The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-09-20
THE WONDERFUL VOYAGE
OF A DERELICT TREE
1t Has Drifted About the Ocean for
Nearly Two Years.

IL raS Dfirred ABOUT the ocean tor
Nearly Two Years.
A tree adrift in the middle of the
Atlantic ocean Is the rare sight re-
ported by Capt. Freeman, of the Brit
ish steamer Sidra, which recently ar
rived in port with a cargo Of pig iron
from Benisaf, in the Mediterranean.
1t was on July 90, when in 1919 de-
grees north and 1922 degrees west,
that an unusual looking object was
seen floating ahead of the steamer.
Those on the ships bridge made out
the trunk and limbs Of a tree about
twenty feet long, canted to one side
and the roots sticking out Of the wa
ter.
bleached white by the sun, and it was
covered with barnacles. It evidently
reached the sea by being washed down
from some Atlantic coast river in a
freshet. Many months ago tree green
with foliage, standing upright, was
seen off Cape Henry.
The tree seen from the Sidra Is in
the same position as a bell buoy, seen
two months ago by the British steam
er Thirdly, which arrived here. For
this tree to reach it's present position
it must have been drifting about the
ocean for nearly two years. When
this odd derelict went adrift 1t must
have been picked UP by the gulf
stream and carried up the coast past
Newfoundland. Then 1t was swept
5000 miles across the Atlantic to the
vicinity of the English channel. Next
the gulf stream carried 1t south past
the coasts of France and Spain and
the northwest coast of Africa, jour-
ney of 5000 miles. Here 1t drifted out
Of the gulf stream and went into the
very center of the So-called SargaSso
sea, in the middle Atlantic ocean, the
scene of legends Of the sea, where dere-
licts are supposed to finally come to
rest in the tabled sea Of grass. The
Thirdly passed the buoy spoken of
April 26, in latitude 34.S4 and longitude
39.42.
The navy department keeps rec
ord of all objects seen adrift, and only
twice in five years has a voyage of the
kind been recorded that compares with
that of the tree seen from the Sidra.
One of the Cape Canso buoy. AS that
buoy was one year drifting across the
Atlantic, the buoy reported by Thrill
by must have been two years wander
ing the seas, as 1t Travelled twice as
far as the Cape Canso buoy. The lat
ter buoy broke adrift from it's station
off Nova Scotia and drifted nearly into
the English channel. The buoy was
little over year in making the trip.
The shippers OF vessels were often
puzzled to hear the bell far out at sea.
The buoy was sighted thirteen times,
and was last seen 600 miles off Eng
land. 1t averaged drift Of ten miles
a day.
The tree seen by the officers Of the
Sidra will doubtless be picked up by
the gulf stream again and be carried
across the southern edge of the North
Atlantic ocean, through the West In
dies, and up the Atlantic coast again.
1t is following the track of the fam
Gus derelict Fannie e. Wolston, which
was adrift nearly four years and wan
dered 9,115 miles. She was ITO days
crossing and recrossing her tracks, and
travelling around in circles. She was
sighted forty-one times, and crossed
her own tracks twelve times.
That this was the tree green with
foliage and standing upright reported
adrift at sea not far from the mouth
of the Chesapeake bay about a year
ago there can be little doubt-Balti-
more American.