Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-11-15

reach, in all directions about the hor-
lion, this dance of the waves this Ii
tanic cancan went on--sea piling on
sea, like Pelion upon Ossa. Sometimes
one of these huge seas would come
laundering down upon us, bearing
upon its back load Of smaller waves,
in such force as to threaten instant de-
On one occasion, three of
these "riders" were upset SO near the
ship that their tops came tumbling on
board from three directions at once, one
over either bow, and one over the poop.
The ship trembled and creaked, and
stopped rolling for g. moment, and
seemed to shake herself free from this
grasp Of the waves, and slowly surged
ahead again from the impulse of the
engines.
The sky during this time presented a
no less Ominous appearance than did
the sea. Banks of ashen-hued clouds
lay along the horizon, while overhead
broken scuds sped across the zenith
from different directions, but principal
ly from the north. A heavy, rumbling
sound would occasionally come from
somewhere, like the distant roar of an
earthquake. The barometer continued
stationary at 1882, with frequent but
slight oscillations. All these indications
Convinced the most skeptical that the
old croaker chad croaked prophetic"
and that we had passed through one
hemisphere of cyclone and were
then III Its vortex Or centre. Thus
were we convinced that we had the dis
comfort, dreadful suspense and hard
work to go over again, and that right
speedily. So we heaved signs nearly as
big as the waves outside, tried to joke
and look smiling, but it was Of no use.
Our hearts were too heavy and our
stOmachs too empty, rs we had had
nothing to eat for the last twenty-four
hours aud but warm water to drink.
So we commenced getting everything
taut for the next onset of the storm.
At about fifteen minutes of noon lit
tie puff of wind and rain came from
the north. The barometer rose two
tenths of an inch but Immediately fell
back again. The shi p's head WAS
brought quickly around to the north,
and just IN time for the storm to strike
us "butt end foremost" 1t came from
the northwest by north. Had we been
i've minutes later in getting around the
wind would have caught us on the
broadside and certainly capsized us.
The little rain squall from the north
about five minutes before the storm
struck us the second time was the first
indication that we had as to which
hemisphere of the meteor had passed
over us and from whence to expect the
second half.
Within five minutes of the COM
mencement of the second attack the
cyclone had us again in its powerful
grasp. For tee space OF two hours and
forty-twO minutes the storm was more
fearful than in the morning, and in ten
minutes the wind had completely fiat
tened out the riding seas" and was
exerting such q heavy pressure upon
the "rollers " that they could do but
little mischief. The voice of the wind
was pitched III a most fearful key. [
might say in several fearful keys, no
two Of which were in harmony, like
that of a thousand women shrieking in
the terrors of q nightmare combined
with a metallic cracking vibration like
the highest notes of calliope and
steam fog whistle. The suferings of
the sailors we've repeated and intensi-
fed, as was the moral effect upon
everybody else. The sheets and storm
staysails were carried away with a re-
port ike that of cannon almost as
soon as they were set. The ship was
held down to leeward and pressed into
the water by the force of the wind.
The seas made clean sweeps over both
bulwarks. The fires were extinguished
III the lee furnaces. The fore and
main topgallant masts were snapped
OFT like clay pipe stems, and all sorts of
debris was thrashing about the deck. At
twenty minutes past one the barometer
commenced to rise steadily though
very slowly, and at two o'clock the
tiercest of the wind began to come in
gusts, with intervals of lesser violence
which intervals became longer and
longer till three o'clock, from which
time till midnight it gradually eased off
to a steady blow from the northwest.
Thus ended the most violent storm
it was ever my lot to experience, and I
have met cyclones and typhoons and
bOrers and pamperOs and all sorts of
storms on nearly all seas. This one
lasted but twenty-six hours. At the
time it struck us we were about twenty
miles to the east and south of Cape
Canaveral light and ia the gulf stream,
and when it left us were about ninety
miles to the northward and eastward
of that light. The meteor approached
from the southwark, and we entered at
the upper right hand arc-looking
north-passed through it's vortex near
ly at It's axis, and out through the
southern and western arc, the storm
having been detected to the north
north east while passing over us, prob
ably by the Cape.
Another Enoch Arden.