Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1895-03-28
Saint Maru's Beacon
TALES OF THE SEA.

Zone sees some things at sea not
supernatural which are fit to make
a nervous person see ghosts. There
was that case in one of Green's
liners to the colonies, where a 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 lamp, to
clean it out. I'll wager he saw
ghosts for year after that, for when
he'd got down on his knees to begin
scrubbing he found himself bend
ing over the skull of a dead man.
sIt was most likely 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, / did know of case
that seemed supernatural right
enough. 1t was in the Demerara
trade, and | 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 captain had trouble with one of
the seamen, who drew out his knife
and stabbed him to death then and
there. The mate afterward took
her home, but on the way passen-
ger took to ailing in some mysteri-
GUS fashion and up and died very
suddenly.
'Of 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 q re-
volver.
Now she was haunted, sure
enough, if you could believe the
mate. Mind you, after she was re-
fitted the mate said never a word to
the new captain about what had
happened in her before, and even
when q new captain came out from
home to take charge of her, be-
lieving that the last captain was
naturally drunkard, instead of one
who had taken to it after coming
on this ship, this first officer never
said word, because he did not be-
lieve 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 9
O'Clock went to his room and retir-
ed. 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,
III the armchair at the desk, holding
his head between his hands and say
ing: ooh, my poor hear. Oh, my
poor head'
That was enough for the mate.
lie 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 same words and voice
of the dead man.
This brought ont the story of an
exile from Salvador whom the mar
rator met in Guatemala. Having
got into trouble with the authorities,
Senior Don Sebastian Mojarieta
saved his life by fleeing to Amapala,
Honduras, as many another exile
has done, and there taking steam
or, north to San Jose, Guatemala.
a friend of his who was involved
in like manner was to have reached
Amapala by different route in time
for the same steamer, and to pre-
vent any possible delays Mejarieta
engaged staterooms and secured
passes from the Amapala authori-
ties for his friend and himself as
soon as he arrived. But the steam
er day came without his friend, and
Mojarieta was obliged to sail alone.
AT the usual hour, on the first
Al IN