The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1898-07-23
An East Indian Hurricane
By GEORGE II. CoOMER.

M & WERE making a passage from
w Samarang, in the island of Java.
to Singapore, which, as most readers
are aware, lies close off the southern
extremity of Malacca, and is one Of the
greatest commercial emporiums of the
world.
Our ship, the Lion, a vessel of about
700 tons, was loaded with coffee and
pepper, large quantities of the articles
being carried from Java to Singapore,
and thence reshipped to other ports
upon demand.
We had as passengers an American
physician and his wife, who brought
with them large number of beautiful
Jayanese birds, which they hung in
cages about the deck cabin In a large
cage, placed in the open air, they had q
wild peacock, with its mate, these su-
perb fowls being very common in the
deep forests of Java, where they must
often, one would think, meet with un-
pleasant neighbors.
On leaving Samarang we were able to
head directly for our place of destina-
tion, with the northeast monsoon
squarely on our broadside, blowing a
gentle breeze Of five or six knots an
hour, which, in about five days, brought
us within sight of the tall treetops of
Singapore that looked, as seen through
our glasses at a distance of some 20
miles, as if they sprang directly out of
the water
Here, however, there fell dead calm,
the monsoon being entirely gone. The
sky had an appearance which we did
not like; for, although not cloud was
visible, the whole heaven assumed a
strange, brassy look that was reflected
on board the ship.
The captain and mate conferred anx-
iously together; the hands forward
squinted at the sky and shook their
heads, and the two passengers, DR.. AL
ton and his wife, were evidently not
little startled. The very peacock failed
to cry out that day, as was his custom,
and the birds in the cabin were more
than usually quiet
On the other hand, a cat which we
had on board became strangely rest
less, darting hther and thither, and
staring about her in such a wild man
ner as led the second mate to remark
that it must be high water, If there was
anything to be told by a cats eyes.
Hurriedly the lighter spars were sent
down to the deck, and while this work
was in progress there came sweeping
toward us three prodigious rollers in
close proximity to each other the CEN
trail wave being, as we judged, 20 feet
high, while those which accompanied
it, and were merely its consequent ad-
1uncts, were considerably lower.
There was something almost super
natural in the appearance of those
three broad undulations, as they
coarsed heavily along upon an other
wise smooth sea. The ship, lying total
ly becalmed received them 'broadside
to-" and it was our fear that they would
sweep the decks; but, with three ire
mendous rolls, which threw the very
peacock off his legs, she surmounted
them in safety: The moment they
had gone by the surface of the China
sea resumed its ordinary appearance.
At the end of an hour, however, we
received a second visitation, precisely
like the first, except that the swells were
somewhat heavier, They struck the
ship upon the bows, and, as her position
for the moment was the most favorable
one possible, she received no injury, al
though pitching "bowsprit under"
Again succeeded the ordinary aspect
Of calm at sea, where the gentle I'M
dulations, although nearly impercepti
bic, are never entirely absent.
Another hour, and we saw a third ad-
vancing column, which, like the first
and second, consisted of a trio Of waves,
but with an increased weight and ter
ror. The ship was now ''stern on" and
we awaited the result with great anx-
iety.
There was a terrible grandeur in the
appearance Of the rolling deluge. The
middle wave could not have been less
than 30 feet high while those in front
and rear may have lacked some eight or
ten feet of this altitude. The combined
line illustrated the military idea Of
column Of attack, formed three deep.
The silence with which this mighty
avalanche glided onward was, in itself,
fearful. Upon the top there might be
an occasional break and growl, but be-
low was an utter noiselessness, and
the whole bespoke a weight and power
to mock any effort Of the Imagination.
The foremost Of these com bined seas
swept under the ships counters, throw
ing her stern in air till the deck lay at
most unusual angle. Then the bow cor
respondingly rose. while the stern sank,
and now the middle wave hung Ike
moving mountain close 20 the taffrail.
The good old Llon-an excellent sea
to,+-orea -7ora lifted her a ffnr M RI z s