The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1871-01-12


the mate.
"Within this last quarter OF an hour.
But is everything ready for trying out,
Mr.. Smart!" And the captain exam
ined the preparations made. "Call the
watch as soon as it is light enough, and
set all hands to work. The coppers are
charged, so you may as well light the
fires. and then pass the word along for |
silence fore and aft. I want to listen,
and try and make out what those noises
mean" :,
He went out and stood by the taffrail, |
while the men on deck, ceasing their
work, went to the side or mounted the |
rigging.
For short time they remained thus,
looking and listening, when the captain,
hearing again the deep moaning he had
described, raised the speaking trumpet
he held, and hailed. As the hoarse sound
died away, a startling reply was given.
A burst of strange, harsh laughter came
ringing across the water, gradually
changing into wild cry, which rose
upon the night air, sounding inexpressi-
bly, sad and mournful. At that moment,
as the seamen, thrilled and awe-struck,
listened, the fires which had been light
ed beneath the coppers, and which had
been fed with pieces of refuse blubber,
began to burn up brightly, the flames
presently shooting up half way to the
tops, and casting a broad red glare over
the surrounding waters. And, as IT the
flame had been spell to conjure up the
demons of the deep. from the thick dark
ness beyond the verge of the circle OF
! light issued succession of sounds OF the
most extraordinary character. Iells
and howls, shrill screams and roars-
now commiugled, now separate-at
times dying away, and again, as the
flames shot up fiercely, rising In hideous
chorus-assailed the ears of the astound-
ed whalers, while at intervals, mingled
with the uproar, was what seemed to
some on board to be the sound, indis-
tinctly heard, of human voices. This
continued until the vessel had passed
on her way some distance, when the
noises became more and more indistinct,
and finally died away.
Before the fires had been lighted the
ship had been put before the wind, in
order that the smoke and flame might
pass forward and not endanger the rig
ging or incommode the men at their Ia
Dor. Some of the latter, alarmed at the
sounds, would willingly have had her
continue her course and leave the vicini-
ty; but the Yankee skipper was not so
superstitious and, being determined to
ascertain their cause, he ordered the
fires to be put out, $50 that the vessel
might sail against the windy, and re-
turned. While the lookouts aloft We're
trying. to catch sight of any vessel or
other object in the neighborhood, the
sounds again reached them and, sailing
in their direction, the ship was hove to,
and a boat lowered; but The men hung
back when the captain ordered crew
in, and wished to wait for daylight.
"Why, what are you afraid of, men!
Do you think there are evil spirits cruis-
ingt"
He paused in surprise, and all hands
uttered cry. a strange phenomenon
was presented to their view; pale
blue, phosphorescent light CLEANED out
of the darkness, and showed them a
wreck, dismasted and drifting. Through
the open ports and breaches in the bull
warks, broken by the waves, the un-
earthly-looking radiance shone, glim-
mering and f1ickering on the stump of
the mainmast, the only fragment of q
spar left standing. Its bows were to-
wards them, and from their own mast
heads they could at times, when it
pitched and rolled, look down on to it's
deck. Close to the after hatchway burn
ed blue, tremulous flame, sometimes
shooting up vividly, and at others sink
ing down until nearly extlnguished, by
the hight of which all on deck was rem
dered visible. All hands looked eagerly
for signs of a crew; but nothing in the
shape of a man was to be seen. The
deck was cleared, the long-boat and
spars gone; there was nothing to con-
ceal them from view, had any men been
on board.
But although nothing in the guise ot
mortal man was visible, other objects
presented themselves to the view of the
awe-struck sailors. Gaunt and weird.
looking shapes of hideous animals were
plainly seen fitting restlessly to and frc
in the ghastly light of that unnat'
ural illumination of a lonely wreck al
sea.
"I can tell you, sir" said my infor-
mant, at this portion of his narrative
THAT 1 for one was scared, and no mis-
take about it. l was brought up in 6
part of New England where belief in
the supernatural prevails. had heard
that evil spirits appeared at times in the
form of beasts, and haunted the places
where they had when on earth commit
ted their crimes and we were off that
coast where, for two hundred years, the
desperadoes of every clime-pirates anc
buccaneers-had pursued, when in life
their horrid calling. As the blue light
fiickered and the yells once more broke
out, these tales of my early days might
have made me fancy myself in the pres
ence of some phantom ship with it'
ghastly crew.
But daylight soon came, the blu'
light went out, and we then saw tha
the wreck was real one, and that {
boat was towing astern; and when WI
pulled to it and hailed, voices from thu
cabin aft replied, and we rowed rouno
and saw a man with his head and shoul
ders projecting out of the window.
II say, strangers !" he shouted, dom
none of you offer tocome aboard. Som
of the critters got loose last night, anC
they're dangerous" And dangerou
enough they appeared to be, for at tina
moment came to the taffrail and looked
! down on us several hyenas, whose eyes
sparkling with famine, glared mos
ferociously and no wonder; they ha'
! bad no food for nearly week
The brig was in fact complete me
} nagerie. which a speculative American