OCEAN VOYAGEThe steamerMariposaleaves the San Francisco wharf at eleven o'clock a. m.,—an excellent time for the passengers to enjoy the beauties of the bay and the Golden Gate, to see the rugged coast of California gradually disappear in the distance during the course of the afternoon, and to prepare himself for the first night's sleep in the cradle of the deep. The second day out, and until the mountains of Tahiti come in sight, the traveler will see nothing but the floating tavern in which he lives, its inmates, the inky blue ocean, the sky, clouds, and, occasionally, sea-gulls, and isolated schools of flying fish. The steamer's track is over an unfrequented part of the ocean. The passenger looks in vain for a mast or white-winged sails, or puffs of smoke in the distance, sights so often seen on more frequented ocean highways. The steamer crosses an ocean desert little known, but out of reach of the violent storms, so frequent near the coasts, on both sides free from reefs and rocks, as this part of the ocean is of unusual depth, amounting in many places to three miles. Stranding of the vessel, or collision with others, the greatest dangers incident to sea travel, are therefore reduced to a minimum on this route. Although this course is an unusually lonely one, the interested observer will find much to see and enjoy. The vast expanse of the ocean impresses the traveler from day to day and grows upon him as the distance from the coast increases.Illimitable ocean! without bound,Without dimensions, where length, breadth, and height,And time, and place, are lostMILTON.The boundless ocean desert, mirror-like when at rest, clothed by gentle ripples and ceaseless wavelets when fanned by the trade-winds, is a picture of peace and contentment.The winds with wonder whist,Smoothly the waters kiss'd,Whispering new joys to the mild ocean.MILTON.But even here in the most peaceful part of the Pacific, when angered by the fury of a heavy squall, a diminutive storm agitates the waters into foam-crested waves, which, for a short time at least, impart to the ship an intoxicated gait. The effect of sun, moon and starlight on the smooth, undulating, heaving, billowing, tossing, storm-beaten surface of the ocean, is marvelous. When all is quiet, and the passenger is only conscious of the vibratory movements imparted to the ship by the ceaseless action of the faithful screw, and the lights of heaven are veiled by a curtain of dark clouds, the beautiful blue gives way to a sombre black. When the tropic sun shines with all his force, the color of the water fairly vies with the deep blue of the sky, and the nearer we approach our destination, the tints of blue grow deeper and deeper, until at last they are of perfect indigo.KING POMARE V.KING POMARE V.The moon and starlight have a magic effect on the surface of the water. The long evenings give the passengers the exquisite pleasure of watching the journey of the moon across the starlit heavenly dome, growing, night after night, from a mere sickle to her full majestic size, and of observing the effects of the gradually increasing intensity of the light issuing from the welcome visitor of the night, on the glassy mirror of water beneath. The star-bedecked pale dome of the tropic sky is, in itself, a picture that rivets the attention of the traveler who loves and studies the book of nature. The short twilight over, "these blessed candles of the night" (Shakespeare) are lighted, and send their feeble light down upon the bosom of the ocean.If the sky is clear, the illuminating power of the moon at its best, and the ocean calm, its surface is transformed into a boundless sheet of silver. This magic effect of moonlight on the surface of the sleeping ocean is magnified by passing fleecy, or dark, storm-threatening clouds. The fleeting, fleecy clouds often veil, only in part, the lovely, full face of the moon, and through fissures, the rays of light issue, and, falling upon the water, are reflected in the form of silvery patches or pathways, corresponding in size and outline with the temporary window in the passing cloud. It is when the moon is about to be hidden behind a dark, impenetrable veil that the spectator may expect to see the most wonderful display of pictures above and around him. As the cloud approaches the moon, the blue background deepens in color and brilliancy and when its dark margin touches the rim of the moon it is changed into a fringe of gold or silver; with the disappearance of the moon behind the cloud the fringe of the latter is rudely torn away, the water beneath is robbed of its carpet of silver, and the captivated observer is made aware that the darkness of night is upon him. But the gloom is of short duration. A break in the cloud serves as a window through which the moon peeps down, with a most bewitching grace, upon the dark surface beneath. The prelude to this exhibition appears on the side of the temporary frame, in the form of a silver lining which broadens with the moving cloud; now the rim of the moon comes into view; slowly, the veil is completely thrown aside, and Luna's calm, pale, smiling, full face makes its appearance, enclosed in a dark frame with silver margins, while, more than likely, she will be attended by a few brilliant stars, thus completing the charms and beauty of the picture suspended from the heavenly dome. All genuine pleasures of this world are of short duration; so with this nocturnal picture painted on the clouds and water. The silver rim on one side of the frame of clouds disappears, the dark margin increases in width, the moon is obscured, and only a few flickering stars remain fixed in the picture.Surely there is something in the unruffled calm of nature that overcomes our little anxieties and doubts: the sight of the deep blue sky, and the clustering stars above, seem to impart a quiet to the mind.JONATHAN EDWARDS.In midocean is the place to view at greatest advantage the gorgeous sunrise and sunset of the tropics. To see the sun disappear in the distance, where the dome of the sky seems to rest on the bosom of the ocean, is a scene which no pen can describe, and which no artist's brush has ever reproduced in any degree comparable with the grand reality. The canvas of the sky behind the setting glowing orb, and the passing clouds in front, above, and beneath it, are painted successively by the invisible brush in the unseen hands of the departing artist in colors and shades of colors that may well laugh to scorn any and all attempts at description or reproduction. The gilded horizon serves as a fitting background for the retreating monarch of the day, and the slowly moving canvas of clouds transmits his last messages in all the hues of red, crimson, pink, and yellow. To observe this immense panorama stretched from north to south, and projected toward the east, resting on the silvery surface of the rippling ocean, with the ever-varying colors of the slowly moving clouds, as seen evening after evening on the Tahitian trip, leaves impressions which time can not erase from memory.Night on board theMariposahas additional attractions for the passengers who appreciate the wonders and beauties of nature. When the night is dark, they find a place in the stern of the ship, lean against the taffrail, and watch the water agitated into a diminutive storm by the powerful screw. There one beholds a sight sufficiently attractive and interesting to keep him spellbound for an hour or more. The indolent, phosphorescent sea-amoeba has been roused into action by the merciless revolutions of the motor of the ship, and emits its diamond sparks of phosphorescent light. Thousands of these little beings discharge their magic light in the white veil of foam which adorns the crests of the storm-beaten surface, in the form of a narrow track as far as the eye can reach in the darkness of the night. The flashes of light thrown off by these minute, to the naked eye invisible, inhabitants of the sea, when angered by the rude action of the screw, appear and disappear in the twinkling of an eye. When these tiny, light-producing animals are numerous, as is the case in the equatorial region, the snow-white veil of foam is richly decorated with diamond sparks which, when they coalesce, form flames of fire in the track of the vessel.POMARE IV.POMARE IV. The Queen of the Story of Ariitaimai of TahitiThe ocean voyage has occasionally still another surprise in store for the traveler when he reaches the South Pacific. A squall is a tempest on a small scale. We see in the distance a dark cloud of immense size which seems to ride slowly over the surface of the smooth sea. The gentle breeze gives way to a strong wind, the surface of the water becomes ruffled with whitecaps, the darkness increases, and at irregular intervals the threatening, angry cloud is lighted up by chains of lightning thrown in all possible directions; these flashes are followed by peals of thunder, and by prolonged rumbling, which becomes feebler and feebler, and finally dies away far out on the surface of the ocean. The steamer penetrates the storm area. Darkness prevails. Gigantic drops of rain strike the deck and patter upon the canvas awning, the harbingers of a drenching rain.And now the thick'ned skyLike a dark ceiling stood; down rush'd the rain impetuous.MILTON.The cloud and darkness are left behind, and a clear sky and smooth sea ahead greet the passengers. Did you ever see a rainbow at midnight? Such an unusual nocturnal spectral phenomenon greeted us in midocean: the full moon in the east, the delicate rainbow in its infinite colors painted on the clouds in the west. Our captain, who had lived on the tropic sea for a quarter of a century, had never seen the like before. It was reserved for us to see a rainbow painted by the moon. With such pleasant diversions, by day and by night, we soon forget the ocean desert, and yet on the last day of the voyage we welcome the sight of land.Be of good cheer, I see land.DIOGENES.The vastness of the ocean and the smallness of Tahiti are in strange contrast. How the mariner, in setting the compass on leaving the harbor of San Francisco, can so unerringly find this little speck in the ocean nearly four thousand miles away, is an accomplishment which no one, not versed in the science of navigation can fully comprehend. We sighted Tahiti during the early part of the forenoon. The peaks of the two highest mountains in Tahiti, Oroheua and Aorii, seven to eight thousand feet in height, projected spectre-like from the surface of the ocean. These peaks appeared as bare, sharp, conical points in the clear sky above a mantle of clouds which enveloped the balance of the island. This misty draping of the two highest mountains takes place almost every day, as the clouds are attracted by the constant moisture of the soil, due to the dense forests and luxuriant tropical vegetation.The next sight of land brought into view the rugged mountains of Moorea and a group of small atoll islands. Moorea is in plain view from Papeete, and is the second largest of the Society Islands. Before we look at Tahiti at close range, let us examine the group of atoll islands which the steamer passes close enough to give us a good idea of their formation.
OCEAN VOYAGEThe steamerMariposaleaves the San Francisco wharf at eleven o'clock a. m.,—an excellent time for the passengers to enjoy the beauties of the bay and the Golden Gate, to see the rugged coast of California gradually disappear in the distance during the course of the afternoon, and to prepare himself for the first night's sleep in the cradle of the deep. The second day out, and until the mountains of Tahiti come in sight, the traveler will see nothing but the floating tavern in which he lives, its inmates, the inky blue ocean, the sky, clouds, and, occasionally, sea-gulls, and isolated schools of flying fish. The steamer's track is over an unfrequented part of the ocean. The passenger looks in vain for a mast or white-winged sails, or puffs of smoke in the distance, sights so often seen on more frequented ocean highways. The steamer crosses an ocean desert little known, but out of reach of the violent storms, so frequent near the coasts, on both sides free from reefs and rocks, as this part of the ocean is of unusual depth, amounting in many places to three miles. Stranding of the vessel, or collision with others, the greatest dangers incident to sea travel, are therefore reduced to a minimum on this route. Although this course is an unusually lonely one, the interested observer will find much to see and enjoy. The vast expanse of the ocean impresses the traveler from day to day and grows upon him as the distance from the coast increases.Illimitable ocean! without bound,Without dimensions, where length, breadth, and height,And time, and place, are lostMILTON.The boundless ocean desert, mirror-like when at rest, clothed by gentle ripples and ceaseless wavelets when fanned by the trade-winds, is a picture of peace and contentment.The winds with wonder whist,Smoothly the waters kiss'd,Whispering new joys to the mild ocean.MILTON.But even here in the most peaceful part of the Pacific, when angered by the fury of a heavy squall, a diminutive storm agitates the waters into foam-crested waves, which, for a short time at least, impart to the ship an intoxicated gait. The effect of sun, moon and starlight on the smooth, undulating, heaving, billowing, tossing, storm-beaten surface of the ocean, is marvelous. When all is quiet, and the passenger is only conscious of the vibratory movements imparted to the ship by the ceaseless action of the faithful screw, and the lights of heaven are veiled by a curtain of dark clouds, the beautiful blue gives way to a sombre black. When the tropic sun shines with all his force, the color of the water fairly vies with the deep blue of the sky, and the nearer we approach our destination, the tints of blue grow deeper and deeper, until at last they are of perfect indigo.KING POMARE V.KING POMARE V.The moon and starlight have a magic effect on the surface of the water. The long evenings give the passengers the exquisite pleasure of watching the journey of the moon across the starlit heavenly dome, growing, night after night, from a mere sickle to her full majestic size, and of observing the effects of the gradually increasing intensity of the light issuing from the welcome visitor of the night, on the glassy mirror of water beneath. The star-bedecked pale dome of the tropic sky is, in itself, a picture that rivets the attention of the traveler who loves and studies the book of nature. The short twilight over, "these blessed candles of the night" (Shakespeare) are lighted, and send their feeble light down upon the bosom of the ocean.If the sky is clear, the illuminating power of the moon at its best, and the ocean calm, its surface is transformed into a boundless sheet of silver. This magic effect of moonlight on the surface of the sleeping ocean is magnified by passing fleecy, or dark, storm-threatening clouds. The fleeting, fleecy clouds often veil, only in part, the lovely, full face of the moon, and through fissures, the rays of light issue, and, falling upon the water, are reflected in the form of silvery patches or pathways, corresponding in size and outline with the temporary window in the passing cloud. It is when the moon is about to be hidden behind a dark, impenetrable veil that the spectator may expect to see the most wonderful display of pictures above and around him. As the cloud approaches the moon, the blue background deepens in color and brilliancy and when its dark margin touches the rim of the moon it is changed into a fringe of gold or silver; with the disappearance of the moon behind the cloud the fringe of the latter is rudely torn away, the water beneath is robbed of its carpet of silver, and the captivated observer is made aware that the darkness of night is upon him. But the gloom is of short duration. A break in the cloud serves as a window through which the moon peeps down, with a most bewitching grace, upon the dark surface beneath. The prelude to this exhibition appears on the side of the temporary frame, in the form of a silver lining which broadens with the moving cloud; now the rim of the moon comes into view; slowly, the veil is completely thrown aside, and Luna's calm, pale, smiling, full face makes its appearance, enclosed in a dark frame with silver margins, while, more than likely, she will be attended by a few brilliant stars, thus completing the charms and beauty of the picture suspended from the heavenly dome. All genuine pleasures of this world are of short duration; so with this nocturnal picture painted on the clouds and water. The silver rim on one side of the frame of clouds disappears, the dark margin increases in width, the moon is obscured, and only a few flickering stars remain fixed in the picture.Surely there is something in the unruffled calm of nature that overcomes our little anxieties and doubts: the sight of the deep blue sky, and the clustering stars above, seem to impart a quiet to the mind.JONATHAN EDWARDS.In midocean is the place to view at greatest advantage the gorgeous sunrise and sunset of the tropics. To see the sun disappear in the distance, where the dome of the sky seems to rest on the bosom of the ocean, is a scene which no pen can describe, and which no artist's brush has ever reproduced in any degree comparable with the grand reality. The canvas of the sky behind the setting glowing orb, and the passing clouds in front, above, and beneath it, are painted successively by the invisible brush in the unseen hands of the departing artist in colors and shades of colors that may well laugh to scorn any and all attempts at description or reproduction. The gilded horizon serves as a fitting background for the retreating monarch of the day, and the slowly moving canvas of clouds transmits his last messages in all the hues of red, crimson, pink, and yellow. To observe this immense panorama stretched from north to south, and projected toward the east, resting on the silvery surface of the rippling ocean, with the ever-varying colors of the slowly moving clouds, as seen evening after evening on the Tahitian trip, leaves impressions which time can not erase from memory.Night on board theMariposahas additional attractions for the passengers who appreciate the wonders and beauties of nature. When the night is dark, they find a place in the stern of the ship, lean against the taffrail, and watch the water agitated into a diminutive storm by the powerful screw. There one beholds a sight sufficiently attractive and interesting to keep him spellbound for an hour or more. The indolent, phosphorescent sea-amoeba has been roused into action by the merciless revolutions of the motor of the ship, and emits its diamond sparks of phosphorescent light. Thousands of these little beings discharge their magic light in the white veil of foam which adorns the crests of the storm-beaten surface, in the form of a narrow track as far as the eye can reach in the darkness of the night. The flashes of light thrown off by these minute, to the naked eye invisible, inhabitants of the sea, when angered by the rude action of the screw, appear and disappear in the twinkling of an eye. When these tiny, light-producing animals are numerous, as is the case in the equatorial region, the snow-white veil of foam is richly decorated with diamond sparks which, when they coalesce, form flames of fire in the track of the vessel.POMARE IV.POMARE IV. The Queen of the Story of Ariitaimai of TahitiThe ocean voyage has occasionally still another surprise in store for the traveler when he reaches the South Pacific. A squall is a tempest on a small scale. We see in the distance a dark cloud of immense size which seems to ride slowly over the surface of the smooth sea. The gentle breeze gives way to a strong wind, the surface of the water becomes ruffled with whitecaps, the darkness increases, and at irregular intervals the threatening, angry cloud is lighted up by chains of lightning thrown in all possible directions; these flashes are followed by peals of thunder, and by prolonged rumbling, which becomes feebler and feebler, and finally dies away far out on the surface of the ocean. The steamer penetrates the storm area. Darkness prevails. Gigantic drops of rain strike the deck and patter upon the canvas awning, the harbingers of a drenching rain.And now the thick'ned skyLike a dark ceiling stood; down rush'd the rain impetuous.MILTON.The cloud and darkness are left behind, and a clear sky and smooth sea ahead greet the passengers. Did you ever see a rainbow at midnight? Such an unusual nocturnal spectral phenomenon greeted us in midocean: the full moon in the east, the delicate rainbow in its infinite colors painted on the clouds in the west. Our captain, who had lived on the tropic sea for a quarter of a century, had never seen the like before. It was reserved for us to see a rainbow painted by the moon. With such pleasant diversions, by day and by night, we soon forget the ocean desert, and yet on the last day of the voyage we welcome the sight of land.Be of good cheer, I see land.DIOGENES.The vastness of the ocean and the smallness of Tahiti are in strange contrast. How the mariner, in setting the compass on leaving the harbor of San Francisco, can so unerringly find this little speck in the ocean nearly four thousand miles away, is an accomplishment which no one, not versed in the science of navigation can fully comprehend. We sighted Tahiti during the early part of the forenoon. The peaks of the two highest mountains in Tahiti, Oroheua and Aorii, seven to eight thousand feet in height, projected spectre-like from the surface of the ocean. These peaks appeared as bare, sharp, conical points in the clear sky above a mantle of clouds which enveloped the balance of the island. This misty draping of the two highest mountains takes place almost every day, as the clouds are attracted by the constant moisture of the soil, due to the dense forests and luxuriant tropical vegetation.The next sight of land brought into view the rugged mountains of Moorea and a group of small atoll islands. Moorea is in plain view from Papeete, and is the second largest of the Society Islands. Before we look at Tahiti at close range, let us examine the group of atoll islands which the steamer passes close enough to give us a good idea of their formation.
The steamerMariposaleaves the San Francisco wharf at eleven o'clock a. m.,—an excellent time for the passengers to enjoy the beauties of the bay and the Golden Gate, to see the rugged coast of California gradually disappear in the distance during the course of the afternoon, and to prepare himself for the first night's sleep in the cradle of the deep. The second day out, and until the mountains of Tahiti come in sight, the traveler will see nothing but the floating tavern in which he lives, its inmates, the inky blue ocean, the sky, clouds, and, occasionally, sea-gulls, and isolated schools of flying fish. The steamer's track is over an unfrequented part of the ocean. The passenger looks in vain for a mast or white-winged sails, or puffs of smoke in the distance, sights so often seen on more frequented ocean highways. The steamer crosses an ocean desert little known, but out of reach of the violent storms, so frequent near the coasts, on both sides free from reefs and rocks, as this part of the ocean is of unusual depth, amounting in many places to three miles. Stranding of the vessel, or collision with others, the greatest dangers incident to sea travel, are therefore reduced to a minimum on this route. Although this course is an unusually lonely one, the interested observer will find much to see and enjoy. The vast expanse of the ocean impresses the traveler from day to day and grows upon him as the distance from the coast increases.
Illimitable ocean! without bound,Without dimensions, where length, breadth, and height,And time, and place, are lostMILTON.
Illimitable ocean! without bound,
Without dimensions, where length, breadth, and height,
And time, and place, are lost
MILTON.
The boundless ocean desert, mirror-like when at rest, clothed by gentle ripples and ceaseless wavelets when fanned by the trade-winds, is a picture of peace and contentment.
The winds with wonder whist,Smoothly the waters kiss'd,Whispering new joys to the mild ocean.MILTON.
The winds with wonder whist,
Smoothly the waters kiss'd,
Whispering new joys to the mild ocean.
MILTON.
But even here in the most peaceful part of the Pacific, when angered by the fury of a heavy squall, a diminutive storm agitates the waters into foam-crested waves, which, for a short time at least, impart to the ship an intoxicated gait. The effect of sun, moon and starlight on the smooth, undulating, heaving, billowing, tossing, storm-beaten surface of the ocean, is marvelous. When all is quiet, and the passenger is only conscious of the vibratory movements imparted to the ship by the ceaseless action of the faithful screw, and the lights of heaven are veiled by a curtain of dark clouds, the beautiful blue gives way to a sombre black. When the tropic sun shines with all his force, the color of the water fairly vies with the deep blue of the sky, and the nearer we approach our destination, the tints of blue grow deeper and deeper, until at last they are of perfect indigo.
KING POMARE V.KING POMARE V.
KING POMARE V.
The moon and starlight have a magic effect on the surface of the water. The long evenings give the passengers the exquisite pleasure of watching the journey of the moon across the starlit heavenly dome, growing, night after night, from a mere sickle to her full majestic size, and of observing the effects of the gradually increasing intensity of the light issuing from the welcome visitor of the night, on the glassy mirror of water beneath. The star-bedecked pale dome of the tropic sky is, in itself, a picture that rivets the attention of the traveler who loves and studies the book of nature. The short twilight over, "these blessed candles of the night" (Shakespeare) are lighted, and send their feeble light down upon the bosom of the ocean.
If the sky is clear, the illuminating power of the moon at its best, and the ocean calm, its surface is transformed into a boundless sheet of silver. This magic effect of moonlight on the surface of the sleeping ocean is magnified by passing fleecy, or dark, storm-threatening clouds. The fleeting, fleecy clouds often veil, only in part, the lovely, full face of the moon, and through fissures, the rays of light issue, and, falling upon the water, are reflected in the form of silvery patches or pathways, corresponding in size and outline with the temporary window in the passing cloud. It is when the moon is about to be hidden behind a dark, impenetrable veil that the spectator may expect to see the most wonderful display of pictures above and around him. As the cloud approaches the moon, the blue background deepens in color and brilliancy and when its dark margin touches the rim of the moon it is changed into a fringe of gold or silver; with the disappearance of the moon behind the cloud the fringe of the latter is rudely torn away, the water beneath is robbed of its carpet of silver, and the captivated observer is made aware that the darkness of night is upon him. But the gloom is of short duration. A break in the cloud serves as a window through which the moon peeps down, with a most bewitching grace, upon the dark surface beneath. The prelude to this exhibition appears on the side of the temporary frame, in the form of a silver lining which broadens with the moving cloud; now the rim of the moon comes into view; slowly, the veil is completely thrown aside, and Luna's calm, pale, smiling, full face makes its appearance, enclosed in a dark frame with silver margins, while, more than likely, she will be attended by a few brilliant stars, thus completing the charms and beauty of the picture suspended from the heavenly dome. All genuine pleasures of this world are of short duration; so with this nocturnal picture painted on the clouds and water. The silver rim on one side of the frame of clouds disappears, the dark margin increases in width, the moon is obscured, and only a few flickering stars remain fixed in the picture.
Surely there is something in the unruffled calm of nature that overcomes our little anxieties and doubts: the sight of the deep blue sky, and the clustering stars above, seem to impart a quiet to the mind.JONATHAN EDWARDS.
Surely there is something in the unruffled calm of nature that overcomes our little anxieties and doubts: the sight of the deep blue sky, and the clustering stars above, seem to impart a quiet to the mind.
JONATHAN EDWARDS.
In midocean is the place to view at greatest advantage the gorgeous sunrise and sunset of the tropics. To see the sun disappear in the distance, where the dome of the sky seems to rest on the bosom of the ocean, is a scene which no pen can describe, and which no artist's brush has ever reproduced in any degree comparable with the grand reality. The canvas of the sky behind the setting glowing orb, and the passing clouds in front, above, and beneath it, are painted successively by the invisible brush in the unseen hands of the departing artist in colors and shades of colors that may well laugh to scorn any and all attempts at description or reproduction. The gilded horizon serves as a fitting background for the retreating monarch of the day, and the slowly moving canvas of clouds transmits his last messages in all the hues of red, crimson, pink, and yellow. To observe this immense panorama stretched from north to south, and projected toward the east, resting on the silvery surface of the rippling ocean, with the ever-varying colors of the slowly moving clouds, as seen evening after evening on the Tahitian trip, leaves impressions which time can not erase from memory.
Night on board theMariposahas additional attractions for the passengers who appreciate the wonders and beauties of nature. When the night is dark, they find a place in the stern of the ship, lean against the taffrail, and watch the water agitated into a diminutive storm by the powerful screw. There one beholds a sight sufficiently attractive and interesting to keep him spellbound for an hour or more. The indolent, phosphorescent sea-amoeba has been roused into action by the merciless revolutions of the motor of the ship, and emits its diamond sparks of phosphorescent light. Thousands of these little beings discharge their magic light in the white veil of foam which adorns the crests of the storm-beaten surface, in the form of a narrow track as far as the eye can reach in the darkness of the night. The flashes of light thrown off by these minute, to the naked eye invisible, inhabitants of the sea, when angered by the rude action of the screw, appear and disappear in the twinkling of an eye. When these tiny, light-producing animals are numerous, as is the case in the equatorial region, the snow-white veil of foam is richly decorated with diamond sparks which, when they coalesce, form flames of fire in the track of the vessel.
POMARE IV.POMARE IV. The Queen of the Story of Ariitaimai of Tahiti
POMARE IV. The Queen of the Story of Ariitaimai of Tahiti
The ocean voyage has occasionally still another surprise in store for the traveler when he reaches the South Pacific. A squall is a tempest on a small scale. We see in the distance a dark cloud of immense size which seems to ride slowly over the surface of the smooth sea. The gentle breeze gives way to a strong wind, the surface of the water becomes ruffled with whitecaps, the darkness increases, and at irregular intervals the threatening, angry cloud is lighted up by chains of lightning thrown in all possible directions; these flashes are followed by peals of thunder, and by prolonged rumbling, which becomes feebler and feebler, and finally dies away far out on the surface of the ocean. The steamer penetrates the storm area. Darkness prevails. Gigantic drops of rain strike the deck and patter upon the canvas awning, the harbingers of a drenching rain.
And now the thick'ned skyLike a dark ceiling stood; down rush'd the rain impetuous.MILTON.
And now the thick'ned sky
Like a dark ceiling stood; down rush'd the rain impetuous.
MILTON.
The cloud and darkness are left behind, and a clear sky and smooth sea ahead greet the passengers. Did you ever see a rainbow at midnight? Such an unusual nocturnal spectral phenomenon greeted us in midocean: the full moon in the east, the delicate rainbow in its infinite colors painted on the clouds in the west. Our captain, who had lived on the tropic sea for a quarter of a century, had never seen the like before. It was reserved for us to see a rainbow painted by the moon. With such pleasant diversions, by day and by night, we soon forget the ocean desert, and yet on the last day of the voyage we welcome the sight of land.
Be of good cheer, I see land.DIOGENES.
Be of good cheer, I see land.
DIOGENES.
The vastness of the ocean and the smallness of Tahiti are in strange contrast. How the mariner, in setting the compass on leaving the harbor of San Francisco, can so unerringly find this little speck in the ocean nearly four thousand miles away, is an accomplishment which no one, not versed in the science of navigation can fully comprehend. We sighted Tahiti during the early part of the forenoon. The peaks of the two highest mountains in Tahiti, Oroheua and Aorii, seven to eight thousand feet in height, projected spectre-like from the surface of the ocean. These peaks appeared as bare, sharp, conical points in the clear sky above a mantle of clouds which enveloped the balance of the island. This misty draping of the two highest mountains takes place almost every day, as the clouds are attracted by the constant moisture of the soil, due to the dense forests and luxuriant tropical vegetation.
The next sight of land brought into view the rugged mountains of Moorea and a group of small atoll islands. Moorea is in plain view from Papeete, and is the second largest of the Society Islands. Before we look at Tahiti at close range, let us examine the group of atoll islands which the steamer passes close enough to give us a good idea of their formation.