The Farmington times. [volume] (Farmington, Mo.) 1874-1902, 1900-05-03
!. The great storm which suadsa,y

ef this. The great storm which saidenly
sprang on the eoast the night OF August II.
iiTs, aud which lasted for more than three
days, vas Of such nature ihct Il has bern
sst apart by historians as worthy Of cape
cial mention. both from iis results and It's
more than fiendish force.
As have said, the absence Of the bulk of
Lord Howes fleet had enabled the phau.
tom TO drift through the foa and from the
bay in comparative safety, and this absence
was due TO an attack planned against the
French who were besiegiEg Newport by
water, as the patriots under sullivau vcrr
doing by land. The British General Pisot
was in desperate Rtnits when Howe ap
pearcd OF Point judith, and, had the Eng.
iish admiral been posaessed Of the sluggish
and procrastinating nstare Of his brother
tlately commander Of the British land
forces In America, he would probably have
been day or two later. and piRot would
have followed the example oi Bursuyne at
SarstasA aud laid down his arms As was,
Howe arrived in the niek Of tame. and the
French sailed out Of the harhor 10 hght
him. The English took to the ocean for e.
room Ia which 10 mAneuvcr, but from all
could ever gather, each was mcftally afraid
OF the other. The French followed. For
two days they played about, either seeking
TO get the weather gauge OF his opponent be
fore opening hostilitiea. ilerc at last there
must have becn fought hattie which might
land probably would have altered the com.
plcxion Of the war but the storm stepped
III, and, after damaging aud partly wreck
Ing both fleets, drove them Hsunder Howe
returned to New York to reit, And
DEstaing gathered his scattered ships and
sailed back TO Newport, What my fate
would have been had the tempest held of
leaves little 10 guess. as, had my hoped for
programme been carried forward. would
have run into a network from which there
could have been no Escape.
BY the same storm which had prrvcHtcd
conflict on the sea the patriot iorrs on land
had suffered wclinieh a. scverelya a. the fleets
What with ruined ammunition, destroyed
stores and demolished shelter. the ierocity
OF the hurricane even causing several
deaths, Suilivsn's army was in forlorn aud
desperate state, and, though In no condi
ton TO make an assault, the gallant com
mandcr furthcred preparations 20 that end.
Knowing, however, the ticklish temper III
our allieu, the attack was postponed until
the French should return, an event which
occurred on the 18th ai August. Mighty was
the JOY ol the patriots as D'Estaing sailed
up the bay, but the joy was short'ved. for
giving his damaged ships ~ an excuse, he re-.
fused TO remain al Newport, and. turning
away. sailed for Boston for repairs. leaving
Saliiyan with a discouraged and rapidly dc
solving army close 90 the strengthened lines
ol the British
hut, barring the storm, Of these matters
knew nothing then nor for some tiaic after
their occurrence. Now I stood and Strained
at the wheel, squeezing the vessel into the
wind hs close as she would go. having an un
reasonable objection TO making the least
southlng m the course. And yet ! was m.
certain as 10 the exact point 10 shicb ! was
steering, Possessing no compass save the
tellialc which was ~; into the cabin ceil.
ing and out Of reach Of my eve. ii escaped
the pitiless and treacheruus sands Of the
coast Of Long Island would be well con
tent, and by holding 90 the present tack
had little fear Of disaster from that quarter
figured that VIC had made half the length
Of Long Island up to the time We bad been
oyerhsuled and the calm set in and that IN
q wind for the most part iight. II this was
20. at the rate which wo were nov going |
hoped TO enter Vineyard sound by noon on
the morrow, barring disaster, and p hours
from the preseiN WoHid see me al my own
hearthslons. The thought of il warmed me-
and great was my need % warmth of como
kind, for | was o. empty a. a drum. tagged
by excitement and lack Of sleep. and had not
known comfor, for ~ long that my memory
of Il was misty.
hot hy midnight even the iesting comfort
Of thinking was gone, and coon after IN feel
ing was little better than a block OF stone.
That which had gone through might not
be rerkoned by time alone; il seemed the
experience oi years. Ia my hali-dazed state
felt that had beVn an outlaw foF years;
tor years had been fleeing and each DAY
fenced with death; for year, known and pro
,ectsd the girl and her brother; and for
years, It appeared. must | stand and facr
this bowling wind which bore agains. me
like a living thing,
The tempest. which had come in tae teeth
Of = smiling day, was marked as well by
eapriciousue@s as By violence. AZ the ghaai
| hness Of early dawn broke in the east, and
| gradually awoke to the fact that morning
was at hand, the wind fell as though
chopped of or as Il we had suddenly shot
into the lee Of a vast wall. In a half sense
| less fashion. like a man under drug, tried
| with fruitless Efforts to shake of the feel
ing Of utter carelcssnCss which had fastened
| 10 my scnsea. With the calmnr@ Of abso
! lutte indifference marked the sudden drop
ping oi the wind. though | knew foil well
| that IL pogtendei an increase Of the gale
but when, for how long. from what quarter
or with what force, the Almighty alone
knew; as for me, cared not II il blew ths
vessel out Of water. With the ahme duh in
difference ! marked our new danger and
every detail attending Il. With the suddef
calm We we're at the mercy Of the hong
green, icam.rappcd billows which charged
toward US like moving hills. They came not
like rollers. with the regular SwinS Of th,
ground swell, lsht every surge was the heac
waters Of a mighty dam broken loose. ~
crest made up of a mad, throbbing mass o
liquid torn into sireds and cross seas by IL
own weight aud violent motion. The tac
Of the world was vast tuInult OF yeastl
ash .colored madness cut by the darkness o
its ho!lows; a terror III could have te't II J
not a horror; more sublime than Grand
more swful than sublime.
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