Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1917-03-09
The Demon
OF the Strait
An Experience In Round
ing the Horn
By P. A. mitchell

There are two capes breaking the cir
Gle Of water that extends around the
globe south Of the equator. each of
which has from time immemorial been
4 terror to mariners. The Cape Of
Good Hope divides the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans at one point and Cape
Horn divides them at another. II Is
question which of these capes Is the
more difficult to round by sailors. Good
Hope was in early times called the
cape OF storms. The Portuguese who
were then great seamen, tried for six
ty-nine years to round 1t without sue
cess. It was first rounded by Vasco
da Cana in 1907.
My own experience IL with Cape
Horn, and can only say that II Good
Hope Is any worse am quite willing
to let It alone. There Is an additional
danger to mariners rounding the Horn
In this: The passage is usually made
through the strait Of Magellan, the
shores of which are inhabited by the
TERRA del Fuegans, who are the low.
est race of men on the face OF the
earth. SO barbarous are they that they
do not worship any divinity. OF course
they know nothing Of morals. and muir
der for booty is with them matter OF
no moment whatever
In l89-- | sailed from MontevideO
with a cargo Of miscellaneous articles
for Valparaiso. The ship, the Wasp,
was a little hundred ton schooner, and
my crew consisted of but one man be-
sides myself. | aimed TO pass through
the strait In the month OF October,
which In the southern corresponds to
April in the northern hemisphere II
there was any Of the ethereal mildness
OF spring In that region hoped to
get It,
We entered the narrow waters after
rounding Cape Vergin. We had no
sooner turned the Wasp from south to
west than we were received by the
demon Of the strait, storm OF sleet
and snow. that drove US back into the
Atlantic, and we were a week getting
again to the point from which we had
been driven.
As we entered the strait a second
time we began to experience the many
expedients the demon uses to keep mar
liners from trespassing on his domain
The first were two tide races, which
met, but did not mingle. Instead they
fought each other, and the Wasp was
caught between them. We had taken
In one reef and in trying to lower a
staysail my crew was washed over
board 1t would have been useless to
try to go about and pick him up In
such boiling waters. l threw a line
to him. but he failed to grasp II.
| suppose II was the ugliness Of con
tention that led me to keep on without
turning back. though would be no
better Off for the time being by return
Ing than going forward. l was tempt
ed to the former course, but az soon
as ] got past the tide races I struck
calm water, and, with favorable
breeze and a boiling sea behind me, 1t
looked easier to go forward than back
ward. The demon was Turing me on.
had sailed no great distance when
the wind began to blow a gale-it
seemed to me from all directions at
once. found anchorage at the foot
Of mountain, where there was q
dead calm. But I had not got half
rested when down came gust OF wind
called IN that region williwan.
I hauA UlVaF ..A go
| experienced all along my voyage
through the strait to show what en-.
cOuntercd from winds and waters Ny
chief danger In making the passage
was the savages. They inhabited
both the north and south shores, and
was obliged to look out for them on
all occasions. had brought several
rifles along, and, having met a man In
Montevideo who had had experience
In the strait, he advised me to provide
myself with stock OF tacks TO scat
ter on deck at night, In case I and my
crew should both be asleep at the same
time, to warn me II we were boarded
by sayages After losing my only man
overheard these defensive weapons
seemed to me TO be dOubly valuable.
The first sight I had OF the Fuegans
was one morning when I was sailing
In smooth water In q narrow passage
between the northern mainland and an
island. saw a canoe padded by say.
ages heading to cut me of. In dry
weather | kept rife on deck and now,
laying my hand on It, brought It 10 my
shoulder and fired a shot across the
bows Of the canoe. The Fuegans stop.
ped padding and approached no near
er the line on which was sailing.
! hoped to be able to get through the
strait without killing any one, for the
spirit OF cupidity was enough for me
to contend with without exciting re-
yenge. ! was much relieved, therefore,
when ! saw that had scared of enc.
mics who, In order to appropriate what
! possessed, would not have hesitated
to murder me II they could
One evening when laid up In calm
water was taken III. took the pre-.
caution before getting into my bunk
to protect myself against boarders by
scattering tacks over the deck. I had
brought with me a supply Of medical
stores and few surgical instruments,
the former to be used In case OF sick.
ness. the latter Of accident. Among
the liquids was one to be taken In
a., aaI