The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1894-02-07

me n1gnr was perfecUly calm ana Une
sea quiet, bat when daylight came the
wreck was 40 longer in sight. There
was nothing so very strange in that,
however, as we were both drifting, and
her drift would be the faster. A breeze
lifted the sun out of his ocean bed, and
we ran to the southeast, expecting to
have the wreck in sight within an hour.
After two hours sailing we knew that
we must have overrun her or that some
mysterious current had drifted her in
another direction. Our crew were be-
ginning to shake their heads over it when
we sighted a whale, and in the chase and
capture that ensued the derelict was for
gotten. We had the dead whale along
side and ready to cut in when the boats
were lowered for a second, and three
hours later the bark was drifting off with
the carcass of a whale on either side Of
her and the crew working like beavers
to get the blubber off before change of
weather.
Twas aloft in the crows nest when the
second whale was towed alongside, and
had been ordered down to bear hand
when | took last look through the
glass. Down in the south and not over
four miles away the derelict hove into
view as if rising from the bottom OF the
sea. was sure had carefully swept
that quarter half dozen times within
an hour, but there she now lay in plain
view, and Twas bit ratified as focused
the glass for good look at her. What
made out was the hull Of a ship, with
all her masts, yards, bowsprit and stand
ing rigging gone. She was nearly bows
on to me, so that could not make out
how badly her bulwarks were damaged.
The stump of the foremost was about
20 feet high, while the others had bro
ken off lower down. The hull was very
buoyant and foated high; but, as was
to be expected, it presented weather
beaten and forlorn appearance. The
deckhouse and the cooks galley were
still standing, and | thought [ could
make out a lot Of wreckage floating
alongside. 1t was now within an hour
of SHUTDOWN, and had not been survey
ing the wreck over three minutes when
peremptory order to come down choked
me off. I reported the presence Of the
derelict to the captain, but with 50 much
blubber at hand he was Indifferent to
other things and asked no questions
about her.
Four days later, when the oil was in
the barrels, our position at noon showed
that we were 80 miles southeast Of the
SPOT where we made the double capture.
An hour later the man in the crows nest
sighted the derelict to the north Of US,
and at 3 o'clock we were up with her. 1t
was the hulk of the lost Magnet. From
the time of sighting her up to the mo-
ment of heaving to we looked for soma
sort OF signal to show that some one was
yet living aboard Of her, but nothing
was shown. When we had her under
our lee, the crew ran alOft to look down
upons her decks. The fall Of the masts
had crushed her bulwarks. bat the dam
age had been repaired afterward, though
the new work had not been painted. The
WtbUtE GUOuS w otS O14GlI CICtsL VI ~ 4CItA-
age, and the hull was apparently as tight
and buoyant as when it left Rio. 1t was
terribly weather beaten, however, and
seemed to be sailing in a bed Of weeds
and grass.
A musket was brought up and fired
three or four times, and the crew shout
ed in chorus again and again, and the
captain ordered q boat lowered and said
he would go in her himself. We boarded
her at the bows, and when | followed
the captain over the rails braced my
nerves to meet a terrible spectacle.
Nothing living or dead was in sight.
Every bit Of the wreck was gray-white
in color because of long exposure to the
weather, ana here and there about the
decks were black spots of decay. There
were a few coils Of rope, a heap Of cloth
ing and bedding little better than black
mold, and thrae or foar water casks had
rolled about with the hull until demol-
ished
The door Of the cooks galley was held
open by its hook, and we looked in to
find pots and pans hanging up and the
stove in good condition. The Magnet