Evening journal., 1903-01-26
Some Salt
Water Ghosts
Copyright. 1902. by II. s. Hale. ]


a signal of distress flying.
The Speedwell had a cargo of coal
for Gibraltar. She was also a new
craft, this being her third voyage.
While lying in the Downs at anchor at
night the crew had been frightened
by moaning in the fo'castle.
At dark. on the night before the
Schuylkill came up, mates and an went
away in the longboat and left the cap
tain alone.
In June, 1868, l ran away from the
Marblehead whaler Josiah Bemis in
the port of Port ST. Louis, island OF
Mauritus. A week after she had
sailed away there came INFO port a
ship called the Golden Horn, owned by
an English firm in Bombay. She had
touched at a port in Ceylon and was
bound for Liverpool, and the crew had
forced the captain to put in at St.
Louis on account of the ship being
haunted. Very little of the story
leaked out when the six Of us who had
deserted the whaler shipped aboard OF
her
The captain and both mates were
English, and there were two English
sailors in the fo'castle OF the thir-
teen men forward there were five
Portuguese. The cook was a negro and
the steward an Irishman. OF those
arriving in the ship at Port St. Louis
only the captain and first mate re-
mained. Cook, steward and all others
were new hands. -Four of the Ameri-
cans were educated young men who
had shipped for a whaling cruise in a
spirit of adventure. The captain and
both mates were above the ordinary,
and even the cook was a man Of con-
siderable education who had been
driven to sea by hard luck ashore. 1
tell you this because we had q mys-
tery aboard, and superstition played
no part in it.
Such Of US as had heard the gossip
about the ghost from the old crew had
forgotten it when the Golden Horn was
three or four days out She was a fast
| craft, well found in every particular,
and there was nothing to find fault
with. One night, while was acting as
lookout on the bows, the hour being be-
tween / and o'clock, turned my face
for a moment and saw a man standing
about five feet away. 1 was in the
captains watch, which is really the
second mates watch, and Mr.. Leslie;
the second mate, was pacing the quar-
ter deck, as / could see. 1t being a
quiet night, with all sails full, the other
men of the watch on deck were lying
about to catch a wink of sleep, but
ready to spring up at a CALL
at first thought the man to be the
captain, though it would be strange if
he came forward. Looking closer,
saw that he was a total stranger. He
was tall, heavy man and had on. oil
skins, though the night was fine. If
masquerading was not almost crime
ON shipboard, / might have thought IL
the cook or steward dressed up to
play a joke. could see the man at the
wheel, and the mate and l poked
about and counted the men in the
watch. Then / advanced upon the
stranger, and he backed up a few feet
glided TO the port rail and swung him
self over and out Of sight.
l listened for the splash, but non'
came. climbed upon the rail, but NJ
one was in sight. l was still looking
2 and wondering when Mr.. Leslie cam'
forward, and when he had heard ~!
story he admitted that it was the ghos
that had driven the other crew away
The spook had been seen by every mai
u who stood watch from midnight to
o'clock, but by no one else and at n
: other time.
1 promised TO say nothing to any O
the men, and / kept my word, bu
n next night it was seen by the lookoU
T. Just as 1 had seen It, and after two G
u three days more the thing was ou
The Portuguese hunked at once an
10 almost threatened mutiny, but til
others OF us, assisted by the officer
49, went coolly at work to solve the my
RI terry. Not one of us was q believe
even in dreams. We stretched rope
across the deck, but the shado'
Is passed to the rail and over just I'll
/, same. We stretched a net along Il
ie rain. butSt went through the net as
puff of smoke would. We lighted Il
decks, and we even extinguished Il
y pinnacle light for a few minutes, b.
- it made no difference. On one occ
sion every man in the ship stood {
the spot ahd swung his arms al
he sought to grasp something, but Il
on ghost came and stood and disappear'
just the same.
). At Cape Town the Portuguese c
or sticks, and four English sailors we
m. shipped. We were now all Engli
speaking and all white men except [
as cook. We were determined TO ia
ed that ghost and for at least TWEEN
ed nights after leaving Cape Town we {
perimented. Not one of us was afra
but the whole thing was considered
y. lark.
oh DO what we would, that shadoN
figure appeared. 1t came as we
becalmed, and it came as we were
lad Ing TO I'm gale. No man saw its ia
lad You simply saw a man there. AS y
OF started forward he stepped back a
IL lee ufha,.a rvac no SON