Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-17

III T1Ver or sea, prOuuceu
- 3y opposing tides, winds OF currents.
IsSSSA If you want to see miniature
Whirlpool. fill your bath-tub to the
md . uepth OF an inch, pull out the plug
Z nu = w%atch % the water running out. First there
20 ~. = streaklness in the water, then dimple,
gradually growing deeper, until at last there
not iuihnel iel leading down to the grating with
noe n = drop of water in it. The eddy always
sTIyoaves aI1 ives one way-from left to right-and on
a. a. oceasions 1T begins a few inches from over
- Sne e. wa WXasat,eppe and is slowly drawn toward
4" uhCll the funnel is vertical.
.o a,ow, TINS is very fair sample of what
soes on In rivers and seas The water runs
-IsV S d narrowing channel, and is shouldered
~ ~ from from The sides, as the space through which
" I runs contracts; and it increases in speed.
t,nua mnen the channel widens, the current con-
,,rSes i "a the centre, and there is sackwater
"HTer T,' tne shelter of the slight projection.
lhe stream that has been narrow is hien-
dead vi0n % mat In the broadened river, and the
ro,'N, wafer Is sucked toward it and spun
ioTno ~, into whirlpool.
of us LIS Is OF whirlpools in general, which are
most J fo,w occurrence on large SCALE. The two
hn hhose famous of the worlds whirlpools are,
described. s''eS VIAL 'no'e 'us'
ooOa On ,,I Cne west coast of South Italy, rocky
m J1is out boldly into the sea, SO as to forin
70 Iaii fba q peninsula at the northern entrance
70 'ne Straits of Messina. This rock. accord.
ins 70 the Homeric legend, was the abode of
monsher called Scyila. -
o,a 10 encounter Scylla was to double this
was up %n,cn Jan IN the early days of navigation
en day is attended, wfb but at the
'n1 uouDhng OF any ordinary cape.
In tne Straits of Messina, nearly opposlte
e. 1ne entrance TO the haIbor of Messina, in
Slciy, Is Charybdis; Here, according to HON.
er, was another monster, who thrice every day
sucked sIc1eo down the water of the sea and thrice
threw 1t up again.
IN LLeanty, Charybdis is a whirlpool, caused
py tne wind acting obliuuey on the swift
current which sets toward the lighthouse
tha s so',tL sHS north during six hours, and from
alternately. S-A iouin' anu so vi
ra,,as mnen tne wind is high, the swelling of the
~ matSs ~ " such that small vessels driven with
IA IN ene limits of the agitation may be sunk ky
nav % be Jr;usn breaking m over them, and large ones
anu az eno Their days on the rock of Scyila.
1he maeIstrom is the celebrated whirlpool
u lne world. Everybody has heard of it and
shnddered over its destructive power. The
ent re4eU1ous MI % current that rushes between the
great vest fJord and the outer ocean through
the channels between the Loffoden Isles. ere
ates many dangerous currents. but thev are
not TO be compared with the famous meeL
t strom' w winch .,5 is due to the battle between
tween the islands of Mosker and Warae III,
water Is lashed up to such an extent as to bc
heard for miles. 80 W "
Language cannot depict the maelstrom in
its fury. At high and low water. when the
wind blows directly against the current tbs
sea ior several miles around is SO violently
agltated that no boat can live in it for a mo-
ment. Even fish are killed and thrown ashore
by It's Jury, But in NordInary circumstances
II may be traversed, even across the centfe.
without danger or apprehension.
Whirlpools in the United States are nume,.
GUS IN the lakes and rivers, Tut there is only
one OF any prominence, and that. without
doubt, Is the most terrible in the world
After the Niagara River descends over tho
rocks and forms the Falls of N;agsra y
broadens and becomes comparativelv esmn,o,,,.
then again it rapidly increases in sD;ftness'
Between three and four miles below the falls
stratum OF rock runs across the direct
course of the river. Encounterino This obs+o.
ele, the river is forced back upon itself and
in course of time has ehurned ont a vast o;r.
cular basin, into which the water circles nm nm
til it is forced away at right angles to its ola
channel W -'' o'u
This is the great whirlpool of NIAGARA and
it has never been navigated successful hnt
once. Captain Webb, the great English swim.
mer. lost his hte in July, 1888, trying to swim
through it. Since then, several Adventurous
swimmers, encased in barrels and other apTSara.
tus, claim to have accomplished the feat bnt
there are grave doubts as to their truth R,,t
it is certainly true that three men tool
steamer through the whirlpool, and the stor. =
OF the feat makes thrilling tale.
In 1861, the owner of the Maid of tho