St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-01-02
Lafitte's pride" Haunts the
Waters Where She Once
Cpuised.
A Phosphorescent Light
Cleans From the Spec
trail Vessel,
Fading Away When Closely
Approaehed--A Weird
Reproduction.

Loughlin, the master of small fruit
schooner plying between this port and
Vera Cruz, reported with unmistakable
agitation and terror that on his last trip
he had encountered bark of strange
build, filled with men whose ghastly,
terrible countenanceS seemed to him
those of the dead, it was laughed at as
the ridiculous story of superstitious
sailor, having no foundation except in
brain fired by strong drink. But OIL
the same day it received such strong
continuation from Capt. Eric Anderson,
of the Norwegian ship the Fair Hilda,
that the authorities began to suspect
that something unusual. to say the least
of it, was afoot.
Capt. Anderson. who had just landed,
and could have had no previous knowl-
edge OF McLOughiin'S story, and who is,
besides gentleman of tried integrity,
states that when half day out from
port and just at early dusk, he per-
celved close under the bows of his ship
sailing vessel, apparently rushing
down upon him. He shouted to the
man at the wheel to huff, but before the
order dould be obeved the strange craft
swept past within what seemed to him
ten feet, giving him an instant's glimpse
OF her decks crowded with men, who
struck him as being most extraordinarily
calm and indifferent to the peril which
had threatened their ship, for, leaning
over the taffrail or lounging about the
ship, not one even raised his head to
glance at the Fair Hilda.
A GhOstly Craft.
But the thing which puzzled Capt.
Anderson most was the strange light
which pervaded the ship, and which
seemed only to outline every spar and
rope as it rubbed with phosphorus, with
out Illuminating her or casting Shad-
ow. Questioning the man at the wheel
as to his careieSSness in allowing an
accident to become SO imminent, the
sailor assured the captain that the
strange vessel had seemed to spring into
being all at once right under the Hilda'S
bows, and that she could not have APP
preached gradually without his seeing
her, as he had been gazing straight
ahead at the time. and it was still so
light that no difficulty could have been
experienced in making her out, covered
as she was with full canvas.
Capt Anderson described the vessel
as an old fashioned craft of the kind
known as a fOre-tOpsail schooner, with a
black hull, and with mounted gnns, pre-
sentlng so unmistakable warlike APP
pearance as to mark her as bound on a
belllgerent errand and to amaze the cap
tain, who fully expected on reaching
port that some unlOoked-fOr war had
broken out since he began his voyage
The schooner was also accompanied by
two feluccas and was flying a huge
flag, bnt, owing to the dim light and the
yr-ht oh oh u
| disappeared, It's nationality could not be
| ascertained. No vessel equipped for
war could possibly have any business in
| these waters. and both alarm and aston
isAment were felt over her presence.
| kilograms were at once sent to New
Orleans and Key West inouirng if
aught was known at either port of such
craft, and were answered not only in
| the negative, but in tone of perfect III
| credulity. i
Going and Coming Like Vapor.
Suspicion had from the first pointed
to Mexico or Central America as the
hailing point of the mysterious vessel,
| clearly engaged in no legitimate bust
| ness, and the seaportS of these coun-
| tries were wired in regard to her, but
| reply was made III every case, and with
| undiSguiSed surprise, that no such yes
sci had OF could have left unseen at any
| point along the coast. From the little
| port of Santa Maria, however, came an
addition to the denial, which only served
to deepen the mystery. This was the
statement that the same vessel, or one
answering to the description, had been
reported seen i'll that Vicinity at inter-
walls of every few years, but though
every facility at hand had been en-
| ployed to find out her errand, or even
the slightest fact about her, she still re-
NAMED a problem to the authorities.
| No crew had ever been known to come
ashore, and every attempt made to
reach her, however slyly planned, had
ended in failure and bewilderment, for,
though III plain view of the land, when
| the spot where she seemed to be an
chored was reached she was found to
have disappeared as completely and
without trace as fleck of foam.
1t was thought best to pursue inves-
LEGATIONS quietly, and not to make com
mon talk of the occurrence, but Nc
Loughlin and the crew of the Fair
Hilda, who had also seen the ship that
so amazed the captain, openly declared
their belief that she was a supernatural
appearance, and spread the story,
which is now the absorbing topic about
| l., Liz
wilson, and Familiarity known as ''Old
ton of the mystery:
An Old Sailors Yarn.
"I've bin a-liyen' on this here island
nearly fifty years now, off and on, 'cept
when a-v'yaging. and this here is the
fifth or sixth time I've seen that ere
craft stir up mighty fuss and wonder
in, and I'd bet ships biscuit against
a sharks tooth that this amt the las
time by long shot she's goin' to do it..
What is she? She's Lafitte's Pride
and she amt going to quit these here
waters where she did all her devllment
till the Judgment day sets her free. The
crew she carries is them bloody pirates
that used to carouse over this here
island, and who sent many all honest
sailor man to Davy Jones' locker I'M
derneath these mere dancin' waves.
Lord, Lord, to think o. them a-tryln' to
stop her and board her. as | hears
they're plannin' to! Might as well
think O. ketchin' and holdin' one OF
these here witch lights what come O.
nights and run up aun down a snip Is
riggin'. Lord help 'em, l says, too, iii
they did work it to get aboard O. her
and face them there spectral tarS she
carries.
"How do L know what she is and
who's aboard her? l know it cause my
father. who used to know Jim Camp
bell. Lafitte's first mate, fore he took
to piratin', seed him starin' over her
traffrail Onct, with his throat cut from
ear to ear and the blood a-bustin' from
it and a-spoutin' out into the water
like whale a-bloWin', and Jim he
waves his hand to the old man. and
grinned at him, though his eyes were
fixed in his head as CLASSY as the sea
fore blow O. summer day; and
knows. cause bout ten years ago
run into the tarnal thing myself rlgh
out here in the bay. The Robert Lee
was lynn out a piece. agoin' to sail mex
day. and I'd shipped aboard her al
bos'n, but the evenln' fore got leave
to go ashore to tell my Nance good-by
and me and Kit Reeves and Old Dumps
the second mate, and l b'leve And.
Harper, the cabin boy, but forget'
now. war pullin' ashore little for
Il -