Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-02-04
A STORM AT SEA.
Driving Through the Vortex of a
SCREAMING Cvelone


The wind had dropped entirely, and
with the dropping of the wind thou
sand different sounds broke harshly
upon the ear, sounding almost unnat-
ural In their distinctness and impress
Ing the ear with sense of discomfort.
With each roll of the ship there came
chorus of creaks and groans from
the swaying masts and gear. and the
sails Slated with damp, disagreeabIe
sound. Beyond the ship there was the
constant harsh murmur of the sea. oc-
casionally changing to low roar as
one broke near US. One other sound
there was that punctuated all these,
and that was the loud, Shaping blows
Of the seas as they hove themselves
clumsily against the ship, and for the
rest there was strange sense of 81
lence. Then, as sudden as the report
OF heavy gun, great believing
came out of the north and east and
died away into a series Of muttered
growls. It was not thunder. It was
the voice of the approaching cyclone.
In the same instant the mate nudged
my shoulder and pointed, and saw.
with a great feeling Of surprise, that
a large waterspout had formed about
200 yards astern and was coming to-
ward US. All about the base of it the
sea was foaming in strange manner,
and the whole thing seemed to have a
curious luminous quality. +s*
''It's coming! Look out, everybody!
Hold on for your lives!'
Directly afterward a shrIll yelling
noise seemed to fill the whole sky with
a deafening, piercing sound. 1 glanced
hastily over the port quarter. In that
direction the whole surface of the
ocean seemed ito be torn up into the
air in monstrous clouds of spray.
The yelling sound passed into a vast
scream, and the next instant the cy-
clone was upon u.s. Immediately the
air was SO full Of flying spray that
could not see yard before me, and
the wind slapped me back against the
teak companion, pinning me there for a
few moments helpless. The ship heeled
over to terrible angle, SO that for
some seconds thought we were going
to capsize. Then with sudden furch
she hove herself upright and l be-
came able to see about me a little by
switching the water from my face and
shielding my eyes. Near to me the
helmsman, a little dago, was clinging
to the wheel, looking like nothing SO
much as drowned monkey and palpa-
bly, frightened to such an extent he
could hardly stand upright. -"
Some time later there sounded an in
tense roar in the air above the ship,
and then came faroff shrieking that
grew rapidly into mighty, whistling
scream, and a minute afterward a
most tremendous gust of wind struck
the ship on her port side, hurting her
over on to her starboard broadside.
For many minutes she lay there her
decks under water almost up to the
matches. Then she righted sullenly
and slowly, freeing herself from may
be half thousand tons Of water. Again
there came short period Of MINDLESS
ness and then once more the yelling
Of an approaching gust 1t struck us,
but now the vessel had paid off before
the wind, and she was not again forced
over on to her side. From now on
ward we drove forward over vast seas,
with the cyclone believing and wall
ing over us in one unbroken roar. The
vortex had passed. William Hope
Hodgson IN Cornhill Magazine.