Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-04-23
FERGoRs OF THE OCEAN.
Monster. With Witch the Sea wss P~opied
BY the Mariner Of Old.

Monster. With Witch the Sea wss P~opiea
by the Mariners of Old.
Few relics OF antiquity are so curiously in
teresting as the charts employed by ancient
mariners. which have portrayed upon them
ever 50 many extraordinary monsters. horrible
dragons and terri &c giants scattered hers and
there. The land-locked Mediterranean. Witch
was the only sea known to the Romans and
Greeks of twenty odd centuries ago. wAs
flled with mysterious terrors. while the moro
distant lands bordering on il we're the sbodss
Of wonders and strange peoples Gods OF
mons,rous shapes ruled the waters. enchanting
sirens dwelt on the isie.s and rocks and on the
dry land beyond we're 10 be found weird en-
chaniresses. hro-breathing beasts. fierce pig
mics and dreadful cannlbas. Adventurous
voyagers. who got 30 far the pillars OF Her
eules. now called the Straits OF Gibraltar,
brought back intelligence that the great ocean
beyond was not nayigsble. Ii was part OF the
mighty river which flowed Around the nAs
earth IN an amending stream
THE PILLAR or HrRcuurs
Tradition says that there was in those times
at Gibraltar stone pillar 100 cubits high. with
brass statue on it and an inscription stating
tins 10 be the limit Of navigation. Beyond was
sea OF darkness. infested with terrors he
yond the power Of the imagination 90 con-
eeise- Occasionally bold navigator did,
nevertheless. venture outside into che Atlantic,
but was compelled TO turn back very quickly.
n whrlwind would arise aud threaten TO
swamp the vessel or. more alarming stlll. a gi-
gantic hand. supposed 20 DO that OF satan,
would emerge from the ocean of eternal gloom
aud warn back the mariners Not merely ON
These accounts was the ocean impracticable for
ships. It Was reported 20 be dense with
saitness and SO crowded with seaweeds and
huge beasts that headway could not be made
s..fs.
| such beliefs prevailed. and has crews were ter
rihed on entering the sargasso sea by the weeds
and Gains.
SAILORS YARNS
Sailors yarns have always been celebrated
Tor their imaginative character. Those of to-
day, however. have no opportunity for fayora.
Die comparison with the stories told by mari
ners Of antiquity. The latter were able 20
count upon an inexhaustibie public credulity.
noibing which they could possibly invent being
! too monssrous or unusual for belief Their
| tales presumably dad much "a augment the
fears OF the sea which we're COMMONLY euter-
! tained III those days, giving bIrth 60 mauy OF
the myths OF ocean. They told about the
| strange land inhabited by the lotus eaters who
| fed upon the fruit of forgetfulness and lost all
memory of country aud friends. Beyond was
the terrible land OF the one-eyed giants called
Cyclops. they said while elsewhere were 90 be
found the strange islands where the enchan-
tresses Gree and Calypso lived. These islands
were IN the narrow western Mediterranean,
| and beyond was the Cimmerian land where
| the people lived in darkness aiy ava, inhabiting
| gloomy caves.
There were the Sirens, also, whose song was
death. IL was said:
Full many mariner their songs besray,
| Who hsts aud fingers till he pines away"
They were condemned 20 die when a msu
| should pass them without stopping. ulysses
accomplished this by putting wax in his ears.
| SO they were changed into rocks OF Sorrento.
| wnere they still exist terror 20 mariners. The
Sireus typify the surf, whose harmonious MUIR
murs are often the death music OF the sailor
F, In like manner the Cyclops represent the
| storm Fiend. as their names show. Brontes 10
| the roll Steropes the fash and Argis the white
ness Of lightning Likewise the snaky Gordous
are thought 10 be nguratlve representations OF
the white-capped ana angry waves. Not lees
TO be feared were the dreadful Symplegades-
huge moving rocks which were tabled 70 crush
ships passing between them. 1t has been sur
missed that the tradition respecting these rocks
was derived from the floating icebergs. which
during the glacial period must have issued
/ from the Black sea; but this seems hardly
| likely.
scYLLA AND cIARYBDn.
Sylla and Charybdis were two terrors which
guarded the Straits Of Messjna. They are
there still-a formidable whirlpool on one side
and a surf-beaten rock on the other. The surf
waves were the dogs which barked about
Scylias waist Charybdis WAS the mora
dreaded Of the two. bcesnse is would swallow
the ship, whereas ScyIla would only grab .
man with each OF her six heads. The great
maelstrom OF Norway was fornIerly thought to
| be an abyss passing into the center of the
earth. The Chinese ire cannon balls at .
whirlpool in the Canton river. waterspouts
were anciently supposed to be dragons. In the
Arabian Nights they are spoken of genii.
Chinese sailors beat drums and gongs 10 drive
| them away. The devil IL considered TO be .
water fiend by many peoples. Davy Jones, the
mariners chief demon, is satan. Dayy 10 .
corruption of devil, while Jones rs derived
from Jonah. whose ''locser" was the whales
belly. Accordingly. gone TO Davy Jones'
locker" signifies lost at sea