New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1894-09-19
TALES OF THE SEA.
WEIRD YARNS OF THE SUPERNAT-
URAL SPUN BY THE CAPTAIN.

Tho Skull In tho Chain Locker-The Un-
lucky BarkIn the Demerara Trade That
Was Said to Be Haunted-The Story Of an
Exile From Salvador.
We were eating dinner one night on
the old cargo ship and talking of the
happenings at sea and on shore that are
called supernatural when the captain
said:
lone sees some things at sea not su-
pernatural which are fit to make nerv-
GUS man see ghosts. There was that case
in one Of Green's liners TO the colonies,
where man was sent down to clean
out the chain locker. The locker had
seemed foul all the passage home, and
so they hoisted out the chain and sent
this fellow down with his brush and
soap and bucket, with a lamp, to clean
it out. I'll wager he saw ghosts for a
year after that, for when he'd got down
on his knees to begin scrubhing he
found himself bending over the skull OF
, a dead man.
1T was most likely a man that had
slowed away out in the colony and had
been caught under the cable when they
were running it down quickly, and so
had the life crushed out Of him.
However, I did know Of case that
seemed supernatural right enough. It
was in the Demerara trade, and I was
acquainted with the first officer of the
bark where it all happened.
''In the first place, while she was out
there loaded and ready to sail, the cap
tain had trouble with one Of the seamen,
who drew out his knife and stabbed him
| to death then and there. The mate after
ward took her home, but on the way a
passenger took to ailing in some mysteri-
| Gus fashion and up and died very sud-
! denly.
cot course she was a haunted ship
when she arrived home, and so the
owners had her name changed, and she
| was refitted and painted up entirely
different from what she had been. Then
she sailed away with a new captain, but
on the way out he took to drink, and by
| the time she reached Demerara he was
! off his head and killed himself with a
I revolver.
"Now she was haunted, sure enough,
i if you could believe the mate. Mind
you, after she was reftted the mate said
never word to the new captain about
what had happened in her before, and
even when new captain came out from
home to take charge of her, believing
that the last captain was naturally a
drunkard, instead of one who had taken
to it after coming on this ship, this first
officer never said word, because he did
| not believe in ghosts or even in a future
! state.
However, the first night the new
captain was on board the trouble began.
| The captain at about 8 o'clock went to
| his room and retired. An hour later he
was calling the mate and telling that
he had gone to sleep and then had been
awakened by light in the room. On
opening his eyes he saw a short, thick
set man, with side whiskers, in the
armchair at the desk, leaning over, with
his elbows on the desk, holding his
head between his hands and saying:
oh, my poor head! Oh, my poor head!
! 'That was enough for the mate. He
left the vessel that night with all hands,
This new captain knew nothing of the
style or manner of the one who had
killed himself, and yet the picture
ghost or what you may Call Tin the
chair was the image in appearance and
dress of the suicide and had complained
in precisely the words and voice of the
dead man,"
This brought out the story of an exile
from Salvador whom the narrator met
in Guatemala. Having got into trouble
} with the authorities, Senior Don Sebas-
tian Mojarieta saved his life by fleeing
to Amapala, Honduras, as many another
exile has done, and there taking a
steamer north to San Jose, Guatemala.
| A friend of his who was involved in
like manner was to have reached Amap-
ala by different route in time for the
same steamer, and to prevent any posi-
BILE delays Mojarieta engaged staterooms
and secured passes from the Amapala
authorities for his friend and himself as
soon as he arrived. But the steamer day
| came without his friend, and Mojarieta
was obliged to sail alone.
AT the usual hour, on the first night
out, - the story teller went on, mo
jarieta retired and went to sleep, but
had no sooner dozed Off than he awoke,
hearing his friends voice, as he says,
in the next stateroom, which he had
supposed to be empty. Leaving his berth,
ne went out into the passageway and
+ opened the door to the adjoining room,
and there, he says, he saw lying in the
berth the body Of hisSriend fully dressed,
! but with three bullet holes in the breast
of his coat and one in the right cheek.
"At that Mojarieta tainted and was
found on the deck by the steward and
put to bed again. Thereafter it was a
most miserable passage, for the vessel
touched at both of the Salvador ports
and was about week reaching San
Jose. Mojarieta was sure his friend had
been shot and expected force to come
Oft from each of the Salvador ports to
demand him. Moreover, he was haunt