Birmingham age-herald., 1894-11-30
THE DISMAL SWAMP
A HUNTERS TALE OF AN INDIAN LEG-
 END OF A GHOST SHIP.

He Saw IT, ana, contrary 10 tle LeSehuy
 still Livcs-The Story cs Ii Was Told by
 the Indian Guides-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 don't mean the Indian hunter and his ghostly sweetheart, that are cele- brated in the old school reader poem. It is not so well known a ghost as that pair, but 1t Is infinitely more grewsome It is regular Flying Dutchman of the swamp, and to sec it brings death within year, sure as yellow fever. live seen it, or q part of it, but l suppose it's because I didn't get real good look at it that am here now.
 II was hunting in the littlo Dismal when I came near solving the mystery of the swamp. It is wonderful country for a man who loves the picturesque and mys terious In nature. Where the forest closes in on tho river there is wild, solemn beauty that appeals to the imagination, especially in the cool, gray light of the morning or in the warmer light of the afternoon, that gives the color of the at mosphere to tEc surrounding wilderness and to tine narrow, tortuous bayous that wind on and on out of sight into the shad ows on either hand.
 Just about sunset 1 climbed one of the trees and took u look about. You must remember that up to that time had never heard anything of tho swamp ship; hut, looking off in the direction judged that the lake must be, 1 was almost certain I saw the topmasts of q big vessel mingled with tho tangle of the trees. It seemed to be fully half mile away-too far to tell what sort of n craft it was-but one mast was gone at tho crosstrees, and the other canted over like part of an old crumbling wreck. It 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 conflagration and turning the black still waters of tho bayou blood red. There were three buzzards circling through the sunset quadrant like meats in sun beam, and as it got darker they settled down like black shadows seemingly on tho 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 mo like father, and that they were utterly devoted to me so long as had a plug of tobacco left, but they gricvcd to say that was dead man. told them was naturally sorry to hear that, but cravcd 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 a matter that was good to talk about especially at such time aid place, but that since was doomed might as well be told about it, and lighting their pipes after supper was over they all lay down by the fire and told mo the story of the ship.
 'They said it was two mems lives be- fore tho stars fell, which would bring it about the close of the Revolution, the great meteorological shower of 1888 serving as a calculating point for dates all through thc south, that the buccaneers from tho West Indies were very bad and equally plenty off the coast One in particular was of q most evil reputation, a devilish pirate with a black beard and eyes like fro coals in the back of chimney, description that oorresponded very well to that of the no torious Spade Beard, so nodded my head and told them that he was n 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 a British merchantman, bullion laden, under con yoy of q frigate. A storm came up and separated the treasure ship from her escort, and the buccaneer falling in with her in the storm, ran her aboard, lashcd to her, and murdering all her crew secured the treasure and mado off under cover of the storm, his own vessel being almost dis mantled in the adventure He ran inside the sea islands, but tho storm continued to increase in fury, such as was never known before or since along the coast, and finally culminated in great tidal wave, sent, of course, for the pirates just punishment, that overfowed tho island barrier and car ried the robber vessel, with all her black hearted crew, up through the reaches of tho swamp river, over the tree tops, miles inland, where the receding waters left her.
 While the Indians were telling the story with lowered voices and mysterious gestures the night had fallen, and there had come up regular southern thunder storm. It interrupted the tale, and we tipped up our boat for shelter and staked down our tarpaulin over it. When we had rigged up this shelter and the wind was bowling like panthers through the trees, the Indians, as sort of cheerful accom- paniment to the storm, continued their tale of how at intervals the pirate vessel had been seen on stormy nights, rotten, crumbling wreck, sailing the swamp, down the bayous that were scarcely wide enough for her masts to pass through tho trees, and then again how she would rise and fly oyer the tree tops.
 "All her sails and rigging were gone, they said. ','-tth e'-'"rn moss had growp