The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1912-02-01
Cu0ST STEALS VESSELS LINE.
Stories of sea serpents, sighted where

Stories of sea serpents, sighted where
ne Atlantic waves roll high, of big
US torEs caught on chain hooks, of fights
tween whales and swordfish, of water
pla,3ts that got near enough to the YES
sluost to sink it. of devifish running
.,.qy with the ships anchor, of floating
slsrs that sink as boats approach to
EN- and of many other happenings to
.a,s who follow the sea, are daily told
a. rna arrival of vessels in port, but it
...iom that ship master has real
.,-s ghost story to tell after voyage
3,yr the Atlantic coast and up the Po-
-.-sr river, with ice for this city, SAYS
:, n ashington Star.
-lsa a story, however, is told by Capt
-r,.sstt master of the big four masted
..55a3er Gen. E. S. Greeley of New
HAVEN, which is lying at the Ninth street
mari. discharging cargo of refrigerat-
e- material from Maine.
Tn- Greeley, in ripping northeaster,
rs- aurying her nose in the foam of
sr-e sea as she buffeted her way past
rapf Cod bound for the Chesapeake, the
story goes. The middle watch, in charge
n The first mate, was on deck, and the
oight was black. Capt. Crockett was
be.ow in his berth, deep in we'll earned
sIumber, when the startling voice of the
mate. telling him that the log line was
missing, brought him to his waking
senses. Jumping from the berth he
-1shed on deck, and in the darkness felt
long the rail at the after end of the
.blp. where he had himself made the
br+ fast with the strongest knot known
ia sdlormen.
Inc line was certainly not there, but
thinking it might have been shifted by
,5r-one of the crew lanterns were called
f- and all hands on the ship, including
Inc cook, who does not generally bother
sacat such things, took look along the
~ nut no log line was to be seen.
Now the log line is very necessary
rs-rument in the navigation of the ship.
f insists of small brass wheel, shap-
ed Ike a propeller of a steamboat, at
cached to long line, about the size of a
sash ord, which trails astern. The cord
is iached to register that indicates
.- lies. AS the vessel moves through
--- water the little propeller spins
~ ri. twisting the line, and this causes
al hands of the registt to move
giyes the ships master its speed
1ables him to work out the position
Vessel on the chart even when OBJ
IONS are not possible.
- Crockett took the loss of his log
~ much to heart. He did not go
cain, but continued on deck. He
-suess and uncomfortable, as did
Ii-r members OF the crew. How
sJngly fastened line could have
loose and the register dropped
.. -ea sea without being noticed or
he could not understand. Several
iurlng the course of the next two
he went to the rail and looked to
= himself that the line was really
1t was mysterious, for no one
the ship would play tricks with
Z, even If they had an opportunity
so without being seen, which was
lr- y possible, as the deck officer and
'l- man at the wheel were both within
.- t-eJ of where the line had been tied.
About to go below to resume his in
,rupted slumbers, Capt. Crockett took
another look at the rail and was amazed
90 see that the log line had reappeared.
Hardly believing the evidence of his
EYES, ne went to the rail and there the
line was sure enough, but tied with q
Knot different from that he had used,
lu' still good and sailor-like. Others OF
the crew looked at the line and recog.
HIz-d the fact that a different style knot
Rad been used to make the log fast to the
ra,.
Faces bronzed by the summer sun and
winds turned pale as it was whispered
mat this was the same KIN that Capt.
i5hn Tolloch used in making his log line
FAST
There was little sleep aboard the
men told each other how, in bowling
var ago Capt. Tolloch had been swept
5l-rhoard from the quarterback of the
-r-eley, and of how he had caught the
line, trailing astern, in an effort te
sac himself, but it had broken and he
vert to his doom.
lad Capt. Tolloch, in spirit, visited
Es ai ship as she sailed over his water
a.,2''
What use would ghost have for a
W me, anyhow, if he had taken lt?''
These and other questions the men on
'l- .ip asked each other, but the loss
Fl appearance of the line remains a
ny. Capt. Crockett and his men
Assert that the line disappeared, and,
a- it was given up for lost, reappear-
Were it belonged The dial of the
re-ster attached to the line indicated
dr. lumber of miles the vessel had
IT, led all told, not the number she
2- made up to the time it was lost. The
Crew Of the schooner would like to know
j there are ghosts at sea, and why their
2s9stly visitor contented himself with
making off with the log? Why did he
Ha' come aboard the ship? Was her
cargo of ice too cold for his ghostship?
1aase questions the crew of the vessel