The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-12
sECRETED HORDs.
They Are often Found in Breaking
I'D OLE shIna.

From Cassell's Saturday Journal.
The utilization of apparent waste is well
exemplifed in the breaking up Of ships
OF various kinds for every nail and every
chip are put aside for sale; but in the case
of vessels of considerable tonnage, and
especially Of very old craft, finds both GU
rlous and valuable are by no means rare.
To give a recent instance. an old wooden
vessel that was broken up near Green
wich only a few months back revealed
a very curious sight when some old plank
ing in the forecastle had been torn down.
Here, nailed up, where the two mummifled
hands Of a negro, and in the palm of each
hand, and transhxed by the same nails
that held the hands, were two counterfeit
silver dollars. The hands had been hacked
Off roughly A year or two ago the break
ing up of an old schooner near Sheerness
brought TO light beneath the inner Skin
OF the hull quite an elaborate armament OF
very old-faShiOned kind, and friend OF
the writer secured, from among the many
weapons included, a splendidly made bell
mouthed fint-rock musket, the stock be-
ing marked with representation of arm
and leg letters, and the name philip
Steyne, Boston. Lincolnshire" The most
curious part Of this find was a set OF
boOks-a priYateers books evidently
showing the capture of various French
vessels. Tied up in a canvas bag, 1870 gum
cas- IN gold were found year or two back
during the breaking up Of an old vessel
lying between Birkenhead and New
Brighton. With the money were found, too.
a most curious and unique set of foreign
playing-cards, some loaded dice, and
three magnificent 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 become
wrecks, remarkable finds. particularly re-
lating to smuggling contrivances. are by
mr.. me Fau In ~ n a ID
cradle wreck on the southeast coast only
the winter before last the shipbreakers
found, hidden in part OF the engine room.
a quantity Of valuable jeWelry and num-
Der Of newspaper clippings and published
portraits relating to a murder and rob-
berry al st. Louis, in the United States.
The Jewelry found was that described in
the reports as missing. TWO of the men
employed in the engine room were drown
ed in the wreck, but, so far as all in
quiries made by the police could show,
there was no clew to attach either the
drowned men or the other engine room
hands with the published descriptions and
portraits of the murderer. The mystery
was never cleared up. The manager OF a
shipbreaker, a man who has been for for
ty years IN the business and who was es-
pecially sought out by the writer told
the latter that he could cite some hum
dreds Of cases where hiding-places for
small articles struggled by officers and
men had been found, these being in con-
nection with nearly every part of the hulls
broke up, and he produced several arti-
cles that had been found by himself or
his men. Many of these were false or
duplicate bills of lading, and there were
counterfeit foreign coins, a pair of heavy
gold earrings with a turquoise in each
probably stolen by one foreign seaman
from another-a hand grenade with cap
to il, an old wig with three small gold
nuggets wrapped in it, and many other
small trifies. "At Rotherhithe some
years ago" said he. 'in the forepeak of
very old wooden merchantman, we
found the skeleton of a lad damned be-
hind the skin of the vessel. The lad had
been a stowaWay in all probability A
gentleman at Rotherhithe keeps the skull
now, or did till lately"