Spanish ship whose name, Hke that on the bell, was Soli 

 Deo Gloria, for many Spanish ships carried similar reli- 

 gious names. There was little likehood that we could trace 

 the identity of the vessel, for there are few available rec- 

 ords of early Spanish shipping. We planned to go back an- 

 other day to look for other indications of this mysterious 

 ship. 



Close by the dock at Bill Thompson's, where Ery- 

 hohne was berthed, lay a heap of coral chunks which had 

 been raised from the wreck of the Looe the previous sum- 

 mer and dumped for future investigation. Most of them 

 bore reddish-brown stains, iron oxide from the cannon 

 balls which they contained. 



One morning soon after our recovery of the bell, 

 Clayton was hammering out some of these cannon balls 

 from the pile. Occasionally he would dash aboard Ery- 

 holme to show me a handwrought nail, some grapeshot, a 

 bit of bone or some other evidence of the Looe's wreckage 

 which he had found. 



Finishing my housekeeping chores, I went out to 

 join him and sit in the sun. I picked up a chunk which 

 obviously contained two cannon balls and turned it over 

 casually. On the other side I noticed the dull gleam of 

 what appeared to be lead. There was something in this 

 piece besides cannon balls. I called to Ed, who was experi- 

 menting with an air hammer to be used underwater. He 

 turned the tool on the hunk of coral. 



Two speedy cuts revealed a battered container. With 

 a few more rackety strokes he freed a small, much- 

 corroded teapot of dull metal. The rounded dome of the 

 cover fitted smoothly and perfectly into the coral. It came 

 out without a dent. The bottom, however, was crushed 

 flat. The handle and the knob on the cover were missing; 

 no doubt they were of bone or wood, long since disinte- 

 grated. 



The Florida Keys 35 



