Connecticut western news., 1888-12-12
SUNK BY A METEOR.
An Old Sailors Account of a Re-
 markable Incident.
A Mysterious Ship Scuttled By
 a Fiery Aerolite.

"A MySL0TIOuS onlp oCuCll0Q 6y
 Fiery Aerolite.
 Peter Werngren, an old sailor of S,n Francisco, who has cruised in every ocean on the face of the globe, but whose seafaring days arc nearly ovsI because his joints are growing stiff and his eyes weak with age, was asked by Now York Sun correspondent what was the strangost thing ho ever saw at sea. The old man unused for . flow moments, and then said:
 ''We were becalm d in the Pacific about nine or ten degrees north of the equator, and, if recollect right in something liko 123 degrees west longi- tudo. The Antelope lay there liko a log, rolling on tho swell fit to make a man sick. The sails Tapped against the mast with dull, booming sounds, and tho only draught of air you could feel was what they made. The water was like molten lead, tapping heavily against hor sides. If you never were in any of those calms, you can have no idea how gloomy it makes a man.
 Ut was the second night in the calm, and the port watch was on deck. Tho moon was shining clear; everything was still, but for the creaking noises always about ship afloat, and as there was nothing to keep lookout for except indications of breeze, which didn't seem likely to como along, although we had puckered our lips out of shape whistling for it, tho men were drows- ing under the bulwark', and the man at the wheel was snoring.
 'I was leaning over the rail, looking at brigantine becalmcd about three miles away on our starboard quarter. We hadn't spoken hcr, and didn't know what she was or where she was from. could tell by the taper of her masts that she was American built, but that was all. She was trim little craft, and it was enough to break seaman's heart the way she was wiped off tho face of the earth that night. To be sure, tho Antelope wasn't treated much better, few months later, but fire is ono of tho things sailor reckons among the chances of his calling, and many good ship is burned at sea. But don't suppose any other craft ever met such sudden and unnatural fato in this world as that brigantina Mind, I don't say I know it never happened before, because strange things always are happening at sea, and some of the strangcst never get told. Because why1 Men don't 1.-Two to tell em.
 'Well, was leaning on the rail at about six bells, with my check in my palm, looking away where the brigan . tine lay in the moonlight. The motion of the bark on tho swoll was slow and kind of soothing, and I had got sort of half dreaming with the lazy roll of her, when was startled broad awake by a bright light in the sky. Looking up I saw great ball of fire rushing down through the air on slant, and there was dark cloul abovs. By the time had hauled in the slack of my mind enough to know that it was shooting star, the glare of 1t got so bright that the light of the moon was of no more account than slu'h lamp, and the stars were put out altogether.
 "Therc was a rushing, hissing sound in tho air as the thing came down. When it got pretty near, the light al- most blinded mo and I could sec noth- ing lut the fiery gleam of it on the water. It wasn't as long from the time it hove in sight until it struck as Pvo been telling how it looked. It must have been travelling liko a cannon ball, or maybo gool many moro knots minute. In tho glare lost sight of the brigantino. I heard Q crashing sound, and tho ball of fire disappeared, leaving everything black before my eyes for a moment.
 ''When l had blinked the right sight lack into my eyes and got used to the moonlight, that secmei pale and sickly, l glanced over tho star oard quar ter to whcro the brigantine had been, but therc wasn't trace of her to bc seen. l could hardly believe my own eyes, al- though they wcro good pair in those days before tho du,t of the sea had dulled them, and I thought I must have been bit dazod by what had happened and got confused in my bear iugs. But in no direction was 80 much as a spar in sight, and off there on the quarter there was a rising and falling of short waves, their tops catching the g.int of m oon beams, that showed where the shooting star had gone down into the sea. That was where tn, brigan- tine had been.
 ''The flash and roar of the falling star had aroused the watch on deck. and the men were gathered in group ly the foromast, blinking their eyes and wondering what had happened. They had seen all that had and didn't know what had mado the great glaro of light. 1 told thom to look for the brigantine, and sent a man aloft to sec if anything could be made out where shc had been. They were just about struck dumb b when they saw the sea clear of all craft but our own, and asked mo if the brig antinc had blown up. The man aloft reported that ho could not mako out