The Russellville Democrat., 1880-02-26
THE STORMY OCEAN.
Perils Of the Deep--winter Voyages of .t.a Atlantic Steamers.
 "F4t Uarner,e Wnal-i.- q F

far, to those of us who have passe d ou time in this metropolis or it's neighbor
 hood, rarely has there been so much ant
 such continuation of bad weather of
 our coasts at sea. The reports of passen
 gers and crews as they arrive go to show
 that the stormy deep has behaved witt
 a boisterousness for which there are few
 parallels in the records of late years
 A century or two ago when adventurer:
 from Europe first began to make then
 way to our shores, the violence of oul
 winters, and the fury of the gale that opposed their passage, made the voyage somewhat to be dreaded; but of late the increasing mildness ofour climate both on land and sea, has divested such journeys of nearly all terror. Only in rare in stances is an ocean steamer endangered by storms, provided her machinery re- mains in order, and the crew know how to handle the vessel. The experience oi the last few weeks will, however, strike terror to those who have learned to place too much confidence in the gradual pacifcation of old Neptune
 When the steamer Batavia arrived at this port on the morning of Sunday, January 12, it WIS alter one of the storm jest passages within tho recollection of any of the ships officers. When the ship left Liverpool, on the 27th of De- cember, there was strong breeze blow ing, but not such as to occasion any spe- cial alarm. In the afternoon, the wird increased to gale, with confused seas, and the weather was very rough all the way down the Channel,with strong head winds and fogs Queenstown was not reached until late i'll the evening, seven ! or eight hours behind time When the vessel left that port, at five o'clock on the afternoon of the following day (Sun- day), there was a strong westerly wind, so that Fastnet was passed at Il:30. On l Monday the storm began, and during the night there were furious squalls rain, hail, thunder and lightning From this ! time till January there was little ces. sation in the grim succession. Then the weather moderated but only for new, though somewhat milder edition of l tke storm. On January :, when the ves- sel stood off the Fog Banks, there were light head winds; and finally, as she 1 sighted Fire Island Light,the sky cleared and she came in, the storms left behind her and the weather fair. During the entire voyage the wind kept veering from southwest to west-northwest. The barometer ranged from 2830 to 29.20, and the temperature ran down to 22o Fahrenheit.
 The experiences of the passengers and crew during this voyage were of the most unpleasant character, There was not only shipwreck to fear, but discom- fort of every kind to endure; Nothing in the way of amusement could be un- dertaken, and, confined below hatches, the unhappy voyagers gazed at one an other day in and day out in a sort of hopeless misery.
 The experiences of the Brittannic, a vessel of the White Star Line, which ar rived some hours later on the same day, were similar if not quite as severe IS those of the Batavia. There were strong westerly gales, but the vessel made her usual time, and the officers were disposed to make light of the storm. The Purser, in describing the passage to a reporter of one of our daily journals, said: Ut was tempestuous weather all the time, but we took no special count of it, and were not delayed by it. What is very severe passage for other vessels is not a serious obstacle to the Brittanic. We came right along, but we did not have single clear day until yesterday. You can say we had strong westerly gales, and that is all there is to be said" A gentleman who was present spoke of the splendid sailing qualities of the ship, and gave, as an in stance gale during a passage he had made recently:. "Ah but this was much more severe" said the Purser, 'than when you crossed with us. It was one continual blow all the way to the Banks, and we did not have single clear day"
 The steamer City of New York, of the Inman Line, occupied nineteen days on her voyage from Liverpool by way of Queenstown. The officers say that for eleven days they ran through a se1es of very heavy gales, during one of which tremenduous sea broke over the bows, carried away the port cathead, and split the breakwater. Two seamen on the forward bridge were dashed to the deck and severely injured.
 The experiences of the passengers and crew of the Aragon present a most ap- palling picture of ocean travel. This vessel sailed from Bristol on the 10th of December. Twenty-four days she was tossed about on the ocean by the storm, and several times it was reported that she had gone down with all on board. Capt. Brown, her commander, in telling the story of her voyage, said:
 We had fourteen passengers-elght of them women-in the steerage, and full cargo of freight. The first day out we struck the storm coming from the northwest, and varying at times to southwest. Day after day for fifteen days we had hard weather. Such seas as we had you never saw. For time we'd have the gale from the northwest. and then it would change to the south west, cutting up cross-seas that swept the deck. The men had rough time on deck, tell you. Early New Years morning a cyclone struck us, with most terrific squalls the wind varying all the time. Tremendous seas were ere ated almost instantaneously. On the next day heavy sea struck us, carrying away some of the bridge stanchions, the wheel-house, the venIilators and one of the boats, and smashing another boat. The men in the wheel-house were knocked about like toys, but no bones were broken. In fact, during all the voyage, the men had only few bruises, although they were roughly handled.
 On the last day of the year the Aragon sighted a vessel of the lnmln Line. With some difficulty, and by going out of his course, Capt. Brown exchanged signals, in the hope that the larger yes sel, arriving sooner, might report him. This, unfortunately, was not done, or much anxiety would have been spared those who had either property or friends on board The conclusion of the Cap ,b- et0rxy ia e follouyG.