Odyssey From Africa 14d

Chapter 14d (King Ptolemy the second, cont.) https://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Africa-adventures-Phil-Salmon/dp/197392479X “And upon the open ocean Far from land in roving sail-ships How to find the congregations Of the sharks and rays and tuna “Where the seabirds thresh the water Diving after shoals of sardine Countless million rays of silver Summoning the ocean banquet “Swordfish and the leaping dolphins Albacore and Mahi-Mahi Monstrous whales that breach the surface Rising from the nether darkness!” Han was filled with joy and wonder And a little trepidation At the king’s inspiring knowledge And his passion for the ocean So he asked of him a question Of the hardship they experienced Several seasons of poor catches In his native fishing village Had the fishing on this island Likewise seen a fall in landings? And King Ptolemy responded That this had indeed been suffered And this was the very reason That the King had instigated Special projects for the study Of the ocean and the climate Then he called out to a servant “Speak to me the weather forecast!” And at this the servant signaled To a nearby wooden watchtower With a height about ten meters Where two watchmen kept a vigil On the tower’s topmost platform, Called on them to give the forecast And the forecast was provided But no single word was spoken As with outstretched arms a watchman Waved in both his hands a pennant One was blue, the other yellow Now he gave successive signals Held the flags at varied angles Which conveyed by combination Bits of coded information Would the day bring cloud or sunshine? Was there any chance of rainstorms? Of the wind, its strength and bearing Then the servant spoke the forecast Having read the flag-waved signals Of a cloudless sky till moonrise When the wind would change direction Bringing rain showers on the morrow Possibly a storm by evening “Splendid, splendid!” cried the monarch “We shall see the stars at night time!” Then King Ptolemy recounted How all round the Island’s coastline And across its central uplands They had built a chain of watchtowers Which reported on the weather Every morning, noon and evening With the coded flag-waved signals That from tower to tower transmitted All the weather observations To the town of Cannabarro Gathered at the Royal Palace To be studied by the scholars Who upon a large round table Laid a map of all the kingdom With the near adjacent islands And the close surrounding ocean