Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-04-03

In tie year 1871, passenger Oh ooAEo
the bark Louisa hiIharn, so tons Ur-
den, Captain White, sailed from Cuba,
West Indies, bound for Valparaiso,
Chilli. The following incident which
occurred during the trip, may III some
manner account for the coEfnon oc-
currence of ship leaving port neve,
TO be heard of afterward: After three
mon h. of dull, monotonous life at
sea-occasionaliy enlivened by hshins
tor the bonItss and b1ricutas, soms
times eHcounterinR school OF por-
poises, or catching glimpse OF spout
ing whale, yet at the best bat an unIn-
teresting e1istence-a horrible catas-
srophe took place, which left lasting
impression on the mind of the mar
i.tor. 1t was N the month Of
March. and the bark vas about three
hundred niles OFF the BIO de Ia
Plata, in the region of the pOmperos.
1 he pornperos, as is we'll known, are
winds which blow with great violence
down the river Plata; and, although the
Louisa kIlham was so far distant from
land, sparrous, butterflies and an IN
sect known as the devils needle were
actually blown upon the deck of the YES
sci. But TO continue. On the Sth of
the month | arose from my bunk early,
and, having partaken heartily of the
ships fare. went on deck to see what
the weather was like. 1t was a lovely
day, ths sun sh1ne in all i'll glory: all
sails were set. even to the stay sails, and
under bracing breeze We must have
been making nine Knots an hour. | used
to amuse myself by studying navi-
CATION, and was also taking meteoro-
logical reports for the observatory at
Washington. Each day At 3. II and 4
would note how the baron ter stood,
chronicling the same in book. When
nine bells struck | proceeded as usual
to the instrument room, and. looking at
the barometer, was gre tly astonished
at the oppression of the mercury.
| turned to printed logs of manv vessels
which had passed through that region,
but could discover none which recorded
so low ~ our own then denoted. Though
no sailor. l concluded that it was advis-
able - to look out for squalls and III
stantiy proceeded to acquaint Captain
y bite with the phenomenon. On hear
| ing my statement, the Captain la nauti-
cal terms accused me of prevaricating
"Or else, he said, some one has been
fOollng witt. the instrument"
Come down below and see. Cap"
replied, and agreeing to the proposition
we descended together, where he found
On examination exactly what / had
stated. Instantly the Old salt became
alert. Rushing on deck, he scanned the
horizon from every point on the cOm-
pass. Nothing was to be seen: not a
cloud obscured the blue vaglt of heaven.
A puzzled expression fitted over his
9" 1ntenance for moment: then he
turned and said: Well, I've sailed
the ocean for forty years as captain,
and by going by that 'er instrument.
never lost a rope yarn yet: and by old
Neptune and little fish hooks, | wont
90 back on 'er now" ALI hands were
at once called on deck, and the command
went out, Close reef the top and main
sails The sailors, regarding their
| master III astonlshment, obeyed the Or
der, remarking that the old man WIS
little at sea III the. Daintop.' Of
course it took good deal longer to full
fill the order than TO write it, and when
the Captain, half an hour later, scanned
| the ocean, he noticed large clipper
ship, with every sail set, looming up in
| the horizon abCu. eight miles distant
IL rapidly appeared Ia our wake, ana
the Captain, as he looked through his
glass, exclaimed a" Those lubbers either
haven't looked at their barometer, or,
by -. they haven't got tne.''
Time flew on, yet there were no indi-
cations of a storm, and the strange ship,
proudly sailing the water, rapidly gain
ed on us. White was lmpatiently
walking the deck, swearing at
everything and everybody. When
about half a mile distant the stranger
ran mp the American colors, and We re-
turned the compliment. At length the
Captain, stamping his foot. exclaimed /:
Oh 1t, shan't be passed like an old
sugar drsver on the high seas" The
bark was laden with sugar. lmmedi-
ately he ordered the sailors aloft to
shake reefs out of the sails. which was
no sooner complied with, and the men
had hardly descended. when, as if by
magic. the bark was struck by fright
full gust of wind. Taken by surprise
for a moment. the Captain almost in
stantly recovered his presence of mind,
and in a voice of thunder roared !:
Man the main brace. Bout ship,'
which, az We we're under short
sail, and all hands on deck,
was immediateIy accomplished with
success. Then took place the catas-
trophe which in an instant consigned
numbers to a watery grave. The large
clipper ship, which had but a moment
before proudly plowed the ocean under
every stitch of canvas, caught unawares
by the squall, snk stern first, never to
rise again. The Sea, from calm, placid
water, became in an instant sseihing.
roaring waves. as If impregnated by a
thousand demons, preventing any
rescue OF the unfortunate strang, rs. Il
was an awful, awe-inspiring sight. never
to be forgotten. Who they were We
never knew. The gale lasted for three
days. during which time We lay to aud
weathered the storm. john GREIG.
GOODS ARRIvIN0.-Some two months
ayo Jaka Erarapt,aI IS A. l.