The Washington weekly post., 1899-06-20
FLYING DUTCHMAN AGAIN.
stories Of the GhostIy Holiander Told by
Modern ships

passengers OF modem. full powered
steamer. That such q thing should hap
pen ~ these I'm De steele days seems al
n est incredible. IL bears us back TO the
/ times of Mar-yat ard Cooper. when the
| existence OF the Flying Dutchmau was
/ tsksa quite seriously by the simple sail
/ or folk OF the day
/ Yet Ne canot doubt the recent appear
ance Of the apparition. unless the whole
| ships crew OF the Albstross. from the
[ Captain TO the cabin boy. are artistic
and highly finished liars The AlbatTOss.
/ which trades 10 the Cape Of Good Hope
/ was running along smoothly on her
/ home ward voyage, the engines settled
| down to Il steady tNelveknOt gait and
I every man happy In the fact that she
/ was home Rard bound for London Town
The night was clear. there was little
| wind ard the sea for this stormy region
vas comparatively smooth. There was
nothing TO detract the attention OF the
4 officer Of the watch. when suddenly he
/ vas startled by the c-y OF the lookout,
Sailing ship on the port beam. sir
| How could it have happened? y min
ute ago the officer was positive that the
horizon was clear all around. and now
but a mile or so 10 windward ef them
was the sharply outlined figure of a
large ancient slfip-a strange. unwieldy
craft, with a huge poop and cUmbrous
forecastle, queerly cut sails. and clumSlly
rigged spars-a seventeenth century gal
leon. OF the type in which the Dutch
who in their day were great discoveTers
added so much to the geographical
knowledge of our ancestors.
The officer rubbed his eyes and hegan
to wonder if the cape smoke" as they
call brandy in those parts. had got into
his brain. He called to the man at the
helm. but found that individual had al
ready left the post OF duty and was
staring Tel-mOuthed through the
wheelhOuse door.
Its the Flying Dutchman, sure
enough, said the man with a shudder.
y hat means bad luck to MS"
In the GOOD old superstitious days the
appearance Of the ghostly HOianuer was
always iookad upon as a had omen, and
even to-day you will find Cd seamon VINO
still retain some memory of the traui-
tions of their youth.
1t was not long before every man on
that ship was gazing over the weather
rail Tie hremen forgot their blazing
/ fLrraCes. the watch below turned out Of
their warm bI nks. and even the Cap
tain left his comfortable bed to join the
wondering throng
For an hour the good steamer Alba
tross practically ran herself and it was
all the chief erSiner could do to get men
enough TO keep steam in the boilers
And the most marvellous thing aeout il
ali was that though the steamer was go
ing twelve knots and the wind was quite
lisht the app&rition TO windward kept
pace with her. knot for knot The Dutcn-
mans sails were distended with wind
she had half gale behind her at least
she kecled over until her moldsring deck
and rusty guns were clearly 10 be seen
yet those on the steamer felt hardly a
breeze.
Equally strange was the absence of life
on the ancient galieon. Not even a tor
tuIed soul vas there To guide her path
! Falkenberg and his stubborn crew seemed
to have utterly disappeared.
Have the wide seas ever before wit
ressed such UNIQUE meeting? For the
space of an hour these two widely con-
trasting craft sailed side by side. one the
highest product of civilized ingenuity and
skill the other a rude survival OF the
medieval ages. II is the first time In the
history of the WOrld that a steamer has
met the Flying Dutchman.
The Captain might have solved this
n;any-century- tradition OF the seas
He might have found traces of the wicked
FalkenberS and his ba aggy breeched sail
ors. He might have-but there. it is no
Sc speculating on what he might have
done. for ne did nothing. He simply
steamed along side by side with the
Dutchncan AMI made no attempt TO board
her. Then, as suddenly as she came, the
galleon vanished. and the horizon as
oGce more clear.
How does il happen that this ghostly
craft is still aloat sailing the seas just
as she did VIXEN voyage around cape
Horn was looked upon as wondrous
achievement? Is she still the same vessel
which Ayres, In his legends OF Montauk,
describes so vividiy?
'ris the phantom ship that in darkness ana wrath
Plows the waste ocean pIh
And the heart Of the mariner trenhles in dread
When it crosses his vision like ghost of the dead
1t was the stubbornness of a wicked
Dutch nCbleman. one Falkenberg, which
rendered this miracle of the seas possible
According to the accepted version OF the
story, as given by NJ. Jal in his scenes
de la Vie Maritime Falkenberg set out
on a voyage of discovery during the early
part of the seventeenth century. He had
a stout ship and gallant crew. each man
as hot-headed and obstinate as himself
The Dutch in those days were reckoned
among the best navigators in the world,
and all might have gone well with Fall
kenberg had he restrained his blasphem-
Gus temper. He tried to round the stormy
cape Horn against "A IuTlOus gaze. ana Oh
course failed. for the clumsy, slow-saiiing
vessels Of those days were not much good
al reaching 10 windWard.
FaIkenberg made the vain attempt
again and again. for the elements seem
to have united against him. Then In his
rage he swOre an impious oath that he
would do il or die The crew. getting
tired Of this ceaseless battle against head
gales. not unnaturally Kicked" To qule.
them. for their obstinacy was OF the true
l..
men overheard and kept on smoking his
pipe and drinking his beer.
To and fro. with wearisome monotOHy,
the vessel tackled, but never a nile 70
windwarG did she make. Then the Holy
Ghost descended on the ship, probably for
Captain and his crew. But the impious
Falkenberg was not one 10 be daunted
by spiritual manifestations. He drew his
pistol and fired point blank at the Heav-
enly Being. The only result was that the
bullet pierced his own hand and parslyz-
cd his arm. Falkenbcrx seems 10 have
grown furious at his own impotency, fOr
he recklassly cursed his God. and every
thing connected with religion.
This scsndaloCs action finished the mat
ter; the Divine patience was exhausted.
and a sentence probably unequaled for
its severity was passed upon the
blasphemOus Captain He was con-
demned 10 navigate the stormy Southern
,ort, and his diet was limited TO gall "a
beverage and Tedhot iron as food. Besides
this. ne was TO be eteTnSlly on watch and
was never to TeleRste his duty for u
moment to one Of his officers, The Flying
Dutchman Was 10 be the evil genius OF the
sea 10 torment and punish sailors, and
even the sight of his Hl-omensd bark
would carry bad fortune 20 the bsholder.
The ship brings white squalls, head winds.
tempests. all Sinds Of disasters. Should
the Dutchman visit ship wine sOurs. and
all food becomes beans. Should hr bTing
or send letters none m1st touch them or
all would b. lost. The crew OF the ship r.
composed 81 all the old sinners OF the sea,
sailor thieves, towards. murdeTers, &c.
They eteTnaily toll and suffer. and have
little 10 eat or drink. for the ship y the
true purgatory Of the faithless and Idle
mariner.
Aarryat, who has written most inter
esting novel on tle subject. gives some
what more romantic version % TIE event.
The captain OF the ship. whose name was
Eznfsrdsckn. trisd for nine weeks 10
round the Cape. and then In despair ne
threw all his pilots overheard AZ this
did not mend matters. he ssore on relic
Of The true CFsss that In spite Of the
Wlad and wsafheT-stoTms. seas. bsht-
ming and verythlng else-he would beat
until sbs dzx af Judgment 70 pass the