New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-05-03
STORIES OF GREAT WAVES.
SOME DANGERS OF THE DEEP.
S56,572 SO

FORMED BY STORM WAVES.
Captan Parselle of tho White Star steamship Adri-
cite has been poughing the boundess main these forty
wears He has navgated every ocean and almost every
known body of water large enough to hoat snip.
During recent years he has commanded some ono of
the Liverpool of the White Star lme and has
thousands of acquaintance in this city who know well
what an honest bluff straightforward old sea-dog he
il This introduction to THE TRIBUNE readers would
he wholly but for the miraculous nature oil
the stories which arc TO follow and which, says Cap
tain Parsee ere as true and as that the sun
is now shining al us here on my deck
The conversation which had preceded these wonder
f tales had referred the storm lately enconn
tered in mid ocean by the Germanic The captain eI-
planned what sort OF sea IL was. " Inc newspapers
called i, tidal wave" he said, but 1t nothing of
the sort Tidal waves only in bays, fr,hs and
rivers which are situated to be peculiarly sensl-
tive to the influences of the moon and OF grayItaton
At least that IS how meeoroogists explain Them bnt
though have studied their theories win lapoiious
| care 1 have encountered tidal waVos that had an
origin far subtle than the local situations that
| make water especially excitabie.
| For instance | saw a tidal once from high
bluff on the banks OF the Ganges. II was perpen-
dcuar wall OF water advancing at the rate OF abOnt
twenty miles hour. IL was perfectly straight ex-
cept the very top, where II crested INTO foam that
had not strength enough t, fall 1t was about seven
teen feet high. That was pure tidsl wave ana
have never yet been able 10 worn out It's origin or
cause. c.
| a very different thing. ald ID eAphca6le upon
tboronpbly we.deHned chronological principles. The
wind in first class storm Is hopelessy giraffe
have known it to blow from every point OF the com
pass with n half hour. 1t blows with terrific torco,
and of course creates tremendously heavy seas In
every direction whence 1t b ows. The sea RECEIVERS
very slowly, 80 that after IL WIND has veered from
south north the at you IN enguing waves
in every conceivable direction. Now. there IL point
where the influence of all these unite producing
wave that reaches incredible attitudes with force that
ia m q
is what knocked the Germanio No seaman can locate
it, and you happen TO be In ITS path all you can do Is
take it, :,
q Have ever encountered onel Well. should say
So don't often tell these stories, for If man tells
many of them he IS in danger OF losing MS reputation
for veracty. The yarn ! am going 10 SPIN now now
ever, trde 1t Is my own experience, aud whether
anybody believes it not is S. Thirty three years
ago | was the chief officer OF VOO-t0n snip. we
sailed between London and India. One evening, when
a few hours out from London, in the English Channel
| the time came to relieve the watch That was
| o'oock The sky was a little murky. but not abso-
| luely cloudy. be channel waters were calm J No
breeze was fresh blowing from the west at such rate
as to compel to sail under reeied lnilhsal ahu
dou ble-reeed topsails. On our lee side was brig
| NV captain and standing together on deck.
had given orders tor the watch to be called ana hcy
| were then assembled on the poop deck Inc captain
said to me- Mr rarselle think the light onght to be
visible by this time meaning the EddystOne hight
| Suppose | 60 aloft and look | answered
I" went up the rigging till got about Sixty ieet
alo and suddenly when just IN that peIious position
| heard terrible shout from the deck looked down
|
| mountain of water struck us am'dships; IL Picked
me right Of my feot and hurled me clear through tue
rigging, and hattened me against the mast, whence
| fell down into the matntop. The rest OF What nap
| pened discovered alter my recovery Inc wave look
off every strip of rigging and canvas all the yard1,
boats and arms aud lett the ship with only her masts
s.andinp4 We ran back to the Isle of Wight and
anchored in the SOent to ascertain the extent OF inc
| damage and then we discovered the most wonderful
thing of all The snip had Peen snoame s W'G
feet OF the ships length as clean as mechanic shears
| could have done ,
there may have been little hole In the copper, and
the water forced into IL with such immeasura0le
newer as 10 have the effect have described But you
prewember told YOU there was brig TO the leeward
OF us The next morning we saw her lying astern OF
us in the Soent Her nasts were gone and II an army
OF carpenters had been at work clearing OF her deck
they could not have left her more barren than that
| wave did. Her watch had been swept overheard and
| every man OF them lost.
| Well that was a storm wave for you, but struck
| ono In 1877 that much more remarkable. was
Of the coast Of Japan, captain OF one OF the fnes
steamships atioat we we're IN tYphoon lhey car
ter with our cyclone and the African tornado. II
was an awful storm, the worst ever saw. Ihe WIND
howled and shIieked and raved IKE million deinoh'
loosed from the Styx. The seas struggled with each
other possession, and roared tho most nerna
noise as they broke us in merciie - force Inc
sky was iuky but not drop oil water Tell. My cble
oieer and myself we're standing the bridge direct
ing the helm Suddenly dnecty in Iont OF MS, about
hundre ed yards away. saw most prodigous mountain
| towering
foam and appeared just between the two yards OF thu
mast Abo, 9 the helsh din of the storm could heal
the awful bass roar OF that monster wave as 1t CANT
toward MS like a steam-engme. ed TO my ohcer
| His face as white as chalk .
40 Here's the last OF our good boat, my Boy SAID
| and turned her nose right into the wave.
Her bow until we we're almost perpendicular
l almost thought should be thrown over. The cres
struck us and blinded mo 80 that could not see hn'
then so sure an honest man, her bow Tell au'
her keel rose and passed over that most term
wave as gently as a chip over mill pond ripplel
never was so dan bfounded lip my life, for fully ex
that moment to be the last that ship would eve
know These two yarns, mind you, are my own per
sonal experiences and l give my word OF honor 10
| their truth.
About three weeks ago my last trip back :
} England We called at Queenstown. There met M
friend, Mr. Thomas Gray. the secretary OF the LOnuo
, Board OF Trade, thoroughly well-known man, whos
word ia as good as his bond He told nue. in good iat
the following story and said he knew II to be true
Some time ago. precisely when don just now remen
ber a new light being put IN the Eddystono L'Bb
house This house. you know, stands on SOLID roc
which the entirely covers at high water IN
building is circular iron tower, hollow in the cent?
and about nine feet in diameter. The materials VINO
we're used 10 fix the light were brought b
steamers 10 the rock aud holes were opened IN th
base of the lighthouse, through which they were a.
mted into this hollow space; Then they were boiSte
up by derrcks to the top OF the light house.
0 Une afternoon the son Ot the architect, youn
man lust about OF age standing at the top OF q
tower looking down through this hollow space a al
tance OF 140 feet to the rock below Suddenly he D.
o came dizzy and fell headong into the abyss just
that opportune and .lrOvidential moment stor
o wave snch 1 have been describing, broke again
the light house. The hole in its base had not bee
closed and in the twinkng OF an eye at the very IN
o ment the young fell the water rushed in throug
these holes up the hollow tower, and received the al
0 ing form Recedng immediately, the water left hin
alive and none the for his duckng' on the roc
. at the towers base
= q The sea saves lives as wsll as devours them.
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