The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1866-04-27
Selected SelistrlIanp.
Correspondence of the Cleveland Hcrald.l
Oscillations OCthe Lake waters,

Correspondence of the Cleveland Hcrald.l
Oscillations OF the Lake waters.
Sudden fluctuations in the waters of Lake
Erie, such az you recently noticed at this
place. and your correspondent at Madison,
Ohio, has described. are very common
They have been noticed by all travellers on
tho Lakes from the times Of the carly Jes-
uits, two hundred years since but tho
cause which produces them is not even
now well understood.
Father Andre. who was at Green Bay in
1870 says" The weather beipg calm we
left our canoe aaoat and on the following
morning were surprised to find il ON dry
gronnd we were the moro surprised be.
cause the Lake had long been Tranquil. The
ordinary rise is one foot and the highest
three feet, but this was accompanied hy a
northeaster.' Dablon observed the same
on Lake Superior during the same year.
In l7S9, while the traveller Mackenzie was
at Graud Portage, on the north shore of
Lake Superior, iherc was sudden ialliu
the water equal TO four feet. II soon re-
turned with resistless rush aud continued
to vibrate for several hours.
In lTl0, General Cass caused tide gauge
to be set up at Green Bay, which was oh
served for fortnight, showing almost in
ceGsant fluctuations, but not uniform enough
to deserve the name of tides, due TO lunar
attraction. .
D. Underwood, f O., az my request, made
a series of observations at the same place
in 1853 There il constant fluX and re-
tux of the water into aud out of the mouth
OF the river, producing a strong current
each way the periods being short and IT.
regular, and the variation Of level ordiua.
rily not exceeding six and eight inches,
but sometimes rising to two feet.
The effect Of a rise is increased ut all plA-
oes situated at the head of an indentation
OF. the coast, having q wide mouth, with
shores narrowing to point like Green
Bay. for the same reason that tides, which
on the ocean are only two and three iccl
high. become in the narrow Bay of Fundy
| 0 TO 20 feet. These movements arc goiug
on everywhere on tao open coast as well
as in the bays and harbOrs, but are SO slight
they do not attract attention.
III the summer Of 1884 tho water sud
denly fell in the st. Mary's River above tho
falls in a calm Gay, about two and ome-hali
feet, and after about an hour came surging
back with great velocity. The same thing
occurred in April, ls42. below the falls, the
river changing its current, and rushing rap:
idly up stream towards The rapids.
Messrs, Foster and Whitney describe an
occurrence similar to tlie one at Madison
Ohio. which they observed between Cnppel
Hubor aud Eagle River, on Lake Su erior
in the month of August, 1915. The crcsj
Of this incoming wave on a calm sea, is
represented ae beiug twenty feet high
Numerous cases are recorded Of suldeT
rise in Lake Superior which generally oc
cured in the warm mouths of July ant
August. The period of a complete oscilIa
tion from one food to another, is represent
ed as rahging from twelve to twenty min
utes.
In the years 954-5 and had an oppor
tunity to witness these movements almos
daily, during the summer months. From
the 10th to the 29th of June, 1854, there
was scarcely any inermisssion OF the pul
sltiOns, the elapsed time being fromtwo tC
thirteen minutes, ordinarily from eight tC
ten minutes. On the shore the rise seldom
exceeded three inches, but as the water
rushed into and out Of Eagle River it was
much more. On the llth- Of October the
elapsed time was about the same, but the
range from high to low water was from tel
to eighteen inches.
The weather was calm, and so continued
duriRg the following night. There was nc
cessation during the day Of the llth, or il
the eveuing, and on the morning of the 10Th
the same movement continued without ma
terial change. In the year 1883 the oscilla
tions commenced on the 20lh of June. A
the Suit St. Marys they were most con
spicuous from the l4tli TO the 9th oil July
when the greatest rise was three feet. At
these fluctuations have been accounted for
by changes in barometrieal pressure, no
ted the state of the mercury at each ebl
and food for some ilayR, without detecting
any corresponding fluctuatioD in the barom
cter. ~
The wave comes in parallel with the
shore, but ordinarily is too low and fiat to
break until it reaches the beach. If it ID
only two or three inches in elevation, it may
not break at AL, aud thus escape observa
tion. Its regularity is not prevented by
gales of wind, whether on shore or off shore
but the hight of the swell or flow is aug'
mented by breeze on shore. 1t produces
in the mouths OF rivers, and in narrow hays.
effects altogether different from the Ordina-
ry swell of a gale Tho latter soon dies
out, in still weather, resembling the undu
lations of rope held in the hand, which
may be made to show curves following each
other, while the line does not change its
place. It.
The phenomenon under consideration
causes an Influx of water with great vio-
lence. 1t has been observed not only upon
ali the great North American Lakes, bgt
upon some of the smaller ones of New York,
which have suddenly changed level as much
as two feet. On the Swiss Lake Of Geneva,
il is common, and II has been noticed on
the Caspian Sea, and among the Sandwich
Islands. On the ocean il 10 doubt occurs,
dne to the same universal cause, whatever
that may he, but Ss the lunar tides contin-
ually change the sea level, this would not
be detected without special observations.
When Colonel Bradstreet made his oXpedi-
tion from Niagara to Sandusky, in 1854, as
the troops were about 10 land from their
boats tone calm evening, sudden swell
dove them ashore and destroyed sew eral OF
their craft.
An old settler by the name of Taylor,
who lived on the shore Of Lake Erie, in
June, 1911 about three miles west of Rocky
River. slated some years since, that during
a calm, hot summer day, he saw a white
crested wave rapidly approaching the beach.
He had barrel or more OF salt at the mouth
of ravine near by, which was 20 the pio
neers of those times Of great value. The
wave washing into the ravine, carried this
barrel before il several rods, over what had
been dry ground, Mr.. Taylor thought its
height was full fon feet
On the British side of Lake Erie, at Otter
Creek and Kettle Creek, according to d.
Witt Clinton, on the 30th of May, 1923, in a
quiet condition of the water, wave nine
faaf In hfohf roIlad oyar. fka ordfnarv haach