The Owosso times., 1904-10-28
LEGENDS OF THE SEA
WEIRD SPECTRAL SHIPS DOOMED TO
ENDLESS VOYAGES.
The Flying Dutchman of Evil Fame
Appears In Many Kinds of Sea Lore.
Block Islands Fiery Reminder of
the Wreclsers OF Colonial Days.


tions to which the sea has given birth
not the least interesting are those con-
cerning weird spectral ships doomed
by some irrevocable decree of fate to
sail the wide seas over till eternity,
without hope Of ever once entering a
harbor Of safety. Conspicuous among
these is the Flying Dutchman, or, rath-
er, Flying Dutchmen, for there are in.
Vulnerable versions Of this legend,
which have been colored and designed
to concur with the various fancies and
ideas Of different nationalities.
1t is not improbable that the original
in the old Morse tradition Of q viking
who had sacrilegiously stolen ring
from the gods, and whose skeleton was
ever afterward seen seated on the
ylainlnast of q black spectral ship en-.
veloped in fire, to behold which fore
BODIED wreck and disaster. A later Dan
ish variation of this story no doubt in
spired Longfellow's lines describing
ship of the dead that sails the sea
And is called the Carmilhan. -
~s.s In tempests she appears
Without a helmsman steers.
Tradition says of this ship that a hid
eous faced goblin invariably sat on the
bowsprit smoking horrid pipe filed
with a. more perniciOus weed than to-
bacco, and ill betide the luckless vessel
that encountered her, for
Over her decks the seas will leap.
She must go down into the deep.
And perish mouse and man.
The most generally accepted version
Of the Flying Dutchman, however, is
that of the pigheaded Dutch captain
who swore he would round the Cape Of
Storms in the teeth Of a terrific hur-
ricane. His fatuous determination
scared the crew out Of their wits and
eliminated in threats Of mutiny.
Eventually they became obstreperous,
but the bold skipper, not daunted,
clinched matters by throwing a few of
them overheard and, terrifying the re-
mainder, reiterated his oath with
treble violence. Then an apparition
endeavored to turn him from his pur-
pose, to receive most impolite, not to
say irreverent, reception. 1t doggedly
persisted and so enraged the captain
that he fired at it with his revolver.
But instead Of hurting the ghost the
ball lodged in his own arm, at which
misfortune he, not unnaturally for a
sailor and a Dutchman, became even
more sacrilegious in his expressions.
He was forthwith condemned to, navi.
gate his vessel forever and ever, with
gall to assuage his thirst, redhot iron
for his hunger, forever sleepless and
without hope of arriving at port. BY
the aid Of his friend Satan he was able
to bring about disasters and tempests,
and his ship was "the harbinger Of
wreck and woe" alluded to by Scott in
"Rokeby."
The French equivalent of this ship
was the Courier Hollendais, which was
said to sail around the world in twelve
hours, with terrible disasters follow
ing in her wake.
German tradition is rich in phantom
ships and tells of one on board Of
which was q nobleman who had been
forced to leave his fatherland because
Of a great crime and who was alleged
to toss dice with the devil for his own
soul, while another Teutonic creation
was death ship which was supposed
to be chock full Of murderers and GRIM
inals Of the lowest order. A skeleton
holding an hourglass stood in con-
spicuous position, and
go The ship was black, her masts were
black.
And her sails coal black as death.
And the evil one steered at the helm and
laughed
And mocked at their failing breath,
which undoubtedly must have been
most grewsome spectacle to run
against and something akin to the ap-
pearance on All Saints day of the souls
of sailors drowned during the year, a
belief which was prevalent in this
country. 1t was said that in the dark
ness Of the night the watchmen on the
wharfs would observe a boat within
hail, and, Fastening to cast it line, it
would disappear, and simultaneously
frightful shrieks would rend the air.
Block island, on the Atlantic coast
Of the United States, was alleged to
have its ghostly ship, which, rising In
three pyramidal flames into the repre-
sentation Of a ship, was supposed to
be perpetual reminder Of the wicked
ness Of its former inhabitants, who In
tue colonial days cruelty lured On i'm
migrant ship on to the rocks, with
great loss of life, and then looted and
burned 1t.
Another phantom ship, so the story
goes, appears occasionally off Cape
dEspoir, in the bay Of Gaspe, In the
gulf Of st. Lawrence. She is crowded
with soldiers. conspicuous among
whom is an officer pointing shoreward
with one hand and supporting a wom-
an with the other. Suddenly the lights
go out, there is a shrill cry, and the
ship sinks. This is supposed to be the
ghost of British transport which was
lost at the time Of the Anglo French
wars in Capada.-London Globe.
Scald head is an eczema of the scalp
very severe sometimes, but it can be
cured Doan's Ointment, quick and
in its results At any drug