Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1865-12-21
SUBSCRIBER.
The Haunted ship.

The Haunted ship.
The following narrative is from Washing
ton Irving, but as it is not included in his
collected works, it must be new to most of
our readers.
The world abounds with
ghost stories but it is exceedingly difficult
to get them at first hands-that is to say,
from persons who have actually seen the
ghosts; this may be the reason why they
have fallen into discredit with the dubious.
i once, however, heard a story of the kind
from one who came within an ace of being
an eyewitness, and who believed in it most
honestly. He was worthy Captain of the
sea, native either of Nantucket or Marthas
Vineyard, | forgot which; at any rate,
place noted for its hardy mariners. / met
with him in the ancient city of Seville, hav-
ing anchored with his brig in the Guadal
culver, in the course of wandering voyage.
Our conversation, one day, turned upon the
wonder and adventures of the sea, when he
informed me that among his multifarious
cruisings, he had once made a voyage on
board haunted ship 1t was vessel that
had been met with, drifting, half dismantled,
and with tagging sails, about the sea near
the Gulf of Florida, between the main land
and the Bahama Banks. Those who board
ed her found her without a living soul on
board the hatchways were broken open
the cargo had been rihed the decks, fore
and aft, were covered with blood, the shrouds
and rigging were smeared with the same, as
ifsome wretched beings had been massacred
as they chung to them. 1t was evident that
the ship had been plundered by pirates, and,
to all appearance, the crew had been muir
dered and thrown overheard.
The ship was taken possession of by the
finders and brought to Boston, in New
England, but the sailors who navigated her
TO port declared they would not make such
another voyage for all the wealth of Peru
They had been harrassed all the way by the
ghosts Of the murdered crew who by night
would come up out of the companion way
and the forecastle, run up the shrouds, sta
ton themselves on the yards and at the
mastheads,a and appear to perform all the du
ties of the ship.
As no harm had resulted from this ghostly,
seamanship, the story was treated lightly
and the vessel was fitted out for another
voyage; but when ready for sea, no sailors
could be got to embark in her. She lay
sometime in Boston harbor, regarded by the
superstitious seamen as a fated ship; and
there she might have rotted, had not the
worthy Captain who related to me the story
undertaken TO command her. He. succeeded
in getting some hardy tars, who stood in less
awe of ghosts TO accompany him, and his
brother-in-law sailed with him as chief
mate
When they got fairly to sea, the hobgoblin
crew began to play their pranks. At night
there would be the deuce to pay in the hold;
such racketing and rummaging as if the
whole cargo was overhauled, bales tumbled |
about, and boxes broken open; and some |
times it seemed as if all the ballast was
shifted from side to side. All this was |
heard with dismay by the sailors, and even |
the Captains brother-in-law, who appears !
TO be very sagacious man, was exceedingly |
troubled at it. As to the Captain himself, |
he honestly confessed TO me that he never |
saw or heard anything, but then he slept |
soundly, and when once asleep, was hard to /
be awakened.
Notwithstanding all these ghostly vaga-
ries, the ship arrived safely at the destined /
end of her voyage, which was one of the |
South American rivers under the line. The |
Captain proposed to go in his boat TO a town
some distance up the river, leaving his ship |
IN charge of his brother-in-law. The latter
said he would anchor her opposite TO an is
land in the river, where he could 90 on
shore at night, and yet be on hand TO keep
guard upon her; but nothing should tempt |
him TO sleep on board. The crew all swOre
the same. The Captain could not reasona-
bly, object TO such an arrangement so the
ship was anchored opposite the island, and
the Captain departed on his expedition.
For time all went well the brother-in-
law and his sagacious comrades regularly
abandoned the ship at nightlall and slept on
shore; the ghosts then took command and
the ship remained rs quietly at anchor as
though she had been manned by living bo-
dies instead of hobgoblin spirits. One night,
however, the Captains brother-in-law was
awakened by tremendous storm. He has
tened to the shore. The sea was lashed up
in toaming surges the rain came down in
torrents; the lightning flashed, the thunder
beloved. 1t was one of those sudden tenn
pests only known at the tropics. The bro
ther-in-law cast rueful look at the poor
tossing, laboring ship. He saw numbers of
uncouth beings busy about her, who were |
only TO be deserted by the flashes Of light
ming or by pale fires that glided about the
rigging; he heard occasionally the piping
of the boatswain's whistle or the believing
of a hoarse voice through a speaking-trum-
pet. The ghosts were evidently trying TO
save the ship but tropical storm is some
times an overmatch for ghosts, or goblins,or
even the ID himself In n word the
ship parted her cables, drove before the
wind stranded on the rocks, and there she
laid her bones.
When the captain returned from his e1-
petition up the river, he found his late gal
liant vessel n mere hulk, and received this
wonderful account of her fate from his
brother-in-law. Whether the wreck con-
tinued to be haunted or not, he could not in
form me; and | forgot TO ask whether the
owners recovered anything from the under
writers, who rarely insure against accidents
from ghosts. ...
Such is one Of the nearest chances l have
ever had of getting to the fountain head of
a ghost story. / have often since regretted ;
that the captain should have been so sound
a sleeper and that did not see his brother
in-laW