The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1883-10-13
Through waterspout and Typhoon
BY JAMES J. WAIT
From the Century for Oetobe-.

From the Century for October.
We had just left the Philippine Islands,
the clipper Wasatch, bound for New
York, with some fifteen hundred tons of
sugar, and were then bowling easily across
the Celebes Sea toward the Straits of Ma
CAESAR, with the last of the southwest mon
soon. Very little wind seemed left in the
bag, for as the ship lifted on the remnants
of the long Pacific rollers, the sails lost
their snowy fullness, and slapped shudder-
ingly against the spars and rigging; the
reef-points ratified like hail, the masts
creaked in their fddings, and the yards
jerked uneasily at the braces. The whole
ship had rattling, unsteady, loosejointed
motion, until she rolled ponderously to
windward again and tautened everything
with quick jerk that seemed powerful
enough to carry away the lighter spars.
We had long voyage before us with much
of this rattle-and-bang sort of sailing, until
we reached the steady trade winds of the
Indian Ocean so all hands were busy
making and putting on chafngmats to
protect thoseparts of the rigging most ex-
posed to wear in this continual shaking.
As we were only few degrees north of
the Lines the weather was decidedly warm.
The hot sun overhead and not cloud in
the sky, the light reflected from the myriad
ripples in the water as though from mirrors,
the planks hot enough to blister our feet,
with the pitch starting from the seams and
knots, all combined to make the intermit-
tent tanning of the shaking sails very ac-
ceptable.
The monsoon was about breaking up,
and although the sky was now as serene as
possible, unsettled weather, with violent
squalls, was to be expected.
1t was with such surroundings that |
left the ship when [ went below at eight
bells, turned into my bunk, and soon fell
asleep.
| was reused by the boatswain thrusting
his head hurriedly in at the door and say
ing: "All hands shorten SAIL Mr.. Ratline.
A water-spout to windward, sir" Bound
ing up, soon jumped into the few clothes
necessary in that latitude, and ran on deck.
What sight To leeward the sky, air
and water were, as before, hot, breathless,
and glittering; but to windward a vault of
billowy black nimbus cloud, rent by inces-
SAINT lightning and acting as an immense
reverberator for the thunder which rolled
along over the water, crash after crash,
shaking the ship ike leaf, until it was
almost deafening. The lower surfaces of
the clouds were torn into white and ragged
fragments, and these were spun and blown
about by the resistless currents of the
whirlwind, while in the centre of the mass,
like sturdy Jewish column supporting the
vast dome, writhed an enormous water
spout. Within radius of many rods
about its twirling base the sea was lashed
into boiling fury, and rose and fell in If
regular tumultuous waves, whose crests
were whipped off by the wind and blown
hither and thither like smoke.
One accustomed only to the temperate
zones cannot appreciate the awful grandeur
of the more violent atmospheric disturb
ances of the tropics Mans puny endea-
vors seem so doubly unavailing against the
infinite power of natures forces, that the
Individual is almost overwhelmed by his
own insignifcance So it was with us that
day. There seemed to be no way of escape.
The spout was dead to windward, and bear
ing down upon us with fearful speed AL
ready its roaring was in our ears. Ali
hands were working for their very lives to
get sail off the vessel, pulling and hauling
Ike steam engines every one of them, and
iuaptrg aloft like monkeys to roll up the
Stating Canvas For once, Captain Mason
llQst his Ihshityal GOODNESS and seemed al
most beside H9imself with excitement and
apprehension. When [ came on deck the
ship was beginning to heel over from the
effect Of the outside currents Of the whirl-
wind upon her bare spaFs aad half-furled
canvas. Our signal howitzer had been un.
lashed by the cabin-boy, and the captain
shouted "Mr. Ratline, will you serve that
gun" 1 sighted the piece and pulled the
lark-string with such a trembling hand that
the ball missed its mark, and called forth a
cry of disappointment from those aloft, who
had watched its ricochet course with the
eagerness of men intent on forlorn hope
''Load again quick, for Gods sake !
load again !" This time the ball went
crashing through the watery column, but
with no more effect than if my piece had
been popgun. There was no time fol
another shot The ship was now stagger-
ing under the violence of the wind, The
men aloft, knowing the insecurity of the
spars, came sliding down the back-stays in
their haste to reach the deck. Every sec.
ond the force of the wind was stronger
bearing the good ship down upon her beam
ends as a skillful wrestler forces an antag.
onist to his knees Slowly the cloud be-
gan to swing around, and we backed oul
bare main yards to deaden any headway the
ship might now have, until we could gel
some little patch of sail up forward tC
pay her off from the wind, and thus escape
the spout, which in its altered course We
hoped would pass ahead of us. Suddenly
the half-furled mizzen top-sail blew from
the gaskets, and filling out like balloon
sent the ship spinning around toward tht
wind and tearing through the water a
though she had all sail set. Cup helm
there-run up the foretop-mast stay-sai
keep her away!' shouted the captain
wildly through his hands. One of the or
binary seamen was at the wheel, and [ saw
him jamming down the spokes in his vair
endeavors to move the helm. Calling t,
one of my watch to follow, l sprang to tn
wheel, and with our united strength hac
the helm hard up, when the foretop-mas
stay-sail they were trying to set forward
blew clear from the bolt-roping at the frs
slap, and it became certainty that all ou
endeavors were fruitless, and the water
spout must strike us. Theponderous fabri
of the vessel quivering like whale at th
stroke of the harpoon, was tossed like
cork on the seething base of the column
Her masts bent like coach-whips befor
they snapped. Great patches of canva
were torn from the yards, and, spreading
out, sped off like frightened ghosts, thei
long arms of tatters waving wildly as they
vanished in the misty air Each man al
most invoIuntarily secured himself as bes
he might, and in an instant more tn
water-spout was upon us-with roaring
and believing as of thousand demons
the cannon-like crash of breaking spars, tn
swapping of cordage and the rending o
timber. Then an irresistible rush of waite
poured down upon the deck, seemingl..
n