Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1885-07-11
Gales aud Sketthes.
An Old Sea Captain Tells Of Wonders Per
formed BY Storm Waves.


gated everv ocean and almost every known
body of water large enough to float ship:
During recent years he has commanded
some one OF the Liverpool steamers of the
White Star Line. and has thousands of ac-
auaintances in this city who know well
what an honest. bluff. straightforward old
sea dog he is. This introduction to the
Tribune readers would be wholly unneces-
sarv but for the miraculous nature of the
stories which are 10 follow aud which says
Capt. Parselle. "are as true and sure as
that the sun is now shining at US here on
my deck
The conversation which had proceeded
these wonderful tales had referred 10 the
storm wave lately encountered in mid
ocean bv the Germanic. The captain eX-
planned what sort of sea it was. The
newspapers called it tidal wave" he
said. s.but it was nothing of the sort.
Tidal waves only occur in BAYS. firths and
rivers which are so situated as to be Pc
culiarly sensitive TO the influences of the
moon and of gravitation. At least that is
how meterologists explain them. But
though have studied their theories with
laborious care. have encountered tidal
than in the local situations that make wa
ter especially excitable.
For instance. saw tidal wave once
from high bluff on the banks of the
Ganges. 1t was perpendicular wall of
water advancing at the rate OF about 20
miles an hour. 1t was perfectly straight,
except at the very top, where it crested
into foam that had not strength enough
to fall 1t was about II feet high. That
was pure tidal wave, and | have never
vet been able to work out its origin or
cause.
Now a storm wave. such as struck the
Germanic, is very different thing, and
is explicahle upon thoroughly well-defin-
ed meteorological principles. The wind
IN frst-cla,s ocean storm is hopelessly
erratic have known it to blow from
every point of the compass within half
an hour. 1t blows with terrific force
and of course, creates tremend-
Ously heavy seas in every direction whence
it blows. The sea RECEIVERS very slowly.
so that after the wind has veered from
south to north. the seas come at you in
cutting waves in every conceivable direc-
ton. Now. there is point where the in
fluence of all these seas unite, producing
wave that reaches incredible attitudes
wi h force that is simply irresistible
That is storm wave, and that is wha
knocked the Germanic. No seaman can
locate it. and if you happen to be in its
path all YOU can do is-take it.
Have | ever encountered onep Well,
should say so. don't often tell these
stories, for if man tells many of them he
IS in danger of losing his reputation for
veracity The yarn | am going to spin
now however. is true. 1t is nv own expe-
rence and whether anybody believes it
or not. it is so. Tnirty-three years ago |
was the chief officer of 9u0-ton ship. We
sailed between London and India. One
evening when few hours out from Lon
don. in the English Channel, the time
came to relieve the watch. That was 8
o'clock. The sky was little murky but
not absolutely cloudy. The channel
waters were calm. The breeze was fresh,
blowing from the west at such rate rs to
compel us to sail under reeted mainsail
and double reefed topsails. On our lee
side was brig. My captain and | were
standing together on deck. had given
orders for the watch to be called. and they
were then assembled on the poop deck.
The captain said to me, 'Mr. Parsele, |
think the light ought to be visible by this
time meaning the Eddvstone light.
Suppose 90 aloft and look answered.
IL went up the rigging till got about
sixty feet aloft, and suddenly when Just
in that perilous position, heard terri
BILE shout from the deck. | looked down
to see what was the matter. and just as |
did so mountain of water struck us amid.
ships. 1t picked me right off my feet and
hurled me clear through the rigging. fiat
tened me against the mast whence | fell
down into the naintop. The rest of what
happened | discovered after recovery.
The wave took off every strip of rigging
and canvas. all the yards, boats and arms.
and left the ship with only her masts
standing. We ran back to the Isle of
Wight. and anchored in the Solent to
ascertain the extent of the damage, and
we discovered the most wonderful thing
of all. The ship had been sheathed with
copper, and that wave had stripped its top
sheet off for eighty feet of the ships
length. as clean as mechanics shears
could have done
How did it happen? Don't ask me.
l suppose lUeIe HAY nave DeeIl Il llltle
hole in the copper, and the water was
forced into it with such unreasonable
power as to have the effect have de.
scribed. But YOU remember | told YOU
there was a brig to the leeward of u.s. The
next morning we saw her lying astern of
us in the Solent. Her masts were gone.
and if an army of carpenters had been at
work clearing off her deck, they could not
have left her more barren than that wave
did. Her watch had been swept over
board and every man OF them lost
''Well, that was storm wave for you,
but | struck one in 1877 that was much
more remarkable. was of the coast of
japan. CAPTAIN on one of the finest steam
ships afioat. We were in atvphoon They
call them tvphoons there. but thew are
identical in character with our own cy-
clone and the African tornado. 1t was an
awful storm. the worst | ever saw. The
wind howled and shriked and raved like
million of demons loosed from the Styx.
The seas struggled with each other tor
our possession, and roared the most infer
nal noise as they broke over US in merci-
less force. The sky was inky. but not
drop of water fell. My chief officer and
myself were standing one the bridge di-
recting the helm. Suddenly. directly in
front of us. about a hundred yards away.
\ Il