the ship, therefore they like to
take an observation of the sun, and see where they are, for the
undercurrent may take them out of their course, and lead them
to some rock or sandbank they wished to avoid, and therefore they
must alter their course.
There are undercurrents that will take us right out of our course-the
insinuations of friends and relations, the influence of some companions,
the continued chaff, the sneering ridicule. It is distressing
to read of the wreck of some ship which lost her reckoning, and
struck on a rock they knew nothing about. Had the reckoning been
made up every day they would have seen where they were, but the
undercurrent would alter all that, and therefore must be reckoned.
In some parts they know the force of a current that crosses their
course; they call it "leeway." They have to allow for
it, and steer accordingly. Beware of the undercurrents. They are
so quiet. Take your latitude and longitude; consult your chart,
the grand old chart.
The River Mississippi near its mouth is very deep, the channel
is worn so by the continual running of