St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-01-01
A GHOSTLY CREW.
The Strange Story Of How a
Ship Was Saved by a
Ghostly Crew.
A Thrilling Experience Re-
lated by an Old Weather
Beaten Sea Captain.
How a Ship Was Steered Away
From Water Spouts by
Spirit Hands.
The Captains Daughter Read
lily Corroborates the Story
Of Her Father.

"Capt. Hitler, do you believe in
ghosts?"
"Ghosts? Well, l should Why, my
young friend, just let me tell you a
ghost Story-a story that is true, as l
will warrant upon oath, if necessary. 1t
happened to myself" The speaker was
Capt. Mat Hitler, who is a sea captain
that, having became sole owner of a
clipper and several brigs, no longer
faces the dangers of the ocean.
but lives at home with his
pretty daughter in snug brown
stone front house on Madison avenue in
this city. The captain was sitting in his
large upholstered chair beside a table
on which a number of bottles and
glasses glinted in the mellow gaslight,
writes the New York correspondent of
the Cincinnati Enquirer. AS he leaned
back in his chair, and took his cigar
from his lips and let blue and ghOStly
column of fragrant Havana smoke as
cend, he looked rather sharply across
the table to where your correspondent
was sitting; then he began his story,
which was as follows:
"What l am about to tell you hap
pened two. years ago, and at the time
some of the circumstances were prOba-
bly, published in the New York papers,
for strict inquiry was made by the au-
thOritieS into part of it, but the ghOstly
part, think, has not yet been told in
print before. In 1884 l set sail from this
city for Rio Janeiro, in the brig East
port. She was an S00-ton vessel and al
though she has been Skimming the salt
water since 1868, she was still a first
class vessel of her kind. l was espe-
cially attached to her,as had been part
owner of her ever since she was built,
or indeed since her keel was laid, and
for ten years L had been her captain,
but this was the first voyage [ had made
in her as entire owner. | had prospered
from the time | had first commanded
her, and l now felt proud of my vessel,
and the good luck which l believed to
be inStilled into her ribs and timberS.
My cargo was miscellaneous, ropes,
machinery, ETC., but among other things
ton of gunpowder and half hold
full of kerosene oil in large cans.
All for several weeks went like a mar
riage bell, beautifully. but one day in
south latitude 10 deg. 80 min., speaking
at hazard, and longitude west from
Greenwich % deg. 10 min., noticed a
peculiar smell of kerosene. As we were
unable to get at the part of the hold
where the Oil was packed, and it was
probable that nothing worse than the
bursting of a can could have taken
place, no heed was paid to it. For two
weeks we laid becalmed here, not NOV
ing more than ten knots in all that time.
The sun was directly over our heads at
noon, and the
HEAT WAS TERRIBLE.
AS to air, there seemed not breath.
On Friday morning, before sunrise,
Oct. 23,o 1884, l was called from my
cabin in great haste. No sooner had |
got on deck, and before the mate could
tell me, l saw what the matter was,
Smoke was rising in thick. dark col
ume from the main batch, which had
blown off by an explosion. and smell
not unlike smoking kerosene lamp
filled the misty air. My heart sank,
and no wonder. As l looked
he, too, appreciated the full hor-
Tor of the Situation-kerosene- fire
gunpowder. Fortunately, the crew did
not know that we had gunpowder on
board, and the powder was packed at a
distance from the probable seat of the
fire. Well, we all just went to work
and fought that fire for quarter of an
hour, but it gained steadily. 1t was not
in the kerosene itself, but leakage from
the latter had flowed aft to some bales
of brown store paper, which had taken
it up greedily and was now burning
like finder. We knew that the minute
the fire reached the the aft or forward
hold there would be no use to
fight it. We knew, too, that we
had got to make immediate tracks if
either occurred, and almost before we
were aware of it, the yellow flames were
licking the tin kerosene cases forward.
"Well, boys" said l, ito the boats
quick" But little time did it take us to
put off from the burning ship. l cannot
describe my feelings as we did so-but
it would be of no use if we could. We
had but slim provisions for twenty men
and boy, and the nearest land, the Is
land of Trinidad, was some 800 miles to
the southwestward. Our only hope was
to fall in with some passing ship,
but we resolved to put oars to
account and start toward the island.
We made very little progress the first
day, as we felt kind of fascination to
see what would happen to the burning
ship, for it had not broken out yet into
a general confagration, and we also
hoped the fire would attract passing
ship. At about 10 o'clock at night the
still air and the ocean resounded with
terrific explosion, followed almost i'm
mediately by another, and before the
echoes had ceased for there are echoe S
at sea on still night white sheet of
living flame burst from every part of
the vessel, and for the rest of the night
she burned with wonderful brilliancy.
oil I:.-l~4 IL