The Washington times., 1923-09-28
BURIED VESSEL
AND SKELETON
N|YST|FY
Excavations by Workmen Add
to St. Lawrence Problems
for Historians.

CLAYTON, N. z, Sept. 2S.-To
The mystery lore that is woven into
every mile Of the historic st. Law.
renee River and it's abutting terri
tory today has been added two new
problems for historians to puzzle
ever.
The first came to light when
worlmen commenced digging post
holes for erection OF o dock on the
beach In front of the cottage Of
G. r. Hoag, about three miles up-
stream from Clayton. A worlxman's
shovel struck something hard at
q point about six feet below the
surface and investigation was
The search brought to light .
gO0d-sized sailing vessel buried
under the sands, the mast broken
of and buried with the ship.
Scorched wood on the side of the
cabin testified to the manner IN
which the ship had come TO the
end Of its sailing career; but its
origin, owners, crew and their fate
appear to be an impenetrahle mys-
tHT.
Think Crew Perished
That the crew persisted. after
deeing the burning vessel, - the
assumption Of historians, for there
Is no record In the history Of the
river Of any boat being burned and
sunk.
Because Of the peculiar construc-
ton Of the vessel and the fact that
handmade nails were used exclu.
-gively. historians estimate that the
vessel was constructed not less than
1b0 years ago.
This at first gave rise TO the opin-
ion that the craft was one Of the
fleet that participated In the land
and naval battle between the Amer
icanE and the British, In the bay
now known as Prospect Park, In
1913.
Close scrutiny OF all available rec
0rds, however, showed that although
several British vessels were badly
damaged, all were salvaged.
The haste with which the crew
Of the mystery ship left the craft to
be burned under the sands for a
century and a alt was shown by the
condition Of the boat.
On deck was an AK and an old cop
per kettle, and in the cabin dishes,
knives and two-tined forks were scat
tered on the table as though the
sailors had been preparing for a meal
when the flames drove them from
the ship.
Old Grave Found.
Another and possibly a connecting
mystery was uncovered by excava-
tors, working under the Baptist
Church here to install heating sys-
tenn, when their picks broke into q
small, oblong cavity deep down and
revealed the skeleton Of a girl, who,
scientists say, was about seventeen
years old at death.
The body had been placed in q
rough casket and buried in the clay
ground, which hardened around II
and made a tiny but perfect vault
Tor the remains, even after the
coffin had been destroyed by the
ravages of time.
Over this inscrutable mystery the
cnnrch had been built, with genera.
tons OF worshipers and merry
makers praying, singing and hold.
ing parties a few feet above it, un.
aware that another chapter in the
mystery history of the st. Lawrence
region was hidden just below them.
Was She Ship Victim?
Did the girl come to her death IN
the fire that sent the mystery shin
to the bottom of the river?. Did the
escaping crew take her body with
them and lay 1t to rest in the soil
OF the high knoll before they started
off through the woods to find safety
In some settlement or death by
erarVation or at the hands of hostile
1ndfans?
THESE are questions that will never
be answered, the historians say, and
the twin discoveries will go down In
that long list Of inexplicable mystic
ries which have cast a spell OF
roP1ance over the great waterway.