Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-15
A MYSTERIOUS CHARACTER.
Strange Fear and Penance of n Sailor
Who Killed His Brother.

From the Philadelphia Times.
The tragedy of lifetime was borne ST.
lently from this port on the broad Atlantic
on the American ship e. b. Sutton which
sailed for San Francisco yesterday. Among
her crew of twenty-four is one man. Walter
Dunbar, a foremost hand. on whom has de-
scended the Authorization which has en-
Uttered his entire existence. He confident
ly believes that to satisfy the wrath OF an
offended Deity it is his destiny to commit
murder and that 1t 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-de-
Tense, but in restitution he has known no
home and no country. He has been a mis-
cradle 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 E. b. Sutton to the
west coast. He was good sailor, attended
strictly to his work, was thoroughly amen
able to discipline and was regarded as a
pearl of the first water in these latter days
of sailormen's independence.
Dunbar was considered q strange man
by the crew on the homeward voyage. 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. apparent
ly in the shape of q Roman cross, and its
queer color varied in tone with the emo
lions of the silent man. 1t was an object
of dread and Of superstition tC his mess
mates. They prayed fervently that the
voyage might terminate at New York in
safety.
Still the uncanny mark and the remark
able per sonality Of Dunbar were no impede
ment to the good ship E. B. Sutton. Her
long run Of 600 miles was made in safe
ty 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 master mariner above the generality of
that class He understands and appreciates
human emotion. He can partially UNDER
stand the sentiments which agitate the
strangely marked sailor who dares not set
his foot on shore lest he fulfill 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:
Gods curse is on you. I am not the
last of the family who will die by your
hand"
Had Dunbar been a man of less refined
sensibilities he might have attached little
importance to the dying mans impreca-
ton In youth, however, he had been an
idealist. With a mind inordinately devel-
oped, possessing nervous and high-strung
intellect, those last muttered words dwelt
forever in his mind. He felt himself in
deed, bearing the mark Of Cain. So strong
became the influence that the mark. In
deed, appeared. Family at first, but it
soon glowed ominously. Dunbar describ-
ed it before he had ever managed to scratch
it's reflected image.
"It is the mark Of Cod 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 impelled iDvoluntarily
to lift his hand against his brother. his
father and sisters There was no salvation
but to place an impossible barrier between
himself and them.
For nine long years, therefore, Walter
Dunbar has set no foot on land. One voy-
age ended he transfers to another vessel
in a boat. His family have received no
word of him. He is modern Enoch Ar
den, and they believe him dead.
His former home was in Dayton. Ohio.
but he will never see it again. He believes
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 unprecedented
crime