Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1877-11-17
The MAclstrOm.

A recent number of the Spectator con-
tains the following account of this fam
Gus whirlpool, which detracts somewhat
from the terrors that romance has woven
about it.
We have read or heard of Edgar Poe's
fantasy on the subject, we had also heard
of a Norwegian captain who said he knew
Of no such wh%irlpool--had never heard
of it, in fact, except from English tour
lists There was room for such magma
tive interest between these two extremes,
and some risk wa really worth running
to enable Us to Judge for ourselves. We
had our pilot, who had brought US frem
Bergen, we had the master and owner of
the "Activ," who had a wife and six
children and the uninsured " Actiy" be-
sides; but TO make assurance trebIy sure,
we allowed the pilot to stop at the
village nearest to the dreaded thing, and
take on board a fisherman able to tell lis
exactly what we might or might not do
with it. The scenery of this village,
Skoorvag, was wild in the extreme, all
rock and %rayine, with sharp teeth of ser.
rated crags, which reminded me of the
Coolin hills in Skye. Our fisherman
guide came on board as We were finishing
luncheon. He liked the job immensely /;
"the tide was just right" but whether
for II safety or for the display of the
MaelstrOm's character | could not make
out, but hoped that something between
the two was meant. A very few min.
utes' steaming around the point OF
Mosknws put this question and the
powers of the "Activ" to the test, The
loughness, only a gentle slide over a
rather big wave at first, almost immedi-
ately increased to a violent pitching, a
tar>barrel broke loose, spare coals tum.
bIed about the deck, everything went
astray which could not hold or b. held
tight, and the captain and proprietor of
the Active" looked as if he would not
let his boat NEEDLE with the MaelStrom
again if he could help it. 1t was like
the race of Portland or of Attorney in a
stiff breeze, the sailors said. | thought
OF the strength of our engine-.thirty
horsepower, | belieyed--and hoped that
the Maelstrom was not going to be worse,
and that getting the vessel around for
our return would be managed nicely.
However, we ran right through, and
looked at the receeding preciplces of the
Lofodens from the seward side, then
took a wide sweep, and ran through the
race again, which was a trille quieter
when we had the tide with us. The
widest forms of rock and mountains
would add nothing to the terrOrs of such
a scene as this strait between Mosknms
and VTro would present in wild weather.
We, however, could afford to marvel at
the height and ~steepness of the Lofoden
wall, two thousand feet clear on the one
side, and the p%itiless, sharp-toothed rocks
OF Moskna, on the other, with their base
lost in the bright mist Of raging waves "A
misty light which shone far away in the
western sun, over 4 dark, wavy line of
rushing waters. There certainly was a
Maelstrom, the ebb and flow of so large
a body of water as the Vestford through
so small a strait. aud the sudden and
enormous increase in the depth of the
sea between the two islands forming a
mighty Niagara, in fact, below the sur
face, being sufficient cause. Fortu-
nately, as in the case of many another of
natures terrible things, it does not inter.
tere much with man and his work.
Fishermen, though their business lies
%perilously near, know its humors well
and when and how to avoid them.