Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-07-29
THE CAPTAINS YARN,
The Experience With the Green
Clothed Phantom.
An Augusta Lady's First Experience At usina
/ Baking Powder.

|
spinner of yarns. but he always pref
aced any tale with. "rll tell you this,
but you must not print it, or at least
don't use my name.
This yarn that l am going to tell
you was one of the true events Of nv
career as mariner. 1t happened on
my last run from Galveston. about the
close of the season, and just at the
time of year when the spring storms
are at their worst in the vicinity of
Hatteras. Everything was all right
until after we left Newport News. We
were steering in northeastern
course, homeYard bound, against high
winds and heavy seas, following in
the wake cf a hurricane which had
traversed the North Atlantic a few
days before. l had been some hours
on deck. and went below at midnight
after directing the first officer who was
on watch to keep the course then
steered and to call me If anything hap
| pcned in the way of n change in the
weather. l lay down here on this side
seat with pillow under my head /
| had lain there but few minutes
when two bells struck, and ! became
| conscious of the presence of the figure
| of man wearing green uwester
standing beside me in the dim light
of the cabin lamp that was swinging
in tone conveying a solemn warning,
but otherwise natural:
Change your course to sou'east.
| captain
Il got up and went on deck. where |
| found that the weather had moderated
| and that the steamer was making bet
ter Roadway. / asked the mate why
he had sent down to call me, to which
he replied that he had not done so.
went back into the cabin. / had bare
ly lain down the second time when |
was favored with a second visit from
the man in the green sou wester lie
repeated his previous order, and this
time vanished up the companion way.
| was now thoroughly aroused. jumped.
up, and was after the retreating figure
but is;lw no one until | met the. mate
who was on watch. He again insisted
hot h. ha1
II was mystified and perplexed, but
| all | could do was to return to the
! cabin. only to see the peculiar visitor
| reapmar. He insisted that / should
| change the course to southeast. say
| ing, If you don't it will he too late
| He then disappeared l am like the
| ordinary captain. | guess-very mat
| ter-offact and not a believer in ghosts
and such things, but | was deter
| mined to see what was hidden in the
| order of my mysterious visitor. I
went on deck and gave the necessary
orders to change the course to south
| east. The mate and those on deck
We're surprised. and even made a mild
| protest but | offered no explanation
and they We're too polite to insist.
| This course brought the vessel to a
right angle to her proper position. If
| persisted in it might have put us on
dry land, vessel and all. Meanwhile
| the weather had moderated still more.
| "Mutinies are seldom heard of N
these days. but l afterward learned
that the officers and crew thought l
| had gone mad. and We're thinking
seriously of putting me in irons soon
| after dayhreak the lookout reported
some object dead ahead. AS the yes
sci kept on it was seen to he Il ships
boat, and as we drew closer it was seen
that it contained four men. lying under
| the thwarts. one of them wore n
green sou'wester. We came to a
standstill. boat was lowered and the
castaways taken in. They proved to
be the captain and three men/of a YES
sci that had been abandoned in a sink
ing condition during the hurricane that
had just preceded us. They were the
only survivors and had been drifting
| heplessly without food or water for
six days. The green souwester was
| the property of the rescued captain.
A few days afterward, when he had
sufficiently recovered to sit at the table.
he suddenly remarked: L have been
| thinking how familiar this cabin looks.
/ think l have been here before. On
the night before you picked me up. I
dreamed that | came to you here IN
| this cabin and told you to change your
course to southeast. The first time you
took no notice of me, and l came the
second time in vain, burt the third time
you changed your course, and l awoke
up to find your vessel alongside of us
Il then caught the resemblance be-
tween my mysterious visitor and the
captain. and told my own story. Then
it was that the mate told how near