Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-01-25
THE DISMAL SWAMP.
A HUNTERS TALE OF AN INDIAN LEG
END OF A GHOST SHIP.

10 you mean TO say you never nearu 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, chat are cele-
brated in the old school reader poem. 1t
is not so well known ghost as that pair,
but it is infinitely more grewsome. 1t is
regular Flying Dutchman of the swamp,
and to see it brings death within a year,
sure as yellow fever. I've seen it, or
part of it, but l suppose it's because l
didn't get real good look at it that am
hero now.
Il was hunting in the little Dismal
when / came near solving the mystery Of
the swamp. 1t is wonderful country for
a man who loves the picturesque and mys-
FERROUS in nature. Where the forest closes
in on the 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 the surrounding wilderness
and to the narrow, tortuous bayous that
wind on and on out of sight into the shad-
ows on either hand.
Just about sunset climbed one Of the
trees and took a look about. You must
remember that up to that time had never
heard anything of the swamp ship; but,
looking off in the direction 1 judged that
the lake must be, was almost certain l
saw the topmasts of big vessel mingled
with the tangle of the trees 1t seemed to
be fully half a mile away-too far to tell
what sort of a craft it was-but one mast
was gone at the Crosstrees, and the other
canted over like part of an old crumbling
wreck 1t was a 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 a great conllagration and turning the
black still waters of the bayou blood rcd.
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 the
very mast of the old wreck.
II went down and told the Indian
guides what l had seen, and then they act
ed scared, sure enough. They assured me
that they loved me like father, and that
they were utterly devoted to me SO long us
l had a plug of tobacco left, but they
grievcd to say that was dead man. l
that, but craved to know what blight l
had incurred from watching an unusually
fine sunset from the top of tamarack
tree. They said that it was not matter
that was good to talk about, especially at
such a time and place, but that since l
was doomed l might as we'll 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 the stars fell, which would bring it
about the close of the Revolution the great
meteorological shower of 1888 serving as q
calculating point for dates all through the
south, that the buccaneers from the West
Indies were very bad and equally plenty
off the coast. One in particular was Of Il
most evil reputation, a dcviish pirate with
q black beard and eyes like fire Goals in
the back of u chimney, description that
correspondent very well to that of the no
torious Spade Beard, so nodded my head
and told them that he was a particular
friend of mine. They seemed rather stag.
gercd ut my assurance, but proceeded with
the story, which was that this two legged
sea serpent had fallen in with British
merchantmen, bullion laden, under CON
voy of 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, dashed to her
and numbering all her crew secured the
treasure and made off under cover of the
storm, his own vessel being almost dis
mantled in the adventure. He ran inside
the sea islands, but the storm continued to
increase in fury, such as was never known
before or since along the coast, and finally
eliminated in great tidal wave, sent, Of
course, for the pirates just punishment,
that overlooked the island barrier and car
ried the robbcr vessel, with all her black
hearted crew, up through the reaches of
the 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 u regular southern thunder
storm. 1t interrupted the tale, and we
tipped up our boat for shelter and staked
down our taTpaulin over 1t. When we had
rugged up this shelter and the wind was
bowling like panthors 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, a rotten,
crumbling wreck, sailing the swamp,
down the hayous 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.
"All her sails and rigging were gone,
they said, but the swamp moss had grown
to the spars in their place, and the crew ot
CHASTITY Corpses could be seen in the toys
and on the yards, reefng the swamp sails
with live snakes and cheering all sorts of
blasphemy to each other every time light
ming struck the masts. Death fires, the
Indians said, tloated over the rotten decks,
and green lights glowed through the gap.
ing seams of the hull, and the pirate cap
tain, with one arm torn off at the shoulder
and one side of his head carried away by
round shot, would fire noiseless broadsdes
from the rusty cannon on the deck while
the lightning flashes seemed to especially
pick out the wreck as their mark, though
they went straight through it without
damaging it in the least. No one the In
dams assured me, ever lived more than
year after seeing the phantom, which was
very encouraging, as l thought had seen
part of it that very afternoon.
The storm that night was fearful. The
lightning licked through the trees like
whiplashes and fired the forest in half
dozen places. But then the rain came
down and mt ont the fro and churned IN