Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-03-06
MYSTERIOUS TIDES.
THOSE OF THE LAKES THAT THE
 SHIPPERS CALL SWAsHEs.

They Rise Suddenly From Calm Water and
 Display Many Strange Caprices-An old
 Lake Erie Skipper Talks Interestingly
 on the Subject.
 Tidal waves on the great lakes are not of uncommon occurrence, " said m old Lale Eric skipper, ''and although meteorological experts have for more than 100 years tried to study out their causo we don't know any more about it now than they did at the time tho great wave rose suddenly on Lake Erie, of Rockport, and destroyed Colonel Brad streets fleet. in October, I764 That was tho first tidal wave on tho lakes that wo have any record of.
 'I havo seen many of these swashes, as we call them on the lakes, the last one about ten years ago, when my schooner was swept high and dry at Port Stanley by wave that seemed to rise on the lake like some monster ma rine animal coming from the depths to the surface We could sec it rushing to- ward us mile away. It came with boiling front ten feet high, missing like loud escaping steam as it swept toward us. That is peculiar thing about the lake tidal waves. They do not come with Q roar, like tho ocean surf, but with loud, hissing sound, and there is | only one instance on record where they are either accompanied or followed by strong winds.
 That one instance was at Toledo, in December, 1856, when the wind, which had been blowing stiff offshore, sudden ly whirled into Q bowling nor'easter, and as quick as the change in the wind that wave leaped out of the lake and came hurling upon the shore, wild and angry mass, eight feet high. In every other recorded occurrence of these mys- terious freaks of the lake waters the sur face of the lake has been perfectly calm and the air scarcely perceptible. "Such was the condition when that big wave attacked us at Port Stanley, \ swamping my schooner and drowning | one of my men. Tho wave receded as fast as it had rushed in, and the lake, | in less than ten minutes, was as smooth | as Q mirror.
 "Within the next hour there were four moro swashes, each one of less force and volume, until tho last was scarcely more than ripple.
 Almost the first thing remember, for was but three years old at tho time, was one of these tidal waves. It appeared early in the spring on the Can ada shore, off Otter Creek. There was a | piece of woods there then, with long stretch of beach between it and the | lake. My father had a 35 ton schooner lying off the shore half mile or more. | The water was a dead calm, when, without warning of any kind, wave | lifted itself from tho bosom of the lake, | probably 1 1s miles out, and swept shore ward with its mighty hiss. My mother and were with father on his schooner. As that swash came rushing upon us it seemed to me as if tho leaping foam of it's white crest was higher than tho schooner's masts, but know now that it was not moro than l3 feet high. The wave was high enough and strong ashore ns if it had been q cockleshell, and across that stretch of beach into the woods, where it was left among tho trees, O hopeless wreck.
 "In ten minutes tho lako was as calm as ever, but an hour later a similar wave appeared at Kettle Creek, 20 miles from Otter Creek, and tumbled all sorts of lake craft ashore.
 l "I guess the greatest tidal wave ever seen on any of the lakes was tho one Dr. Foster and his party of voyagers saw on Lake Superior, between Copper harbor and Eagle river. That was in | August, 1S45. This swash was more than 20 feet high, and, like all of its kind, sprung suddenly from the lake at dead calm. It was quarter of Q mile distant from Dr. Fosters boat, which, when the disturbance began, was direct ly in the path of the wave. Itwas crest ed with foam, and ourled over like a mighty ocean surge. Before reaching the boat, however, the wave turned so that its nearest extremity swept past it at a distance of 50 feet, the water be- tween that extremity and the boat being scarcely ruffied by the influence of the | rushing tide.
 "The wave was only half a mile from shore, but notwithstanding its great size and velocity it never reached there. Tho same mysterious caprice that caused 1t to change its course and pass harm lessly by the vessel seemed to seize it once more. and it sank rapidly from its great height as it approached the shore and struck tho beach with no moro force or rise of water than might have come from tho wash of passing vessel.
 Iremember notable swash on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Menomi- nee. That one appeared in April. 1858, and rushed into the river with such tremendous force and volume that it up- set the ferryboat on the Menominee The recurrent oscillations of these swashes are usually of decreasing size and force, but this one on the MenOminee wasn't that kind. The ebb of this tide was just us sudden us its flow, but in a few minutes it was followed by another wave much larger than the first one, and the oND of tho second swash was followed by wave still larger than the second.
 "That seemed to satisfy the mood of the lake at Menominee that day, and. with the receding of the third wave, calmness even unwonted prevailed on its bosom. The time between the com ing of the first wave and the receding of the third was less than 20 minutes
 "The curious thing about these lake tidal waves is that they are entirely To- cal in their influence. A swash, even of the greatest force and height. may not affect moro than a mile of lake front, the water at either end of them being undisturbed beyond that distance. They always come in from the open wa ter. "-Nsw York Sun.
 Wheat is believed to be an evolution from mountain grass.
 No Wonder the Cars Seem Crowded Now | adaya.