The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1908-01-23

least is known. / refer to the passage
of the fleet thru the Straits of Magel-
Ian. 1t is generally interesting and
Instructive to acquire facts from those
who have been there; personal allu-
sion as to how happened to make the
trip around the Horn may not be out
of place. Along with the curriculum
of the high school from which | grad
uated | took u special course of my
own selection in sea stories consisting
of Captain Marryat's novels, Captain
Mayne Reeds sea stories and those of
FenimOre Coz per and ". Clark Rus
sell. thought it the height of ro-
nance. to "ship before the mast" and
shipwreck and castaway on desert
island an event very much desired.
Alas, how quickly romance disappears
when face to face with stern reality!
gave my good parents no peace until
l was duly apprehticed to Lawrence &
Co. of Boston ITO serve until was
twenty-one years old Oh any ship con-
trOlled by them. This is how hap
nened to be on the BarQue Sacramento
bound from BostOE to San Francisco,
thence to Manila, Yokohama, and
Hong Kong. l will pass over the har-
rowing experiences of green hand on
a square rigger and proceed to tell you
something of what it means to round
the Horn.
Cape Horn is the most southerly pro-
lection uf the South American conti-
nent; it is really small island, one of
y string of islands separated from the
mainland by deep straits. Cape Horn
is about seventy degrees West longi-
tude and sixty degrees South latitude.
the Straits Of Magellan are four de-
grees north and are very rarely used by
sailing vessels. rhere are two good
reasons why sailing vessels without
steam power cannot safely make the
passage of the Straits. The FIRST is at
Cape Crosstides, hear Cape Froward,
where the tides from the Atlantic and
the Pacific meet The opposing cur
rents rush together in a whirlpool.
making cross seas aud heavy serf. The
directions ON the charts tell the navi-
gator to pass Cape Crosstides only at
high water when they get the benefit
of what sailors call coming and GO
ing" tide. The second is that after
passing Cape Froward, which is the
most southery point OF the mainland,
the channel narrOws and twists so
that it is impossible for large ship to
maneuver, with the current from the
Pacific running against her-besides
this, the dangers incurred from the
"WiiliWaw" The williwaw is caused
by the sudden descent of cold air from
the glaciers aud mountain tops to the
warmer air near the water; the effect
is terrible; the waters are dashed into
furious commotion and the nproar Of
winds and waves are deafenihg and
overpowering. The williwaw is the
cause of so many shifts of wind met by
vessels rounding Cape Horn, also the
sudden dens. f0gs. Eighty miles an
hour is not All unusual rate of velocity
for the wind off Caps Horn during one
of these periods which is always ac-
companied by sleet and snow. The re-
suit to the navigator is that be is
obliged to scud before the wind under
storm staysail and double-reefed
topsail, if he has the good luck to have
any sails left on his yards; when the
ship can be brought to and laid on her
course it may be days before the same
position in latitude and longitude will
he reached.
1t is always the desire of the master
marines to make the Eastward pas
sage round the Horn, because the pre-
vaiIing wind is from the West and he
has the current with him. Sailing
ships bound from the Atlantic to Aus
tralia or New Zealand invariably make
the voyage by the Cape of Good Hope
returning by Cape Horn for the rea-
sons above stated. A sailing ship
making the Westward passage has
after passing the equator, the Bra
lillian current in her favor until she is
in about forty degrees South latitude,
when the current from the South Pa
cific ocean is met running northeast.
Having successfully rounded the Cape
and reaching forty degrees, the Peru
Continued on page four.)