The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-06-23

them had woman. who appeared 10 be
crying. while the men seemed TO be ex-
postulating. All hands disappeared over
the rail. and soon I saw the boat being
pulled away from the vessel. The whole
affair didn't seem 20 last more than a
minute. The boat was pulled in the direc-
ton Of what I took 60 be land. Then the
vessel seemed to sink out Of sight and
that's all.
Between me and you and the mainmast
I don't like IL. We've already made a
mess OF il by that forcmast head business.
and l don't like II. I say. Something
more's going 10 happen before this hook
er ends her voyage"
"Pshaw. Mr. Smell. you're not feeling
well. that's all" said; "turn the men TO.
and then yOu'u feel better"
The second mate went forward. and his
story OF the dream passed from my mind,
as not being of nature TO affect me. at
any rate. Three days after that the sec
ond mate fell from the masthead. where
he was engaged in fitting the new rig
ging. and by shutdown he was dead. He
never recovered consciousness after he
struck the deck.
II was about a week. or perhaps ten
days. after that sad event that there came
limping into port in charge Of prize
crew the little brig Mary Celeste mot
Marie Celeste. as some papers have print
ed 10. She had been found abandoned
short distance outside the straits by an
English ship, and some of the ships crew
brought her into port The story Of her
finding has been told so many times that
it seems hardly necessary at this time 20
go into details. Suffice 1t TO say that she
had been abandoned in a most mysterious
manner. Her boats were all by her, stow
ed just as they were when the brig LETT
New York; the half-eaten meals in cabin
and forecastle looked as though they had
been left in a hurry; a portion of n white
garment in a sewing machine In the after
cabin gave indications that soft hands
had been at work there but recently. There
were no signs of disorder or OF disturb
ance, of bloodshed about the brig, yet all
Of the people had disappeared as COM
pletely as though they had jumped over
board with weights about their necks.
II was a most mysterious affair and when
story got abroad in Gibraltar everybody
looked a the brig and marveled. l was too
busy in those days ntting my vessel for sea
to pay much attention to the matter, al
though with others had wondered at the
strangeness of the story. few weeks
later. in Messina. came across the Mary
Celeste moored alongside the marine quay,
near the entrance TO the harbor. My atten-
ton was called particularly to her at the
time because every other vessel In the
harbor, as was the custom. was moored
stern-on to the quay. But for some reason,
not quite clear. the port officers had al
lowed this vessel unusual privileges and
| walked down to look at her Sunday.
When l saw what vessel 1t was 1 went on
board to look her over and to see II
could find any clue to the mystery by ques-
tioning some of the men on board.
Il remember that her crew then was one
of the Understanding set OF men / ever
saw outside Of a packet ship. In fact, they
looked to me like a set of retired pirates.
/ said, as | went ashore, that II wouldn't
be surprising If Il should be learned some
day'that these men boarded her from the
English ship, threw overheard the rightful
crew and seized the craft for their own. OF
course. such an idea was preposterous, but
l really possessed It at that time. / never
saw the brig after. nor did | want to.
have followed her career, however pretty
closely up to the time she was wrecked
short time ago and find she has ever been
an unlucky vessel.
IF | had thought of the dream OF poor
Smell / considered 1t but the forerunner OF
his death. Sailors are superstitious and II
they dream anything out of the ordinary
1t is at once set down to mean death or
disaster In the near future
Under date of May %. a dispatch was
sent out from Washington relating a story
which had been sent from Gibraltar by
Counsel Sprague. 1t was in substance that
the Dutch brigantine (the very rig OF the
Mary Celeste) had been boarded by pirates
I'm Alhucomas Bay. and looted, while some
OF the crew had been wounded The de-
scription of the boat, manned by savage
looking Moors, being pulled toward the
Dutch brig the mention of Gibraltar, and
tho fact that both vessels finally found
haven in that port, brought to my mind
like a fash the dream OF poor Smell.
could see with him the big boat creeping
nolselessly toward the victims on the
Mary Celeste.
Now, the latter was undoubtedly be-
Gained, rather nearer the African coast
than she ought to have been, but good
landfalls are not always made on ocean
voyages. II there was a lack of discipline
on board, and this quite often obtains on
small vessels, it may have been quite nat
ural, when the time arrived for dinner,
for the helmsman to leave the wheel In a
beckett and go forward into the forecas-
tie to get his dinner with his mates. 1t
may have been that the cook, after serving
dinner, was told to keep an eye on the
craft. But with the wheel in the beckett
and no wind there might not have seemed
any crying need for him to exert himself
greatly in this direction. so perhaps he
took his dinner at the same time. This
would clear the deck. 1t would be very
easy for boat, which may have been
lying within mile or two, ostensibly a
fishing boat, to get to that vessels side
without any person on board knowing It
and for the crew to be surprised
But, you ask, why should these men
carry away the crew? You will please
remember that affair happened % years or
so ago, and in those times slavery was
not entirely unknown among the southern
shores of the Mediterranean. Even to-
day, under some circumstances, 1t
wouldn't be safe to put yourself into the
hands of some Of the people in those coun-
tries. You might not make a marketable
slave, but you might make good subject
for a fat ransom. / firmly believe that
the dream of Smell was true: that IT showed
nearly the actual occurrence, and that
! the people of the Mary Celeste were car
ried to the coast of Africa. either to serve
! as slaves and suffer tortures to which
! death would be preferable. or they would
be carried away in the hope that their
| friends would pay handsomely for their
release. The latter idea, however, seems
not quite so reasonable as that they were
enslaved, since no efforts appear to have
been made to ascertain who their friends
/ were.
sNEEZEs STOP PRAYERS.