The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1889-10-04
A SAILORS "REMINISCENCES
BY A. H.

Dutchman mates" said Tom Kieffman.
as he took q sip from his can in the
fo'ksel of the Caspertow, and set it down
again. II most certainly do, for I've
seen the like, in my cruising among the
waters of the world.
I'D heard o great deal about the
Flying Dutchman and other specter
craft, but I was skeptical, however,
after my W experience, I am willing
to believe in phantom ships, witches,
sea-serpents, and in fact everything.
u had just gone home after q five
years cruise, and I had saved up my
money SO as to take a nice little sum
home to the old woman, and I was well
come.
Having been gone for SO long, and
being no hand with q pen to write
home, I was afraid Mary might have
got spliced again, believing that I had
set sail for the port of Paradise.
sBut no; she was true to the sailor
lad, though the country parson was
cruising round her pretty sharp, and
trying to beat windward of her affec-
tons.
aBut then, Mary had a comfortable
home which was all paid for, and the
person only got half a hundred a year.
~ However, I broke up that matrimo-
NAL voyage. and silenced his yarns of
affection for Mary, when I run in and
dropped anchor ut the old home.
at was in 1916, that 1 got connected
with the ship Falcon, cruising for night
whales in the South Pacific.
"We were away down in latitude
s~ixty-three, having followed the whales
southwark with extremely good luck,
although with constant danger from
bodies of ice, which were drifting up
from the Antarctic circle, when we fell
in with the Languedoc from our own
port; and her captain, Bosworth,
bringing with HIM his mate and two
boats crews, came on board of us to see
Captain Collier, our commander. Of
course, q good chat was had among
officers and hands.
@Haying left home a year later than
ourselves, the Languedoc's men had the
advantage of us in the way of news; and
they told how such a ship was lying in
docks when they came away; how such
another was loading at the lead of the
wharf; how the Morrison Plummer had
just got in, and the L. B. Stafford been
heard from; and who had got married
in the years interval, and who had died.
etc., etc.
aBut presently they informed us of q
singular circumstance, which only a
days before had occurred in connection
with themselves. Right in the midst
Of q school of whales, they had en-
countered the Flying Dutchman, which
had just cleared their stern by not more
than eightfeet, and or her deck they
saw that the crew were dressed in white.
which were as silent and m~otionless as
corpses.
@Now, mates, you know it is embar.
rising to deny, to a PERSONS face, the
existence of a thing which he assures
us that he has seen; however I'm not
over nice in this particular.
Zone Of our crew said that lie would
try to believe enough of their story to
oblige them; but this, with an old tar
Ike Perry Davis was-poor Davis! he
r. dead and gone now-is an unusual
condescension with regard to a yarn in
volving doubt. Thus it may we'll be
imagined that no attempt was made TO
disguise the incredulity with which the
account of the Languedoc's crew was
received in fo'ksel.
my mates evidently thought that
there might be some foundation Of fact
for the story. but they were not pre-
pared to accept all its embellishments.
ut was desirable to. know what the
Lsnguedoc's Captain would have to Say
. on the subject.
Yes said our visitors, ask the old
man. You can't take the turns out Of
Whist he says
We soon found that Capt. Bos.
worth eorroborated the story ofhis men.
ead rslassd the sxtrsosdinasy yarn Il