The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-03-09
IN S.ARGASSO SEA.

| always had trouble with the COnpaSSeS
IN the sarah Jane, said tie skipper.
could mover find CIT " hat was Tho matter
with tho CID drain pine, ana no oiic else
could Ny private opinion is that ii she'd
been swung for adjustment every morn
ing at eight bells you would have foul'd
her from three to six points out before the
afternoon watch WIS over can tell you
IT'S no joke sncrting along for 3, 900 miles,
not Knowing whether you are to allow 81
or l014 1t was all right in fine weather,
when could sight a star and get my bear
lngs that way. but in thick weather, you
may guess. it used to make my flesh creep
when we were getting into soundings or
ought to be. end | coaldn fer the life of
ME say exactly where We vcro.
Anyhow we feared at San Jose all
right, and the cid hooker got her blunt
nose laying kcr coCrso as near as | could
guess with an allowance for tho usual ex-
sra deviation We were running fairly
light very different from the trip out,
when | thought those beastly rails would
drag her bottom out at every lift of the
sea Ii it hadn't been for tho compass, we
should have been as fit as fiddle
gave orders to regulate the pinnacle
card by tho standard which was half way
up the nizzenmast thinking that was the
most trustworthy compass we had aboard,
and even then / tried to get an average of
deviation for every day from observations
But as it happened we mado more casting
than we should have done and gradually
worked south of our true course.
Still we should have fetched our proper
;ourse in tho end If it hadn't been that,
ten days out we got into regular shorter
of a gale, west nor west, with a sea run
ming up that would have swamped us if
We had been Oh the trip out I'm not the
skipper of big ocean liner, SO didn't let
her take her own position, head to sea,
and ride it out The old Sarah Jane
hadn't enough flare and rise forward for
that and didn't want to have her decks
swept at every sea. So | just ran for it,
working through the smother like a loco
motive, and even then getting some nasty
ones over the taffrail that nearly popped
her
TO cut this part of my yarn short, we
drove before the sea for two days and
nights, and tho third day. though the
teeth of the gale seemed to be drawn, it
suddenly came on as black as pitch after
uoon and kept SO right up to nightfall
y y Sot4tN wv iiOuiiilS5 iJdo 0AlCAu
for all we were worth, and you may guess
my feelings with engines at full speed
ahead and following gale in weather
that you could cut with knife
IL would be some time in the first dog
watch that there was sudden jar, and
the engines stopped l went for the en-
CINE room tube. but there was too much
noise to do any speaking Then up came
70 Lo
In my ear that something was amiss. He
guessed the propeller was fouled l hadn' t
fairly taken in his words before the second
mate was at my other ear.
We are in about the biggest mess 60
ing !" he yelled There's wreckage all
round US. Seems to be a whole fleet gone
wrong We've been in it for hours and
no nearer the end than ave were"
Jumped for the rail and looked over the
side. 1t was still pitch dark, but the wa
ter was phosphorescent, and I could just
mako out whole masses Of tangled cordage
and canvas floating by and seraping up
against our sides We were still moving,
but without Storage way, and what would
happen next | didn't like to guess
We shall be into something soon, :"
called back to the two men, and they gave
an answering yell The sea was going
down in Jumps at time, and we seemed
TO be losing our way, for which I was
glad, because the old Sarah Jane WASH
in trim for running down the hulks to
which all this stuff belonged. and the en-
gines being stopped we had no further
control over her Every minute l expected
TO hear the sickening crash and find our
bows stove in against timber ship or
cargo of iron rails
All this time the wreckage was going
by like procession, and we were buffet
ing about in it like a drunken man
against lanpposts. Then, at once, as it
seemed, tho sea dropped to a light swell,
though the wind was still whistling over
head. | couldn't make it out at all 1t
was for all the world as if some one had
fiattened it out by hand. Our way was
quite stopped, and we simply rolled lump
lily on a bit of swell, with scarcely sound
except the scraping of the mess all round
our sides, and the gurgling of water under
the bows and counter and a shrill Whis-
Ting wind through our top hamxer.
just then the lookout at the bows hailed
me.
Steamer right ahead, STRIP
Can you sight herr" I called back.
No. sir, but she's coming up fastp'
We listened, and the sound was distinct
enough now
Shes got paddles" said my first off.
mar with an oath HWhat the devil is