The Red Cloud chief., 1888-09-28
SECRETS OF THE SEA
The Fate of ships that Have M~ysteriOusly
Disappeared.


The Fate Of ships that Have Mysteriousl!
Disappeared.
A ship leaves port apparently il
good condition. her cargo well slowed
her spars sound, and generally vel
found. After that nothing is ever heard
Of her. and conjecture is vain. A sud
den squall may have taken her abac;
and scnt her to the bottom stern fore.
most, or she may have fOundcred in a
gale after all her boats had been de.
strOyed, or her boats may have go,
away and persisted one by one on the
wide ocean plains. Sometimes. but
rarely. there has been a mutiny and
massacre. and the survivors may have
made their way to some tropical island.
there to live as ''beach-combers" or
turn savage with the avages
When fire occurs at sea on a merchant
vessel. unless the weather is very bad
at the time. the crew generally succeed
in getting away. A mutiny may be
followed by the burning of the ship as
a means of destroying eliminating evil
dencc. In the China seas there are
still some pirates. and u vessel be-
Gained in the neighbOrhoOd of some Of
the islands scattered in groups there
might incur the danger Of attack by
the wicked-lOOking junks that are
usually concealed in the passages be-
tween the islets. In such case if there
,rnE., NJ. ~. ,,n,, m, 1n,,,l -, l% -o
hard with the ships company. but Il
good supply of shOtguns o: rifles in
the hands of white men is usually a
guarantee against Chinese pirates.
Still. many vessels have met their fate
in tina: unlucky region. and nothing
has remained to tell the story. Ty-
phoOns. too. are doubtless responsible
for not n few mysterious disappear
anccs of vessels. and once in a while
probably a waterspout bursts over a
ship and sinks her suddenly with all
hands. In the Indian Ocean furious
squalls often come up AT night with q
swiftness very mcnacing to any heavy
SPARED clipper slipping along with
puddingsails set allow and aloft. and
here again is a possible cause of de-
structiOn. and one which might over
the most cautious skipper if his
officers We're less sedulOus in consult
ing the glass.
Occasionally; the mysteries are pre-
sented in the most be%wildering way.
Il case was that Of a vessel which.
years ago. was found drifting |
with all sail set and % Il Souls on
board. All her boats were on the
the materials for Il meal We're
m the galley coppers. TIE chronOm-
cOmpasses. charts and instru-
Were in the cabin. but no ships
papers. The name on the stern was
painted out: nothing mad been left by
to identify her. Yet all these
precautions mad been taken deliber-
ately. while the final evacuation
to have been effected with a
suddenness suggesting mortal panic.
The mems things were all in the top
~fOrecastle; the captains and
HASCi CHOStS III tIClI TCSpcCL-
i've cabins under the poop. The whole
of the vessel indicated
hat her people had left her on
he spur of the moment, driven by
some Overmastering impulse or
ear. She had encountered no bad
Weather since the desertiOn. Her
'ards were braced up as for a trade
and there was no disorder on
Ter decks or down below. No line of
was found to give a clue to
his dark secret of the sea. and to this
lay it has remained an insOluble puz-
lie to every seaman acquainted with
he facts. Sad and mysterious as are
such as that of the Far
agut. i: must be admitted that there
5 something even more perplexing in
he discovery of derelicts abandoned
o incOmprehensibly rs was the vessel
lere referred to. 1t should be added
hat she was not leaking. nor were
Ter spars sprung or strained. and no
easOn could be perceived in any thing ,
her for the disappearance of her .
and Officers.-N. Y. Tribunc.