NOAH'S ARK.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 65, 16 March 1907, Page 14

NOAH'S ARK.

AX OLD SALTS NOTIONS OF THE FLOOD. A certain Captain Francis Watlington, an old salt, has evidently in the course of his musings arrived at the conclusion that the Biblical account of the details of the construction and trip of that deluvian prototype of the modern palatial cross-seas craft, Noah's Ark, is in need of further embellishment. So he has set himself tbe task of improving on Genesis, and has embodied his "discovery" in a book entitled "The Real Truth about Noah's Ark." Captain Watlington believes he has suecessfnllv explained _:____* memorable voyage. He _iold_ t.i_.at: *__c Ark tc__s not a. t.a-m-I___e stitil, DM a Alii A( iiiiitt mm tions not unlike tlie sailings craJTt of *o-<_ay. That the vessel was for several days fast and dry upon a mound of land, and that "Mount Ararat"' -was not the mountain of that name iv Arabia, but was this shoal met in the progress of the voyage, is among tne remarkable statements in tl_e book. Captain Watlington has spent all but ten of his seventy years aboard ship. For that reason he maintains that he is in much better position to write an accurate account of tbe doings on Noah's ship than the average historian, who in most cases knows little if anything of the seas. He studied T_s_ier"s version of the English Bible and read the assertion that the Deluge took place 4254 years ago. Captain Watlington decided to find for himself if such was the case. From that day the sailor delved Into works of science, studied the tides and the stars, and then figured it out that the Deluge took place 9067 years auo. A "WELL-FOUND" SHIP. Captain carefully figured out the size of the Ark and its tonnage from the Biblical statistics. It was 574 feet long, 91.2 feet wide, 34.72 feet high, with four decks. Its registered tonnage was 1,863,892 tons, and its capacity was 46,597 toDS. The hull was of'teak. The upper storey was occupied by the large numbei of people composing the House of Noah; the two lower storeys by the animals, and the cellar, or space beneath the water, with provisions and personal property. The upper deck made an elegant promenade. There is space on the two lower decks to hold conveniently 1200 animals as large as oxen, besides the small animals and winged fowls and birds . surely sufficient to accommodate all the classes of animals directed by the command when rightly understood.

"The capacity of the beautiful " upper storey," says the Log Book, "was sufficient to accommodate comfortably 1000 or more persons, one-half of wnieii number would be required to navigate and attend the animals. Noah undoubtedly invited a sufficient number for that purpose.

"That elegaut third storey, 6 o finely lighted and ventilated, with its many, wellplanncd rooms, was not intended for a hay loft or for the use of any others but the many people who were the members of Noah's house.''

Captain Watlington figures out ia detaii all the provisions on board the Art auo makes the weight of all the cargo and passengers 20,000 tons, sufficient to give the ship a draught of 27 feet.

"The Noachian Deluge," say S the Lo-> Book, "was a minor affair compared with other previous and more violent of nature which had occurred with vary ing intervals of time."

The "whole earth" refers to the small part of it known to Noah.

"It will be observed that the Book of Genesis, so far as the, Human race is concerned, only records the history of the children of Adam, and does uot" deny the existence of other races and tribes." Captain Watlington asserts, with much evidence to prove it, that the land of Noah was south of Siam, Sumatra, and others ol the Malay Archipelago. "Sumatra," he says, "te within the zone of intense volcanic energy, and subject to terrific rains. Iv 1861, an unusual year 805 inches fell, 366 inches having _al__n i_ the single month of July. "This immense volume of water elevated from the surface of the ocean by the sun's energy, wafted inland «nd precipitated by the monsoons, Is unequalled elsewhere ou the face of the globe. "And such is clearly the rain described In the eleventh verse of the seventh chapter of Genesis, to wit, 'And the windows of Heaven were opened.'" A TERRIBLE CATACLYSM. After the lapse of one hundred years of work the Ark was completed on the west coast of Sumatra, the animals, provteitnu. and passengers were aboard, and Noah and his house were about to begin their strange and perilous journey. "And what a dark, solemn day! The bursting of the typhoon, the violent -commotion aud tossing about, the roaring of the winds, the clash of the elements, the peals of thunder, the lightning's flash and the inky blackness between, the torrents of rain, the boiling ocean with fearful violence, the volcanoes' sulphurous odours, the rumbling and quaking of the land beneath the sea and the heavens above, the shrieks and screams of the wild birds; all the furies let loose, and the drowned human beings and animals, the trees, buildings, and ail substance floating on every side! "Forty men on each deck are necessary relieving each other every eight hours, In three watches every day, to attend to their wants. And five hundred men are required for service in all departments. . . "It is now four months since they left their former home, and the weather is getting wanner. Noah is aware he is approaching the c_nt__._t ot Asia- through

th_ tncreaa-ct temperatnzs and -.lour o_l the water. • ' "Another .month;las passed. tfWteH-w''' afloat 150 days, and yet no land In sight. But lo and behold; a rumbling, grating sound, a trembling and a quivering, and the ark is grounded ou a shoal! "Two months and thirteen days have now elapsed since the Ark rested on Ararat shoal, and listen to the joyful sound, the glad tidings ringing through the ship! Land ho! Laud on the weather bowl See the mountain tons in the distance. "These mountains are near the coast of Beloochistan, on the north shore of the Arabian Sea, west of the Indus River. The Ark in a few days would pass right over the visible zone—the land would disappear from their view until* they arrived further north-west. "They had now been at Bea 313 days, and the first year of the second cycle of his Jife was now completed, for either he or his dynasty was 601 years old upon this occasion. "As there were two large rivers then opening into the gulf, Noah selected the best, and the Euphrates just fits the situation, as he could ascend up that river as far as Ur, afterwards knox-n as Mugheir." The Ark had travelled 4200 miles in 360 days of sailing." , ulJUmVkmk