A New York legend states that
on stormy nights a fiery ship is seen sailing up and down Long Island
Sound.
A merchant ship filled with
crates of expensive furs, one clear, bright morning, sailed out of Pelham Bay.
It was a warm day, but
this ship’s captain could not enjoy it for he had an uneasy feeling. He stood on
deck, keeping a sharp eye for any unsavory activity.
He had cause to worry for the
authorities, Governor Peter Stuyvesant and his 40 men, could not protect his ship for there were hundreds of inlets and coves where a pirate ship could hide
unnoticed.
The captain warned his crew
to keep alert and watched as a beautiful white horse neighed and stamped upon the
deck. This horse was a part of his cargo, he was charged with delivering it to
a harbor further down the Sound.
The captain was briefly distracted by
the calls and laughter of several passengers who were sitting on bales of straw
playing cards. A chill shiver ran down his spine—a sense of foreboding gripped
him.
It was then he spotted a ship
sailing quickly toward them. His first mate called out a warning. The captain
ordered the passengers below deck as his crew armed themselves.
The captain saw armed men
standing on the deck of the other ship leering at them. As they drew near the
pirate captain shouted, “Surrender the ship.”
The merchant captain had his
first mate fire a warning shot across the bow of the pirate ship. Its crew
laughed with contempt, and one buccaneer jeered, “Is that the best you can do?”
This one-eyed man then threw
a hook across the water, and it landed on the rail of the merchant ship. The
merchant captain ordered his men fire. A smoke filled battle ensued as the
men only stopped to reload.
More grappling hooks caught
the rail of the merchant ship, and the two vessels came together. The pirate
crew leaped aboard the merchant ship, and the men now struggled in hand-to-hand
combat.
 |
| Boarding ship |
The merchant captain found
himself in a duel with the leader of the pirates, the two men slipped as they fought in the
spilled blood from the men that battled around them.
A buccaneer grabbed the
merchant captain from behind and held him tightly as his captain stabbed him
through the heart with a cutlass.
The captain was the last
member of the merchant ship to die. The pirates then went down in the hold and slaughtered the passengers. They stole their jewelry and valuables.
They passed the crated furs
to their ship and they even tried to take the white stallion but he reared back
and bucked violently, so they tied him to the mast instead.
They set fire to the ship and
sailed away without looking back.
The horse screamed and
tugged—his neighs were almost human in their agony-- as flames engulfed the
abandoned ship.
As the pirate ship sailed out
of view, something strange occurred on the merchant ship—even though the flames
were fierce, the vessel remained intact. The longer the fire raged, the less burned it became.
The torn sails mended
themselves, and her bloodstained decks were washed clean. One by one, the
captain, his crew, and the passengers revived. They stood silently among the flames
and then began going about their usual activities.
The passengers sat on the
flaming straw bales and merrily gambled, but no one spoke. The only sound that
could be heard was the dreadful neighing of the white horse.
Lightning flashed, and thunder
rumbled—the waves tossed the ship about as it began to move forward. It
followed the pirate ship’s course.
At first, the pirates fighting
the storm did not notice the burning ship sailing after them through the rain. But
when the lookout gave a shout filled with terror and almost fell from his perch
the other pirates saw the fiery ship moving erratically through the stormy
waters toward them.
The captain ordered his
terrified buccaneers to flee. They tried to outrun the burning ship, but it drew
closer with every minute.
They listened in horror at
the sounds of the neighing horse. No other noises were heard. Several Buccaneers
dropped to their knees imploring God to save them, but the burning ship drew
nearer.
The pirate ship finally
entered a small hidden cove, and the fiery merchant ship passed by and
disappeared into the storm. The pirates abandoned their ship to seek their
fortunes elsewhere.
They never returned to the
Sound.
On stormy nights witnesses
state they have seen this burning merchant ship sailing up and down the sound.
It appears the captain and crew are still looking for the pirates that
murdered them.
When this ship is seen the
captain and crew are observed attending their tasks while the passengers'
gamble. The only sound heard is the stallion’s neighing as it paws the deck and
tries to free itself from the mast.
Excerpts from Spooky New York by S. E. Schlosser
No comments:
Post a Comment