how the
craft gotin there. The chart made it plain
er. A westerly gale created strong cur
rent through the straits, and one which made
its influence felt several miles off the coast
IN ordinary weather, with ordinary depth of
water, the channel wasdangerous to any sort
of craft, many lodges and bars being shown.
] suppose the big sails helped her along, and
she got just the right slant at the proper time
TO carry her into the bay and beach herself.
The spot was sheltered by the trees, and one
would have had to be very close TO see her.
| got hold Of the manifest and also in
spected the hold and l found she had valu-
able cargo, ana one which had not been
damaged $40 worth. There were four or
five steam engines, great lot of agricultural
tools, furniture il the rough. woodenware OF
all sorts, scores of cases of boots and shoes
and dry goods, and enough, in fact, to make
up cargo valued at egl7 900. The brig was
as dry rs bone, and after a little ventila-
ton and diSinfecting she smelled as sweet as
q peach / was week aboard Of her betore
decided what to do The small boat was in
good condition. and took on water and pro-
visions, and one morning ran down the straits
to the north for the Flores seas feeling quite
sure of meeting some British vessel before
crossing 70 Borneo. | had scarcely left my
island behind when I saw Il N S. the
Dragon bound TO the east, and by mid-after-
noon was aboard OF her. After sending me
back with q guard TO hold the brig, she re-
turned 10 Surabaja, on the north coast OF
Java, and reported 10 the cYnsul, and within !
g month everything had been removed from
the old Ben Hammond and she was left 10
decay. Her cargo insurance had been paid, |
but everything was recovered in such fine !
order that the loss was triiing.-New York |
Sun.