The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-09-05
Thrilling Experience of q Passenger
or the Coast Of the Flow
cry Kingdom.
Tho Forces of the Wind so Terrific
That Great Waves Gould
Not FERN.
Locked In the Cabin and Listening to
tho Stories OF Marrow Escapes TIL
the Storm Passed.
Written for Tsr INprpgNpENr.l

the month OF August anu tne spHtlWes
monsoon was blowing strong against us 3,
that cur Roadway WIS slow. The passen.
GERS in the saloon we're less than a do2sl
but they represented four nationalities
English, French, German and American
and rs all had seen Il fair share of THE
world we got along admirably together
Tho captain was n rudy E~nglaahman whc
had besn in Asiatic waters for several years
the accommodations Of the stes mel were
excellent, and altogether the voyage unit
We were off the port of Annoy and some fifty
miles from land, was a delight full one.
/ had been on deck coming with a glass
the coast of the tlowery kingdom, the jnnks
and other crafts that studded the waters,
and the play of light and wind on the sea
where the monsoon was exerting its force.
Something in the appearance of one of the
junks attracted my attention and / strolled
in the direction of the chart room to ask
the captain about it.
He came out of the chart room as
neared the door; the look of anxiety on his
face told ME that questions would not then
be in order and l refrained. He hurried
along without noticing my presence and
went straight to thu bridge, whence he
shouted some kind of an order through the
~speaking-tnbs that led to the engineers
room. Then he called for the first and
second officers, and they speedily went to
the bridge n reported for duty.
whats the m2tter?' | asked of the third
officer, who was experimenting the relash-
ing of one of the boats on the starboarG
side Of the ship.
matter enough you'n find out for your
self in an hour or two. Well have a ty-
phoon on us before long unless the signs
are wrong"
Then he turned his attention to the work
before him and l went below to observe the
ansroid barometer hanging in the saloon.
! had looked AT it within two hours and
mentally noted how it then stood; it had
fallen rapidly since my observation and as
tapped gently on the glass front the dial
descended perceptibly. In the regions and
season of the typhoons one of these fearful
storms is foretold by a rapid fall of tue
barometer, and a careful mariner keeps a
sharp watch on that instrument from be-
ginning to the end of the nautical day.
Soon l was on deck again and found the
wind had increased and its direction
changed several points. The course of the
steamer was altered SO as to bring the wind
on tho port beam and thus carry the vessel
away from the center of the storm. In the
northern hemisphere the typnoon whirls i'll
a4dirsotion opposite to that of the hands Of
q clock, from right to left, while in the
southern hemisphere it turns from left to
right. "1yphoon" great wind) ID only the
oriental name for a cyclone or hurricane; it
III q circular storm from Fifty to five hun
drcd miles in diameter and has a motion
ever the surface of the earth or water in
addition to it's whirling motion. Spin a top
rapidly and while it is spinning let it move
along the floor or pavement. This is an
exact illustration of the two motions of Il
typhoon. The nearer you get to the center
the more violent ia the wind, and hence the
effort OF a sh:p caught in a typhoon to sail
tawards the circumference. There is a gem
sral though not universal belief that the
tvphoon has Il calm center a few miles in
diameter. This belief is earnestly supported
by some mariners and as earnestly opposed
by Others. So, too, is the tt cory that if q
ship ia once caught in the center of a
typhoen she can never get out of it.
Steadily the wind increased and the clouds
became more dense. Everything about the
ship WAS made rs fast as possible, but in
spite of all the lashings, several articles
wero torn away and carried off into the
Set thing waters. | had expected to see the
waves run mountain high but they did
nothing Of the KIND; the force of the wind
was SO great that waves could not form
other than in that broken shape which we
call a ohoppy sea-: even the choppy sea dis
appeared after q time and the waters were
blown flat just az you may see them on a
small lake or pond swept by a gust OF
wind. The wind was blowing fully eighty
miles an hour; TO tunate indeed is it that
the sea is smooth in a typhoon, as no ship
that was ever built could Withstand the
force Of such a wind and a high sea at the
same time.
The captain gave the order for US to de-
scend and the cabin doors were soon closed
upon us and secasely dashed. Then we
watched for a time through the bulls-eye
windows the effect of the wind upon the
waters, but the spray and rain were 80
dense that very little could be seen. After
a while we gathered about the saloon
table; the vessel waa rolling and pitching
30 fearfully that we had to cling to the
table and chairs i'll order to retain our
places.
Son ono suggested telling stories, and
all agreed. Naturally, tho stories turned III
the direction of storms, and especially of
storms such az we were now encountering.
In our party was 4 German, a handsome.
vigorous man. who had taken little part in
the conversation thus far in the voyage.
Consequently the rest of us were a trife
surprised when he spoke up.
i've been overheard in a t%yphoon,'' said
he, land with no lane in sight,
Tell us about it, said half a dozen of
Ms almost in tire same breath.
ut was ten years ago" he continued,
"bstween Bangkok and Hong Kong, | was
on q German schooner that had been
trading in tho gulf of Siam and was on
her way to Hong Kong. We were caught in
a~typhoon about a hundred miles off Hong
Kong, and we're in the worst of 1T. All Of
our yard sails were carried away, our masts
went by the board and the wind finally
turned US on our beam ends. Everybody
who wasn't dashed fast was carried into the
sea and swept away in an instant. | was
ono of those who went overheard and with
mo went n henooop, which ] managed to
seize IN it drifted past nae. The wind car
ried it so rapidly that it fairly dragged me
as a boat is towed at the stern of Il steam
boat, If | had not clutched it at the III
slant | did it would have gone so fast that
| could not have reached il by swimming.
IN 4 minute or ~ after going over tho
rail | could SEQ nothing of the schooner:
neither could | sec Hny OF my companions
who were with me in the water. The ropo
by which the Hfncoop had been lashed was
still fastened 10 II, and | managed to pass it
urser my aims 20 that it gave me some
support. And all tho time the wind Was
blowing fearfu.lv. J Was blinded by the
Rlray hha the torrents of rain, ard really |
did not expect 80 live an hour where | was.
Hail the tlne nr head WIS under waite end
1T was very difficult 10 got brpath.
d L chung with Cooperation, as Il
drowning man ALWAYS cliuos 10 ANY sort OF
support; Tho water was WARM, so that | wnu
i'll no danger ot being chilled and be-
nunbed, Mt least not FOR a while, Rye and
hys tbs Tlnd fell G little, then e little more,
and then ! frightened the rope under my
arms and llitse layselt further ont of the
water. r. terrible thirst came upon me,
but | managed to assuaee it & little by
M rl H., -. .p.. -Nl -