The Mena weekly star., 1907-05-30
OCEAN IS HAUNTED
eAosTs OFTEN SEEN AT SEA,
 SAYS 4 SAILOR.
cons Ahosrd, Seemingly, 10 Visit, and Net to Do Narr-Thelr Appear sncs Looked Upon as
 Warning.

"An old sailor told me that ghosts arc common enough at sea. says a writer in the Manchester Guardian
 he says that some parts of the ocean are full of spirits, and that others have none.
 They are not often seen Only common ghosts are seen. according to the old sailor. He says that they often come aboard ships. but not to do harms that the early morning is the best lime Co see them. a little before tnrnto time, before the ships cook has the eoffee ready.
 There ts an old story of a ship which carried sn extra hand who had never signed articles. The crew dis covered. when they were in blue wa ter, that one watch had a man too many.
 'I once knew a sailor who had sailed in a haunted passenger steam. CT. She was one Of the ships plying between the Plate and Liverpool. but ! cannot mention her name. as she ls still aaost. She has one pecuiiarity. a poop as big as the poop of an East indiaman.
 This poop ia haunted The sailor who told me of the ghosts vas one of the ships quartermasters. On one passage, when the ship was in the tropics. he had the middle watch be low. The fo'csle twhich happened to be aft. under the poopl was so hot that he could not sleep
 At last he turned out of his bunk took a blanket and a pillow and went on deck to sleep. He made up his bed on the poop Co leewsrd of one Of the boats. and settled down to rest al about three in the morning. just as the dawn had begun to change the color of the sky.
 "He did not know how long he slept. but he woke up with a start 10 see a line of men hrooming down the poop toward him with a boatswain in front of them. swillIng buckets oi water on to the deck as they worked aft. He saw them as plainly as I see my dinner on my plate. some three or four yards away. all working hard. They were so near that he sprang to his feet at once, grabbing up his gear lest it should be wet.
 "He had hardly taken his gear in his hand when he thought with a shock that he had overslept himself at least an hour and half. that it was now half past five. since they were washing decks; that he hadn't been to muster and that he would get bee in his ear. if nothing worse. for going on deck to sleep without leav. ing word where he could be found As he got up he saw that the boat swain and the hands took no notice of him, though one of the sweepers looked in his direction.
 He was a red-headec fellow. said the quarteImaster. and he'd gvt . scar across one cheek like he'd been hit by club: an ugly looking lad he was So knew at once he wasn't one of our crowd.
 And I saw him as plain as I stand here. and he looked at me; and saw the boatswain as plain. too. l saw him tell the red headed fellow to heaye round on his broom and not 30 dreaming like a God send Sunday fel low. No. l didn't hear him say that only seen him,
 And the fellow. he went on brooming down directly ! seen him get told felt queer all over. it was so natural wasn't dreaming ! waa awake all right. lt was a vision Or If it wasn't a vision I'll tell you what lt was-it was sent
 "'It was sent as a warning That red-headed fellow was a warning Some time l shall meet that red headed fellow and you mark my words, hen give me queer pash. sure.
 50 shall stand from under when come alongside of him. I'd know him again if l saw him. all right Some day shall see him.
 "The vision or warning. or what ever 1t was, kept him awake for the rest of the watch. He went below tp the fo'c'sle. having had enough of the poop, and found that he had been asleep hardly more than 20 minutes.
 There Is something wrong with that poop. It is not canny place
 T know of another queer thing which happened there. and of a man who started up from his sleep beside q boat to prophecy of what should hapren to him in years time The prophecy seemed to every one the most crack-brained nonsense: but it was fulfilled exactly, almost to a day, certainly within a week of the time predicted"
 Stop 0rumbling