Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1911-05-30
HAUNTS THE HORN
The Phantom Ship That Shows
Itself Near the Cape.
IT IS REALLY A HUGE ROCK.

But to Vessels Passing Through the
Strait Of lie Marie 1t Appears to Be
a Bark Running Under Short Sail.
Other Rock Ship Formations.
The phantom ship" seen In the vi
cinity of Cape Horn is, as has been
proved by the investigation Of various
photographic bureaus, nothing more
or less than a rock which under GER
tain atmospheric conditions bears
deceptive resemblance to a ship.
Very often vessels coming from Eu-
rope to the west by way of Cape
Horn have been startled to see what
appeared to be a derelict with the
water washing over her deck. If the
sailors were of an imaginative turn
they would invest the unknown ship
with ghostly qualities and call her the
Flying Dutchman or sometimes the
"ghost ship" Of lie Marie, from the
usually seen.
One Of the stories which have been
longest remembered is that of the i'll
fated Crown of Italy, which sighted
the supposed derelict and subsequently
went ashore. The Crown of Italy was
standing close to the jagged black
rocks at the entrance to the strait of
lie Marie when she sighted what
seemed to be waterlogged bark
drifting on the rocks of the strait.
Many other ships rounding the Horn
have seen similar apparition, and the
various photographic Offices of the
world have received many reports to
that effect.
Some years ago the Norwegian bark
Servia got into Seattle with the tale
Of phantom ship that almost exactly
correspondent to that given by the
Crown of Italy. The second officer Of
the Norwegian vessel declared that he
had seen a derelict with sails set and
decks awash drifting in through the
strait. 1t was this report that led our
government officers to make public the
declaration that the phantom ship was
nothing but a combination of rocks
and shadows.
The numerous reports of derelicts or
ghost ships always appearing in the
same place led even the Argentine
government to look into the matter.
A tender was sent out from the near
by lighthouse with the object Of MAX
Ing an investigation, and it was found
that the apparition was due to a
strange freak of nature. Among the
black jagged rocks that line both
sides Nof the strait Of LIE Marie there
is one in particular which, under GER
tain atmospheric conditions, bears
deceptive likeness to ship. The
formation of the rocks and the shad-
ows they cast combine to produce the
effect Of a bark running under short
sail.
The passage through the strait of
lie Marie is not often made. Steamers
shorten the route by going through
the strait Of Magellan, while sailing
vessels usually prefer to be entirely on
the safe side by going still farther
south and rounding the Horn itself.
Only under the most favorable condi-
tons of weather do they slip through
the strait of LIE Marie on the outward
trip, going toward the southwest, but
never when bound for the north. For
this reason many old sailors have
never met the ghost ship or the rock
ship.
Those who have seen 1t give a mi
mute description of the rock and testify
to its striking resemblance to a Ship.
1t seems to be standing head on, point
ing to the south and low in the water.
The sails are shortened as they would
be in what sailors call half a gale.
The whole formation Is very dark, as
II the hull were painted black and the
sails weather beaten. 1t has three
masts and is higher on the fore than
on the main. Upon coming on the side
Of the vessel the illusion vanishes and
the whole thing resolves itself into a
conglomeration Of black rocks. The
perpetual fog Of these regions helps,
of course, to befuddle the vision
The rock looking like ship Is by no
means rare natural formation. Al
most every sailor has seen one In some
part of the world. In the ClippertUn
islands there Is a great white rock
looking like three masted schooner
leaning on the wind with her royals
set and the sun shining on her white
sails.
About six or seven miles west OF
Honolulu there is rock known as
French Frigate rock because once
upon time French frigate went
ashore on it. The cliffs looked SO
much IKE ship that the frigate was
deceived and thought she was meeting
another vessel.
| st. Paul island. in the middle of the
Atlantic, Is said to look very much like
a ship when approached from certain
direction, but it is place that mari
ners prefer to give a wide berth.-Har