The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-02-04
Ev NJ. L. PLY

eieh.' They say some of the bottles
had rotted away"
Expressions akin to these were
af.oat around Manteo a few evenings
ago, but no one seemed &c know any
thing definite more than an Did crate
Of wine had been found by some boys
over on the west side of the Island.
Details could not be secured. Where
upon Professor Woodward, of the
graded school. and [, supplied with a
horse and buggy. and q boy to drive
rs furnished by Mr.. Theodore Neeku-
kins, Of Manteo, determined to verify
the report.
The January full moon In a clear
Sky but Tor a feck of cloud here and
there, silone bright as a harvest moon
in autumn, and the light breeze blow
ing was soft as the Maytirne. AS we
drove out by Burnside's headquarters
and on III the edge Of Croatan Sound,
with the light OF the moon on sand
n sound, one could but contrast the
scene with the days OF 80. Along the
edge in the shallow water are the
! snags and stumps Of hundreds OF oak
and cypress, dead and deca3ing as the
water cuts away the land year by
year. On low tide. the boys pick up
old minnie balls which have dropped
out of decayins wood, lmbedded
there In the stormy times OF sixty-two-
How changed now. Gould we be on
track Of q remnant OF those days.
| Or did We have q relic of earlier times?
Questions OF this order flourish on
Roanoke Island. The Interrogation
point is everywhere. It is said the in
habitants still dig for buried treasure
n ever look for the earth to give
up the riches Of pirates and the EN-
nants Of years long gone. SO We were
III the proper atmosphere and felt the
cOntag1on.
Some three or four miles out from
Manteo, on the west side OF the Island
about one mile west Of old Fort Raj
eigh, we came to the home OF Mr.. G.
r. Meekins. who gave US cordial well
come, Carl Meekins, his son, who
found the bottles, was away. but Carts
cousin, D.. Y. Meekins, a boy Of fifteen,
Q came in. They were the two
boys who made the lind"
i Mr.. Meekins brought in two OF the
bottles from the place he has them in
a keeping, careful 20 see that no
naishap comes to them. The bottles
are sound and brown. all alike with
not q letter or mark upon them. The
. measured Is twelve inches high.
including the neck four and one IA
) holds about one quart. All who have
seen them agree that they contain a
fine quality OF brandy.
These are the facts as given by the
boys: About fifty yards north OF Fort
Huger, which was under the command
OF Gen. John G. Foster in sixty-two,
in a place cut out by the recent storm,
from which the tide had gone out un-
der the northeast wind, they saw the
tops Of the bottie-necks above the
sand. Before the land was washed
away they were betwee two and
three feet underground. There were
three rows with four bottles In a rev
The wooden case had left nothing but
the dark outlines Of itself save some
fragments Of the bottom. They showed
uS a piece 0 the size Of one Of the
boys n It had the appearance
OF pine, bat was too nearly gone t.
retain the usual distinguishing mark:
OF the various woods. The cOrks were
ali gone save a thin sections near tn.
liquid, upon which the sand had be
come tightly packed. The remnant 0
these corhS soon crumbled to piece
after being exposed to the air. In get
ting the bottles out Of the sane tn
boys broke two OF them. From hi
doubtless started the runor that som.
of the bottles had rotted and the in
ference that they were as old as Raj
eigh's colony.
How did this crate OF brandy Sc
az there? How long have these bottle
Ii Deen Dur1ea there! are some OF tn
~ $500.
ill Sintn.;n "a $50 On -
he q shore being built UP by the tides on
mt might take them for the remnant Q
ne a wreck. but they are on the side 0
ns b land being cut way. They mus
have been buried there-shail We Sd
ch IN the sixties.
ee Tua,txNThsr p.~naat
aan 5-N
;sh SETS "oioAtees 1nAAiiut, gives III III
da details the dcifigs OF IA Twenty-Thir
Massachusetts, On the Island and tn
battle in February. 1852. He give
~ a map locating Fort Huger and othe
ich points. nciadlhs a drawing OF Cam
Foster.
q. Could this kaTe been some goo
French brandy to save the patriots {
"a. AaSsa nhaseits from tho ravaees {
maaefaa Hhlle in the sxamps of th
- South fighting for their conatyY