Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1898-03-31
MYSTERY OF THE SEA
STORY OF A GHOsTLY MESSENGER
IN A GREEN SOU'WESTER.


Being Put In Irons by His Grow For
Changing the Ships Course-The -Four
shfpwrecked Men In a Boat.
At a dinner in Creole lodgings, in
Jamaica, some three years ago, the con-
versation turned upon the subject OF
ghosts and apparitions. A person pres
ent quoted the words Of Professor Proc.
tor, "There may be some means OF COM
munication, under special conditions,
between mind and mind at distance,
though no one may be able to explain
how such communication is brought
about" One Of the guests present made
a reference to tale Of a mysterious APP
partition at sea, adding:
eff you ever meet Captain Blank OF
the Blank line, ask him to tell the
story. The incidents happened to a rela.
tive of his. He can tell them better than
I and will vouch for their TRUTH
A few days ago Captain Blank was
found on board his steamer. He is not
only skillful seaman and navigator,
but also a very courteous gentleman.
Although about to sail, he took time t.
tell the following:
In the early thirties Captain Benner,
granduncle of the narrator, commanded
the brig Mohawk of New York, then
engaged in the West Indian trade. After
leaving St. Thomas, her last port OF
call On one voyage, the brig was steer
tbxucStap1xy hnrnQyUo rG
bound, beating up under short canvas
against high winds and heavy seas fol-
lowing in the wake of a hurricane which
had traversed the tropics five or six days
before. Her captain, who had been
some hours on deck, went below at mid
night after directing the first officer,
who was on watch, to keep the course
then steered and to call him in case of
any change for the worse in the weather.
He lay down upon a sofa in the main
cabin, but, as the briggs bell struck
twice. became conscious of the figure of
a man, wearing green sou wester,
standing beside him i'll the dim light Of
the cabin lamp. Then he heard tho
words:
"Change your course to sou invest,
captain
Captain Bonner got up and went on
deck, where be found that the weather
had moderated and that the brig was
carrying more sail and making better
Roadway. He asked the mate on duty
why he had sent down to call him, to
which that officer replied that he had
not done So The captain, fancying that
he had been dreaming, went back to the
cabin, but was disturbed soon again by
second visit from the man in the
green ou'wester, who repeated his pre-
vious order and vanished up the COM
panionway. The captain, now thorough
ly aroused, jumped up and pursued the
retreating figure, but saw no one until
he met the mate on watch, who insisted
that he had not sent any messenger be-
| low
Mystifed and perplexed. Captain
| Benner returned to the cabin, only to
see his singular visitor reappear, to
| hear him repeat the order to change the
course to sou west, with the warning,
"If you donot, it will soon be too late, ="
and to SEQ him disappear as before.
Although q cool headed seaman, fair.
| ly proof against superstitions, the cap
| tain was nevertheless deeply impressed
by these happenings and determined to
see what meaning was hidden in the Or
| der Of his midnight visitor. Going On
deck, he gavo the necessary orders for
the change il the ships course to south
west. The officers of the brig were not
only surprised but also indignant at
this Sudden and to them unreasonable
change Of course. The new course
| brought the vessel at right angle to
her proper direction and if persisted in
would strand her On the coast Of Santo
| Domingo. Meanwhile the weather had
moderated still more, additional sail
had been "a r4 1.sa the vessel, and she
Vas being driven still farther from he1
| destination
Her impatient officers had finally de.
termired to seize their captain and put
him in iicns, when, soon after day
| break. tho lockout forward reported
some object dead ahead. As the vessel
Kept Oh it WIS made cut to be ships
boat As it ranged abeam it was seen to
| contain fo;r men lying under its
thwarts, enc of whom wore a green
sou 'wester. The Mohawk was promptly
hove to, boat lowered, and the cast
Always taken in. The csstaways proved
to be the captain and three men. tho
only survivors Of tho UIoW OF a vessel
which had gone down in the hurricane,
and they had been drifting helplessiy
without food for five or six days. The
green sou 'wester was the property Of
the rescued captain. A few days later,
when he had recovered sufficiently to be
able to leave his berth, he was sitting
one day In the main cabin of the brig
with Captain Benner. He suddenly
asked his host whether he believed in
dreams
"Since have been here he contin-
ued, II have been thinking how ia
miliar this cabin looks. I think that
have been here before. In the night be-
fore you picked me up l dreamed that I
came to you here in this cabin and told
you to change your course to sou west.
The first time you took no notice Of me,
and l came the second time, in vain,
but the third time you changed your
course, ana l woke to find your ship
alongside of us -
Then Captain Benner, who had no.
ticed the resemblance of the speaker to
his mysterious visitor, told his OWE
story of that night.
Captain Blank could not recall the
name Of the wrecked vessel, but said
that all the facts were confirmed by the
logbook of the Mohawk, even to the de-
tail Of the intention of the officers Of
the brig to put their commander in
irons. The story is an oft repeated one
in Captain Blank family and is we'll
known in the locality from which he
hails.-New York Sum-
Felt Acquainted.
A Boston lady of the most reserved
and exclusive type was waiting for her
change at the glove counter in one Of
the large stores when she was an