Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-02-18
TERRORS OF THE SEA.
CYClOklC, VOLCANIC AND OTHER
TYPES OF WAVES.
Colossal BilIows which Run MOuntaia
High-The Passage Of Cape Horn-A
Whirlwind at Sea-Enects Of the Vol.
canic Wave.

High-The Passage Of Cape Horn-A
Whirlwind at sea-Enects Of the Vol.
canic Wave.
4 wave is thing of beauty, but it Is
only JOY to those who watch IL marching
in splendor and foam from the safe refuge
Of the shore. II is u very nauseating con-
dition tf voyaging II makes the bones
of ships creak as If they were full Of
rheumatism. IL fills the brain with
sense OF chaos. and one moment swings the
moaning traveller to the stars and the next
plunGes him into an abyss hideous with
gloom and the Kissing as of millions OF
Shakes. To measure waves in severe
tempest is even more difficult than to
mark effects. When the weather rises to
such fury rs makes the seas colossal
enough to render the determination Of
their height exceedingly important, there
Is usually too much anxiety, and even dis
traction, Cor observation. The weight OF
the wind is so violent that ii is almost i'm
possible to show ones face TO 1t. The
ship, whether sailng vessel or
steamer hove to plunges so abOminably
that mans main concern Is to hold on
and save himself from being drowned
should one of the frahing mountains tum
ble on board. There may be other rea-
sons why the officers of the mercantile
marine have not very zealously devoted
their leisure moments TO measuring the
height Of waves. But more Information
tksn may already be found collected is
fr,dly wanted and. lnquestionably, cap
tains and mates would he doing substan-
tial service by neglecting no opportunity
to ascertain, by the best means in their
power, the true altitude Of ocean sees.
DOWN By CAPE HORN.
For the true Ande,n sea one must go
down to Cape Horn, perhaps TO as far As
60 degs. south. There are sailors who.
standing at the wheel of n ship running
before these seas, will never willingly
look behind them, lest the sight of the on
coming rampant Of green water, archiug
toward the taffrail, should unnerve them.
Standing on IA deck twenty feet above the
water line you yet look up at the crest Of
these seas as ut the top Of a mountain.
The gigantic grace. the huge majesty Of
these liquid TItans cannot be described.
II is necessary To he hove To TO appreciate
their height. volume and power, to watc.I
from the low broa1sidc the swelling ap-
proach of the mighty mass. with its
freckled front and foamless head flicker
ing in bottle green TO the dull light of the
gray sky; to feel the sweep of the ship up
the enormous ACTIVITY. and then while,
for the space of a breath only, she hangs
poised with upright masts and shrieking
rigging on the headlong brow. to look
down and behold the valley beneath, into
which the vessel an instant after slides
like a comet.
1t is difficult to write of the seas which
run in heavy weather off the southern
most point Of South America without
risk of being charged with exaggeration;
they must be seen, and q little spell Of
custom will render admiration easy. II
is impossible to be tossed by them in such
vessels as now make the passage Of the
Horn, without wondering by what miracle
Of luck or phenomenal merit of seaman
ship the old navigators were enabled to
beat against them in their small half
decked boats, some no bigger than a Deal
lugcer, without n touch Of the weatherly
qualities of such craft.
CYCLoNIC AGITATION
But let it not be supposed that the high
wave is the dangerous one. The regular
running surges may all be as tall as the
biggest hotel in London, with ninth
fellow among them as high as the monu-
ment, and yet none prove nearly so dan
gerous as the pyramidal seas Of the
cyclone. OF all forms OF vexed water the
cyclonic agitation is the worst Here j.
whirlwind of astonishing fury SO many
miles in diameter For a little while il
runs a steady sea, but presently its gyra-
tons brings up surge from another
quarter; then comes the lull, followed by
irightful outtly OF storm from a direc-
tion opposite TO the point from which the
wind last blew. The seas, coming into
collision, fight like wolves. They snap
and howl, lsnpinC high in conified shapes
in the very smilitude Of sentient
passion. The staggering Of the
snip Is indescribable. There is no
rythmic swing TO give her motions
something of the vibrations of the pendu-
lum. Her decks are filed with water,
while her bows dive into chasm that has
opened under her forefoot, II valley yawns
under her stern aud n hill Of water flashes
up on either side. 1t has not been sug-
gested that the altitude of the cyclonic
wave should be determined Probably
there is no eye anoat equal to such an un-
dertaking.
Another very uncomfortable sea is the
volcanic wave. 1t is not very long ago
that vessel, steaming through quiet
waters on dark night. was suddenly
hurled up by an invisible billow that was
reckoned TO he between thirty and forty
feet high. Three such waves passed under
her, the last being the least in volume,
and then all was dead fiatness Of ocean
again. The stoutest heart might well
. 60.
London Telegraph.