Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-06
Weird Stories of Giants" on
Board Old Warships.
BELL OF THE TICONDEROGA
Did Many Uncanny Things That
Scared the Sailors.
SPOOK ON THE
CONGRESS
After Young Spencer Was Hanged on
the Somers Vessel Echoed With
Ghastly Violin Music.

Speaking of 'hants,'" said the first
huff" as the officers of the old receiving
ship settled down for smoke and a spin
ming of yarns after dinner. II wonder what
has become Of the old bell of the Ticonde-
roga? The last / heard Of it 1t was on the
Boston,"
All the officers seemed to know the story
of the ships bell In question and spoke Of
it as If there were no doubt of Its ghostly
attributes. But a civilian stranger, who
happened to be dining on board that night,
asked:
"What about the bell of the Ticonde-
roga? What particular form Of spookiness
does 1t, or did it, affect?"
Some of the officers looked disturbed at
the nippancy Of the civilians remark.
Hush" said the first lieutenant, 1T Is
i'll jesting with things we cannot under
stand. There is something about the name
Tconderoga, any way, which savors OF
magic and weirdness.
You remember the well, authenticated
story which has been often served up IN
poetry and prose-if am not mistaken
stevenson uses it in one of his yarns-of
the highland officer who was told by q
seer that he would die at Tlconderoga!
He had never heard the name before and
did not hear it again until years after,
when, after the American war broke out,
he came with his regiment before dark
fortress on the shores of Lake Champiain.
what he asked Of the guide. is the
name Of that fortress?'
.sWhen he heard the Observation-Disclosures
he knew that his hour was approaching
and he was killed in the fight OF the next
day. .
Tieonderoga was named after the ship OF
the same name which distinguished her
self in the battle Of Lake Champla1n, ana
that ship was, Of course, named after the
fort.
Now, the Ticonderoga had a bell which
looked like any other ships bell and be-
haved as such-in daylight. But at night
that bell was, to say the least, peculiar In
its actions and disquieting in Its habits.
When it had one of it's spells il would strike
the hour with no mortal hand working the
clapper and sometimes it would shine with
blue, ghostly light. as In my day any
number Of sailors were willing to swear.
Another thing the bell would do was
to turn itself completely around before the
astonished eyes of the scared watch. Inc
bell of the Ticonderoga became famous al
through the navy and its weird attributes
were Implicitly believed in.
After the Ticonderoga returned from the
trip around the world, on which she car
ried Admiral Schufeldt, making treaties
with heather kings. she was laid up in
Whitney Basin, at the Brooklyn yard, to
await her final fate, which was to be sold
for old junk. The bell was on her for
awhile but I believe got into its old habits
and made the ship keepers there nervous;
so it was removed.
"Afterward it was placed on the Boston,
but the sailors did not take kindly to its
presence and, though it was moderately
well-behaved on the cruiser, 1t was, l
| think, after awhile removed-but am not
sure.
"At any rate, any amount of sworn testi-
mony could be produced to prove that the
bell of the Ticonderoga did the things OF
| which I have told"
Did you. when you were attached 10 the
Ticonderoga, ever see the bell glow with
it's blue, ghostly light and turn itself
around; or hear it strike the hour without
human aid?' asked the civilian.
Never mind what I have seen and
heard" replied the officer. gravely; there
are some things which cannot be explained
and are hard to be believed"
Why the somers Was Haunted.
care haunted ships common in the
navy7' asked the civilian.
mot nowadays" replied the first
ruff" There seems to be certain In
compatibility between ghosts and mod
ern man % war. A changing steel fortress
and foundry and machine shop combined
offer few attractions for spooks. But in
the days Of the old sailing line-of-battle-
ships, and later in the days Of the steam
frigates, sea-faring ghosts were plentiful
enough, and many were regularly shipped
in the service Of Uncle Sam.
my uncle, who was an officer OF the
brig Somers, used to declare that that ves-
sci was haunted by the ghost Of young
Spencer-and I am sure it ought to have
been.
Spencer was the son of the Secretary Of
War, and appears to have been rather
wild boy. He had left college to don the
uniform Of midshipman, and had been
rrith fair Moo l.nn 1io
in the Somers to the coast of Africa. He
was discovered to be forming some sort Of
a secret socety-as he claimed-or melting
| a mutiny-as his superiors claimed. He was
tried by court-martal while the ship was
still at sea and hanged at the yardarm.
when the line had been rove through
the earring on the yard, the moose adjusted
over the boys head, and the men stationed
to run him up, two lines Of officers stood
with drawn swords on each side Of the line
Of men, with orders to cut down the first
man who refused to pull on the rope. The
men were sullen and not in love with their
job, for Spencer was very popular, but they
would all have been cut down to a man If
they had not walked away with the line
when the order was given.
There was a great sensation, you may
be sure when the SomerS arrived back in
New York with the news Of the execution
Of Spencer. The Secretary of War wanted
to fight a duel with Mackenzie over the af-
fair but was debarred by his Office, and I
believe, young Spencer's uncle, brother
Of the Secretary, fought In his stead.
Spencer belonged to one Of the Greek
letter college fraternities, and to this day
that fraternity holds him as its martyr.
They claim he was simply forming a branch
Of the society on board the Somers But
young Spencer was hanged all right, and
upon what the court-martial thought was
sufficient evidence.
THE unfortunate boy was performer on
the violin, and after his execution a violin,
played by unseen hands, could now and
then be heard wailing through the ship at
night. The men. swinging in their ham,
mocks, knew the touch-it was Spencer's;
and sometimes the ghostly instrument
would play the very tunes with which the
boy had loved to while away his hours off
duty.
Officers In their state rooms and the cap
tain in hts cabin heard it, and traps were
set q try and Surnrise tha ausnacted trick