Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1896-08-22
cva,os FOUND IN OLD VESSELS


Breaking Up Boats Reveals Many
Secrets Of ByRonc Days.
The utilization Of apparent waste il
we'll exempliflcd in the breaking up Of
chips Of various kinds, for every nail
and every chip are put aside for sale:
but In the case Of vessels of considera.
bic tonnage, and especially of very old
craft, finds both curious and valuable
are by no means rare. TO give recent
instance, an old wooden vessel that
was broken up near Greenwich only
few months back revealed very Gu.
rlOus sight when some old planking
in the fOrccastle had been torn down.
Here, nailed up, were the two mummi.
fed hands of negro, and In the palm
of each hand, and transfxed by inc
same nails that held the hands, wcro
two counterfeit silver dollars. The
hands had been hacked off roughly. a
year or two ago the breaking up OF an
old schooner near Sheerness brought 10
signt beneath the inner "skin" of the
Aull quite an elaborate armament OF !
very Old-fashlOncd kind, and a friend
Of the writer's secured, from among the
many weapons included, a splcndidly
inade bcll.mouthcd fiint-lock muskct,
tic stock being marked with a rcpresen.
iatiOn Of arm and leg letters, and the
hanic "Phillp Steyne, Boston, Lincoln.
shlre." The most curious part of tlii.
find was n set Of bOOks-a prisateer's
books, cvidently-showing the capture
ssc ri. al tss
canvas bag, 100 guincas in gold were
found year or two back during the
breaking up of an old vessel lying be-
tween Blrkenhead and New Brighton.
With the money were found, too, most
curious al nd unique set Of foreign playing
cards, some loaded dice, and three mag.
niflcent pieces Of amber. All these
were found In the false bottom OF
wooden bunk.
But even during the breaking up Of
quite modern vessels which have be.
come wrecks remarkable finds, particu.
larry relating to smuggling contriv.
ances, IRE by no means rare. In a por.
ton Of considerable wreck on tho
southeast coast only the winter before
last the shipbrcakers found, hidden In
a part Of the engine.rOom, a quantity
Of valuable tcwelry and a number Of
newspaper clippings and published por.
traits relating to murder and robbery
at st. Louis, In the United States. The
jcwclry found was that described In the
reports as missing. Two of the men
employed In the cngine.rO0m were
drowned In the wreck, but, SO far az
all Inquiries made by the police could
show, there was no clew to attach eth.
or the drowned men or the engine.room
hands with the published descriptions
ana portraits of the murderer. The
mystery was never cleared up. The
manager Of a shlpbrcaker, n man who
hns been for forty years In the business
and who was especially sought out by
the writer. told the latter that he 1Duld
cite some hundreds Of cases where hid.
Ing khces for small articles struggled
by oAiccrs and men had been found,
these being In connection with nearly
every part Of the hulls broke up. and
he produced several articles that had
been found Ivy himself or his men.
Many Of these were false or duplicate
bills Of lading, and there were counter.
felt foreign coins. pair Of heavy gold
earrings with turquoise In each
probably stolen from ono foreign sea.
man by another-a hand grenade with
q cap to II. M old wig with three small
gold nuggets wrapped In It. and many
other small tribes. AT ROthcrhithe
some years ago." said he. "ln the fore.
peak Of n very old wooden merchant.
man, we found the skeleton Of a lad
TANNED behind the skin Of the vessel.
Tho lad had been n stowaway In all
probability. A gentleman ut Rothcr.
hithe keeps the skull now, or did till
lately"