The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1884-06-28

of Promise to so many from foreign
shores, had resulted id total failure and com
plete encouragement for him; and rather
than go back empty handed he chose te
plunge into the.great unknown. a sad and
early termination o. appointed anbi-
tions. ssSss
During the voyage SOM The passengers
amuse themselves ii yaliI iIsas ways. Some
lare sick and find themsels fully occupied
with their ailments zffs, more fortu.
nate, are able % seek nusement and
devote Themselves 10 aiui board, quoits,
ring-toss and other gai D, walking on
Ideck, reading music, dehate conversation,
etc, and We are sorry 10 sas quite d large
class find IN gambling aud whiskey drink
ling their principal recreafi6ns. All classes,
from ministers to profesaional gamblers,
from co1porteurs to cont ence men, can
be found in every passel1 list and the
Law Of selection very soon breaks up the
company into numerous circles, the mem-
bers Of each seeking among themselves for
congenial comp iouship EhsdaiIy pro-
gress Of the vessel, the difEassnce in time
as Wsego eastward, the ircreasing length
Of the days a. We go uorthWard, the work
ing Of the ship, m occasional sail OF
steamer met on thu broad ocean, are ail
seized upon with eager interest to break
the monotony Of the voyage AZ We sail on
day after day, apparently in the same
circle Of water il which we started, and
which, viewed from tie deck. is about II
miles in diameter, tie rotundity of the
earth allowing d body 81, tho surface OF
the water to be seen at i distance of only
about six miles. s4
In the evening ths phosphorescene Of
the sea forms q uever ending source Of
entertainment. The myziad flashes Of
light produced BY j. diininutiye animal
organism at times iIlnninate the dark
waves as they roll hom ths sides Of the
ship like q million slectric sparks and
presents a most briiiiant ana gorgeous
display, recalling those words Of the
Ancient Mariner z
Beyond the shadow Of the ship.
II watched the water snakes;
Ard when they y1ss reared, d sfe sa eifsh i; iisi;.
Fell OF In hoary fakes.
Within the shadow OF fl.e ship,
Il watched their rich attires
Blue, glossy green and velvet black,
They COlleQ and SWaYn. and every track
Was flash of golden fire.
Each day at noon the captain takes an
observation on the sun with his sextant to
ascertain the position Of the ship, and
besides this the log is ,east at intervals
during the day and the distance travelled
by the ship as thus ascertained is marked
on chart which is hung at the head Of
the stairs leading to the saloon. This is
made the subject of much speculation and
many are the guesses, bets and pools made
upon it.
Although our voyage has quiet one,
yet when within about 500 miles of the
Irish coast We were struck by what was
evidently the remains of heavy storm
and thus were given some idea of
the power of old ocean. Mighty waves
from Is to 20 feet in height rolling majes-
ically onward, would catch the ship in
their giant embrace, rolling it from side to
side and pitching it about, mere plaything
of their mad fury. Standing on the PROV,
and looking out over the undulating sur
face of this painless waste of waters and
glancing backward at the ship tossed about
like cork on a mill pond, how puny seem
all the devices Of man and how hopeless
the conflict with the elements. And yet
modern science has triumphed over even
the ocean and hundred of ships annually,
crowded with living freight, pass and re-
pass over its surface and with but few
exceptions outride its heaviest gales
We have always entertained large
amount of respect for Columbus and the
other sturdy old navigators Of his time,
but since witnessing for ourselves the
power which they defed, we have felt our
admiration perceptibly increase. Going
forth as he did with no guide except his
own faith in an untried theory and with no
encouragement except his own stout heart
and undaunted will, the world does we'll to
honor his name and to revere his memory.
But our voyage, like all things else, must
come to an end, and one day after taking
an observation the captain announces that
Fasnet light will be passed during the night
and Queenstown reached at about4 o'clock
the next morning. The evident satisfac-
ton with which this announcement is
received by all proves that even among
those who have enjoyed the voyage there is
perfect willingness to exchange the un-
certain deck of the ship for terra yJir7na.
Long before reaching Fastnet light, how
ever, dense fog settled down over the
ocean and with fog horn sounding at fre-
quent intervals and frequent casting of the
lead, we felt our way along, missing the
light house entirely but later on sighting
the light ship about six miles out from
Cork Harbor. The fog was still very heavy
and it was only with the greatest care that
any progress could be made with safety.
At last the watch cried out, "Land on the
port bow" the anchor was dropped and
when little later the fog lifted we found
ourselves nearly opposite the light house at
the entrance to the harbor. The green hills
of Ireland, fresh with the verdure of spring,
formed a pleasing change from the watery
waste upon which our eyes had rested for
the previous week and all rejoiced at the
termination Or near termination of the
voyage. In short time tender came
alongside to receive passengers and mails.