“That is, sailors that didn’t hail from Innsmouth. One of the things they had against old Captain Marsh was that he was supposed to land on it sometimes at night when the tide was right Maybe he did, for I dare say the rock formation was interesting, and it’s just barely possible he was looking for pirate loot and maybe finding ft; but there was talk of his dealing with demons there. Fact is, I guess on the whole it was really the Captain that gave the bad reputation to the reef.
“That was before The big epidemic of 1846, when over half the folks in Innsmouth was carried off. They never did quite figure out what the trouble was, but it was probably some foreign kind of disease brought from China or somewhere by the shipping. It surely was bad enough – – there was riots over it, and all sorts of ghastly doings that I don’t believe ever got outside of town – – and it left the place a awful shape. Never came back-there can’t be more’n 300 or 400 people living there now. “But the real thing behind the way folks feel is simply race prejudice – – and I don’t say I’m blaming those that hold it I hate those Innsmouth folks myself, and I wouldn’t care to go to their town. I s’pose you know – – though I can see you’re a Westerner by your talk – – what a lot our New England ships – – used to have to do with queer ports in Africa, Asia, the South Seas, and everywhere else, and what queer kinds of people they sometimes brought back with ’em. You’ve probably heard about the Salem man that came home with a Chinese wife, and maybe you know there’s still a bunch of Fiji Islanders somewhere around Cape Cod.
“Well, there must be something like that back of the Innsmouth people. The place always was badly cut off from the rest of the country by marshes and creeks and we can’t be sure about the ins and outs of the matter; but it’s pretty clear that old Captain Marsh must have brought home some odd specimens when he had all three of his ships in commission back in the twenties and thirties. There certainly is a strange kind of streak in the Innsmouth forks today – – I don’t know how to explain it but it sort of makes you crawl. You’ll notice a little in Sargent if you take his bus. Some of ’em have queer narrow heads with flat noses and bulgy, starry eyes that never seem to shut, and their skin ain’t quite right. Rough and scabby, and the sides of the necks are all shriveled or creased up. Get bald, too, very young. The older fellows look the worst – – fact is, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a very old chap of that kind. Guess they must die of looking in the glass! Animals hate ’em – – they used to have lots of horse trouble before the autos came in. “Nobody around here or in Arkham or Ipswich will have anything to do with ’em, and they act kind of offish themselves when they come to town or when anyone tries to fish on their grounds. Queer how fish are always thick off Innsmouth Harbour when there ain’t any anywhere else around – – but just try to fish there yourself and see how the folks chase you off! Those people used to come here on the railroad – – walking and taking the train at Rowley after the branch was dropped – – but now they use that bus.
“Yes, there’s a hotel in Innsmouth – – called the Gilman House – – but I don’t believe it can amount to much. I wouldn’t advise you to try it. Better stay over here and take the ten o’clock bus tomorrow morning; then you can get an evening bus there for Arkham at eight o’clock. There was a factory inspector who stopped at the Gilman a couple of years ago and he had a lot of unpleasant hints about the place. Seems they get a queer crowd there, for this fellow heard voices in other room – – though most of ’em was empty – – that gave him the shivers. It was foreign talk’ he thought, but he said the bad thing about it was the kind of voice that sometimes spoke. It sounded so unnatural – – slopping like, he said – – that he didn’t dare undress and go to sleep. Just waited up and lit out the first thing in the morning. The talk went on most all night.