Mountain Home bulletin. (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1888-1889, 1888-08-18
rERRoRs OF THE SEA.


Cyclonic, Volcanic and Other Dangeroos
Types Of Waves.
A wave is thing Of beauty. but it Is
only Joy to those who watch it march- !
ing in splendor and foam from the safe
refuge Of the shore. 1t is a very naus-
eating condition of voyaging. 1t makes
the bones Of ships creak AS II they were
full Of rheumatism. It 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 hiss
ing as Of millions of snakes To meas
ure waves in a severe tempest - even
more difficult than to mark effects.
When the weather rises to such fury as
makes the seas colossal enough to rem
der the determination OF their height |
exceedingly important, there is usually
too much anxiety. and even distraction,
for observation. The weight OF the
wind is SO violent that it is almost im-
! possible to show ones face to it.
For the true Andean sea one must 60
down to Cape Horn-perhaps to as far
as sixty degrees south. There are sail
ors who, standing at the wheel OF ship
running before these seas. will never
willingly look behind them. lest the
sight Of the oncoming rampant OF
green water, arching toward the tail
rail, should unnerve them. Standing
on deck twenty feet above the water
line, you yet look up at the crest OF
these seas rs at the top Of mountain.
The gigantic grace, the huge majesty
of these liquid Titans can not be de-
scribed. 1t is necessary to be hove-to
to appreciate theil height, volume and
power; to watch from the low broad
side the swelling approach Of the mighty
mass, with its frecklcd front and foam
less head pickering 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 rig
ging on the headlong brow, to look
down and behold the valley beneath,
, into which the vessel an instant after
a slides like comet.
! 1t is difficult to write of the seas
: which run in heavy weather off the
: southern-most point of South Americs
/ without risk OF being charged with ex
!, aggera ion; they must be seen. and {
t little spell Of custom will render al
= miration easy. 1t is impossible to b
Il tossed by them in such vessels as nov
), make the passage Of the Horn without
o wondering bv what miracle Of luck 0
Il phenomenal merit Of seamanship tn
: old navigators were enabled to bea
Q against them in their small, hall
:. decked boats, some no bigger than
o Deal lugger, without touch OF tn
= weatherly qualities Of such craft
d But let it not be supposed that tn
I. high wave is the dangerous one. Th
+ regular running surges may all be a
Il tall as the biggest hotel in London wit
4 ninth fellow among them as high 9
u, the monument, and yet none prov
~ nearly SO dangerous as tho pyramid;
ne seas Of the cyclone. OF all forms I
d vexed water the cyclonic agitation
10 the worst Here is whirlwind Of n
m tonishng fury SO many miles in diam
Is ter. For little while it runs a steal
10 sea, but presently its gyrations brinl
u up a surge from another quarter, the
~ comes the lull. followed by fright
ne outtly of storm from direction opposi
nc to the point from which the viii
=, ~ last blew The seas, coming in
" collision, fight like wolves. They sn;
% and howl. leaping high in conifi
. shapes in the very sinilitude OF semitic
:, passion. The staggering Of the ship
indescribable. There is no rythn
:. swing to give her motions something
- the vibrations of the pendulum. II
= decks are filled with water, while h
bows dive into chasm that has open
under her forefoot, valley yaw
under her stern and hill Of wal
flashes up on either side. 1t has L
been suggested that the altitude of
eyclonic wave should be determine
IN Probably there is no eye atloat equal
-, such an undertaking.
NV Another very uncomfortable sea
,b the volcanic wave. 1t is not very 10
.ho ago that vessel, steaming throu
or quiet waters on dark night, was 5,
net denly hurled up by an invisible bill
No that was reekoned to be between thi
MS and forty feet high. Three such wa
re- passed under her, the last being
If least in volume. and then all was de
nal hatness Of ocean again. The stout
,ht heart might well thump to such an
ty. vounter rs this. London Telegraph.
ess -
or One statement in Matthew Arnolt