Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-04-01
FLYING CUTCHMAN SEEN. BRIT.
iSH OFFICERS REPORT.
Fabied Vessel Of ~ Omen Is Blamed
for Ship's Fire

The fable of the I7l.ln@ Dutchman,
the spectral ship tE.tt ha nts the va
ters near the cape OF Good Hope,
which. when seen. il heieiN,A by sail
ors to Dc 4 warning nt;fol .une is
about I, heiall their vessel. - longer
is a myth to CtieesS and CGe&- Of the
british steamship kabinea. Just III
from calcutta. Every sailor has; heard
Of the Dutea mariner Who Was con-
demrea for mis- crimes to sail the seas
until the day OF Judgment. anl when
lis fuil-Tigged ship, ever racing ut top
speed III tine t""th CT 4 Sal", L"ars
down on I vessel, only to disappear
when collision seems unavoidable. no
nj 2rir"r can be- convinced asthinS
bad isn't going to happen.
In the instance of the kabinga. the
omen of the restless phantom came
true, according To tn third officer. q.
Hygro". who had the bridge in the first
watch enc night last october and al
most was frightened out of his wits
when he imagined he saw the Flying
Dutchman. with every inch of sail
spread, bearing down on him. His
statement is substantiated by the sec
"nd officer John Paine. who was going
t" the bridge 10 relieve Hygroo short
|. before eight bells at midnight.
y gale vas raging. The kabinga
had rounded the Cape of Good Hope
on tn" voyage to Calcutta when Hy
troo and Paine saw the apparition.
The voyage to Calcutta vas without
Incident and Captain p. J. Greggans,
who had been told about the spectre.
poked fun at the officers and warned
In IA lyt. no nf I,ni
when next on the bridge in a gale.
The kabnga took on a cargo in CAL
cutta and was ready TO sail, when fire
broke out in the hold. 1t burned a
week before the Malay crew could ex
tinguish it. Much damage was done
and practically a new cargo had to be
shipped for New York. The fire de-
partment in Calcutta. composed of
Hndus. was Summoned. but the Ka-
hingas officers assert the men were
towards and refused to go into the
ships hold tn fight the flames.
The task thus fell on the officers and
engineers of the kabinga, and for a
week they toiled to get control of the
fire. Night and day they worked,
leading the MalayS into thick smoke
that made breathing almost impossible.
taken on deck half conscious.
The Flying Dutchman is said by
sailors to appear only in bad weather.
\ southeastcrl$ gale was raging. which
drove the kabinga up the eastern
coast Of South Africa. 1t was pitch
dark and the lookout in the crows
nest had difficulty in seeing any great
distance. AS the vessel rolled and
pitched in the storm the officer on the
bridge was startled by a sharp cry
from the lookout.
Sail. ho," he shouted
Where away?" came the quick
query from the officer on watch, puz-
zled at the good eye of the lookout on
such night.
Dead ahead" was the alarming an
swer.
HTgroo strained his eyes into the
darkness. 1t was five minutes to
midnight. and Paine, unknown to Hy-
gro, stood near him, having come to
relieve him at eight bells. Not fifty
yards away was the Flying Dutchman,
all sails spread, the sea foaming at her
bow, and looking as if her skipper had
nothing else in mind but the destruct-
ton OF his own vessel and the steam
ship.
The full-rigger carried no light re-
lated the two startled officers, but Hy-
gfoo had his wits about him. and,
pushing aside the Malay helmsman.
instinctively seized the wheel and put
it hard over. The effort was needless,
for just as 1t seemed collision was in
evitable the mysterious ship. Hygroo
said, was swallowed up by the OCEAN
New York Press. afEi5as e3-tas
7 IL Hi:E& .saod1slsi 4=e Ttac ."