AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 201 



of Hamburgh, which came ashore at Thurlestone Sands, in 

 February of this year (1874). She was laden with cotton 

 seed and dye woods. During a heavy gale, a few days 

 previously, she was struck by a heavy sea, which swept 

 off the captain and two men, and damaged the vessel. 

 The mate then took the command, and having been at 

 the wheel for several days, got out of his reckoning, and 

 the vessel became embayed. The brigantine was then off 

 Hope, and the officer of the coast-guard, seeing she must 

 come ashore, got out a small life-boat, and took off the 

 mate and two lads before she struck, and landed them at 

 Hope. 



Many years ago, some young people were amusing them- 

 selves by digging in the sand just under Bantham Ham, 

 and to their astonishment they came upon a human skull. 

 It was apparently that of a negro — certainly not that of an 

 Englishman. Afterwards several other skulls were disin- 

 terred near the same spot, and it seems probable that they 

 were relics of those who perished either in the wreck of the 

 Ramilies, or of the Chantiloupe. 



When the valley between Bantham and Thurlestone was 

 in process of being drained some years ago, the workmen 

 stumbled upon a mass of bones, which were at first supposed 

 to be human remains; they were, however, afterwards dis- 

 covered to be those of various animals, but how they came 

 there remains a mystery. Many cartloads of bones were 

 carried away to be used as manure. This draining altered 

 the course of a stream which ran all through the valley, 

 and after a while a beautiful bubbling spring burst up 

 through the saiid of the beach, where it remains a great 

 boon to thirsty picnic-ers. 



Thurlestone parish includes the hamlets of Buckland, 



