Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-04-06
AN ANCIENT MAN.Or-wAR
Recently Discovered by An Oysterman in tbs
Water OF the Gulf Of Mexico.

Recently Discovered by an Oysterman in this
waters Of the Gulf Of Mexico.
poor oyster fisher who plies his trade in
Biloxi bay, an arm Of the Gulf OF Mexico which
indents the state OF Mississippi, has recently
discovered the sunken wreck Of an old French
man-of-war, which he is now trying to dispose
OF to the government 1t is certainly q strange
old relic and most vivid reminder Of the early
history Of the French in the southern part Of
this country.
The place where the old wreck was found
has been called the Rocky Pile since the
, time when the mind OF the Oldest inhabitaut
runneth not to the contrary. II has also been
a famous oyster reef. Hence it was that the
FISHERMAN was dredging here when he came
upon something hard. which gave a metallic
ring. The water at high tide has q depth of
about twelve feet. One Of his sons. thinking it
was an uncommon occurrence, dived to the
bottom and found the hard substance to be 3
very old cannon, rusty with age and the action
OF the water. This so aroused their curiosity
that they chartered a schooner and repaired to
the spot, where the wonderful remains have
been rescued from their long and watery rest
ing place
1t required two weeks to raise all that re-
manned of the wreck after 200 years have passed.
but enough has been found to identify it a
part Of the fleet of Pierre de Movne Ibeville.
a noted French naval officer about 100 and the
ploughed the waters of the Gulf of Mexico
after sailing from Brest. France. IN 1888. and
was used in transporting colonists to various
forts in that region. 1t also entered the mouth
Of the Father Of Waters and proceeded as far
up as the Red river long before it was fire.
quently visited by white men.
The vessel measured about fifty-fve feet keel
and twenty feet breadth of beam. The hull was
Of oak and the finer fnishings were of mahogany,
much of which is still In good state of preser-
Hill
rocks and boulders which are not native to
Mississippi.
The armament. which shows q warlike dis
position for those then quiet waters, consisted
of four cannon, tine most important relics which
the FISHERMAN now wishes to dispose Of. They
are made OF iron as was customary at that time.
The largest Of these is seven feet long and Is
well preserved. The muzzle measures three
and one-haR inches Another measures six
feet in length and has part of the carriage at
tached. The remaining two are of uniform
size and measure four feet in length with two
and one-half inch muzzles.
Pieces OF the gun carriages were found, to-
gether with the ropes by which they
worked. Strange as it may seem these ropes
when exposed to the air for time and sub
sequently rubbed in the hands are said to dis
solve into dust.
The WHY old craft was surely prepared for
fighting when she went down. There were
cannon balls aboard of various sizes and in
sufficient quantity to last through fierce fray.
There was gunpOv or, too, and some Of this
found in chunks realms its peculiar smell to
this day. All the armament and ammunition
were on the gun deck, and it may not be incor-
rect to suppose that the ship sunk during
action.
There were other reminders Of early warfare
several old flint locks of ancient pattern
which carried a heavy ball; also several swords.
In addition there were found a strange kind of
fire brick peculiar to that time-a little over
one inch in thickness, in length eight inches. In
width four inches-a bungstopper tor water
cart. made of several pieces of wooden cloth: a
number of iron braces and parts Of the ships
rigging. The planks were fastened to the ribs
with wooden pins and bolts in the iron work
were made Of copper.
Pierre le Moyne Ibevilfe, who commanded
this craft, was known best Of all as a good
fighter and he always fought against the En-
glish. He rendered valiant service in those
trOublous times when France and England were
wasting their resources in trying to destroy
each other. Few characters figure more con-
spicuously in the pioneer history of the states
of the extreme south. Louisiana and the vast re-
glon TO the northwest then belonged to France
and he was made special commissioner in 1893 to
establish direct communication between that
country and the Mississippi. He built the first
up large areas of territory by discovery for set
Element
About this time the vessel must have been
lost, and therefore she has been washed by the
wild waves we'll nigh 200 years.