Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1847-01-14
PeriIs of the Sen.

We have been favored with the following extract. RON
letter written board the L. $. ship Saraoga dsssti
bng the tremendous She encountered while doubns
Cape Horn, which WILL doubt not be Interesting ts
! our readers
"Considering l have been at sea nearly 20 years you
will be surprised TO find telling the Tale vf Gale OF
Wind But the have lately experienced being the
Daddy OF all, YOU must excuse Il upon Us IN
the first watch OF the night with such sweeping oSce that
some OF our sails were torn from the yards aud
thrcads. An Egyptian darkness Us while the seas
followed one another last On board. had n.
euy IN retaining our hold. aud barely eetNccn Sach
sufficient breathing ume. There nothing e,S vt -
70 do but hang firmly On, TO PscScnt salSPaSe The
Ice scupPers. Before the matches could securcv satte
cd down considerable quantity ~ Natcr found 10. ~.y
between decks, ~hleh AeP, Pasues esnk a. pighL The
following daN Nc found the sap hal sPsuog and
oy twelve T. NJ the wiad had sottcd e1ly Sao,
which We could snow no Canvas Ths Sav ased ilvo
DAYS.
"oa the SSh day "a, Vra Giol We passed through hs
Straits OF lie Mare, the snd ~ b5ya SIDES ,uuctN ss
be-notaus SErcSao.s tcS rest upSa-ihs moan
tsins aud hills bciug covered Ua snow. the ship bad
barely cleared the Srss, wass bsveIe vsheaed aai
chopped round q the south. THIS time Vas aceon,ps.
med by hail. then and slcc The evening closed m
with butter winters nighJ L. tour hours the there,,
ter tell - degrees The fortunately kep, their
o. We would have been frozen. ASA eNctuca
was necessary 10 Keep bood Circulation. Tbs next
morning the Saratoga appeared " zee. even an,
guns being almost lost aud For 10 lons mn.
SCRABBLE days and nights tins crYcl continued and
our ship lost ground could make against the
hlgh sea lou must Know that IN no pait ct the globe
sea
as ot the inhoSPabe shores Of Terra del Fuego This
Is accounted for by the vast extent OF uubsoken water
In less than Two hours m tie midst OF a gale;
oar maln-topsai blown pieces when the shin
being no longer under command, shipped sea, which tor
amoment overwhelmed and tore OF the from
her side. We had no time opportunity bend anoh.
sail. The gale master, and drove the ship be-
tore for Is hours, during which ume reuaced 24O
miles OF track The whole Of that terrible night Can
tain ;. attended 10 the steering OF the ship in person
The seas followed and actually hung stern IN
Ng ii hy lNok-
ing at them Had but oyer.aken US, not a stick
would have been LETT 10 tell our fate. Every Officer aud
man eit and acknowledged awful situation. The Cap.
tain and men never Tor moment out Of "a hours eit
their exposed posts Afterwards when asked about the
cold, wet, &c thev sand they felt nehcr in such
excitement were their minds Oh those mighty and
ing waves beat the the terrific manner
We appeared abyss with the heavens shut out
from our view Nothing but the ng velocity OF the
ship saved One sunk beneath stern ere an
other replaced it. Our best sails were in rags and our
hope lay IN two Old lasting the gale Should
rope part would arrest speed the devourng be
on US and we gone TO our last account About o'clock A.
VI the Captain ordered his him a cup Of
chocolate ins affair IN ITSELF bu, assurance that the
weather was moderaung, or Captain = would have had
other thoughts The following the gale abaed
that Council OF Officers met VINO decided jhat under
ng circumstances, the ship could reach the Pacific
Ocean for want Of sails" We had lost Of each sort
since We lett Rio. On the 9TH Of October, - A. NJ
We were 80 miles due East OF Cape Virgin y. point OF
Magcans Straits; the previous Sunday at nerd an our
lat was Oh :, long. I'll Wesi,-so doubled the Cape
BY this you will have been three days in re-
tracing the gtoand 1t took above three tedious weeks pass
over. Our Oldest Officers and scamen acknowledge they
never witnessed the ike before.
Sunday lta October, alter breakfast oil hands were call
cd aif when Capt ). addressed the crew IN few words
thanking them for the which they performed their
duties on the previous Sunday evening and night but
slTing them, al the same time, II owing human
SEcruons that the ship saved and thea asked u 10
Join him IN short prayer OF ihankgyin and most up
pfoPnae was u Tor the occasion Look at your Prayer
Book Gos q PRAYER 10 be used i; sea- you w know
admire IL, and how very suitable for US have
read before. but before heard II uttered with such
truth and sincerity as on that occasion think
have affected all, for a. must have felt written for
US"
1--WE are authorized announce that Wyatt Card
well will not be candidate represent the County Of
Charlotte in the House o! Delegates.