The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-07-23
voYAGINc Oh THE kEp sEA.
The Thermometer 150 Degnees<sGlo.
rious sunsets--A ship on Fire.


voYAGING on THE RED SEA,
The Thermometer $50 DeeHses-.Glo.
rious sunsets---A Ship on Fire. i
An eight-days voyage across che
Arabian Sea hroRght The steamer 10
Alden, near the southern extremity of
the great Arabian peninsula. For two
days before We had sighted ii the dim
: distance the rocky, slsrfla coast line;
and Alden proved p be no more inVit-
ing-in TACT one Of the dreariest, most
desolate places conceivable. Woe Be
to the ship that Is cast ashore on the
: Arabian coast Though the natives
may not make . barbacue Of ron, and
dance In real savage style around your
bleaching bones, they are apt to take
every stitch Of clothing you have on.
torture you. and ultimately starve YOU.
Sad, indeed, was the recent fate Of
some men on board the steamers Arev
and Knight Of the Bath, which went
ashore some ways out Of Alden.
feel warranted In saying that the
days are hot. There Is only one porta.
bic thermometer aboard, and I experi-
ment some with that First, find the
coolest place in the ship a passage
way leading out Of the main saloon.
where a register brings up q (rela-
tively) cool draught from the lower
regions of the ship. The midday reg
ister for the passage varies from IS
degrees Fahrenheit TO SO degrees. In |
the cabins the temperature Is very
much higher. The garments Of those
who sweat profusely are wringing
wet with perspiration, while tho hands
and faces of those who do not are
so clammy that you would think thew
had been smeared with grease. I'M
fortunately, the thermometer in dues-
ton only registers as high as $50 de- |
grees. put it out on the hatchway in !
the sun one day. The mercury trOts |
right up to $50 degrees in no time, and |
hasten to bring the instrument in, lest |
it shall explode.
And yet they tell me this Is literally |
cool in comparison with the condition |
of things that will prevail a month or
two hence. Every one on the ship SAYS /
so, wonder how high the temperat-
ure would raise thermometer in the
sun?
1t is indeed hot, but one becomes in
a measure Injured to 1t after day or
two, and frequently salt water baths
serve to make life more tolerable. In
the hot months there are always q
number OF passengers and laborerS,
especially stokers, who perish from
excessive heat Even our hens and
ducks are unable to endure the
warmth, and several of the painting
creatures expire, despite the frequent
drenchings with fresh water which the
steward gives them by means of
sprinkling pot ..... II
Tho sunsets are glorious, and the
moon rises even more so. Indeed, the
evenings are pleasant, and we are
tempted to sleep out on the deck in
stead of IN our stuffy cabins. This,
however. the Captain forbids, on ac-
count of the peculiar influences Of the
moon in this climate. The rays of q
tropical moon poisons meat and our
supplies are tested with piece Of sill
yer in the boiling water. ANY dis
coloration of the silver indicates that
the meat has been exposed to the
One indiscreet sailor 9
sleeps on deck, and in the morning his =
face is wrenched out of shape. After I
this we are careful, and sit under the
awning while we spin our sea yarns. I
The dews at night are very heavy and 2
leave thick saline deposit on the P
ships rigging. Occasionally a mirage 9
furnishes us Sith diversion. The phos- 4
phorescent displays of the Arabian and I
Red Seas are not what had expected c
after reading and hearing SO much of .
them; but perhaps this is owing to the 1
brilliance of the moon. !
The phosphorsscence is, however, sui 7
generis so far as have seen. 1t floats
about in apparent ''chunks,n which at .
5ach themselves to the sides of the
Tessel and are impelled forward for \
lime, only to become detached at 8
ength, and quickly disappear astern. n
Here on the Red Sea, for the first q
lime in my seventy-five days and nights g
If sea voyaging, have taste Of what q
, fire on shipboard implies. One hot, z
,reathless day the chief officer is hav- Il
NO large kettle of a resinous liquid II
,oiled, up forward on a deck-stOve, for, P
implication to certain parts of the ship. b
t is left alcne for q moment, boils
yer intoA the fire, and in q moment "
more the whole mass is ablaze. The II
iquid flows over the deck, and almost n
,efore we can take the fact in great h
heets of flame are leaping halfway up n
. the square-sails. The alarm is b
ounded, the sailors rush to the sand v
,arrels, and by the time each man has G,
brown pailful of sand upon the deck G
here is nothing left burning but the b
.ettle. Over this courageous fellow Il
hrows q piece of sailcloth, and two b
ther men lift it to the deck. In the B
Meantime the Captain has ordered L
be donkey engines to work, and there d
J an immense stream ready to play v
pom the deck, were such measure h
ecessary. il
confess that my heart is humping I
way wildly, but none Of the officers h
nd men seem any more concerned tc
han If such scene were of daily oc- d,
urrence on shipboard. to
A few men have been wounded or
urned in the operation, while some
theirs have lost part of their clothing.
suppose no more dangerous form of
re could break out, and yet it is handled "
nth perfect ease and does not create q III
ipple of excitement. In three minutes ii
has ceased to be a subject of COM Ie
lent.-Cdro Cor. NJ o. 1iDses-Denao- m
rat. II
| =