The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-06-04
BY HOEMR BARTLETT.

on the coast near Punta Gorda
when the sea blow started. I had
heard the hurricane warning and
In measure prepared for II. lashing
the door of my little shanty with
rope TO reinforce the lock and Sc
cured the window shutters. But
hurricane warnings are not uncoIn-
mon on the coast and except by the
thought that day or two OF fish
ing would be lost, l was not dis
turbed. had n book or two, suffi-
ciont food In the locker against the
wall; there was water only n little
way from the house. Let II blow"
! said to myself.
About noon the wind rose and be-
Ran to whistle about the house. For
an hour | read, the wind rising
higher, Its whistle changing to a
roar. stu was undisturbed, ! re-
member starting for tho locker to
sec what / could find for lunch,
opening the locker door and reach.
ng In. Suddenly | was arrested, my
hand relaxed on loaf of bread
was about to take out
Above the roar Of the wind, above
the usual crashing OF the waves
there was new sound, n rour which
shook the fish house. Only mo-
ment / hesitated. then I rushed to
the door. For / knew the sound
once before / had heard II when a
raging Southwestern caught the in.
coming tida and carried !, raging
inland. But. compared to this. thai
sound had been like the tapping Of
wa es on sandy beach.
Through n crack between The
boards OF the door / could see the
oil
ror stricken. Then / staggered back.
AS one mighty wall the gulf was
rushing toward me. carrying every
thing before II. In the brief glimpse
l took OF IL / had seen the roof of
a house rise above the flood, topple
for a moment. and then sweep into
n trough of the waves and become
engulfed.
Between the time / first snw the
approaching wave and the moment
II lifted my heavy fish house like a
wlsp OF straw 1 was. for the first
time I'm my life, utterly afraid, l had
staggered back to the table and
fallen into the chair. There / waited
waited. II seemed hours. ! felt
that the moment of struggle would
never come. as though this waiting
must go on forever.
flashed fragments OF prayers / had
learned az a child. tried to humble
them over. but the words stuck in
my throat. l found myself praying
that the water would come; that
something, even If It were death.
would lift me out OF this agony of
waiting
The water came. The fish house
was tossed high AS the wall OF water
struck II. But II held together. II
was thrown up, with me clinRing
desperately to a table, which was
built into the wall. Up we went, and
UP. Now we surely have reached
the crest" 1 told myself time and
agaip, only to realize Immediately
the house was being carried up.
Theh 1t paused, hung motionless for
fraction Of second on the crest
of the wave and began TO drop into
the trough beyond.
once / had been In an elevator
that fell. ] still remembered the
sickening sensation | felt then, al
though the world was sinking from
under me. This was the same. only
thousand times multiplied. We
swept downward. The little shanty
marvelously holding together. be-
gan TO snap and crack. II turned
over and over, me inside as II boxed
In "A rolling trunk. l was tossed from
wall to wall, ceiling to floor.
In the house there were packed
fifteen thousand mullet, frozen un.
der 20 tons OF ice ready for the mar
ket. In my fear l felt warmed by
the thought OF the mullet. They
had been. at any rate, alive once.
Down we swept-me and 5000
went. II was marvellous the packed
mullet did not fall and crush me
Being lighter. ! moved faster. In
IA second every movable thing in tn,
| fish hOuse was tumbled about me
i thanked Providence for the fore,
| thought which had caused me tC
make the heavier pieces OF furnitur,
| fast 10 the walls and floor. Bu
there was enough. The water poured
| in every crack and poured ou
again when we rode the crest o.
| the wave.
The door OF the food locker
opened with crash and poured
| forth the provisions and my cook
ing utensils The tiny gasoline stov'
leaped from the floor, which hat
now become the ceiling, anC
crashed about. now this way anC
now that. II missed me by less thar
a foot and l cursed II. at the sam,
time thanking God the flame hat
been exttnguished by sweep O
water before the stove fell over
Suddenly we were swept under tn
wave. The water rushed In from
every orevice--from all sides, toI
and bottom. thought / was abou
] TO drown, l screamed n prayer.
| Just as I was gasping, II seemed
Tor the last time we swept up again
still buoyant. The water poured ou
again. Again we were floating ol
top OF the wave. The weight OF tn
' (CONTISuED on PAGE FOuH.l