The Republican journal., 1899-03-23


French ship 'Presdent F elk Faure,' as
she passed close under the lee In this
case our courses were also in direct OPP
position; we were making seven knots by
the wind, while the ship, with fresh
trades abaft the beam, was doubtless
doing twelve or more. He showed the
to be reported, to each of which we
''dipped'' an understanding. Then the
usual salutes were offered to each others
national flag, and in a few minutes the
ship was only blum in the clouds of a
southern sky. | had never seen that
ship before, but have a faint impression
that have read of her as being the largest
and one Of the finest sailing ships in the
world. / may be entirely mstaken-she
did not look to be over grown, but no
ship looks large at sea.
On the South Atlantic you rarely meet
anything sailing at right angles to your
own course-the paths there are either
up or down the world. In the northern
ocean, while the courses are mostly
| 'thwartships, there are others on every
angle; bat in the lower regions it is differ
ent, because Africa and South America
swap no products-practice no reciprocity
| -Aerce the dividing ocean is used only as
o+l
lands beyond.
Our south east trades proved light,
short and very unsatisfactory, with
direction never better than north OF east,
though we were well out clear of the
coast-belt of the north east monsoons.
| common to a southern summer. As we
cleared st. Rogue the winds swung well
to the northward and at once offered the
character of doidrums Most landspeople
appear to think that the principal obsta-
Giles IN the path of a sailing life are gales
and storms. They do not understand that
serious storms are very infrequent indeed,
and that it is calm days and very com
mon lack of sufficient wind, rather than
too much, that brings the most torture
and bitterness into the life of sailing
commander. No one, perhaps, who has
not sailed up and down the world length
wise, may have any idea of how much
calm weather may sometimes be met with
on such route. Gains on shore, in the
cool, clear atmosphere of a temperate
one, may often be very delightful, very
restful and exquisitely peaceful to quiet
and thoughtful nature; but Gains at sea
have nothing of that character, offer no
similar Injuries and no possible pleasures
Gains are local-there is always wind not
far Offence the open sea is ever rest
less and calm does not mean otherwise.
A breeze steadies the ship and suggests
smoother sea than actually prevails, while
a calm allows her to roll about thrashing
the atmosphere into threads, in manner
most calling. When these calnls are met
with near the earths waistband-where
i they prevail right around the world-the
temperature is high, the air exceedingly
| humid, and the conditions are oppressive
beyond description and exceeding all that
! has gone before or may ever be met with
elsewhere.
One morning when nearly becalmed,
some thirty miles or more off the north
coast of Brazil, the atmosphere was hazy
and the land not in view; no one but my
self understood that we were SO near the
| coast. At daylight the mate called me
and reported a raft ahead with men upon
and guessed what it meant, hence | did
not soon come on deck, and when did so
found everyone very much excited, and
jumping about with spyglasses watching
those shipwrecked (?) waits ahead. 1t
all proved to be what I expected, Brazil
ian natives fishing from catamaran
With light and primitive framework
connecting two boat shaped log pontoons,
holding them parallel and at some distance
apart, over all of which the sea continually
washed-with no chance to sit down I'M
three men, not less than thirty miles
from the nearest land, and with very
rough sea on. This is common practice
on that coast, and they stay out two OF
three days at time. There is boat
shaped we'll, built of Stats in the water,
between the logs, in which the fish are
stored alive, and therefore full fare
causes no depression whatever to the