Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-09-18
THE BEN HAMMOND.

~
bourne The crew, all told, numbered eleven
peopse, and the brig had misceilaaeoa.
cargo. She siynaI-d '-All well" ~hsn going
through the straits. and that was the last
heard Of her for 1--we monthx Then a sailor
named Charles Rsnfos arrived at Sydney
add told very curious story
About forty miles OF the straits the brig
fell IL. with small sandal wood trader In a
sinking coalition. She was carrying hot
Of natives from one Of the islands OF Sumatra
to some port in Java, and bad sprung ieak-
The brig had either to stand by her or take
her people OF. and Capt. Clark Decided upon
the former course The vessel had struck a
log or some other floating obstruction while
sailing at a fast rate, and had been badly
damaged about the bows
This occurred in the early morning, and II
was just at sunset that the brig came up with
her. The injured craft had been creeping in
for the Java coast. bat as wind and current
were against her she had made very sios
progress Her pumps were 30 small that they
would not throw out what quarter inch hole
would let in, and crew and Passengers were
badly ratified 1t was a beautiful evening,
with every prospect Of continued good
weather, and the first mate and five Of the
men went alroard Of the trader to help him
make repairs In the course Of four hours
they returned aboard with the news that the
small craft was now tight and dry, and they
brought with them several bottles OF wine
and some dried fruits presents from her
captain
Capt. Clark Was kind hearted man, and
as the men returned aboard be distributed
one bottle of wine AMI share of the fruit
among the men The brig and trader had
been slowly drifting of before light wind
during the repairs on board, but now each
hauled back to her course and they were soon
separated Renfoe had not been feeling well
during the day, and he was the only man who
did not parta9e Of the stuff sent aboard. II
WAS his watch below after midnight, and he
had been asleep about an hour when he was
aroused by confusion aboard Every man on
watch below vas suffering with cramps and
vomiting, and he went on deck 10 find the
same state II affairs prevailing Captain and
mates were down. as well as the men, and the
man ut the wheel fell to the deck and began
rolling around just Renfoe came on deck.
While the brig had all plain sail on her the
breeze was light, and as the wheel was made
fast, she took care Of herself.
There was no doubt that the crew had been
poisoned by the wine or fruit, though the
trader must have been entirely innocent Of
any such intent after the services they had
rendered Recourse was had to the medicine
chest, bat nothing seemed to act rs an anti
dote. The agony OF the men increased with
time, and by 3 o'clock In the morning 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 TO such a pitch that he almost lost hi,
mind He could not give clear account OF
what followed He could not say whether
he deserted 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 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 aioat In the briggs yawl, and hal neither
water nor provisions His talk was Eighty
and received little attention, and he was car
ried to one of the eastern islands and WAS
there seriously i'll for month with fever
When he began to mend Of that the particu
lars Of the tragedy came back to him, but as
the brig had not been seen by any of the
traders his story was not believed He work
ed his way down to Timor. and from thence
across to Port Darwin. and he finally got
ship from there across to Melbourne
The Ben Hammond had been reported lost
in the Indian ocean, but her fate was con
sidered mystery Vessels which had pre-
coded and followed her hal met with the
most favorable weather. and there was much
speculation as to what had brought about
her loss. Renfoe's story'explained portion
Of the mystery, and several craft were sent
out to search for the brig She could not be
found or heard II and it was at last con
cluded that she had gone to the lotion
In the month of June. lSti5, 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 to
blow a gale from the west. The gale in
creased to a hurricane after a few hours,
and. although we kept the old ship aloat, she
was driven a long ways to the east We had
a terrific wind and sea for four days and by
that time our drift had carried Us down to the
eastern end OF Java One morning at about
O'Clock, just after had heard the captain
say that the gale was breaking, we were
boarded by sea which swept the ship from
stem to stern. We were lying to, you under
stand, with the usual watch on deck Three
Of US were carried overheard by the wave,
but did not SEQ either Of the others | was
whirled end over end and buffeted about I'M
til | thought | should drown before | bad
seen the surface, but after a 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 water | got hold
Of it. and after resting bit | pulled myself
in and secured myself by lashing to one of
the thwarts
The waves ran right over me at brief in
tervals, but the weight of the water held the
boat down until she drove like log. and she
could not therefore upset as she turned broad
side to the sea-
1t was, as said, about o'clock when
went overheard. At about in the after
noon sighted land to the north, and an hour
later | found myself driving between two
islands Half an hour later a current set me
to the right, and drove in for the land and
brought up at the head Of bay or inlet half
a mile long and not over 800 feet wide Hard
aground at the head Of this bay, with her
bowsprit touching the trees on the Shore was
the 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 l 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
streaming in the wind
had beard Of her loss. and had read Rem
foes story as related BY the papers. and it
took the pluck out Of me to and her there.
Indeed was 50 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 1t almost free from injury. while the
mast and sail and tiller were secure under the
thwarts By this time the gale was over. and
l was surprised to see how far the water had
fallen away from the beach
Ny next move after inspecting the yawi
was to board the brig. This was an easy mat
ter. as the water at low tide did not reach her
foremost | was desperately afraid of facing
. skeleton as drew my head above the rail,
and made a lengthy survey before dropped
TO the deck There was q great deal OF litter
about, and much Of the exposed woodwork
had begun to decay.
A more lonesome sight oae 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 were also shut | dreaded TO make .