New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-10-09
a SUMNER CRUISE cN THE COAST or
NEH-ENGLAND.. I'm

The mordiyg Of Sunday, July ii, IN 'ho P'''"'
escue h,,4.,r of Msrblehead was as lovely as sun
shino as1 sea AID scenery could Haho '' '
aav vSv,uced the heat became oppressive on
.h,gc We aftervard learned, It was the hottest
ls,h., ho,,.st of the heated terms of the year
H.. ,,.re,,rv rising in some instances above lOO0.
Toward noon We got INTO the dory, Sho' Win tue
,;,o, for oarsman rowed across the harbor to the
narrow peninsula which separates It from the ocean
Leaving the pilot in charge OF the boat "e walked
ACROSS the field half mile or so, TIL We found our
selves on the shore Of our old fishng-ground, at
Tinker's Island. II is a bold, rocky coast, in-
dented with many little caves, with tiny sandy or
eravely beaches. Selecting the pretiiest and
shadiest Of these reccsses, we cooled Oh win
kpp luxurious bath. Stroling then to a headland,
crowned b, group of stately elms, we sat down
NJ their shade on the grass, lighted our cigars and
refreshed our eyes with the contemplation OF q
scene Of blended land and water, promontory and
inlet hill and meadow, cultivation and wildness,
,bst has. southwark, no rival nearer than the bay
Of Rio Janeiro, and northward Il not surpassed IN
natural beauty till you reach Mount Desert.
Certain interior sensations, premOnItary symp-
caused US 10 turn our steps toward the Helen;
Crossing the Neck We found the dory where we had
left il on the beach, but the pilot had Disappeared
We hunted for him Up and down the shore, I'D ca'es'
behind rocks, under bushes--eVeryw nc
was not To be- found. He had absolutely vanished
We had no resource but 10 await his re-dppearauce,
To sit or stand in the fierce sunshine, Whlch poured
down upon the boat was out oi the question: us
eryine a barn at some distance We went to II Tor
shelter. and discovered our missing Palnurus
stretched upon a heap of hay fast asleep. He too,
Ind prudeniy retreated from the ervOr Of the sun,
and Welded himself to his usual prOcllvlty to sleep
when there Was nothing else to do. Rousng him
We rowed back to our vessel and after dinner, the
heat having grown still more oppressive, we turned
u and went to sleep ourselves.
Our slunbers were not of long duration. They
were cut short BY tremendous peal OF thunder.
We arose and went Gu deck.
The sky was changed and such a change!
When We went below not Il cloud marred the
serene blueness overhead not breath OF wind dis
tprbed the fervid, glowing atmosphere, or mtlgated
the fierce beat-n0o, the heavens were shr0uded
with pail whose blackness was irradiated only by
flashes of lightning while furious gusts swept mad
~ over the harbOr, lashing the waters into snort,
sharp waves crested with foam. 1t was the most
formidable thunderstorm ever known in the annals
of kew-England. IL ragged, l believe, over the
y hole of Massachusetts,. In the City of Cambridge
alone, the lightning struck in more than forty
places though that city, from its peculiar position
n, usually, remarkably exempt from the influence
Of thunder-storms
The temperature lowered very rapidly. There
was gust of rain, and then, suddenly, we were
pngulied in dense fog, which, however, did not
rise high above the surface of the water, for was
struck by the strange appearance in the air OF the
topmasts of the surrounding vessels, while their
bulls were entirely hidden. Gradually the fog
turned into rain, and by nightfal the weather was
D. cold that we were fam to go to bed at dark to
keep ourselves warm. The wind was northeast
and blowing pretty hard, and ! noticed, before
turning ill., that the skipper and the pilot were busy
rigging large anchor, which we had on deck, but
" hcb We had not yet had occasion to use. They
predicted that the wind would increase IN the
Night, and, as it was blowing directly into the
harbor. We should be likely to need an additional
anchor. The old pilot said that he remembered
northeast storm, many years ago, III which every
vessel III the harbOr was driven ashore.
The prediction ofthe seamen was verified. About
midnight we were reused by an cutlery on deck,
and, turning out found that the wind was blowing
almost a gale, and that the sloop, IN spite OF her
additional anchor. was drifting under the impulse
of wind and waves directly upon the great black
rock " hich rose from the water hundred yards
southwest of u.s. She drifted slowly, and we
watched her progress with some anxiety. FOR
tunately, when we were about fifty yards from the
frow ming rock anchors caught III the moorings
of another vessel and arrested our dangerous
progress.
The next morning, Monday, July - was so cold
and damp that the seamen dragged forth small
stove from the forepeak, and made fire III the
cabin. We went ashore IL take look at the town,
which has always been reputed one of the queerest
places in New-England. The streets are narrow,
and are laid out on the pattern of the paths IN Il
modern landscape garden, with careful avoidance
Of right line,. We saw few OF the inhabitants,
and most OF those We saw were small boys who
had westher-beaten look, and sported pea,jackets
and top-boots.
After dinner, We made sail for Gloucester. The
wind having abated, our progress was very slow,
and about the middle Of the afternoon We lay To
and fshed Half a dozen rock cod were hauled
up in few minutes, and the pilot, having nOtmng
else 10 do, began 10 prepare them for The irylng-
pan. As he cleaned them, he threw overheard the
eDtrails, which fOated for while on the surface.
Almost instantly h flock of stormy petrels. or
Mother Carey's chickens, as the sailors call them,
gathered round the garbage. A moment before
but one of these birds was visible. They were
very bold, coming close alongside Of the vessel and
Selling pieces of the floating prey larger than
Themselves, with which they would strive 10 fly
away. Sometimes two of them would take hold
AT the same time of the same piece, and tug III
opposite directions. The Professor seized his Dip
net and stationng himself at the side OF the vessel
directed the pilot to throw over handful OF gar
bsge 80 close that il would hoat within reach The
birds gathered round, and the Professor, with his
usual singulary quick sdrotness, captured IN sue
eessiou half dozen of them. They were so
greedy and so bold that he might, If he had
pleased, have taken the wole flock.
In taking them from the dp-net and throwing
them an deck near the companon-way, they showed
rsmarkable stupidity, OF inability Ia walk On any
thing but water. They dashed about under the
bench which surrounded the small standng-place
for the helmsman in front Of the cabin. knocking
their heads sganst the under surface of the bench