The Portland daily press., 1885-08-11
THE PHANTOM SCHOONER.
The Weird Helmsman off Schooner
Head, MT. Desert.
mt. Desert Herald.


The story of the phantom schooner ran
thus: Capt. Kidd had had the luck to cap
ture an outward bound West-India-man,
near the Bahamas, carrying large amount
of specie, which he promptly took charge of,
and having disposed of the crew according to
the manner of those times, and scuttled the
ship, made off to one of his many haunts,
and there putting the treasure on board a
small, swift schooner in charge of one of his
henchmen, ordered him to the secret storing
place at Mt. Desert. This piratical lieuten-
ant took his wife with him while bent on
such peaceful mission though as every
sailor knows, nothing is more unlucky than
to have woman or clergyman aboard
ship. But so Injured was this hardened rep
rebate to danger of all kinds that such old
woman's notions had no terror for him, and
he would no doubt have set sail Friday and
dined with thirteen at his cabin table every
day of the voyage without a ripple of hesita-
ton, though whether he ever ran the risk of
taking clergyman or private chaplain with
him may be open to some doubt
Notwithstanding this i'll augury no evil
adventure befel them until the little craft
came off the coast of Maine, when, as has
sometimes happened since, dense fog set
in, so dense that the manson the forecastle
could scarcely see the end of the long taper
ing jib-boom, as the schooer, gliding before
the light breeze poked her nose swiftly into
the mist. A fog at sea is bad enough when
one can whistle, or even blow horn; but in
the present case all of these means Of max
ing known ones whereabouts had to be
omitted for obvious reasons. However, all
went well enough until just before nightfall,
when brisk wind sprang up from the east
ward, dispelling the fog and revealing the
presence of a British corvette a few miles to
windward.
The corvette, evidently regarding the ap-
pearance of the schooner as suspicious, fired
gun as signal for her to heave to, which
being disregarded she forthwith gave chase.
As long as the wind continued light, the
schooner gradually crept away from her
heavier pursuer: but the wind increased and
tossed up such a sea that the tables were
soon turned, and there was nothing for the
pirate to do but run in toward the land, in
hope of eluding the enemy in some of the
hundreds of bays and inlets where the water
was too shoal for him. With this intent the
schO0ner's bow was put off until the wind
was over her starb0ard quarter and she
headed, as the skipper reckoned, for what is
now called Otter Cove. He intended if he
should not be able to slip away under cover
of the increasing darkness, to run into the
cove, put his treasure ashore In the boats,
blow up or scuttle the schooner, and escape
which the treasure was concealed, and where
he would be met by others of Kidd's retain
ers, and could make good his escape in some
other craft from the Southwest Harbor,
while the corvette was beating about French
mans Bay.
Owing to some miscalculation, assisted by
the night which had now fallen, while the
wind had increased to a gale, the schooner
ran past the mouth of the cove. Of course
breakers were heard near at hand, but that
was to be expected when running for the
| cove on such night, and caused no great
| anxiety, until, perhaps mistaking. the whit
| ish face of the rock for an opening in the
| coast line, the skipper headed for 1t, putting
| the schooner before the wind. and then to
| his horror discovering that he was running
| at an eght-knot rate directly for the cliffs by
| Spouting Horn!
Just then a chance shot from the corvette
such as she had been firing at any time for
an hour or more without effect, knocked over
| the man at the helm, and passing forward cut
| the main halyards, and down came gaff, main
| sail and all, in a heap on deck. The skipper
| himself sprang to the wheel and around flew
| the spokes; but no port or starboard, it was
/ all one to the doomed craft, for luff she would
| not with no sail aft, and to wear ship, even if
| it had been possible with the deck numbered
| with the tapping mainsail, was merely to
| choose between one rock and its fellow.
| On, on she flew, with her crippled gear,
rushing through the seething water and the
| shivering, shuddering gang Of evil men knot
| leu IUSGblltI dS dobCII do pOoolDiC, do IL W
| avoid the dreaded impact with the rocks
more remorseless than they. But the skip
| per he stood at the wheel, and his wife stood
| by him without trace of fear on her face,
but of resignation, and on his was suspense
| and determination; resolve to save that
woman if all else perished and a deathly
| doubt whether he could by any possibility
send the schooner's head where anybody
could Chamber to the rocks before she went
to pieces. Then a big wave takes the
/ fragile craft and thumpS her hard, cruelty,
pitilessly upon the ledge by the Spouting
Horn. Over went the foremast by the board.
One or two of the crew succeeded in Chamber
ing ON it to the rocks before it fell over the
| side into the sea, and were saved. The 9TH
| ers were paralyzed with fear. But the skip
per stood at the wheel and his wife knelt by
his side-aye, knelt and prayed such thing
as, ween, had not been done on that blood
stained deck in many day-and the white
capped waves dashed the slight hull like a
cookie shell up and down on the jagged
rocks, fast staving her to pieces, until at
length a huge foam-crested monster lifted
her off the rocky ledge and with the refluent
current she surged backward and downward
into the deep black-.s ocean and disappeared
forever.
The lookout on the corvette, who saw the
schooner one moment and looked for her in
vain the next, insisted upon it then and tC
the end of his days, that they had chased the
''Flying Dutchman" who had led them tt
their doom; and oftentimes in after year:
smugglers, who are not as class given Il
superstition, reported that they had sighted
a phantom schooner with her wierd helms
man fitting in the moonlight off the rocks Of