The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

FRESH WATER "FLYING DUTCHMAN"

LAKE SUPERIOR HAS ITS 'FLYING DUTCHMAN' EVEN AS DOES
SALT WATER. THE 'FLYING DUTCHMAN' OF THE OCEAN IS A
DUTCH SHIP THAT MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARED, LEAVING NO
TRACE. SUPERSTITIOUS SAILORS CLAIM TO HAVE SIGHTED
THE OLD DUTCHMAN ON WILD NIGHTS AT SEA, WEIRDLY RIDING
THE WAVES. SUCH A SHIP IS THE BANNOCKBURN, A FREIGHTER
LOST ON LAKE SUPERIOR WITH TWENTY-TWO MEN ABOARD.
SHE SAILED FROM DULUTH ONE EARLY WINTER MORNING AND WAS
SIGHTED BY A PASSING SHIP THE FOLLOWING EVENING. THAT
WAS THE LAST SEEN OF THE BANNOCKBURN. A YEAR AND A
HALF LATER, AN OAR WAS FOUND ON THE MICHIGAN SHORE--
THE ONLY THING EVER REPORTED FROM THE ILL-FATED SHIP.
THROUGH WIND-SWEPT PILOT HOUSE WINDOWS, IN THE DEAD
OF A WILD NIGHT, LAKE SAILORS SAY THEY HAVE SIGHTED
THE BANNOCKBURN SAILING SERENELY OVER THE TEMPESTUOUS
WAVES, NEVER AGAIN TO REACH PORT.

Data entry tech comment: EVIDENTLY QUOTED FROM A NOVEL OR HISTORY BOOK.

Where learned: "LORE OF THE LAKES"

Date learned: NOT GIVEN