Des chaînes collées au pont, la boussole qui tourne folle, et le tout luisant comme enflammé.
Londres, 18 août — The American liner Westernland, de Philadelphie, which has arrived at Queenstown, brought intelligence of a strange phenomenon experienced by the British steamship Mohican in the Atlantic on August 1, while on a voyage to Philadelphia.
A cloud of phosphoric appearance enveloped the vessel, magnetizing everything on board.
Captain Urquhart says the ship's crew had a fiery coating. When the sailors saw it they rushed at the needle, which they found was moving like an electric fan. The captain ordered several of the crew to move some irons chains lying on deck, but they were unable to do so, although the chains did not weigh more than seventy-five pounds each.
Everything was magnetized, and chains, bolts, spikes, and bars adhered to the decks as if they had been riveted. The cloud was so dense that it was impossible for the vessel to proceed. The captain could not see beyond the decks, and everything appeared to be a mass of glowing fire.
Suddenly the clould lifted, the phosphorescence on the ship began to fade, and in a few minutes the cloud passed away and could be seen moving over the sea.