The Placer herald., 1860-03-03
The Mealstrom a Myth.

From work recently published, entitled
Through Norway with Knapsack," by w.
Mathieu Williams, we copy the following
in reference to wha. every schoolboy has
been taught to regard not as great myth,
but as a great fact We ought perhaps to
regret that so marvellous an illusion is thus
dispelled:
an the early part OF the day we passed
close to the channel against which the ter
ribIe word MeaIstrom is marked on most of
our English maps. Ever since my first
school lessons in geography, have pictured
this place 0 my mind as a great whrling,
conca hollow in the waters, like the den of
the million, near which no ship dare ap,
proach, nor even within many miles.
looked for it on my Norwegian ma, but it
is not marked there; the rest of the English
passengers were digent, but with no better
success, though there were three different
maps among us, and ali on a large scale,
giving minute details. We peeped at the
ships charts, and could not find it there in
the portions that we examined. We then
inquired Of the captain, a man Of experience
in these seas, who told us that all he knew
about the Mea'strom had been communicate
ed to him by his English passengers. He
was very satirical and cruelty bard upon US.
lie told us that the English had imported a
great deal of useful knowledge into Norway,
amongst which was the information con
cerning the Mealstrom; also that the Eng
lish patronized the Norwegians very kindly,
and showed them how to improve their poll
tical institutions, their agricultural opera
tions, and the building of their ships and
boats; and among these practical hints and
suggestions he classed the sailing directions
for avoiding the Meastrom, which was drawn
up by photographers for the benefit Of Scan.
dinavian mariners. We had much difficulty
in getting at him at all on the mater, he
was so impermeably ironical, but the leute
nant was more communicative.
'It appears that the Maelstrom, which we
read about is an unmitigated myth. There
are many maelstroms or bad currents, here
abouts. Several Of the channels between
the islands are, in concurrent states Of the
wind and tide, rather dangerous for small
crafts, and even larger vessels, if not skill
fully handled may be drifted against the
rocks. The channel where we mark the
Maelstrom is one of these, but by no means
the worst of them; in ordinary states of wind
and tide it may be navigated safely in a
cock boat. There is no huge quilting eddy
anywhere hereabouts, and believe not in
any part of the world. The ancient Greeks
and Romans talk of Scyla and Charybdis
but they were set Of lubberly mariners, as
the narrative of the voyages of Aneas and
others sufficiently show. No true sailors
could have invented such catalogue Of
mythical terrors as those feeble old coast
crawers believed in. They made more fuss
about the small bit Of their Mediterranean
lake which they attempted to navigate than
did the Pbnncians and old Scandanavians
about the whole Atlantic. The passage be-
tween ScylIa and Charybdis is not more
perilous than going through the middle arch
of Putney Bridge against tide. 1t is just
possible to get upset at Putney, but the Other
channel is so wide and currentess that the
idea of any danger is simply absurd. l have
bathed there several times and though
swan in every direction, never found an eddy
that could whirl me around. Of course
tho travels of Aneas, &c, are only the
dreams of the poet; but they describe the
traditions and terrors of the mariners of th'
time, otherwise they would have been laugh
ed at when written"
The fremen of Pacerville celebrated
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