THE “DOLDRUMS”—FIERCE HEAT OF THE SUN—STRONG LOCAL CURRENTS—THE
SOUTHEAST TRADE-WINDS—HUGE SHARKS ALL AROUND US.
Our happy days in this enchanted region of the Atlantic Ocean were
coming to an end. The northeast trade-winds became less strong as we
neared the equator, and soon died away. Then came a great calm; we had
entered that area of the Atlantic which is the dread of the mariner with
sailing ships and known under the name of “Doldrums,” a region of calms,
baffling winds, and squalls accompanied by thunder and lightning.
I shall never forget the “Doldrums” as long as I live, and the days I
spent crossing it. It lies between the northeast and southeast
trade-winds, and we had to sail through it to reach the southeast
trade-winds.
“Doldrums,” in the language of the sailor, means dull and low-spirited,
and well deserved is the name. It is also known by them as the horse
latitudes, for when ships linger there for weeks, horses, cattle, live
stock have to be thrown overboard for lack of water and food. When
unlucky, vessels are detained several weeks within its belt. The area
varies more or less according to the strength of the trade-winds.
No northeast trade-winds cooled the atmosphere. The reflection of the
powerful rays of the sun from the warm ocean made the heat intense
during the day. During the night our cabin was unbearable. Not a breath
of wind came to our relief, not a ripple was seen on the deep-blue
ocean, which looked like a sea of glass. For five days two empty flour
barrels that had been thrown overboard remained alongside of our ship.
Long, heavy swells followed each other and made the vessel roll in such
a terrible manner that I thought at times that the ends of the
main-yards would touch the sea. The calm was so great that the steering
gear was of no use, the sails had to be furled to protect them from
being torn to pieces, as they struck the mast at each roll of the ship
with tremendous force. We lay often athwart these swells, the vessel
rolling in such manner that we could not stand on the deck, and had to
hold to the rigging or something fast in order not to be dashed to one
side or another or against the bulwarks.
The unprotected parts of the ship that came under the rays of the sun
became so hot that we could not rest our hands upon them. If we had had
no tents protecting the decks and ourselves we should not have been able
to live through the “Doldrums.” It was out of the question to sleep
below decks, for there the atmosphere was suffocating and the
ventilators had become useless for want of air. We always longed for the
night, and rejoiced each time the sun disappeared below the horizon. In
the morning we dreaded its appearance. To go into the cabin for our
meals, to hold on to the table while eating, was often impossible on
account of the terrific rolling; our drinking water became tepid, for we
had no ice to cool it. In a word, life was a burden.
After a few days of dead calms we encountered baffling winds and squalls
day after day. A squall would rise, push us on our way towards the
southeast trade-winds, another would come in another direction and send
us back where we had come from. Between the squalls came a dead calm.
The captain often mistrusted the strength of the squalls, and when he
saw the black clouds gather on the horizon, the forerunner of the
squall, the sails were furled, for fear that the power of the wind might
dismast or capsize the ship. Sometimes when he thought the squall would
not be a heavy one and when it came from the right direction, he would
have the men at the halliards ready to spread the sails, in case he was
mistaken in his judgment, for he wanted to take every advantage and not
lose one minute of fair wind that would help us to get away from the
regions of the “Doldrums.”
Once in a while we encountered strong local currents. How strange are
these currents found in the middle of the ocean—an independent body of
water moving at times with a velocity of three and four miles an hour—a
wide, rippling river with its own eddies and white caps flowing in an
ocean often as smooth as a looking-glass!
When I could hardly stand the stifling heat, I looked with a longing eye
at the sea, and wished that I could plunge into it and take a swim, but
the sharks were there watching for food and prey.
After entering the “Doldrums,” sharks had become far more numerous than
before and were hardly ever out of sight. They swam round our vessel
when we did not move, and when we did move they followed in our wake.
The sharks frequenting the equatorial regions are more voracious than in
other parts of the ocean,—they are the tigers and leopards of the sea.
Woe to the man who falls into the water when they are about, for he is
sure to be devoured by them.
The sailors have a superstition that when a man is ill on board, the
sharks know it, and follow the ship until the man dies and is thrown
overboard.
Many of these sharks were surrounded by tiny little fish which the
sailors call pilots. These seem to feed on the vermin which adhere to
the skin of the sharks. These little pilot fish were not more than four
or five inches in length and were very pretty to look at.
The structure of the mouth of the sharks is such that they have to turn
on their backs in order to swallow. What terrible rows of teeth they
have,—so sharp, just like the teeth of a saw! With a heavy hook made
fast to a chain we captured one that had seven rows of teeth.
I often shuddered when I looked at some huge shark following the ship,
and retired instinctively from the stern for fear lest something should
give way and I should fall into the sea. Nothing could then have saved
my life—I should have been dragged down by one of those voracious
creatures, and then eaten piecemeal.
Once in a while there was not a shark in sight—they were simply hovering
around under the surface of the water waiting for prey. The sailors
often said: “Let a man fall overboard, and they will appear soon
enough!”
Some sharks love the solitude of the open sea—others like to be near the
shore. There are many kinds of these fierce creatures. Some, which are
called the pelagic sharks, are the largest inhabitants of the sea, after
the whale, and there are several species or varieties. Some of these
attain a length of from twenty-five to forty feet.
As I watched the water, I would see a hammer shark, so named on account
of his head, with a thick body of about nine feet in length; this
species is reputed one of the most ferocious. Then a blue shark would
make its appearance, and one day I saw a specimen belonging to the genus
Carcharodon. He was an enormous one; the captain said that sometimes
they attain a length of forty feet. But the largest of all these
monsters of the deep are found in the Pacific Ocean, and attain a length
of fifty feet.