The Irish standard., 1890-07-12
SOME SEA STORIES.
Strange, Queer Sights Observed
on the Vastly Deep.

Strange, Queer Sights Observed
on the Vastly Deep.
In the month of June, 1859, was Sec
pnd mate of the ship William True, on
\ voyage from Liverpool to the Cape OF
aood Hope. We were within four hum
jred miles of the Cape and at least three
hundred miles off shore, when, just as
he men were at breakfast on a bright
and pleasant morning, with the ship
koing at the rate of four knots an hour,
4 great column of water suddenly rose
high in air right dead ahead Of us and
aot over quarter of a mile away. This
column reached to height of fifty feet,
md the base seemed to take in an area
of half an acre. It rose with loud
s.s~s-swish!' which could have been
heard two or three miles, and fifteen
men saw what I am describing. The
column held itself upright for long
minute, and then fell fat, and you can
Judge of the connection when I tell you
that we were boarded by sea so heavy
that it was like to carry US to the bot
tom by it's dead weight, and that we
were three hours in pumping the last OF
it out of her. The water for five miles
around turned brick color, and hun
areds of fish foated belly up around us.
Among these were dolphins and sharks,
and we saw whale about forty feet
long with it's head partly torn away.
We ran right over the spot, and were
l. Oh INV a
If we had been lying-to In hurricane.
We knew what had happened. There
had been an explosion at the bottom OF
the sea-iust such an occurrence as
created half the islands in the Pacific.
We laid the ship to and put out boat
and made soundings. Just where the
column had formed we found bottom at
eight fathoms. This depth continued
Tor circular space Of 100 feet. Once
outside of it we could get no bottom
with 400 feet of line. There had been
heave-up, but not high enough to create
IN island or an obstruction to navdga-
zion. The circumstance, together with
q chart and our soundings, was reported
20 the port officials at Cape Town, and
aater on to the proper board at home,
and while those officials gave no full
credit for our work and ordered man
o4-war to verify our sound1ngs, three or
-four English papers, which got hold OF
fragments of the story, ridiculed our
sworn statements, and intimated that
we were all drunk On that occasion.
A year later, not having returned to
England with the ship, but having
shipped on a Government brig making
. survey of the mouths of the Niger,
which, you know, fall into the Gulf of
Guinea on the west coast of Africa, a
curious adventure befell us. We had
been in and out of the southerly mouth,
and were standing off shore to avoid
shoal and fetch the next one, when, ten
miles off the land, with the tide run
ming out, the wind died away and
we came to anchor on good
holding ground sixty feet below.
This was shortly after noon, and
she anchor waa hardly down before a
sailor who had been sent aloft with a
glass to look out for native craft Ne
parted one in sight dead to the east and
only two or three miles away. At that
date the natives along the Guinea coast,
and especially about the mouths Of the
Niger, were exceedingly hostile toward
all white men, and our brig was we'll
manned and armed on that account. We
had on two or three occasions been
obliged to fire into native boats to keep
them off. After bitwe could all make
out the craft which was slowly approach
lnR, but no man, even with tho best
viass aboard, could satisfy himself that
he had ever before seen one like it. It
came within mile of us and then
stopped, and after long look through
the glass the captain decided that 1t was
no craft at all, but a great log OR raft
which had been brought off with the
tide. The matter having been settled,
and the thing coming no nearer, we gave
it'no further attention.
The calm continued during the after
noon and evening, and as the weather was
opprsssively hot every body was idle.
When night came the brig was left in
charge OF an officer and the anchor
watch, and nothing occurred to alarm
us until about an hour before daylight.
Then a voice suddenly cried out In
alarm, and this was followed by snarls
and growls and hurried footsteps. The
cabin Doors and skylight were open to
admit the air, as was also the slide to
the fo'oastle entrance. Some one rushed
down the eompanionway and shut and
bo1ted the doors, and minute later, as
~ turned out Of our berths, we learned
what was going On. The officer OF the
watch said we were boarded by two
Hons, who had dritted down upon our
bows on what he believed by the saeil
10 be a dead whale. The two sailors
Ind made for the fo'castle and drawn the
slide, while he had made for the cabin
10 close the doors.
The thing seemed 80 impro bahle that
we were ready to jeer him, even though
some Of us had heard growls, but before
any. one could doubt that the officer was
falling the sober truths, we heard the
beasts ravine along the deck and stop
ping u u raise = great row ct the wata'
i.g}s