Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1858-12-11

ring of spray, not more than ten feet in light
AMI about thirty feet in diameter, advancing at
the rate of five or six niles pr hour Fortu-
nately, our good ship was also -ancing, and
saved her masts by letting the whirlwind cross
her track few rods astern.
But, at later period, we were destined to
encounter hur icane, which made us forget
all previous squalls and whirwinds. Below
give an extract from the log-bOok, which will
convey better idea of the gale than l can give
in my own language
at noon, Sept Is 1858, lat 22l8 North,
lon. 1880 West; the barometer 1910 inches,
falling; thermometer 70 f. The gale com
menced at sunset, at which time there was a
very singular pink, green, and yellow appear
ance of the sky, and clouds at the Eastward"
Here / omit the details of the management
Of the ship during the night and the next fore
noon, and commence again at midday, the
10th The wind blowing violently from 4. n
/ E., and rain. But it was impossible to know
whether it was raining or not in this terrific
gale. AT ?. NJ, lost the small boat; at .,
| split miZzen Staysail; at 6, parted main top
sail sheet, and the sail blew in pieces. 1t was
| then impossible to do anything, as the wind
blew so furiously that it was unsafe to be on
deck without being lashed to something, The
ship was laying with upper lee rail-which is
five and half feet above the deCk-at least two
feet under water during two and half hours,
there being no sail set at the time. The wind
got into the mainsal, which was furled, and
blew all the weather yard off. The water
casks were fioated up, starting the deck bolts
The water in the forecastle was up to the low
er bcrths, and for some three hours, Death,
with all his terrOrs, was staring us in the face.
At z. NJ, the barometer had fallen to 1925
iuobaS blpyriptr f1rinuclv onJ
every moment the last call TO appear before
our Master. But at 10 P. NJ. the barometer
began to rise, and continued gradually till day
light, the wind having hauled round into the
s. 5. w, when its fury was expended. At
A, M, the 18th, made sail and stood to East
ward.
We had lost our bulwarks in small pieces
below, from fore to mizzen rigging, and en-
tirely above the mainsail. The ropes blew
away like cobwebs, and the ship suffered very
much for want of after canvass"
The most enthusiastic lover Of a storm at
sea would scarcely crave the repetition of
that the ship rested on her beam-ends, and we
seemed to be literally ip the ocean, and nearly
smOthered by the dense spray and overwhem-
ing waves Until the destruction Of the last
sail the ship had partially obeyed her helm,
and there was reasonable hope that she would
right herself and safely outrde the storm. But,
after that was gone the sailors were called into
the after cabn-it being the safest place-and
the succeeding silence Of human voices was
rendered awfuly intense by the roaring and
laundering Of the hungry elements. Night
closed in upon us while the barometer was
constantly sinking, and with it sank the earth
ly hopes of those who realized our situation.
Human activity was no longer available, and
if there is one solemn scene on earth more i'm
pressive than all others, it is when strong men
stand in silence and inactivity beside their
open graves. There is no manifestation Of
fear, but the brain is crowded with memories
which, in a space of time incredibly short may
faithfully report the acts Of long life.
'.In an hour, many thousands
of grains of sand run out; and quick as they,
Thought follows thought within the human soul"
But at last the barometer ceased falling, and
within another half hour began to rise The
wind rapidly changed from n. E. to S. w.
a very favorable change for quelling the sea,
and at daylight the joyful song Of the sailors
furnished most delightful contrast between
the morning and the night.
During the hurricane | had occasion to re-
member the prophetic words of a friend who
had been much impressed by an old Celtic le-
gend Of the Banshee, and who, on the eve Of
my departure, wished it possible for me to sail
in some other ship. But wind and wave re-
cognize no traditional associations, and per-
haps there would be fewer human wrecks if
mere names held smaller sway.
During two weeks we fingered in the
Equatorial doldrums," and ten days under
the "cloud ring, a few degrees north of the
equator, where the atmosphere was so liteless
and oppressive, that but for an occasional
CLEAN Of sunlight it would have seemed like a
vast sepulchre The rain clouds Of our north
ern regions bear no comparison to these black,
sullen masses Of water, from which we were
most thoroughly deluged day and night. The
frequent squalls and battling winds brought
some IMMIGRATION, or this part of our voyage
would have been almost intoerable Itwould
be interesting to know the exact depth of water
that fell during those ten days. a proXimate
idea may be formed from the following quota
ton from Lieut. Mauray Physical Geogra-
ply Of the Sea-
The belt of the equatorial Gains is a belt of
constant precipitation. Captain Wilkes, of the
exploring eXpeditioa, when he crossed it in
1888, fonnd it to extend nom deg north to
y deg. north He was ten days in crossing
it, and during those ten days rain fell to the
depth Of 6.l5 inches, or at the rate Of eighteen
feet and upward during the year" At length
we neared the equator and struggled out of
this tedious nightmare into the most cheerful
sunlight and refreshing south east trade winds.
The delightful contrast was seen on beamng
faces, and heard in merry voices. Day by day,
the clouds lessened, and the atmosphere be-
came remarkably transparent In early Oct,
while passing from the ninth to the fifteenth
degree Of south latitude, and bearing west
ward two Or three degrees from 30 deg, of
west longitude, the sky was at times nearly
cloudess, and the transparency Of the atmos-
phere gave a very wide horizon The even
ing star was several days seen as distinctly as
the moon from ten o'clock in the forenoon till
it sank beyond the sea at night In this re-
gion, the winds were gentle and steady; the
glistening waves, and the ceruleaA tint of the
sea, here attained their most exquisite beauty.
The ocean bears on its heaving bosom no lines
of age, nor marks of decay. This great ex-
panse of palpitating life, ever changing in
form and hue, is type Of immortality, which
has filled many soul with deepest awe.
In the evening Of October 4th, lat. 2 deg.
North, and long. 81 deg. West, we for the first
time saw the comet, which must have been al
SO visible to you. 1t was in the N. W., point
ing S. W., and at p. NJ its altitude above the
horizon was deg 30 min We were also
pointing in southery direction, and night af
ter night the compass showed the comet to be
in very nearly the same relative position as
when we first saw it, The clear atmosphere
wildly revealed its graceful FORM and we felt
that the gods had gracously given us a royal
cdnpagna du Uoyage.. At length, however,
the tavoring breezes lessened, the atmosphere
was not so transparent, and the comet was each
evening farther away and less distinctly seen,
till during the last two evenings the sky has
not been clear, and it has not revealed itself
While we were yet north Of the equator, in
lat. 8 deg, the Great Bear and the North Star
.,ftl,