Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-10-27
DAILY SHORT STORY
Twenty Years After.
,opyright. lsO2. by c. D. lewis

In the spring of 1850 q whaler named
the Emily Benson left st. Johns. N
F., for trip to the polar sea and was
not heard from.
Seventeen years after the sailing OF
the Benson the Discovery set out from
the port of London for polar cruise.
She was sent out under the auspices
of the Royal Geographical society, and
when not heard from for almost two
years q vessel called the Rescue was
dispatched to look for her, and l was
one of the crew of the latter. Reach
ing North Lincoln, we searched the
coast.
On the fifth day we made our find.
We had toiled to the crest of a rocky
range, which crossed our path and ex-
tended inland n long way. when three
or four men simultaneously caught
sight of ship in a bay q mile away.
but which seemed at our feet. The
first thought was that we had Travelled
in circle and come back to the Res
cue, but the second glance showed us
that this craft was a full rugged brig
and the bay was n strange one to us.
We cheered and waved our caps, and
every man of us was highly elated as
we hurried along down the slope to
board the stranger. The thought that
she might be derelict did not occur
to any one until we We're close upon
her. The bay was but cove, not
more than an acre in extent. The brig
was not lying in the waters of the cove
at all, but among the rocks on the
shore fifty feet from the water. She
lay with her head to the north and
had only a slight list to port. Her
looks aloft told us the story as we
came to Il halt. Her sails had been
furled and slowed as if the work had
been done in a gale None had blown
away. but all were rotting on the
yards. AS we stood looking up gust
of wind brought Il cloud of black dust
down in our faces. Here and there
loose rope WIS swinging about like n
serpent suspended by the tail to
limb, but the rigging as whole was
in fair shape-that is, it seemed to be
but later on we found every rope ready
to part at the lightest pull.
We had come upon her broadslde.
One of the men walked down to her
stern and stared and blinked for five
minutes before he could trace the faded
letters and make out Emily Benson,
st. Johns, y. F." She wasn't Rus
sian, but Newfoundland whaler and
sealer. Not Il boat was in sight on her
davits, while her rudder had been car
ried away and several plankS above it
crushed in Night fell as we stood
there, and it was decided to put up
our tent instead of going aboard. No
one had even looked over her rail yet.
The mate had affirmed that nothing
grewsome could be found aboard, but
he had no relish for making an in
spection by candlelight. l doubt If
any man i'll our party slept for more
than an hour at a time that night. Our
tent was pitched within five feet of the
vessel. and while the air was perfectly
still the cold was intense. the thermom-
eter showing 23 degrees below zero.
Now and then the ice in the bay would
crack like the report of 4 blunderbuSS,
while the frost penetrated the plankS
of the derelict and produced strange
and uncanny noises. l remember that
|, for one. was glad indeed when day
light came again.
The brig stood so high that we had
TO board her by clambering up the
fore chains. We had pictured her deck
scene of desolation. but we were
agreeably disappointed. There was
some little disarray, but no such disor-
der as might have been expected. The
cabin doors were shut. the matches on
the slide drawn over the fo'castle. Her
try works were still standing, and the
big kettle in which the blubber was
melted was half full of 4 substance
which had once been oil. The scuttle
butt or cask holding drinking water
was simply 4 heap of rotten slaves,
and the same was true of the beef bar
rel Here and there were rotten spots
in her deck planks. and the fo'castle
deck was almost hidden from sight by
the growth of fungus. Had the eight
of us grouped together in any one spot
our united weight would have broken
the deck beams, and had we swayed
on the rigging we could have loosened
all the chain plates and perhaps
brought down all the yards and the
topgallant mastS on deck. Our first
move was to enter the cabin. The
doors were readily opened, but we had
to stand aside for ten minutes on ac-
count of the unpleasant odor of what
is known as dry rot. and breath of it
choked the lungs like smoke.
The skylight and windows had been
closed and sealed, and the cabin was
as dark as prison solitary. We got
couple of candles from our stock to
light the way, and in the course of half