The Savannah morning news., 1900-09-22
GAINED THE RAGING SEAS.
OLD CAPTAINS STORY or ESCAPE
FROM A PERILOUs STORM.

From the Philade lphia Press.
NO. I've never seen a sea serpent. but
I've seen things more curious," said an
Old sea captain.
What was the curiosest thing ! ever
see7 wal. hats hard 10 say. but there's
tho cruise made from san Diego 90
Monterey with the yacht Foam-rli never
forget st. though il was years ago.
II was in san Diego az che time. waltz
for a Job when man came 20 me ana
asked n would take yacht up to Mon
terey. deliver her there. ana take twenty
men VINO wanted to 60 w. said would.
the terms helm good. and found could
charge the laborers decent price and
make something out Of IL; so OF We start
cd one bright morning.
The laborers were railroad men. goin'
up to work on the new road. and the Sec
ond day out were an so sick that they
sWore they would run the zach, Ia shore
anything 20 get out Of a. finally put Ia
~ San Pedro and let those go that wanted
TO- ana put out again with about six.
Il had never been up the coast. and 50
left matters IN the hands OF my mate.
whom / had shipp for the purpose
bright Norwegian. We reached Ventura
the second day. and then II began 20 blow
and increased: but We kept az H. passed
Anacapa. and right In the Santa Barbara
| channel caught Il for an Il was worth.
| II blew so that We got all sail OF the
schooner but enough TO keep her 10 the
windward. and the men-the land-lubbers
were beside themselves with fear
Took "a Long Chance.
"All this seemed TO set the mate crazy
and he drove them to the ropes and made
every man stand and take II. I felt tha'
there was no danger. but the wind sud
| denly picked up and blew .nshore and the
sea rose so that / finally made up my
mind that the yacht couldn't stand 10;
she took so many seas tina, she nearly
turned over
Il had a talk with the mate. who sad
he could put US in smooth water IN a half
hour only he was afraid she'd swamp n
he put her before H. / told him I'd take
the chance. Then he shouted. Rig on
the extra hawser 20 the chain down be-
low"
Il saw cha, Il was done and then we
gradually got before the wind.
"lt was awful and ! thought we'd 90
down dozen times but she seemed TO
&c, over It. yet we headed directly inshore,
the mate IN the rigg ng. givin directions 20
me Ut che wheel
Suddenly he cried. TuH' bring her up"
and up she came into the wind and II n
hadn't been that my man was dashed to
the riggin' we'd have all gone. as a big
green wave swept clean over three feet
deep.
1.-The moment she got ahead OF the sen
| he let 90 the anchor-the Lord knows
how deep IL was-out went the chain. then
tho hawser and We began 10 drift astern.
beaten back by the sea and wind
Il began 10 think we'd have 10 cut away
when what was next go miracle hap
pened The sea went down like magic.
We were SIN IN a heavy sea but the sur
face for 100 feet abous Us was as smooth
as glass. and there We lay as comfortable
and dry as you please, while on each side
were terrific waves.
Gained the Troubled sen.
We'll" said the old captain pausinE a
nom. ~ al the recollection. 1t scared the
men half TO death. they all thought there
was something uncanpy about IL. but nm
ally when everything had been made
snug. the mate came down below. laugh
ing over what he called his snug harbor
out a. sea.
Were all right II the anchor holds.
he said and it's pretty sure 10. as its
r5cky bottom.
i've known this for a long time hc
continued YOU see. this IL a great Of.
country and right here Two miles on
shore is an oil spring that would he
fortune 10 someone ashore II Is probably
freshwater stream that PUSHES upward
bringing oil wl,h H. which spreads out
over the surface. at times covering go or
so feet. or course. the oil keeps the sea
down-simple enough when YOU know H.
And 80 81 was" said the skipper I've
visited the place several times and some
days you'd see the water rising up so
hard that the surface looked higher than
the re~t and the oil would cover the water
for two or three hundred feet around.
chanein' with the days and seasons seem
ingly, sometimes bein' very small. again
large. but always maxim perfectly
smooth spot in which n boat could lie IN
a storm N she could be kept In H.
ITS about two miles on shore. as near
as I can Judge, and on a line with the
santa Barbara uoint north q the city
and San Miguel island All this country
Is underaid with oil and asphaltum and
they are boring wells as far out into the
water a. they can get.
I'VE lay IN that floating oil patch all
niaht: then the wind let up and We got
sail on her and went on"
Not the Only one.
Old sailors on the Atlantic. especially
those on the south eohrA ''ri 'A = ivi i""'
know a similar spring that has often sur
prised scamen-
II Is told tina, n smack which had saliel
from Mystic. Conn. for Florida, had been
beaten back by the heavy winds 50 long
mat the water casks gave out and they
were In bad shape. But one day the
skipper ran inshore about a mile or two
from the reef. and. lowering keg into
4 small boat. rowed to a spot in the open
ocean which he had found by certain
points on shore and told the men 10 hll
the keg They thought the old man was
dart. but when they saw him drink some