The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-02-03
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
A Hurricane Drives Us to the Forum
ate Isles.

carraca, as the portuguese name those
large and round built vessels which
they send to Brazil and the Indies and
which are alike adapted for burden,
fighting and sailing.
On exchanging the bearings-which.
when vessels pass each other, are usu-
ally chalked on a blackboard hung
over the quarter-Weston and Hislop
found a considerable difference be-
tween the Portuguese and ours; but,
never doubling that we were correct,
they bore on without hailing the car
raca. as we passed each other on oppo-
site tacks under a press of sail.
The weather continued cloudy, and
ar increased difference was found on
exchanging the latitude and longitude
with another vessel next morning.
Then, after an observation at noon,
Weston found that for more than fifty
hours the Eugene had been going sew
eral miles to the southeast of her due
course.
The compass was Immediately over
hauled by Hislop, who found that the
standard Of the needle was loose.
On that night there commenced a
long purse of head winds and foul
weather, during which the compass
never worked properly, and the cap
tain and mate found, by the solar OBJ
servation, that we had drifted so far
to leeward as to be somewhere between
the parallels of % degrees and % de-
grees 35 minutes north.
Tattooed Tom and old Roberts, the
man-o'-war's-man, were superstitious
enough to give me the entire blame OF
all this, in consequence of having fired
one day at some of Mother Cary's
chickens; an action, they averred,
which never failed to give the craft OF
the perpetrator a head wind for the
remainder of her voyage-if she ever
finished it at all.
"If this foul weather holds for an
other day." said Weston, as he trod the
deck with a sulkiness quite profession
al under the circumstances, 1--WE shall
see land sooner than l wished"
"Land!" I reiterated, Frightening at
the idea more than he relished.
eyes, some part of the Canaries-
Santa Cruz de la Palma, most likely;
but we shall have very rough weather
before another sun rises. I know we'll
the signs, Mr.. Rodney. Don't you see
what is brewing yonder, Hislop?" he
said in a low voice to his mate.
"You say just what old Roberts, Tat
tooed Tom, and l were observing for
ward" replied Hislop. 1--WE have not
all Of us seen a hurricane off the west
coast Of Africa, a tornado in the
Windward Isles, and a regular roaring
pampero off the Rio de la Plata, with
out learning something-eh, captain?"
II hope not! so remember that this
gloomy weather, with the wind lulling
away and then coming again in hot
gusts with a moaning sound-in my
part of England We name it the call
ing of the sea'-are always signs Of a
coming squall."
AS the night closed in, the canvas on
the brig was reduced, the royals were
struck and the yards sent on deck;
the dead lights were shipped on the
stern windows; the quarter boat was
hoisted within the ~taffrail, and there
AdSACu Adlu Ii AaSI, " llSlS WCAc III
creasing tokens of a coming tempest
and ere midnight it came with a ven.
geance.
The sky at first was all a deep, darl
blue, wonderfully dark for that region
and the stars, especially the planets
shone with singular clearness anC
beauty; but in the northwest quarter
80 fha hooNnne mn ont,ll n tho o1.o;-,
blast.
From the horizon to the zenith, Their,
arose with terrible rapidity a might,
bank of sable cloud, forming a vas
and gloomy arch, at the base of which
a pale and phosphorescent light seem
ed to play upon the heaving sea.
This light frightened and sunk al
ternately. Now it would shoot down
ward with a lurid glare, steadily an,
brilliantly, under the flying vapor, an,
then It died away with an opal tint.
Sheet lightning of a pale and ghastl
green, extending over ten or twelv
points OF the horizon, flashed and play
ed upon It, Then we heard the rus
Of rain, as if a great lake had beeI
NAAA q NooL hight illO LuS SGd
and the next the roar of the might
blast; while furrowing up the ocean il
Its passage, the tempest came swoop
ing down upon us and around us in
species of whirlwind.
Bravely the Eugene met It, for he
captain and men handled her nobly.
She had her topgallant sails furle
| her courses up, the topsails lowere
upon the car, and the reef tackles clos
? out; but she swayed fearfully whe
: careening beneath the hot breath {
the mighty blast and riding over thos
black mountains of water, which |
fierce succession it impelled towar
her. High she went over a slopin
sheet of foam one moment, and tn
next saw her plunging into a dec
black valley of that midnight sea; s
deep that the wind seemed to pass owe
us, the canvas tapped to the mast, an
we only caught it's weight and pow
q when riding quickly on the crest of tt
. next mighty roller.
Meanwhile the green-forked ligh
a ming flashed so brightly that
4 times we could see every rope in IL
vessel, our own blanched and pa
faces, as we held on by ring bolts an
p Delaying pins to save ourselves fro
being washed overheard by the blint
ing sheets OF mingled foam and RAJ
that deluged the deck, oyer which IL
sea was also breaking heavily ever