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1909

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A COLONIAL APPARITION.

 

A STORY OF THE CAPE FEAR.

BY

JAMES SPRUNT.

 

READ BEFORE THE SOCIETY OF COLONIAL DAMES OF
NORTH CAROLINA.

PUBLISHED BY

Harper’s Steamboat Line.

 

WILMINGTON, N.C.
MORNING STAR ELECTRIC POWER PRESSES

1909

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A COLONIAL APPARITION.

 

A biting storm of sleet and snow is
seldom seen in Wilmington. For many
years the winter season passed with
scarcely frost enough to chill the poor,
and then a Christmas season came
that will long be remembered for the
rigor of its cold.

For several days a blizzard had pre-
vyailed along the far Northwest, and
when the weather warning came, the
signal lights—a white above a red—
increased the apprehension of a storm.

The week began witn dismal, rainy
days, black clouds, and bitter cold,
and when complacent home-blessed
people heard the moaning wind sing
dolefully or rush with sudden, smoth-
ering fury down the chimney flues,
they yawned beside their cheerful
fires and made some commonplace re-
marks about the suffering poor.

At night a gale blew fiercely, some
fifty miles an hour. The driving rain
was congealed into stinging sleet
which smote the cheeks like showers
of needles. The dreary lonesome
streets bore striking contrast with
brighter seasons in the past. ©

With sudden burst, the howling
storm would seize some luckless pas-
senger and bend him double, while his
splintered umbrella went flying into
space. The second day the havoc of
the storm was shown by prostrate fen-
ces in the streets, broken branches, tin
sigus, and chimney pots, with not a
few old buildings unroofed and torn
as by a hurricane.

To those who watched and prayed
for some loved toiler on the sea, the

 

news of many wrecks along the coast
came like a knell of doom. The tele-
graphic wires were down; but every
tardy mail brought word of savage
storms which crushed the life from
many shipwrecked sailors from Hat-
teras to Cape Fear.

How few of those accustomed to ev-
erlasting hills can comprehend the aw-
ful fury of a storm at sea when pbrok-
en, helpless ships are tossed in air,
where stricken and beaten with mad-
dening fury, they plunge a moment Jat-
er into the seething hollows, and the
foundering fabrics, with their haggard,
hopeless crews, sink to rise no more!

The chureh’s prayer for those in
peril on the sea is often said unthink-
ingly; but as the daily record came of
shattered ships and drowning men,
there went from many hearts «a silent
invocation for those in such extremity.

The crews on board the lightships
never before had seen such fury in
the storm. The one on Frying Pan
was staunch and safe enough, and rode
without a strain through previous
gales; but now she leaped upon the
wild and sloping sea like some mad
animal, and standing for a moment
with her bowsprit heavenward, pluns-
ed into the foaming chasm of the hol-
low waters, and vanished in the smo-
ther, which seemed to hold her down.
The mushroom anchors held until the
strain broke the heavy iron chains,
and then she drifted in the whirl far
out to sea. x

The Southport pilots called to mind
the frightful gale of April 12, 1877,

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

occasions would fill a volume;

 

4 A COLONIAL APPARITION.

when five brave men went down,
while all that courage, coolness and
good seamanship could do, did not
aveil.

The coast guard looked upon the
saddest sights. They saw dismasted
staggering vessels. with shreds of can-
yas, impelled by rushing seas to immi-
nent destruction. on the beach. The
acts of heroism performed on such
and
those who know the service of life-
savers have often thought the com-
pensation small.

The third day showed a subsidence

of the storm. The glass at times was

steadier, but still the mercury stood
at 29, denoting heavy gales. The
temperature was much below. the
freezing point. Distressed, bewildered
cattle suffered greatly 2<nd many died
from cold. The wildest birds were daz-
ed and tamed and came for food about
the city doors. Beneath a pile of wood
was found twelve lifeless frozen par-
tridges, their heads arranged within a

circle, as is their nature when asleep. |

The cruel sufferings of the poor and
homeless shut out the thoughts of
Christmas gayety, and made the fa-
vored ones more kindly to the needy.

The Southport mail boat, Wilming-
ton, made her daily runs without a
break, although at times the gale
would seize and bend her in its grasp,
until] her upper rail was partly hidden
in the foam; but Captain Harper knew
his craft end kept her well in hand.
With steady stare ahead and vice-like
grip upon the wheel, he safely steered
her up and down, without an accident.

The 24th brought weather indica.
tions of a change; but such a storm
dies slowly, and often comes again in
gusts, as if unwilling to depart. The
boat was timed to sail at 5 o'clock,
and long before the warning whistle

 

blew, the Southport party came well
laden with big parcels for the holidays.
With plank hauled in, the r<il secured
and hawser neatly coiled, the stately
steamer shaped her course. But er:
the double bells were rung, a little
rivet broke away from thousands of
its kind and soon caused trouble with
the furnace fires. There wes a pause;
then a parley through the speaking
tube revealed the fact that nothing
less than six hours’ work would
«mend the kettle” in the engine room.
Without assistance from the shore
and helplessly adrift, the Captain
promptly anchored in the stream. He
also told the passengers the truth;
and asked them to refrain from visits
to the engine room, as everything was
being done to make another start.

On similar occasions the average
engineer will seldom rule his spirit,
snd, when beset by senseless queries,
is apt to profane. The chief on board
the Wilmington was a model of his
kind. To one inquirer anxiously obtru-
sive .he said the boat had caught a cat-
fish in the strainer which broke the
suction valve; and, to a lady who
would know the worst, he answered
that a rat was in the eylinder; to a
third, a pompous man, he confidential-
ly whispered that she had lost her cen-
tres and that the oilers were in the
pilges looking for them. A l:ter mes-
senger was sent by the uneasy. passen-
gers, who said on his return that Mr.
Platt looked dangerous when he invit-
ed him to call again next week. Mean-
time, a friendly tug appeared and tow-
ed the h°pless steamer to her landing
berth.

The wind and snow. increased as
darkness came, and all the passengers
save one debarked for better quarters
on the shore. At nine o’clock a fur-
ious sleet intensified the bitter cold.
The snow-clad streets at 10 o’clock

A COLONIAL APPARITION. 5

were quite deserted, save here and
there a market man might be seen
scuttling homeward-bound. Then, dis-
appointed tradesmen put up their shut-
ters in despair; and even noisy revel-
ers retreated with their blatant horns.

The clouds were black and angry
looking; snd the frequent flashes of
lightning—unusual at this season—re-
vealed the awful. grandeur of the
scene. Sometimes the flaring are
lights flickered and went out, leaving
the wharf as black and dismal as the
sky and then a tipsy raftsman would
break the silence at the dock with
lusty cries of “boat . ahoy,” which
brought at length the tired, reluctant
ferrym2n with his twinkling lantern
glimmering through the gloom. A

ragged, drunken wretch, ejected from.

a neighboring bar, blinked stupidly
below the hanging light and stumbled
into darkness.

Along the western shore the light-
wood fires on timber rafts reflected
wretched shelters of rough boards,
with scant-clad, shivering countrymen
hugging the shifting blaze. Upon the
eastern side were glowing anchor
lights of vessels waiting at the
wherves, while moving }amps upon the
stream described the passage of small
boats to safer points ashore.

Left with his lonely passenger, the
Captain’s social quality prevailed.
With mainbrace spliced, tobzeco pouch
and pipes, an hour was spent in cheer-
ful chat, from which the skipper learn-
ed some pleasant tales of old Colonial
times.

“Do you remember having read of
the extraordinary meeting between
Sir Willicm Berkeley, Governor of
Virginia, and William Drummond, our
first Colonial Governor of North Caro-
lina in 1677?” said the stranger.

The Captain admitted that he did
not recall it, and asked if the saluta-

 

tions had been similar to the alleged
remark of the Governor of South Caro-
lina to the Governor of North Caro-
lina, that it was a long time between
drinks.

“Far from it,” replied McMillen, for
such was the stranger’s name.’ “He
gave him neither drink nor shelter,
but said in the almost inconceivable
cruelty of his wieked heart: ‘Mr.
Drummond, you are very welcome; I[
am more glad to see you than any
man in Virginia. ’Fore God, Mr.
Drummond, you shall hang in half an
hour,”

“What your honor pleases,” was the
calm reply; for our brave Governor
had long believed that Berkeley would
kill him without the formalities of
judge or jury.

“Is it possible,” said the Captain,
“that such a crime could be committed
without severest punishment, and did
he really hang him?”

“Alas! such was the case,’ said Mc-
Millan. “Drummond was a man of the
noblest impulses. Of him the histor-
icons generaily have said that he was
of most estimable character, unsullied
integrity and great ability. He had
retired from office several years pre-
viously, having served as Governor
three years: and having joined himself
to the so-called Bacon rebellion, was
hounded by Berkeley to his death. He
was a Scotsman and a Presbyterian.”

“There was another Scots Governor
of the Province,” said Captain Harper,
“a man closely identified with the
lower Cape Fear, for whom the first
military fort on the river was named.”

“You allude, no doubt, to Gabriel
Johnson,” said Mr. McMillan. “He
served for sixteen years and his was
the best administration of Colonia!
times.”

“Yes, he seems to have influenced
the movement of the Scots to this Pro-

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 A COLONIAL APPARITION.

vince after their oppression by the
English. I have read that his interest
in his suffering countrymen nearly
cost him his official place.”

“Undoubtedly an attempt was made
to turn the home government against
him.” said McMillan; “but the Govern-
or clearly established his innocence
of the charge of disloyalty to his
King, and proved that his feelings
were aroused by a natural affection
for his fellow countrymen.” é

“The clannish feeling of the Scots
hes been frequently remarked in Wil-
mington, end especially in the up-
country where the greater number of
immigrants found their new homes,”
said the Captain.

“IT remember a story of old Kenneth
Murchison, the grand-father of the.
present proprietor of Orton, who lived
in Cumberland county on a_ road
which in his day was frequented by
travelers. Some belated strangers ap-
plied for food and_ shelter for the
night, but the old gentleman’s house
was already full and he said it was
impossible, that further entreaty was
useless. He was obdurate, but just
as the disappointed snd weary travel-
ers were turning away, they fired their
last shot. “But, Mr. Murchison, you
must know we are Scotsmen, and sure-
ly you would never turn a fellow-coun-
tryman from your door?”

“A weel,” said he, “ye are none the
better for thot; but ye may bide.” And
they did, greatly to their enjoyment.

The late British Vice Consul at Wil-
mington ws often imposed upon by
wandering vagabonds, and he admit-
ted to me that some Scotsmen were
utterly unworthy and degenerate, and
yet the most abandoned wretch that
ever tramped the streets had always
found the Consul easy prey if he could
only speak the Scottish dialect.”

“T have read a laughabze story,” said

MeMillan, ‘of the dismay of the Wil-
mington people when McNeill arrived
in 1739 with his 500 wild Highl>nders,
whose strange cries and uncouth man-
ners so startled the inhabitants that
he was hauled un before a magistrate

-who required of him a bond for their

good behavior.”

“And vet,” said Crptain
“those wild and uncouth strangers
were not lacking in good sense. The
Gaelic language which is spoken yet
among the older of that class was mu-
sic to the ears of those who followed
the survivors of Glencoe. Poor as
they were, they yet denied themselves
the commonest necessities at times,
in order that they might provide for
the educction of their children. It

Harper,

has been said that the — serv-
ed their God and generation
well; and "tis common proof
that their’ descendants h*ve main-

tained the love of truth and liberty
which brought their fathers to this fa-
vored land. When Flora McDonald
came in 1774, some of her old-time
friends and fellow countrymen were
well advanced as leaders of the colo-
ny. At Wilmington a ball was given
jn her honor and many compliments
were paid the beautiful protector of
‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’.”

“Indeed she w7s worthy of it,” re-
plied McMillan, “for she had acquired
in Edinboro all the graceful accom-
plishments of the best society of her
day, to which was added such personal
courage and striking beauty that her
influence among the Scots ws almost
unbounded. Tradition says that her
presence was superb. In the Scotch
counties of upper Cape Fear her name
is still held with much the reverence
paid that of a patron saint.

“Some years ago en eccentric per-
son in the settlement claimed to be

 

a lineal descendant of Flora, and in

A COLONIAL APPARITION. 7

‘order to substantiate his claim, he al-

ways wore a pair of immense ruffles.
He would never beme2n himself by
working with his hands, considering
manual labor beneath the dignity of a
person so highly connected. He be-
came so poor in consequence that he
sometimes went bare-footed, but he
was never seen without the ruffles.”

“How was it possible,’ asked the
Captain, “for the English under the
Duke of Cumberland to over-run Scot-
land and utterly defeat such a fighting
race as they had ever proved them-
selves in other wars?”

“You were never further from the
truth of history, my friend, than in be-
lieving that the English overcame
Scotland at Culloden. The Wizard of
the North has said:

“*A primitive people, residing in a
remote quarter of the empire, and
themselves but a small portion of the
Scottish Highlanders, fearlessly at-
tempted to place the British crown on
the head of the last scion of those an-
cient kings whose descent was traced
to their own mountains.
tic task they undertook in favor of a
youth of 21, who landed on _ their
shores without support of any kind,
and threw himself on their generosity.
They assembled an army in his behalf.
Their speech, their tactics, their arms,
were alike unknown to their country-
men and to the English. Holding
themselves free from the obligations
imposed by common law or positive
statute, they were yet governed by
rules of their own, derived from a
general sense of honor, extending
from the chief to the lowest of his
tribe.

With men unaccustomed to arms,
the amount of the most efficient part
of which never exceeded 2,000, they
defeated two disciplined armies com-
manded by officers of experience and

This gigan-|

 

reputation, penetrated deep into Eng-
land, approached within ninety miles
of the capital and made the crown
tremble on the King’s head; retreated
with like success when they appeared
on the point of being intercepted be-
tween three hostile armies; checked
effectually the attack of a superior
body detached in pursuit of them;
reached the North in safety and were
only suppressed by a concurrence of
disadvantages which it was impossi-
ble for human nature to surmount.

“All this has much that is splendid
to the imagination, nor is it possible
to regard without admiration, the little
band of determined men by whom
such actions were achieved, or the
interesting young Prince by whom
their energies were directed’.”

‘It was a heroic struggle against
most fearful odds,” said the Captain.
“I have been told that their subse-
quent punishment w2s barbarously ex-
treme.”

‘Nothing more devilish could have
been devised. The unfortunate ones
who came to Wilmington had witness-
ed the execution of one out of every
twenty of their companions; the re-
maining nineteen were banished to
America. Many of tlie leaders were
tortured beyond description. Among
the subsequent executions was that
of a young man, James Dawson, a fa-
miliar name in Wilmiugton, whose be-
trothed wife desperately resolved to
attend the horrid ceremonial. I have
read in Scott that she beheld her lover
after having been suspended for a
few minutes on the gallows, but not
dead, (such was the barbarous sen-
tence) cut down, disemboweled and
mangled by the knife of the execution-
er, All this she bore with apparent
fortitude; but when she saw the last
scene finished by throwing young
Dawson’s heart in the fire, she drew

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8- A COLONIAL APPARITION.

her head within her carriage, repeated
his name and expired on the spot.”

“I recall en expression of Victor
Hugo in his account of the Paris devil-
tries of 1793, which seems to apply in
‘this case,” said the Captain—‘‘the
words ‘these were times when men
were more like wolves than they are
now’.”

“Your information interests me
greatly,” he continued. “We shall
have steam in half an hour; can you
beguile the time with something new
to me about the river nistory?”

“Have you ever heard of the execu-
tion of the Scottish Highlanders at
Srunswick during the American Revo-
lution?” asked McMillan.

“The subject is entirely strange to
me,” replied the Captain, “pray pro-
ceed.”

“My great-gn2ndfather,” continued
Mr. MeMillan, “was William McMillan,
sf Edinboro, who enlisted with the
Camerons in the Rebellion of ’45; and
after Culloden, was compelled to leave
his country.

“He was fortunate in being person-
ally acquainted with Governor Gabriel
Johnston, of North Carolina, who kind-
ly and cordially invited him to make
his home among the Cape Fear Scots-
men already settled on the lands now
known as Robeson county.

“At first he stopped <t Waddell’s
Ferry, and in the course of time be-
came imbued with the spirit of the
Whigs, who held among their number
not a few whose wounded spirits had
vever healed since the oppression of
their countrymen. The daring exploits
of the Tory, Colonel David Fanning,
whose rapid marches and reckless bra-
very were equal to any emergency,
hed become the talk and the terror of
many who knew how cruel and how
desperate was this scourge of the ene-

“On the 138th of September, 1781,
Col. Fanning and Col. McNeill, with a
small force, entered Hillsboro by dif-
ferent routes at dawn, taking the town
by surprise. In a few moments they
seized Governor Burke and his entire
suite with other prominent inhabitants
numbering forty or fifty persons whom
they conducted with great celerity to
Wilmington, where they were lodged
in jail by Major Craig, the British
commandant of that town. This re-
markable feat, one of the mast memo-
rable in the history of North Carolina,
involved the destiny of my ancestor
and of many others whose homes lay
in the track of this evil-minded man.

Fanning appears also to have been
remarkable for the fecility and accu-
racy with which he obtained informa-
tion respecting every person and eve-
rything within the range of his opera-
tions, therefore, it is not surprising
that my great-grandfather fell into his
hands together with two other High-
land Whigs who had been merked as
doomed men, because of their so-called
treason in violating the oath, reluc-
tantly given, which bound them to a
hostile sovereign.

After delivering Governor Burke
and party into the hands of Major
Craig at Wilmington, Colonel F2nning
continued his march to the town of
Brunswick, now 2 ruin on Orton Plan
vation, in whose harbour lay several
British ships of war, and also an old
prison hulk which was anchored in
the bay a greater distance from the
wharves, just opposite the Sugar Loaf.
To this gloomy, loathsome, floating
cell my ancestor and his companions
were at once consigned, whence, after
agonizing dread and fruitless efforts
to escane, they were brought again on
the shore, put through the mockery of
a trial and sentenced by Fanning to

 

my.

immediate execution. Th2 hour was

A COLONIAL

i o'clock and the unfortunate Scots-
emen were given but few moments for
their preparations for the end.

While the unwilling soldiers were
being drawn by lot for their obnoxious
duty, the thoughts of these brave men
who were to sacrifice their lives for
American independence, turned sadly
to the old familiar scenes in far off
bonnie Scotland, then to the loved
ones in the new home among the pine
trees of Carolina, where they had fond-
ly hoped-to live and die in peace.
The place of execution was near the
ruins of Governor Tryon’s palace at
Russelboro between King Roger’s
house at Orton and the town of
Brunswick. A pine tree, to which the
victims were bound, still marks the
memorable spot where these two
nameless martyrs’ dust is now repos:
ing.

“At length a platoon of soldiers of
the line drew up before the doomed
but fearless men and, at the word,
discharged their pieces simultaneous-
ly; two quivering bleeding bodies
were drawn aside and then McMillan
was brought forward and unbound a
few paces from the tree. He was a
powerful man, and years before had
been the champion of a curling club
who ‘put the stone‘ with strength like
that of Samson, and like Samson he
sent an earnest agonizing prayer to
Heaven for help so needful in such ex-
tremity. Held firmly by two stalwart
guards, he drew his muscle to its ut-
most tension and quickly smote one
of them senseless at his feet, the oth-
er seized him round the waist and
bore him to the ground. But the des-
perate prisoner with almost superhu-
man strength broke clear away, and,
though covered by a dozen muskets
whose contents pierced his clothing

APPARITION. 9

into the friendly shelter of the neigh-
boring woods, and setting his face to
the northwest continued with varying
speed from 2 o’clock in the afternoon
a distance of seventy miles, reaching
his home in Robeson at daylight, the
following morning.

“He long survived the
times and died in 1800.

“The Orton people hold an old tra-
dition that on stormy nights ghosts
of these two Scotsmen sometimes
walk abroad, and also row a phantom
boat in search of vessels bound for
foreign parts.

“An aged negro who had lived for
more than seventy years upon the
place, is quite familiar with the tale,
and showed a curious friend of mine

troublous

en times and often talked about. It
bore some rude inscription, long since
obliterated by the hand of time,”

MeMillan’s weird, uncanny tale im-
pressed the Captain strongly and
made him strangely silent. The moan-
ing wind and crackling sleet against
the window sash conspired to chill the
cheerful flow of ready conversation
and made them dread the dangerous
run through storm and darkness at so
late an hour, for it was now near mid-
night.

Just then the mate appeared bearing
a message from the engineer that
steam was ready. The Captain glanc-
ed above the wheel and tapped the
aneroid, which indicated twenty-nine
and a half—a very ugly record; but
mMail-boats cannot choose their wea-
ther, and so were given the orders:

“Haul in the gang plank! Let go
the bow line! ase the stern line!
Let go all! Haul in!” Buffeted by
the wind and hail, the boat swung out
upon the ebbing tide and started on

 

yet leaving himself unarmed, he ran
with the speed of a frightened deer

her long-delayed return. On dark and
cloudy nights the river lights are of

 

the execution tree, well known in old- -

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 A COLONIAL APPARITION.

little use, so dim and insufficient is|
their glow, and on this night they
seemed almost obliterated in the thick
and dismal weather which prevailed.
At times, the Captain slowly felt his
way without a guiding mark, while
Peter Jorgensen, the watcaful mate,
kept the lead line going const:ntly.

“Three fathoms!” shouted Peter;
“py the mark, two half! Mark two!
Now one fathom, sir! She is shoaling
fast!” A moment more they reached
the lights at Clarendon too late for
luck; for the widened river caught the
full ferce of the gale, which driving
the boat, sent her hard aground. Al-
though the tide was running down-
ward fast, the shifting wind came
round a point or two and helped the
backing’ engine to put her off again.

Once more they started, but at slow-
er sped and groped their way along
the nerrow channel as a blind man oft-
en does upon familiar paths.

“Of all the nights I ever saw in ups
and downs for twenty years I never
saw the match of this.” said Captain
Harper to his friend.

“T ran the blockade off your bar in
several steamers during our late war,
was under fire for twenty hours and
narrowly escaped; a Federal cruiser
sank us off the coast, and ec:ptured
all our crew. I have seen many heavy
gales at sea; but I never saw in all
my life such a dismal, fearful night
*s this,” replied the lonely passenger.

“Th: heavy glocm increases,” said
the anxious Captain. “1 fear we are
astray again. Can you see any lights
ahead? The snow is blinding—we
should be off the lower jetties. Ill
give a spoke or two a’port!”—but at
this moment the wheel refused to
move—‘‘Here’s worse luck still.” he
cried, “the rudder chains are jammed.”

from the deck below; “she shoals |
again!—two fathoms! cne, three, quar-
ters! by the mark one, a half one fath-
om! We’re on the lower jetty, sir!”
And ere the full stop gong sounded in
the <ngine room, ship went crashing
over the soft timbers of the State ob-
struction, which had not felt a keel in
necrly seventy years. It is sad to say,
the Cantain swore, and sadder still, he
kept on swearing.

The Presbyterian passenger con-
curred in every oath, but did not give
expression to his rage.

“Thank you,” he said, as Harper
turned apologetically; ‘the provoc:-
tion’s great.’ This sally scon restored
the Captain to his calm and norma!
temperament.

The tide was at low-water slack.
and every effort exerted to twist her
off, made matters worse. After car--
full search, no damage was apparent;
then lights were set, and fires reduced,
until the turning of, the tide which
would ficat h:r clear.

All hands, save Peter Jorgensen,
were glad to seek the comfort of the
furnace fires. He, cnly, walked tise
upper €vck despite the cruel weather;
his theughts reverting to the father-
land and to the Christmas seasons of
the past.

As he stood below the sheltering
upper deck and pictured to his mind
the sccnes of his early home in dis:
tant Denmark, he seemed to see the
“Jule Aften’”. preparation for the feast
of rice which always comes befor: the
sacred service of the fcllowing holy
day.

Then, filled his contemplative mind,
the memories of the simple sports ant
homely gam:s of vidage men and wa
men; and music and dancing and
drinking everywhere, but. nothing to
excess. And, too, the early prayers

 

“We are out of the channel, sir!”
shouted the watchful Peter Jorgensen

at Church before the Christmas dawn;

 

 

A COLONIAL

familiar faces of friends of long ago
and those of dearsr memory, filled his
eyes and made a swelling in his throat.

A sudden icy gust of wind awoke
nim from his dream,

When he turned to walk again he
saw the standing figure of a man
clad in rough, dripping garments,
with hair and beard unk:mpt and
flecked with snow, and a faced distort-
ed with agonizing dread. His right
hand grasped the weather rail; the
other pointed east by south towards
Big Sugar Loaf.

“How came you here? What do
you want?” said Peter, drawing neav-
er with hand outstretched to touch
him. No answer came.

“Who are you?”, shouted Peter, “are
you mad?” And as he reached to seize
him, his hand fell on the empty air—
the man was gone!

A moment later, when Peter reached
ed the pilot house, his face was ashy
and his legs were limp from fright.
The Captain gave an angry glance,
and turning to McMillan, said: “The
inan is drunk.” ey

“I am not drunk,” declared the ter-
ror-stricken mate. “I have not touch-
ed a drop this night. I—have—seen—
a ghost!” And then with frightened
looks he told them of the apparition.

“Now I know for a certainty that
you are drunk,” said Captain Harper.
“Who ever saw a ghost? McMillan,
did you ever see a ghost?”

“T doubt not Mr. Jorgensen has su-
bernatural causes for his alarm. A
Scotsman born is often charged with
native superstition, I know of things
in My experience beyond the range of
our socalled Philosophy. But let us
search for Peter’s ghost, and then dis:

cuss the cause of his  disordersd
mind.” :

 

APPARITION, 11

“call all hands!”

“Excuse me, Captain,” said the shiv-
ering mate; ‘ would not for a present
of the ship look on that awful face
again.”

With an angry exclamation of dis-
gust, the Captain reached the speak-
ing tube and ordered up the crew.

Each man was questicned, and all
declared that none other than those
present had been on board that night.

“Now,” said the Captain, “let every
man attend me while 1 gearch the
boat.”

McMillan joined the party and ev-
ery nook and corner, up and down,
was closely scrutinized with safety
lamps, in vain.

The skipper still looked vexed; but
when he saw the dawn and anxious
face of his devoted mate, he seemed
quite ill at ease.

in vain he questioned and cross-
questioned the unhappy man.

“Did you see this person approach-
ing you?” said he.

“T did not, sir,” the mate replied.

“T was standing on the lee side near
the turn of the after cabin and ny
thoughts were not excited; I was
thinking of my home in Denmark.
A sudden gust of icy wind swept
around the deck. I thought the wind
was shifting from northeast; and,
When I turned to walk around the
bend, I saw the figure standing on the
port quarter outside the rail ana
grasping it with one hand, while with
the other it pointed down the river.
At first, I thought it had climbed on
board and was trying to get over the
rail. When I spoke it made no ans-
wer; I then advanced to touch it, but
it was not there.”

“Did it seem to try to speak to
you?” enquired McMillan.

 

“Well said,” replied the Captain;

“T cannot tell,” said Jorgensen. [is

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 A COLONIAL APPARITION.

lips did not move, neither did any
sound come frcm its mouth; but, 0,
that fearful face; I can never forget
it?

“What did it indicate—did it seem’

to haye a fit?”

“J will tel) you what it seemed to
me,” said Peter. ‘If your only chili
was drowning before your eyes and
you were powerless to save it; and
if you suddenly saw some one standing
nar whom you knew was equal to its
rescue, I think you would have done
as that ghost did. I say it was a ghost
—a human being could not vanish
before my eyes like that.”

“The night is dark; perhaps you
were asleep and only dreamed of what
you saw.”

“A man who was asleep, sir—you
will pardon me—could not walk in
such bitter cold and hold a lantern
in his hand as I did then.”

“Was it burning brightly, and did
you see the features of the figure?
Had you ever seen such a face be-
fore?”

“T was standing within a yard of the

stranger,” said Peter. “My lamp shon::
clearly three times as far. Besides,
the ship’s lights from the after cabin
made the deck quite visible.”
' “The whole thing is utterly incom
prehensible,’ said Captain Harper,
“and if ghosts are taking their walks
aboard tonight, we may see troops of
them befors we get out of this con-
founded mess. :

“We lie quite near the dead Colonial
town of Charlestown, built ‘by the
Yeaman’s cclony, which came in 1665.
They numbered some eight tundred,
and when they abandoned it for other
parts, they left a hundred of their
number in the graveyard near. Per-
haps this is their calling night; in
which vent, look out for further

 

company. How is the tide, Mr. Jov-
gensen?”

“It has been running up for quite
two hours,” said Peter. ‘‘She is al-
ready lifting a little, sir.” _

The Captain sharply scanned the
weather glass, which had risen stead-
ily; the snow and sleet had ceased;
the gale was abating, but the wind
was still high and it came in gusts,
veering several points at intervals.
The temperature had also risen from
18 to 22 degrees. In less than an
hour the constant motion of the screw
had slowly eased the steamer from the
vragsed timber; then, with hopeful
courage, they made another start to-
wards their destination.

With the widening of the river, they
encountered a heavy sea which kept
the forward deck awash and made the
little boat roll heavily. Sea birds
dashed past them on graceful curving
wing; their hoarse cries mingling
with the sound of the whistling wind
and splashing waves; their movement
scarcely visible until quite near at
band. Suddenly, attracted by the
wheel house lights, a blinded gull
came crashing v.hrough the glass and
fell quivering and bleeding at the
Scotsman’s feet.

“The foul fiend is abroad this night,”
cried McMillan in great agitation.
“Beware of furthcr trouble, Captain;
this is the worst of all bad omens.”

. The Captain was more hopeful, and
having passed Big.Island light in
safety, was heading for the Angel
stake light number nine, off Lilliput.

“Tf you keep a sharp lookout,” sail
2, “you may see another ghost. Old
Admiral Frankland, of the Royal Navy,
ownd the plantation, Lilliput, just off
cur starboard bow; and he, also,,may
be on a cruise tonight in company
with the other spooks.”

 

 

 

/
/
|
|
-
|

 

 

A COLONIAL APPARITION. 13

“T have heard,” said McMillan, “that
this old rice plantation was really
owned by Sir Thomas Frankland, in
1750. Perhaps, you know that he was
a great grandson of Oliver Cromwe!l,
and that he also held the high distinc-
ticn of an Admiral of the White.”

As the lights of Kendal and of Or
ton were safely passed, remarks were
made about the ancient reputation of
these fine plantations, famous in his-
tory by the lives of Eleazer Allen, of
Kendal, and the lordly King Roger
Moore, who founded Orton—the grand-
est of the old Colonial homes.

Below old Orton light the river
broadens to at least three miles, anl
here a squall struck the boat, and
made her pitch and roll quite lively in
the heavy swell.

“There,” said the Captain, pointing
co the western shore, “is one of the
most interesting ruins in America. Be-
yond that fringe of timber, was Trs-
on’s palace, which minute men from
Brunswick and from Wilmington sur-
rounded and demanded the surrende”
of the King’s Commissioner—and
mark you, this first overt act preced-
ing the war of Revolution occurred
ten years before the Declaration of
American Independence; nine yeats
before the battle of Lexington; and
nearly eight years before thse Boston
Tea Party, of which so much is mad2
in story books. The Boston men dis-
guised themselves as Indians; but
Ashe and Waddell scorned such sw>-
terfuge. After seizing the British war-
ship’s rowing barge, they placed it on
wheels, and, having formed their men
in marching order, with it moved in
triumphal procession to Wilmington.

“The Boston incident is a famous
one; but who has heard of this far
mors daring deed? Perhaps that lone-
ly spot, which should be the Mecca of

 

every lover of liberty, is unknown to
many of our nearest neighbors.”

The words were scarcely uttered,
when they were startied by a human
ery coming from the direction of the
further shore. ‘

McMillan stepped out upon the
slanting deck and holding to the uppe
rail, gazed anxiously into the darkness
whence the cry had come. Sometimes
the rolling vessel would almost pitch
him into the boiling waters which
threw up gleams of phosphorescent
light, leaving a track of radiance for
many miles astern ,and then, the fly-
ing spray, ripped from the heaving
water by the rushing bow, would
shoot above the pilot house and
drench him to the skin.

The incessant shrieking of the wind,
the many noises of the splashing
waves, the decp and thunderous roar
of bellowing surf on Carolina Beach
confused and troubled him. Meantime

a sharp blast from the steamer’s whis- |

tle had brought the mate up to the
Captain’s side.

“Did you hzar a hail just now?”

“I did, sir,” answered Peter, “and
it sounded like a syren whistle.”

“Tmpossible,” said Captain Harper;
“more likely some poor cast-a-way.
Hark! there it is again.” ‘

Instantly reaching for the  signai
wire, he rang full stop, and as the
steamer sank into the hollow troughs,
he blew three quick and piercing
blasts.

For several moments the steamer
rose and fell upon the waves, and
then there came borne on the howling
wind an awful, agonizing shriek which
brought McMillan to the wheelhouse
—a look of terror in his face.

“On deck,” shouted the Captain.

“Aye, aye, sir,” came the answer
from below.

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

if A. COLONIAL APPARITION.

‘What sound was that?”

“We do not know sir. It seemed to
come from off the Sugar Loaf.”

“We cannot send assistance; our
boat would never live in such a sea,”
said Captain Harper to the. mate.
“Station your men at once with cast-
ing lines both fore and aft. Take your
position well forward in the eyes, and
hail me when you see the cause of this
distress. McMillan, you can help me
at the wheei if you will hold her
steady while I look about.”

At once the orders were obeyed and
every head was bent with eager gaze
towards the old Colonial anchorage,

where, strange to say, the prison ship
had been moored far back in revolu-
tionary times.

“What is the socalled Sugar Loaf?”
McMillan asked.

“It is the highest elevation on the
river banks,” said Captain Harper;
“a steep and shining bluff of sand
which can be seen for many miles.

“It was a noted Indian settlement in

olden times.”

“Then it is possible.” McMillan said,
“that some wild animal on shore has
made: -the cry we heard.”

“Tt is a desert place,’ replied the
Captain; ‘there are no such wild crea-
tures there. The sound we heard is
on the water—there it comes again!”

Above the moaning wind, which
came in fitful gusts and died away
like voices in the distance, there rose
again that cry for help beginning with
a shriek and ending with a wailing
sound as of mortal agony.

“On deck there.” shouted Captain
Harper—‘what do you. see?”

“We cannot make it out, sir,” re-
sponded Peter from his station. ‘I
think we are drifting out of the chan-
nel sir.”

Again three blasts caine from the

 

steamer’s whistle, and with her head
towards the stake light No. 1, on Mid-
night shoal, the Captain gave the sig-
nal for dead s!pw ahead, which kepr
the v:ssel from the shoaling water
dangercusly. near.

A repetition of the scream drew all
attention toward the place, whence it
seemed to come.

While Peter’s eyes ewere straining
in the’ darkness, a hand was laid on
his shoulder which made him start
and utter a cry of terror.

He, turning, saw the Engineer, who
shouted:

“Look yonder, man!—just off the
weather bow!” And as he looked, ths
word was passed to others, and imme-
diately all were striving for a better
point of view.

The squall had ceased, but it leit a
heavy swell; the clouds were moving
slowly in broken drifts; the stars
came out and with their faint light
made dimly visible the distant shore
——now blotted out by passing shai-
ows, and anon, revealed in vague and
hazy outline.

Upon the troubled water, two cable
lengths abeam, appeared an _ object
like a boat surrounded by a phosphor:
escent glow above which played a pale
and lambent light, which gradually
approaching nearer, revealed an an-
cient rowing barge so foul with bar-
nacles and slimy seaweed that Peter
thought she might have been afloat 2
hundred years.

The Captain rubbed his eyes, and
looked again. Then turning to Mc-
Millan, said: “You seem to be ac-
quainted with supernatural things; for
all the river ghosts have come with
you tonight. There’s something wierd
about that thing, and I am not inclin:d
to wait.”

“They must be mortal men in trou-

 

 

 

A COLONIAL APPARITION, 15

ble,” he replied, “for spirits could not
howl] like that.”

“There comes that awful hail again,’
said Captain Harper, now thoroughly
excited; “and it is not from yonder
object; it secms to permeate the air.”

“On deck, there!”

‘Aye, aye, sir,” said Peter Jorgen-
sen.

“Stand by and throw that barge a
dine.”

An inarticulate reply denoted Peter’s
fright. The barge was now a cable’s
length away. There was no sound of
oars; but in a minute more the fright
ened people cn the Wilmington be-
held two tall, gaunt, human forms, in
tattered Highland dress, from which
emerged their bare and boney legs ir
heavy chains, extending to their scarr
ed and bloody wrists. As the batter:
ed hulk with its strange occupants
drew nearer, McMillan saw d<picted in
their sad and weary faces the dexr
marked lineaments of settled disap.
pointment and distress. Their bands
uplifted in beseeching attitude, their
Worn and yearning faces, recalled. to
his excited mind the story of the pris-
Cn ship with all its scenes of crueity
and woe.

For geveral minutes—which seem
hours to these on board—the Captain
stood awe.stricken at the sight, but
suddenly, with trembling voice, he
‘shouted to the mate, “Stand by and
heave those men a line.”

As Peter came with shaking limbs,
the barge was lifted on a swelling
wave which hurled it almost to his
arms; and as he heaved the rope
across the rotten hulk, the fabric and
its gruesome, voiceless crew was gone.
All eyes were turned upon the wierd,
uncanny sight, and when the strange
thing melted into the gloomy shadows

palled and silenced
board.

Without a word the course was lail
again, and hardly had the ship resum-
ed her speed, when from the darkness
just ahead came once again that
shrieking, wailing sound. Again the
boat was put half speed, as Peter
shouted, “Starboard! Hard-a-starboard,
sir; we are running down a wreck.”

The Captain quickly turned the
helm and narrowly escaped collision
with a mass upon the waves which
proved to be 4 vessel bottom up—to
which was clinging two poor, wretch-
ed seamen, disabled and exhausted
with the cold.

A cheerful hail assured ths men of
coming safety as Captain Harper, with
dextercus hand, steered near enougn
to pass a line by which the wretched
creaturs:s came on board.

As Peter held his lantern to the
face of one of the rescued seamen
who had fainted on the deck, he raised
both hands and shrieked to the Cap-
tain: “This is the man who came on
board when we were run ashore?”

The skipper and McMillan quickly
seanned th: stranger’s face, which
proved the accuracy of Jorgensen’s
description.

“How could this be?” said Captain
Harper. ‘

“His spirit was abroad in search of
help,” replied McMillan. “Y’ve read
and heard of similar phenomena.”

“They how do you explain the phan-
tom of the barge?” “I dinna ken,” re-

every one on

plied ihe Svotsman, and then was
silent.
The casta-ways were promptly

warmed and fed, and then they told
a thrilling story of distress. Their
yessel was a schooner bound from Nas-
sau for a Northern port, when the

 

of the night, the hopeless mystery ap-

gale had wrecked them off the coast.

 

 
 

16 A COLONIAL APPARITION.

Bearing up for Wilmington, they fell
into a heavy sea which shifted their
scant ballast and rolled the vessel on
beam ends.

In peril of their lives, the crew had
worked hard to cut away the broken
spars and rigging; but all their efforts
to right the vessel failed. The cap-
tain, mate and three men of the crew
were washed away; the other two
clung to the hulk, which drifted on

the rising tide into the river—an ex-
traordinary incident, but not unparal-

leled. The two survivors though grow-
ing weaker from exposure every hour,
had continued to shout together in
hope of rescue from the shore.

When asked if they had seen the
Wilmington before, one said he had
been partly unconscious for a_ time
and thought he saw a steamer coming
to their aid; but he could not for a
moment recall the scene described by
Peter Jorgensen.

Once more the steamer made her
way towards her destination. At Fed
eral Point they saw. the first faint
streaks of early dawn; and while Mc-
Millan’s mind dwelt on the sacred
story of lowly Bethlehem in the far-
off East, the brightness of the morning
star grew paler in the radiance of the
dawning Christmas day. f

The Southport wharf was reached
at last; the boat was berthed and
moored in silence. So hushed and
beautiful, the day appeared after the
terrors of the dreadful night; and as
the weary toilers separated for their
holiday, their hearts were full of
thankfulness.

As Captain Harper trudged through
crunching snow and reached the high-
er level of Fort Johnston of Colonial

 

 

times, he turned at the gateway of
the ancient garrison to gaze upon a
scene of loveliness. Below the sleep-
ing, snow-bound village lay Battery Is-
land, shimmering in the morning glorz
like a field of floating ice, while sun-
beams danced along the rippling wa-
ters of the bay, reflecting rainbow
tints upon the ice-clad spars of ancli-
ored vessels outward bound. %

Around Cape Fear, old Neptune’s
racers rushed with crested manes, ever
charging and reforming for the fray.
Above it all, secure, serene and beau-
tiful, old Bald Head Light House pierc-
ed the blue, amidst a wilderness of
snow.

Beyond Smith’s Island rose the
ocean’s murmur like the dreamy roar:
ing of a sea-shell to the listening ear,
while for away upon the heaving bos-
om of the sea, the bell-buoy rocked
and rang in ceaseless harmony. A
little stormtossed coaster neared the
wharf and lowered her glistening sails,
while chuckling blocks gave out a
pleasant sound. Then puny waves ap-
peared, and seemed to whisper, as
they gently kissed the welcome shore.

Along the shining beach from Cas-
well to Fort Fisher the tossing break-
ers rose and fell in the sheen of the
rising sun, and from the deeps the
mystic voices of the sea joined in the
song of the angels, “Glory to God in
the Highest, on Earth Peace, Good
Will to Men.” ;

Before the Harper cottage gate a
robin sang his joyous note, and when

the Captain bent above the cradle of
his motherless boy, the sleeping baby

stirred and smiled; perhaps he too,
had heard the angels in the sky.

 

ee

a

m—s