The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1899-10-05
NEVER SETS FOOT ON SHORE.
Strange Fear and Penance of u Sailor
Who Killed His Dro-
ther.

The tragedy of lifetime was borne
silently from Philadelphia on the broad
Atlantic on the American ship f. b.
Sutton, which sailed for San Francisco
one day lately. Among her crew OF
"a is one man, Walter Dunbar, fore
mast hand, on whom has descended the
hallucination which HAS embittered his
entire existence. He confidently be-
leves that to satisfy the wrath of an
offended Diety it is his destiny to com
NIT murder and that it will be his
best and dearest loved ones who will
fall by his unwilling hand.
A pathetic romance is embodied in
the life of this now humble sailor. Once
he committed murder, presumably in
self-defense. but in restitution he has
known no home and no country. He
has been a miset able wanderer over
every sea and stranger than all he bears
upon his body that which he calls the
mark of God"
Capt. Carver shipped the outcast on
a previous voyage of the f. B. SUIT
toi. to the west coast. He was good
sailor, attended strictly TO his work,
was thoroughly amenable to discipline
and was regarded as pearl of the first
water in these latter days of sailormen's
independence.
Dunbar was considered a strange
man BY the crew on the homeward voy-
age. He never spoke and yet he would
never be left alone. He was regarded
alike with fear and curiosity. On his
back, between his shoulders, was a
curious symbol, apparently in the shape
of Roman cross, and its queer color
varied in tone with the emotions of the
silent man. 1t was an object of dread
and of superstition to his messnates.
They prayed fervently that the voyage
might terminate at New York in safety.
Still the uncsnny mark and the re-
markable personality of Dunbar were
no impediment to the good ship f. b.
Sutton. Her long run Of $4,000 miles
was made in safety. When she came to
Philadelphia to load during the early
days of July she still numbered among
her crew the human mystery.
Capt. Carver knows Dunbar's story.
He is a master mariner above the gen
crafty of that class. He understands
and appreciates human emotion. He
can partially understand the senti-
ments which agitate the strangely
marked sailor who dares not set his
foot Oh shore lest he fulfill an awful
destiny.
Years ago when Dunbar had no
thought of the sea and its rough life
he and his brother quarreled. Blows
were struck and the latter fell With
his last words he said:
Goods curse is on you. ! am not the
last of the family whowill die by your
hand"
Had Dunbar been a man of less re-
fined sensibilities he might have at
tached little Importance to the dying
mans imprecation. In youth, however,
he had been an idealist. With mind
inordinately developed, possessing u
nervous and high-strung intellect, those
last muttered words dwelt forever in
his mind. He felt himself, indeed, bear
ing the mark Of Cain. So strong became
the influence that the mark, indeed, ap-
peared. Family at first, but it soon
glowed ominously. Dunbar described
it before he had ever managed to
scratch its reflected image.
1T is the mark of God" he said, and
he became a wanderer on the face of
the earth.
Not on the earth, indeed, but on the
sea only was to be found safety. A
deadly fear seized him. He was i'm
PEELED involuntarily to lift his hand
against his brother. his father and sis
ters. There was no salvation but TO
place an impossible barrier between
himself and them.
For nine long years, therefore, Wal
ter Dunbar has set no foot on land. One
voyage ended he transfers to another
vessel in a boat. His family have re-
ceived no word of him. He is a mod
ern Enoch Arden and they believe him
dead.
His former home was in Dayton, o.,
but he will never see ii again. He be-
lieves that until atonement has been
made the mark will remain. Capt.
Carver, who tells his story, believes that
he has long since paid the penalty for
an unpremeditated crime.-Philadel-