The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-08-13

in half hour. only he was afraid she'd
swamp if he put her before it. l told
him 70 take the chance. Then he
shouted: Rig on the extra hawser to
the chain down below
I saw that it was done and then we
gradually got before the wind.
1t was awful, and 1 thought we'd go
down dozen times. but she seemed TO
get over il, yet we headed directly in
shore, the mate in the riggin' givin' di-
rections to me at the wheel.
Suddenly he cried: 'Luff bring her
up" and W she came into the wind,
and if it hadn't been that my man was
dashed to the riggi1' we'd have all gone,
as big green wave swept clean over,
three feet deep.
The moment she got ahead to the
sea he let go the anchor-the Lord
knows how deep it Was-Out went the
chain, then the hawser, and we began
to drift astern, beaten back by the sea
and wind.
4 began to think we'd have to cut
away when what was next TO a miracle
happened. The sea went down like
magic. We were still in d heavy sea,
but the surface for 100 feet about us
was as smooth as glass, and there We
lay as comfortable and dry as you
please, While on each side were terrific
waves.
Well" said the old captain, pausing
a moment at the recollection, 'it scared
the men half to death; they all thought
there was something uncanny about it;
but finally. when everything had been
made snug the mate came down be-
low, laughing over what ne called his
snug h2rbor out to sea.
Were all right if the anchor holds
he said, and it's pretty sure to, as it's
rocky bottom
I've known this for a long time
he continued. You see. this is a great
oil country, and right here, two miles
off shore, is an oil spring that would
be a fortune to some one ashore 1t
is probably a fresh-water stream that
rushes upward, bringing oil with it,
which spreads out over the surface.
at times covering 400 or 500 feet OF
course, the oil keeps the sea down
simple enough when you know it,
And so it was" said the skipper
I've visited the place several times,
and some days you see the water rising
up so hard that the surface looked
higher than the rest, and the oil would
cover the water for 200 or 300 feet
around. changin' with the days and
seasons, seemingly; sometimes bein'
very small, again large, but always
a boat could lie in a storm, if she could
be kept in it.
Its about two miles off shore. as
near as l can judge, and on a line with
the Santa Barbara point north of the
city and San Miguel island. All this
country is underlaid with oil and as
phaltum. and they are boring wells as
far out into the water as they can get
1--WE lay in that floating oil patch
all night. then the wind let up and we
got sail on her and went on"
Old sailors on the Atlantic, especially
those on the south coast east of Flor
ida. know a similar spring that has
often surprised seamen.
1t is told that a smack which had
sailed from Mystic, Conn, for Florida.
had been beaten back by the heav-r
winds so long that the water casks
gave out and they were in bad shape.
But one day the skipper ran in shore
about mile or two from the reef, and
, lowering keg into a small boat. rowed
TO spot in the open ocean, which he
had found by certain points on shore.
and told the men to fill the keg. They
! thought the old man was daft. but
- Wen they saw him drink some of the