A GALE--THE OCEAN SWELL--CAPE HORN--THE MAGELLAN CLOUD--THE NATIVE
TRADITION.
As is very often the case in relation to human affairs, fate decreed
otherwise, and in plain, unmistakable language we heard whispered by
the gale which we encountered as it roared through the ship’s rigging,
“Go slow! go slow!” And we did. About three hundred miles from the
land off the mouth of the La Platte we encountered what all of the old
salts, as well as the young, fresh ones, declared to be the heaviest
gale that it was ever our misfortune to encounter. It came from off
the coast, and of course was favorable for us; but there was a little
too much of it. The sea was smooth, for such was the velocity and
force of the gale that when a billow attempted to assert its rights
and raised its head above the general sea level, it was instantly
blown off, leaving in its place but a mass of white and seething foam.
In this manner, with our noble ship lying to with the lee rail under
water, we remained for thirteen days. To cook was impossible, for the
reason that, at the angle at which our galley stove cut the horizon,
nothing would stay in the dinner pot, and we were obliged therefore to
eat off-hand and at random whatever we could get. It was now getting
monotonous, and to add to our troubles the Captain would not grant us
permission to go on shore, and it even seemed to hurt his feelings when
we asked him.
On the evening of the thirteenth, the Captain, deprived of his
accustomed rations of plum duff and soft tack, determined upon the
tactics which he should adopt the following day if the gale did not
abate and that was to run before the gale. This course was strongly
objected to by the veteran skippers on board, who claimed that it would
be a most dangerous proceeding and would never be adopted by anyone
but a young and inexperienced commander. They had, as they explained,
roamed the seas over from infancy and were well aware of the danger
of running before a gale of such huge dimensions as we were then
experiencing. They therefore strongly protested against it and assured
the Captain that in case he did adopt that plan he must be responsible
for all damages if the ship should run under and sink away down to the
bottom in the cold sea, which they were most positive would be the case.
The Captain, however, after lying all night on the edge of his bunk
determined, notwithstanding their protestations, early the next morning
to make a break for liberty. With a firm step and with salt water in
his larboard eye, he ascended to the deck and soon the command was
heard above the roar of the tempest: “All hands on deck!”
In a few minutes every man of us was at his post as soon as we could
find it, and when the order was given to the sailors who were holding
fast to the wheel to let her go, they did, and it flew around in a most
spiteful manner, as if conscious of its freedom. The bows of the ship
swung around with the gale and we went flying amidst the foam upon the
rough surface of the sea at a rate of speed nearly equal to a railroad
train, and in a few hours were again upon our way with a fair wind and
under full sail in the direction of Cape Horn.
“Well, well!” exclaimed one of the veteran skippers, who had predicted
all kinds of disasters to the inexperienced Captain, as a consequence
of his rash proceeding, and who was now standing near the gangway
holding in his hand a well-filled carpet-bag, and with a look of
disgust and disappointment in his expectations stamped upon his
weather-beaten countenance: “Yer come outer that gale in good seaman
style; but if yer had only took my advice yer’d done it more ’n a week
ago.”
We arrived at Cape Horn on the 4th of July, and with a fair wind sailed
around the dangerous point and entered the waters of the Pacific
Ocean. This being our national holiday, we dressed up our vessel in
appropriate attire, and with various instruments of music, the firing
of guns and pistols, celebrated the day in true Yankee style, to the
great astonishment of the seagulls, as well as the immense flock of
birds of various kinds that arose into the air from the clefts and
caverns of the massive rocks of the coast.
Just previous to our arrival at Cape Horn, much surprise had been
expressed by many of us at the unusual heavy swell of the sea or of the
huge billows we encountered, but had been invariably reminded by the
aged veteran seaman on board:
“Oh, pshaw! these are nothing but ripples compared to what you will see
when you reach Cape Horn. You just wait, and blast me eyes, but you
will see them down there as high as the main mast.”
[Illustration: A CAPE HORN SWELL.]
The consequence was that we waited. We now turned our attention to the
heavy swells for which we had patiently waited, and found them nearly
as represented, for they were immense, and to take a view of them from
the cabin window at the stern of the ship required considerable nerve,
as it really seemed, when the stern was away down in the trough between
the great rollers, that nothing short of a miracle could raise the ship
quick enough to prevent the hugh billows from rolling over her. We
found, however, upon experimenting with a long rope on deck, by shaking
it up and down from one end, that in a similar manner the great billows
do not move forward upon the surface of the ocean, as they have every
appearance of doing, to the utter destruction of every object which
they come into contact with, but that they simply rise and fall. It is
this continual rise and fall of the water on the surface of the ocean
that gives it the appearance of rolling onward in the form of huge
billows.
The traditions of the native Patagonians tell us that centuries ago
a race of giants existed upon the extreme end of the South American
continent; but whether that was their place of residence, or that they
were there only upon a picnic excursion, is not definitely known.
It unfortunately happened, however, that while there this great
convulsion occurred, which separated the extreme end of the continent
from the main land; and to their great astonishment, when aroused
from their slumbers early one morning, they found themselves situated
upon a high commanding eminence, at a distance from the main land,
and entirely surrounded by water. To wade through the cold Southern
sea to the main land again was out of the question, for they had come
totally unprepared for such an emergency, having left their rubber
boots at home. They were, however, giants, and knew their strength.
Breaking the high mountain upon which they stood into fragments of
suitable size they hurled them into the sea beyond, and using them
for stepping-stones, regained the said continent without accident, or
wetting a single foot. This is said to be the origin of those extreme
Southern islands which they named Terra del Fuego.
The end of the continent was by this convulsion broken apart, and
through this break the waters of the oceans found their way, forming
a very convenient channel for small vessels to avoid the dangers of
the Cape in passing from one ocean to the other. This channel was
discovered by Magellan.
To the extreme southern point of the solid islands of rocks is given
the name Cape Horn, around which it is difficult and dangerous to pass
in consequence of the prevailing winds, which blow almost constantly
from the west. It is at this point, also, that a good view is had of
what is called the Magellan Cloud, not so named because Mr. Magellan
first discovered it, but from the fact that the strait which he did
discover, whether by accident or otherwise, is located immediately
beneath it. At night, this cloud has the appearance of a mass of
luminous vapor floating in space above, and such is its immense
distance from our planet, that no telescope has as yet been constructed
with power sufficient to enable our astronomers to determine its
true character; or whether it is, as it appears, a mass of luminous
vapor, or a cluster of celestial bodies like our own universe. Now,
is it not possible that this is another universe similar to our own,
located in distant space, and in company with thousands of other
similar collections of celestial bodies which are scattered throughout
infinite space, all moving in one general direction, and governed and
controlled by the same ruling power? This is possible, and that each
universe is separate and distinct from all others there is no doubt,
and that to those who are dwelling upon the various planets of which
they are composed, our own universe presents a similar appearance is
very probable. In viewing these distant collections of celestial bodies
in the firmament above, they may be very properly compared to swarms of
gnats which we often witness sporting in the sunshine.
With a fair wind, we laid our course for the port of Callao, in Peru.
A few days followed of fair wind which seemed to increase in violence
as we proceeded, until it had assumed the proportions of a very
respectable gale, termed in Nevada a “gentle zephyr.” It was during the
continuance of this gale that a little incident occurred which may not
be of much interest to seafaring men, and one of ordinary occurrence;
but to those who do not go down upon the sea in ships it may be of
some interest, since it illustrates the nature and character of the
requisites of an able seaman and commander. During the gale, a block or
shieve upon the end of the main yard was torn from its lashings, and
fell upon the deck. The ship was luffed up into the wind: the great
seas broke over the bows, and the mainsail threshed about in a terrible
manner in its frantic efforts to free itself from its lashings, and
to keep company with the gale. It was absolutely necessary that that
block should again be placed and securely lashed upon the end of the
yard, of which fact all the officers of the ship were well aware; but
where was the sailor who had the courage to go out upon the end of
that yard, when, as the ship rolled, the extreme end where the block
was to be lashed was out of sight, became buried in the white foam of
the huge billows? The Captain ordered no one to perform the dangerous
duty, but asked the first mate, who was holding fast upon the rigging
near, if any man would volunteer to do it? The mate, who was naturally
of a modest and quiet disposition, raised his eyes aloft to the yard,
then to the surging billows below, thought of his loved ones at home,
and very modestly declined, with thanks. The second mate, a big, burly
seaman, turned his port eye toward the chief mate, concluded that he
had a level head, and concurred for similar reasons. Our Captain,
finding that no one on board of the ship was willing to perform the
dangerous duty, remarked that he should then be compelled to do it
himself. Taking the huge block, slung to his shoulder, he mounted aloft
out upon the yard, where he succeeded in lashing it securely in its
place, although not without a great deal of trouble and danger. The
ship swung off again before the gale, and all danger was past.
[Illustration: AN ABLE COMMANDER.]