Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 March 1894 — A WATER-SPOUT IN THE WAY. [ARTICLE]

A WATER-SPOUT IN THE WAY.

Narrow Escape of a Vassal In the West Indies. From an article in Scribner (“On Piratical Seas”) which describes a merchant’s voyages to the West Indies we make this extract: We perceived to the right of us the dark clouds in motion at a great distance, and under them a peculiarly formed pyramid which seemed to connect the clouds and the ocean. During the space of nearly half an hour it approached nearer and nearer toward us, in a direction precisely in a line across our vessel. This was a water-spout of the largest class, and caused much apprehension for our safety. I even heard our oldest sailor, Hugh, who was at the helm, make use of the following expression, while the tobacco-juice was trickling from the corners of his mouth: “I have seeh many a water-spout, but I’ll be blowed if I ever saw one coming so straight on board as this.” During this half-hour we still remained in a perfect calm, the waterspout bringing the wind along with it. We did not spend our time in idle conjecture, but endeavored if possible to avert the impending calamity. It had been stated that a sudden concussion of the air would break the connection of water between the cloud and the sea, and so disperse the descending column before it reached a solid obstacle. I had a large fowling-piece on board which I determined to load and discharge repeatedly in the direction of the waterspout at the proper time. Unfortunately, however, my powder was in my large trunk, stowed away between decks ifi such a manner that every effort to get at it failed, and I lost the opportunity to test the efficacy of this experiment. At length the moment of our trial drew near. The water-spout passed across us a few yards ahead of our bows, and was rent asunder by our jib-boom, so that the great weight of the water fell on the surface of the sea. Nevertheless, the concussion and turmoil created by the bursting so close upon us was so great, that our vessel w r ent spinning around for some minutes like a block in a boiling kettle, and we were completely immersed in a spray of water and a blast of wind,