Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1894-06-29
ODD FREAKS OF THE SEA.
SOME STRANGE SIGHTS AND QUEER
EXPERIENCES.
Effects of Gigantic Waves-Sub-Ma
rine Eruptions and Storms-Show-
ers of Fish Bones.

4 strange experiences. Big
waves range among these
strange experiences. We do Eot refer
to those waves which are the imme-
diate consequences of high winds and
atmospherical disturbances, but to
those single waves of immense height
which show themselves suddenly in
the midst of a sea comparatively
smooth. Avessel may be sailing along,
in fine weather and with no swell on
worth mentioning, when, without the
least warning, comes sweeping along
wave that towers like mountain,
falls on the deck, and carries away
everything movable, members of the
crew among the rest.
The steamer San Francisco was once
struck by tidal wave of this sort in
the Gulf Stream, and 179 persons swept
into the sea and drowned. In March
last all the crew save one of the bark
Johann Wilhelm were washed over
board by single wave. In June last
year the ship Holyrood encountered
another such sea which is said to have
risen up suddenly like WALL and
to have flooded her decks fore and
aft.
The Cunarders, Etruria and Umbria,
have both encountered the phenom-
enon, and the former had one man
killed and several others injured. The
case of the Pomeranian will be fresh
in the minds of all Sometimes these
waves are the result of submarine
eruptions and land earthquakes occur,
ring in close proximity to the sea.
An English bark crossing the North
Pacific met with one of these big
waves and Immediately afterward the
ocean seemed to be boiling, and the
sulphur fumes that emerged from the
water were 80 powerful as to drive the
crew into the rigging. Clearly there
was an eruption here as the ship sailed
over, and the wonder is that the great
wave did not do more injury.
Again, the American schooner Dora
J. Ward, while on a voyage to Seattle,
Wash, from Cooper Island, was sail.
ing quietly along, when suddenly she
WAS lifted as if whale had struck her
bottom, and then experienced sue
cession of shocks which cast every
thing loose about their feet. There
were a few big waves succeeding the
main one, and then everyt hing was
smooth again. The biggest solitary
wave ever known was that caused by
the Peruvian earthquake of August
18th, 1868. In no other instance. we
are assured, has it been known that a
we'll marked. wave of enormous proper.
tions has been propagated over the
largest ocean tract of the globe by an
earthquake whose action has been linn
tied to a relatively small region not
situated in the centre but on one side
of the area traversed by the wave. At
Africa it was fifty feet high, and en-
veloped the town, carrying two war
ships nearly mile beyond the railway
of the north of the town. 1t inundat-
ed the smaller members of the Sand
wich group, $500 miles away, and
reached Yokohama, in Japan, III the
early hours of the morning, after TAX
ing in New Zealand on the way. 1t
spent itself finally in the South At
lantic, having traversed nearly the
whole globe.
A singular occurrence was reported
recently by the English ship Cuci-
para. She was about midway between
the Cape and Australia when she en-
countered hurricane. About mid
night of August 4 last the sea sud
denly fell almost calm. "It appeared
oAonta1 hu
tremendous pressure, when suddenly
the whole vessel fore and aft was en-
veloped IN sheets of flame that rose
half way up the masts and overran
the decks for three-quarters OF an
hour 1t was an electrical storm, and
the crew, never having encountered
such thing before, We're panic
stricken. and very naturally SO. They
expected every minute to see the
masts go by the board. After what
must have been very cheerful forty
Ave minutes the flames snuffed out
suddenly, and left darkness SO thick
that it might have been cut.
Another singular occurrence was
that of the bark Peter Pridell, which
was off Valparaiso when a whirlwlnd
passed over her stern, taking away
everything movable, sails and all, on
the after part of the ship, leaving the
forward part untouched. Here was
the sharp end of storm with q
vengeance. Almost as surprised at
their good fortune and narrow escape
must have been the crew of the barken-
tine Fortunate, which, while on
voyage from Rio Grande to Liverpool,
felt a tremendous shock that could
not be accounted for until the vessel
was put into dry dock, when the
sword of swordfsh was found to
have penetrated some feet into the
wood of the hull.
Yet another of the curiosities of the
sea is the occasional shower of fish
bones or the like. falling on deck
when many miles from land. These
showers are easily explained. The
fish are taken mp in waterspouts, and
come down IN more or less raretied
condition. But perhaps the most
awful of all things that can happen at
sea is a fire. A severe squall break
ing over vessel unprepared for it,
and with all her sails set, is bad, but
the experience is short, sharp and
generally decisive; but for long
drawn-out agony there is nothing like
n II. Il