The morning call., 1891-03-15

gone to her owner and paid big price for
her had not an eccident-a lucky accident,
he th0nght-enabled him to get her at much
less than her value.
Along in September the Merton Prayther.
beating down Saginaw Bay in fog, hap
pened to arrive just above Sand Point at
night and the mate. who was in charge of
the deck, being stupefed by want of sleep,
failed to put her about in time, so that she
was so close under the lighthouse before
the mistake was noticed that she went
aground.
Sand Point was known as the sailors
graveyard. A ship ashore there in those
days was counted as lost forever. Merton
Prayther was in Saginaw when the news of
the disaster came. and at once went 10 the
owner and in less than an hour had bought
her where she lay. Then he took a steamer
| and went after her. The weather had been,
and remained, quiet. and after a half days
work the Merton Prayther was once more
afoat and on her way to Buffalo, apparently
as sound as ever.
The report of the old mans luck made a
sensation in marine circles when the steamer
which had hauled her OIL the sand got back
to Saginaw, particularly as the schooner got
favoring breeze within an hour after she
was ahoat. Some Of the old lake-farers said
that the grounding on Sand Point had
changed her luck, and that no further trouble
from q haunting spirit was to be feared;
but others, among whom were the unfor-
tunate crew Of the vessel itself, shook their
heads omineuSly at the thought that she
was once more the property of her builder.
On the afternoon following the day she
was hauled off Sand Point the Merton
Prayther was seen passing Huron City at
the foot of Lake Huron, with a northeast
gale booming her along at speed which
made the spectators stare In wonder. The
next morning she was driving down past
Detroit close in to the piers. and Merton
Prayther was seen and recognized walking
NY and down the waist But that was the
last seen or known of the old builder. or of
any member of that crew-unless. indeed,
the story of their fate be true as now told
in Silver Creek.
The day on which the Merton Prayther
passed Detroit on her last voyage was what
the shore folks call dirty. The northeast
wind, raw and chill, sent the lowering
clouds scudding across the sky in masses
that now and then sifted rain over the bar
rem fields, until noon. Then the wind shifted
around TO the south, losing its force bit,
| and there was more rain, followed, as the
wind got further around, by snow Once
| in the west the wind breeZed up again and
became such driving gale that, in spite of
! the cloud of snow it carried, it was Just the
thing to make glad the heart of the sailor
man bound down Lake Erie.
Up III her cottage among the trees on the
hill at Fayette, Mrs. Gardner lay on her
bed, weak and emaciated. She had not left
her couch from the day she had been carried
to it from the deck of the Merton Prayther,
and she was now at the point of death. She
was very restless during the day, and at
intervals asked from what direction the
wind was blowing. 1t fretted her much
when the wind dropped in the early after
noon, but when asked why, she said she
didn't know
When the sun went down and the roar of
the waves dashing against the stone bluff
back Of the cottage began to swell on the
air much louder than at any time during
the day, the invalid Gained down and
| seemed TO go to sleep. In fact, so quietly
| did she rest that tie neighbor women who
were sitting by her bedside said to one an
other that having such good rest she would
certainly feel very bright next day.
During the early night there was no
| change in her condition, bat soon after the
little old clock on the mantel dolefully
tolled the hour of two she awoke. and to the
| establishment of those about her strove to
! rise and began to talk IN tone of eXtraor-
! binary excitement She had dreamed Of
seeing the Merton Prayther sailing down
| the lake at tremendous speed, with the old
owner pacing up and down on deck. Sud-
| denly the lookout thought he saw green
| light on the port bow, although there was
! no light Of any kind IN sight, and shouted:
Hard a-starboardi Hard a-starboard
AT that Merton Prayther jumped on the
| rail and yelled:
RED light; hard a-portp' The crew be-
came ranic stricken, and in the height of
| the confusion sailor screamed that he had
seen the ghost of Frank Gardner. The next
moment the main boom 1lbed, knocking
| Merton Prayther overheard and breaking
| itself at the same time against the rigging
| That brought down tie tOpmasts, the sails
| split and everybody was running aft to the
| yawl when Mrs. Gardner awoke from her
| dream.
SO great was her excitement while telling
| il that she fell back, when done, utterly ex-
! hausted and within half an hour died with
the name of her boy on her lips.
| The story OF this dream spread quickly
| over the village, with the report Of Mrs
| Gardeners death, aud thereafter the people
| waited with almost feyerish anxiety for
news Of the Merton Prayther. They had
! heard OF the repurchase of the schooner,
| aud how few, II any, doubted that shs had
met with disaster. But days and weeks
| passed and no news, save that of her pass
| ing Detroit, was received.
The shoals of ice balls that bobbed and
| drifted about on the surface of the lake
solidiied into fields and great floating islands,
| but such was the weather that at no time
| during that winter did the blue water of the
lake wholly disappear under its usual cover.
Along in February came a storm of un-
| usual severity. During day and half it
ragged, while the wind shifted about from
| point TO point first heapng the ice around
! the mouth OF the creek and then driving it
away again, until the bay and lake beyond
| were so clear that scarce a cake could be
! seen. Then, as the second night came on,
! the ice began to come in once more, and
until after midnight there was such crash
! ing and roaring alongShOre as people there
| had rarely heard.
When morning came curiosity to see
| what the ice had done brought dozen or
! more men to the trestle by the time the sun
was up. But they did not remain there to
! look at the ice very long, for lying in the
| center of a great field, not mile off shore,
| was the wreck of a schooner.
| Running to the beach they clambered
over the broken masses of ice and FASTENED
! out to look at her. They found her wedged
firmly in the field. Her bow had been partly
! submerged, her sides had been broken by
the ice, her stern was well up; she had
toated because lumber laden. The men
climbed up ON deck, where the first thing
they noticed was that The main boom had
been broken-apparent by bringing UP
violently against the rigging-an1 remem
berlng then Mrs. GardGer's dream, they ran
aft to peer over the rail, and read the YES
sells name. 1t was found in well-remem-
bered characters plainly legible.
The wreck was the Merton Prayther.