The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-01-10

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and with the loss of only single man;
but this has nothing to do with the
ghost story, and is mentioned only to
identify the vessel. Years after the It'd
al wave incident there was one-eyed
paymaster with a red beard on the Mo-
nongahela. He was known throughout
the navy as one of the three best story
tellere in the entire service. He was
also famous for his love Of whiskey.
The former made him a general favorite
and the latter ultimately brought him
to his end When told that he was 60
ing to die, he summoned his fellow off,
GERS to his bedside
Dear boys" he said, you have liked
me and I love you for it. I've often
heard you say the wardroom mess
wouldn't be mess at all without me-
and SO I'll tell you what I'm going to
do. I'll be around as usual in my old
room No. 2, on the port side, so that
you can't say, old fellows, that / ever
left the ship"
More than one veteran seaman wiped
his eyes two or three days later when
the paymaster was dropped overheard.
Nobody believed that if the paymaster
Cdile DdClN, as ne pIUlllSGu IL WUulu DS
with the intention of annoying anyone.
/ But his alleged temperance caused
great CONSERVATION. They began the
day following his burial, and years af-
1 terWard every officer who was quarter
! ed in No. 2 on the port side of the
/ Monongahelas wardroom sought an
/ early opportunity of reinquishing the
berth, though few were willing to ad-
nit any ghostly experiences. But
among the sailors of the ship talk about
the paymasters ghost began within a
few weeks of his departure. The earli-
est yarns were spun by the men on duty
In the storerooms and paymaster's Of
flee. Nearly every evening they report
ed that he was seen pottering round
among the ships stores and figuring
up accounts on the desk by the safe,
One of the men, the Pay Yeoman, was
sent to the sick bay. His illness was
trifling, but he told the doctor one morn
ing that his time had surely come, for
the dead paymaster had stood by his
bedside at two bells in the middle watch
and beckoned him away. And as a
matter of fact he died in day or two;
About three months later after this
passed, Assistant Paymaster S.
Joined the ship. He was lively young
chap. He had no superstitions what
ever he said, and cheerfully installed
himself in room No. on the port side
The evening of April %, 1885, was one
of unusual merriment in the mess The
ship was homeward bound with a fair
wind and the Passed Assistant Pay
master was the jolliest man on board.
About two hours after everybody had
turned in the entire wardroom was
awakened by an unearthly yell, followed
by noise as of a man falling. The
officers turned out, lights were struck,
and there was S., doubled over an
upset chair and moaning unnteliigibly.
When asked what was the matter, he
pointed to the door of the room.
TITS there! It's therel" he murmured
What's there, old MANI" was the
query.
"a dead thing. A corpse in my berth |
-one eye and red beard-cold and hor-
rible!''
"The moonlight coming through the |
port woke me-" he continued, after a |
pause. II was very cold, and at first !
thought I had chill 1 raised myself |
upon my elbows to get better view t
of things. AS I moved | came in con-
tact with something clammy and Shiny
and icy cold. BY the dim light l saw
that l had a bedfellow-Ta dead man. I
his one eye staring and his red beard |
tangled with seaweed The thing is I
there now-lying in my bed"
The officers crowded to the door of
No. 2. Nothing was found-absolutely
nothing, though there is weird but
tale that when they examined
Mr.. SIS berth they discovered two
or three small pieces of barnacled sea-
weed. After that strange occurrence,
the story of which is an established leg
end in the navy, room on the port side
Of the Monongahela was unoccupied UNI
til the reconstruction.
Few officers are alive to-day who
served with the Monongahela on that
cruise; but the following
story concerning strange happenings on
The Ticonderoga has been told by an
officer of high rank now in the Depart
nent of Naval Intelligence and another
1t present connected with the Bureau
If Ordnance. The Ticonderoga was of
he Monongahela class, wooden steam
ar of 1000 tons displacement, and she ,
had seen good service during the Civil
War. Among her officers on a cruise in
he South Atlantic during the early 7Os
vas young assistant surgeon named
". He had a firm belief in the
and the ridicule that was
leaped upon him by the other members
If the mess made him yery bitter
"All right" he would say. "You fell
ows can laugh at the truth as much as
rou please, but if I should die while any
# you are attached to the Ticonderoga
III come back and haunt the blamed s
'uld lugger until yoV'll all be glad to /;
pply for other duty" {
Well the young officer died suddenly
# heart disease one night in bowling
torn off the coast of Brazil. His body | t
vas committed to the deep next day, {
nd that night the trouble began. Id
trange rappings were heard from t
VS. stateroom, and though the Off |
ers who went there to investigate dis I
overed nothing, they were seized by '
n overpowering feeling of dread In
he sick bay that night sailor who i
las very i'll with consumption started c
rom his sleep with a scream of ter q
Or. He declared that shadowy hand I
ad felt his pulse with the familiar t
ouch of the dead ships doctor who had l
tended him SO long The manifesto e