Year: 1878

This morning young man, dressed in sailor shirt
and trousers, entered tho Office OF Commodore
Febiger the commandant ut the Washington Navy
Yard. and reported himself as William Buder, q
Survivor of tho crew of the United States
corvette Huron. wrecked nearly year ago
the Carolina coast north of Cape Hatteras. The
nouncement created. it might well do, a general
sensation The vessel lost it will be remembered,
onthe 24h of November 1877 and all of her lucklcss
crew. who had not been heard from within the
ensuing few weeks. recorded among the missing,
never to be heard from again until the should
give up its dead at the last day But here of
this long roll who had reappeared after nearly
years supposed sepulture in the depths Of the
ocean, and came to report for duty. calmly
as if lie. had returned from a three days
'liberty.' At first there was a disposition
to regard the man as an imposor or a lunatc. In
the first character lie would be q claimant years
pay and the survivors, money cnd the pecunary gift
made by Congress. This survivors money and gift
would in his case amount to about sl40. The i'm
preston that he might be lunatic created by





But there too much method in his
madness, too much ingenuity in the tale he told to
leave this unfayorabe impression long in the minds
of the officers, who subjected him to rigorous ques
tioning and they eventually consigned him quar-
ters the receiving ship until they should look up
his record at the Navy Department where an official
report of his arrival was duly made to-day by Com
modore Febiger.


VERY STUPID SEAMAN.


Whether he was originally Of low order Of intel
lect or became enfeebled mentally by the suffering he
underwent a castaway. Buder was anything but
bright in his to the interrogatories put to
him by the curious crowd OF naval officials who sur
rounded him at the Navy Yard. and it was only
by dint Of persevering effort and repeated and
emphatic questions that he got to enlarge upon
his first simple assertion that he of the
of the Inflated man-of-war. What he did tell how
ever. was impaired freely his lethargic wits
would allow and with apparently the best Of faith
For this reason his examiners are salts
fed that he is impostor. especially
the sailor clothes he had on were
Of the United States regulation make and bore evil
dence Of being and old they would be under
the circumstances. 1t will not be until Monday how
ever that the Recruiting Bureau OF the Navy Depart
nent be opened and the records searched prove
his identity. An effort made meantime to
find some survivor OF the Huron who might
be in port to assist in this work of





gallant fellows who had escaped q watery grave with
the Huron had been told of to other menof war; and
were scattered over the sea.


BupERs REMARKABLE STORY.


The story told by Buder is substantially as fol-
lows:-"M name is William Buder, and am Nor
wegian by birth, and twenty three years Of
age. enlisted in the navy
landsman at Philadepha on the 2sth Of August 1877
and sent board the receiving ship st. Louis.
Soon after was transferred to the receiving ship
Colorado at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. New York. and
remained there about four months Just before the
Huron sailed from New York on her way to Norfolk.
en- roaie for Havana was transferred on board OF
her"


Here he was asked the name Of the captain Of his
gun. but he said he could only recollect that he
was called Pete. He didn't know his other name. nor
did he know, could he recolect any other Of the
officers names. except those Of Lieutenant simons
and Ensign Young.


He continued:-"I was in the first gun division
and belonged to the foretop. but do not remember
tho Of the officer of the division. was at the
wheel when the ship struck. was sent there at
twelve O'Clock to relieve the man ahead Of me. With
the accident rythng became confused to my mind.
I cant recolect distinctly. but some time during
the night l remember finding the balsa
blown up somwhere forward. with . line
attached to it. Probably it HID been made
ready by Mr.. Young, for him, he aftcrward at
tempted to carry the line ashore with it. At the time
reached 1t 1t was guarded BY Antonio Williams Aa-
man, spaniard who afterward saved. tried
to cut the line and throw the basa overheard but was
driven away by williams. aftcrward saw Mr.. Young
overheard with the balss can't say how long after
the vessel struck all this took place. believed was
the last man on board


LAsrED TO A spAn ron rwEsrr-rouR HOURS


Here he was again cross-examincd sharply. as the
last Of the hung to the ship until after daylight
and he admitted that possibly It only fifteen min
ues after the ship struck. In this instance as in
general he anything but exact as to time and de-
tails. Allowed to resume. no went on--


"while it was still dark saw . spar. probably the
mizzcntopmast. fall overheard. / was in the main
rigging at this moment and jumped overheard after
the spar. succeeded in reaching it. and larhed
myself TO II with my handkerchief. An ordinary
man by the name Of Jesse Roll spaniard. cung to
the spar with We drifted to with the spar
which easily supported both of us. and the sea had