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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.