Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1902-12-31
TWENTY YEARS AFTER
lcopyright. 1902. by c. r. Lewis

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 a polar cruise.
She was sent out under the auspices
Of the Royal Geographical society, and
when not heard from for almost two
| years 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 rocky
range, which crossed our path and ex-
tended inland long way, when three
| or four men simultaneously caught
sight of ship in bay a 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 q 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 n derelict did not occur
to any one until we were close upon
| her. The bay was but a cove, not
| more than an acre in extent. The brig
| was not living I'm the waters Of the cove
at all but among the rocks on the
shore fifty feet from the water. She
| Law 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 n half. 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
wards. AS we stood looking up a gust
of wind brought a cloud of black dust
down in our faces. Here and there
loose rome was swinging about like
| sernent susnended nv the tail to a
| limb but the rigging as a whole was
| In fair shape-that is. it seemed to be-
but later on we found every rope ready
IN mar, at the lightest pull.
We had come upon her broadside.
One of the men walked down to her
sterp and stared and blinked for five
minutes before he could trace the faded
letters and make ont EMILY Benson,
81 Josn,s r." She wasn't a Rus
clan hut Newfoundland wbaler and
saa,er Not n boat was in sight on her
davits while her rudder had been car
riad away and several blanks above it
cr,sbed in Night sell as we stood
there and II was decided to put I'D
orr font instead of going aboard. No
ono had oven looked over her rail vet.
! Tho mata had affirmed that nothing
,,rouson,a could ba fonnd aboard hut
| Lo nod no relish far making an in
snect;on NV candIelieht. l doubt IL
anv man in our marty slept for more
| than IN bour at n time that night. Our
font was nitcbed within five feet of the
vessel and while the air was perfectly
still tba cold was intense. the thermom-
atar showing % degrees below zero.
Now and then the ice in the BAY would
crack like the report of n blunderbuss,
wbiIa tho FROST nenetrated the blanks
of the derelict and produced strange
and upcannv noises. I remember that
| for ono was pIod indeed when day-
| Ugb+ cama again
| The hrig stood so high that we had
| to hoard her by clamberipg I'D the
| rora chains We had pictured her deck
| SCENE of desolation. but we were
apreeably disappointed. There was
some little disarrav 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
| trv works were still standing, and the
bia kettle i'm which the blubber was
melted was half full of a substance
| which had once been oil. The scuttle
butt or eask holding drinking water
was simplv a bean of rotten slaves.
| and the same was true of the beef bar
rel Here ard there were rotten spots