The Wilmington daily Republican., 1894-12-05
THE DISMAL SWAMP.
A HUNTERS TALE OF AN INDIAN LEG
END OF A GHOST SHIP.

He Saw II, ssd, Contrary to the Legend,
Still Lives-The Story as 1t Was Told By
tho Indian Guide s-A wild and Weird
Scene Visited BY . Terrible Storm.
"Do you mean to say you never heard Of
the ghost Of the Dismal swamp" said an
old Georgia travelling man the other even
Ing. "No, I don't mean the Indian hunter
and his ghostly sweetheart, that are cele-
brated In the old school reader poem. 1t
is not so we'll know ghost as that pair,
but 1t is infinitely rhore grewsome. 1t is O
regular Flying Dutchman of the swamp,
and to sec 1t brings death within q year,
sure as yellow fevbr. I've seen Ii, or O
part Of it, but I suppose it's because
didn't got a real good look at Ii that nm
here now.
II was hunting in the little Dismal
when came near solving the mystery of
the swamp. 1t is a wonderful country for
man who loves the picturesque and mys-
terions in nature. Where the forest closes
in on the river there Is wild, solemn
beauty that appeals to the Imagination,
especially in the cool, gray Light of the
morning or in tho warmer light of the
afternoon, that gives the color of the at
mosphere to the surrounding wilderness
and to the narrow, tortuous bayous that
wind on and on out of sight into the shad-
ows on either hand
Just about sunset climbed one of the
trees and took q Look about. You must
remember that up to that time had never
heard anything Of the swamp ship; but,
looking off in the direction judged that
the lake must be, was almost certain
saw the topmasts OF big vessel mingled
with the tangle Of the trees 1t seemed to
be fully half mile away-too far to tell
what sort Of craft it was-but one mast
was gone at the erosstrees, and the other
canted over like part Of an old crumbling
wreck. 1t WAS beautiful outlook from
my perch, the sun gliding the tops of the
trees and then sinking out Of sight through
their branches, lighting up all the west
like great confagfation and turning the
black still waters Of the bayou blood red.
There were three bu yards oircling through
the sunset quadrant like moats In a sun
beam, and as It gpt darker they settled
down like black shadows seemingly on the
very mast of the old wreck.
II went down and told the Indian
guides what had seen, and then they act
ed scared, sure enough. They assured me
that they loved me like father, and that
they were utterly devoted to me SO long as
l had plug OF tobacco left, but they
grieyed to say that was dead man.
told them was naturally sorry to hear
that, but craved to know what blight
had incurred from watching an unusually
fine sunset from the top of a tamarack
tree. They said that it was not matter
that was good to talk about, especially at
such time and place, but that since
was doomed might as well be told about
1t, and lighting their pipes after supper
was over they all lay down by tho fire and
told me the story OF the ship.
They said it was two mems lives be-
fore the stars fell, which would bring IL
about the close of thb Revolution, the great
meteorological shower Of 1888 serving as
calculating point for dates oil through the
south, that the buccaneers from the West
Indies were very bad and equally plenty
oil the coast One in particular was of q
most evil reputation, devilish pirate with
black beard and eyes like fire Goals in
the back of a chimney, description that
correspondent very we'll to that of the no.
torious Spade Beard, SO nodded my head
and told them that he was a particular
friend OF mine. They seemed rather stag
gered at my assurance, but proceeded with
the story, which was that this two legged
sea serpent had fallen in with British
merchantman, bullion laden, under con-
voy OF frigate. "A storm came up and
separated tho treasure ship from her escort
and the buccaneer falling in with her in
the storm, ran her aboard, lashed to her.
and numbering all her crow secured the
treasure and made dff under cover of the
storm, his own vessel being almost dis
mantled In the adventure. He ran inside
the sea Islands, but the storm continued to
increase in fury, such as was never known
before or since along the coast, and finally
eliminated in great tidal wave, sent, of
course, for the pirates just punishment
that oyertlowed the island barrier and car
ried the robber vessel, with all her black
hearted crew, up through the reaches of
the swamp river, over the tree tops, miles
inland, where the rdceding waters left her
while the Indians were telling tho
story with lowered voices and mysterious
gestures the night had fallen, and there
had come up regular southern thunder
storm. 1t interrupted the tale, and we
tipped up our boat for shelter and staked
down our tarpaulin over 1t. When we had
rugged up this shel ter and the wind was
bowling like panthers through the trees,
the Indians, as SORT Of cheerful accom-
paniment to the storm, continued their
talc of how at intervals tho pirate vessel
had been seen on stormy nights, rotten,
cru1nbling wreck, sailing the swamp,
down the bayous that were scarcely wide
enough for her masts to pass through the
trees, and then again how she would rise
and fly over the tree tops.
'.All her sails and rigging were gone.
they said, but the swamp moss had grown
to the spars in their place, and the crew Of
gbastly corpses could be seen In the tops
and on the yards, reefng the swamp sails
with live snakes ard cheering nll sorts of
blasphemy to each other every time light
ming struck the m hsts. Death fires, the
Indians said, foated over the rotten decks,
and green lights glowed through the gap
ing seams of the hull and the pirate cap
tain, with one arm torn off at the shoulder
and one side of his head carried away by a
round shot, would fire noiseless broadsides
from tho rusty cannon on the deck, while
the lightning flashes seemed to especially
pick out tho wreck as their mark, though
they went straight through 1t without
damaging 1t In the least. No one the In
dians assured me, ever lived more than n
year after seeing the phantom, which was
very encouraging, as l thought had seen
a part OF it that very afternoon.
1.-The storm that night was fearful. The
lightning licked through tho trees like
whiplashes and fired tho forest in half
dozen places. But then the rain came
down and put out the fire and churnod up
the water of the bayou till the black water
was turned to white foam.
You may bet kept an involuntary
lookout for the phantom pirate but the
only glimpse had Of her was once when
a sheet of steel blue lightning flooded the
whole OF the western sky. Then / could
have sworn saw the same leaning mast
the broken crosstreds outlined against the
heavens, and at tho moment would not
have sworn but that there was u corpse
struggling with the snakes In the rig
ging "-Washingtdn Post