The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1912-11-29


Superstition has 1t that the appearance of the
phantom ship leads to certain and swift misfor-
tune.
OLD sailors will tell of the ship of the Flying
Dutchman bowling along in the very teeth of
the wind, and of her Overtaking their ship
which beating to windward. Some Of them
say they have seen her sail clean through their
ship the swirng films of her sails and rigging
leaving a cold clammy feeling like the touch of
death
Cornwall in the old days remarkable for
its wreckers. and its rock bound coast was the
scene of many evil deeds. The Priests Cove
wrecker during his evil life ured many vessels
to their doom upon the cruel shore by means of
a false light hung round the neck of hobbed
horse TO this day the good Cornish folk wilt
tell you OF the phantom OF the wrecker when
the winds howl and the rage high carried
clinging to a log Of wood upon the crests of the
breaking seas and how it is sent crashing upon
the rocks. where in the seething foam it disap-
pears from sight
The wide stretching sand-choked estuary of
the Solway has many ghost story and more
than phantom ship.
The Spectral ShallOp' is the ghost of ferry
boat which was wrecked by a rival ferryman while
carrying bridal party the bay. The
ghostly boat is rowed by the skeleton of the
cruel ferryman, and such ships as are so I'M
lucky to encounter this CHASTITY pilot are
usually doomed to be wrecked upon the sands.
No money would tempt the Solway fishermen
to go out to meet the two Danish sea-rovers
whose ships, upon clear nights, seen gliding
up of the narrow channels which thread the
dried-out sands, the high-curved prows and
Of shields along the gunwale glitterng in the
moonlight. These two pratical ships, it seems,
ran into the Soway and dropped anchor there,
when a sudden furious storm came up and the
ships, which were heavily laden with plumber,
sank at their moorings with all the villains
which composed their crews.
Among the rocks upon the rugged coast of
Kerry was found winter morning. early in
the eighteenth century. a large galleon, mastless
and deserted. The Kerry wreckers crowded
aboard, and wild was their joy, for the ship
laden with ingots of silver from the Spanish
Main They gradually filled their boats until the
gunwales were almost down to the waters edge,
and hastily they pulled to the shore in order that
they might return for further ingots before the
tide rose and foated the ship away Nearing the
shore a huge tidal wave broke boats and
ship, and when the had passed, the horri
fed women watching. shore sign re-
naming of boats, ship.
Wild horses would not get a Kerry fisherman
to visit the scene of this disaster upon the ami
versary of the day the grim tragedy took place
seen the re-enactment of the affair which Kerry
folk believe takes place upon that day
The Newhayen ghost ship sgniffed her
doom. y ship built at Newhaven in January.
lC47, having sailed away upon her maiden voy-
age. was thought to have been lost at sea. when
one evening in June, during a furious thunder
storm the WelLknown ship was sighted sailing
into the river mouth-but straight into the eye
of the wind-untiI she neared the town when
slowly she faded from the sight of the people
who crowded on shore to watch her. The ap-