The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-09-03
THEHAUNTED INDIAMAN.
THE GHosrLY VOICE THAT TER
RORIZED A SHIPS CREW.

RORITHD A SHIPS CREW.
a Mystery That Puzzled Ofhcers and
Men for a Long Time-How the
Spook Was Finally Disposed OF and
the Matter cleared Up.
From the San Francisco Cdu.
About nineteen years ago went as first
mate of a British ship named the Dimsdals
She had been al old lndiaman In her time,
and had a poop and top gallant forecsstle,
though alteration had knocked some Of the
dignity out OF her. Tho Dimsdals had been
turned into collier, aud went first mate
of her when she was full up With coal for
South African port. Yet this ship, shat
was now carrying one of the dirtiest car
goes one could name, barring phos-
phate manure, had been reckoned
in her day a fine passenger vessel,
. noble Indiaman, indeed-her tonnage ives
something over l, l00-with a cabin fitted
uproyally. The sumptuous cabin trappings
were ali gone, and l seemed 10 smell coal 10
the wine, even when my head was over the
weather side and when the breeze that blew
along came fresh across thousand miles OF
sea; but there was good deal OF fittings
left-ftungs which, don't doubt, made
the newspapers give a long account Of this
"fine, great ship" when she was launched
quite enough Of them 70 enable q man 30 re-
construct a picture of the cabin Of the
Dimsdale as il was In the days Of her
glory.
There is nothing that should be fuller OF
ghosts than an old ship, and the Dimsdale
had once upon time been said to be haunted.
remember one OF these yarns; 1t was told
60 me by the dockmaster, who had been at
fnr ,1A and
knew the history of ali such craft as the
Dimsdale. He said that in 1851, l think it
was, there had been a row among the crew {;
an Italian seaman stabbed an EnRlishman,
who bled to death. To avenge the English
mans death the rest of the crew, who were
chiefly English, thrust the Italian into the
forepeak and let him lie there in darkness
When be was asked for they reported that
be had fallen overheard, and this seems TO
have been believed. Whether the crew
meant TO starve him or not ia not certain,
but after be had been IN the forepeak three
or four days fellow going behind the gal
lery, out Of the way Of the wind to light
his pipe-it being then four bells IN
the first wa.ch-came running into
the forecastle with his hair on end
and the sweat pouring of his face,
swearing he had seen che Italians
ghost This frightened the mea prettily.
Some OF them went down into the forepeak
and found the Italian lying there dead,
with score Of rats npon him, which
scampered of when the men dropped be-
low. During the rest Of the voyage his
ghost was constantly seen, sometimes at the
lee wheel, sometimes astride Of the jibb0om
end. What was the end of It'll mean
whether the men confessed the murder, and
II so what became of them--the dockmaster
said he did not know. But be this as IL may,
discovered shortly after we had begun
our voyage that the Grew had got to hear
OF this story, ana the second mate said it
had been brought aboard by the carpenter,
who had picked it up from some of the
dockyard lAborers.
well reoOllect two uncomfortable cir
cumstances. We sailed on Friday, and tho
able and ordinary ssamen were thirteen Ia
number, the idlers and ourselves aft bring
ing up the ships company to nineteen souls.
when, suppose, in her prime the Dims-
dale never left port short OF seventy or
eighty ssamen, not to mention stewards
cooks, cooks mates, butcher. butchers
mate. baker and the rest of them. But
double topsail yards we're now In; beside. |
understood that the vessels mases had been
reduced and her yards shortened, and we
carried stump fore and mizzen top-RAllant
masts
don't believe myself that any stories
which had been told the men about the
very supeIstidous, but they are not to be
scared TIL something has happened to
brighten chem. One night had the first
watch. 1t was a bout two bells There was
nice wind, sea smooth and a red moon
drawing up over our starboArd beam. We
were under all plain sail, leaning away
from the wind trihe, and the water
washed along under the bends in lines
through which the starlight ran glimmer-
Ing. was thinking over the five or six
months voyage which old buckets after the
pattern OF this ship took in getting to In
Ola, when seeing squan coming along, /
sung out for hands to stand by the
mainroyal and mizzen top gallant hal
yards. 1t drove down dark and
not knowing what was behind, ordered
the malnroyal to be clewed up and furled.
Two youngsters went aloft By the time
they were on the yard the squall thinned,
but l fancied there was another bearing
down, and thought il best TO let the ordi-
nary seamen roll the sail up On a sudden
down they trotted hand over hand, leaving
the sail Hopping In the clutch OF the
claw lines.
Iroared out, what dye mean by coming
down before you've furled that sailP'
They stood together in the main rigging,
and one of them answered, PLEASE, sir,
there's ghost somewhere up aloft on the
foretopsail yard"
A ghost, you tooll" cried.
"Yes, sir, )" he answered. HE says, Jim.
your mother wants yer, in the holIowest q
voices. Dick here heard i5. There's no one
sloft forards, sir"
sang out to them to jump aloft again
and finding that they didn't move, made
spring, on which they dropped like iight-
ming on deck and began to pray and beg Of
me In the most eager manner not 10 send
them aloft, as they were too frightened to
hold on. Indeed, the fellow named Jim
actually began to shiver and CRY when I
threatened him. SO as the royal had
10 be furled sent an able sea-
man aloft who, after rolling
up the sail, came down and said that NO
Voice had called to him and that he rather
reckoned it was bit Of skylarking on che
part of the boys TO get out OF slowing the
sail However, noticed that the man was
wonderfully quick over the job and that
after ward the watch on deck stood talking
In low voices in the waist.
Jim was fool of youth, but Dick was a
smart la /, aged about 10 and good ooking
with lively tongue and heard afterward
chat he could spin yarn to perfection an
out Of his imagination. l called him 10 me
and asked il he had really heard a voice
and he swore chad
ibid it say" said l, Jim your mother
wants youP"
FAY, sir" he answered, with a bit of a