The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-11-04

A Mas who saw It and, Contrary 20 the
Indian Legend, Stin Lives.

49, At'aN VIII ~ - W. ~ WI "
q ghost as that pair, but It is infinitely more
gruesome. 1t is q regular Flying Dutchman OF
the swamp, and TO see II brings death within II
year, sure ms yellow fever. I've seen 1t, or a
part OF 1t, but | suppose it's because | didn't get
q real good look at It that | am here now.
~ was hunting in the little Dismal when I
came near solving the mystery Of the swamp. IL
is a wonderful country for n man who loves the
picturesque and MYSTERIOUS in nature. Where
the forest closes In on the river there Is n wild.
solemn beauty that appeals to the imagination,
especially IN the COOL, gray light of the morning
gives =" the color Of the atmSospi'ere to
the surrounding Wilderness ami to. the
narrow, t%ortuous bayous that wind on
on either hand. Toward the last hour Of light
tho effect is something, magical. From. the
the phantom arms of the cypress, the long, mo.
%tionless pendants Of ralc-grny moss point dgwn
70 their inverted. images ", the water below
them. You can fuel the stiffness, nad ~ tho
came time hear the tlsousrun voices, ~ the
swish of WINS usa bite crane or q biz white
heron fiaps, quietly away; nfty yards ahead OF
ripples as II musk rat swimS across with his
nose Just breakln g up tine water ia the golden
path Of the sunlight through the trecs.
But IL wpS not pOotry and nicturr6quCnCss
that we were after, Tint Is. not altogether. We
bad hunting, and fishing IN plenty, and finally,
the average hunting party. we made what We
decided was to lie our last camp before return
INK ~ WIS WI llt VI Atlt VIZ swamp t'lttllll'N ~
oyergrOwn with short, sweet grUss. and covered
with great spreading tnmurnCk trees. II wrs Il
regular Island IN the jungle Of the gwamr. from
whith no wlltc inau roniu over nave found hi'
why out again. Tho swamp NgS uvergruwn
vistas into the deeper shaduwlHnd of the swamp
around. But irnHl the iHoHs of the stream |
JUDGED there must bc the Opening al s'tnr big
swamp lake not far ahead. | suggested that
VIC might. push ahrph and sec what we ioun'l
the next day. But tie Indians acted queer. aud
said we had gone plenty far enough. which /
tlGlgnt was rltHCf Sif'iifr,, sp1luE tllDN were
getting paid by The week. !! questioned item,
but COnld not get ANY thiDg ont uf them, and all
'hr rest OF the evening they wcr. hohnobbinc
;yer the 9rs "nn n"i9Sins Tn , I'm 'nH -wRmp
the swamp and make oil aith my vuluabics,
had not known the iellowa 81" long and Icon On
So many similar expeditions with them before.
Just about sunset ! climbed one OF the trees
and took II look about, You must remember
thing OF the swamp ship, but locking of9 in the
direction Judged that the lake must be. I was
mingled with the tanglc of the trees. ltscemed
TO be fully half a mile away, too far to tell what
the crosstrces and the other cantrd over like II
part of an old crumbling wreck. 1t was a beau
tiful outlook from my perch. the sun gliding
OF sight. through their branches. lighting
up all the west like a ercat CONFEDERATION,
bayou blood red. There were three buz-
yards circling through the sunset quadrant like
meats In ~ sunbeam, and as II, got darker they
settled down like black shadows seemingly ON
the very mast Of the old wreck.
II went down and told the Indians what | had
seen. and then they acted scared sure enough.
They assured me that they loved me like n father,
ana thmf they nln we ef utterly utterly i dgy", tea to ,h me so long
to say that | was IL dead man; ] told them was
nantrr%ily ,3rry :" hear that, but craved to know
unusually fine sunset from. the top Of a tama-
rack tree. They sad that 1t was not II matter
n time and place. but that since was doomed |
might as well be Told about IL. and lighting their
by the fire and told me the story Of the ship.
They said II was tY2 mems lives before the
shower OF 1873 serving as u calculating point
for dates all through the south. that the bncca;;
equally plenty Off the coast. One in particular
was OF z most evil reputation, q dcyilisl pirate
the back OF n chimney, II description that cOrrc-
sponded very well To that or the notorious
them that he was a particular friend OF mine.
They seemed Father staggered at my as
which was that this two-legged sea SER
pent had fallen in with a British merchantmen,
bullion laden, under convoy OF a frigntc.. a
storm came up and separated the treasure ship
from her escort, and the buccanecr, falling in
with her in the storm. ran her aboard. dashed to
her, and, numbering all her crew, secured Che
treasure and made of under cover of the storm,
his own vessel being almost dismantlcd in the
adventure. lie ran inside the sea islands, but
the storm continued t0 increase in fury such ns
was never known before or since along the coast,
dHu hti 'hlHillldNti III u kTtHt tliHl "dNts
sent. OF course, for the pirates Just punishment,
that oyertiowcd the island barrier and carried
the robber vessel, with all her black hearted
crew, up through the reaches of the swamp
river, over the treetops. 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 q
regular southern thunder storm. IL interrupted
the tale. ana We tipped up our boat for shelter
and stqked down our tarpaulin over il. When
we had rugged up this shelter and the wind was
bowling like p%anthers through the trees. the
Indians, rs n sort of cheerful accompaniment
to the storm, continued their tale of how, AT in
tcrvnls, the pirate vessel had been seen on
stormy nights-a rotten, crumhling wreck, sail
ing 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.
her sails and rigging were gone, they said,
their place, and the crew Of ghastly corpses
ing the swamp sails with live snakes, and cheer
Ing all sorts OF blasphemy to each other every
the Indians said, hoatcd over the rotten decks,
and green lights gl9wed through the gaping
ss"% ar% Gf t i@s S on at a tSc t the IRdIsat and SGn 6ae slld Ei! II
his head carried away by a round shot, would
on the deck, While the lightning flashes
seemed to especially pick out the wreck
a. thei ihrou Esr i without sn%HS Ssmat they i, IN w t6t
least. No one, the Indians assured me, ever
lived more than a year after seeing the phan-
| had seen "A part OF II that very afternoon.
THE storm that night was fearful. The
lightning licked through the trees like whip
lashes and fired the forest in half a dozen places.
But then the rain came down and put out the
fire and churned up the water OF the bayou till
the black water was turned to white foam
that overffowed the banks and surrounded
the knoll on which We were camped Then
the snakes and all the rest Of the crawling
demons of the swamp seemed To pick out
the knoll where we were Camped as their
especial refuge, ana we could rec hundreds
more 0f them carried down on the food through
the swamp twisting and writhing In the water,
The animals were driven from cover. too. The
pantherh hpwled In the trees around, and we
saw one deer aud dozens Of smaller animals car
ried down ON the roaring stream.
You may bet kept AN involuntary lookout
for this phantom pirate. but the only glimpse !
had of her was once when "A sheet ~ steel-bluc
lightning flooded the whole vi the western sky.
Then | could have sworn | saw the same leaning
mast. the broken CrOsstFees outlined against tho
heavens, and at the moment ! would not have
sworn but that there was a corpse struggling
with the snakes ia the rigging"
ARKANSAS EITTRIL HEILTH.
anav. EIahhaeksa EuabuaHEaIc AaraunU aF