run omaiia daily bee: Saturday. September .51, 1007.
CTTE
R
iEIRD TALE OF THE SEA
Sight Witnessed by Ship's Doctor,
Captain and Lookout
(AW A CHILD'S SOUL PASS
Graphic Plrtsre of a Spectacle a
7m peat-Tosses' Ship, with Ac
compaalmente of Llabt
Blng and Tbander.
Doctors, a a rule, do not entertain su
perstitious beliefs, nor are ther disposed to
e susceptible to the Influence of occult
:hlngs, and the following strange experience
f a ship's doctor Is not related with the
bject of proving the rule by the excep
tion. The business of- the doctor of medicine
Seals with the material and the physical;
the psychical, the .aupernatural, the hyper
physical and other dlvlna partlcula aurao
being left to the metaphysicians, thauma
turglsts, sky pilots and Heap Big Medicine
Men.
This story was told me In such Intensely
earnest sincerity that, even had I been In
sllned to be skeptical I could not have
helped being convinced of the narrator's
SoneBt belief In Its actuality.
I am quite under the conviction that the
loctor saw the strange manifestation Just
ts It was described to me, and I do not In
any way feel that It Is my prerogative to
raise a question of the why and the how.
' The almost equally mysterious llsrht and
Its movements witnessed by the captain,
the mates and the lookout, or officer of the
fleck, corroborate and confirm the genu
ineness of the visitation witnessed by the
doctor beyond peradventure.
Dr. W. T. B. O'Hara, formerly on one of
the ships of the White Star line, tells, as
nearly as I can remember the details, this
story:
A Jolly Companion
"When I was ship's doctor aboard the
Alsutrla we had, on a trip out of Yoko
hama, a very beautiful little girl of 12
years, who had been orphaned In the east
and was returning with us alons to friends
and relatives at home.
"She was so "bright and Intelligent and
was such a Jolly, good-natured lassie that
I was naturally attracted to her. The
friendship being mutual, we were soon
quite attached to each other, spending
much of the day together on deck and
about the ship, for she was possessed of
a woman's curiosity and was eager to In
vestigate the mysteries of the great ves
sel, from stoke and engine room to crow's
nest. During these tours of Inspection and
romping about she readily made warm
friends of all the crew, and especially of
the commanding officers.
"As we ran down the coast It became
evident that the Increasing heat of the
climate did not agree with her, and she
soon grew listless, losing Interest In the
sea and the ship and her playfellows, al
though she seemed to cling closer and
closer to me as her spirits relaxed and
her ph)slque gradually succumbed to the
depressing effect of the heat.
"When we were well down Into the
China sea she became very 111 and was
confined to her stateroom. In a few days
the trouble developed In a severe attack
of tropical fever.
"There being little other Illness aboard,
I was able to give most of my time to
her, and toward the last, except when
called to some Incidental duty for the
moment, remained ' at her side almost
night and day. doing all In my power, both
as doctor and friend for her relief ' and
comfort. . , .
Deadly . Tropica 1 Fevsr,
"All my doctoring and care, however,
see me 1 of no avail against the consuming
fever that was burning out her vitality,
and by the time we had swung down Into
the Indian ocean I had reluctanly aban
doned hope of her recovery.
"The captain and other officers, as welt
as the crew, had shown an unusual and
heartful Interest In her fight for life, and
they came often to sit beside her, express
ing, In their sallor-ltke way, their sym
pathy and doing the best they could In
the kindliness of their hearts to keep her
spirits rallied to the greatest degree of
resistance, so that It was with a very real
sorrow and more than a suspicion of wet
eyes that they heard me as I reported
to the captain one evening that the turn
ing point for her would come that night
and that the chances were all against the
probabilities that she would be able to
live for the morning.
"Maugre the landsman's belief In the
hardened nature of the sailor, ha has,
nevertheless, a heart tender as a woman's
and a kindly disposition that only those
who have lived with him In the open can
fully understand and appreciate.
"And that night It was demonstrated
for far Into the night, as I passed the
smoking room on my way to the locker
for medicine, I saw the ship's officers
there In a little group silent, waiting.
Those big. rough, weather-seasoned fel
lows were 'on watch,' tarrying to learn
the Issue of life and death that struggled
desperately In the stateroom of their lit
tle friend near by.
Life's Flickering; Light.
"As the fire of the fever burned higher
the fire of her life burned down to Its
smouldering, darkening embers. The une
qual contest was nearlng the finale. As
the flushed face among the pillows turned
for a last pitifully appealing look Into mine
tha fever-bright eyes closed, the hand that
held mine gave a feeble, parting pressure,
the tremor of a sigh escaped her and she
lay very quiet and still. The restlessness
of delirium had gone and nature relaxed
Into the submissive resignation to the In
evitable that told me that I had lost my
battle with death.
"The pulse still moved In fluttering beats,
the respiration continued, weak and faint!
the muscles quivered fitfully, the pretty
lips trembled now and then and the facial
expression changed from one Indicative of
weakness and suffering to repose and calm
the restful calm that follows the wearing
storm.
"Now and again It seemed that she might
be trying to speak aloud, but tha working
of her dissolving mentality was the com
munion of her soul with angels rather than
of tha mind with men.
"As I sat heavy-eyed In the darkened
chamber awaiting the approaching transi
tion from life to death tha tears came, and
through tha misty hase I saw again an
other sweet-faced little girl lyng pale and
quiet on a death bed away back In the
gone days of my boyhood when I had
watched beslda my sister as she passed on
Into tbe shadows of the great afterwhlle.
and In the halo of that vision the Iron vt
the physician dissolved In the heart of the
man, and I silently sobbed out the pain
that waa divided between the sad reverie
and the nearlng approach to the parting
of the waya with tha dear little friend be
side me,
term and oiaaaaa,
The storm that crashed and rolled out
over tha sea, with Its glare of lightning
and peals of thunder, was milder and more
expressive, but no mora intense and real
than tha one suppressed within me as I
watched the signs of death surely stealing
sver my little companion.
"Unconsciously falsing my eyes from tha
ted, X becama aware of a feeling, a sub
conscious sensation of the presence of a
something In the room that I did not see,
an uncanny something I could not under
stand. "Intuitively, I think. It came to me that
It must be the presence of death, and In
stinctively, almost mechanically, I closed
the pressure of my fingers on the pulse,
but I found they still beat softly beneath
the touch.
"As I looked again at the face the room
grew lighter, slowly, almost Imperceptibly,
with a light that was weirdly luminous,
and yet not altogther unlike the birth of
a dawn of a day at sea; but I knew that It
waa not near the morning, nor could such a
light be possible with the low-hanging,
black clouds of the tempest without that
closed about us with an Impenetrable wall
of light, and. wondering, yet not altogether
surprised, I waited, watching.
"Gradually the light Increased until the
room was as bright as the light of a full
grown dawn, and then I became conscious
of a change a change that was the most
marvelous thing I ever witnessed.
"Blowly the light seemed to creep from
out the corners of the room and gather
in flickering, uncertain wavea of blue and
white and gold directly over the body of
the child, a tremulous, lambent ghost light,
fading, brightening, dissolving, quickening,
falling, rising reminding me as I think
of It now of the quivering notes of soft,
low muslo coming over the tumbling water
out of tha distance.
"A moment It remained and then disap
peared, leaving the room In darkness save
for the shaded light of the night lamp.
Tha pulse still beat, tha heart moved In
fluttering, pulsing throbs, the face trembled
Its cBlldlsh smile and the lips continued
muttering their unspoken messages.
Answering the Call.
"The storm lulled and In the hush I
waited, wondering, but with no thought of
fear. The Hps moved apart, the face
brightened, her eyes looked out at me ques
tioning, and, bending my head low, I
caught the words of her murmuring voice:
" 'Oh look! How beautiful' and her
fingers closed over mine as she spoke.
"Bhe turned her eyes upward, and, look
ing, I saw, close to the celling, straight
over r head, a blurred, misty, luminous
globe, like a distant light diffused and
glowing in a heavy fog. This grew, slowly,
almost Imperceptibly as before, until It
hung a quivering sphere of bluish white,
wavy light. It was more nearly like the
St Elmo's flre that clings about the ends
of the spars In a heavy electrical storm
than anything else I can compare It to.
" 'Bee!' she whispered; O eeet'
"Blowly, so slowly that I did not notice
It at first, the ball of light descended until
It seemed to envelope her face and hair,
giving the peaceful, pleased look on her
face a glory and radiance such as we
think of the angels having the sweetest
and moct heavenly vision I ever saw or
ever expect to see.
"As It lay for a moment wavering about
her pillow, I felt her hand grow tense In
mine, her body trembled lightly and she
made a feeble effort to raise her head as
she cried out falteringly:
"'Oh, mamma, mamma! I. see the way
and lt'a-all bright and shining!'
"And as tha voice ended In a low whis
per tha light rose rapidly, dlasolvlng and
disappearing as It reached the celling; the
curly head lay quietly back among the
pillows, there was the faintest breath of a
sigh, a nervous flutter of the muscles, the
fingers of the hand relaxed, the pulse
waa lost and she lay very still and white
as I knelt there beside her couch, alone
with death.
What the Captain Saw.
"I placed her hands across her breast,
and, mechanically, I again looked at my
watch; It was o'clock. As I rose to
ray feet I heard the door open and tbe
captain entered, followed by the first and
second mates and two other officers.. The
captain stepped to the side of tha bed
and placed his hand on the child's fore
head; then, turning to me, he aald:
" 'I thought so!' And then he added:
'Doctor, I don't believe In ghosts and
spirits and that sort of thing, and I
don't think there are any of us here that
do, but these men and myself have Just
soen something that waa very queer, and
It was so real and plain that there la no
mistaking that we did sea It.
" 'There waa a ball of blue Are,' he con
tinued, 'Just like the St Elmo's flre In
a thunderstorm, that appeared right over
j our heads In the smoking room, and when
we looked up at It the thing floated
straight across the room to the door.
There It hung for a second, turned to this
direction and disappeared. When It had
gone I said right away: "Boys, that little
girl of ours Is dead!"
"After sending for the stewardess to
care for the body, I put on my sou'wester
and went on deck and up to the bridge.
I was worn and nervous with the long vigil
In the sick room, where it was always
hot and stuffy, and I wanted to get out
and breathe some cool, fresh air, regard
less of tha storm and the spray and the
rain.
Play of Llffhtnlnn- Balls.
"As I reached the bridge the third mate,
who waa on watch, came to me, and, be
fore I had time to speak or to tell him of
what had happened below, said quickly
and with an air of suppressed excitement:
" 'Say, Doc! are you superstitious?'
"I assured him that I waa immune; not
being altogether certain at tha time, how
ever,, whether I really was or not.
"Well, ha continued, "neither am I. At
least I wouldn't want to be accused of It,
but I Just saw something that has set me
thinking quits sharp.
"'About half an hour ago, I should say,
I stood watching tha play of tha lightning
balls around tha forepoak. There were
several others, but this was the biggest
tha biggest that I ever saw. Aa I looked It
began to drop, followed the mast right
down to the deck and disappeared.
" 'I thought at first that It must be an
optical Illusion, so I rubbed my eyes and
looked aealn to the peak, but the light was
gone. Now. I don't believe In signs and
omens a little bit, but I'll admit I did
about half wonder for a while if that was
a forewarning that wa were to go to the
bottom In something of tha aame style as
that ball of lira had done.
" 'Well, then while I stood there still
wondering that ball of fire aeemed to coma
right out of tha deck raise, up along the
mast and aettla around the fore peak again.
" 'Queer, though, but It only hung there
a moment, and than It drifted right up
Into tha clouds and disappeared. Strangest
thing I aver saw I Can you offer any ex
planation for such a queer freak? I can't.'
"Yea I could and I couldn't)
"I told him then In detail of the experi
ence that I had had below, just as I have
told It to you.
"Ha heard me through, rested his chin
In his hand a moment and then said sim
ply: '"Oh. waa that It! I wish that I had
known It at the time!' and walked away
to tha binnacle.
"I did not ask him why he would like
to have known, but I wondered; Just aa I
have often wondered about the weird and
fascinating thing that I saw at tha bedside
of tha dying child." New York Herald.
1 1
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fiH
BLACKSNAKE FLAGS A TRAIN
Remarkable Itelllgece and Gr
- tude Displayed in Crisis by
Pat Reptile.
U1-
Captaln Frank Williams, who resides on
his farm at Woodford, about two miles be
yond tha exposition grounds, In East Tid
idl, la plunged Into bitterest grief. Last
Sunday he burled Hamlet, his pet snake,
tha constant companion that for so long
haa comforted his declining years, sharing
hla sorrows and rejoicing with him when
fortune smiled upon the ranch.
"Yes, It la a great sorrow to me," said
tha captain, aa lie rammed his pipe full
of home-grown leaf, his eyes moist with
tha memory of hla faithful friend. "I've
known Hamlet since he was a wee little
tot, too small to know which end to start
off on when he wanted to go aomewhere.
Hamlet, yes,' that was hla name. Y' see,
he was always dressed in a customary aull
of solemn black, being a blacksnake, and
when he was feeling soople he could a
tall unfold as long as a bull whip.
"Yea, sir, ha got to be so dependent on
ma he followed me 'round like a calf. If
I went out to make a call on a neighbor
Hamlet would come In and festoon him
self over the hatrack, happy In knowing
I waa near, and hot summer nights he
used to crawl down on the foot of my
bed and keep my legs cool. Ha loved to do
things Ilka that for me. He waa alwayr
hunting up opportunities to save my life,
but there waan't much chance here In old
Fairfax county. T' aee, tha roads are too
bad for automobiles.
"Bu his faithfulness waa at last re
warded, and poor Hamlet did save ma
from a horrible death, though at the coat
of his own life. I had been over to a
matinee at tha opera house In Tidldl one
afternoon, and on my way home I went
back of tha car shops and took a short
cut between the Union depot and the
rolling mills along the main ' line of the
railroad. About half way home the road
curves around through a deep cut. As I
gingerly stepped along the crosstles while
Hamlet glided at my heela, watching for
every possible danger that might threaten
ma, I stumbled and fell. My head struck
against tha rail, cutting my forehead
deeply. Tha blow did not render ma un
conscious, but It brought on a sudden and
complete paralysis, and I lay there, prone
across the rail, bleeding profusely, but
without power to move a muscle. Poor
Hamlet, deeply moved, came wriggling up
and folded himself carelessly around me,
stroking my brow with his tall and looking
the sympathy he could not speak. That's
one advantage a snake haa over a woman
when It comes to nursing.
"As I lay there, waiting to recover my
power of motion, I suddenly heard the ap
proach of the express train. Instantly tho
full horror of my position flashed upon me,
but no sooner than it did upon my faithful
Hamlet. With an agonized look he began
to uncoil his folds from about ma and for
an Instant I feared that ne would leave
me to my fate. The next moment I saw
how cruelly I had .misjudged his noble na
ture. With eyes filled with hope and de
termination he dived Into my pocket, drew
forth my handkerchief and an Instant later
was mopping It with feverish haste in the
blood that flowed from my wound. I lay
looking on In bewilderment while the thun
der of the express rolled rapidly nearer.
Then, as Hamlet swiftly proceeded to knot
the ends about his tatl, I knew he had
conceived some marvelous plan of rescue,
and I laughed with joy In my full con
fidence In his subtle Intellect. With one
last glance that seemed to say, 'Old fellow,
you just put your monwy on the long one,'
he swiftly hoisted his tall lp the air, push
ing It higher and higher, until there he was
standing on hia nose in the middle of the
track Ilka a ballet dancer on tha tip of
her toes, while six feet above him In the
air was tha tip of his tall, and from It
there fluttered wildly In tha wind the
blood-red handkerchief that you couldn't
have told from the danger Hag of a rear
brakeman.
"It must have been a terrible strain on
his nervous system, let alone his muscles.
and I was afraid he couldn't hold out, but
tne next moment the engine came rocking
round the curve at a flfty-mlle-an-hour
rlt. There was a hiss of steam and a
grating of brakes as the engineer, halted
by Hamlet's red flag, reversed the engine
and threw on the air. Hamlet, overcom
by the tremendous strain, collapsed and
.mi in a raint, with his body half across
the rail, as the engine csme thlr.Hn.
and atopped within a foot of me. but
before it had cut poor Hamlet tn two."
An a tear rolled down tha caDtatn's
cheek aa he acratched a match on' tha
Post' ,al n! r"t h'" p,p W"nl"rton
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Made of solid oak, elepant finish, made special
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