Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1879-05-08


eyes as I stepped on board! The plank
twenty and thirty corpses in Turkish
costume were strewn about the deck
a dead man, sp]endidly attired, wa!
standing bolt upright against the mai.
mast; he held a ssber in his hc,d h;
form was shriveled and et,.stlv md -
large nail passing thrc ,ug6 his forehead
tla inJ MN n TO me wood against wnicl
no no ie1neu' -crror paralyzed my limb
a anu l LARGELY dared to breathe. NJ,
'" 4cahioh. who presently joined me
gas equally terrified at the scene befor,
hi!1, where, instead of living beings
mangled carcasses shocked our senses.
After commencing ourselves to the
protection of the Holy Prophet, We de-
termined to descend below, expecting al
each step that some new horror would
present itself to stay our progress. We
scarcely dared to turn our heads lest the
chief nailed to the mast should fix his
sunken eyes on us, or one of the dead
men should raise his CHASTITY visage.
| We arrived at length at stairway
which led to q cabin-there we stopped
involuntarily as if to interrogate each
other whether to 60 on or return to the
deck, for neither had as yet ventured to
utter his thoughts.
"Oh, my master! said my faithful
follower, "some atrocious deeds must
have been perpetrated here. Let US
know the worst. If the other part OF
the vessel be full of murderers, it were
as good to perish by their hands as to re.
main longer among these corpses."
With this opinion was ready to con-
cur, and having rallied our courage, we
cautiously descended.
The silence of the tomb reigned below,
broken only by the sound Of our foot
steps. We paused at the chief cabin
door, and placed my ear against one of
the panels to listen, but all was still; we
then entered the apartment, which pre-
sented confused appearance, garments,
weapons and many other articles being
scattered about in disorder. Thence we
pursued our search from cabin to cabin,
from stateroom to steerage, and at last
to the hold of the vessel. We found
everywhere superb stufs, pearls, precious
stones and other costly merchandise.
The sight of this rich cargo, without
an owner, would have filled one with
Joy, but for the solemn impressions which
my mind had Just received; even as it
was, thought that we might appropri-
ate to ourselves all this valuable prep.
erty; but Ibrahim reminded me that we
were still far at sea, and that we could
not hope to navigate the ship to land
without other assistance.
After having availed ourselves of the
provisions and liquors, of which there
were an abundance, and apparently
quite fresh, on board, we returned to
the deck, but not without again shudder-
dering at the frightful appearance of
the PROSTATE groups around US. It was
necessary to get rid of them, however,
and we determined to cast them into the
waves; but our blood froze within US
when we discovered that the first we
touched was perfectly rigid and immov-
able! None of them, in fact, could be
moved from the spot which they occu-
pied; they were rooted, as it were, on
the deck, and to have displaced them
we must have loosened the planks, which
we had no means of doing. We were
equally unable to tear the captain from
the mast to which he was nailed, nor
could we even release from his hand the
sabre which he grasped.
We rallied at length from the con-
sternation into which we had been
thrown by this supernatural discovery,
and passed the day in rejecting on our
melancholy condition. When evening
came l requested old Ibrahim to try and
take some repose, while I remained N.Y.
self on the forecastle to watch over our
our safety.
The night was clear, and / saw by the
position of the stars that midnight was
approaching, and soon after I felt 80
disposed for sleep that I involuntarily
sunk down behind cask which was
near me. The sensation which came
over me was rather that of giddiness
than of slumber, for I could distinctly
hear the waves beat against the sides Of
the vessel and the whiatling of the wind
through the rigging. Suddenly 1 fan
cied l caught the sound of voices and
the trampling of feet on board. Iwould
have risen to ascertain the cause of this
new wonder. but my limbs, restrained
as it were by some invisible agency, re-
fused to obey me, nor could l even open
my eyes. Momentarily the noise be.
came louder; it seemed to me that the
deck was thronged with ]nerry-hearted
sailors; and in this babel of tongues
thought could distinguish the orders
of q commander and the sound of ropes
and sails.
My senses then deserted me, and I fell
into a profound sleep, during which I
imagined that heard the clashing of
swords. did not awake until the sun,
already high in the heavens, oppressed
me with its fervid beams. At first I
looked around with bewilderment; my
shi 2wreck, the strange vessel, the dead
men, and all that beard the preceding
night, appeared to me as part of my
dream; but when I cast my eyes toward
the waist of the ship, my perceptions
returned, for saw that all was in the
same state as I had left it the evening
before; the grim corpses lying immova-
bic on the deck, and the hideous captain
still nailed to the mast. :.
I Twas COMPOUNDED as endeavored to
distinguish the real from the imaginary
in what had passed before me, and l
arose to look after my old servant. I
found him in the cabin "perplexed in
the extreme!"
my dear master, he exclaimed, as he
saw me advance. II had rather be at
the bottom of the sea than remain
another night in this diabolical ship"
I inquired what new terror had
alarmed him, and he gave me the follow
ing account:
"After troubled sleep of some hours
l was awakened by. the noise of some
one running about overhead. At first I
thought it was yourself, but soon the
Gatherings of numerous feet convinced
me that there was at least twenty men,
who presently shouted and called to each
other. Not long afterward I heard
heavy steps descending the: staircase,
and scarcely knew where I was. For
moment only that my observation
served me I perceived from the corner
where I was 1ying the man who is above
nailed to the mast approaching the table,