Richland beacon., 1888-12-08
Dart BO1vden.
Written for the Constitution.

ice TINS udy was tllrI.-tWO years
ago"
Then ne emptied the ashes from
his clay pipe in n little heap on the
deck. The breeze scattered the ashes
bit by bit as The old man watched.
"Yes. That's the way it is. Only
the ashes lef to show for what has
be<n. Then in time the ashes gees.
But a nice lubber | is" he said.
changing his expression suddenly.
"A cryin,' l was, cause the ashes
was gone, an here l is with q pouch
full o tobacco. Ill have some mo-
IN shake or two, an then somebody
c;se can do the cryin'.'
Looking the least bit ashamed az
himself the old tar began industri-
ously shaving of thin strips of TO.
bacco, filed his pipe and lighted it.
As the smoke began curling upward
in thick, heavy clouds, Jack settled
himself comfortably against e, con-
venieDt mess chest and waited in dig
nlt'od silence for an invitation to he
Tin the story.
Let's have the yarn, Jack"
Its n true story, lads
Whose grave was it, Jack?"
lie took two or three long pufs in
quick succession, blew thelast mouth
full of smoke lazily between his teeth.
and watched it with his eyes half
closed.
Whose grave was it," he repeated
slowly. 1t was Dart Bow,len grave.
jos thirty-two years ago this day IN
November, an trucr slirn,atc than
Dart Bowden never sailed with.
That grave was dug about seventy
north latitude an no livin' man saw
that grave dug but ole Jack West.
1T happened this way;
"The whalcr st. Mary let Bedford
town in '43. Dart was young an
venturesome In them days an be
took the Zee fever when that ship
come, NOthin' would do but ;s,lft
nlust go.
Nov Dart an me was brothers.
like, an our sladlics was brot Tiers
Ike he:o.-, III. Many cruise them
cid chap took together, an manv's
shc day me an y" t has wa.c',cii the
snip cont al a lookin' for 'ein home.
loved Dart Bowdrn. ! did, an
lnore'n Tint did | love Mary Bowden,
the handsen,2st little Gal in all Bed
ford Them was days when they wus
dots u handsome folks there toe.
40, when Dart mnde up his snin,,
to go, ! lowed Id go too,
Ten men we had-. gallant ship
and n gallant crew. God blcss nee.
how well remember that dav. Il
"na Monday, an q smilin', happy
sort y ilay it was.
y!e town folks come town, The
i.ngs flynn an u bar Il playii'.
] lisscd Mary Bovy,eh good bye. an
chen wewas Of, was up aloft with
he cnpts;a S glasses, an watched
She wharf tell the fog come up.
Lnds, fever the curse cf God
rested on a ship, it was on that one.
THAT night on mid-watch ] saw =
phantom ship. I saw a tWclvc-sail
ship, oil big ard clumsy like in olfen
,ignrs. saw her torn sails fan an
feat, an her ice-cOvered poles bend
like n hurricane had her. ! saw /.
ie," an hungry crew bcckrn;ii' To
f.c. They put their long hands up
t'umpct-!ike, an sent n hail that
ncver reached rs. On che p!ouched,
sin' tl:e'aist-likc foam rolled up about
sicr rotten PROV. Wilder an wilder
..er ghost crew mOt;oncd. They
fneeled an tore their hair. an w,1:rg
Their hands. They climbed like mon
keys. climbed to the very trucks of
those icicle rasts, an out to the tips
q tho tendin' yards. An off in the
mist the phantom ship sailed. that
.y'aN@ crew still Il beckonin',
That meant death. bat never a
word said.
I'll! luck camc from the very start.
Fiyodays out we buried Mike Stroker.
ihen the squat took our forcmas,
AN the life boat. We patched her I'D
1T st. JaTcs an headed north again.
Then another brave lad give up.
ut was on an on through the
frozen channels, among the iccburys.
an everywhere our III luck followed
Us.
Worn out one night, | was half
asleep when the crash came-a slow
:-rindin' crash, an the good shin
Fuiycrcd ike straw in the wind. /
MaS ont o my hammock in twinklin',
i'm Jes' rs | touched the deck there
was another long lurch, another
shock. an the ship stood still in the
water.
~. was n question of minutes.
We got of through, eight mrn and
ten days provisions, alone in the ice
current. Ten days, an trey might
search for ten thousand years an
Tot find VS..
81 thought of the phantom ship.
"fcnr long hours an we reached
island. Rescue island we called it. an
there we stopped. Nothin' but snow
an. ice, an north sea water.
First on hall, then quarter, until
that fearful time come when there
was 10 rai;ons.
"No.hin' was said, but We all knew
1t wSa q CONN., Twcnty-four hours
We eat IN that tent. The raft had