The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1905-11-23
Lascars' Fear Holds Up a
Steamship in Mid Ocean.
"A DAY OF PRAYER ON DECK
A Lamp Disappears from Stokehold of
the British Freighter Koranna and
Abdul Kareesh Discovered to
Be the Man Who Took It.

got into Abdul Kareesh, Lascar stoker
on board the British steamship Koronna,
during her trip from Indian ports just
finished in New York here, and it hap
pened that the fires almost went out in
mid-ocean as a result.
1t was ali because Abdul Lasear's
brethren couldn't get the devil out Of
him for nearly whole day, and not
one OF them would work until this
wonderful metaphysical feat was accom-
flished.
Even their fears that the evil spirit
would return into Abdul or into one of
themselves could not be allayed until
certain officer swore an oath that he
had seen the devil descend into No. 3
hatch and that he had battened down
the hatch Immediately afterward, 50
that the devil was prisoner. That
hatch was kept battened down until
port was reached, BY the way, and even
now the Lascar crew are afraid that the
devil Il still hanging about the ship
somewhere.
The Koronna was bowling along over
the @forties" when that pernicious devil
boarded her. Previously to that Gingo
Buxx, another stoker, had complained
to the chief engineer of the disappear.
ance Of his stoker's lamp. Gingo was
quite worked up over it, for he knew
he would have to pay the cost out Of
his wages. No one had seen the lamp
and Gingo was also greatly mystified.
Meanwhile, Abdul Kareesh was con-oling
Gingo very solicitousIy over his less.
1T was too bad said Abdul in his
Jayanese; "if / had but two willingly
would ! give thee one"
At that Gingo would thank Abdul
| with tears of gratitude Abdul was
such loving friend, he thought, indeed
/ faithful son of Mohammed. For three
days AbduI's solicitude continued, until
on the morning of the fourth, when Gin
90 came rushing breathlessly into the
stokehold with the missing lamp in
| his hand.
DOG, Piglp cried Gingo, according to
the best translation obtainable. I'm
| faithful wretch! May Allah curse
| theei 1t was thou that didst steal
my lamp, for Il have but just found it
beneath thy bunki"
Whereupon at these terrible words
Abdul Lifted up his hands and fell in a
faint All the other Lascar stokers ran
to his PROSTATE form, kneeled and tried
to revive him. But Abdul remained
peacefully unconscious. Meanwhile,
Gingo explained the trouble.
Then Keda Ring, who acts as the
hadji for the koranna's Lascars, found
out what was really the matter
Brethren, devil has got into ABB
dull he said s0lemnly and awfully. 1T
is a devil that made him steal Gingo's
lamp, a devil, ! say, and may Allah
save his soul"
Eyes, devils deyiln echoed all
the Lascars in chanting chorus. May
Allah save his soullp
Leaving the Koranna's furnaces to
shift for themselves and oblivious OF
the frantic protests OF the chief engineer
and his assistants, the Lascars picked up
Abduls inert body and carried it to the
upper deck. There they laid him out
with his face turned toward the morn
1 ing sun.
Keda Ring got his Koran and all gath
cred in a semi-circle about Abdul fac
| ing the east. Then Keda Ring, chanting
from the Koran, began to exercise the
devil Every now and then keda would
stoop down and blow his breath myster-
iously into Abduls mouth, while the
Others would simultaneously salaam and
kiss the deck.
/ Adults devil, however, was stub
born one He kept his victim in an
apparently unconscious state until nearly
lnightfall. Meantime, Capt. Renwick, the
chief engineer and the whole English
crew were saying some very sacilegious
things about Northumberland, especially
in its Lascar interpretation
Time and again they interrupted the
exoreism in an endeayor to get the
stokers back into the hold, for the Ko-
rama il big freighter and her fur
naces eat up a vast amount of coal and
need constant replenishing. 1t was no
use. Not a Lascar was going 10 leave
until that wicked devil and Abdul had
parted company. There was nothing left
10 do but for the assistant engineers
and the able seaman to stoke the fur
haces until that devil had betaken hlln-
self back to the world Of Lascar Moham-
medanism's evil spirits
Better cave the bloomin' Brighter
hoyerboard," demonstrated Able Seaman
Jones sacrilegiously TO Keda Ring, after
having been relieved from his two hours
! work in 1870 degrees Fahrenheit. "Ye
can drown IN ont If We can't pray i'm
OUT
| keda Ring simply scowled an an
noyed rebuke and went on praying and
chanting,
Thus they prayed and ehanted and
salaamed until about nightfall with the
ship under reduced speedy, wrestling
with poor Adults kleptomaniac devil
II was just as the sun began TO dip
into the rim Of the west and wind be.
gan to turn cold that Abdul Kareesh's
: devil began to shown signs Of yielding
: Abdul turned his head on the pillow
that had been placed until it, yawned
stretched him and shivered Keda Ring
was overwhelmed with delight and in
. creased the ardor OF his praying, in