The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-10-31

handed below, while the smell of En-
glish, French, and Spanish gunpowder,
even down there, was so strong-phew
/ could have spat the flavor out.
swell, the old Ocean King had once
/ upon time been said to be haunted.
She had certainly been long enough
afloat to own hundred stories, and she
was SO staunch and true that if ever q
superstition got into her there was nc
chance of its getting out again. l only
remember one of these yarns; it was
told to me by the dockmaster, who had
been at sea for many years; was an old
man, and knew the history of all such
craft as the Ocean King. He said that,
in 81, l think it was, there had been q
row among the crew; an italian sailor
stabbed an Englishman, who bled to
death. To avenge the Englishman' g
death the rest of the crew. who were
chiefly English. thrust the Italian into
| the forepeak and let him lie there in
darkness. When he was asked for they
reported that he had fallen overheard,
and this seemed to have been believed.
Whether the crew meant to starve him
or not is not certain; but after he had
been in the forepeak three or four days
fellow going behind the galley out of
the way of the wind to light his pipe
| it being then four bells in the first watch
came, running into the forecastle with
his hair on end, and the sweat pouring
| Off his face, swearing he had seen the
Italians, ghost. This frightened the
men prettily: some of them went down
into the forepeak, and found the Italian
lying there dead. with a score of rats
upon him, which bundled off when the
men dropped below. During all the
rest OF the voyage his ghost was con-
stantlv seen, sometimes astride of the
flying jibboom. What was the end of
i'll mean, whether the men confessed
the murder, and, if so, what became of
them-the dockmaster said he didn't
know. BE that as it may, discovered
shortly after we had begun our voyage
that the crew had got to hear of this
story, and the chief mate said it had
been brought aboard by the carpenter,
who had picked il up from some of the
dockyard laborers.
Il well recollect two uncomfortable
circumstances: we sailed on Friday,
and the able and ordins-y seamen were
thirteen in number, the idlers and our
selves aft bringing up aite ships COM
pany to nineteen souls--nineteen souls
when. / suppose, in her prime the
Ocean King never left port short of
seventy or eighty seamen, not to men
ton stewards, cooks, cooks mates,
butcher, butchers mate. baker and the
rest of them. But double topsail-yards
were now in; besides, understood that
the vessels masts had been reduced
and her yards shortened, and We car
ried stump fore and mizzen topgallant-
masts. All being ready, a tug got hold
of our tow-rope, and away we went
down the river and out to sea. l don't
believe myself that any stories which
had been told the men about the ship
them much. Sailors are very
but they are not to be
scared till something has happened to
brighten them. Your merely telling
them that there is ghost aboard the
ship they're in won't alarm them till
they've caught sight of the ghost. But
once let man say to the others,
There's bloonin' sperrit in this ship.
Lay your head agin the forehatch and
you'll here him gnashing his teeth and
rattlin' his chains and then let another
man 60 and listen. and swear, and per-
haps very honestly, that he 'heerd the
noises plain. and you'll have all hands
in 4 funk, talking in whispers, and
going aloft in the dark nervously. In
our ship nothing happened for some
days. We were deep and slow, and rolled |
along solemnly, the sea falling away
from the vessels powerful round bows as |
from rock. Pile what we could upon |
her, with tacks aboard, staysails draw
ing, and the wind hitting her best sail |
ing point, we could seldom manage to |
get more than seven knots out of her. |
One night had the first watch. 1t was |
about two bells. There was a nice |
wind, the sea smooth, and a red moon \
crawling up over our starboard beam.
We were under all plain sail, leaning |
away from the wind trifle, and the |
water washed along under the bends in |
lines through which the starlight ran |
glimmering. l was thinking over the |
five or six months voyages which old |
wagons after the pattern of this ship |
took in getting to India, when, seeing
a squali coming along, sung out for |
hands to stand by the main royal and |
mizzen topgallant halliards. 1t drove |
down dark, and not knowing what was
behind ordered the main royal to be |
clewed up and furled. Two youngsters |
went aloft. By the time they were on |
the yard the squall thinned, but l |
fancied there was another bearing |
down, and thought It best to let the |
ordinary seamen roll the sail up. On |
a sudden down they both trotted hand |
over hand. leaving the sail tapping in
the clutch of the clew lines. L roared |
out: What dye mean by coming
down before you've furled that sail?'
They stood together in the main rig
ging, and one of them answered: |
please. sir, there's ghost somewhere |
up aloft in the foretopsail- yard "A
ghost. you fool!' Grief. Yes, SIR he
answered. He says: 'Jaimy, your
mother wants yer I says, 'What?'
and he says, Your mother wants yer,'
in the hollowest o. voices. Dick here |
heard it. There's no one aloft for
rards, sir. l sung out for them to
Jump aloft again, and finding that they |
didn't move 1 made a spr ng, on which |
they dropped like lightning on deck,
and began to beg and pray OF me in the
manner not to send them aloft,
as they were too frightened to hold |
on. Indeed, the fellow named Jim !
began to SILVER and cry when
l threatened him; SO as the royal had |
to be furled sent couple of able sea-
men aloft, who, after rolling up the
sail, came down and said that no voice
had called 10 them, and that they