72 THE OCEAN 



During severe hurricanes in the tropics, im- 

 mense waves are often formed which cause 

 enormous losses to shipping, as well as to the 

 coastwise towns and lands, and in many places 

 the destruction wrought by the waves is far 

 greater than that caused by the wind itself. 

 At such times the open sea is far safer than 

 an anchorage near shore and many a captain 

 has saved his ship and the lives of his crew 

 by putting to sea in the very teeth of a hur- 

 ricane. This was the case at the time of the 

 great hurricane in Samoa, when British, Ger- 

 man and American warships were cast upon 

 the shore and smashed into kindling wood by 

 the wind and waves, while the British ship 

 Calliope steamed out into the screeching, 

 howling gale and sought safety in the open 

 ocean. 



Even the heaviest seas in mid-ocean are 

 safer than much smaller seas near shore and 

 while hurricanes, severe gales, immense waves 

 and waterspouts are all dangerous, yet the 

 actual losses of ships from such causes are com- 

 paratively small, when the vessels have plenty 

 of sea-room. Moreover storms seldom ex- 



