The Republican journal., 1900-11-01
EXPERIENCES OF A NOVICE

EXPERIENCES OF A NOVICE
The wind changes from south to DOS
sibly southeast. THE officer in charge
shakes his hea as he looks at the ba-
rometer falling. 1t begins blowing
harder and harder. Down, down goes
the barometer and the whistle calls the
messenger, who knocks at the captains
cabin door with IN. wanted me to
tell you, sir as how he thinks we NAV
have nasty blow. The wind is com
ing up" Does this phase the captain9
Not much. He puts on his big boots,
wraps his wooden comforter around his
neck and goes on the bridge. Perhaps
he never says word during the whole
trouble and the officer directs every
thing as usual-but he is there, and
when he gets there he takes the respon-
sibility for everything, and Mr.. -
| may feel a little easier. The wind picks
| up from a stiff breeze to moderate
| gale, then to gale fifty miles an hour,
then to hurricane (sixty-tive to seven
| ty-five miles an hour. 1t bowls SO that
a man must shout to be heard ten feet
| away. 1t blows strips of paint off the
| the seas are whirled into spray and the
sides of the waves furrowed with little
ones. \ man cannot stand against it
without clinging with both hands to
some support, and a seaman ordered to
| make fast some ropes on the deck is
blown against the rigging and held
there for ten minutes.
Finally he manages to creep on hands
| and knees to the shelter of a deckhouse
T he air is so full of spray that it seems
| as II heavy RAIN were falling. The
waves roll higher and higher In an
| hour they are ten feet from trough to
| top and in three hours are nearly on a
level with the deck below the bridge
| An hour later they are rushing from
the southeast forty feet-careful meas
rement-from trough to crest. The
| clouds are rushing over in such masses
as to almost touch the ship. stop the
| engines and let her drift" comes from
| the captain.
"Clang' goes the gong and the pro
| peller. which has been half the time in
| the water and half the time beating the
| air as a wave lifted. ceases its revolu-
| tions and gradually the great hull swings
broadside to the sea. Then begins a
! battle royal between the handiWork of
| man and the elements. The best arti-
| sans constructed the former out of the
| best steel i'll Brltains most noted ship
| ward. Every bolt was screwed home
and every rivet cliuched tight The ship
| begins to roll from side to side. The
seas lift this 10000 tons of weight so
that a third of the bottom is entirely
| out Of the water then let her down
with a thud that makes her tremble.
but never finch. Up and down she
goes. the deck sides playing see-saw
with each other. First one will be high
above the water Then it goes down.
| The waves seem to grow higher and
| higher, and as the bulWark is within Il
few inches of the foaming water you
| look up and up at a liquid mountain.
green-topped with white 1t seems hun
| dreds of feet high, but you are looking
| Obhquely and thus the distance is mag
nified
1t is a sight never to be forgotten,
and few care to see it second time, as
| they cling to whatever support offers
itself to keep themselves from being
| washed into the water or thrown against
| the upper works Miniature whirlwinds
branching off from the hurricane twist
the spray into little water-spouts. whirl-
ing them over the decks, up the mastS
and drenchlng the man in the crow
! nest. Farther and farther rolls the YES
sci. until the foaming water runs along
among the cattle, washing through the
compartments and soaking them to the
knees. But it is a healthy bath.
Is there any danger? None so far
( The green hand might expect that every
minute the hull would turn completely
over, but that is simply impossible
Now the reason for trimming the cargo
properly is seen. 1t acts like founda-
ton i'll holding the ship. The cook $
department cannot be trimmed and sud
denly the kettles, pans and dishes start
for the door iii an avalanche as the deck
tips more than usual accompanied by
a flow of ''cuss words from the chef
For six hours the roar of the wind
continues with scarcely seconds in
Permission. Then it lulls bit and the
sky lightens a trit1e. This is the begin
ming of the end, but for two bours
longer it continues before the lulls be-
come more frequent. Finally the ell
CINE starts again and the vessel is head
ed on her course victorious at every
point. She has not shipped a sea. Not
a wave has rolled over her, and not a
gallon of water has entered her hold
Finally the captain comes down and
changes his clothes. Eyes, it was quite
a blow" he says, lighting his pipe What
the captain does has been mystery un
til now. He seems to write a little
smoke considerably, take a nap in the
afternoon and have plenty Of time to
be sociable, but does he draw his pay
merely for this? No, it is for being il
the right place and doing the right thing
at the right time. Home Magazine.