The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-08-20
ALARMED OVER
FIA||NTAST|CC FALE'
Practical Joker Has Half Of Eng
land Worried Over Mys- S
terious Yacht.
DEs PERATE CHALLENGE MADE.
Only Object Seems to Be to Hoax
Newspapers and Stir Up
People. Ssh
Especial Gable to rhe rlnmes dispatch ma

Especial Cable to Tho Times Dispatch and
New York 1Ierald) n. ss I'll 4 n N.
Copyright, by the New York Herald co., q
LONDON. August 1s.--some one with
money had taste for practical joking
and the time to carry IT. out, ana Is On. n
joying himself in a curious way thix
snmmer, "a E
His hoax was started by the spreading n
OF reports about mysterious dolngs upon
mysterious yacht in variout parts Of
the Mediterranean, the only apparent obs
ject being to hoax the newspapers and p
alarm the marine and coast population.
The latest development Is the publica-!
tlon in the agony column Of English z
newspapers Of a challenge BY the alleged
owner Of one yacht to another to meet /
at a certain place on q certain day, and
there receive personal chastisemsnt.
Late in April the Wiener MIttags zoit--&
5ung alarmed the Northern Adriatlo BY its 4
tales Of a mysterious vessel cruising thera
and said to have been seen first near
F,iume. & y q 5g.is IN v
She was built like d yacht, was long
and lay low In the water, and was painted 4
black. On her deck was a crowd of men 4
and women, in fantastic attire, feasting.
She bore no name and carried no flag.'5s88
Circumstantial details were added 81 OF \
peasant girls being persuaded to 80 on \
board, put Into rich dresses and retained Il
for some days, and then being released ii
with handsome rewards. y a lsos 5s thai
fishermen declare they will blow up the Il
mysterious craft on the first opportunity. .1..
Inquiries Were Made. \, 5555l
The opportunity neyer occurred be.8
cause the whole thing was a myth. Ex--E
,haustive Inquiries were made by the
authorities at Trieste, who satisfied them-@
selves thnt no such Flying Dutchmans had
been sean. a5 3s u
# Since then news Of the unknown and Z
yacht has crept into the Eng-:i
.llsh papers. Recently there was a pa ra,
foff 4 a port in Northern France with q !,
'fantastic figure On deck king potshotss
with hsaSrevolWer at people on the hea cl1.Si
n It never happened. l ,t . n
q Just before q the Cowes week. and tho {
visit or tho French fleet, the Dali y Mail
received letter from an unknown cor
respondent, stating that one Lingt Cara
was bringing his yacht to CoWes, ana aln'ddl
intended to cause trouble there. lt was
trouble or a mysterious ature that also !.
never happen ed. $s 5 s 8;s HI
A Desperate Challenge.
Iii the agony columns Of several p Lon--Ss III
don newspapers on Tuesday appeared TINS
fierce challenge: &SSa4 Tiff III .51
,Cowes-If the person speaking pad Il
italian, with an American twang, Z oWning
an unnamed black foreign yawl and n
giving his name as Luigi Caro-. has the
couAage to meet me In the Cowes mel g tl7ss
borhood this week, will convince him 4
he cannot commit acts amounting if 70
piracy with lmpunty.-O Owner Of 6$ the \
Irape," al
There are Il good many yachts regis 4
tered as Irene, and one was of Cowes la st
week, but the bold, bad pra to II ever ar \
rived, and If people swept the horizon \
with their glasses not a glimpse did they
get OF the skull and cross bones. $
The farce was carried stage further
on Wednesday by the publication Of tho
following reply to tho challenge In " the
agony columns: ~. ss ss4
q rCowes-Lulgj Caro- has sufficient cour--5a
withstandng the threat, lie will ems
counter, him on the Clarence pier, South
sea, midday on Thursday, Irane'sy owner,
take warning. You will be throWn.----.3s "A.
Luigi Caro-" Sss
But the crowds who visited Southsea
pier In expectation Of a sensation were
foredoomed to disappointment. G