“Oh, pshaw! this is nothing to what I have seen. Why, I was bound once up the Mediterranean Sea, when we encountered a gale that threw our ship upon her beam ends, and we laid in that position for nearly six weeks. It blew away our main-topmast, and the last we saw of it, ’twas going away south toward Africa; and maybe you won’t believe it, my lads, but five years afterwards ’twas found in the great desert partly buried in the sand, where it fell. The cross trees had sprouted, and a fine cluster of white oak trees had grown up from it, more than sixty feet high, and they made a beautiful shade for the camels to rest under when they were cruising around the desert.”
I have stated at this time that the conditions are favorable for water-spouts, as will be further explained. The formation of a water-spout is only possible when there exists a calm upon the waters, and in consequence of the heat of the sun being reflected from the smooth surface of the ocean, the atmosphere becomes greatly rarefied, and ascends to higher regions. The result is that at this point a partial vacuum is produced, and the atmosphere from all points rushes in to equalize the unbalanced condition. A hollow cylinder is formed of atmospheric currents, which revolves with great velocity. A partial vacuum within this is the result, and up within which the water from the surface of the ocean rises, falling again in great showers of rain. But one great mystery attending not only the water-spout upon the ocean, but also the cyclone upon land, is the fact of their motion forward in any direction, for since they are only produced under conditions of a calm, it is difficult to determine by what force they are caused to move in any direction, with such velocity as is often witnessed. I observed that in a few cases, the smaller water-spouts did not move in any particular direction, but seemed to wander about as though undecided what course to take; while again another, but a few miles distant to the east, would be going in a northerly direction, and another one at the same time to the westward was taking a southerly course at the rate of three or four miles an hour.
That a water-spout should be able to move at all in any direction, during a dead calm upon the ocean, when at the same time our ship was as it were, stationary is not only a mystery, but also very aggravating to those who are from necessity compelled to remain on board of her and suffer the intense heat, and at the same time be at the mercy of these wandering, revolving tramps that are liable at any time to make you a visit without any special invitation, and without any power whatever on your part to avoid them.
The mystery of their forward movements lies in the fact that, at some point the atmosphere is more highly rarified than at others, and the water-spout will therefore move in the direction of the least resistance, being impelled forward towards that point by the atmosphere, the tendency of which is to restore the equilibrium. They will, consequently, move with a velocity corresponding to such unbalanced conditions to any given point.
Oh, the annoyance of a calm at sea, especially under such circumstances as when a crowd of anxious gold seekers are cooped up unable to do as, or go where they please, and all anxious to be filling their bottles and pouches from Uncle Sam’s golden fountains. Fretting and worrying could, however, avail nothing. We must gracefully submit to the inevitable, and pray for a strong breeze from the Southwest (the praying for which didn’t amount to much, for reasons not necessary to explain here). There was one amusement which we were inabled to enjoy to our heart’s content,
in consequence of the calm and passive condition of Nature’s forces, and this was bathing in Neptune’s immense bath-tub, the Pacific Ocean. At all hours of the day, many would be seen enjoying the luxury of a bath in the warm and placid waters. The sensation of plunging headlong, or diving from the ship’s rail into the fathomless depths is, for the first time, anything but pleasant, for upon the shady side of our ship we could see below the surface a great distance. We found, upon throwing overboard an old tin plate, or any bright object, that we could keep it in sight for several minutes, until it had descended for the distance of one-eighth of a mile at least, or even much further. With this idea in mind, when standing upon the rail, all ready for a dive into this dark and bottomless abyss, one can readily imagine the peculiar sensations produced and the thoughts that flit across the mind at the moment. What if some miraculous event should occur upon diving into the deep sea, or some wonderful changes in Nature’s laws take place reversing perhaps the laws of gravitation, which should make the waters lighter and organic substances heavier! Then just imagine one’s self sinking down, down into the unfathomable waters and continuing upon the downward course, among the huge monsters who make their habitations amid the rocks and cliffs at the bottom! But after a few trials this sensation wears away, for we find that it is impossible to descend but a short distance below the surface, and that whether we will or not, we must ascend again without delay.
For two or three days, a number of our passengers indulged in this luxury of bathing, and would have continued doing so during the calm; but all things have an ending, and sea-bathing is no exception to the rule. The diversion was brought to an end by an incident which is worth mentioning. We had a passenger on board who, but a few years before, when on a voyage in the Indian Ocean, lost one of his legs in appeasing the appetite of a shark, while enjoying the luxury of a sea-bath. This young man, whose name was Measury, from Salem, Mass., acted in the capacity of sergeant at arms for us, and would allow no one to dive from the ship until well satisfied that there were no sharks in the immediate vicinity. This fact he would ascertain by throwing overboard any bright object, such as a tin cup or plate, for if there were any sharks within a reasonable distance, say one or two miles, they would be attracted towards the vessel, and could be plainly seen swimming back and forth under the ship’s keel—waiting, not like Micawber, for something to turn up, but for some unfortunate sailor to tumble overboard. If no sharks made their appearance below the ship in the space of half an hour, it was presumed that the coast was clear, and by the gate-keeper’s consent, over we would go.