Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1871-11-13

For the journal.
A SEA SKETCH.

as Is generally met with "Off the Bank"
| was then second mate of the old ship
R, loaded with cotton, bound from
New Orleans to Liverpool. Being one of
the old build of ship" le-bottomed,"
| and ttonloaded. She made capital wealth
er. laying as dry as n ducks back, ship
ping scarcely a bucketfull of water on her
deck, although such was the violence of
the gale, that the air was filled with spray
blown from the crests of the tremendous
seas that tossed us hither and thther, with
only plank between us and eternity.
But the ship though old was staunch and
light and had passed through too many
blows in her to feel the slightest apprehen-
sions, so after setting the watch on deck
making sennit, under shelter OF the top
gallant forecastle, | mounted the quarter
deck and endeavored to keep myself shell
tered from the blasts of hail and sleet that
came now and then from the norwest, and
seemed to freeze the marrow in ones bones
by making lee under the boat lashed
on the after house.
"Will this gale never break ?" was my
oft repeated mental query, as some blast
more violent than the succeeding, laid the
old ship over almost on her beam end, till its
force was spent and she once more became
upright. Overhead all was bright the
sky was intensely blue, and the sun now
| and then shining brightly on the ice
coated rigging, carried my mind back to
the winter mornings when / used to
admire the trees with their beautiful
coating of ice, glittering in the sun. But
| in the norWest, low down on the horizon,
lay dense, black bank of clouds, from
which came those terrible gusts, squalls,
| accompanied by sleet and hail, that make
| the Banks of Newfoundland in the win
ter time, synonyme for everything, that
is cold and diSagIeeable. We had had
| capital run OF seventeen days from the
Southwest Pass to the Banks, and had
been congratulating ourselves on making
a quick passage, but the gale had come
on with such violence. that after shorten
ING sail to topsails and reefed foresail, and
having scudded under this canvas as long
as we dared. finding that we could not
| keep her ahead OF the tremendous seas
that rolled thrcateningly after us, without
setting more sail-which her spars could
not stand,-we had brought her to the
wind, hoping hourly for the cessation of
the gale, SO that with our wings once more
| spread, we could plough our way England
ward.
| had sent one of the men on to the up
per topsail yard to make up gasket that
had gone adrift, when heard him sing
out: "Sail no about two points on the
weather bow, sir,"-in answer to the hail
of Capt. r., who had wakencd from
his "cat nap" on the lounge and came on
deck rs was often his custom, airly clad
in shirt, pants and cloth slippers, no mat
ter whether it blew high or blew low.
steward, pass me my glasses" the old
man sung out down the companionway,
and having taken them, sprang into the
mizzen rigging, his hair and whiskers,
blowing round his face, as with his glasses
adjusted the correct focus, he watched
the fast approaching stranger.
"What does she look like, Bob ?n asked
of the man, as he slowly lowered himself
on deck from the sheerpole of the main
rigging. "Blowed if | can make her out
sir, tor if my eyesight aint a failin' me
she's got every stitch of sail sot as she
can carry" was Bobs puzzled answer, as
he refreshed himself with a piece of navy
tobacco about the size and shape of
small mouse, and turned to go for'ard
"Mr. Blank, said the captain, calling me
ON the quarter deck, take my glasses
and see what the deuce you call her, man
and boy. Eve been crossing this Western
ocean for thirty-one years, but if ever
saw ship carrying whole sail in gale
of wind like this, I'm a Dutchman, and
that 5 the Flying Dutchman, Steward"
he said to that colored functionary, who
was slowly and painfully worming his
way to the cabin with load of dishes
from the galley, '.just call Mr.. Saunders
deck a minute" Placing the glasses to
Il
vessel. She was full-rigged ship of
some 800 tons burden, old measure, an
Englishman by her stump royal masts.
with single topsails, and carrying, despite
that terrible gale, every stitch OF canvass.
She had the wind we'll on her quarter, her
yards canted by the staboard braces, and
rs she rapidly drew nearer to us, now ris-
inc alolt on some terrible sea. now plung
ing down, down into the billowy depths,
rolling her brightly coppered sides out of
the water, till YOU would swear that her
fore and main yard arms touched the tre
mendous seas that swept by her on either
side, (and here let me say, en- pdSSdm,
that though you will often hear of ship
rolling her yard arms unde". it is some
thing that very seldom occurs. | have
seen a ship running with the wind dead
aft. off the Cape of Good Hope, touch her
lower sternsail booms, but never yard
arms), while the streams of water pour
ing out from her scuppers showed that her
decks and waist were flooded with water
Mr.. Saunders now clambered upon the
quarter deck, rubbing his eyes, with this
more forcible than elegant expression
MAY the devil admire one if ever | saw
the like before" As she drew still nearer
and the terrible blasts would strike her
broad sails with force that would seem
enough to tear the canvass from the bolt
ropes, she would heal over till we would
think she would never come on an even
keel again, then slowly rightng and shak-
ing off the tons of water from her decks
she would mount the next coming wave,
and, without eXaggeration, when she
would again sink into the trough of the
sea, after she had got slightly to the lea
ward of us, only her top gallant sails and
royals would appear above tile foaming
wave crests. But the spectacle of ship,
] and annarently an old Shin caIlNino all