The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1891-02-14
BENEATH THE SEA.


Introduction to one Of the old man.
Interesting sea narratives, asked, will
an unfeiRned interest, for more o
the particulars.
We were walking on the beacl
that morning and gazing out owe
the sea, and, as usual, the old sailor
thoughts went back to the years o
his early manhood spent upon it
bosom.
And truly the mariner sees man,
things unknown to dwellers of tn,
land. From time immemorial the
sea has borne a major portion of the
tales and romances pertaining to al
that is of nature mysterious and i'm.
perfectly known. From the earlies
periods of literature even down {,
the present century wild, terrible ant
impossible attributes and powers have
been ascribed to this most incompre-
hensible ocean, so vast that in com.
parison our continents are small in.
deed, unfathomably deep by imagina-
ton and rumor filed with awful
monsters that guard we'll their waterS
dominions.
In earliest legends sirens and mer-
maids dwelt in every cove beneatl
the waves or floated on the billow.
to allure with their magic charm
and music the captivated mariner tC
hidden rocks and destruction. Be
hold Columbus preparing to strike
out boldly into this terrible ocean, tt
whom the warning was given that q
mighty hand would rise to draw hin
down beneath the waves.
Wild fancies were these, and YET
perhaps their origin was founded OF
true ideas. The sea is indeed a fit-
ting type Of sudden, wrathful dan.
ger, of majestic, irresistible power
Where is found sight more sublime
than the raging of the stormy sea
Tho most formidable beasts of lant
and forest are insignificant beside
the great leviathan and hidden crawl
ing form Of marine life.
In the truth alone there is abun.
dant mystery and dreadful reality
How many noble slip lies foreve,
idle on the rocky bottoms, how man,
white, still skeleton shines througl
the sand, token of the pitiles
strength of the capiicious ocean.
For the following story l am in
debted to an old sailor whom l me
at town on the coast. We strucl
up an acquaintance, and he used ofte'
to tell me stories of his life, some Q
them a little beyond the limits Q
probability. BY chance the subjec
of diving was brought up, and tn
sailor made the above remark. ]
few well-chosen questions brough
out the following story in substance
for l omit many of the numerou
nautical expressions and change tn
sea dialect;
"When l was a young man." b
said, al used to be a great hand /
swim and dive. l was in the Sc
much of the time, and got so that
could hold my breath and skip aroun
under water like a crab. Well, th
first voyage that I made 1 shippe
with regular old tartar of captai
who made my life miserable, as
was a cabin boy, so l made up m
mind before long that / would leav
him. When, after pretty roug
voyage, we put in at Navigator
island, one of the Central archipelag
stopping places, quietly skipped an
let the ship 60 off without me; an
in passing may remark that nevC
saw her again.
"I wasn't particularly we'll off, {
not great many ships put in at thi
J place, and / was refused work on
couple that did; but at last / got
chance to 90 on board a brig thu
was going to fish up what they coul
from a big ship that had sunk ola
reef at about three days sail fro
the island. I was glad enough
get work, and SO / started as one
the crew. We had on board besiC
the captain three men with myse
to sail the brig and q couple of pr,
fessional divers.
lone Of these was q Malay,
which race are most of the dive
who work in those waters. He WI
. rather stupid, but could go down III
a stone, and could hold his breath Il
longest Of any man ever saw. II
other was q white man, though
) very swarthy that he looked almo
like a negro. He was Spaniard,
think, and he had the sulldest, vic
edest look In his deep, sunken ey
-, that ever want to see. He W
y morose and uncompanionable, 81
from the start seemed to take q ldl
of dislike to me for some unknoy
reason.
"several times the hrst day I fouI
the SpaIiard coming from the ca
tain's cabin. He did not see me, al
[ had the watch. and rather late 50
= his eyes directed at me with a SO
q of snake-like look that was unples
., ant, but l did not pay much atte
= tion. The second night we were o
~ [ said something TO him. He starte
y glared at me and turned and we
E down the ladder.
g But the captain was raging VIII
= he came on deck the next mornin
4, Like most seamen he liked his gr
- about once In so often and alwa
Y had ID on board. Someone had TAX
g one Of his bottles the night befOl
Z and the worthy skipper was furio
= and declared he would thrash the m
!. who stole II. Whoever took IL b
- probably thrown the empty bot
Z overheard, for the captain search
Z all the berths and his was not TO
Id found among the various TASKS whi
IT most Of the men carried.
ub but / guess we all suspected I
" 5paniard, and the captain ev
charged him with IL in the first h
g Of his wrath. He, Of course, deni