Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-01-22

second mate, and l b'Eeve Andy Harper,
the cabin boy, but ! forgets now, war
pullin' ashore little fore dark, but plenty
light 'nough to keep out o. the way o. tugs
and other craft, when all to onct Kit
Reeves, who was steerin', fetched horrid
screech and | seed a schooner right ahead
o. us loomin' up white as ghost, for all
her canvas was set, though there warn't
breath of air, and with a blue light a-play-
in round her sheets and lines.
''She was right on to us fore we could
get the oars out o. the water, and looked
for the bump next minnit, but, sirs, as Pm
sinner, we shot plum though the black
hull o. the ghost ship, and l tell you,
though, it didn't take us longer than
'twould to sneeze, every man O. us came
out shiverin and shakin' and cryin',
with our teeth a rattlin' and the hair o. our
heads a standin' up like cat when it's
riled For twas like bein' dipped in ice
water. and that so black we could see no
daylight on either side o. it, Leastwise,
that's as near as kin come to tellin' how
it seemed, though that don't make We I'M
derstand the awful awfulness of it, but /
knows I'd rather face naked saber than
the like again.
'Old Dumps hewar onsensible for mor'n
an hour, and Kit Reeves, gone plum crazy,
tried to jump overheard, and would a-done
it if L hadn't helt him tell he got sorter
Gained down. When we shot though the
spook vessel | gin a look up at her, and
I'm Dutchman from Amsterdam if
didn't see row o. faces looking over the
sides at me, and hear 'em a-laughin' and a.
| screechin' like mad and pintin' their fin
| gers at US; but them faces was the worst,
for they warn't jest the phizzes o. dead
htFt -
| that the flesh done turned green with cor
ruption and grave mold. But didn't get
morn glimpse o them, for the next min
nit the ship was gone like puff of smoke.
| She visits this here port bout every ten
years l make it, and | reckon in between
whites goes cruising round the spots where
| she ust TO scuttle honest ships. I've heern
| O. her onct or twict down on the Mexican
| coast, and sailor named Abe Tucker told
| me last year, | think twas, that she scared
| the HE out o the watch on one o. the Nal
| lory steamers off New Orleans; but the
! captain, who war one o these here cock
| sure know ais swore they was all drunk
| when she was reported"
That "Old Larboard" was right in his
| opinion that the ship is a supernatural
| visitor Is beginning to be shared by even
| the most intelligent and skeptical of the
| community, who have totally failed to find
| any natural explanation of the appearance.
A party of young people enjoying a cruise
about the bay in the steam yacht Rosemary,
belonging to Col. Hy Wiseman, encount-
cred The phantom ship lying at anchor
| about two miles out, and passed within
100 feet of her. They say that she was
ablaze with pale blush light which cast
| no radiance about, and that the clash of
arms and the shrieks and words of com
| mand could be distinctly heard, and occa-
| sionally body would seem to be thrown
overheard, for the duh splash of water
| parted was discernible, as at intervals the
bay for space of twenty feet around her
would appear blood red, and which was
not to be attributed to the sunset sky, as
the hue was too deeply crimson for a re-
| Election.
| Last week every available boat was out
securing the bay looking for the phantom
bark which answers to the description OF
the Pride, Laftte's favOrite vessel, and
which is believed to have foundered near
here, with treasure to the amount of s. ,O00,-
900 in gold, jewels and goods, in the midst
of drunken riot among the sailors after
the death of the pirate chief, after which
they returned and carried off the booty he
had buried on the island, near the site OF
the village Campeachy, which he built
In regard to previous appearances of the
ghost ship Capt. Louis Billings says:
| 81 never told it before for fear of being
laughed at, but that vessel helped me to
run the blockade in "a, though she scared
me so bad in doing it ! did not thank her
for it. 1t WAS late one October evening
that ! sighted the Federal boats lying of
the harbor here, and / was wondering
what they meant by taking no notice OF
me, when saw that they were firing at q
foretopsail schooner about half mile dis
tant, which was flying a big black flag
and taking no more notice OF the pepper
ing she was getting than q duck of 9
shower, but was apparently living motion
less, though she was carrying full head
of canvas and the wind blowing some
thing that wasn't very unlike gale, ant
a stiff one.
pretty soon one of the gunboats-I heard
afterward that it was the Niagara, but
may have been d-evidentlN
made up its mind to see what the schoonel
meant by such extraordinary behavior, ant
went for it like a battering ram. l watched
it with a good deal of interest through m,
glass, for L was puzzled too. The gunboat
keeping up its fire as it went seemed
rather disconnected as it drew near tn,
black flag, which serenely waited for i
without furling sail or manning a gun
and she had fourteen of the latter as
!, counted-old fashioned ones, too. / no
ticed all at once the gunboat threw itsel
bodily upon her, and i said to myself
Look out, now? when to my amazemen
the Federal vessel seemed to shoot clear
through the other as through mirage
and the schooner faded in a blood red mist
1.-The other blockaders must have lee,
absorbed in watching the affair, too, for
am persuaded they never even saw me
, though was in full view of them. 1t wa
dark by the time the gunboat resumed it
former position, and unmolested l crep
into port under the friendly wing of tn
night But just before / anchored wa
!, startled by shrek from one of the men
, and running to him saw that we wer
, jammed against this strange vessel, which
seemed afire with a sort of cold, weird ligh
, which lighted up the figures of a crowd O
J picturesquely dressed men, unmistakabl
buccaneers, who pulled at the ropes an
, performed their duties with countenapce
: set in death and CLASSY eyes that glare