Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1894-07-09

-'-' '''A''''tNS ilbo 'thb
4 strange experiences. Big
waves range among these
strange experiences. We do not 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 sea comparatively
smooth. A vessel 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 os the
crew among the rest.
The steamer San Francisco was once
struck by tidal wave of this sort i'll
the Gulf Stream, and 179 persons sweeps
into the sea and drowned. In Marcn
last all the crew save one Of the bark
Johann Wilhelm were washed over
board by single wave. In June las
year the ship Holvrood encountered
another such sea which is said to have
risen up suddenly like II walr' 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 afterwartl the
ocean seemed to be boiling, and the
sulphur fumes that emerged from the
water were SO powerful as TO drive the
crew into the rigging. Clearly there
was an eruption here MS 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 voyage to Seattle,
Wash, from Cooper Island, was sail
ing quietly along, when suddenly she
was lifted as il a whale had struck her
bottom, and then experienced sue
cession of shocks which cast every
thing loose about their feet. There
We're few big waves succeeding the
main one, and then everything 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 IN
earthquake whose action has been lin.
tied TO n relatively small region not
situated In the centre but ou one sida
of the area traversed by the wave. AZ
Africa it was fifty feet high, and eu.
veloped the town, carrying two war.
ships nearly mile beyond the railway
OF the north of the town. 1t inundat.
cd the smaller members of the Sand
wich group, 600 miles away, and
reached Yokohama, i'll Japan, III the
early hours of the morning, after TAX.
ing in New Zealand on the way. IL
spent itself finally in the South At.
lantic, having traversed nearly tho
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 last the sea sud
denly fell almost calm. ''It appeared
as il the sea was affected by some
tremendous pressure" when Suddenly
the whole vessel fore and aft was en-
veloped IN sheets of fame that rose
half way up the masts and overran
the decks for threa-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 wha5
must have been very cheerful forty
five minutes the flames snuffel ou5
suddenly, and left darkness so thic.
that it might have been cut. o,
Another singular occurrence was
that of the bark Peter Pridell, which
was off Valparaiso when q whirlwlnd
passed over her stern, taking away
everything movable, sails and all, on
the after part Of the ship, leaving tbs
forward part untouched. Here was
the sharp end OF u storm with II
vengeance. Almost as surprised at
their good fortune and narrow escape
must have been the crew OF the barAen
tine Fortunate, which, while on a
voyage from Rio Grande to Liverpool,
felt tremendous shock that could
not be accounted for until the vessel
was put into dry dock, when ahs
sword of swordfish was found to
have penetrated some feet into the
wood of the hull.
Yet another of the curiosities of the
sen is the occasional shower of fish
bones or the like, falling on deck
when many miles from land. These
showers are easily explained. Tha
fish are taken up in waterspouts, and
come down In more or less rarefied
condition. But perhaps the most
| awful of all things that can haDpen nj