The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-30
WILD TINE OFF CAPE HORN.
Storm Center of Two Oceans, Where
Gales Are Continual.
From the London Leader.

From the London Leader.
When the Cape of Good Hope was first
doubled and called not unjustly the Cape
of Storms seamen were unacquainted with
the truly terrible character of Cape Horn
to those who would try and weather it,
climb, as il were, inch by inch up the
vast slopes of these pitiless eastward
rushing seas or hang on day after day,
week after week, with the most logged
determination against the steady fateful
oncoming of a westerly gale that seemed
as if it would never end. Had those early
discoveries encountered Cape Horn what
term of dread, / wonder, would they have
applied to it? For stormy as 1.-The cape"
las sailors always term the southernmost
point of Africa undoubtedly is, and ugly
as are its untrue seas, it does not for
one instant compare in severity with the
Horn, whose black, grim wedge thrusts
itself so deeply down into the stormiest
region of the world.
All readers of Two Years Before the
Mast" will remember the graphic COM
Notwithstanding picture there drawn of
sailors life in those painful seas; a pic
ture that is studiously moderate in its
cooring. That it is so all those who know
it will admit if they will read the follow
ing extract from ships log sent to me
by the owners from Bristol-a story terse
eyes alone, but full of tragic interest to
all those who care for the men who go
down to the sea in ships She was
bark called the Lota, of some 1900 tons
register, bound from Barry, in Wales, TO
Iquque, on the west coast of South Amer
lea
Her outward passage, as far as what
sailors call the "pitch of the horn'-that
is, right south of it, but in this case
actually little TO the westward of it
was uneventful if slow occupying sew
enty-nine days. Thenceforward the Cap
tain's own words must be given, with an
occasional explanatory note:
1--WE got to the westward of the Horn
three days later Sept. 20 but were driv-
en- back by westerly gales, which con-
tiuued with little or no intermission for
nearly two months. We were for eight
weeks south of latitude Sc degrees south
Chat is to say, they were in a position
corresponding in temperature 10 the coast
of Greenland in February and March,,
and six times succeeded in getting from
sixty to seventy miles west of Cape Horn,
but were as many times driven back
again. Not once from Sept. 20 to Nov
could we keep the upper topsails set
| for twenty-four hours consecutively
| (Which meant that as the wind was foul
they were not only making no progress,
but were being driven bodily to leeward).
tOn Sept. "a and Oct. 4 we had extra
heavy gales and on both dates saw two
other ships without sail set, apparnt-
ly having sea anchors out. At o'clock
on the morning of Oct. Is, we being then
in latitude 5914 south, longitude 6S west
lying on the port tack with only the
main lower topsail set the wind increas-
ed to a hurracine force. Its general di-
rection was from the southwest. but
sometimes it would change two or three
points and with the terrible sea that was
tl,a -l,f ST.
eral smash-up was very real, indeed.
"About o'clock a sea broke on board,
| taking three of the boats and smashing
| the fourth. We had extra lashings on
| the boats, but everything was smashed,
| even the checks being torn from their
| fastenings on the skids. AT 8 a. m. an
other sea broke on the bowSprit and car
| ried away the foretopgallant and royal
| stays (xire ropes only about one inch in
diameter) and while trying to secure this
another sea struck the port bulwarks,
| doing much damage q omit technical
| details) Several of The men had very mar
| row escapes of being washed overheard
| and four were injured-broken leg, cut
| head broken arm and broken ribs re-
| spectively At midnight the wind ceas-
| ed a little, but continued blowing a very
heavy gale, while the ship was practical
| ly under water, the sea was so bad.
| "At o'clock the following morning the
| the cap. It's fall knocked many other
| spsrs adrift. making quite a wreck of
| her aloft but details are too technical
| In the afternoon 1 was knocked down by
the sea injuring my back, and for sew
eral days. besides much pain, had only
partial use of my legs
"At this time we had eight men laid up
out of at most fourteen The officers
worked splendidly and did everything they
/ could possibly do, but am sorry to say
| the crew is the most useless and cow
ardly lot of men ii has ever been my
misfortune 40 command. (What a pity
no nationalities are given.) A very little
injury would cause most of them to sup
nose that they were too III to work, and
| 81 last we had to literally drag them on
| daeIx except of course, those that really
were injured. Poor skipper and Off
GERS. but doubtly, trebly, poor crew! Get
| a glimpse into their bitter den, their
dripping hunks, their miserable rare, ana
snare a little pity for their sufferings,
| nor wonder that they were reluctant TO
! come on deck.O
The following few days, though the
weather was bad, we got things bit
secure again. Heavy weather continued,
| and on Oct "a we were back to 81 south
| and s3ih west Cor about $50 miles east or
| ,ba Horn living on port tack, with the
| two lower topsails set, when the wind
| suddenly increased to hurricane forcei
both topsails were split and two men
we're injured We got other topsails bent
the following day and worked night and
day TO repair the split sails. on NOV.
&c bad tbe FIRST moderate day since Sep
| tember. Four days later the wind left
the western half of the compass for the
first time since passing Staten Island on
sept IL. Arrived at Iquique Dec. 3, l5S
DAYS from Barry (or nearly twice the
time taken on an ordiraly smart pass
sge)"
| ar ,,,ish 1 knew how 10 manage my hus-