The DeLamar nugget. [volume] (DeLamar, Idaho) 1891-1900, 1891-12-28
A BUOY'S TaAVELS.
Brought to Port After Being
Tossed About for Five Years.
Breaking from Its Anchorage in Charles
ton Earbor 1t Makes an Extensive
Ocean Tour and Is Recaptured
Uninjured.

The British steamship Armestry
bringing sugar from Java, put into tn,
Delaware breakwater the other day
with strange object on her deck
was a derelict whlstling buoy of hug
proportions that the ship had picked NJ
during its voyage north. On the moon
less night of October 10 the Armestry
was a hundred miles east of the Der
mudas. She was laboring through the
heavy swells that remained from the
storm that had ragged for the two pre-
ceding days. The night was STILL
noticeably so from contrast with the
day preceding, and for hours the swasl
of the waves against the vessels side
was the only sound that came to the
ears of the men on duty. About
midnight faint murmur like the
moaning of a person in distres
came floating over the waves an
| was reported by the man on watch.
1t was heard again and again ano
apparently originated IN a point al
most directly in the course the ship was
| pursuing. An hour later the sound, Sc
strange in midoeean, came with great
distinctness from the starboard bow of
the vessel and apparently not far off
The captain ordered the engines
stopped and the ship to lay to till
morning. The Armestry was kept
near the spot where the signal was ut.
tering its notes, and all through the
remaining hours of the night the sound
continued at regular intervals.
The sailors thought they had solved
| the mystery before morning broke, and
when it dawned a score of eyes recog-
| nized the familiar iron head of har-
Dor whistling buoy rising on the bill
lows and uttering its sad note as it fell
The sea had Gained sufficiently to adj
nit of capturing the wanderer and
boat was sent out to attach a rope to
the iron cage that covered its whistle
A tackle was rugged on the yardarm
and the hollow monster was hoisted on
to the vessels deck. The iron air
cylinder, surmounted by the whistle,
and the sixteen-inch tube that ex-
tended from this cylinder to keep it
upright in the waves gave length of
nearly fifty feet to the buoy. To the
long tube was attached several fur
longs of the heavy chain that had held
the buoy to its anchor until some acct
dent had released it.
The buoy was unchanged, even TO its
whistle, but showed evidence of having
done many years of service As it lay
on her decks when the Armestry put
into port the strange object excited
much curiosity. Unloaded on the
dock it was well-patronized free
show, but no Snowman was there
to relate its remarkable history.
All that could be told at first
was that the buoy was of an
American pattern, and that it had
heretofore wandered from some point
on the shore of the United States to its
place far out in the ocean,, where final |
ly it had secured its own capture by its
signalings. A search among
marine records disclosed its story.
The Atlantic Pilot Chart for Septem-
Der, 1890, says the New York Record,
honored this lost property Of the light
house board with an official mention
On November 20, 1886, the Port Royal
buoy in Charleston harbor broke from
It's moorings and started towards the
ocean on its career of adventure. Drift
ng ont into the gulf stream it hoate !
IA the warm waters of that current dur
ng the remainder of the year. It
moved northward in a zigzag course
lnder the influence of conflicting winds.
It's signalngs attracted the attention OF
many passing vessels. On Christmae
lay OF 1886 it was last seen in the guil
stream. Three months went by and
hen it was discovered floating serenely
ilong some two hundred miles north Of
he Bermudas. After that it started
or still more southcrly latitude, and
Turing May it was sighted very near the
oral reefs of Bermuda.
Tor more than a year it had been lost
ight of when on June 0, 1858, it was
card and seen six hundred miles north
7est of the Bermuda islands. During
his time it must have howled sadly
long the very track of the great hur-
icanes.
The buoy made this part of the ocean
favorite headquarters Tor two years.
was sometimes reported by incoming
essels as having been heard and some
mos as having been sighted always
thin one hundred miles of this spot.
crossed its own track repeatedly,
ut never wandered far away until the
INNER of 1890, when on September Il
it was not seen below the latitude Of b
e Bermudas, but five or six hundred s.
lies to the eastward of the islands. u
he derelict was then reported to be in Z
,od condition, and its mournful. warn o
g of danger that it had left one thou is
nd miles away was still as strong as D
hen it was doing honest duty in 1t
larleston harbor. In the year follow o.
g the buoy for the most part kept out 1t
the track of ocean travel, and it was fG
ain nearly forgotten when its weird &c
ice reached the ears of the watch on u
e deck of the Armestry. 6'