El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-11-16
pHOspHORESCENT SHIP AT SEA

| PnOSPnORESCENI SnlP Al SCI
Italian Shippers Cargo 6lowed Tn
til It. Attracted Offers OF Re
lief.
Cap. Domestico, the Italian bark
Clementina and big q cargo of bon Q
are now in port, from PARKWAY IRA
quay. They have completed a voyag'
has scarcely parallel in the annals o
navigation. Storm and blow, bugs ant
ghosts and mysterious incidents galore
made mp the run of the Clementins
from Buenos Ayres to Philadelphia
the quickest voyage ever sailed be-
tween these two ports.
Italian captains are odd characters
they are proverbially slow, 80 slow
indeed, that it is said they take theil
sails in at night when at sea, and sc
careful that they would anchor if they
could find holding ground.
A reporter of the Times boarded the
Clementina yesterday almost as soon az
she dropped anchor in the stream. He
was much gratified to find that the
captain spoke English in his own
quaint fashion and highly entertained
by the latter's ingenious account of his
woode,fal voyage.
''This ia my first trip with q bone
ship" said Signor Domestico, land if
I can do 80, it Ia my last. Such trou-
BILE we had on account of those bones!
[ don't know how to tell about.
1--WE loaded them at Buenos Ayres
and cur destination was Antwerp. On
arriving at Montevideo we were order
ed to Philadelphia. When the south
ern trades began to blow we made
good time. VERY fact time, you say,
but all of us wished that the voyage
could have been made in a day after
what we had to go through.
These bones we had on board were
fresh and when they were loaded in
the hold at least 1900, 900 bugs were
put in with them. These soon became
15O, DOC, 600, and then what q time we
had.
"The insects Overran the whole ship.
[ have seen the men shovel them up
and throw them into the sea at the
rate of four bsrrelfuls day. They
were what is called the boring bug,
and as never sailed with them before
1 had not taken the precaution to have
the ship painted with mixture of
whitewash and arsenic, consequently l
was in mOmentary fear that
she would begin to leak
and go at once to the bottom. When
only three days out of port the bugs
became so bad that three of the men
went into the rigging and stayed
there. In the meantime near the
equator the Clementina ran into fierce
gales, which lasted q week. One of
The hatch covers was lost overheard
and that in itself make a story. After
The storm subsidized we noticed that
We we're followed by British steamer.
hove to and be lowered boat and
ooarde ed.
s. How long cave you been on fre?'
said an officer who stepped on the
deck.
Il could not understand the man. He
however. that his vessel had
Clementina blazing fiercely
'or the last three days and that they
had followed to render US assistance.
Might came on while he argued, and
he exclaimed:
There you are burning again
Iloft'
''Sure enough ehostly radiance
played fiftfully around the spars and
OPP hamper. Then the explanation of
he mystery dawned upon me. I re-
rendered that during the storm it |
aimed hard and the moisture going |
through the hatch, with the cover lost |
IF, penetrated the hold, developing |
he phosphOrescence in the bones. Tn e |
light thus exuding went all over the
'essel and in the. distance she must
ave appeared as veritable fire ship.
Impressed by the simple solution of
he puzzle the officer got in his boat
nd departed. All night, however, I
aw his vessel following curiously in
ur wake. We must have presented q
spectacle, although the lat
or was imperceptible to US.
my crew never heard the explsnR-
lon, consequently few dsys later.
7hen my cat got, by accident, into the
old and became saturated with the
her sudden appearance
4 the forecsstle struck terror to their
'eak hearts.
s. She's been seized by q Demon
hey cried. and then vowed candle
ticks of silver to their patron saint if
should prove no i'll omen. They
nally threw the cat, which 1 loved
cry dearly, as q product of sunny Italy,
Ito the sea. I never saw her again.
81 wanted to get here. l had enough
trouble, enough of bone ships, and
Tapped on all sail. God favored me
nd finally made your capes an older
ian by twenty years than I was two
lonths ago. did not tell you oil.
he ship leaked, the food got bad, AMI
was all in voyage which I can't