Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-16
AN OCEAN GRAVEYARD
The Most Dangerous Portion of the Whole
Atlantic Ocean.
Cross Currents, FOGS. Icebergs. Shoals,
Reefs and other Water Snares
to Harass Mariners.


From the New York Evening Post.
If enc prong OF pair Of compasses be
placed about the center of the Gulf of ST.
Lawrence and the other describe a semi
circle from Labrador to the southernmost
point of Nova Scotia. the area circuin-
scrtbed might well be called the graveyard
of the Atlantic. Not only Is this part of the
ocean subject to all the gales of the roar
ing forties but every kind Of water snare
that entraps luckiess sailors Is found in this
section Of the North Atlantic. The dirty
brownieh fogS that lie across the horizon
above Belle Isle are. of course, the most
treacherous enemy for the ocean liner
They conceal the other dangers. and the
other dangers are neither few nor far
apart What with icebergs ranging In size
from a few hundred feet in circumference
to monsters nine miles in length Uhe exact
dimension of one measured by the New
foundIand superintendent of fisheriesl. with
naked rock walls rIslng vertically an feet
out of the sea, with Crumbled ledSeS whose
saw-tnoth cage stan'iS up In pinracles or
slopes; down TO white-caPped reef, and
with the submerged shoals OF the Sable ana
Mdgdalene Island districts, the pilot mas as
difhcult Il piece of water to navigate as
could BE- found.
To enumerate all the vessels lost in the
North Atlantic during recent years would
take up too much space; but the record
for the past few months has been sItfii-
GENTLY striking to Justify the charinesS of
underwriters toward northern risks Ine
wreck of the Scotsman in the Straits III
Belle Isle is still fresh in peoples memo
ries. and though the loss of life, const1er-
ing the long passenger list, was comptra-
lively small, cargo, ship and travellers el-
feCts were total loss
The periis of Nova Scotian waters can be
end have been lessened- Lighthouses now
mark the most dangerous points, and long
ago a stop was put to the nefarious work
rP ~lrn-c hn
datiOns with Sable Island as a basis. Time
was, within the memory of navigators still
living. when false lights above the sands
of Sable Island lured passing ships to their
ruin, and when the government cruisers
would come to the ships aid not a thing
would be found but the stripped nun.
Though passengers might nave Wadei
ashore in some places. the dead used to be
found stripped of all clothing and Jewels.
with the ring finger cut off, and frequently
the cash of n wreckeTs weapon across the
forehead. signs plainly telling OF conflict
between the passengers struggling ashore
through beating surf and the numerous
men who awaited them. But all this Is a
thing Of the past on Sable Island Not only
wreckers driven OFF. but 1--we stock
was placed the long stretch OF grass
grown sand. that castaways could nave
some means of subsistence until help came.
Belle. Isle strait is by far the most treach-
erouS part of the North Atlantic route. The
coast of Labrador projects into the ocean
like a barrier against the hinglnS tides:
and when the baffled current finds resist
ance suddenly removed. when the narrow
straits open between Newfoundland and
Labrador. the waters toss in with the
Siding motion that creates the beam sea
SO hateful to all Iandsmen- The strength
al this iuburSting current simply cannot be
calculated or Counteracted by any mariner,
In width the straits vary from nine to
forty miles: and when the brownish fog
never absent from the northern horizon
spreads southwark, obscuring every land
RI 10 fDr CADtaln
Keep up speed and retain his bearings he
may refer to his chart as often as ne
pieascs and tell himself. Thus and thus
have We come and here Is the place We
ar" Tide and fog may have betrayed him
in spite. Of his calculations. and he may be
a least 4 hundred miles out of his course
Resides the danger from fog and tide at
tn entrance to the Gulf of St Lawrence,
there j. the peril of long. sharp lodges that
flrruw all parts of the northern coast and
are only visible by the fretted line of sur
face spray. No lighthouses mark these
hidden reefs. and many schooner comes
Ir grief upon them during the night or in
fog. The. old rooms. fishing hdrbOrS,
Of French and Jersey fishermen have long
been deserted in the neighborhood of the
straits. Occasionally dismantled hut OF a
,IllJVils,tei chapel may be seen clinging to
tho base Of the rock wall, but all is life
les Go>ulEtinn- There are not a dozen SET
Elements on either side of the narrow Chs.n-
Tel. and these are hidden away securely
behind ruCk-guarded harbOrS no sign of
ltc is yisihlr to passing steamers. No aid
Ju navigation exists on these bleak nor,n-
,ru shores. False Cape runs out from
Newfoundland I'm great. Jagged, towering
rocks. torn by the driving tide, and White
Island lies of the shore bare and lonely as
tombstone. Altar. from other rocky is
andS. comes the dull booming of the surf.
which Indian legend of Labrador describes
atS the Shriekfng Of demons over their prey.
RnufieSS hutS used nd-breaks by the
s-alcTs in the spring add TO the indeScriba-
bile loneliness of the tenantleSs coast: and
tT.-I
over the waves its sudden disappearance.
behind some rocky eminence only acceutu-
ates the utter dreariness of the whole re-
gion.