Red Wing sentinel., 1861-03-27
RED WING G00DHUE COUNTY,


at as the wild chimcra of madman
The crew amused thcmselvcs--.som,
fishing, some reading, and others gaz
ing lislcssly at the volumes Of ashc
/, and smoke that were elected from tim,
to time, from the mouth Of Vcsuvius
or at the sun reflected waters undc
meath.
Many days had thus elapsed, will
their consequent monotony, when a,
incident occurred as extraordinary a.
: it is unique. The captain had gon,
below few minutes, but feeling an
noycd at the prolongued calm, cam,
up again, and was inpatiently pacing
, the deck, fore and aft, now glancin:
j.. up to the clouds, and anon down al
) the barometer; when the look -out-ma,
reported to the captain, that he hat
just described two objects, like vcr,
large birds,on the verge of the horizon
!, which seem to be vending their way
in the direction o] the becalmed ship
! The captain, procuring his telescope
brought it to bear on the yet tar-dis
tant objects, and, after a long ani
steady survey, said in answer to :
question form the mate.
"Well, this is most extraordinary
certainly, can scarcely believe the
evidence Of my own senccs, and
will como to no conclusion on tho
matter, till l have got nearer view
Of these strange Objects
In a few minutes, however, the figures
became vi$ablc enough to the whole
ships company, who congrcgatcd
with amazcment, at the stern Of the
vessel, and gazed with dilatcd eyes,
at the rapidly approaching Objects
Many were the surmises Of the old tars
at the phenomena, but all agreed that
it was something which had no paral.
lcll in their sca-faring experience.
Nor longer time had they for specula,
ton, as the figures made rapidly for
vessel, and passed closely over the top
mast, revealing the forms of two men,
in strange habilimcnts, one evidently
in chase Of the other. They piercing
the air quick as the eagle, yet did not
appear to have any wings, but dashed
OF, as if the sky was their native
element. -~t.. -.t,r.E
The captain who was native of
Liyerpoolc, and who, rs we said, was
standing with his telescope, brought
to bear on the mysterious visitors,
exclaimed, as the figures passed over
tho ship:
"Great Heaven! one of those flying
things looks like old Mr.. Booty, Of
Liverpool, the rich merchant, and the
other is--the devil!''
Awc-s!rickcn, the captain and crew
continued to gaze at the rctreating
figures, and watched till they ultimate
ly disappeared at the mouth of Mount
|Ycsuvius, at the exact place where
Pliny, the naturalist, is Siad to have
|pcrished, in A. d. 70. Both figures
plunged into the yawning abyss Of
liquid fire, and were lost to view for
ever!
Horriied at the spectacle, it was
sometime before the captain could
withdraw his eyes from the place
where they disappeared, as if expect
ing to sec then again winging their
way with bird-likc rapidity. But at
length he turned round, and entered
his cabin, and after he had made a
careful and truthful statement, in his
log book, of the extraordinary affair,
time, date, etc., he summoned his crew,
and asked them all to witness to its
truth, which they did very willingly;
and when the captain read the "Form
ofPraycr to be used at sea-" provided
/ by the Episcopal Church, many Il
strong heart quailcd, and was softcncd
at the thought, that ''those that go
down to the sea in ships, and occupy
their business in great waters, these
men sec the works of the Lord, and
his wonders in the deep" The re-
membrancc fthat scene never faded
from any of their minds, and various
were the effects produced by the re-
currcncc Of it on the rough scamcn.
a breeze springing up 4 day or two
after, they sailed for England, and in
4 short time, had the pleasure Of again
seeing the white cliffs Of Old Albion.
On his arrival in Liverpool, the
captain was waited upon by the owners
Of the vessel, and nearly the first news
which met his astonishcd cars was the
astounding announcement of the death
OF old Mr.. Booty, one ofthe owners Of
the vessel, also! On reference to his
log he found, to his amazcmcnt
that at the exact moment he had seen
the flying figures at the Bay ofNaples,
cd Mr.. Booty had brcathcd his last in
Liverpool.
1t is unnecessary to repeat that this
extraordinary statement was sworn to
before the Mayor Of Liverpool, and
may yet remain on their books, as one
of those mysterious occurrence, which
occasionally happen, but Of which we,
in this generation, can never hope to
solve the mystery.
For years after, the extraordinary
story Of ''Clooty and Booty" was
familiar as the household words
(having gone the rounds of all the
papers OF that day., but it is now
forgotten, even by the s'o!d,st inhab-
tantS.