The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-03-30
THE BRILLIANT SOUTHERN OCEAN.
A Steamship Voyage in the Waters of
the Flying Fish.

"A hJtNASAAoAA1P ~ "SO IA uhO w ASCAc VA
the Flying Fish.
From Maine to Jamaica in the Month OF
Observation-Disclosures Sea Weed of the
Tropics.-A Heavenly Climate Succeeds
the Ierrcrs of the Gulf Stream.
Especial to the PRESS
Port Antonio. Jamaica, March Il. -
We left Boston at p. H., March 18th.
1t was a chilly evening and no one re-
manned on deck very long as the staunch
little white steamer, Barnstable, of the
Boston Fruit Company's line, began her
long journey southwark to Jamaica. She
is of 1900 tons burden and steams about
IL miles an hour. She comes uI to Bos-
ton laden with thousand of punches of
green bananas and hundreds of great
bags of cocoanuts. She goes back
empty, except for few parcels of pro-
visions, and hardware, and consequently
sat very high in the water she carries
% passengers and her large, airy state
rooms, all of which are "outside,n are
larger and better than those of most of
the trans-A tlautic lines of three times
her size.
To one who has never made an ocean
voyage this trip to the West Indies, in
winter or early spring, gives far more of
the ocean variety and attractiveness than
the usual trip across the Atlantic, and
to one who has experienced the latter.
the former presents many interesting
contrasts.
There were IS passengers on this trip,
five of them ladies, and brief account
of what we saw and felt, as we neared
the tropics. day by day, may prove of
interest to PRESS readers.
Friday morning was cloudy and chilly
and heavy sea was running. The Their
mometer registered two degrees below
| freezing. During the day the tempera-
ture got better but the sea did not, at
evening it was 60 degrees above zero. A
rise of 80 degrees since morning, but
the waves had risen too and the ladies
fined to their staterooms.
To one who had just come from the
chill damp horrors of March in Maine,
it was delightful to sit on the deck on
that wild black night, with the waves
roaring aud the wind blowing half a
air and to be quite comforta bic with only
macintosh for an outer garment.
This situation was SO agreeabl lie to one
| of the party, who was not so seasick as
he had feared to be, that he burst forth
into an admiring statement as to the
it's unerring course over the angry
waves and through the dark and track
less night.
"Think of It," he exclaimed, Here we
sit, as comforta BILE as can be, as safe as
need be, and yet ten feet away, beyond
that rail-what? Death, merciless,
omnipotent, awful. Ten feet away OH
the other side of that rail, no human aid
could succor. We ara as if we were sit
ting inside that charmed circle of Lord
Lytton's Strange Story outside of
which the demons ragged and threatened,
teri
1t was very cosy to sit on that heavy
deck, in the strong, balmy gale, in the
presence of the sublime rage of the
pillows and-safe. But it was not pleas
ant to wake at 8 o'oclock the next morn
ing and gradually realize that the demons
of the night before had broken through
the charmed circle and were rampant in
the ship. 1t was not pleasant to feel
their heavy weight on ones abdomen,
their iron grip on ones temples and their
sickening breath in ones nostriis, or to
quence from forward and aft and across
the way.
On, how the ship jumped and strained
and how the heavy spray dashed on the
deck abovel AT last the morning came,
but brought with it no relief. All day
Saturday, E" black Saturday.") the good
ship struggled in that awful Gulf stream
and the gloom of gray skies and the hor.
ror of internal rebellion cast black pail
upon the world.
All but two of the IS passengers were
sick and the dining table was DESERT
ed village on that day. After longing
and unavailing effort, for II frightful
hours, to escape from the dungeon of his
stateroom to the purer air of the deck, it
was weak detected figure that erept up
the stairway late in the afternoon.
There were other similar figures pros
trated on the cushions of the smoking
room, the best place in the ship to escape
| from the motion.
Three of those figures remained there
all night, and one had been there the
night before.
But Sunday the world was different.
The gray clouds skunk away from the
sky and the LACK pail vanished from
over the earth. as the glorious sun came
orth.
| The ocean was new ocean, the world
new world and existence new life. 1t
was possible to eat food in this life and
to be glad of it at the time and after
wards. 1t was possible to walk also,
| I