The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-08-06
A BURIED
TREASURE
How It Was Found by a Cast
away and It's Mysterious
Disappearance.

den, sailing out of Australian and New
Zealand ports. During the year / was
Is years old the brig was voyaging be-
tween Sydney and Wellington, "a stretch
of water about 1900 miles wide. One
night as we entered the strait, beating
our way slowly up against head wind,
we came in collision with coasting
schooner running out. She had no lights
set, and, as was afterward shown, all her
crew. captain included, were half drunk
and did not see ours. | was on lookout
and saw the schooner first, but as we
were close on the wind and she close at
hand we could do nothing. She struck
us on the starboard bow with a great
crash. Our foremost went by the board,
the schooners bowsprit was twisted off,
and the two craft bumped and crashed
for three or four minutes and then sep
arated.
In such emergencies men act on impulse
and cannot always clearly remember
what occurs. In this case / climbed
aboard the schooner, thinking she was
the least injured, and it appeared that ev-
cry one of her crew tumbled on to the
decks of the brig for the same reason. 1t
was some minutes after the craft sepa-
rated before discovered that was alone.
/ now began to wonder how badly she
had been damaged. l had seen that her
bulwarks for a distance of Is feet on the
starboard bow had been stove in, but as
to the hull itself l could not say. /
should have laid her head to the sea and
wind but for her damages. Young as l
was, / was born at sea and pretty fair
sailor, and / knew / could not set a
storm sail in the forerigging nor hold her
up without it. l could not leave the
wheel without fear of her broaching to,
and so for the first hour stood there ex-
pecting she would fill and founder. As
she continued buoyant and / failed to
hear the swash of water below decks,
finally came to the conclusion that she
had received no great injury. Such prov
ed to be the case. Her stem and some Of
the planks were broken above the water
line, and the bulwarks had been torn
away as the bowsprit was wrenched out,
but her crew had no call to leave her.
The accident occurred about 10 o'clock.
The wind was then blowing lively rate,
but by midnight there were half a gale
and a heavy sea. There was foresail
enough to lift and send her, and l don't
remember that | was anything more than
anxious over the outcome. l was being
blown to the east. right out into the south
Pacific, but at that season of the year the
gales were likely to be of short continu-
ance. This one reached its height at mid
night, and when daylight came the sea
had very much decreased and the schoon-
er could not have made over ten miles an
hour running with all sails set.
flor oor,l1 COO tho Ion 9TH of hor I
brought her head on, and by flashing the
foresail boom amidships and dropping
the peak a little more | found she would
hold there with the wheel dashed a-port.
This done went aloft for look around,
but could see nothing. Returning to the
deck, got out the union jack and set it
in the main rigging as a signal of distress
and then inspected damages. The little
craft was as dry as bone, though her
bows above water were complete wreck.
There was little or nothing | could do to
mend matters. and SO turned to and pre-
pared breakfast By the time that was
eaten the wind had dropped to a three
knot breeze, while the sky promised good
weather for the next day or two.
When / came to inspect the cargo,
found it to consist mostly of lumber. This
was to have been taken up the coast to
the site of new town. There were also
some hardware, provisions, machinery
and dry goods. The lumber in the vessel
would float her, no matter If the hold was
full of water. and need have no fears
on the question of food and drink. When
came to look for a chart, | could find
even a coast survey chart.
The captain had seemed to trust entirely
to memory or luck in making his voyages
up and down. | had looked over fathers
charts many time, but in such a cur
sorry way that ! could not now remember
what land lay to the east of me. re-
membered that the nearest coast was that
of South America, but that was thou
sands of miles away, and | concluded that
my chance lay in being picked up by
some vessel.
After dinner lay down and slept for
several hours and on awakening went
aloft for look around Nothing but sky
and water was in sight. had been
driving to the west all day at the rate of
about three knots an hour, and when
came to figure up the probable run of the
eight before ! estimated that ! was 100
miles off the coast. The breeze still held
from the same quarter and freshened
somewhat as night came on. | remained
awake until about 10 O'Clock and then
bunked down on the deck and was so lit
tie disturbed that / slept right through
the night and awoke at 6 O'Clock next
morning to he treated to tremendous
surprise. The schooner was high and
dry on a sandy shore. and before me was
a beautiful green forest. She had taken
ground so softly that had not been dis
turbed.
l was ashore on the Chatham islands.
a group of IA verdant islands to the east
of New Zealand and the only break in
the wide waters stretching to the coast
of Patagonia | had struck one of the
largest ones. called "Catharine, and |
was no sooner on my feet than there was
such chattering of birds as almost deaf
ened me. These islands were not then
inhabited and have such a sparse popula-
tion now that the number is not recorded
on the charts. Land being so plentiful
and cheap on the island of New Zealand
itself, and there being so mony fertile is
lands along it's coast, no set of people care
to isolate themselves by taking up resi-
dence on the Chathams.
l got down over the bows and reached
the beach dry shod, and after three hours
of walking about / found | had come
ashore on an island about three miles in
length and breadth-it being nearly
square. 1t was covered with the yerdure
of the tropics, and while the trees seemed
to be full of birds l saw neither serpents
nor wild animals.
The schooner lay exposed to the wester-
ly gales and seas, and it would be only a
question of a week or two when she
would break up or be buried in the sands.
1t therefore stood me in hand to get all
out of her that | could before this disas-
ter took place. / began right after din
ner, and it would surprise you to know
how much ! accomplished in the next
four days. By use of the capstan, winch
and a block and pulley In the main rig
ging got out 81 barrels of -four, eight OF
pork and beef, three of sugar and of meal
and besides these / got ashore all the
sails, cabin furniture, cooking utensils,
etc. There were axes, shovels, picks,
hoes, rakes, garden seeds, carpenters
tools and host of other things which
could be handled, and l got out enough
boards to make me a cabin and floor it.
On the evening of the fifth day strong
wind came up from the west, accom-
panied by very high tide, and instead Of
the schooner breaking up she foated and
a current pulled her off and she drifted
down the coast about mile. She then
struck on a sunken ledge, turned over and
the seas broke her up.
There was no prominent point on the
island where | could set signal.
therefore contented myself with keeping
lookout to the west Twice during the
first two weeks saw ships afar off by