Afro-independent. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. ;) 1888-1???, 1888-09-22
COLUMNS OF FIRE.
A Strange Phenomenon witnessed by =
Crew OF an American Vessel.


The hail came from the foretop of a
little full-rigged ship of the old
fashioned New-Bedford type that was
blowing along the waters of the At
iantic, hurting the bright, phos-
phorescent waves ahead of the broad
bow in a loud and boisterous manner.
AYE, aye was the answer, fol-
lowed by gruff What's the matter?"
from the sleepy mate.
Light on the weather bowl" came
from the lookout.
Were good two thousand miles
from land in that direction, muttered
the mate, as he swung himself into the
rigging.
But when he wiped away the spray
that dashed his face there was the
light, and one so strange and unfamiliar
that he stood there for several sec
onds, buffeted by the waves, yet peer
ing at the strange visitor. Then
swinging around and dropping from
the shrouds to the quarterback, he
put up his big hands to form trumpet
and roared: Ready about"
A moment later the ship was trem-
bling in the wind, the blocks hammer
ing the yards viciously, the cordage
grooming, the sails swapping like fire.
arms, while the lunging and pitching
covered the deckc with a cleaning
golden spray. The roar and confusion
brought the skipper on deck, and in
explanation of his order the mate
pointed at the strange light that was
now astern. The men, too, were look
ing at it, having made every thing
snug, and of all the crew not one had
seen any thing like it before.
When first seen it looked like
luminous buoy feathering upon the
surface, but it had gradually length
ened out, grown more attenuated, as it
were, until now it seemed taller than
the mainmast of the ship, of yellow
ish tint-a most striking object against
the jet-black sky.
Some of the men looked at the
strange form with grave apprehension.
To them it BODIED no good, perhaps
harm; others were not so easily dis
turbed, but every one on board was at
least astonished at the curious eppari-
ton that every moment seemed to grow
larger and taller.
keep her away a point" said the
captain to the helmsman, and the YES
sci fell away and slightly increased her
speed. "Whatever it is" he con-
tinued, ''it's coming after as. 1t looks
to me like a waterspout, but never
saw one that was on fire, and that one
is if any thing ever was.
The curious object was rapidly gain
ing on them, and now presented an APP
palling appearance huge column of
ghastly light, hundreds of feet high,
of dark, golden-yellowish hue
standing out in strange contrast against
the sky, or the intense darkness of the
night. 1t came on so quickly, evil
IDENTITY before the breeze, that the YES
sci was hauled on the wind, just in time
perhaps, for the strange column went
kissing and roaring by not thousand
yards astern, its base where it joined
the water surrounded by seeming
mass of fire, while the upper portion
bent gracefully and was lost in the
clouds. In short time it had entire
ly disappeared from view. The column
was, as the skipper had suspected,
waterspout; midnight Wis
itor, coursing ever the ocean
like some weird phantom. Since then
several have been seen at one time,
veritable pillars of fire, moving rapidly
over the surface. 1t finally occurred
to scientist to examine the water in
which these fiery columns were seen,
and he found it completely filed with
the forms of two minute plants known
to science as lispseudon-ectiluea
and p pisiformis, whose nucleus, the
little spot seen in the center, was
wildly luminous.
Here, then, was the secret OF the
column of tire-a waterspout had been
formed and enormous masses of the
little light-givers borne aloft, giving
the entire spout fiery appearance.
These spouts differ in color, depending
on the intensity of the light of the
various animals; some are a dull
yellow; others, on moonlight nights,
when the sea is high, present truly
frightful appearance, resembling
pillar of fire, the base representing a
caldron of seething flame. - Golden
Days.