The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-08-31

along like railroad train when got q
hail from the lookout, who was an old
ish man and one to be depended or.
went forward in answer, and he looked
foolish and confused as he explained that
he thought he had sighted ship dead
ahead of us. took long look with my
glasses, but nothing was to be seen. 1t
wasn't over 10 minutes before the man
hailed mo again, and it turned out as be-
fore.
I'm sorry to have troubled you, SIR"
said the man as he shaded his eyes and
peered into the gloom ahead, "but on my
honor l was sure I made out a craft
ahead"
He was to be commended for his vigi-
lance rather than reproved for his delu-
sion, but nevertheless when went for
ward in response to his third hail and
could see nothing he got blessing in
tended to sharpen his eyesight was
still speaking when bark suddenly ap-
peared on our port bow and not cables
length away. Everything, from mast
heads down to rail, was clear enough to
the naked eye, but the decks were
shrouded in sort of haze Through my
glasses saw n man at the wheel, an Off
Ger walking the quarter deck and a man
on the lookout. We gained on her foot
by foot. She was just out of our road.
but when we came abreast of her she
was not hundred feet away. hailed
her three times, but not one of the fig
ures on her decks turned his face our
way. Foot by foot we dropped her
astern, and though did not believe I
had seen ghostly craft, was obliged
to admit that she was at least mysteri-
Gus one.
Next day the wind died out. and we
were overhauled by the bark st. Charles
of London bound to the Congo. This
was the craft we had passed the night
before. We were the better sailer in a
topsail breeze and had therefore over
hauled and passed her. AS the wind de-
creased she had the advantage end re-
covered her position. The lookout had
sighted her through riffs in the haze
which hung about us, but which the
naked eye could not detect. They had
not heard my voice because the wind
carried it forward. The only lookout
kept on shipis forward, and SO they
had not seen our craft.
In the month of August, 1868. the
whaleship Phantom of Boston was bear
ing up for Christmas island off the south
coast of Java to replenish her wood and
water. We were about 40 miles due
south Of the island and were rolling
about on ground swell without breeze
sufficient to fill a sail, when Javanese
craft of about 100 tons burden was
sighted coming down upon us from the
south ut a speed of seven or eight knots
an hour. There was no wind, and she
had no sail set, and when she passed IS
quarter of mile away we were filled
with speculation and astonishment 1t
would have been mysterious yarn to
spin ashore had we not been boarded bv
one of her crew, who jumped overheard
as she was passing and swan to us. He
explained that she was a craft belonging
to the governor of Lombok, one of the
islands to the east of Java proper, and
that the governor and his wife and Off
Gals were aboard of her. She had reached
Christmas island just at daybreak and
cast anchor, but half ali hour later some
thing had picked up her anchor and
towed her out to sea.
Having but the one anchor and there
being no wind, it was perhaps good sea-
manship not to slip the cable and let the
marine monster carry off the mass of
iron. The sailor had been ordered by
the governor to leap overheard and re-
quest our captain to render such assist
ance as he could as soon as a breeze
sprang up, This we were ready to do,
but it was nearly six hours before the
wind came. Meanwhile the native craft
had been performing some curious evo-
lutlons. She ran to the south for three
or four miles and then returned almost
over the same course. For an hour she
was towed about III circle. Then she
ran to the east-turned to the north
swerved around TO the west and finally
came back to us.
No one could make out what sort of
monster had hold of her anchor. Had
it been Il whale he would have had to
show OH the surface sooner or later, and
he would have run straight away in his
fright. Nothing that we had ever seen
seemed strong enough to tow that craft
the best part of day without n mo-
ment's rest. have asked several nat
uralists what it could have been, and
none of them was clear about it, though
leaning to the belief that it was a species
of devil fish.
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