The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-11-05
A RUSH OF WATERS.
The Tides of the Bay of Fundy-Causes OF
the Great Wave.

/
Boston Herald.
The tides of Fundy are perhaps, familiar to
almost everyone, and, though they are remark
| able, like the maelstrom and other marvels, they
are greatly exaggerated. writes correspondent
! from Falmouth, n. S. To thoroughly understand
the phenomenon the shape of Fundy Bay must
be considered, and it will be seen that the great
| daily tidal waves that sweep over the Atlantic,
| caused by the attraction of the sun and moon,
strike the New En- gland coast and tend north
ward, until the great body of water is squeezed
| into the narrow limits of the Bay of Fundy,
| just as we see great wave from steamer en-
| tering brook from a lake. The effect is to i'm
mediately raise the water level, and so in Fun
| dy the tidal wave rushes in and, suddenly com
| pressed with the narrow bounds, Immediately
rises and the water forms a wave and PUSHES
rapidly onward, filing up the rivers and lays
along its passage
A famous place to observe the phenomenon is
in what is called the Minas basin, branch of
the bay of Fundy. that extends into the coun-
try of Evangelne, and cuts it up in a curious
manner.
Can this be the riverl you ask. 1t must be, as
here are bridges, two of them, but so wOefully
long and shaky on their pins and high above the
streams that they appear like the very ghosts of
bridges on stills. From above the chasm APP
pears shelved and cavernous in its aspect The
sides seem TO grade off into terraces of red and
gray mud until finally the pan of bottom rock
is reached, along which the pseudo river flows.
Something is expected, as here are expensive
dykes that are reared to keep the water from the
farms in the back country; then again vessels lie at
the docks of this inland town. high and dry,
miles and miles from water deep enough to float
them. Do we wait an hour so, all this will be
changed. We first notice the silvery thread of
water stop in its course, then the water is seen
to flow up stream, and if you turn your head for
few minutes you find upon again looking that
the silvery thread has grown to a stream fifty
feet wide Twenty minutes later it is a raging
flood foaming rushing and boiling, rising in
waves that break against each other, ever push
ing on, as if propelled by some mysterious force
In this sudden rush of the waters animals are
often caught; pigs that have wandered out into
the mud are overcome by the onward rollers,
and fowl have been seen surrounded and foated
away on the waves, to be rescued, perhaps, far
up the stream, thirty feet higher than the spot
where they were taken up Flocks of birds fire.
quently follow the tidal wave or BORE as it is
called, feeding upon the fish that are east ashore
| and catching them as the tide goes out.
Why the wave should be so high in coming in
Is explained in different ways. One theory is
that it is formed by tidal current rushing
agalnts the current of the river, and passing
over distractions of more than ordinary height
that tend to push the water up In the
Hoogly river the wave rises to a height of
twenty feet; in the Amazon thirty, and in the
Tsientage, China about the same. The wave in
Fundy, however, is not to be compared to these
in any respect. AS to rapidity the tide comes
IN about as fast as an ordinary horse can trot
ana man would have to exert all his speed to
escape.
The height to which the water actually rises
differs in different places, and depends npon cir
eumstanees. Thus, if the sun and moon could
pull together, so to speak, and strong wind set
IN at the same time, an exceedingly high tide
would be the result. 1t is claimed that it has
risen sixty feet at Moneton; at Sackville fifty
foot fall and rise is common These are remark
able figures, and the sight of vessels that say, in
the morning have been alongside the dock now
forty feet below and no water in sight, is still
more remarkable.