Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1892-07-10
rAe PHANTOM STEAMBOAT.
n Was Seen by Thirteen Men Puffus
Across Devii'a Lake in Dakota.


n Was Seen by Thirteen Men puhfna
Across Dcvii'a lake in Dakota.
Thor, are some modern stories of
Devil lake which vie in superstitious
fancies with those of the aboriginal /
age. The phantom steamboat is "a crea-
ton in which number Of people have
implicit faith. Some weird tales are
told of how this airy creation goes
putting up and down the silent lake in
the darkness of summer nights, its
special fires cleaning on the black
water and the beat of its screw keep.
ing upa rhy thmic motion that becomes
suddenly silent on the approach of
mortal.
The first appearance Of the phantom
steamboat was early in the eighties.
At that time the government had a
small steamboat plying on the lake
between the fort and the settlement OF
Devils Lake on the opposite shore.
Leave OF absence was often given to
the soldiers To go over to the town
and spend a day and night. For this
! purpose small schooner was employ
! ed, IL having been built by the men
| befo"o the government constructed a
steam vessel. Then it was common
thing for the civilians around the fort
settlement Ia cross this lake and take
up land and buy town lots in the new
city, for the North Dakota boom was
then getting under way Frank Pal
er, the Indian trader at the reserva
ton, tells the story:
There had been quite lot of us
over at the settlement, and on a Sun.
day evening we started to return in
the sailboat. If | remember rightly
there We're thirteen i'll the party, near
~ all soldiers from the fort. W. had
just got rightly started when one of
those high winds which suddenly
spring up on the lake came down on
u.s. and 1t was no time until our sail.
ing gear got out of order and useless.
When the storm subsidized we were
dismantled and drifting. Nearly all
the soldiers who were in the boat were
on absence leave, which expired on
Sunday night, and consequently they
were in great state of anxiety ovel
our helpless condition. Ii grew dark
''As we had no oars we were com
, PEELED 10 1T helpless. There wasn't {
drop OF Anything stronger than thu
water around us. While we were "
: ing becalmed somebody heard, or i'm
agined they heard, the pulling of tia
steamboat. We listened, and wha
= seemed to be the noise of escapin.
steam was heard distinctly. Instant,
the conclusion was reached that some
I body at the fort had witnessed our pre-
x dicament before sunset and had starte,
: the steamboat out to our relief.
strained my eyes in the direction iron
which the sound came, aud, sur
enough, the shadowy outline of
n steamboat seemed visible in the dark
$, ness.
Z, Everybody was on the alert. Til
'r throb of the engines became more dii
g tinct; some of the men saw the light
IL and detected the glow of the furnaC
10 fires. So powerful was this impre,
D, sion that several of our party halle
10 the boat, butt cry was unans,sl.-;fg,T..7T
to We watched it go by iii The distanc
or till suddenly it dissa.f,peared, We mar
Of aged to getItS the fort landing tina
y. nllllgpSsfter considerable trouble. TIL
Is little government steamer lay Their
10 with no sign of life about her. and he
ct furnaces as cold as January morn
10 ing. 1t was evident that she had nc
10 been out on the lake within twenty
y four hours. The people at the fort vel
III flied this.
C. The story of our experience SCENE
IN incredible, but there were plenty of wi
ID nesses, and SO the phantom steambot
es from that hour became one of the my
teries of Devils lake Other peopl
u have since claimed to have seen it z
IL pulling up and down the lake in th
o. darkness of moonless nights, the fire
a. making trails of light ON the watel
Is while the throb of the ghostly engine
was distinctly heard. Dakota Col
Philadelphia Press.