path: root/69154-0.txt

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 69154 ***

                  [Illustration: The “Flying Cloud"]




                                  The
                           Clipper Ship Era

               An Epitome of Famous American and British
                Clipper Ships, Their Owners, Builders,
                         Commanders, and Crews

                               1843-1869

                                  By
                            Arthur H. Clark

           Late Commander of Ship “Verena,” Barque “Agnes,”
              Steamships “Manchu,” “Suwo Nada,” “Venus,”
                      and “Indiana.” (1863-1877)

                  Author of “The History of Yachting”

                        _With 39 Illustrations_


                          G. P. Putnam’s Sons
                          New York and London
                        The Knickerbocker Press
                                 1911


                            COPYRIGHT, 1910
                                  BY
                            ARTHUR H. CLARK

                       Published, November, 1910
                 Reprinted, January, 1911; March, 1911


                   The Knickerbocker Press, New York




                                  To

                             THE MEMORY OF

                        A FRIEND OF MY BOYHOOD

                             DONALD McKAY

                           BUILDER OF SHIPS




PREFACE


The Clipper Ship Era began in 1843 as a result of the growing demand for
a more rapid delivery of tea from China; continued under the stimulating
influence of the discovery of gold in California and Australia in 1849
and 1851, and ended with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. These
memorable years form one of the most important and interesting periods
of maritime history. They stand between the centuries during which man
navigated the sea with sail and oar--a slave to unknown winds and
currents, helpless alike in calm and in storm--and the successful
introduction of steam navigation, by which man has obtained mastery upon
the ocean.

After countless generations of evolution, this era witnessed the highest
development of the wooden sailing ship in construction, speed, and
beauty. Nearly all the clipper ships made records which were not
equalled by the steamships of their day; and more than a quarter of a
century elapsed, devoted to discovery and invention in perfecting the
marine engine and boiler, before the best clipper ship records for speed
were broken by steam vessels. During this era, too, important
discoveries were made in regard to the laws governing the winds and
currents of the ocean; and this knowledge, together with improvements in
model and rig, enabled sailing ships to reduce by forty days the average
time formerly required for the outward and homeward voyage from England
and America to Australia.

In pursuing this narrative we shall see the stately, frigate-built
Indiaman, with her batteries of guns and the hammocks stowed in
nettings, disappear, and her place taken by the swift China, California,
and Australian clippers, which in their turn, after a long and gallant
contest, at last vanish before the advancing power of steam.

Many of the clipper ships mentioned in this book, both American and
British, were well known to me; some of the most celebrated of the
American clippers were built near my early home in Boston, and as a boy
I saw a number of them constructed and launched; later, I sailed as an
officer in one of the most famous of them, and as a young sea-captain
knew many of the men who commanded them. I do not, however, depend upon
memory, nearly all the facts herein stated being from the most reliable
records that can be obtained. So far as I am aware, no account of these
vessels has ever been written, beyond a few magazine and newspaper
articles, necessarily incomplete and often far from accurate; while most
of the men who knew these famous ships have now passed away. It seems
proper, therefore, that some account of this remarkable era should be
recorded by one who has a personal knowledge of the most exciting
portion of it, and of many of the men and ships that made it what it
was.

Of late years there has been a confusing mixture of the terms _knot_ and
_mile_ as applied to the speed of vessels. As most persons are aware,
there are three kinds of mile: the geographical, statute, and sea mile
or knot. The geographical mile is based on a measure upon the surface of
the globe, and is a mathematical calculation which should be used by
experts only. The statute mile, instituted by the Romans, is a measure
of 5280 feet. The sea mile or knot is one sixtieth of a degree of
latitude; and while this measurement varies slightly in different
latitudes, owing to the elliptical shape of the globe, for practical
purposes the knot may be taken as 6080 feet.

The word knot is now frequently used to express long distances at sea.
This is an error, as the term knot should be used only to denote an
hourly rate of speed; for instance, to say that a vessel is making nine
knots means that she is going through the water at the rate of nine
knots an hour, but it would be incorrect to say that she made thirty-six
knots in four hours; here the term miles should be used, meaning sea
miles or knots. The term knot is simply a unit of speed, and is derived
from the knots marked on the old-fashioned log line and graduated to a
twenty-eight-second log glass which was usually kept in the binnacle. In
this book the word mile means a sea mile and not a geographical or
statute mile.

I wish to make my grateful acknowledgment to the Hydrographic Office at
Washington, the British Museum, Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, the
American Bureau of Shipping, the Boston Athenæum, and the Astor Library,
for much of the data contained in this book.

A. H. C.

NEW YORK, 1910.




CONTENTS


CHAPTER                                                             PAGE

I. AMERICAN SHIPPING TO THE CLOSE OF THE WAR OF 1812                   1

II. BRITISH SHIPPING AFTER 1815--THE EAST INDIA COMPANY               19

III. THE NORTH ATLANTIC PACKET SHIPS, 1815-1850                       38

IV. OPIUM CLIPPERS AND EARLY CLIPPER SHIPS, 1838-1848                 57

V. TWO EARLY CLIPPER SHIP COMMANDERS                                  73

VI. THE REPEAL OF THE BRITISH NAVIGATION LAWS--THE “ORIENTAL”         88

VII. THE RUSH FOR CALIFORNIA--A SAILING DAY                          100

VIII. THE CLIPPER SHIP CREWS                                         119

IX. CALIFORNIA CLIPPERS OF 1850 AND THEIR COMMANDERS--MAURY’S WIND AND
CURRENT CHARTS                                                       134

X. CALIFORNIA CLIPPERS OF 1851 AND THEIR COMMANDERS--A DAY ON BOARD THE
“WITCH OF THE WAVE”                                                  151

XI. CALIFORNIA CLIPPER PASSAGES IN 1851                              173

XII. AMERICAN COMPETITION WITH GREAT BRITAIN IN THE CHINA TRADE      195

XIII. CALIFORNIA CLIPPERS OF 1852--THE “SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS”       211

XIV. CALIFORNIA CLIPPERS OF 1853                                     224

XV. THE “GREAT REPUBLIC” AND THE “DREADNOUGHT”                       235

XVI. AMERICAN CLIPPERS OF 1854 AND 1855                              248

XVII. AUSTRALIAN VOYAGES, 1851-1854                                  260

XVIII. AUSTRALIAN CLIPPERS, 1854-1856                                273

XIX. LAST YEARS OF THE AMERICAN CLIPPER SHIP ERA--SUMMARY OF CALIFORNIA
PASSAGES                                                             289

XX. THE GREATNESS AND THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN MERCHANT
MARINE                                                               308

XXI. THE LATER BRITISH TEA CLIPPERS                                  318

XXII. THE FATE OF THE OLD CLIPPER SHIPS                              340

APPENDICES                                                           349

INDEX                                                                377




ILLUSTRATIONS


                                                                    PAGE

THE “FLYING CLOUD”                                         _Frontispiece_

EAST INDIAMEN, 1720                                                   24

AN EAST INDIAMAN, 1788                                                30

THE “MARLBOROUGH” AND “BLENHEIM”                                      36

THE “ENGLAND”                                                         40

THE “MONTEZUMA”                                                       44

THE “YORKSHIRE”                                                       48

JACOB A. WESTERVELT                                                  104

JACOB BELL                                                           104

WILLIAM H. WEBB                                                      106

SAMUEL HALL                                                          106

ROBERT H. WATERMAN                                                   112

N. B. PALMER                                                         112

JOSIAH P. CREESY                                                     122

H. W. JOHNSON                                                        122

DAVID S. BABCOCK                                                     128

GEORGE LANE                                                          128

LAUCHLAN MCKAY                                                       130

PHILIP DUMARESQ                                                      130

THE “SURPRISE”                                                       136

THE “STAG-HOUND”                                                     142

MATTHEW FONTAINE MAURY                                               148

THE “NIGHTINGALE”                                                    164

THE “CHALLENGE”                                                      186

THE “STORNOWAY”                                                      198

THE “SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS”                                          218

THE “COMET”                                                          224

THE “YOUNG AMERICA”                                                  232

THE “GREAT REPUBLIC”                                                 242

THE “DREADNOUGHT”                                                    246

THE “BRISK” AND “EMANUELA”                                           252

DONALD MCKAY                                                         256

THE “RED JACKET”                                                     272

THE “JAMES BAINES”                                                   282

THE “SCHOMBERG”                                                      286

THE “SWEEPSTAKES”                                                    290

THE COMPOSITE CONSTRUCTION                                           322

THE “ARIEL” AND “TAEPING” RUNNING UP CHANNEL, SEPTEMBER 5, 1866      328

THE “LAHLOO”                                                         336




The Clipper Ship Era




CHAPTER I

AMERICAN SHIPPING TO THE CLOSE OF THE WAR OF 1812


The deeds that have made the Clipper Ship Era a glorious memory were
wrought by the ship-builders and master mariners of the United States
and Great Britain, for the flag of no other nation was represented in
this spirited contest upon the sea. In order, therefore, to form an
intelligent idea of this era, it is necessary to review the condition of
the merchant marine of the two countries for a considerable period
preceding it, as well as the events that led directly to its
development.

From the earliest colonial days, ship-building has been a favorite
industry in America. The first vessel built within the present limits of
the United States was the _Virginia_, a pinnace of thirty tons,
constructed in 1607 by the Popham colonists who had arrived during the
summer at Stage Island, near the mouth of the Kennebec River, on board
the ships _Gift of God_ and _Mary and John_. When these vessels returned
to England, leaving forty-five persons to establish a fishing station,
and a severe winter followed, the colonists became disheartened and
built the _Virginia_, which carried them home in safety and which
subsequently made several voyages across the Atlantic.

The _Onrust_, of sixteen tons, was built at Manhattan in 1613-14, by
Adrian Block and his companions, to replace the _Tiger_, which had been
damaged by fire beyond repair. After exploring the coasts of New England
and Delaware Bay, she sailed for Holland with a cargo of furs. The
_Blessing of the Bay_, a barque of thirty tons, was built by order of
Governor John Winthrop at Medford, near Boston, and was launched amid
solemn rejoicings by the Puritans on July 4, 1631. This little vessel
was intended to give the New England colonists a means of communication
with their neighbors at New Amsterdam less difficult than that through
the wilderness. So we see that ship-building was begun in America under
the pressure of necessity, and it was fostered by the conditions of life
in the new country.

In the year 1668, the ship-building in New England, small as it may now
seem, had become sufficiently important to attract the attention of Sir
Josiah Child, sometime Chairman of the Court of Directors of the East
India Company, who in his _Discourse on Trade_ protests with patriotic
alarm: “Of all the American plantations, His Majesty has none so apt for
building of shipping as New England, nor any comparably so qualified for
the breeding of seamen, not only by reason of the natural industry of
that people, but principally by reason of their cod and mackerel
fisheries, and, in my poor opinion, there is nothing more prejudicial,
and in prospect more dangerous, to any mother kingdom, than the increase
in shipping in her colonies, plantations, and provinces.”

The apprehension of the worthy Sir Josiah was well founded, for at that
period most of the spars and much of the timber which went into the
construction of the East Indiamen and the fighting ships of his royal
master, King Charles II., had grown in American soil, and of 1332
vessels registered as built in New England between 1674 and 1714, no
less than 239 were built for or sold to merchants abroad. Not that they
were better than foreign built vessels, but on account of the plentiful
supply of timber they could be built more cheaply in America than in
Great Britain and on the Continent.

The industry was in a promising and healthy condition, and so continued,
until in 1720 the London shipwrights informed the Lords of Trade that
the New England shipyards had drawn away so many men “that there were
not enough left to carry on the work.” They therefore prayed that
colonial built ships be excluded from all trade except with Great
Britain and her colonies, and that the colonists be forbidden to build
ships above a certain size. The Lords of Trade, though fine crusty old
protectionists, were unable to see their way to granting any such prayer
as this, and so ship-building continued to flourish in America. In the
year 1769, the colonists along the whole Atlantic coast launched 389
vessels, of which 113 were square-riggers. It should not, however, be
imagined that these vessels were formidable in size. The whole 389 had
an aggregate register of 20,001 tons, an average of slightly over 50
tons each. Of these vessels 137, of 8013 tons, were built in
Massachusetts; 45, of 2452 tons in New Hampshire; 50, of 1542 tons, in
Connecticut; 19, of 955 tons, in New York; 22, of 1469 tons, in
Pennsylvania. It is probable that few of them exceeded 100 tons
register, and that none was over 200 tons register.

With the advent of the Revolutionary War, the rivalry on the sea between
the older and the younger country took a more serious turn. Centuries
before clipper ships were ever thought of, England had claimed, through
her repeated and victorious naval wars against Spain, Holland, France,
and lesser nations, the proud title of Mistress of the Seas, but in the
Revolutionary War with her American colonies and the War of 1812 with
the United States, her battleships and fleets of merchantmen were sorely
harassed by the swift, light-built, and heavily-armed American frigates
and privateers. While it cannot be said that the naval power of England
upon the ocean was seriously impaired, yet the speed of the American
vessels and the skill and gallantry with which they were fought and
handled, made it apparent that the young giant of the West might some
day claim the sceptre of the sea as his own.

During the latter half of the eighteenth century, however, the leading
nation in the modelling and construction of ships was France, and during
this period the finest frigates owned in the British Navy were those
captured from the French. The frigate was indeed invented in England,
the first being the _Constant Warwick_, launched in 1647, by Peter Pett,
who caused the fact of his being the inventor of the frigate to be
engraved upon his tomb; but in the improvement of the type, England had
long been outstripped by her neighbor across the channel. William
James,[1] the well known historian of the British Navy, makes mention of
the French forty-gun frigate _Hebe_ which was captured by the British
frigate _Rainbow_ in 1782, and records that “this prize did prove a most
valuable acquisition to the service, there being few British frigates
even of the present day (1847) which, in size and exterior form, are not
copied from the _Hebe_.” As late as 1821 the _Arrow_, for many years the
fastest yacht owned in England, was modelled from the lines of a French
lugger, recently wrecked upon the Dorset coast, which proved to be a
well known smuggler that had for years eluded the vigilance of H. M.
excise cutters, always escaping capture, although often sighted, through
her superior speed.

The United States no less than Great Britain was indebted to France for
improvements in the models of her ships at this period. During the
Revolutionary War, when a treaty was entered into between France and the
United States in 1778, a number of French frigates and luggers appeared
in American waters. The luggers, rating from one hundred and fifty to
two hundred tons and some even higher, belonged to the type used by the
privateersmen of Brittany, a scourge upon every sea where the merchant
flag of an enemy was to be found. They were the fastest craft afloat in
their day. When the French frigates and luggers were dry docked in
American ports for cleaning or repairs, their lines were carefully taken
off by enterprising young shipwrights and were diligently studied. It
was from these vessels that the first American frigates and privateers
originated, and among the latter were the famous Baltimore vessels which
probably during the War of 1812 first became known as “Baltimore
clippers.”

Congress ordered four frigates and three sloops of war to be built in
1778, and almost countless privateers suddenly sprang into existence at
ports along the Atlantic seaboard, most of them copied from models of
the French vessels. One of the frigates, the _Alliance_, named to
commemorate the alliance between France and the United States, was built
at Salisbury, Massachusetts, by William and John Hackett. Her length was
151 feet, breadth 36 feet, and depth of hold 12 feet 6 inches, and she
drew when ready for sea 14 feet 8 inches aft and 9 feet forward. She was
a favorite with the whole navy by reason of her speed and beauty, and
on her first voyage she had the honor of conveying Lafayette to France.
At the close of the war she was sold by the Government and became a
merchantman famous in the China and India trade. Several of the
privateers were built and fitted out at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and
Newburyport, Massachusetts. Those in which Nathaniel Tracy was
interested captured no less than 120 vessels, amounting to 23,360 tons,
which with their cargoes were condemned and sold for 3,950,000 specie
dollars; and with these prizes were taken 2220 prisoners of war. Many
other instances of this nature might, of course, be mentioned, but the
important point is the fact that in the latter part of the eighteenth
century and the early part of the nineteenth, as well, the fastest
vessels owned or built in the United States and Great Britain were from
French models.[2]

The characteristics of the French model were a beautifully rounded bow,
by no means sharp along the water-line, easy sectional lines developing
into a full, powerful forebody and midship section, and great dead rise
at half floor. The greatest breadth was well forward of amidships and at
the water-line, with a slight, gracefully rounded tumble home to the
plank-sheer. The after-body was finely moulded, clean, sharp, and long,
with a powerful transom and quarters. The time-honored cod’s head and
mackerel’s tail: the figureheads and ornamentation of the quarters and
stern, were veritable works of art. By comparing the models of the
British frigates of that day to be seen in the Naval Museum at
Greenwich, and the lines of the American frigates and Baltimore clippers
of the same period, with the models still preserved in the Louvre, it is
easy to trace a family likeness among them all, the parent being of
French origin. The grandparent also might easily be identified, in the
Italian galleys of Genoa and Venice, though this is of no importance to
our present purpose.

That the American vessels showed a marked superiority in point of speed
over British men-of-war and merchant ships during these two wars is the
more remarkable from the fact that frigates had been built in England
for a century and a half, as we have seen, and, while it is true that
two vessels for the British Government were built at Portsmouth previous
to the Revolutionary War--the _Faulkland_, fifty-four guns, in 1690,
and the _America_, fifty guns, in 1740--still, at the outbreak of the
Revolution, the shipwrights of America scarcely knew what a frigate was,
and much less had thought of building one. It had been the policy of
Great Britain to keep her American colonies as much as possible in
ignorance concerning naval affairs, doubtless from fear of their growing
ambition. They were therefore led to copy the models of French vessels,
not only from choice, on account of their excellence, but from necessity
as well. Thus it came about that the frigates of Great Britain and the
United States were developed from the same source.

A sailing ship is an exceedingly complex, sensitive, and capricious
creation--quite as much so as most human beings. Her coquetry and
exasperating deviltry have been the delight and despair of seamen’s
hearts, at least since the days when the wise, though much-married,
Solomon declared that among the things that were too wonderful for him
and which he knew not, was “the way of a ship in the midst of the sea.”
While scientific research has increased since Solomon’s time, it has not
kept pace with the elusive character of the ship, for no man is able to
tell exactly what a ship will or will not do under given conditions.
Some men, of course, know more than others, yet no one has ever lived
who could predict with accuracy the result of elements in design,
construction, and rig. History abounds in instances of ships built for
speed that have turned out dismal failures, and it has occasionally
happened that ships built with no especial expectation of speed have
proven fliers. It would seem, after ages of experience and evolution,
that man should be able at last to build a sailing ship superior in
every respect to every other sailing ship, but this is exactly what he
cannot and never has been able to accomplish. A true sailor loves a fine
ship and all her foibles; he revels in the hope that if he takes care of
her and treats her fairly, she will not fail him in the hour of danger,
and he is rarely disappointed.

While all this is true in the abstract, yet it is not difficult to
account for the performance of ships in retrospect, and in this
particular matter, the superior speed of American frigates during the
two wars with the mother country, it is quite easy to do so.

In the first place, British men-of-war and merchantmen were at that time
built with massive oak frames, knees, and planking, the timber of which
had lain at dockyards seasoning in salt water for many years, and was as
hard and almost as heavy as iron, while they were fastened with weighty
through-and-through copper bolts; so that the ships themselves became
rigid, dead structures--sluggish in moderate winds, and in gales and a
seaway, wallowing brutes--whereas the American frigates and privateers
were built of material barely seasoned in the sun and wind, and were put
together as lightly as possible consistent with the strength needed to
carry their batteries and to hold on to their canvas in heavy weather.
Also, the British ships were heavy aloft--spars, rigging, and
blocks--yet their masts and yards were not so long as those of the
American ships, nor did they spread as much sail, although their canvas
was heavier and had the picturesque “belly to hold the wind,” by which,
when close-hauled, the wind held the vessel.

Then the British men-of-war were commanded by naval officers who were
brave, gallant gentlemen, no doubt, but whose experience at sea was
limited to the routine of naval rules formulated by other gentlemen
sitting around a table at Whitehall. The infraction of one of these
regulations might cost the offender his epaulets and perhaps his life.
In this respect the captains of the American Navy enjoyed a great
advantage, for at this early period the United States authorities had
their attention fully occupied in preserving the government, and had no
time to devote to the manufacture of red tape with which to bind the
hands and tongues of intelligent seamen. We think, and rightly, too, of
Paul Jones, Murray, Barry, Stewart, Dale, Hull, Bainbridge, and others,
as heroes of the navy, yet it is well for us sometimes to remember that
all of these splendid seamen were brought up and most of them had
commanded ships in the merchant marine. They were thus accustomed to
self-reliance, and were filled with resource and expedient; they had
passed through the rough school of adversity, and their brains and
nerves were seasoned by salted winds, the ocean’s brine mingling with
their blood.

What wonder then that the American frigates, so built and so commanded,
proved superior in point of speed to the British men-of-war? Less
wonder still that the American privateers, whose men in the forecastle
had in many instances commanded ships, should sweep the seas, until the
despairing merchants and ship-owners of Great Britain, a nation whose
flag had for a thousand years “braved the battle and the breeze” and
which boasted proudly and justly that her home was upon the sea,
compelled their government to acknowledge as political equals a people
who had proved themselves superior upon the ocean.

So in the struggle for a national existence and rights as a nation, the
foundations of the maritime power of the United States were laid. The
ship-builders and the seamen of the Revolution and the War of 1812 were
the forefathers of the men who built and commanded the American clipper
ships.

After the Revolutionary War the merchants of Salem, Boston, New York,
and Philadelphia vied with each other in sending their ships upon
distant and hazardous voyages. Notwithstanding the natural difficulties
of navigating, what to their captains were unknown seas, and the
unnatural obstacles invented by man in the form of obstructive laws, the
merchant marine of the United States steadily increased not only in
bulk, but what was of far more importance, in the high standard of the
men and ships engaged in it.

Salem took the lead, with her great merchant, Elias Hasket Derby, who
sent his barque _Light Horse_ to St. Petersburg in 1784, and soon after
sent the _Grand Turk_ first to the Cape of Good Hope and then to China.
In 1789, the _Atlantic_, commanded by his son, Elias Hasket Derby, Jr.,
was the first ship to hoist the Stars and Stripes at Calcutta and
Bombay, and she was soon followed by the _Peggy_, another of the Derby
ships, which brought the first cargo of Bombay cotton into Massachusetts
Bay. Mr. Derby owned a fleet of forty vessels, and upon his death in
1799 left an estate valued at more than $1,000,000, the largest fortune
at that time in America, as well as a name honored for integrity
throughout the mercantile world. William Gray, another famous Salem
merchant, owned in 1807 fifteen ships, seven barques, thirteen brigs,
and one schooner, his fleet representing one quarter of the total
tonnage of Salem at that time. Then there were Joseph Peabody, Benjamin
Pickman, and Jacob Crowninshield, all ship-owners who contributed to the
fame of this beautiful New England seaport.

Many of the merchants had been sea-captains in their youth, and it was
the captains who really made Salem famous. These men, from the training
of the New England schoolroom and meeting-house, went out into the world
and gathered there the fruits of centuries of civilization, which they
brought home to soften the narrow self-righteousness of their
fellow-citizens. In later years these captains carried missionaries to
India, China, and Africa, unconscious that they were themselves the real
missionaries, whose influence had wrought so desirable a change in New
England thought and character. When Nathaniel Hawthorne served in the
Custom House at Salem, the friends in whom he most delighted were
sea-captains, for it was through their eyes that he looked out upon the
great world, and gathered the knowledge of human nature that enabled him
to portray in such grim reality the hidden springs of human thought and
action. These captains were the sons of gentlemen, and were as a class
the best educated men of their time in the United States, for they could
do more important and difficult things, and do them well, than the men
of any other profession. The old East India Museum at Salem is a
monument to their taste and refinement. Nowhere else, perhaps, can be
found another little museum as unique and beautiful, of treasures
brought home one by one from distant lands and seas by the hands that
gave them.

Boston, too, had her ships and seamen. From that port were sent out in
1788 the _Columbia_, a ship of two hundred and thirteen tons, and the
sloop _Washington_, of ninety tons, commanded by Captains John Kendrick
and Robert Gray, who took them round Cape Horn to the northwest coast of
America, and then after trading for cargoes of furs, went across to
China. The _Columbia_ returned to Boston by way of the Cape of Good
Hope, and was the first vessel to carry the United States ensign round
the globe. Subsequently she discovered the majestic river that bears her
name, and so won the great Northwest for the flag under which she
sailed. The _Massachusetts_, of six hundred tons, the largest merchant
vessel built in America up to her time, was launched at Quincy in 1789
and was owned in Boston. She sailed for Canton and was sold there to the
Danish East India Company for $65,000.

Ezra Western was the most famous of the old time Boston ship-owners. He
began business in 1764, and owned his own shipyard, sail-loft, and
extensive rope-walk at Duxbury, Massachusetts, where his vessels were
built and equipped. In 1798 his son Ezra became a partner, and this firm
continued until the death of the father in 1822. The son Ezra then went
on in his own name until 1842, when his sons Gersham, Alden, and Ezra,
were taken into the firm, and they continued it until 1858, in all some
ninety-three years, the last place of business being Nos. 37 and 38,
Commercial Wharf. From the year 1800 to 1846 the Westerns owned
twenty-one ships, ranging in tonnage from the _Hope_, of 880 tons, to
the _Minerva_, of 250 tons; one barque, the _Pallas_, of 209 tons;
thirty brigs, from the _Two Friends_, of 240 tons, to the _Federal
Eagle_, of 120 tons; thirty-five schooners, from the _St. Michael_, of
132 tons, to the _Star_, of 20 tons; and ten sloops, from the _Union_,
of 63 tons, to the _Linnet_, of 50 tons. The brig _Smyrna_, one of the
Western fleet, built in 1825, of 160 tons, was the first American vessel
to bear the flag of the United States into the Black Sea after it was
opened to commerce. She arrived at Odessa July 17, 1830. The Westerns
were easily the largest ship-owners of their time in the United States,
and not only built but loaded their own vessels. Their house-flag was
red, white, and blue horizontal stripes.

In the year 1791, Stephen Girard, who was born near Bordeaux in 1750 and
had risen from cabin-boy to be captain of his own vessel, built four
beautiful ships at Philadelphia for the China and India trade--the
_Helvetia_, _Montesquieu_, _Rousseau_, and _Voltaire_. These vessels,
long the pride of Philadelphia, greatly enriched their owner.

The sloop _Enterprise_, of eighty tons, built at Albany and commanded by
Captain Stewart Dean, was sent from New York to China in 1785. This was
the first vessel to make the direct voyage from the United States to
Canton. She returned during the following year with her crew of seven
men and two boys all in excellent condition. When she warped alongside
the wharf at New York, Captain Dean and his crew were in full uniform,
and the scene, which was witnessed by an admiring throng, was enlivened
by “martial music and the boatswain’s whistle.”

Thomas Cheesman was one of the first ship-builders in New York, and he
was succeeded in business, before the end of the eighteenth century, by
his son Forman, born in 1763. The latter built the forty-four-gun
frigate _President_, launched in the year 1800 at Corlear’s Hook--by far
the largest vessel built in New York up to that time. Previous to this,
however, he had built the _Briganza_ and the _Draper_, each of three
hundred tons, and the _Ontario_, of five hundred tons. Thomas Vail,
William Vincent, and Samuel Ackley also built several vessels prior to
the year 1800. The ships _Eugene_, _Severn_, _Manhattan_, _Sampson_,
_Echo_, _Hercules_, _Resource_, _York_, and _Oliver Ellsworth_ were
launched from their yards. In 1804 the _Oliver Ellsworth_, built by Vail
& Vincent and commanded by Captain Bennett, made the passage from New
York to Liverpool in fourteen days, notwithstanding that she carried
away her foretopmast, which was replaced at sea.

All of these shipyards were below Grand Street, on the East River.
Samuel Ackley’s yard was at the foot of Pelham Street, and here the
_Manhattan_, of six hundred tons, was built for the China and East India
trade. She was regarded as a monster of the deep, and when she sailed
upon her first voyage in 1796, it took nearly all the deep water seamen
in the port to man her. Henry Eckford opened a shipyard at the foot of
Clinton Street in 1802. From this yard he launched, in 1803, John Jacob
Astor’s famous ship _Beaver_, of four hundred and twenty-seven tons. It
was on board this ship that Captain Augustus De Peyster made his first
voyage as a boy before the mast. Subsequently he commanded her, and upon
retiring from the sea in 1845 he became the Governor of the Sailors’
Snug Harbor at Staten Island. The _Beaver_ once made the homeward run
from Canton to Bermuda in seventy-five days. Christian Bergh began
ship-building in 1804 with the ship _North America_, of four hundred
tons, built for the Atlantic trade, and the brig _Gipsey_, of three
hundred tons, a very sharp vessel for those days. She was dismasted off
the Cape of Good Hope upon her first voyage to Batavia, and afterwards
foundered in a heavy squall, all hands being lost. The _Trident_, of
three hundred and fifty tons, was built by Adam and Noah Brown in 1805,
and the _Triton_, of three hundred and fifty tons, by Charles Brown
during the same year, both for the China and India trade. John Floyd
began ship-building in 1807, and launched the _Carmelite_, a ship of
four hundred tons, during that year, but was soon appointed naval
constructor at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Until 1794 ships had been built from skeleton models composed of pieces
that showed the frames, keel, stem, and stern post, but were of little
use in giving an accurate idea of the form of a vessel, while it
required much time and labor to transfer the lines of the model to the
mould loft. In this year, however, Orlando Merrill, a young ship-builder
of Newburyport, at that time thirty-one years old, invented the
water-line model, which was composed of lifts joined together,
originally by dowels and later by screws. These could be taken apart and
the sheer, body, and half-breadth plans easily transferred to paper,
from which the working plans were laid down in the mould loft. This
ingenious though simple invention, for which, by the way, Mr. Merrill
never received any pecuniary reward, revolutionized the science of
ship-building. The original model made by him in 1794 was presented to
the New York Historical Society in 1853. Mr. Merrill died in 1855 at the
age of ninety-two.




CHAPTER II

BRITISH SHIPPING AFTER 1815--THE EAST INDIA COMPANY


Great Britain and the United States signed a treaty of peace and
good-will at Ghent in 1814. During the following year the wars of
England and France ended on the field of Waterloo. And so at last the
battle flags were furled. The long-continued wars of England had,
through neglect, reduced her merchant marine to a low standard of
efficiency, and both men and ships were in a deplorable condition. There
was no government supervision over British merchant shipping except
taxation, the only check, and that but partially effective, being the
Underwriters at Lloyd’s. Unscrupulous ship-owners might and often did
send rotten, unseaworthy vessels to sea, poorly provisioned, short of
gear and stores, with captains, mates, and crews picked up from low
taverns along the docks. These vessels were fully covered by insurance
at high rates of premium, with the hope, frequently realized, that they
would never be heard from again.

The “skippers,” “maties,” and “jackies” alike belonged to the lowest
stratum of British social classification, which, according to the
chronicles of those days, was pretty low. They were coarse, vulgar,
ignorant men, full of lurid oaths; their persons emitted an unpleasant
odor of cheap rum and stale tobacco; they had a jargon of their own and
were so illiterate as to be unable to speak or write their own language
with any degree of correctness. In a certain sense the captains were
good sailors, but their knowledge and ambition were limited to dead
reckoning, the tar bucket and marlinspike, a wife in every port, and
plenty of rum and tobacco with no desire or ability to master the higher
branches of navigation and seamanship. Mariners that a landsman delights
to refer to as “real old salts,” of the Captain Cuttle and Jack Bunsby
species, are amusing enough, perhaps, in the hands of a skilful
novelist, but not at all the class of men that one would willingly
select to assist in carrying forward the commerce of a great maritime
nation.

Then the stupid and obsolete Tonnage Laws encouraged and almost
compelled an undesirable type of vessels, narrow, deep, flat-sided, and
full-bottomed--bad vessels in a seaway, slow, and often requiring a
considerable quantity of ballast, even when loaded, to keep them from
rolling over.

It is, of course, always hazardous to deal in generalities, but I think
that this may be accepted as a fair description of the merchant marine
of Great Britain up to 1834, when the Underwriters at Lloyd’s and the
better class of ship-owners founded Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, to
provide for the proper survey and classification of the merchant ships
of Great Britain. This first important step in a much needed reform was
followed in 1837 by the appointment of a committee by Parliament to
investigate the general condition of shipping engaged in foreign trade.
The committee reported as follows:

“The American ships frequenting the ports of England are stated by
several witnesses to be superior to those of a similar class amongst the
ships of Great Britain, the commanders and officers being generally
considered to be more competent as seamen and navigators, and more
uniformly persons of education, than the commanders and officers of
British ships of a similar size and class trading from England to
America, while the seamen of the United States are considered to be more
carefully selected, and more efficient. American ships sailing from
Liverpool to New York have a preference over English vessels sailing to
the same port, both as to freight and the rate of insurance; and, the
higher wages being given, their whole equipment is maintained in a
higher state of perfection, so that fewer losses occur; and as the
American shipping having increased of late years in the proportion to
12¾% per annum, while the British shipping have increased within the
same period only 1½% per annum, the constantly increasing demand for
seamen by the rapidly growing maritime commerce of the whole world, the
numbers cut off by shipwrecks, and the temptations offered by the
superior wages of American vessels, cause a large number of British
seamen every year to leave the service of their own country, and to
embark in that of the United States; and these comprising chiefly the
most skilful and competent of our mariners, produce the double effect
of improving the efficiency of the American crews, and in the same ratio
diminishing the efficiency of the British merchant service.”

In 1843 a circular was issued from the Foreign Office to all British
consuls requesting information on the conduct and character of British
shipmasters, especially with regard to the “incompetence of British
shipmasters to manage their vessels and crews, whether arising from
deficiency of knowledge in practical navigation and seamanship, or of
moral character, particularly want of sobriety.” The consular reports
revealed a startling condition of affairs, requiring immediate
attention, and led to the establishment in 1847, of the Marine
Department of the Board of Trade, with authority to supervise maritime
affairs. From such unpromising material the formation was begun of the
greatest merchant marine that has ever existed.

Meanwhile, one of the most important branches of British commerce, the
East India trade, had been following an independent career, for the
ships of the East India Company, although engaged in commercial
pursuits, were under the direct patronage of the government, and cannot
be regarded as forming part of the merchant marine of Great Britain. Yet
as this Company had an important bearing upon the mercantile affairs of
the nation, I propose to review as briefly as possible some of its
remarkable exploits.

“The United Company of Merchant Venturers of England trading to the East
Indies” was familiarly known as the “John Company,” and among those
endowed with a larger bump of reverence, as the “Honorable John
Company”; but by whatever name it may be called, this was the most
gigantic commercial monopoly the world has ever known, since the days
when the merchants of Tyre claimed the exclusive right to send their
ships across certain waters known by common consent as Tyrian Seas.

The East India Company was founded in the year 1600, during the reign of
Queen Elizabeth. The subscribed capital of £72,000 was expended on the
first voyage in five vessels with their cargoes. This fleet consisted of
the _Dragon_, of 600 tons, her commander receiving the title of Admiral
of the squadron; the _Hector_, 300 tons, with a Vice-Admiral in command;
two vessels of 200 tons each; and the _Guest_, a store ship of 130 tons.
Four hundred and eighty men were employed in the expedition, including
twenty merchants as supercargoes. The vessels were all heavily armed and
were provided with small arms and an abundance of ammunition. They cost,
with their equipment, £45,000, and their cargoes £27,000.

Friendly relations were formed with the King of Achin, in Sumatra, and a
station, known in those days and long afterward as a “factory,” was
established at Bantam, in Java. The fleet returned to England richly
laden with silks and spices in 1603. In 1609 the _Trades Increase_, of
1209 tons, the largest ship launched in England up to that time, was
built, but she was wrecked and became a total loss on her first voyage.
Sir Henry Middleton, her commander, died soon after. This was an
unfortunate expedition and resulted in heavy losses to the Company, but
in 1611 the _Globe_ cleared 218%, and in the following year the _Globe_,
_Thomas_, and _Hector_ turned over profits amounting to 340% upon the
capital invested. Other successful voyages followed, so that in 1617 the
stock of the Company reached a premium of 203%.

The East India Company had its troubles, to be sure, which were many and
great, yet it increased in power, wealth, and strength, until at the
close of the eighteenth century it had become possessed of a large
portion of the continent of India, maintaining its own armies, forts,
palaces, Courts of Directors, Boards of Council, Governors, and
Typeans.[3] Eventually, this Company became the ruler of more than one
hundred million human beings, not naked savages, but civilized men and
women, many of whose ancestors had been learned scholars and merchant
princes long prior to the invasion of Britain by the Roman, Dane, and
Saxon.

It is not, however, with the political affairs of this Company that I
wish to deal, but rather with the ships and the men who navigated them.
The princely emoluments known as “indulgences” in which the captains and
officers of these ships participated, naturally attracted the attention
of parents and guardians, so that younger sons, otherwise destined for a
life of ill-requited repose in the church, the Army, or the Navy, found
lucrative service with the East India Company. These perquisites, which
were handed out by the Honorable Court of

[Illustration: East Indiamen, 1720]

Directors, were no doubt intended to be of pleasing variety and
magnitude. The Company adhered strictly to promotion by seniority as
vacancies occurred, from ship to ship when necessary. Captains were
appointed to their ships before launching, in order that they might
superintend their equipment and get them ready for sea. Midshipmen were
appointed by the Court of Directors, and no youth of less than thirteen
or over eighteen years was eligible. Second mates were required to be at
least twenty-two, chief mates twenty-three, and commanders twenty-five
years of age.

Captains were entitled to fifty-six and one half tons of space on board
the ships commanded by them, which they might use at their discretion,
either to collect the freight or to carry cargo on their own account,
credit being furnished by the company for the latter purpose at the
usual interest. The rate of freight ranged from £35 to £40 per ton,
though in 1796 the _Admiral Gardner_, a ship of 813 tons, commanded by
John Woolmore, Esq., was chartered for “six voyages certain” from London
to India and return, at £50 for every ton of cargo carried. Even at the
lowest rate of £35 per ton, the voyage out and home of about eighteen
months yielded a captain some £3955, and if he carried goods on his own
account, as was usually the case, he realized a much larger sum.
Captains were also allowed primage, which was a percentage upon the
total gross freight earned by the ship, and the passage money for
passengers carried, except the Company’s troops, less the cost of
living. Considering that the passage money to or from India or China
was for a subaltern £95, and for a general officer £234, to say nothing
of directors and governors and their families, and that these ships
usually carried from twenty to thirty passengers, we may conclude that
this also was a considerable source of revenue.

Then captains were permitted to own the dunnage used for the protection
of homeward cargoes, which they supplied in the form of stone and
chinaware, canes, bamboos, rattans, sapan-wood, horns, nankins, etc. All
of these goods might in those days be bought at very low prices in India
and China, and under the monopoly of the East India Company, they sold
at very high prices in London. Most of this “dunnage,” however, came to
the captains in the form of presents, known in the fragrant language of
the Far East as “cumshaws,” from admiring Indian and Chinese merchants.

Naturally all of the cargoes were well dunnaged, so much so, indeed, as
finally to attract the attention of the benevolent Court of Directors,
who deemed it expedient to restrain the zeal of their captains in this
direction by issuing an order that “as dunnage has been brought home in
the Company’s ships far beyond what is necessary for the protection of
the cargo and stores, occupying tonnage to the exclusion of goods, or
cumbering the ship, the court have resolved that unless what is brought
home of those articles appears absolutely and _bona fide_ necessary for
and used as dunnage, the exceeding of such requisite quantity shall be
charged against the tonnage of the commanders and officers.” This
dunnage business had been progressing favorably for about two centuries
when this mandate was issued, and had enriched many a deserving mariner.
It was estimated that an Indiaman’s captain received in one way or
another from £6000 to £10,000 per annum, and there is a record of one
ship that made what was known as a double voyage--that is, from London
to India, China, and return--a twenty-two months’ cruise--whose
commander made profits amounting to the tidy sum of £30,000.

The mates and petty officers were also well provided for, having forty
and one half tons of space allotted among them to do with as they
pleased, and all hands were supplied with wines, spirits, and beer in
quantities which if stated might seem like an attempt to impose upon the
reader’s credulity.

A more showy if less substantial honor was conferred by the distinctive
dress of the company’s servants. The captains were arrayed in a
picturesque uniform consisting of a blue coat with black velvet lapels,
cuffs and collar, bright gold embroidery, and yellow gilt buttons
engraved with the Company’s crest, waistcoat and breeches of deep buff,
black stock, or neck-cloth, cocked hat and side-arms. The chief, second,
third, and fourth officers wore uniforms of a similar though less
gorgeous character, and all were particularly requested “not on any
account to appear in boots, black breeches, and stockings” and “to
appear in full dress when attending the Court of Directors.”

The charter of the East India Company provided that its ships should fly
the long coach-whip pennant of the Royal Navy. During the last quarter
of the eighteenth and first part of the nineteenth centuries, the ships
were built, rigged, equipped, armed, manned, and handled like the
frigates of the Royal Navy, though they were beautifully and luxuriously
fitted for passengers, many of whom were personages of high social and
official rank. They differed, however, from the frigates in one
important particular. Whereas, the navy constructors, as we have seen,
profited by the models of the French frigates, the builders of the
Indiamen kept to the full-bodied, kettle-bottomed model, in order that
these ships might carry large cargoes. They were of quite as bad a type
as the ships of the more humble merchant marine. I have before me the
particulars of one of the East India Company’s ships that carried four
hundred and nineteen tons of general cargo, and required eighty tons of
iron kentledge to keep her on her legs. They were nevertheless grand,
stately-looking ships, and were well cared for.

The crews were divided into the usual two watches, but the officers had
three watches, four hours on and eight hours off. The watches were
divided into messes of eight men each, who had a space allotted to them
between the guns in the between-decks. Here their hammocks were slung
and their chests, mess-kits, copper pots, kettles, and tin pannikins
were stowed, clean and bright, under the inspection of the commander and
the surgeon, who were assisted in their duties by wearing white gloves
with which to test the appearance of cleanliness. The crews slept in
hammocks which were stowed in nettings at seven bells in the morning
watch, to the pipe of the boatswain’s whistle. The decks were washed
and holystoned in the morning watch, and at eight bells all hands
breakfasted. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, the between-decks were turned
out, washed, and holystoned. On Sunday mornings the crew was mustered
and inspected by the chief officer, and then assembled for Divine
service, which was read by the commander, as the Court of Directors
required the captains “to keep up the worship of Almighty God, under a
penalty of two guineas for every omission not satisfactorily accounted
for in the log-book.”

The crews were drilled at the guns and with cutlass, musket, and
boarding-pikes, and other small arms, Courts-martial were held on board
and the rawhide cat-o’-nine-tails was freely used by the boatswain upon
the naked backs and shoulders of triced-up seamen--one, two, three
dozen, perhaps, with a bucket of salt water to rinse off the blood. This
was not so brutal a form of punishment as may perhaps appear to
landsmen, and was probably the best method of enforcing proper
discipline among the reckless men who for the most part formed the crews
of ships at that period.

These vessels carried large crews, whose work was easy and who were well
looked after and provided for. They had plenty of the best food and
quite as much rum as was good for them. In the dog-watches they were
allowed and even encouraged to enjoy themselves in the manner known on
board ship as “skylarking.” Saturdays they had to themselves to wash and
mend their clothes, and in the dog-watches of that day they were given
an extra allowance of grog, with which to drink long life and happiness
to sweethearts and wives, with music, dance, and song. Seamen who had
served eight years in the Company’s ships were entitled to liberal
pensions, as were also the wives and children of those who had been
killed in the service of the Company, or who had been so maimed or
wounded as to be unable to perform further service. There can be no
question that the directors of the East India Company took good care of
those who served them faithfully.

The East Indiamen were always fine, strong ships, built of oak, elm, and
teak, copper-fastened throughout, their cost being £40 per ton ready for
sea; but they were very slow, and their passages were reckoned not by
days but by months. Every evening, no matter how fine the weather,
royals and all light sails were taken in and stowed, and the royal yards
sent on deck. If the weather looked at all as if it might become
threatening during the night, the topgallantsails and mainsail were
stowed and a single reef put in the topsails. Safety and comfort were
the watchwords, with no desire or effort for speed. No one ever knew how
fast these vessels really could sail, as they never had any one on board
who tried to get the best speed out of them, but without doubt their
passages might have been considerably shortened with even a moderate
amount of vigilance and energy. All we know is, how slow they were. Yet
these ships were fought through many a desperate battle upon the sea,
with foreign men of war, privateers, and other foes, and the skill and
valor of their captains, officers, and

[Illustration: An East Indiaman, 1788]

crews shed a new lustre upon the ensign under which they sailed. Indeed,
the maritime records of the East India Company read more like a naval
history than the annals of ships engaged in commercial pursuits.

In some respects these Indiamen were remarkable ships, and they should,
like men, be judged by the standards of the times in which they existed.
They were owned by a company which for more than two centuries held a
monopoly of the British China and East India trade without the spur of
competition urging them to perfect their vessels and to exact vigorous
service from the officers and crews who sailed them. Under such a system
there could be no marked progress in naval science. It would, of course,
be an exaggeration to say that there had been no improvement in British
shipping from the reign of Queen Elizabeth to the Victorian era, but it
was so gradual as to be perceptible only when measured by centuries.
Thus we speak of the ships of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth
centuries, and upon examination are surprised to find how few and slight
were the improvements made during these three hundred years in the
design and construction of hulls or in spars, rigging, and sails. The
only striking improvement was a modification of the really beautiful
ornamentation which embellished and at the same time lumbered up the
lofty hulls of the earlier ships.

Some of the Indiamen were built in Wigram’s famous yard at Blackwall on
the Thames, which was in existence for more than two centuries. Indeed,
some of the first ships owned by the East India Company, the _Dragon_,
_Susannah_, and _Merchants’ Hope_ were launched there. During the reigns
of Elizabeth, James, Charles I., Charles II., and the Georges, this yard
turned out many of the ships owned in the Royal Navy, and through all
these years it had in time of need been a faithful standby of the
British Government. Some of the ships of the Company were, however,
built in other yards and in their own building establishment at Bombay.

During the years 1819 and 1820 the Company sent to their different
stations in Bengal, Madras, Bombay, China, Ceylon, and Penang,
twenty-three of their own ships aggregating 26,200 tons, besides
twenty-one chartered vessels measuring 10,948 tons. Among the Company’s
ships were the _Canning_, _Duke of York_, _Kellie Castle_, _Lady
Melville_, _Thomas Coutts_, and _Waterloo_, built by Wigram, and all
from 1325 to 1350 tons, each mounting 20 guns with a crew of 130 men.
The _Buckinghamshire_, _Earl of Balcarras_, _Herefordshire_, _Thomas
Granville_, _Minerva_, and _Charles Grant_, all from 923 to 1417 tons,
26 guns, and 130 men with the exception of the _Minerva_ and _Thomas
Granville_ which mounted the same number of guns but had 115 and 107
men, respectively, were built by the Company at Bombay. The _Asia_,
_Dorsetshire_, _Duneira_, _Marquis of Wellington_, _Prince Regent_,
_Princess Amelia_, and _Windsor_, which were all over 1000 tons and
mounted 26 guns with crews of from 115 to 130 each, were built in the
Barnard yard, also on the Thames. The _London_, _Lowther Castle_,
_Marquis of Camden_, and _Perseverance_, all from 1329 to 1408 tons, 26
guns, and 130 men each, were built in the Pitcher yard at Northfleet in
Kent. The _Earl of Balcarras_, of 1417 tons, built in 1815 at Bombay,
was the largest ship owned by the Company. She was built of India teak,
copper-fastened throughout, and mounted batteries on two decks. Her crew
of 133 men was made up as follows: Commander, 6 mates, 2 surgeons, 6
midshipmen, purser, gunner, carpenter, master-at-arms, armour, butcher,
baker, poulterer, caulker, cooper, 2 stewards, 2 cooks, 8 boatswains,
gunner’s, carpenter’s, caulker’s, and cooper’s mates, 6 quartermasters,
sailmaker, 7 servants for the commander and officers, and 78 seamen
before the mast.

These facts illustrate not only the manner in which the ships of the
East India Company were officered and manned, but also the extravagant
scale upon which the affairs of the Company were administered. Of
course, a gross monopoly like this, legalized though it was by Acts of
Parliament, could not continue indefinitely among a free and intelligent
people. For many years mutterings of discontent, gathering in force and
volume, had been heard from all parts of Great Britain, indicating the
disapproval of the people concerning the methods of the Company. At
last, in 1832, these mutterings burst into a storm of indignation from
the people through their representatives in Parliament, which swept the
frigates of the Honorable John Company off the face of the deep; for in
that year commerce to the Orient was thrown open to all British ships,
and knowing their utter inability to compete successfully with free and
intelligent personal energy, the East India Company condemned or sold
their entire fleet. Sixteen ships were broken up for their massive
copper fastenings and other valuable material, while forty-six were
sold, and no finer tribute can be offered to the excellent construction
of these vessels than the figures which they realized at what may justly
be called a forced sale.

Naturally these ships were not all sold at the some moment, as some of
them were on their way to China and India when the crash came; in fact,
it required about three years to close them all out; still, it was well
known that the Court of Directors had decreed that they must all be
sold, and this gave bargain hunters a chance to practise their wiles. At
first two or three of the ships were put up at public auction; the bids
were few and meagre, indicating an assumed and perhaps preconcerted
apathy. Negotiations of a less public nature ensued, which resulted as
follows: The _Buckinghamshire_, of 1369 tons, then eighteen years old,
was sold to Thacker & Mangels for £10,550. The _Canning_, 1326 tons,
seventeen years old, sold for breaking up to Joseph Somes at £5750. The
_Minerva_, 976 tons, eighteen years old, ready for sea, to Henry
Templer, at £11,800; this ship, after thirty-seven years of service in
the India trade was wrecked off the Cape of Good Hope in 1850. The _Earl
of Balcarras_, 1417 tons, nineteen years old, to Thomas A. Shuter for
£15,700; this ship after fifty-two years’ service, became a receiving
hulk on the west coast of Africa. The _Bombay_, 1246 tons, twenty-two
years old, sold to Duncan Dunbar for £11,000, was wrecked after
fifty-nine years of service. The _Lowther Castle_, 1408 tons, nineteen
years old, went to Joseph Somes for £13,950. The _Waterloo_, 1325 tons,
eighteen years old, was sold for breaking up at £7200. The _Thames_,
1360 tons, thirteen years old, went to James Chrystall at £10,700. The
remaining ships of the fleet brought equally good prices. Thus ended the
maritime exploits of the “United Company of Merchant Venturers of
England trading to the East Indies”; although its influence upon the
merchant marine of Great Britain continued for many years.

With the opening of the China and India trade to all British ships,
there came the long-wished for competition--one of the hinges upon which
commerce swings--and a number of British ship-owners, hardly known
before, now came into prominence. Among them were Green, Wigram, Dunbar,
and Somes, of London, and the Smiths, of Newcastle. So strongly was the
example of the East India Company impressed upon their minds that they
still continued to construct frigate-built ships, though with some
slight effort toward economy and speed. Many of the former captains,
officers, and seamen of the East India Company sailed for the private
firms, and so the personnel of the British merchant marine was much
benefited. The private ships, of course, were not permitted to fly the
naval pennant, but in other respects the service remained pretty nearly
the same. Much of the wasteful extravagance was naturally eliminated,
and the “indulgences” were substantially reduced, but the time-honored
practice of “making snug for the night” was too ancient and comfortable
a custom to be very speedily abolished.

Joseph Somes, one of the promoters of Lloyd’s Register, bought a number
of the Company’s old ships, as we have seen, and in addition he built
the _Maria Somes_, _Princess Royal_, _Sir George Seymour_, and _Castle
Eden_. Thomas and William Smith, of Newcastle, were an old ship-building
firm, who had in 1808, at their yard in St. Peter’s, constructed the
frigate _Bucephalus_, 970 tons, 52 guns, for the Royal Navy, while in
later years they built many merchant vessels. The finest of their new
ships were the _Marlborough_ and the _Blenheim_, of 1350 tons each,
built under special government survey and granted certificates as
frigates equipped for naval service. This firm also built the
_Gloriana_, 1057 tons, _Hotspur_, 1142 tons, and _St. Lawrence_, 1049
tons, all of the frigate type, though employed as merchantmen.

Duncan Dunbar owned a number of fine ships and eventually became the
largest ship-owner of his time in Great Britain. Many of his vessels
were built in India. The _Marion_, 684 tons, built in Calcutta in 1834,
was in active service until 1877, when she was wrecked on the
Newfoundland coast. The _David Malcolm_ was built in 1839, and the
_Cressy_, 720 tons, and the _Hyderabad_, 804 tons, in 1843, at
Sunderland.

Robert Wigram and Richard Green, at one time partners, built and owned
their own ships, known as the “Blackwall frigates.” In 1834-35, they
brought out the _Malabar_, _Monarch_, and _Windsor Castle_, and
subsequently the _Carnatic_, _Prince of Wales_, _Agamemnon_, _Alfred_,
and others, from 1200 to 1400 tons each. As late as 1849 the _Alfred_,
of

[Illustration: The “Marlborough” and “Blenheim”]

only 1291 tons, commanded by Captain Henning, carried a crew of eighty
men, which included five mates, three boatswains, two carpenters, four
quartermasters, a number of stewards and cooks, with sixty men before
the mast.

These were the last of the frigate-built ships; for when the Navigation
Laws were repealed in 1849, and the carrying trade of Great Britain and
her colonies was thrown open to all nations, the British merchants and
ship-builders found it necessary to construct a very different type of
vessel in order to compete in the ocean carrying trade.

Farewell, then, to the gallant old Indiaman, with her hammock nettings,
bunt jiggers, rolling tackles, jeers, gammon lashings, bentinck shrouds,
and cat harpings, dear to sailors’ hearts; and good-bye to her sailors,
too, sons of the men who fought in the victorious fleets of Nelson,
fellows who drank gunpowder in their rum before stripping to battle with
the enemy, who could stand triced up by the thumbs and take their
four-and-twenty of rawhide on the naked back without wetting an eyelash.
And farewell to the merry dance and song, the extra dram of grog in the
dog-watch, and jovial toasts to sweethearts and wives, as the sun sinks
beneath the blue wave and the cool evening trade wind fills the sails.




CHAPTER III

THE NORTH ATLANTIC PACKET SHIPS, 1815-1850


While progress in ship-building in the United States had been constant
up to the War of 1812, American ship-owners and builders had been much
hampered by the interference of both Great Britain and France, but in
1815, when the smoke of battle had cleared away and the rights of
American ships and seamen had been established upon the sea,
ship-building was taken up with renewed energy.

The famous New York-Liverpool packets came out in 1816. The pioneer,
Black Ball Line, established by Isaac Wright, Francis and Jeremiah
Thompson, Benjamin Marshall, and others, led the van for years. The
original ships belonging to this line were the _Amity_, _Courier_,
_Pacific_, and _James Monroe_, of about 400 tons; they were followed by
the _New York_, _Eagle_, _Orbit_, _Nestor_, _James Cropper_, _William
Thompson_, _Albion_, _Canada_, _Britannia_, and _Columbia_, vessels of
from 300 to 500 tons register. For the first ten years the passages of
the fleet averaged 23 days outward and 40 days to the westward. The
fastest outward passage was made by the _Canada_ in 15 days, 18 hours,
and her total averages--19 days outward and 36 days homeward--were the
best of that period.

These ships were all flush deck, with a caboose or galley and the
housed-over long-boat between the fore-and main-masts. The long-boat,
which was, of course, securely lashed, carried the live stock,--pens for
sheep and pigs in the bottom, ducks and geese on a deck laid across the
gunwales, and on top of all, hens and chickens. The cow-house was lashed
over the main hatch, and there were also other small hatch-houses and a
companion aft leading to the comfortable, well-appointed cabins, which
were lighted by deck skylights, candles, and whale-oil lamps. The
steerage passengers lived in the between-decks amidships, and the crew’s
forecastle was in the fore-peak. The stores, spare sails, gear, etc.,
were kept in the lazarette abaft the cabins, with a small hatch leading
to the main-deck. The hulls were painted black from the water-line up,
with bright scraped bends, which were varnished, and the inner side of
the bulwarks, rails, hatch-houses, and boats were painted green. It was
said that some of the early Black Ball captains had commanded privateers
during the War of 1812. At all events, these little ships, with their
full-bodied, able hulls, and their stout spars, sails, and rigging, were
driven outward and homeward across the Atlantic, through the fogs and
ice of summer and the snow, sleet, and gales of winter, for all the
speed that was in them. They were in their day the only regular means of
communication between the United States and Europe. Their captains were
the finest men whose services money could secure, and to their care were
entrusted the lives of eminent men and women, government despatches, the
mails and specie. Rain or shine, blow high, blow low, one of the Black
Ball liners sailed from New York for Liverpool on the first and
sixteenth of each month, and for many years these were the European mail
days throughout the United States.

In 1821, Thomas Cope of Philadelphia started his line of packets between
that port and Liverpool with the ships _Lancaster_, of 290 tons, and
_Tuscarora_, of 379 tons, which were soon followed by larger vessels,
among them some of the finest ships on the Atlantic.

The Red Star Line of Liverpool packets from New York was also
established in 1821 with the _Panther_, _Meteor_, _Hercules_, and second
_Manhattan_, and soon after, the Swallow Tail Line of Grinnell, Minturn
& Co., came into existence with the _Napoleon_, _Silas Richards_,
_George_, and _York_. Grinnell, Minturn & Co.’s London Line was
established in 1823 with the _Brighton_, _Columbia_, _Cortes_, and
_Corinthian_, of less than 500 tons each, and during this year John
Griswold’s London Line was also started with the _Sovereign_,
_President_, _Cambria_, _Hudson_, and the second _Ontario_.

The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 gave a great impetus to commerce,
causing New York to become the eastern gateway of the United States, and
from that date to 1850 may be counted the glorious years of the Atlantic
packet ships.

The Dramatic Line to Liverpool was started in 1836 with the _Siddons_,
_Shakespeare_, _Garrick_, and _Roscius_, under the management of E. K.
Collins. These vessels did not much exceed 700 tons, and when, in 1837,
Isaac Webb & Co. built the _Sheridan_,

[Illustration: The “England”]

of 895 tons for this line, she was regarded as too large for a Liverpool
packet, and after a few voyages was placed in the China trade.

The first Havre line of packets was founded by Francis Depaw in 1822
with the _Stephania_, _Montana_, _Henry IV._, _Helen Mar_, _Louis
Philippe_, and _Silvia de Grasse_. A second line was formed in 1827 with
the _Baltimore_, _Charles Carroll_, _Erie_, _France_, _Oneida_,
_Mercury_, _Utica_, _Rhone_, _William Tell_, and in 1832 a third line,
with the _Formosa_, _Galia_, _Albany_, _Duchesse d’Orléans_, _Isaac
Bell_, _Queen Mab_, and _Don Quixote_.

In 1831 the New Orleans Line from New York was formed with the
_Nashville_, _Huntsville_, _Louisville_, _Creole_, and _Natchez_. These
were the first packet ships built with full poop-decks, then quite a new
feature in ship-building. Gradually the flush deck gave place to
house-and poop-deck cabins, then to the topgallant, forecastle, and
house from the foremast to the main hatch. The fashion of painting also
changed, and most if not all the packets carried painted ports, while
the inside green was replaced by white or light shades of other colors.

After the Black Ball Line passed into the hands of Captain Charles H.
Marshall in 1836, the _Columbus_, _Oxford_, _Cambridge_, _New York_,
_England_, _Yorkshire_, _Fidelia_, _Isaac Wright_, _Isaac Webb_, the
third _Manhattan_, _Montezuma_, _Alexander Marshall_, _Great Western_,
and _Harvest Queen_ were gradually added to the fleet. To meet the
competition of the Black Ball Line, the Swallow Tail Line built the
_Washington_, _Independence_, _Pennsylvania_, _Roscoe_, _Patrick Henry_,
_Ashburton_, _Hottinger_, _Queen of the West_, _Liverpool_, _New
World_, and _Cornelius Grinnell_.

The packet ships slowly increased in tonnage, but did not much exceed
1000 tons until 1846 when the _New World_, of 1404 tons, was built by
Donald McKay, followed by the _Guy Mannering_, of 1419 tons, and the
_Albert Gallatin_, of 1435 tons, built by William H. Webb in 1849, these
three vessels being the largest merchant ships afloat at that period.

The Black Ball ships carried a large painted black ball below the
close-reef band in their foretopsails, while the Dramatic Line, not to
be outdone, carried a black X which extended diagonally, almost from
clew to earring, across their foretopsails. All packet ships carried a
white light at the bowsprit cap from sunset to sunrise, but side-lights
did not come into use until some years later. These ships also carried a
flare-up which was kept in the companion ready for immediate use.

Throughout the various changes of management the Black Ball liners
carried a crimson swallowtail flag with a black ball in the centre; the
Dramatic liners, blue above white with a white L in blue and a black L
in white for the Liverpool ships, and a red swallowtail with white ball
and black L in the centre for the New Orleans ships; the Union Line to
Havre, a white field with black U in the centre; John Griswold’s London
Line, red swallowtail with black X in centre; the Swallowtail Line, red
before white, swallowtail for the London ships, and blue before white,
swallowtail for the Liverpool ships; Robert Kermit’s Liverpool Line,
blue swallowtail with red star in the centre; Spofford & Tillotson’s
Liverpool Line, yellow field, blue cross with white S. T. in the centre.
These flags disappeared from the sea many years ago.

The packet captain, no matter what his age might be, was usually spoken
of as “the old man,” a title frequently embellished by the crew with
vigorous epithets, which seemed to them appropriate, but which must now,
I fear, be left to the imagination of the reader. Few if any Americans
sailed regularly before the mast on board of these vessels, the crews
being largely composed of the most abandoned scoundrels out of British
and continental jails. I shall have something further to say concerning
these interesting beings in connection with their exploits on board of
the California clipper ships.

Among the famous New York packet captains, and there were many of them,
were Charles H. Marshall, of the _South America_, _James Cropper_, and
_Britannia_; N. B. Palmer, of the _Siddons_, _Garrick_, _Huntsville_,
and _Hibernia_, and his brother, Alexander, later of the _Garrick_; F.
A. De Peyster, of the _Columbus_ and _Ontario_; John Collins, an uncle
of E. K. Collins, of the _Shakespeare_; John Eldridge, of the
_Liverpool_, and his brother Asa, of the _Roscius_, and Oliver, another
brother, who was mate with Captain John; Ezra Nye, of the _Independence_
and _Henry Clay_; William Skiddy, an older brother of Francis Skiddy, of
the _New World_; Benjamin Trask, of the _Virginia_, _Jamestown_, and
_Saratoga_; Joseph Delano, of the _Columbia_ and _Patrick Henry_; John
Britton, of the _Constitution_, later United States consul at
Southampton; Ira Bursley, of the _Hottinger_; Philip Woodhouse, of the
_Queen of the West_; James A. Wooton, of the _Havre_; William H. Allen,
of the _Virginia_, _Waterloo_, _West Point_, and _Constellation_; E. E.
Morgan, of the _Hudson_ and _Victoria_; John Johnston, of the _Rhone_
and _Isaac Bell_; and of a later period, Robert C. Cutting, of the
_Adelaide_; and Samuel Samuels, of the _Dreadnought_.

It required an unusual combination of qualities to command these Western
Ocean packet ships successfully. Above all things it was necessary that
the captains should be thorough seamen and navigators; also that they
should be men of robust health and great physical endurance, as their
duties often kept them on deck for days and nights together in storm,
cold, and fog. Then there were frequently desperate characters among the
crew and steerage passengers, who required to be handled with moral
courage and physical force, while the cabin passengers were usually
gentlemen and gentlewomen of good breeding, accustomed to courtesy and
politeness, which they expected to find in the captains with whom they
sailed. These requirements evolved a remarkable type of men, hearty,
bluff, and jovial, without coarseness, who would never be mistaken for
anything but gentlemen.

The packet mates, having no social duties on shipboard to distract their
attention, were able to devote their time and energies to improving the
morals and manners of the crew, and it was on board the Black Ball
liners that “belaying pin soup” and “handspike hash,” so stimulating to
honest toil, were first introduced for the benefit of mutinous or
slothful mariners.

Plenty of sail was carried by the packet ships

[Illustration: The “Montezuma”]

of this period--square lower, topmast and topgallant studding sails,
skysails set on sliding gunter masts which were struck in the winter
time, with three reefs in the topsails and single reefs in the
topgallantsails. The racing was fast and furious. In 1837 a match was
made between the Black Ball liner _Columbus_, 597 tons, Captain De
Peyster, and the _Sheridan_, Captain Russell, of the Dramatic Line, then
on her first voyage, for a stake of $10,000 a side, from New York to
Liverpool, play or pay. The _Sheridan_, though only 895 tons, carried a
crew of forty picked men before the mast, with regular pay of $25 a
month, and the promise of a bonus of $50 each, provided their ship won
the race. The ships sailed together from New York on Thursday, February
2, 1837, and the _Columbus_ won the race in sixteen days, followed two
days later by the _Sheridan_. This is the first ocean match across the
Atlantic of which any record has been preserved, though, of course,
there had been many informal races long before.

The _Isaac Bell_, commanded by Captain John Johnston, made three voyages
from Havre to New York in less than eighteen days each, one being in the
month of January, which is about the hardest month in the twelve for a
ship bound to the westward. The _Independence_, 734 tons, built by Smith
& Dimon in 1834, for a number of years when commanded by Captain Ezra
Nye, took the President’s message to England, her sailing day being
fixed for the 6th of March for that purpose. She more than once made the
passage from New York to Liverpool in fourteen days. In November, 1846,
the _Yorkshire_, Captain Bailey, made the passage from Liverpool to New
York in sixteen days. This is believed to be the fastest passage ever
made from Liverpool to the westward by a packet ship. The _Montezuma_,
1070 tons, and the _Patrick Henry_, 997 tons, the _Southampton_, 1273
tons, built by Westervelt & Mackay, in 1849, also the _St. Andrew_,
Captain William C. Thompson, of Robert Kermit’s Line, all made the
passage from New York to Liverpool in fifteen days.

It should, however, be remembered that these packet ships, running
regularly across the Atlantic for many years, necessarily at times
encountered favorable conditions of wind and weather; whereas, a single
ship making the passage occasionally, as did the clipper ships in later
years, might not find so favorable a slant in a lifetime. None of the
packet ships that made these remarkable passages could average more than
twelve knots for twenty-four hours, and the utmost limit of their speed
under the most favorable conditions was not more than fourteen knots, if
as much. Most of these ships, however, made the passage from New York to
Liverpool at one time or another in sixteen days, and there were few
that did not at least once make the run in seventeen days. The secret of
the speed of these ships was that they were commanded by men who kept
them moving night and day, in all sorts of weather, and never let up on
their ships or crews from the time they cast off from the wharf at New
York until they ran their lines ashore on the pier-head at Liverpool.
While it is true that the New York packet ships were by no means
clippers, still, their models and rig were admirably adapted to the
work which they had to perform. It was a splendid service and a fine
prelude to the clipper ship era.

Of the earlier New York ship-builders, Henry Eckford, who came from
Scotland in 1796, when twenty years of age, died in New York in 1832;
Christian Bergh, who was born in Wettenburgh, Rhinebeck precinct, in
1763, died in New York in 1843; and Isaac Webb, born in Stamford,
Connecticut, in 1794, the son of Wilsey Webb, died in New York in 1840.
To the memories of these men, the founders of modern ship-building in
the United States, the highest praise is due for their integrity,
perseverance, and mechanical skill.

Of the next generation of builders, Stephen Smith, who like Isaac Webb
was born in Stamford, formed with John Dimon the firm of Smith & Dimon,
and prior to 1843 they had built among other vessels the packet ships
_Roscoe_ and _Independence_, the ship _Mary Howland_, the North River
steamboats _Rochester_, _James Kent_, and _Oregon_, and the Greek
frigate _Liberator_. Their building yard was at the foot of Fourth
Street, East River. David Brown and Jacob Bell formed the firm of Brown
& Bell, and had a yard at the foot of Stanton Street, a part of which
had formerly been the Henry Eckford yard. Prior to 1843, this firm had
built the ships _Orbit_ and _William Tell_ in 1821, the _Canada_,
_Calhoun_, _Savannah_, _Pacific_, _Washington_, _Great Britain_, _John
Jay_, _Britannia_, _George Canning_, _Caledonia_, _Hibernia_, and
_Congress_ from 1821 to 1831; the _Victoria_, _Europe_, _Francis Depaw_,
_Silvia de Grasse_, _Vicksburg_, _Emerald_, _Switzerland_,
_Shakespeare_, _Garrick_, _Sheridan_, _Siddons_, _Roscius_, and
_Cornelia_ from 1831 to 1841; and the _Liverpool_, _Queen of the West_,
and _Henry Clay_ in the period from 1841 to 1843, inclusive. Besides
these, they built fifteen other ships, seven steamers, eight barques and
brigs, thirty-nine steamboats, six ferry-and tow-boats, nineteen sloops
and schooners, seven pilot boats, and four yachts.

Upon the death of Isaac Webb in 1840, his son William H. Webb, then only
twenty-four years of age, continued the firm of Webb & Allen which built
during the next ten years the packet ships _Montezuma_, _Yorkshire_,
_Havre_, _Fidelia_, second _Columbia_, _Sir Robert Peel_, _Splendid_,
_Bavaria_, _Isaac Wright_, _Ivanhoe_, _Yorktown_, _London_, _Guy
Mannering_, _Albert Gallatin_, _Isaac Webb_, and _Vanguard_. Their yard
extended from the foot of Fifth to Seventh Street, East River.

Jacob A. Westervelt, born at Hackensack, New Jersey, in 1800, was the
son of a ship-builder. He went to sea before the mast and upon his
return served his apprenticeship with Christian Bergh, subsequently
becoming a partner in the firm and retiring with an ample fortune in
1837. Mr. Westervelt then made an extensive trip through Europe, and
after returning built two ships at Williamsburg. He formed the firm of
Westervelt & Mackay and built a number of London and Havre packet ships,
among which were the _Ocean Queen_, _West Point_, _Toronto_,
_Devonshire_, and _American Eagle_. The front door of Mr. Westervelt’s
house in East Broadway was ornamented with a beautiful carved stone cap
representing the stern of a packet ship. In later

[Illustration: The “Yorkshire”]

years, he took his sons Daniel and Aaron into partnership, the firm
being known as Westervelt & Co. Jacob A. Westervelt was Mayor of New
York in 1854.

George Steers, destined to become famous as the designer of the
_Adriatic_, the _Niagara_, and the yacht _America_, was born in
Washington, D. C., in the year 1819, and in 1843, after having built a
number of fast sail-and row-boats for racing, entered into partnership
with William Hathorne, the firm being known as Hathorne & Steers. Up to
this time Mr. Steers, though he had shown unusual ability as a mechanic,
cannot be said to have done anything predicting his future triumphs.
Other firms that were building good vessels at this time were Thomas and
William Collier; Perin, Patterson & Stack; Laurence & Folkes, and John
Englis, some of whom we shall hear of again.

The merchants of Boston after the War of 1812, built or bought most of
their vessels at Medford, Newburyport, Salem, Scituate, and Duxbury,
within the State, and at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and other ports
where timber was more plentiful. It was not until 1834, when the East
Boston Timber Company was incorporated by James Paige, Francis Oliver,
and Gideon Barstow, that ship building began to flourish about Boston.
Stephen White was the moving spirit in this transaction, as in 1833 he
had bought on behalf of himself and associates, eighty thousand feet of
land in East Boston, between Border and Liverpool streets, at three
cents per foot, for the establishment of a timber yard and dock. Mr.
White also purchased Grand Island, in the Niagara River, which was
covered with valuable timber. Sawmills were erected on the island, and
a supply of the finest quality of ship timber was created, and brought
by the Erie Canal to tide-water, thence by coasting vessels to East
Boston. This attracted ship-builders from other towns, and eventually
made Boston a famous ship-building centre. Stephen White owned the first
ship built in East Boston, the _Niagara_, of 460 tons, appropriately
named after the river from which the timber used in her construction had
come. She was built in 1834, by Brown, Bates & Delano in their yard at
the foot of Central Square, and was launched amid an uproar of guns,
fire crackers, shouts, and music, with a bottle of good Medford rum
trickling down her port bow.

The first Boston ferry-boats, the _East Boston_, _Essex_, and
_Maverick_, were built at East Boston in 1834-35, but nothing further
was done in ship-building there until 1839, when Samuel Hall a
well-known builder, of Marshfield and Duxbury, removed to East Boston
and established a yard at the west end of Maverick Street. Mr. Hall not
only contributed to the reputation and welfare of East Boston by
building a large number of splendid vessels and providing employment for
a great number of men, but he was also active in all municipal affairs.
In appreciation of his successful efforts for the introduction of
Cochituate water into East Boston in 1851, his fellow-citizens presented
him with a thousand-dollar service of plate, consisting of eleven
pieces, with the usual inscription, with which most of us are more or
less familiar.

The Briggs Brothers, of South Boston, came from an old and celebrated
ship-building family of Scituate, their great-grandfather having been a
ship-builder of note in colonial times, while their grandfather, James
Briggs, was the builder of the famous _Columbia_, in 1773. After his
death the yard was continued by his sons, Henry and Cushing, who built
some of the finest ships sailing out of Boston, besides many of the New
Bedford and Nantucket whalers, during the first half of the last
century. The brothers E. & H. O. Briggs, who established their yard at
South Boston in 1848, were the sons of Cushing Briggs, and they
possessed the skill in design and thorough knowledge of construction for
which the family had long been famous among the merchants and
underwriters of Boston.

At Medford, on the Mystic, Thatcher Magoun established his shipyard in
1802, and there built the brig _Mt. Etna_, of 187 tons, in 1803,
followed by other merchant vessels as well as privateers for the War of
1812. The _Avon_, the most famous of these privateers, was launched in
twenty-six days after her keel was laid. In 1822, Mr. Magoun built the
_Amethyst_, _Emerald_, _Sapphire_, and _Topaz_, ships of about 350 tons,
for the Boston and Liverpool Packet Company, which ran for a few years
between Boston, Charleston, S. C., and Liverpool, and home direct to
Boston. One of the novel features of this line was the arrangement as to
agents, their office being at the end of India Wharf, but in Liverpool
each ship had a separate agent, as it was imagined that four agents
would attract so many times the more business. It is evident that the
promoters of this line had something to learn concerning Liverpool
ship-brokers and their system of working freights, for the enterprise
was not successful.

Another Liverpool Line was started in Boston in 1828, and the ships
_Boston_, _Lowell_, _Liverpool_, _Plymouth_, and _Trenton_ of this line
were built by Mr. Magoun. He also built between 1822 and 1829, the ships
_Lucilla_, 369 tons, owned by Daniel P. Parker; _Brookline_, 376 tons,
and _Courser_, 300 tons, owned by Henry Oxnard; and the _Margaret
Forbes_, 398 tons, owned by Bryant & Sturgis, all sailing out of Boston.
Other Medford ship-builders were Sprague & James, Isaac Taylor, Hayden &
Cudworth, J. O. Curtis, Waterman & Elwell, Samuel Lapham, and Paul
Curtis. Their ships were known all over the world as fine, well-built
vessels. In 1845 one quarter of all the shipwrights in Massachusetts
were employed in Medford, and 9660 tons of shipping were launched from
its building yards.

The leading ship-builder at Newburyport was John Currier, Jr., who from
1831 to 1843 built the ships _Brenda_, _Republic_, _Oberlin_, _St.
Clair_, _Leonore_, and _Columbus_ for the Black Ball Line, and in 1836
the _Talbot_, _Flavio_, _Navigator_, _Huntress_, _Strabo_, and
_Virginia_, ranging from 339 to 365 tons, as well as several barques,
brigs, and schooners. The firms of George W. Jackman and Currier &
Townsend had not been formed at this date.

Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was also noted for her ships and seamen, the
principal builders in 1840 being George Raynes, Fernald & Pettigrew, and
Toby & Littlefield, while the Shackfords and Salters had been
sea-captains for generations. Mr. Raynes was born at York, Maine, in
1799 and in 1835 removed to Portsmouth where he established a shipyard
upon the famous Boyd estate, with its fine old trees, lawns, and gardens
of vegetables, fruits, and flowers sloping to the clear blue water’s
edge. The family residence, erected by Colonel George Boyd in 1767, was
an excellent example of colonial architecture. In later days it became
known as the Raynes mansion, and for many years was one of the show
places of Portsmouth. The original beauty of the grounds was preserved
so far as possible, and this was perhaps the most beautiful and
picturesque shipyard of modern times.

The most famous clipper-ship builder of his time, Donald McKay, was born
at Shelburne, Nova Scotia, in 1810, and was a descendant of that sturdy
Highland chieftain, Donald McKay, who died at Tain, County Ross,
Scotland, in 1395. At about the age of sixteen, Donald went to New York,
where he worked and learnt his trade in the shipyards of Isaac Webb,
Brown & Bell, and perhaps others. By his energy and mechanical talents,
he soon became a master shipwright, and turned his face toward the
Eastern country again. In 1840 he finished the ship _Delia Walker_, of
427 tons, for John Currier at Newburyport. This vessel was owned by
Dennis Condry, who, when visiting his ship from time to time, was
impressed by Mr. McKay’s superior mechanical ability and energetic
manner of handling his men. In 1841, Mr. McKay became a partner in the
firm of Currier & McKay, and the barque _Mary Broughton_, 323 tons, was
built by them during this year, followed in 1842 by the ships
_Courier_, 380 tons, and _Ashburton_, 449 tons. The firm then dissolved,
the models and moulds being equally divided--with a saw.

The little ship _Courier_ was the first vessel designed by Mr. McKay.
She was owned by W. Wolfe & A. Foster, Jr., of New York, who employed
her in the Rio coffee trade. She proved a wonder for speed, and
outsailed everything, big and little, that she fell in with at sea. No
one at that time believed that such a vessel could be built outside of
New York or Baltimore. She not only made a great deal of money for her
owners, but at once brought her designer prominently before the maritime
public.

In 1843 the firm of McKay & Pickett was formed, and the New York packet
ships _St. George_, 845 tons, in 1843, and _John R. Skiddy_, 930 tons,
in 1844, were built by them at Newburyport. In this year Enoch Train, a
well-known ship-owner and merchant of Boston, engaged in the South
American trade and who had already sent the ships _Cairo_, _St.
Patrick_, and _Dorchester_ to England, decided to put on a regular line
of packets between Liverpool and Boston. While crossing the Atlantic on
board one of the early Cunarders, for the purpose of establishing his
European agencies, it happened that he found himself a fellow-passenger
with Dennis Condry, owner of the _Delia Walker_, the gentleman who had
been so much impressed during his visits to Newburyport, by the energy
and skill of Donald McKay. Mr. Train and Mr. Condry soon became
acquainted and naturally talked a good deal about shipping. Mr. Train
was in doubt as to whom he should entrust the building of his ships; he
did not like to construct them in New York, yet he felt unwilling to
risk failure through employing local talent, however able, for Boston
builders were inexperienced in building this class of vessel, while the
construction of packet ships had been developed to a high degree of
perfection in New York. His doubts were freely expressed, but Mr. Condry
had a strong conviction on this subject, and so convincing were his
arguments in favor of his young ship-builder friend, that Mr. Train,
before landing at Liverpool, had promised that he would see Mr. McKay
upon his return to the United States.

The meeting at Newburyport of these two really great men, Enoch Train
and Donald McKay, should be memorable in the maritime annals of the
United States. It was the swift contact of flint and steel, for within
an hour a contract had been signed for building the _Joshua Bates_, the
pioneer ship of Train’s famous Liverpool Line, and Mr. Train was
returning to his home in Boston. He visited Newburyport frequently while
his ship was building, and whether Mr. McKay, during the four years that
had elapsed, had further developed the qualities which Dennis Condry had
so admired, as seems probable, or whether Mr. Train’s perceptive
faculties were keener than those of his fellow-passenger, it is a fact
that on the day when the _Joshua Bates_ was launched and floated safely
on the Merrimac River, Mr. Train grasped Donald McKay by the hand and
said to him: “You must come to Boston; we need you; if you wish
financial assistance to establish a shipyard, let me know the amount and
you shall have it.”

So the young ship-builder had on that day launched his last ship at
Newburyport. He soon closed the pleasant relations which had existed
with his partner, and at the age of thirty-four opened his great
shipyard at the foot of Border Street, East Boston. There he built in
rapid succession, between 1845 and 1850, the packet ships _Washington
Irving_, _Anglo-Saxon_, _Ocean Monarch_, _Anglo-American_, and _Daniel
Webster_ for Train’s Liverpool Line. These ships carried a black T in
their foretopsail below the close reef band, and flew the Enoch Train
signal, a red field with white diamond. The ships _New World_ and
_Cornelius Grinnell_ were built here for Grinnell, Minturn & Co.’s
Swallowtail Line; the _A. Z._, _L. Z._, and _Antarctic_ for Zerega &
Co., New York; the _Jenny Lind_ for Fairbank & Wheeler, Boston; the
_Parliament_, _Plymouth Rock_, _Reindeer_, and barque _Helicon_ for
George B. Upton, Boston; the _Moses Wheeler_ for Wheeler & King, Boston;
and the barque _Sultana_ for Edward Lamb & Co., Boston. These vessels
were much admired in New York, London, Liverpool, and other seaports,
and established the reputation of Donald McKay as a ship-builder equal
to the best.




CHAPTER IV

OPIUM CLIPPERS AND EARLY CLIPPER SHIPS, 1832-1848


The origin of the word clipper is not quite clear, though it seems to be
derived from the verb clip, which in former times meant, among other
things, to run or fly swiftly. Dryden uses it to describe the flight of
a falcon[4]:

    “Some falcon stoops at what her eye designed,
     And, with her eagerness the quarry missed,
     Straight flies at check, and clips it down the wind.”

The word survived in the New England slang expression “to clip it,” and
“going at a good clip,” or “a fast clip,” are familiar expressions there
to this day. It therefore seems reasonable to suppose that when vessels
of a new model were built, which were intended, in the language of the
times, to clip over the waves rather than plough through them, the
improved type of craft became known as clippers because of their speed.
It is probable that the swift privateers built at Baltimore during the
War of 1812 became known as “Baltimore clippers,” and while the first
application of the term in a nautical sense is by no means certain, it
seems to have had an American origin.

The first clipper constructed in Great Britain was the schooner
_Scottish Maid_, one hundred and fifty tons, built in 1839 by Alexander
Hall & Co., of Aberdeen, to compete with the paddle steamers between
Aberdeen and London. She proved a very fast vessel, and saw half a
century of service before she was wrecked on the coast of England. Three
schooners of the same model and tonnage, the _Fairy_, _Rapid_, and
_Monarch_, were built by this firm in 1842. These four were the first
Aberdeen clippers. The earliest competition between American and British
clippers was in the China seas. As early as 1831 three small English
schooners, the _Jamesina_, _Lord Amherst_, and _Sylph_, were engaged in
the opium trade, which proved exceedingly lucrative. In 1833 the
_Jamesina_ sold opium from India to the value of £330,000 at Foo Chow,
Amoy, Ningpo, and other ports in China. This business increased and
attracted the attention of the American merchants in China. In 1841, the
_Angola_, a schooner of 90 tons, built by Brown & Bell, of New York, for
Russell & Co., China, was despatched to Hong-kong. She was followed in
1842 by the schooners _Zephyr_, 150 tons, built by Samuel Hall at East
Boston; _Mazeppa_, 175 tons, built by Brown & Bell, and _Ariel_, 100
tons, built by Sprague & James, Medford, and in 1843 by the brig
_Antelope_, 370 tons, built by Samuel Hall at East Boston. These
vessels, owned by John M. Forbes and Russell & Co., soon controlled the
opium-trade and became known as opium clippers. It was necessary that
they should be swift in order to contend with the strong tides and
currents on the China coast, and to beat against the monsoons in the
China Sea. The _Antelope_, under the command of Captain Philip Dumaresq,
still has the reputation of having been the only square-rigged vessel
which could beat through the Formosa Channel against the northeast
monsoon. Moreover, these vessels required speed to escape from the
heavily manned piratical craft which infested the China seas, and which
were formidable vessels, especially in light winds and calms, when they
were propelled by long sweeps.

In 1846, Alexander Hall & Co. built the clipper schooner _Torrington_
for Jardine, Matheson & Co., to compete with the American opium clippers
in China. This schooner, the first British clipper in the China seas,
was followed by the _Wanderer_, _Gazelle_, _Rose_, the brig _Lanark_,
and others, until almost every British and American firm in China owned
one or more of these smart vessels. The competition among them was keen,
and the American clippers had decidedly the best of it. The last of
these famous little vessels were the sister schooners _Minna_ and
_Brenda_, of 300 tons each, built in 1851 by George Raynes at
Portsmouth, for John M. Forbes, of Boston, and others, and the schooner
_Wild Dayrell_, 253 tons, built in 1855 by the well-known yacht builders
J. White, of Cowes, Isle of Wight, for Dent & Co., China. These opium
clippers, all beautifully modelled and equipped with long raking masts
and plenty of canvas, like yachts rather than merchant vessels, were
heavily armed and carried large crews. They all made a great deal of
money for their owners until they were superseded by steamers.

From the earliest times in maritime history it had been the custom to
build large vessels of a model suitable for carrying heavy
cargoes--“ships of burden” they were called,--while the vessels designed
for speed,--the galley of the Mediterranean, caravel of Portugal and
Spain, lugger of France, cutter of England, yacht of Holland, schooner
and sloop of America, had been comparatively small. To the latter class
belonged the earlier British and American clippers of the nineteenth
century. The Baltimore clippers, as we have said, were modelled after
the French luggers which visited American ports during the Revolutionary
War. They gained a world-wide reputation for speed as privateers during
the War of 1812, and later also as African slavers, many of them sailing
under the flags of Portugal and Spain. These vessels were brigs,
brigantines, fore-and-aft or topsail schooners, and rarely exceeded two
hundred tons register.

So far as history records, no one had ever attempted to reproduce the
lines of a small, swift vessel in a large one, until in 1832 Isaac
McKim, a wealthy merchant of Baltimore, commissioned Kennard and
Williamson, of Fell’s Point, Baltimore, to build a ship embodying as far
as possible the lines of the famous Baltimore clipper brigs and
schooners. This ship was the _Ann McKim_, named in honor of the owner’s
wife, of 493 tons register, a large vessel for those days. She measured:
Length 143 feet, breadth 31 feet, depth 14 feet, and drew 17 feet aft
and 11 feet forward. She possessed many of the striking features of the
Baltimore clippers of that period; namely, great dead-rise at her
midship section, long, easy convex water-lines, low freeboard, and
raking stem, stern-post and masts, and was really an enlarged clipper
schooner rigged as a ship.

The _Ann McKim_ was a remarkably handsome vessel, built as the pet ship
of her owner without much regard to cost. Her frames were of live oak,
she was copper-fastened throughout and her bottom was sheathed with red
copper imported for this purpose. The flush deck was fitted with Spanish
mahogany hatch combings, rails, companions, and skylights. She mounted
twelve brass guns, and was equipped with brass capstan heads, bells,
etc., and carried three skysail yards and royal studding-sails. She
proved to be very fast, though of small carrying capacity, and the
latter quality together with her elaborate and expensive fittings caused
the older merchants to regard her unfavorably; so that for some years
they still adhered to their full-bodied ships. The _Ann McKim_ sailed in
the China trade for a number of years, and upon the death of Mr. McKim
in 1837, she was purchased by Howland & Aspinwall, of New York, and was
commanded by Captain Perry. Eventually she was sold at Valparaiso in
1847, and ended her days under the Chilian flag.

Although the _Ann McKim_ was the first clipper ship ever constructed, it
cannot be said that she founded the clipper ship era, or even that she
directly influenced ship builders, since no other ship was built like
her; but she may have suggested the clipper design in vessels of ship
rig, and owing to the fact that she fell into the hands of Howland &
Aspinwall, she without doubt hastened the opening of that era, as the
first really extreme clipper ship, the _Rainbow_, was owned by that
firm.

It is difficult at this distance of time to determine exactly what
influence the _Ann McKim_ exercised upon the science of ship-building,
though from the fact that no ship had ever been built like her, it is
probable that she was an object of considerable interest in the maritime
world, and it is certain that during the years following her appearance
a more determined effort was made in the United States to improve the
model and sailing qualities of ships. Among the most notable of these
attempts were the _Courier_, already mentioned, built by Donald McKay in
1842, and the _Akbar_, a ship of six hundred and fifty tons, built by
Samuel Hall at East Boston in 1839, for John M. Forbes, and others, who
employed her in the China trade. On her first voyage the _Akbar_ made
the passage from New York to Canton in one hundred and nine days,
beating up the China Sea against the northeast monsoon. On this voyage
she was commanded by Captain James Watkins, in after years commodore of
the Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Later she was commanded by Captain Philip
Dumaresq, who made a number of rapid passages in her to and from China.
Then came the _Helena_, of 650 tons, built by William H. Webb in 1841.
This ship was owned by N. L. and G. Griswold, and also sailed in the
China trade under the command of Captain Benjamin, who made some fine
passages. The _Paul Jones_, of 620 tons, built by Waterman & Elwell at
Medford in 1842, was owned by John M. Forbes and Russell & Co., of
China. She was commanded by Captain N. B. Palmer and on her first voyage
in 1843 she sailed from Boston for Hong-kong, January 15th, crossed the
equator 26 days out, was 54 days to the Cape of Good Hope, 88 days to
Java Head, and arrived at Hong-kong 111 days from Boston. In 1848, this
ship made the run from Java Head to New York in 76 days.

In 1844, A. A. Low & Brother, of New York, contracted with Brown & Bell
to build the _Houqua_, of 706 tons, constructed for Captain N. B.
Palmer. She made a number of very fast passages. On her first voyage she
made the passage from New York to Java Head in 72 days, thence to
Hong-kong in 12 days, total 84 days. Her best records from China were as
follows: From Hong-kong, December 9, 1844, passed Java Head 15 days out,
was 70 days to the Equator in the Atlantic, thence 20 days to New York,
total 90 days--distance by log, 14,272 miles. December 9, 1845, sailed
from Hong-kong, passed Java Head 16 days out, arrived at New York, March
10, 1846, 91 days’ passage. Under the command of Captain McKanzie, in
1850, she made the passage from Shanghai to New York in 88 days, the
shortest passage up to that time. This ship was named in honor of
Houqua, the well-known Canton merchant who was beloved and respected by
American and English residents in China, no less for his integrity than
for his great kindness and his business ability.

In 1844 also William H. Webb built the _Montauk_, 540 tons, for A. A.
Low & Brother, and the _Panama_, 670 tons, for N. L. & G. Griswold, both
vessels for the China trade, and Samuel Hall, of East Boston, built the
barque _Coquette_, 420 tons, commanded by Captain Oliver Eldridge. The
_Coquette_ sailed from Boston, June 29, 1844, was 76 days to Java Head,
and 99 days to Canton. She was owned by Russell & Co., of China, and
made several fast passages between Calcutta and ports in China. Young
James H. Perkins made a voyage to China as a passenger on board this
vessel, and his famous schooner yacht _Coquette_, which defeated the
sloop _Maria_ in a match off Sandy Hook in 1846, was named for the
clipper barque.

These were among the first clipper ships built in the United States, and
while by no means extreme clippers, they were sharper and finer models
than any vessels which had been constructed up to that time, and clearly
indicated the dawn of a new epoch in naval architecture.

I have now brought this narrative to the opening of the clipper ship
era, and have endeavored to sketch the development of the merchant
marine of Great Britain and the United States from the common starting
point--where the ship-builders of both countries derived their best
knowledge of ship models and construction from the French--as they
advanced along diverging lines under different climatic, social, and
political conditions, until we now find them at points widely distant
from each other--Great Britain with her stately, frigate-built Indiaman,
embodying the glories of the past; the United States with her wild
packet ship scending into a long, sweeping head sea, and flinging a
rainbow of flying spray across her weather-bow, in which was imaged the
promise of a glorious future.

In 1841, John W. Griffeths, of New York, proposed several improvements
in marine architecture, which were embodied in the model of a clipper
ship exhibited at the American Institute, in February of that year.
Later he delivered a series of lectures on the science of ship-building,
which were the first discourses upon this subject in the United States.
Mr. Griffeths advocated carrying the stem forward in a curved line,
thereby lengthening the bow above water; he also introduced long, hollow
water-lines and a general drawing out and sharpening of the forward
body, bringing the greatest breadth further aft. Another improvement
which he proposed was to fine out the after body by rounding up the ends
of the main transom, thus relieving the quarters and making the stern
much lighter and handsomer above the water-line.

This proposed departure from old methods naturally met with much
opposition, but in 1843 the firm of Howland & Aspinwall commissioned
Smith & Dimon, of New York, in whose employ Mr. Griffeths had spent
several years as draughtsman, to embody these experimental ideas in a
ship of 750 tons named the _Rainbow_. This vessel, the first extreme
clipper ship ever built, was therefore, the direct result of Mr.
Griffeths’s efforts for improvement. Her bow with its concave
water-lines and the greatest breadth at a point considerably further aft
than had hitherto been regarded as practicable, was a radical departure,
differing not merely in degree but in kind from any ship that preceded
her. One critical observer declared that her bow had been turned
“outside in,” and that her whole form was contrary to the laws of
nature. The _Rainbow_ was designed and built with great care and was not
launched until January, 1845.

Mr. Griffeths relates a good story about the masting of this vessel. It
appears that Mr. Aspinwall, who had an excellent idea of what a ship
ought to be, had come to the conclusion that the masting of vessels was
a question of no small moment in ship-building, and determined that his
new ship should have the benefit of foreign aid in placing the masts.
Accordingly, he informed the builders that he would obtain assistance
from abroad, for their benefit as well as his own. The builders
naturally paid little attention to this information. The port-captain,
who was appointed to superintend the construction, was directed by Mr.
Aspinwall to select the best authorities in Europe on masting ships. The
European experts were written to in reference to this important matter,
and after they had duly considered the principal dimensions of the
vessel, the trade in which she was to be employed, etc., a spar draft
and elaborate calculations were prepared and forwarded to New York.

In the meantime, the construction of the _Rainbow_ had progressed
steadily. The clamps being ready, the deck beams were placed according
to the original drawings, the framing of the decks completed, hatches
and mast partners framed, channels and mast-steps secured; the masts and
yards were also made and the ship planked and caulked by the time the
important despatches arrived. They were examined by the port-captain,
Mr. Aspinwall was informed that they were all right, and the
port-captain was requested to give the information to the builders,
which, of course, was done. The ship, however, was finished without the
slightest alteration from the original plans. Mr. Aspinwall, who never
doubted that his pet project had been carefully carried out, attributed
much of the success of this vessel to the placing of her masts by
foreign rules.

The sharp model of the _Rainbow_ gave rise to a great deal of discussion
while she was on the stocks in course of construction. It was generally
admitted by the recognized shipping authorities of South Street, that
she was a handsome vessel, but whether she could be made to sail was a
question on which there were varieties of opinion. She proved an
excellent ship in every way and exceedingly fast. Her second voyage to
China out and home, was made in six months and fourteen days, including
two weeks in port discharging and loading cargo. She went out to China
against the northeast monsoon in ninety-two and home in eighty-eight
days, bringing the news of her own arrival at Canton. Captain John Land,
her able and enthusiastic commander, declared that she was the fastest
ship in the world, and this was undeniably true; finding no one to
differ from him, he further gave it as his opinion that no ship could be
built to outsail the _Rainbow_, and it is also true that very few
vessels have ever broken her record. She was lost on her fifth voyage
while bound from New York for Valparaiso in 1848 under command of
Captain Hayes, and it was supposed that she foundered off Cape Horn.

The _Ariel_, 572 tons, was built by John Currier at Newburyport in 1846,
for Minot & Hooper, of Boston. This ship became celebrated in the China
trade and was bought by N. L. & G. Griswold, and has a record of 90 days
from Canton to New York.

In 1846, Howland & Aspinwall, for whom Captain Robert H. Waterman had
been making some remarkably fast voyages in the old packet ship
_Natchez_, had a clipper ship built especially for him, entrusting the
design and construction to Smith & Dimon, the builders of the _Rainbow_,
though all the details of spars, sails, and rigging were carried out
under the supervision of Captain Waterman. This ship was the famous _Sea
Witch_, of 890 tons, length 170 feet, breadth 33 feet 11 inches, and
depth 19 feet. She carried a cloud of canvas; three standing skysail
yards, royal studding sails, large square lower studding sails with
swinging booms, ringtail, and water sails.

When loaded the _Sea Witch_ lay low on the water; her hull was painted
black and her masts had a considerable rake; her figurehead was an
aggressive-looking dragon, beautifully carved and gilded. She had the
reputation at that time of being the handsomest ship sailing out of New
York, and her officers and crew were picked men, several of whom had
sailed with Captain Waterman on his voyages in the _Natchez_. She sailed
on her first voyage, bound for China, December 23, 1846, went to sea in
a strong northwest gale, and made a remarkable fine run southward,
arriving off the harbor of Rio Janeiro in twenty-five days, where she
exchanged signals with the shore and sent letters and New York
newspapers by a vessel inward bound. She made the passage from New York
to Hong-kong in 104 days, and arrived at New York from Canton July 25,
1847, in 81 days, making the run from Anjer Point to Sandy Hook in 62
days. On her second voyage she arrived at New York from Hong-kong,
November 7, 1847, in 105 days, and arrived from Canton at New York,
March 16, 1848, in 77 days. On this passage she made the run from St.
Helena to Sandy Hook in 32 days. Her next voyage was from New York to
Valparaiso, where she arrived July 5, 1848, in 69 days, thence to
Hong-kong, where she arrived December 7, 1848, in 52 days. She arrived
at New York March 25, 1849, 79 days from Canton. She next sailed from
New York for Canton via Valparaiso and arrived at Canton July 23, 1849,
118 sailing days from New York. She arrived at New York March 7, 1850,
from Canton in 85 days, making the run from Java Head in 73 days.

This is a most remarkable series of passages, especially considering the
seasons of the year during which most of her China voyages were made.
Her best twenty-four hours’ run was 358 miles, a speed far in excess of
any ocean steamship of that period. The _Sea Witch_ during the first
three years of her career, was without doubt the swiftest ship that
sailed the seas, and she continued to distinguish herself later on, in
her passages from New York to San Francisco under the command of Captain
George Fraser.

In 1847, A. A. Low & Bro. brought out the _Samuel Russell_, of 940 tons,
built by Brown & Bell and commanded by Captain N. B. Palmer, formerly of
the _Houqua_. Her first voyage from New York to Hong-kong was made by
the eastern passages in 114 days. On a voyage from Canton in 1851 she
sailed 6780 miles in 30 days, an average of 226 miles per day, her
greatest twenty-four hours’ run being 328 miles. This ship was named for
the eminent New York merchant, founder of the house of Russell & Co., of
China, with whom the brothers Low began their career as merchants and
ship-owners. She was a beautiful vessel, heavily sparred, with plenty of
light canvas for moderate weather, and every inch a clipper.

The _Architect_, 520 tons, was also built in 1847, at Baltimore, for
Nye, Parkin & Co., American merchants in China, and was commanded by
Captain George Potter.

The _Memnon_, 1068 tons, owned by Warren Delano, was built by Smith &
Dimon in 1848, and on her first voyage to China was commanded by Captain
Oliver Eldridge.

These were the most celebrated of the clipper ships built in the United
States prior to the discovery of gold in California in 1848, though
there were, of course, many other fine vessels engaged in the China
trade, which had for years brought home cargoes of tea, silk, and
spices. During the twelve months from June 30, 1845 to July 1, 1846,
forty-one vessels arrived at New York from China, and probably as many
more at other Atlantic ports, chiefly Boston and Salem. Besides these
vessels there were the South American, African, and East India fleets,
as well as the lines of splendid packet ships sailing from New York,
Boston, and Philadelphia to European ports. In 1847, the ships owned in
the United States and engaged in foreign commerce registered 1,241,313
tons.

The American clippers were decidedly the fastest ships built up to that
time, yet much of their speed was due to the skill and energy of their
commanders. The manner in which American vessels were handled at this
period will be seen by extracts from the log-book of the ship _Great
Britain_, 524 tons, Captain Philip Dumaresq, on her homeward voyage from
China in 1849-50. She left Java Head December 22, 1849, and by January
14, 1850, had passed seven vessels bound the same way. The log from this
date reads in part as follows:

“Squally, under double reefed topsails, passed a ship laying-to under a
close reefed main topsail.... January 24th, a southwest gale, close
reefed topsails, split courses; before doing this we were going seven
and one half knots close-hauled, within six points of the wind under
double-reefed topsails and courses; January 25th, split all three
topsails and had to heave-to; five vessels in sight, one a Dutch
frigate, all hove-to; January 27th, seven vessels in sight and we
outsail all of them; January 29th passed the Cape of Good Hope and
anchored in Table Bay, parted both chains and split nearly all the
sails; hove-to outside, blowing a gale offshore; January 30th, at 6 A.M.
bore up for St. Helena; February 1st, fresh trades, passed a ship under
double reefs, we with our royals and studdingsails set; February 8th,
anchored at St. Helena with a stream anchor backed by remainder of one
of the chains; February 10th, having procured anchors and water, left
St. Helena; February 21st, crossed the line in longitude 31; March 12th,
under double-reefed topsails, passed several vessels laying-to; March
17th, took pilot off Sandy Hook, 84 days from Java Head, including
detentions.”

Probably few if any of the vessels which Captain Dumaresq passed hove-to
or under short canvas were sailing under the American flag. It is worthy
of note that the _Great Britain_ was at that time twenty-six years old,
having been built by Brown & Bell for the New York and Liverpool packet
service in 1824, and of course, was by no means a clipper.




CHAPTER V

TWO EARLY CLIPPER SHIP COMMANDERS


Captain Robert H. Waterman, the first commander of the _Sea Witch_, had
been known for some years among the shipping community of New York as an
exceptionally skilful seaman and navigator, but he first began to
attract public attention about 1844 by some remarkably fast voyages in
the ship _Natchez_. Captain Waterman was born in the city of New York,
March 4, 1808, and at the age of twelve shipped on board of a vessel
bound for China. After working through the grades of ordinary and able
seaman, and third, second, and chief mate on board of various vessels,
he sailed for a number of voyages as mate with Captain Charles H.
Marshall in the Black Ball packet ship _Britannia_ between New York and
Liverpool. At that time he was counted one of the smartest mates sailing
out of New York, and was noted for keeping the _Britannia_ in fine
shape, as well as for his ability in maintaining proper order and
discipline among the steerage passengers and crew, who were always a
source of anxiety and trouble to packet-ship captains. When his vessel
was bound to the westward in 1831, one of the sailors fell overboard
from aloft during a heavy gale, and Mr. Waterman saved the man’s life
at the risk of his own. The cabin passengers of the _Britannia_
presented him with a substantial testimonial in appreciation of his
humane and gallant conduct. At this time he was twenty-three years old.
Two years later he was promoted to captain, and in this capacity he made
five voyages round the globe.

In 1843 he took command of the _Natchez_. This ship, as we have seen in
Chapter III., was one of the full-pooped New Orleans packets, and was
built by Isaac Webb in 1831. Captain Waterman took her around Cape Horn
to the west coast of South America, thence across the Pacific to Canton,
where he loaded a cargo of tea for New York, and made the passage home
in 94 days and the voyage round the globe in 9 months and 26 days. In
1844 Captain Waterman sailed again in the _Natchez_ from New York for
Valparaiso and made the passage in 71 days, thence to Callao in 8 days,
and to Hong-kong in 54 days. She again loaded tea for New York and
sailed from Canton January 15, 1845, passed Java Head on the 26th, and
39 days out was off the Cape of Good Hope, crossed the equator 61 days
out, arriving in New York April 3d, 78 days from Canton, a total
distance of 13,955 miles. Her run from the equator to New York in 17
days, and indeed, this whole passage, was most remarkable, as the
_Natchez_ during her packet days had established the reputation of being
an uncommonly slow ship. Captain Waterman received a grand ovation in
New York upon this record passage from China, and it was suggested that
he had brought the old hooker home by some route unknown to other
navigators. In 1845-46 Captain Waterman made one more voyage to China in
the _Natchez_, from New York direct to Hong-kong in 104 days, and
returned to New York in 83 days.

A series of voyages such as these, by a ship of the type and character
of the _Natchez_, would probably have established the reputation of any
one commanding her, and when we consider that “Bob” Waterman, for so he
was known, was at this time a young captain of an unusually attractive
personality, it is not difficult to understand the pride and admiration
with which he was regarded by his friends, of whom he had many, both in
New York and in the various foreign ports to which he had sailed. The
owners of the _Natchez_, Howland & Aspinwall, were so favorably
impressed not only by his ability as a seaman and navigator, but by his
loyalty to their interests, that, as we have seen, they built the
clipper ship _Sea Witch_ for him in 1846. While she was building,
Captain Waterman married Cordelia, a daughter of David Sterling, of
Bridgeport, and Mrs. Waterman was present as a bride when the ship was
launched.

In 1849, Captain Waterman resigned from the _Sea Witch_ to take the
Pacific Mail steamship _Northerner_ from New York to San Francisco.
During the three years that he had commanded the _Sea Witch_, she had
made a large amount of money for her owners, and Captain Waterman had
added to his reputation,--so much so, indeed, that certain good people
began to say unpleasant things of him. It was alleged that Captain
Waterman carried sail too hard, that he exceeded the bounds of prudence
in this respect, and kept padlocks on the topsail sheets and rackings on
the topsail halliards fore and aft; also that he maintained a standard
of discipline far more severe than was necessary.

It is probable that Captain Waterman did carry sail rather hard--most
American captains who wanted to get anywhere in those days usually
did--and as to the padlocks and rackings, more than one captain used
these precautions to prevent villainous or cowardly sailors from letting
go sheets and halliards by the run, when according to their ideas the
ship had too much canvas on her. The fact, however, remains that in the
eighteen years during which Captain Waterman commanded various ships, he
never lost a spar or carried away rigging of any importance, and never
called on underwriters for one dollar of loss or damage. The record
shows that six of the men before the mast sailed with him upon all his
voyages in the _Natchez_ and the _Sea Witch_, a rare occurrence at that
period, or at any other time of which we have knowledge, and creditable
alike to the sailors, the ships, and their commander.

The truth is that Captain Waterman was a humane, conscientious,
high-minded man, who never spared himself nor any one else when a duty
was to be performed. There are, and always have been, lazy, incompetent,
mutinous sailors, a type of men that Captain Waterman detested. They
found no comfort in sailing with him, and were glad when the voyage was
ended, so that they might scramble ashore and relate their woes to the
sympathetic legal “gents” who were usually to be found hanging about
Pier 9, East River, when the _Sea Witch_ was reported coming up the bay.
We shall hear more of Captain Waterman and his crew on board of the
_Challenge_ in a later chapter.

The celebrated clipper-ship captain, Nathaniel Brown Palmer, the first
commander of the _Paul Jones_, _Houqua_, _Samuel Russell_, and
_Oriental_, was born in the pretty town of Stonington, on Long Island
Sound in 1799, and came from distinguished colonial ancestry. His
grandfather’s only brother fell mortally wounded at the battle of Groton
Heights in 1771, while his father was an eminent lawyer and a man of
marked ability.

At the age of fourteen or just as the War of 1812 was fairly under way,
Nathaniel shipped on board of a coasting vessel which ran to ports
between Maine and New York, and continued in this service until he was
eighteen, when he was appointed second mate of the brig _Hersilia_,
bound down somewhere about Cape Horn on a sealing voyage.

These sealing expeditions were also at that period more or less voyages
of discovery. For years there had been rumors of a mythical island
called Auroras, embellished with romance and mystery by the whalers of
Nantucket, New Bedford, and New London, and described as lying away to
the eastward of the Horn, concerning which no forecastle yarn was too
extravagant for belief. Whaling captains by the score had spent days and
weeks in unprofitable search for it. On this voyage Captain J. P.
Sheffield, of the _Hersilia_, landed at one of the Falkland Islands,
where he left his second mate and one sailor to kill bullocks for
provisions, and then sailed away in search of the fabled island.

Young Nat Palmer proceeded to capture and slay bullocks, and when, after
a few days, a ship hove in sight, he piloted her into a safe anchorage,
and supplied her with fresh meat. This vessel proved to be the _Espirito
Santo_, from Buenos Ayres, and the captain informed Nat that he was
bound to a place where there were thousands of seals, and where a cargo
could be secured with little effort, but he declined to disclose its
position. The mind of the young sailor naturally turned to the magic
isle of Auroras, where, according to the saga preserved beside the
camp-fires of corner grocery stores in New England whaling towns,
silver, gold, and precious gems lay scattered along the beach in
glittering profusion, the treasure of some huge galleon, wrecked and
broken up centuries ago, when Spain was powerful upon the sea.

There must have been something about the whale fishery highly inspiring
to the imagination, though to see one of the greasy old Nantucket or New
Bedford blubber hunters wallowing about in the South Pacific, one would
hardly have suspected it, yet among the spinners of good, tough tarry
sea yarns, some of the authors of narratives relating to the pursuit and
capture of the whale are easily entitled to wear champion belts as
masters of pure fiction. Whaling is one of the least hazardous, the most
commonplace, and, taken altogether about the laziest occupation that
human beings have ever been engaged in upon the sea. Sailors aboard the
clippers fifty years ago used to refer to whale ships as “butcher shops
adrift,” and on account of the slovenly condition of their hulls, spars,
sails, and rigging, a “spouter” was generally regarded among seamen as
one of the biggest jokes afloat. As a matter of fact the whale is about
as stupid and inoffensive a creature as exists, and when occasionally he
does some harm--smashing up a boat, for instance--it is usually in a
flurry of fright, with no malice or intent to kill. If a whale possessed
the instinct of self-defence he could never be captured with a harpoon,
but he has evidently been created as he is for the benefit of mankind,
and incidentally as a temptation to scribes, from the days of the
indigestible Jonah even to the piscatory romancers of our own times.

Well, the captain of the _Espirito Santo_, after filling his
water-casks, laying in a stock of provisions, and giving his crew a run
ashore sheeted home his topsails, hove up anchor, and departed. Young
Nat took such a lively interest in the welfare of this craft that he
carefully watched her progress until the last shred of her canvas faded
upon the horizon. He judged by the sun, for he had no compass, that her
course was about south.

Three days after the departure of the _Espirito Santo_, the _Hersilia_
appeared. Captain Sheffield had found nothing and seen nothing, except
the cold, gray sky, and the long, ceaseless heaving of the Southern
Ocean’s mighty breast, a few stray, hungry, screeching albatross, and
once in a while, for a moment, a whale, with smooth, glistening back,
spouting jets of feathery spray high in the keen, misty air, then
sounding among the caverns of the deep. He had returned, like so many
other credulous mariners, empty-handed, but he found his young second
mate in a white heat of enthusiasm as he reported to his commander what
he had learned, and finally, with the hopefulness of youth, declared his
belief that “we can follow that _Espirito Santo_, and find her, too.”
And they did, for in a few days she was discovered lying at anchor in a
bay off the South Shetlands, islands at that time unknown in North
America, though soon to become famous as the home of seals. The officers
and crew of the _Espirito Santo_ greeted them with surprise, while their
admiration took the substantial form of assisting to load the _Hersilia_
with ten thousand of the finest sealskins, with which she returned to
Stonington.

This exploit spread like wildfire through New England whaling ports, and
secured Captain Palmer at the age of twenty, command of the Stonington
sloop _Hero_, “but little rising forty tons,” on board of which he
sailed again for the Antarctic seas, as tender to the _Hersilia_, in
1819. Upon this voyage, after calling at the Falkland Islands for water
and provisions, they again steered for the South Shetlands, and the
_Hersilia_ and _Hero_ returned to Stonington with full cargoes of
sealskins.

In 1821, Captain Palmer again sailed in the _Hero_ upon an expedition to
the South Shetlands, composed of six vessels commanded by Captain
William Fenning of the brig _Alabama Packet_. By this time, however, the
seals had been nearly exterminated, and Captain Palmer sailed farther
south in search of new sealing-grounds, until he sighted land not laid
down on any chart. He cruised along the coast for some days and
satisfied himself that it was not an island, and after anchoring in
several bays without finding any seals, although the high cliffs and
rocks were covered by multitudes of penguin, he steered away to the
northward with light winds and fog.

One night the _Hero_ lay becalmed in a dense fog, the cold, penetrating
mist drenching her sails and dripping from the main boom along her
narrow deck. At midnight Captain Palmer relieved his mate and took the
deck for the middle watch. When the man at the helm struck one bell, the
captain was somewhat startled to hear the sound repeated twice at short
intervals, for he knew, or thought he knew, that the only living things
within many leagues were whales, albatross, penguin, and the like, nor
did he recall ever hearing that these harmless creatures carried bells
with them. The men of the watch on deck were really alarmed, for in
those days superstition had not by any means departed from the ocean.
The crew had heard of the fierce Kraken of northern seas, and suddenly
remembered all about the doomed and unforgiven Vanderdecken, to say
nothing of mythical local celebrities, renowned in all the barrooms of
coast towns between Cornfield Point and Siasconset Head, nor were their
fears assuaged when at two bells the same thing happened again, and so
on through the watch.

Captain Palmer, however, concluded that, strange as it seemed, he must
be in company with other vessels, and so at four o’clock he left the
mate in charge of the deck with orders to call him if the fog lifted,
and turned in for his morning watch below. At seven bells the mate
reported that the fog had cleared a little and a light breeze was
springing up, and by the time Captain Palmer got on deck two large
men-of-war were in sight not more than a mile distant--a frigate on the
port bow and a sloop of war on the starboard quarter, both showing
Russian colors. Soon the United States ensign was run up at the main
peak of the _Hero_ and floated gaily in the morning breeze. The three
vessels were now hove to, and a twelve-oared launch was seen approaching
from the frigate, her crew and officer in the stern sheets in uniform.
As she swept round the stern of the _Hero_ the crew tossed oars and the
coxswain shot her alongside. She really looked almost as large as the
little sloop; at all events the Russian officer stepped from her gunwale
to the deck of the _Hero_. The officer spoke English fluently, and
presented the compliments of Commander Bellingshausen, who invited the
captain of the American sloop to come on board his ship.

Captain Palmer was all his life a man of purpose rather than of
ceremony, though by no means deficient in dignity and self-respect. He
accepted the invitation, and giving an order or two to his mate, stepped
into the launch just as he stood, in sea boots, sealskin-coat, and
sou’wester. They were soon alongside the frigate, and Captain Palmer was
ushered into the commander’s spacious and luxurious cabin. The scene was
impressive; the venerable, white-haired commander surrounded by his
officers in uniform, and the stalwart young American captain standing
with respectful dignity, his rough weather-worn sea-dress contrasting
with his fresh, intelligent, handsome face. Commander Bellingshausen
smiled pleasantly, and taking his guest by the hand, said kindly, “You
are welcome, young man; be seated.”

After questioning Captain Palmer about himself, his vessel, and the land
he had discovered, and incidentally remarking that he himself had been
two years upon a voyage of discovery, the commander asked to see Captain
Palmer’s chart and log-book. These were sent for on board the _Hero_
while an elaborate luncheon was being served, and were afterwards
carefully examined. The commander then rose from his seat and placing
his hand in a parental manner upon the young captain’s head, delivered
quite an oration: “I name the land you have discovered ‘Palmer Land’ in
your honor; but what will my august master say, and what will he think
of my cruising for two years in search of land that has been discovered
by a boy, in a sloop but little larger than the launch of my frigate?”
Captain Palmer was unable to offer any information on this point, but he
thanked his host for the honor conferred upon him, and for his kindness
and hospitality, remaining somewhat non-committal in his opinion as to
the old gentleman’s qualifications as an explorer.

It may be mentioned that upon all charts this portion of the Antarctic
Continent is laid down as “Palmer Land,” also that some twenty years
elapsed before it was rediscovered by the British explorer, Sir James
Ross, in command of the famous _Erebus_ and _Terror_ expedition.

Captain Palmer next took command of the schooner _Cadet_, owned by
Borrows & Spooner, of New York, on board of which he made a number of
voyages to the Spanish Main. In 1826 he took the brig _Tampico_ to
Carthagena, and upon his return he married a daughter of Major Paul
Babcock and sister of Captain David S. Babcock, afterwards famous as
commander of the clipper ships _Sword-Fish_ and _Young America_, and
subsequently President of the Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Captain Palmer
then took the brig _Francis_ on several voyages to Europe, and in 1829
was in command of the brig _Anawan_, exploring new sealing-grounds among
the islands about Cape Horn. In 1833 he took command of the New Orleans
packet ship _Huntsville_, and then of the _Hibernia_, _Garrick_, and
_Siddons_. In 1842 and the years following, as we have seen, he
commanded the clippers _Paul Jones_, _Houqua_, _Samuel Russell_, and
_Oriental_, and in 1850 retired from the sea.

At this time he was well known, not only among his neighbors and friends
at Stonington, but in the great seaports of Europe and China as “Captain
Nat,” and many of those who talked about what he had said and what he
had done were apparently unaware that he possessed any other name. It is
pleasant to reflect that the neighboring seaport of Bristol has
perpetuated the title in one who is respected and beloved, not more for
his genius than for his modesty and reserve.

It was, of course, impossible for a man of Captain Palmer’s earnest
temperament and varied activities to lead a life of pleasure and
idleness, so one of the first things that he did upon his retirement was
to take the auxiliary steamship _United States_ from New York to Bremen
where she was sold. When some of his friends rallied him, asking whether
he considered this giving up the sea, Captain Palmer replied, “Well, I
really don’t know how you can call a trip like this going to sea.”

For many years Captain Palmer was the confidential adviser of A. A. Low
& Brother in all matters relating to their ships, which occupied a
considerable portion of his time, and while he was a seaman _par
excellence_, he also possessed other accomplishments. He had much
knowledge of the design and construction of ships, and many of his
suggestions were embodied in the _Houqua_, _Samuel Russell_, _Oriental_,
and other ships subsequently owned by the Lows. He was also a fine
all-round sportsman, being a skilful yachtsman, excellent shot, and
truthful fisherman. Altogether, he owned some fifteen yachts, and he was
one of the earliest members of the New York Yacht Club, joining on June
7, 1845. The beautiful schooner _Juliet_, of seventy tons, designed by
himself, was the last yacht owned by him. On board of her he sailed,
summer after summer, upon the pleasant waters of the New England coast
that he had known from boyhood and loved so well.

Captain Palmer stood fully six feet, and was a man of great physical
strength and endurance. He was an active member of the Currituck Club,
and at the age of seventy-six, on his annual cruise to the Thimble
Islands for duck shooting, few of the party of much younger men held so
steady a gun, or could endure the fatigue and exposure for which he
seemed to care nothing. Though rugged in appearance, his roughness was
all on the outside; his heart was filled with kindness and sympathy for
the joys and sorrows of others. His brother, Captain Alexander Palmer, a
seaman only less famous than himself, once said: “My home is here in
Stonington, but Nat’s home is the world.” Captain Palmer was deeply
though not vainly religious, and was long a warden of Calvary Episcopal
Church at Stonington.

In 1876 he accompanied his nephew, Nathaniel B. Palmer, his brother
Alexander’s eldest son, who was in feeble health, to Santa Barbara, but
as the invalid derived no benefit there, they went for the sea voyage to
China on board the clipper ship _Mary Whitridge_. At Hong-kong, Captain
Palmer received an ovation, for, while few of his old friends there were
still alive, those who were left had good memories. On the return voyage
to San Francisco on the steamship _City of Pekin_, Captain Palmer’s
nephew died when the vessel was but one day out. This was a terrible
blow to Captain Palmer, from which he never recovered. On arriving at
San Francisco he was confined to his bed, and although he received every
care, he died there on June 21, 1877, in his seventy-eighth year. At the
close of a glorious summer day, the remains of the devoted uncle and
nephew were laid at rest in the churchyard at Stonington, by the hands
of those who had known and loved them well.

Captain Palmer was a fine type of the American merchant seaman of that
period, and I have thought it worth while to trace the leading events of
his life, because he always seemed to me to be the father of American
clipper-ship captains. Probably no one ever brought up so many young men
who afterward became successful shipmasters, while his character and
example were an inspiration to many who never sailed with him. It is
indicative of the broad and far-reaching sympathies of Captain Palmer’s
life, that not only a part of the Antarctic Continent bears his name--an
enduring monument to his memory--but that A. A. Low & Brother named one
of their finest clipper ships, the _N. B. Palmer_, and the famous
schooner-yacht _Palmer_, owned for many years by Rutherfurd Stuyvesant,
was also named for him. Few men in private life have had part of a
continent, a clipper ship, and yacht named for them.




CHAPTER VI

THE REPEAL OF THE BRITISH NAVIGATION LAWS--THE “ORIENTAL”


The repeal of the British Navigation Laws in 1849, after violent
opposition in Parliament and the House of Lords, and from almost every
British ship builder and ship-owner, gave a new impetus to the building
of clipper ships, as the British merchant marine was then for the first
time brought into direct competition with the vessels of other
nationalities, especially those of the United States.

During the years that had elapsed since the closing up of the East India
Company in 1832, some effort had been made to improve the model and
construction of British merchant ships, and as we have seen, clipper
schooners had been built for the Aberdeen service and for the opium
trade in China, but no attempt had been made in Great Britain to build
clipper ships. British ship-owners still felt secure under the
Navigation Laws, in the possession of their carrying trade with the Far
East, and paid little attention to the improvements in naval
architecture which had been effected in the United States.

This was not from ignorance of what had been accomplished there, for the
fast American packet ships had long been seen lying in the London and
Liverpool docks. In 1848, Lord William Lennox, in an article entitled _A
Fortnight in Cheshire_, mentions seeing them. He says: “Here (Liverpool)
are some splendid American liners. I went on board the _Henry Clay_ of
New York, and received the greatest attention from her commander,
Captain Ezra Nye. Nothing can exceed the beauty of this ship; she is
quite a model for a frigate. Her accommodations are superior to any
sailing vessel I ever saw.” There were also the _Independence_,
_Yorkshire_, _Montezuma_, _Margaret Evans_, _New World_, and scores of
other fast American packet ships which had been sailing in and out of
Liverpool and London for years. The arrivals and departures of these
vessels created no deep impression upon the minds of British
ship-owners, because they were not at that time competing with sailing
vessels for the North Atlantic trade to the United States.

The same lack of enterprise was apparent in the men who handled their
vessels, as we may see from the following amusing description in De
Tocqueville’s _Democracy in America_, published in 1835[5]:

“The European sailor navigates with prudence; he only sets sail when the
weather is favorable; if an unfortunate accident befalls him, he puts
into port; at night he furls a portion of his canvas; and when the
whitening billows intimate the vicinity of land, he checks his way and
takes an observation of the sun. But the American neglects these
precautions and braves these dangers. He weighs anchor in the midst of
tempestuous gales; by night and day he spreads his sheets to the winds;
he repairs as he goes along such damage as his vessel may have sustained
from the storm; and when he at last approaches the term of his voyage,
he darts onward to the shore as if he already descried a port. The
Americans are often shipwrecked, but no trader crosses the seas so
rapidly. And as they perform the same distance in shorter time, they can
perform it at a cheaper rate.

“The European touches several times at different ports in the course of
a long voyage; he loses a good deal of precious time in making harbor,
or in waiting for a favorable wind to leave it; and pays daily dues to
be allowed to remain there. The American starts from Boston to purchase
tea in China; he arrives at Canton, stays there a few days, and then
returns. In less than two years he has sailed as far as the entire
circumference of the globe, and he has seen land but once. It is true
that during a voyage of eight or ten months he has drunk brackish water,
and lived upon salt meat; that he has been in a continual contest with
the sea, with disease, and with a tedious existence; but, upon his
return, he can sell a pound of tea for a half-penny less than the
English merchant, and his purpose is accomplished.

“I cannot better explain my meaning than by saying that the Americans
affect a sort of heroism in their manner of trading. But the European
merchant will always find it very difficult to imitate his American
competitor, who, in adopting the system I have just described, follows
not only a calculation of his gain, but an impulse of his nature.”

At that time there were several American ships that could have
transported De Tocqueville from Boston to Canton and back in
considerably less than two years, and doubtless their captains would
have supplied him with something much better than brackish water to
drink, besides convincing him that what he regarded as recklessness was
in reality fine seamanship, and that he had been in no greater danger of
shipwreck than on board a vessel of any other nationality, besides being
a great deal more comfortable.

Some time before 1849, British sea-captains must have seen the American
clipper ships in the ports of China; or perhaps an Indiaman in the lone
southern ocean may have been lying almost becalmed on the long heaving
swell, lurching and slatting the wind out of her baggy hemp sails, while
her officers and crew watched an American clipper as she swept past,
under a cloud of canvas, curling the foam along her keen, slender bow.
But when these mariners returned home and related what they had seen,
their yarns were doubtless greeted with a jolly, good-humored smile of
British incredulity. With the Navigation Laws to protect them, British
ship-owners cared little about American ships and their exploits.

These Navigation Laws, first enacted in 1651 by the Parliament of
Cromwell, and affirmed by Charles II. soon after his restoration to the
throne, were intended to check the increasing power of Holland upon the
sea, but they had quite the contrary effect. With a few slight changes,
however, they were passed along from generation to generation, until
Adam Smith exposed the fallacy of Protection in his _Wealth of Nations_,
which appeared in 1776. From that time on, British statesmen, few in
number at first, adopted his teachings, and under the pressure of
popular clamor some concessions were made, especially in the way of
reciprocity treaties, but it was nearly three quarters of a century
before these barbaric old laws, a legacy from the thieving barons, were
finally swept away.

It may be well briefly to enumerate these laws as they stood previous to
their repeal, for it is seldom that one comes across so much ingenious
stupidity in so compact a form; also mainly because through their repeal
the ships of Great Britain eventually became the greatest ocean carriers
of the world.

(I.) Certain enumerated articles of European produce could only be
imported to the United Kingdom for consumption, in British ships or in
ships of the country of which the goods were the produce, or in ships of
that country from which they were usually imported.

(II.) No produce of Asia, Africa, or America could be imported for
consumption in the United Kingdom from Europe in any ships; and such
produce could only be imported from any other place in British ships or
in ships of the country of which they were the produce.

(III.) No goods could be carried coastwise from one part of the United
Kingdom to another in any but British ships.

(IV.) No goods could be exported from the United Kingdom to any of the
British possessions in Asia, Africa, or America (with some exceptions in
regard to India) in any but British ships.

(V.) No goods could be carried from one British possession in Asia,
Africa, or America to another, nor from one part of such possession to
another part of the same, in any but British ships.

(VI.) No goods could be imported into any British possessions in Asia,
Africa, or America, in any but British ships, or ships of the country of
which the goods were the produce; provided also, in such case, that such
ships brought the goods from that country.

(VII.) No foreign ships were allowed to trade with any of the British
possessions unless they had been specially authorized to do so by orders
in Council.

(VIII.) Powers were given to the sovereign in Council to impose
differential duties on the ships of any country which did the same with
reference to British ships; and also to place restrictions on
importations from any foreign countries which placed restrictions on
British importations into such countries.

Furthermore, by an act passed in 1786, British subjects were prohibited
from owning foreign-built vessels. This act was regarded as one of the
Navigation Laws, and was repealed with them.

One of the objects of the repeal of the Navigation Laws was to enable
British ship-owners to become the ocean carriers of the world, and to
remove every restraint as to where they should build or buy their ships.
This step was a natural sequence to the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846,
and the glorious dawn of Free Trade, by which every British subject was
permitted to purchase whatever he required in the best and cheapest
market, and so was able to work at a moderate wage, and to have
continuous employment. Thus Great Britain, with few natural advantages,
became the great workshop of the world and controlled every market upon
the globe in which her manufactures were not excluded by the barrier of
Protection. Even from these countries she reaped a decided benefit, for
they were so hampered by Protection, which increased the expense of
living, created high rates of wages for labor but with uncertain
employment, and brought about increased cost of production, whether of
ships or merchandise, that it became impossible for them to compete in
the open markets of the world, and these avenues of trade were left open
for Great Britain to exploit at her pleasure.

Such was the belief of the great leader, Richard Cobden, and his
brilliant colleagues. They were convinced that if British merchants were
to carry on the commerce of Great Britain they must do so untrammelled
as to where they bought or built their ships; they realized the fact
that cheaper and better wooden sailing vessels--then the ocean cargo
carriers of the world--were being built in the United States than could
be constructed in Great Britain. (Indeed, as we shall presently see, the
finest, largest, and fastest ships owned or chartered in Great Britain
between the years 1850 and 1857, came from the shipyards of the United
States.) They fully recognized the importance of the home ship-building
industry, and did everything possible to encourage it, but they also
perceived that ship-owning is of vastly more importance to a nation than
ship-building, and that fleets of ships are not commerce but only the
instruments with which commerce performs its work; likewise, that the
nation owning the best and cheapest ships, no matter where or by whom
built, must and will, other things being equal, do not only most of its
own carrying trade, but also a considerable portion of that of other
nations. These men were not willing any longer to sacrifice the carrying
trade of their country in order that a few comparatively unimportant
ship-builders, grown incompetent through long years of monopoly, might
continue to thrive at the expense of the nation.

No people excel the English in courage and resource in times of national
trouble, and they had long before this fought battles for
freedom--freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of the press,
freedom of the slave, freedom to worship God,--and now the final contest
for freedom, the freedom of trade, had been bravely fought and won. The
result, of course, was not immediate, as it required several years to
recover from the evil effects of two centuries of Protection. The fruits
of victories for freedom rarely ripen quickly, and in this instance the
records show that the increase of British shipping for the year before
the repeal of the Navigation Laws had been 393,955 tons, while during
the year following there had been a decrease of 180,576 tons; also that
foreign vessels arriving from foreign ports increased from 75,278 tons
to 364,587 tons in these years. It was therefore natural that there
should be a feeling of despondency throughout Great Britain among those
who had opposed the repeal, for they thought that their fears were being
realized, and that the over-sea carrying trade, which they had regarded
as their own, was being taken from them. In this hour of gloom the
stout-hearted ship-owners of London and Liverpool resolved that England
should again become Mistress of the Sea, and so competition, the
stimulus needed to rouse their latent abilities, was the instrument of
their salvation.

The first American ship to carry a cargo of tea from China to England
after the repeal of the Navigation Laws was the clipper _Oriental_, of
1003 tons, built for A. A. Low & Brother in 1849, by Jacob Bell, who
continued in the ship-building business after the firm of Brown & Bell
was dissolved in 1848. This ship’s length was 185 feet, breadth 36 feet,
depth 21 feet. She sailed from New York on her first voyage, commanded
by Captain N. B. Palmer, September 14, 1849, and arrived at Hong-kong by
the Eastern passages in 109 days. She discharged, took on board a full
cargo of tea for New York, sailed January 30, 1850, and arrived April
21st, 81 days’ passage. This was Captain Palmer’s last command, though
he lived many years, as we have seen, to enjoy the fruits of his toil
upon the sea.

The _Oriental_ sailed on her second voyage from New York for China, May
19, 1850, under the command of Captain Theodore Palmer, a younger
brother of Captain Nat, and was 25 days to the equator; she passed the
meridian of the Cape of Good Hope 45 days out, Java Head 71 days out,
and arrived at Hong-kong, August 8th, 81 days from New York. She was at
once chartered through Russell & Co. to load a cargo of tea for London
at £6 per ton of 40 cubic feet, while British ships were waiting for
cargoes for London at £3:10 per ton of 50 cubic feet. She sailed August
28th, and beat down the China Sea against a strong southwest monsoon in
21 days to Anjer, arrived off the Lizard in 91 days, and was moored in
the West India Docks, London, 97 days from Hong-kong--a passage from
China never before equalled in point of speed, especially against the
southwest monsoon, and rarely surpassed since. She delivered 1600 tons
of tea, and her freight from Hong-kong amounted to £9600, or some
$48,000. Her first cost ready for sea was $70,000. From the date of her
first sailing from New York, September 14, 1849, to arrival at London,
December 3, 1850, the _Oriental_ had sailed a distance of 67,000 miles,
and had during that time been at sea 367 days, an average in all
weathers of 183 miles per day.

Throngs of people visited the West India Docks to look at the
_Oriental_. They certainly saw a beautiful ship; every line of her long,
black hull indicated power and speed; her tall raking masts and
skysail-yards towered above the spars of the shipping in the docks; her
white cotton sails were neatly furled under bunt, quarter, and yardarm
gaskets; while her topmast, topgallant, and royal studdingsail booms
and long, heavy, lower studdingsail booms swung in along her rails, gave
an idea of the enormous spread of canvas held in reserve for light and
moderate leading winds; her blocks, standing and running rigging were
neatly fitted to stand great stress and strain, but with no unnecessary
top-hamper, or weight aloft. On deck everything was for use; the spare
spars, scraped bright and varnished, were neatly lashed along the
waterways; the inner side of the bulwarks, the rails and the deck-houses
were painted pure white; the hatch combings, skylights, pin-rails, and
companions were of Spanish mahogany; the narrow planks of her clear pine
deck, with the gratings and ladders, were scrubbed and holystoned to the
whiteness of cream; the brass capstan heads, bells, belaying pins,
gangway stanchions, and brasswork about the wheel, binnacle, and
skylights were of glittering brightness. Throughout she was a triumph of
the shipwright’s and seaman’s toil and skill.

No ship like the _Oriental_ had even been seen in England, and the
ship-owners of London were constrained to admit that they had nothing to
compare with her in speed, beauty of model, rig, or construction. It is
not too much to say that the arrival of this vessel in London with her
cargo of tea in this crisis in 1850, aroused almost as much apprehension
and excitement in Great Britain as was created by the memorable Tea
Party held in Boston harbor in 1773. The Admiralty obtained permission
to take off her lines in dry dock; the _Illustrated London News_
published her portrait, not a very good one by the way; and the _Times_
honored her arrival by a leader, which ended with these brave, wise
words:

“The rapid increase of population in the United States, augmented by an
annual immigration of nearly three hundred thousand from these isles, is
a fact that forces itself on the notice and interest of the most
unobservant and uncurious. All these promise to develop the resources of
the United States to such an extent as to compel us to a competition as
difficult as it is unavoidable. We must run a race with our gigantic and
unshackled rival. We must set our long-practised skill, our steady
industry, and our dogged determination, against his youth, ingenuity,
and ardor. It is a father who runs a race with his son. A fell necessity
constrains us and we must not be beat. Let our ship-builders and
employers take warning in time. There will always be an abundant supply
of vessels, good enough and fast enough for short voyages. The
coal-trade can take care of itself, for it will always be a refuge for
the destitute. But we want fast vessels for the long voyages, which
otherwise will fall into American hands. It is fortunate that the
Navigation Laws have been repealed in time to destroy these false and
unreasonable expectations, which might have lulled the ardor of British
competition. We now all start together with a fair field and no favor.
The American captain can call at London, and the British captain can
pursue his voyage to New York. Who can complain? Not we. We trust that
our countrymen will not be beaten; but if they should be, we shall know
that they deserve it.”




CHAPTER VII

THE RUSH FOR CALIFORNIA--A SAILING DAY


The world has seldom witnessed so gigantic a migration of human beings,
by land and sea, from every quarter of the globe, as that which poured
into California in 1848 and the years following. San Francisco, from a
drowsy, Mexican trading station, composed of a cluster of some fifty mud
huts, adobe dwellings, and hide houses, situated upon a magnificent bay
with lofty mountains in the distance, occasionally enlivened by the
visit of a New Bedford or Nantucket whale ship in need of wood and
water, or a Boston hide droger which took away tallow, hides, and horns,
suddenly became one of the great seaports of the world.

From April 1, 1847, to the same date in 1848, two ships, one barque and
one brig arrived at San Francisco from Atlantic ports, and in the course
of this year nine American whalers called in there. In 1849, 775 vessels
cleared from Atlantic ports for San Francisco; 242 ships, 218 barques,
170 brigs, 132 schooners, and 12 steamers. New York sent 214 vessels,
Boston 151, New Bedford 42, Baltimore 38, New Orleans 32, Philadelphia
31, Salem 23, Bath 19, Bangor 13, New London 17, Providence 11, Eastport
10, and Nantucket 8. Almost every seaport along the Atlantic coast,
sent one or more vessels, and they all carried passengers. The schooner
_Eureka_ sailed from Cleveland, Ohio, for San Francisco via the River
St. Lawrence, September 28, 1849, and carried fifty-three passengers,
among whom were two families from Cleveland. Many of these vessels never
reached California; some of them put into ports of refuge disabled and
in distress; while others were never heard from. Most of the ships that
did arrive at San Francisco made long, weary voyages, their passengers
and crews suffering sore hardships and privations.

In the year 1849, 91,405 passengers landed at San Francisco from various
ports of the world, of almost every nationality under the sun and
representing some of the best and some of the worst types of men and
women. The officers and crews, with hardly an exception, hurried to the
mines, leaving their ships to take care of themselves; in some instances
the crews did not even wait long enough to stow the sails and be paid
off, so keen were they to join the wild race for gold. Many of these
vessels never left the harbor; over one hundred were turned into store
ships, while others were converted into hotels, hospitals, and prisons,
or gradually perished by decay.

The first vessel, and one of the few of the California fleet of 1849,
which escaped from San Francisco, was the ship _South Carolina_. This
vessel sailed from New York, January 24, 1849, and returned via
Valparaiso with a cargo of copper to Boston, where she arrived February
20, 1850, after a voyage out and home of some thirteen months.

A letter from San Francisco to the New York _Herald_, dated February 28,
1850, states that wages for seamen were then from $125 to $200 per
month. There used to be a humorous yarn spun among seamen to the effect
that during the “flush times,” as those glorious days of the gold fever
were called, sailors required a captain to produce a recommendation from
his last crew before they would ship with him or sign articles. However
this may be, it is a fact that as late as 1854, it was so difficult to
induce crews to leave San Francisco that captains were frequently
obliged to ship men out of jail, whether they were sailors or not, in
order to get their ships to sea.

The gold mines exerted an irresistible attraction, and for a time the
town was almost deserted, except for those passing through on their way
to and from the mines. By degrees, however, it became apparent to some
that more gold-dust was to be collected at San Francisco in business
than by digging among the mountains, and with admirable energy they set
about transforming this lawless camp into a prosperous trading city.

Prior to 1848, California had been for all practical purposes almost
uninhabited, and now was utterly unable to provide for the needs of her
vastly increased population. The newcomers produced plenty of gold, but
nothing else, and they frequently found themselves on the brink of
starvation. They were too busy with pick and shovel to contribute
anything in the form of manufactures or supplies, so that the most
ordinary articles of every-day use, to say nothing of comforts and
luxuries, had to be brought from places thousands of miles distant.
This precarious means of supply, together with the enormous and reckless
purchasing power developed by the rapid production of gold from the
mines, naturally created a speculative and artificial standard of
values, and goods of every description sold for fabulous amounts: Beef,
pork, and flour brought from $40 to $60 per barrel; tea, coffee, and
sugar, $4 a pound; spirits, $10 to $40 a quart; playing-cards, $5 a
pack; cowhide boots, $45 a pair; picks and shovels from $5 to $15 each;
wooden and tin bowls from $2.50 to $7.50 each; laudanum, $1 a drop, and
so on. These were by no means high prices for stevedores and laborers
receiving from $20 to $30 a day, and miners who were making anywhere
from $100 to $1000 a day washing dirt at the mines.

An idea of the amount of gold produced may be gained from the fact that
the Pacific Mail Company, whose first steamship, the _California_,
arrived at San Francisco via the Straits of Magellan, February 28, 1849,
had by the end of 1852 shipped gold from that city to the value of
$121,766,425.

The speculators and shippers of merchandise in the Eastern States were
as deeply interested in the output of the mines of California as the
gold diggers themselves. No one could predict how long this state of
affairs would continue; with them speed meant everything; a week or even
a day’s delay might result in heavy losses, or what was to them the same
thing, failure to reap large profits. They could not send their goods
across the continent, and the Pacific Mail Company had all that it
could attend to in conveying passengers and the mails across the
Isthmus; so that the only means of transportation from the Atlantic
States to San Francisco was round Cape Horn. Under these circumstances
one can easily understand how the rates of freight advanced to
extravagant figures, and created a demand under which the California
clippers came into existence.

In these days of thrifty transportation by sea, when coal shovels have
superseded watch-tackles, and ship-owners are expected to look cheerful
with steamship rates at $14.00 a ton from New York to San Francisco, and
$12.00 a ton from New York to Melbourne or Hong-kong, the rates of
freight that the clipper ships earned from New York to San Francisco
seem almost incredible. In 1850 the _Samuel Russell_ received $1.50 per
cubic foot, or $60 per ton of 40 cubic feet. She registered 940 tons,
and being a very sharp ship would probably carry not more than 1200 tons
of California cargo. But even so, her freight would amount to $72,000,
or a little more than her first cost ready for sea. The other clippers
at first received the same rate, but by degrees, as they increased in
tonnage and in number, the rates of freight declined to $50 per ton, and
then to $40 where they remained for a considerable time.

The California clipper period covers the years 1850-1860, during the
first four of which nearly all of these famous ships, numbering one
hundred and sixty, were built. (See Appendix I.) Most of them were
launched at or near New York and Boston, though some were built
elsewhere, Richmond,

[Illustration:

Jacob A. Westervelt      Jacob Bell

Clipper-Ship Builders]

Baltimore, Mystic, Medford, Newburyport, Portsmouth, Portland, Rockland,
Bath, and other ports contributing to the fleet. These splendid
ships--the swiftest sailing vessels that the world has even seen or is
likely ever to see--sailed their great ocean matches for the stake of
commercial supremacy and the championship of the seas, over courses
encircling the globe, and their records, made more than half a century
ago, still stand unsurpassed.

After carrying their cargoes to California at the enormous rates we have
given, these ships would return round Cape Horn in ballast for another
cargo at the same rate, as they could well afford to do, or would cross
the Pacific in ballast and load tea for London or New York. Many of them
more than cleared their original cost in less than one year, during a
voyage round the globe, after deducting all expenses.

The central points about which the great ship-owning interests collected
were New York and Boston. Here, too, were the most famous shipyards. All
along the harbor front at East Boston and the water-front of the East
River from Pike Street to the foot of Tenth Street, New York, were to be
seen splendid clipper ships in every stage of construction; and beside
the ship-building yards, there were rigging-lofts, sail-lofts, the shops
of boat-builders, block-and pump-makers, painters, carvers, and gilders,
iron, brass, and copper workers, mast-and spar-makers, and ship stores
of all kinds, where everything required on shipboard, from a palm and
needle, a marlinspike or a ball of spun yarn, to anchors and chains,
was to be found. The ship-yards were great thriving hives of industry,
where hundreds of sledge-hammers, top mauls, and caulking mallets, swung
by the arms of skilful American mechanics, rung out a mighty chorus, and
the fresh odor of rough-hewn timber, seething Carolina pitch, and
Stockholm tar filled the air with healthful fragrance. They were unique
and interesting localities, the like of which have never existed
elsewhere--now long passed away and all but forgotten.

The principal shipping merchants in New York were William T. Coleman &
Co., Wells & Emanuel, Sutton & Co., John I. Earl, and James Smith & Son,
all of whom managed San Francisco lines and usually had one or more
clippers on the berth, loading night and day for California. The old
Piers 8, 9, and 10, along the East River, were scenes of great activity,
and throngs of people visited them to see: these ships. At all the
seaports along the Atlantic coast, almost every one knew something and
most persons knew a good deal about ships. They were: a matter of great
importance to the community, for as late as 1860, nearly all the large
fortunes in the United States had been made in shipping.

The captains and officers of the California clippers were as a class men
of integrity, energy, and skill, nearly all of them being of the best
Pilgrim and Puritan stock of New England, and trained to the sea from
boyhood. Many of them were the sons of merchants and professional men,
well known and respected in the communities in which they lived. Their
ships carried large crews, besides being fitted with every appliance for
saving labor: fly-wheel

[Illustration: William

H. Webb      Samuel Hall

Clipper-Ship Builders]

pumps, gypsy winches, gun-metal roller bushes in the sheaves of the
brace, reef tackle and halliard blocks, geared capstans, and plenty of
the best stores and provisions, with spare spars, sails, blocks, and
rigging in abundance. The owners fitted out their vessels with rational
economy and looked to their captains, whom they rewarded liberally, to
see that nothing was wasted and that the ships performed their voyages
quickly and well.

There was no allowance of food, as on British ships, on board the
American clippers; a barrel of beef, pork, bread, or flour was supposed
to last about so many days, according to the ship’s company; a little
more or less did not matter. The water was in charge of the carpenter,
and was usually carried in an iron tank which rested on the keelson
abaft the mainmast and came up to the main deck. This tank was in the
form of a cylinder, and held from three to four thousand gallons; some
of the larger ships carried their water in two of these tanks. Each
morning at sea, water equal to one gallon for every person on board was
pumped out of the tank and placed in a scuttlebutt on deck; the
carpenter then made a report of the number of gallons remaining in the
tank to the chief officer, who entered it in the log-book. During the
day the crew took the water they needed from the scuttle-butt, the cook
and steward what they required for the galley and aft; and while there
was no stint, woe to the man who wasted fresh water at sea in those
days, for if he managed to escape the just wrath of the officers, his
shipmates were pretty sure to take care of him. The salt beef and pork
were kept in a harness cask abaft the mainmast, and when a fresh barrel
of provisions was to be opened, the harness cask was scrubbed and
scalded out with boiling water, and so was always sweet and clean. The
cooks and stewards were almost invariably negroes, and it is to be
regretted that there are not more like them at the present
time--especially the cooks. “Plenty of work, plenty to eat, and good
pay,” is what sailormen used to say of American clippers, the sort of
ships on board of which good seamen liked to sail.

The forecastle on board the old type of vessels was in the forepeak,
below the main deck, a damp, ill-ventilated hole, but in the California
clippers it was in a large house on deck between the fore-and
main-masts, divided fore and aft amidships by a bulkhead, so that each
watch had a separate forecastle, well ventilated and with plenty of
light. There was nothing to prevent a crew from being comfortable
enough; it depended entirely upon themselves. Indeed, there were no
ships afloat at that period where the crews were so well paid and cared
for as on board the American clippers. Seamen who knew their duties and
were willing to perform them fared far better than on board the ships of
any other nationality.

Perhaps, the most marked difference between American merchant ships and
those of other nations was in regard to the use of wine and spirits. On
board British ships grog was served out regularly to the men before the
mast, and the captain and officers were allowed wine money. Nothing of
this sort was permitted on American vessels. Robert Minturn, of the
firm of Grinnell, Minturn & Co., in his evidence before a parliamentary
committee in 1848, stated that teetotalism not only was encouraged by
American ship-owners, but actually earned a bonus from underwriters, who
offered a return of ten per cent of the insurance premium upon voyages
performed without the consumption of spirits. On board the packet ships
and other vessels which carried passengers, there was always wine on the
captain’s table, but the captain and officers rarely made use of it. The
sailors were allowed plenty of hot coffee, night or day, in heavy
weather, but grog was unknown on board American merchant ships.

In those days, after a New York clipper had finished loading, it was the
custom for her to drop down the East River and anchor off Battery Park,
then a fashionable resort, where she would remain for a few hours to
take her crew on board and usually to ship from five to ten tons of
gunpowder, a part of her cargo that was stowed in the main hatch, to be
easily handled in case of fire. Tow-boats were not as plentiful in New
York harbor as at present, and unless the wind was ahead or calm, the
clippers seldom made use of them, for with a leading breeze these ships
would sail to and from Sandy Hook much faster than they could be towed.
One of the clippers getting under way off Battery Park was a beautiful
sight, and an event in which a large part of the community was
interested.

The people who gathered at Battery Park to see a clipper ship get under
way, came partly to hear the sailors sing their sea songs, or chanties,
which were an important part of sea life in those days, giving a zest
and cheeriness on shipboard, which nothing else could supply. It used to
be said that a good chanty man was worth four men in a watch, and this
was true, for when a crew knocked off chantying, there was something
wrong--the ship seemed lifeless. These songs originated early in the
nineteenth century, with the negro stevedores at Mobile and New Orleans,
who sung them while screwing cotton bales into the holds of the American
packet ships; this was where the packet sailors learned them. The words
had a certain uncouth, fantastic meaning, evidently the product of
undeveloped intelligence, but there was a wild, inspiring ring in the
melodies, and, after a number of years, they became unconsciously
influenced by the pungent, briny odor and surging roar and rhythm of the
ocean, and howling gales at sea. Landsmen have tried in vain to imitate
them; the result being no more like genuine sea songs than skimmed milk
is like Jamaica rum.

There were a great many Whitehall boats kept at the lower end of the
Park, and the Battery boatmen were fine oarsmen, Bill Decker, Tom Daw,
Steve Roberts, and Andy Fay being famous scullers. There were some smart
four-and six-oared crews among them which used to swoop down and pick up
the valuable prizes offered by the Boston city fathers for competition
each Fourth of July on the Charles River, but the convivial life which
the gay Battery boatmen led did not improve their rowing, and in 1856
they were defeated by the famous _Neptune_ crew, of St. John, N. B., in
a match rowed on the Charles River for the stake of $5000, and later
were quite eclipsed by the even more famous Ward crew of Newburgh.

The time when these men really had to work, was on the sailing day of a
California clipper. A busy scene it was, as they put the crew and their
dunnage on board, one or two lots at a time, accompanied by a
boarding-house runner, the sailormen being in various stages of exalted
inebriation. The helpless in body and mind are hauled over the side in
bowlines and stowed away in their berths to regain the use of their
limbs and senses. These men have been drugged and robbed of their three
months’ advance wages and most of their clothing. In a few hours they
will come to, and find themselves at sea on board of a ship whose name
they never heard, with no idea to what part of the globe they are bound.
A receipt is given for each man by the mate, who considers himself
fortunate if he can muster two thirds of his crew able to stand up and
heave on a capstan bar or pull on a rope. The probable condition of the
crew is so well known and expected that a gang of longshoremen is on
board to lend a hand in getting the ship under way. The more provident
of the seamen bring well-stocked sea chests; the less thoughtful find
moderate-sized canvas bags quite large enough to hold their possessions;
one mariner carries his outfit for the Cape Horn voyage tied up in a
nice bandanna handkerchief, the parting gift of a Cherry Street
damsel--who keeps the change. Jack is in a jovial, tipsy humor, and
appears to be well satisfied with his investment.

This is an anxious day for the mate, for, while he receives his
instructions from the captain in a general way, yet every detail of
getting the ship to sea is in his hands; and though he seems careless
and unconcerned, his nerves are on edge and every sense alert; his eyes
are all over the ship. He is sizing up each man in his crew and getting
his gauge; when he strikes a chord of sympathy, he strikes hard, and
when his keen instinct detects a note of discord, he strikes still
harder, lifting his men along with a curse here, a joke there, and ever
tightening his firm but not unkindly grasp of authority. The mate is not
hunting for trouble--all that he wants is for his men to do their work
and show him enough respect so that it will not become his unpleasant
duty to hammer them into shape. He knows that this is his day, and that
it is the decisive day of the voyage, for before the ship passes out by
Sandy Hook his moral victory will be lost or won, with no appeal to
Admiralty Boards or Courts of Justice. He knows, too, that a score of
other mates and their captains are looking on with keen interest to see
how he handles his crew, and their opinion is of far greater value to
him than the decrees of Senates; so he intends to lay himself out and
give them something worth looking at.

There is a crisp northeasterly breeze, and the blue waters of the bay
dance and frolic in the sweet June sunshine. The crew are all on board,
with the captain and pilot in consultation on the quarter-deck; it is
nearly high water, and the tide will soon run ebb. The mate takes charge
of the topgallant forecastle, with the third mate and the boatswain

[Illustration: Clipper-Ship Captains

Robert H. Waterman      N. B. Palmer
]

to assist him, while the second mate, with the fourth mate and
boatswain’s mate work the main deck and stand by to look after the chain
as it comes in over the windlass.

As the crew muster on the forecastle they appear to be a motley gang,
mostly British and Scandinavian, with a sprinkling of Spaniards,
Portuguese, and Italians, and one or two Americans. Some wear thick,
coarse, red, blue, or gray flannel shirts, others blue dungaree jumpers,
or cotton shirts of various colors; their trousers are in a variety of
drabs, blues, grays, and browns, supported by leather belts or braces;
they wear stiff or soft felt hats or woollen caps of many colors. But no
clothes that were ever invented could disguise these men; their bronzed,
weather-beaten faces and sun-baked, tattooed arms, with every swing of
their bodies, betray them as sailormen, and good ones too, above the
average even in those days. They would no more submit to being put into
uniforms or to the cut-and-dried discipline of a man-of-war, than they
would think of eating their food at a table with knives and forks.

They are all pretty full of alcohol, but the sailor instinct is so
strong in them that they do their work as well, some of them perhaps
better, than if they were sober. There is no romance about them or about
any part of their lives; they are simply common, every-day sailors, and
will never be anything else, unless they happen to encounter some
inspired writer of fiction; then it is difficult to say what may become
of them. Some of them have much good in their natures, others are
saturated with evil, and all need to be handled with tact and judgment,
for too much severity, or on the other hand any want of firmness, may
lead to trouble, which means the free use of knives, belaying pins, and
knuckle-dusters.

Now the flood-tide begins to slacken, and as the ship swings to the
wind, the order is passed along from aft to man the windlass and heave
short. We hear the mate sing out in a pleasant, cheery voice: “Now,
then, boys, heave away on the windlass breaks; strike a light, it’s
duller than an old graveyard.” And the chantyman, in an advanced stage
of hilarious intoxication, gay as a skylark, sails into song:

    “In eighteen hundred and forty-six,
     I found myself in the hell of a fix,
     A-working on the railway, the railway, the railway.
     Oh, poor Paddy works on the railway.

    “In eighteen hundred and forty-seven,
     When Dan O’Connolly went to heaven,
     He worked upon the railway, the railway, the railway.
     Poor Paddy works on the railway, the railway.

    “In eighteen hundred and forty-eight,
     I found myself bound for the Golden Gate,
     A-working on the railway, the railway.
     Oh, poor Paddy works on the railway, the railway.

    “In eighteen hundred and forty-nine,
     I passed my time in the Black Ball Line,
     A-working on the railway, the railway,
     I weary on the railway,
     Poor Paddy works on the railway, the railway.”

And so on to the end of the century, or till the mate sings out, “Vast
heaving,” lifts his hand, and reports to the captain: “The anchor’s
apeak, sir.” “Very good, sir, loose sails fore and aft.” “Aye, aye,
sir.” “Aloft there some of you and loose sails. One hand stop in the
tops and crosstrees to overhaul the gear.” “Aye, aye, sir. Royals and
sky-sails?” “Yes, royals and skysails; leave the staysails fast.” “Lay
out there, four or five of you, and loose the head sails.” “Here, you
fellow in the green-spotted shirt, lay down out of that; there’s men
enough up there now to eat those sails.” “Mr. Sampson, take some of your
men aft and look after the main and mizzen; put a hand at the wheel; as
he goes along let him clear the ensign halliards; while you’re waiting
lay that accommodation ladder in on deck; leave the spanker fast.” “On
the foretopsail yard, there, if you cut that gasket, I’ll split your
damned skull; cast it adrift, you lubber.” “Boatswain, get your watch
tackles along to the topsail sheets.” “Aye, aye, sir.” “Here, some of
you gentlemen’s sons in disguise, get that fish-davit out; hook on the
pendant; overhaul the tackle down ready for hooking on.” “Mainskysail
yard there, don’t make those gaskets up, my boy; fetch them in along the
yard, and make fast to the tye.”

By this time the sails are loose and the gaskets made up; courses,
topsails, topgallantsails, royals, and skysails flutter in their gear,
and the clipper feels the breath of life. “Sheet home the topsails.”
“Aye, aye, sir.” “Boatswain, look out for those clew-lines at the main;
ease down handsomely as the sheets come home.” “Foretop there, overhaul
your buntlines, look alive!” “Belay your port maintopsail sheet; clap a
watch tackle on the starboard sheet and rouse her home.” “Maintop there,
lay down on the main-yard and light the foot of that sail over the
stay.” “That’s well, belay starboard.” “Well the mizzentopsail sheets,
belay.” “Now then, my bullies, lead out your topsail halliards fore and
aft and masthead her.” “Aye, aye, sir.” By this time the mate has put
some ginger into the crew and longshoremen, and they walk away with the
three topsail halliards:

    “Away, way, way, yar,
     We’ll kill Paddy Doyle for his boots.”

“Now then, long pulls, my sons.” “Here, you chantyman, haul off your
boots, jump on that main-deck capstan and strike a light; the best in
your locker.” “Aye, aye, sir.” And the three topsail-yards go aloft with
a ringing chanty that can be heard up in Beaver Street:

    “Then up aloft that yard must go,
     Whiskey for my Johnny.
     Oh, whiskey is the life of man,
     Whiskey, Johnny.
     I thought I heard the old man say,
     Whiskey for my Johnny.
     We are bound away this very day,
     Whiskey, Johnny.
     A dollar a day is a white man’s pay,
     Whiskey for my Johnny.

     Oh, whiskey killed my sister Sue,
     Whiskey, Johnny,
     And whiskey killed the old man, too,
     Whiskey for my Johnny.
     Whiskey’s gone, what shall I do?
     Whiskey, Johnny,
     Oh, whiskey’s gone, and I’ll go too,
     Whiskey for my Johnny.”

“Belay your maintopsail halliards.” “Aye, aye, sir.” And so the canvas
is set fore and aft, topsails, topgallantsails, royals, and skysails,
flat as boards, the inner and outer jibs are run up and the sheets
hauled to windward; the main-and after-yards are braced sharp to the
wind, the foretopsail is laid to the mast, and the clipper looks like
some great seabird ready for flight. The anchor is hove up to:

    “I wish I was in Slewer’s Hall,
     Lowlands, lowlands, hurra, my boys,
     A-drinking luck to the old Black Ball,
     My dollar and a half a day.”

And while some of the hands bring the anchor to the rail with cat and
fish tackle, and:

    “A Yankee sloop came down the river,
     Hah, hah, rolling John,
     Oh, what do you think that sloop had in her?
     Hah, hah, rolling John,
     Monkey’s hide and bullock’s liver,
     Hah, hah, rolling John.”

the rest of the crew fill away the foreyard, draw away the head sheets,
and check in the after yards. As the ship pays off, and gathers way in
the slack water, the longshoremen and runners tumble over the side into
the Whitehall boats, the crowd at Battery Park gives three parting
cheers, the ensign is dipped, and the clipper is on her way to Cape
Horn.




CHAPTER VIII

THE CLIPPER SHIP CREWS


The history of men before the mast on board American merchant ships is
not a history of American sailors, for strictly speaking there have
never been any American merchant sailors as a class; that is, no
American merchant ship of considerable tonnage was ever manned by
native-born Americans in the sense that French, British, Dutch,
Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, or Danish ships are manned by men born in
the country under whose flag they sail. Neither have Americans ever
followed the sea all their lives before the mast, as do men of the
nations named. Some of the small Salem ships and perhaps a few of the
Nantucket whalers of a century ago may possibly have carried entirely
American crews, but if so, the men did not remain long in the
forecastle.

The ship _George_, 328 tons, built at Salem in 1812 and owned by Joseph
Peabody, is a case in point. She was known as the “Salem frigate,” and
made many successful voyages to Calcutta. Of this ship’s sailors, during
her long and prosperous career, forty-five became captains, twenty chief
mates, and six second mates. One of her Salem crew, Thomas M. Saunders,
served as boy, ordinary seaman, able seaman, third, second, and chief
mate on board of her, and finally, after twelve East India voyages,
became her captain. This ship was a fair sample of many American vessels
of that period, but probably no ship of similar or greater tonnage in
the merchant service of any other nation can show such a brilliant
record for her men before the mast.

The demand for crews for the California clippers brought together a
miscellaneous lot of men, some good and some bad, some accustomed to
deep-water voyages to India and China, and some only to European ports,
while others were not sailors at all, and only shipped as such for the
sake of getting to California. The majority were of course from the
general merchant service of the time.

During the first half of the nineteenth century, American ships trading
upon long voyages to China and India carried crews composed chiefly of
Scandinavians--splendid sailormen who could do any kind of rigging work
or sail-making required on board of a ship at sea and took pride in
doing it well, and who also had sufficient sense to know that discipline
is necessary on shipboard. These Scandinavians, who were as a rule fine
seamen, clean, willing, and obedient, were the first and best class
among the men of whom the clipper ship crews were composed. A vessel
with a whole crew of these strong, honest sailors was a little heaven
afloat.

Then there were the packet sailors, a different class altogether, mostly
“Liverpool Irishmen,” a species of wild men, strong, coarse-built,
thick-set; their hairy bodies and limbs tattooed with grotesque and
often obscene devices in red and blue India ink; men wallowing in the
slush of depravity, who could be ruled only with a hand of iron. Among
themselves they had a rough-and-ready code of ethics, which deprived
them of the pleasure of stealing from each other, though it permitted
them to rob and plunder shipmates of other nationalities, or the ship
and passengers. So, too, they might not draw knives on each other, being
obliged to settle disputes with their fists, but to cut and stab an
officer or shipmate not of their own gang was regarded as an heroic
exploit.

With all their moral rottenness, these rascals were splendid fellows to
make or shorten sail in heavy weather on the Western Ocean, and to go
aloft in a coat or monkey jacket in any kind of weather was regarded by
them with derision and contempt. But making and taking in sail was about
all that they could do, being useless for the hundred and one things on
shipboard which a deep-water sailor was supposed to know, such as
rigging work, sail-making, scraping, painting, and keeping a vessel
clean and shipshape. The packets had all this work done in port, and
never looked so well as when hauling out of dock outward bound; whereas,
the China and California clippers looked their best after a long voyage,
coming in from sea with every ratline and seizing square, the sheer
poles coach-whipped, brass caps on the rigging ends and lanyard knots,
and the man-ropes marvels of cross pointing, Turks’ heads, and double
rose knots.

The packet sailors showed up at their best when laying out on a topsail
yardarm, passing a weather reef-earing, with their Black Ball caps, red
shirts, and trousers stowed in the legs of their sea boots along with
their cotton hooks and sheath knives, a snow squall whistling about
their ears, the rigging a mass of ice, and the old packet jumping into
the big Atlantic seas up to her knightheads. These ruffians did not much
care for India and China voyages, but preferred to navigate between the
dance-halls of Cherry Street and the grog-shops of Waterloo Road and
Ratcliffe Highway. As has often been said, they worked like horses at
sea and spent their money like asses ashore.

When the California clippers came out, these packet rats, as they came
to be called aboard the deep-water ships--men who had never before had
the slightest idea of crossing the equator if they could help it,--were
suddenly possessed with the desire to get to the California gold mines.
They, with other adventurers and blacklegs of the vilest sort, who were
not sailors but who shipped as able seamen for the same reason, partly
composed the crews of the clipper ships. The packet rats were tough,
roustabout sailormen and difficult to handle, so that it was sometimes a
toss-up whether they or the captain and officers would have charge of
the ship; yet to see these fellows laying out on an eighty-foot
main-yard in a whistling gale off Cape Horn, fisting hold of a big No. 1
Colt’s cotton canvas main-sail, heavy and stiff with sleet and snow,
bellying, slatting, and thundering in the gear, and then to hear the
wild, cheery shouts of these rugged, brawny sailormen, amid the fury of
the storm, as inch by inch they fought on till the last double gasket
was

[Illustration: Clipper-Ship Captains

Josiah P. Creesy      H. W. Johnson
]

fast, made it easy to forget their sins in admiration of their splendid
courage.

Then there were Spaniards, Portuguese, Chinamen, Frenchmen, Africans,
Russians, and Italians from the general merchant service, many of whom
were excellent seamen and some of whom were not; and lastly came the men
of various nationalities who were not sailors at all nor the stuff out
of which sailors could be made, and who had no business to be before the
mast on board of a ship. Many of these men had served their time in the
penitentiary and some should have remained there. These impostors
increased the labor of able seamen who were compelled to do their work,
and endangered the safety of the ship so unfortunate as to have them
among her crew.

With such barbarians the New England captains from the yellow sands of
Cape Cod and the little seaports along the Sound, and from the rocky
headlands of Cape Ann and the coast of Maine, were often called upon to
handle the clipper ships. There were, as has been said, a large number
of respectable, hard-working, Scandinavian sailors, some of whom became
captains and mates, as well as from four to eight smart American boys
aboard each ship who looked forward to becoming officers and captains.

The clipper ship captains had the reputation of being severe men with
their crews, but considering the kind of human beings with whom they had
to deal, it is difficult to see how they could have been anything else,
and still retain command of their ships. Taken as a class, American
sea-captains and mates half a century ago were perhaps the finest body
of real sailors that the world has ever seen, and by this is meant
captains and officers who had themselves sailed before the mast. They
enforced their authority by sheer power of character and will against
overwhelming odds of brute force, often among cut-throats and
desperadoes. They were the first to establish discipline in the merchant
service, and their ships were the envy and despair of merchants and
captains of other nations. Intrepid and self-reliant sailors, they are
justly entitled to the gratitude of mankind. No doubt there were
instances of unnecessary severity on board the American clipper ships;
they were exceptional, and the provocation was great; but it would be
difficult to cite a case of a sailor being ill-used who knew and
performed the duties for which he had shipped, for captains and officers
appreciated the value of good seamen, and took the best care of them.

The abuses from which sailors in those days suffered, were not when at
sea or on board ship. It was the harpies of the land who lay in wait
like vultures, to pollute and destroy their bodies and souls--male and
female land-sharks, who would plunder and rob a sailor of his pay and
his three months’ advance, and then turn him adrift without money or
clothes. It made no difference to these brazen-hearted thieves--and the
women, if possible, were worse than the men--whether a sailor was bound
round the Horn in midwinter or to the East Indies in midsummer; they saw
to it that he took nothing away with him but the ragged clothes he
stood in, and perhaps a ramshackle old sea chest with a shabby suit of
oilskins, a pair of leaky sea boots, a bottle or two of Jersey
lightning, and two or three plugs of tobacco chucked into it. These
vice-hardened men and women of various nationalities were permitted to
work their abominable trade unmolested, almost within the shadow of
church spires and Courts of Justice in the chief seaports of the United
States. The destitute condition in which men were put on board of
American ships became so common that clothing and other necessaries were
provided for them in what was known as the slop chest, in charge of the
steward, with which all ships bound upon distant voyages were supplied,
and from which the crew received whatever they required at about one
half the cost extorted by the slop shops on shore. This arrangement was
necessary, as otherwise, in many instances, the men would not have had
sufficient clothing to stand a watch in cold or stormy weather.

American sea-captains were often compelled to take these outcasts as
they found them, because they could get no other men. They provided them
with better food than they had ever seen or heard of on board vessels of
their own countries, supplied them with clothes, sea boots, sou’westers,
oilskins, and tobacco, restored them to health, paid them money which
many of them never earned, and for the time being, at least, did their
utmost to make men of them. If any one imagines that this class of
sailors ever felt or expressed the least gratitude toward their
benefactors, he is much mistaken. Let him picture to himself these
creatures in their watch below, laying off in their frowzy berths or
sitting around their dirty, unkempt forecastle on their chests--those
who happen to own them--smoking their filthy clay pipes, amid clouds of
foul tobacco smoke, reeking in the stench of musty underclothing, mouldy
sea boots, and rancid oilskins, rank enough to turn the stomach of a
camel, or any other animal than man. The noxious air is too much for the
sooty slush lamp that swings uneasily against the grimy bulkhead; it
burns a sickly blue flame with a halo of fetid vapor; while the big
fat-witted samples of humanity in the bunks and on the sea chests
cheerfully curse their captain up-hill and down dale as their natural
enemy, but are never tired of yarning about their “shore friends.” They
recall the attractive qualities of such characters as Dutch Pete,
One-thumbed Jerry, and Limerick Mike--sleek, smooth-tongued
boarding-house runners who have practised upon the vices of these same
men, robbed them of their advance wages, drugged and shanghaied them
without clothing or tobacco. Then these stupid fellows will yarn about
the enticing charms of such “real ladies” as Big Moll, Swivel-eyed Sue,
or French Kate, and the comfort and hospitality of the establishments
over which these hussies preside. But let the boatswain come along and
knock three times on the forecastle door with his brawny fist, and sing
out, “Now then, get out here and put the stun’sails on her,” and these
hulky brutes will tumble over each other to get on deck, for they know
that they will be beaten and booted if there is any hanging back.

Unfortunately, this was the only way to deal with this type of men on
shipboard. They were amenable to discipline only in the form of force in
heavy and frequent doses, the theories of those who have never commanded
ships or had experience in handling degenerates at sea to the contrary
notwithstanding. To talk about the exercise of kindness or moral suasion
with such men, would be the limit of foolishness; one might as well
propose a kindergarten for baby coyotes or young rattlesnakes.

One does not like to dwell upon these depressing phases of human nature
in connection with the graceful, yacht-like clipper, perhaps the most
beautiful and life-like thing ever fashioned by the hand of man. It is
therefore pleasant to record that there were many American clipper ships
with crews that were for the most part decent, self-respecting men, who
kept themselves, their clothes, and their forecastles clean and sweet.
Of course, these men would have their grog and sweethearts on shore, and
their quiet growl at sea--the birthright of all good sailormen; but they
required no urging beyond a word of encouragement to do their work on
deck and aloft quickly and well. Such a crew would not live with men who
were unclean in their speech and habits, and would compel such human
nuisances to pick up their traps and take themselves out under the
topgallant forecastle to get along as best they might; but it was a
great hardship when good seamen found themselves among a crew composed
chiefly of these poor enough sailors but proficient blackguards and
bullies.

In those days there was a class of persons who did their utmost to
degrade an honorable profession by calling themselves lawyers. The ports
of New York and San Francisco were the scenes of their most lucrative
exploits. When a ship arrived, these fellows would waylay the sailors
and follow them to dance-halls, gin-mills, and other low resorts,
worming their way into the confidence of the too easy mariners by fairy
tales and glittering prospects of large sums of money to be recovered as
damages from their late captains, until they succeeded in extracting a
narrative of the last voyage, including alleged grievances. They would
then libel the ship and commence legal proceedings against the captain
and officers. These cases would be tried before juries of landsmen who,
having no practical knowledge of sailors or of the usages of the sea,
frequently awarded damages, though in many cases the captain and
officers were able to disprove false complaints or to justify their
actions upon the ground of necessity in maintaining proper discipline.
It is perhaps needless to say that of the damages recovered not one
penny was ever handled by the aggrieved sailor, for the guiding
principle of the sea lawyer’s career being the resolve never to part
with his client’s money, these fellows literally made their clients’
interests their own. Sailors themselves used to laugh and joke about the
bare-faced yarns which they had spun under oath in court and got
greenhorn juries to listen to and believe; but they did not laugh and
joke about their lawyers, whom they regarded with contempt. One of the
most insulting epithets which a sailor could apply to another was to
call him a “sea lawyer,” and there

[Illustration:

David S. Babcock      George Lane

Clipper-Ship Captains]

was a particularly ravenous species of shark which used also to be known
as the “sea lawyer.”

At one time this abuse of the law became such a powerful instrument of
extortion that captains and officers, innocent of any wrong, unless the
protection of life and property be regarded as wrong, were compelled to
leave their ships in the harbor of New York before they hauled alongside
the wharf, in order to escape prosecution, and were made to appear like
criminals fleeing from justice. This cannot be considered a very
cheerful welcome home after a voyage round the globe. Yet it compares
not unfavorably with the reception sometimes accorded the returning
traveller nowadays--at the hands of officers of the law empowered to
collect “protective” duties on personal effects.

After a while this nefarious trade, by which ship-owners, captains,
officers, and crews were alike defrauded, perished by its own rapacity;
but the attitude of the United States Government of half a century ago
in permitting her splendid American merchant captains and officers to be
subjected to gross indignities, and the foreign seamen sailing under her
flag to be robbed and shipped away without their knowledge or consent,
must ever remain a blot upon the page of American maritime history.

Those well-intentioned philanthropists who had an idea that sailors were
being ill-treated on board American ships, and who wasted sympathy upon
a class of men most of whom required severe discipline, might have been
better employed had they exerted their energies toward purging the
seaports of the country of the dens of vice and gangs of robbers that
infested them, though this might not have been so romantic as a
sentimental interest in the welfare of the sailor when encountering the
supposed terrors of the deep. As a matter of fact, the lives, limbs, and
morals of sailors at that period were very much safer at sea than they
were on land.

It is refreshing to turn to one man, at least, who knew and understood
sailors, and who in early life had himself been a sailor. This was the
Rev. Edward Thompson Taylor, known upon every sea with respect and
affection as “Father Taylor.” In 1833 the Seaman’s Bethel was erected in
North Square, Boston, and there Father Taylor presided for some forty
years. During that time he did an enormous amount of good, both among
sailors themselves, to whom he spoke in language which they could
understand and feel, and by drawing the attention of influential men and
women to the lamentable condition of the life of sailors when on shore,
not only in Boston, but in all the great seaports of the United States.
For many years the Seaman’s Bethel was one of the most interesting
sights of Boston, and all classes were attracted there by the novel and
picturesque earnestness and eloquence of Father Taylor. Distinguished
visitors were usually taken there or went of their own accord, to listen
to the words of this inspired seaman, and many of them have recorded
their impressions. Harriet Martineau, J. S. Buckingham, M. P., Charles
Dickens, Frederika Bremer, John Ross Dix, Mrs. Jameson, Catherine
Sedgwick, and Walt Whitman all testified to the wonderful power of this
homely, self-educated Baptist preacher.

[Illustration:

Lauchlan McKay      Philip Dumaresq

Clipper-Ship Captains]

Father Taylor had little to say about the treatment of sailors on
shipboard, for he knew that they were treated with humanity and
according to their deserts, but he did have a great deal to say about
their life and vile associations on shore; he once prayed with
unconscious humor, “that Bacchus and Venus might be driven to the ends
of the earth and off it.” He possessed a marvellous power of
description, and perhaps no poet or painter has more vividly portrayed
the ever-changing moods of the ocean. He used these superb sea pictures
as metaphors and illustrations. I have a clear remembrance of some of
them and recall them with gratitude, but no words of mine can convey an
adequate impression of their beauty and grandeur; his was a genius that
eludes description.

It was once said of Father Taylor that he hated the devil more than he
loved God, but I think whoever said this could not have understood him,
for the affection, tenderness, and substantial help which Father Taylor
lavished upon God’s children, afflicted in body and mind, knew no
bounds. At the same time he knew the men whom it was his mission to
rescue, and often when denouncing their follies and vices his words fell
hot as burning coals. He detested shams in any form, and was swift to
detect them in sailors as well as in others.

In those days there was far too much ignorant sentimentality bestowed
upon seamen and their affairs, too much

    “Poor child of danger, nursling of the storm,
     Sad are the woes that wreck thy manly form.”

Sad enough, no doubt, to the captain of a clipper ship bound round Cape
Horn, compelled to stand by and see his canvas slatting to pieces in the
first bit of a blow outside Sandy Hook, because he was cursed with a
crew unable or unwilling to handle it. But this seldom happened more
than once aboard of an American clipper in the fifties, for such a crew
was taken in hand and soon knocked into shape by the mates, carpenter,
sailmaker, cook, steward, and boatswain. Belaying pins, capstan-bars,
and heavers began to fly about the deck, and when the next gale came
along the crew found that they could get aloft and make some kind of
show at stowing sails, and by the time the ship got down to the line,
they were usually pretty smart at handling canvas. As the clipper winged
her way southward, and the days grew shorter, and the nights colder,
belaying pins, capstan bars, and heavers were all back in their places,
for system, order, and discipline had been established. When the
snow-squalls began to gather on the horizon, and the old-time clipper
lifted her forefoot to the first long, gray Cape Horn roller, with
albatross and Cape pigeons wheeling and screaming in her wake, the mate,
as he stood at the break of the quarter-deck in his long pilot-cloth
watch-coat, woollen mittens, sea boots, and sou’wester, and sung out to
the boatswain to get his men along for a pull on the weather braces,
felt with pride that he had something under him that the “old man” could
handle in almost any kind of weather--a well-manned ship.

In those days of carrying canvas as long and sometimes longer than
spars and rigging would stand, with only brawn, capstans and watch
tackles to handle it, the crew was a far more important factor on board
a sailing ship than in the present era of steel spars, wire rigging,
double topsail, and topgallant yards, donkey engines and steam winches.
Indeed, all the conditions were quite different from anything known at
the present time and required a type of men, both forward and aft, that
do not sail upon the ocean to-day.




CHAPTER IX

CALIFORNIA CLIPPERS OF 1850 AND THEIR COMMANDERS--MAURY’S WIND AND
CURRENT CHARTS


At the time of the discovery of gold in California, American
ship-builders were well prepared for the work that lay before them. The
clippers already built furnished valuable experience, for they had
attracted much attention, and their models and construction were almost
as well known to ship-builders throughout the country as to those from
whose yards they had been launched. It was found that the clippers were
much easier in a sea-way than the old type of vessel; they labored and
strained less, and in consequence delivered their cargoes in better
condition. When driven into a heavy head sea, they would bury their
long, sharp bows in a smother of foam and drench the decks fore and aft
with flying spray; but at a speed that would have swamped the
full-bodied, wall-sided ships and made them groan in every knee, timber,
and beam.

The superiority of the clippers in speed was even more marked in the
average length and regularity of their voyages than in their record
passages; they could be depended on not to make long passages; with
their sharp lines and lofty canvas they were able to cross belts of
calm and light winds much more quickly than the low rigged, full-bodied
ships, while in strong head winds there was no comparison, as the
sharper ships would work out to windward in weather that held the old
type of vessels like a barrier, until the wind hauled fair or moderated.
In a word, the clippers could go and find strong or favorable winds
while the full-bodied ships were compelled to wait for them.

It must be admitted that some remarkably fast passages were made by the
old full-built American vessels. We have seen Captain Waterman’s record
with the _Natchez_, and other cases of this kind might be cited; but
they prove nothing beyond the fact that with a fair wind and enough of
it, other things being equal, a well-handled, full-modelled ship is
about as fast as a clipper; also that single passages except as between
vessels sailing together, are not the most reliable tests of speed. A
number of passages by the same vessel, or a record of best days’ runs,
afford a more accurate means of arriving at a just estimate of speed.

The first California clippers, thirteen in number, were launched during
the year 1850, the _Celestial_, 860 tons, built by William H. Webb and
owned by Bucklin & Crane, of New York, being the first to leave the
ways. She was soon followed by the _Mandarin_, 776 tons, built by Smith
& Dimon for Goodhue & Co., of New York, and the _Surprise_, 1361 tons,
owned by A. A. Low & Brother; _Game-Cock_, 1392 tons, owned by Daniel C.
Bacon, Boston, and the barque _Race Horse_, 512 tons, owned by Goddard &
Co., Boston, all built by Samuel Hall at East Boston. The _Witchcraft_,
1310 tons, was built at Chelsea by Paul Curtis, for S. Rogers & W. D.
Pickman, of Salem; the _John Bertram_, 1080 tons, by R. E. Jackson at
East Boston, for Glidden & Williams, of Boston; the _Governor Morton_,
1318 tons, by James M. Hood at Somerset, for Handy & Everett, of New
York; the _Sea Serpent_, 1337 tons, by George Raynes at Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, for Grinnell, Minturn & Co., of New York; the _Eclipse_, 1223
tons, by J. Williams & Son at Williamsburg, for T. Wardle & Co., of New
York; the _Seaman_, 546 tons, by Bell & Co., at Baltimore, for Funck &
Meincke, of New York; the _White Squall_, 1118 tons, by Jacob Bell, for
W. Platt & Son, of Philadelphia, and the _Stag-Hound_, 1535 tons, by
Donald McKay at East Boston, for Sampson & Tappan and George B. Upton,
of Boston.

The _Celestial_ was a remarkably good-looking ship and much sharper than
any vessel built by Mr. Webb up to that time. She carried long, slender
spars, with plenty of canvas, and proved a very fast and able ship.

The _Mandarin_, also a fine-looking ship, was intended by her builders
to be an improved _Sea Witch_, and although she made some excellent
passages, she never came up to the older vessel in point of speed; the
_Sea Witch_ was her builders’ masterpiece, and they, like many others,
found her a difficult ship to improve upon.

The _Surprise_ was one of the most successful clipper ships ever
constructed, and proved a mine of wealth for her owners. She was fully
rigged on the stocks, with all her gear rove off, and was

[Illustration: The “Surprise”]

launched with her three skysail yards across and colors flying, which
attracted a multitude of people. They rather expected to see her
capsize, and were no doubt highly delighted to find that nothing unusual
happened as she glided swiftly down the ways, or at that critical
instant when her hull was still partly supported on the land and partly
on the waves, or when she swung to her anchors on even keel, with the
beautiful skyline of Boston of half a century ago outlined in the
distance.

Mr. Hall was a master ship-builder and had figured the weights,
displacement, and stability of his ship with the same exactness with
which an astronomer foretells the transit of a planet; yet with all the
anxiety incident to experiments of this kind, he had found time for
plans of a less serious nature. He had a pavilion erected in order that
the mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters of the men who had built this
beautiful ship might look with comfort upon the crowning scene of their
kinsmen’s labors, and after the ship was safely afloat, all were invited
to a luxurious lunch served upon long tables in the mould loft, which
was gaily decorated with flags. There the master foreman of the yard
presided, while Mr. Hall entertained personal friends, whom he had asked
to see the launch, at his own hospitable home.

The _Surprise_ measured: length 190 feet, breadth 39 feet, depth 22 feet
with 30 inches dead-rise at half floor. Her main-yard was 78 feet long
from boom-iron to boom-iron, and her mainmast was 84 feet from heel to
cap, with other spars in proportion. She was beautifully fitted
throughout, was painted black from the water-line up, and carried a
finely carved and gilded flying eagle for a figurehead, while her stern
was ornamented with the arms of New York. She was manned by a crew of 30
able seamen, 6 ordinary seamen, 4 boys, 2 boatswains, a carpenter, a
sailmaker, 2 cooks, a steward, and 4 mates, and was commanded by Captain
Philip Dumaresq, who had gained a high reputation while in command of
the _Antelope_, _Akbar_, and _Great Britain_.

Captain Dumaresq was born at Swan Island, near Richmond, on the Kennebec
River. His father had settled there on an estate which came to him
through his mother, who before her marriage was the beautiful Rebecca
Gardiner, of Gardiner, Maine, and a daughter of the Rev. John Sylvester
Gardiner, the first rector of Trinity Church, Boston. Unlike most
American boys, who used to go to sea, young Dumaresq had no special
desire for a life upon the ocean, but was sent on a voyage to China by
his parents, under the advice of a physician, on account of his delicate
health. He soon grew robust, and at the age of twenty-two took command
of a vessel, afterwards becoming one of the most celebrated and widely
known of all the American clipper ship captains.

When the _Surprise_ arrived at New York to load for San Francisco, the
New York _Herald_ declared that she was the handsomest ship ever seen in
the port, and a large number of persons gathered to see her placed at
her loading berth by the steamer _R. B. Forbes_, which had towed her
round from Boston.

The _R. B. Forbes_ at that time, so to speak, was a well-known character
about Massachusetts Bay, and no marine function seemed quite complete
without her presence. She was generally on hand at launches, regattas,
and Fourth of July celebrations, with a jolly party of Boston
underwriters and their friends on board, accompanied by a band of music
and well-filled hampers of refreshments. Her hull was painted a
brilliant red up to the bulwarks, which were black, while the deck
fittings, houses, and the inside of the bulwarks were a bright green.
Altogether, with a rainbow of bunting over her mastheads, the brass band
in full blast, and champagne corks flying about her deck, she
contributed liberally to the gayety of many festive occasions. She was
also usually the first to introduce a new-born ship to the end of a
manila hawser, and for several years she towed most of the eastern-built
clippers to their loading berths at Boston or New York.

But these were only the odd jobs at which she put in her time when not
engaged in her more serious work of salvage operations, for she was the
best equipped and most powerful wrecking steamer on the Atlantic coast,
and saved much valuable property abandoned to the Boston Underwriters,
for whom she was built by Otis Tafts at East Boston in 1845. She was 300
tons register, and was one of the few vessels at that date constructed
of iron and fitted with a screw propeller, her engines and boilers being
designed by the renowned Ericsson. Her commander, Captain Morris, not
only was a very able wreck master, but did a great deal by experiment
and observation to solve the intricate problems relating to the
deviation of the magnetic needle on board of iron vessels, and was one
of the few reliable authorities of his day upon this important subject.
At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, the _R. B. Forbes_ was
purchased by the United States Government, but before the end of the war
she was wrecked and became a total loss near Hatteras Inlet. It is
hardly necessary to mention that this vessel was named in honor of that
noble seaman, Captain Robert Bennett Forbes, whose acts of kindness and
humanity were so many that a book might well be devoted to a record of
them.

The _Witchcraft_ was a very beautiful ship, and was commanded by Captain
William C. Rogers, a son of one of the owners, for whom she was built.
Captain Rogers was born at Salem in 1823 and had made several voyages as
supercargo on board of different ships to Calcutta and Canton. He was a
man of unusual ability, and although he never sailed before the mast, or
as officer of a ship, he had acquired a knowledge of seamanship and
navigation which enabled him to become one of the most famous among the
younger clipper ship captains. He was a rare example of a gentleman who
went to sea for the pure love of it, who enjoyed dealing with the useful
realities of life, and liked a real ship with real sailors on board of
her, and a real voyage of commerce profitable to mankind, in preference
to an aimless life of luxury and pleasure.

During the Civil War Captain Rogers was one of the twelve naval
commanders appointed by Act of Congress, and he commanded the U. S.
clipper barque _William G. Anderson_, which mounted six thirty-two
pounders and a long rifled gun amidships, and carried a crew of one
hundred and ten men. While in command of this vessel, Captain Rogers
captured the Confederate privateer _Beauregard_, Captain Gilbert Hays,
one hundred miles east-northeast of Abaco in the Bahamas, November 12,
1861. He also commanded the U. S. gunboat _Iuka_, and in her rendered
valuable service to his country during the remainder of the war. He
subsequently married a granddaughter of Nathaniel Bowditch, the
illustrious navigator.

The _John Bertram_ was an extremely sharp ship, and was the pioneer of
Glidden & Williams’s line of San Francisco clippers. She was named for
Captain Bertram, one of Salem’s most famous seamen and merchants, and
was for several years commanded by Captain Landholm.

The _Sea Serpent_ was the first clipper ship built by Mr. Raynes, and
was a slender, rakish, handsome-looking craft, comparing favorably with
the New York and Boston clippers of that year. She was commanded by
Captain Williams Howland, a seaman of experience and ability, who was
born at New Bedford in 1804. In 1833 he took command of the _Horatio_,
then a new ship and afterwards famous, on her first voyage from New York
to China, and remained in her for about ten years. He subsequently
commanded the packet ships _Ashburton_, _Henry Clay_, _Cornelius
Grinnell_, and the _Constantine_. Captain Howland was a gentleman of
much dignity, who usually wore kid gloves when he came on deck and
seldom gave his orders to any one but the officer of the watch. He had
the reputation of being an A 1 seaman and navigator.

The _White Squall_ was another handsome clipper, very similar in
construction and design to the _Samuel Russell_ and _Oriental_ from the
same yard. Although but little more than eleven hundred tons register,
this ship cost when ready for sea with one year’s stores and provisions
on board the sum of $90,000, and her freight from New York to San
Francisco on her first voyage amounted to $70,000. She was commanded by
Captain Lockwood, and her measurements were: length 190 feet, breadth 35
feet 6 inches, and depth 21 feet.

The _Stag-Hound_, at the time of her launch was the largest merchant
ship ever built, though during the nine years that the Cunard Company
had been running mail steamers across the Atlantic, the tonnage of
American packet ships had steadily increased. In 1846, as we have seen,
Donald McKay had built the _New World_ of 1404 tons, and in 1849 William
H. Webb launched the _Albert Gallatin_ of 1435 tons, so that the
_Stag-Hound_, 1535 tons, was not a very much larger vessel; but she was
of a decidedly different design, having less beam and seventeen feet
more length than either of these packets. She attracted much attention
and many persons came to see her while she was building. A throng
estimated at from twelve to fifteen thousand gathered about the shipyard
at noon on December 7, 1850, to witness her launch. The weather was
bitterly cold, with drift ice in the harbor and snow

[Illustration: The “Stag-Hound”]

lying deep on the ground. It was feared that the launch might have to be
postponed on account of the tallow freezing on the ways, but when she
had settled in her cradle and everything was ready, a gang of men came
from the forge bearing cans filled with boiling whale oil, which they
poured upon the ways. When the word was given to knock away the dog
shores, the vessel moved rapidly down the smoking ways and plunged into
the gray, icy waters of the harbor, amid shouts and cheers from a
shivering crowd, while the bells of Boston rang out mellow and clear, on
the calm, frosty air, in welcome to the largest merchant ship afloat.

Launches were not then regarded as social functions, although some of
the most prominent families in New York and Boston, who were interested
in shipping, attended them, and a pavilion was usually erected where
they might picnic comfortably and enjoy themselves. It was also not
customary in those days for women to name ships, but the ceremony, which
was simple and effective, was usually performed by the foreman of the
yard from which the ship was launched. On this occasion, when the
_Stag-Hound_ began to move along the ways, the foreman had a black
bottle of Medford rum somewhere about, which he seized by the neck and
smashed across her forefoot, at the same time, in the excitement of the
moment, shouting out, “_Stag-Hound_, your name’s _Stag-Hound_!” and thus
brought the ceremony to a close. This vessel measured: length 215 feet,
breadth 40 feet, depth 21 feet, with 40 inches dead-rise at half floor.
Her mainyard was 86 feet and her mainmast 88 feet in length. She was
commanded on her first voyage by Captain Josiah Richardson, and carried
a crew of 36 able seamen, 6 ordinary seamen, and 4 boys. When she
arrived at New York in tow of the _R. B. Forbes_, to load for San
Francisco, the ship fanciers of South Street were for once in their
lives of one mind, and their opinion seems to have been that the
_Stag-Hound_ came pretty near being the perfection of the clipper ship
type.

Each one of the clippers of 1850 proved a credit to the yard from which
she was launched, and nearly all of them made the passage from New York
or Boston to San Francisco in less than one hundred and ten days. This
is an exceedingly good record, although the passage from New York has
been made by two vessels, the _Flying Cloud_ and the _Andrew Jackson_,
in a few hours less than ninety days. In Appendix II. will be found the
names of ships that made this passage in one hundred and ten days or
less, with the dates of their arrivals at San Francisco, for the years
1850-1860. While this list includes almost all of the extreme clippers,
still there were a number of ships that gave proof by their other
records of being fast and ably commanded, and yet failed to come within
the limit of one hundred and ten days.

As most persons are aware, foreign vessels have never been allowed to
engage in the United States coasting trade, also that the voyage between
Atlantic and Pacific ports of the United States has always been regarded
as a coasting voyage. The California clippers therefore had no foreign
competitors to sail against, but the racing among themselves was
sufficiently keen to satisfy the most enthusiastic lover of sport, while
China and Australia voyages afforded opportunities for international
rivalry.

The only clipper ship to make the voyage to San Francisco prior to 1850
was the _Memnon_, under Captain George Gordon, which arrived there July
28, 1849, after a record passage of one hundred and twenty days from New
York. The first contest of clippers round Cape Horn took place in 1850,
between the _Houqua_, _Sea Witch_, _Samuel Russell_, and _Memnon_, old
rivals on China voyages, and the new clippers _Celestial_, _Mandarin_,
and _Race Horse_. All of these vessels had their friends, and large sums
of money were wagered on the result, the four older ships, especially
the _Sea Witch_, having established high reputations for speed. The
_Samuel Russell_ was commanded by Captain Charles Low, previously of the
_Houqua_, while the _Houqua_ was now commanded by Captain McKenzie;
Captain Gordon was again in the _Memnon_, and Captain George Fraser, who
had sailed with Captain Waterman as chief mate, commanded the _Sea
Witch_.

The _Samuel Russell_ arrived at San Francisco May 6, 1850, after a
passage of 109 days from New York, thus knocking 11 days off the record,
and her friends and backers felt confident that this passage could not
be surpassed, at all events not by any of the clippers of that year.
This opinion was in a measure confirmed when the _Houqua_ arrived on
July 23d, 120 days from New York, but on the following day the _Sea
Witch_ came romping up the bay, 97 days from Sandy Hook, reducing the
record by another 12 days. This passage astonished every one, even her
warmest admirers, and well it might, for it has never been equalled by a
ship of her tonnage and not often excelled even by larger vessels. This
performance of the _Sea Witch_ was the more remarkable as she had
rounded Cape Horn during the Antarctic midwinter.

The remainder of the fleet arrived in the following order: _Memnon_,
September 27th, 123 days; _Celestial_, November 1st, 104 days; _Race
Horse_, from Boston, November 24th, 109 days; and the _Mandarin_,
November 29th, 126 days from New York. These were all fine passages,
especially when we consider that none of the vessels was over 1100 tons
register. The records show that from June 26 to July 28, 1850, seventeen
vessels from New York and sixteen from Boston arrived at San Francisco,
whose average passages were 159 days, so that even the _Mandarin’s_
passage of 126 days was very fast by comparison. We must remember also
that none of these vessels had the advantage of using Maury’s Wind and
Current Charts, as at that time sufficient material had not been
collected to perfect them.

Navigators of all nationalities are deeply indebted to Lieutenant
Matthew Fontaine Maury, U. S. N., for it was his mind that first
conceived the idea of exploring the winds and currents of the ocean.
Lieutenant Maury was a Virginian by birth, and in 1825 at the age of
nineteen, entered the United State Navy as a midshipman on board the
frigate _Brandywine_. In 1830 he was appointed sailing master of the
sloop of war _Falmouth_, and ordered to the Pacific station. At this
time, being anxious to make a rapid passage round Cape Horn, he
searched in vain for information relating to the winds and currents. His
attention was thus directed to this subject, and it was upon this voyage
that he conceived the design of his celebrated Wind and Current Charts.
He also began at this time to write papers for the _American Journal of
Science_ which attracted much attention, and on his return he published
a _Treatise on Navigation_ which was made a text-book for the pupils of
the Naval Academy at Annapolis.

In 1842 Lieutenant Maury was placed in charge of the Depot of Charts and
Instruments at Washington, which afterwards became the National
Observatory and Hydrographic Office. Here he devoted his attention to
collecting and converting into systematic tables the valuable data
contained in the old log-books of the United States warships, which he
found stowed away as so much rubbish, and which had narrowly escaped
being sold for junk. At the same time he presented a paper to the
National Institute, recommending that all merchant ships be provided
with charts of sailing directions, “on which should be daily registered
all observable facts relating to the winds, currents, and other
phenomena of importance and interest, for the foundation of a true
theory of the winds.”

A general use of these charts would have constituted one of the greatest
exploring expeditions ever devised, but for a time it met with much
opposition. Lieutenant Maury’s first convert was Captain Jackson of the
Baltimore ship _D. C. Wright_, trading to Rio Janeiro, who made rapid
voyages with the aid of the Wind and Current Charts furnished by
Lieutenant Maury. Soon there were many followers among American
sea-captains, who gave their earnest co-operation and received great
benefits in return, since all who kept Maury’s Log, as it was called,
were entitled to a copy of the Sailing Directions.

In 1856 the captains and officers of a fleet of no less than a thousand
merchant ships, sailing under the United States flag upon every sea and
ocean, were recording daily and almost hourly observations of the winds
and currents. Under the British flag were to be counted the whole Navy
of Great Britain and over one hundred merchantmen; under the flag of
Holland, two hundred and twenty-five merchant ships and those of the
Royal Navy. Besides these there were the ships of France, Spain,
Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Russia,
Chili, Bremen, and Hamburg, all co-operating and assisting this great
scientist in his noble work.

Maury’s _Physical Geography of the Sea_ (1853), the first work of the
kind which appeared, ran through twenty editions and was translated into
French, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish, and Italian. This book treats of the
clouds, winds, and currents of the ocean in a scientific yet attractive
manner, dispelling the last of the sea myths which for ages had been the
delight of poets and the terror of sailors, and in their stead relating
a story of scientific discovery of greater wonder and beauty than any
fable.

Maury’s researches had, however, a very practical side to them. Hunt’s
_Merchants’ Magazine_ for

[Illustration: Matthew Fontaine Maury]

May, 1854, states that on the outward passages alone from New York to
California, Australia, and Rio Janeiro, American ships, through the use
of Maury’s Sailing Directions, were saving in time the sum of $2,250,000
per annum, and it is probable that could an estimate have been made of
the saving in time to all of the ships using the Sailing Directions, the
total amount must have considerably exceeded $10,000,000 per annum.

It should be remembered that this result had been accomplished without
expenditure of money, beyond the moderate salaries of Maury and his
staff of assistants, and the insignificant cost of printing the blank
log-books, charts, and sailing directions.

Sea-captains of all nations regarded Lieutenant Maury as a wise
counsellor and faithful friend, while France, Holland, Sweden, Spain,
Italy, Russia, Prussia, Austria, Portugal, and Sardinia, all either
conferred upon him orders of knighthood or struck medals in his honor.

In 1861, Lieutenant Maury resigned the office of Chief Superintendent of
the National Observatory and Hydrographic Office, deeming it his duty as
a Virginian to take the side of his State at the outbreak of the Civil
War. Upon this occasion he received letters of invitation from the Grand
Duke Constantine offering him residence in Russia and every facility for
continuing his scientific researches. A similar offer was made by Prince
Napoleon on behalf of France, and also by the Archduke Maximilian of
Austria. In 1866 a pecuniary testimonial was presented to Lieutenant
Maury at Willis’s Rooms, London, where he was entertained by English
naval officers and scientific men of the highest distinction, Sir John
Parkington being chairman. England, France, Russia, and Holland
contributed 3000 guineas, a substantial token of their esteem and
gratitude for his labors in the service of mankind.

On one occasion Secretary of the Navy, Graham, wrote to Lieutenant Maury
as follows:

“Indeed, I doubt whether the triumphs of navigation and the knowledge of
the sea, achieved under your superintendence of the Observatory, will
not contribute as much to an effective Naval Service and to the national
fame as the brilliant trophies of our arms.”

Maury died in 1873, in his sixty-seventh year, an American scientist
whose life was devoted to discovering the secrets of the sea, and to the
welfare of seamen, irrespective of rank or nationality. In lamenting his
death, the Senate of Virginia closed its resolutions with this eulogy:

“An honor to Virginia, an honor to America, and an honor to
civilization, and in gratefully recognizing this we do but honor
ourselves.”




CHAPTER X

CALIFORNIA CLIPPERS OF 1851 AND THEIR COMMANDERS--A DAY ON BOARD THE
“WITCH OF THE WAVE”


A little more than sixty thousand tons of shipping had been launched
from the shipyards in and near New York during the year 1850, and over
thirty thousand tons were still under construction there when the year
closed, while the total tonnage of vessels built in the United States
that year was 306,034 tons.

At this period the California clippers increased rapidly in size. Ships
of a new type from 1500 to 2000 tons register, of which the _Stag-Hound_
was the pioneer, were now being built, and ship-builders were called
upon to deal with the problem of fitting wooden spars and hemp rigging
that would stand the stress and strain of the enormous amount of canvas
that these powerful vessels were expected to carry. The rigging and
handling of this new type of long-limbed clipper, with her unexplored
peculiarities, gave ship-builders and sea-captains some serious thinking
and the ship lovers of South Street something to talk about and argue
over.

Thirty-one California clippers were launched during the year 1851, and
almost all the large ship-yards along the Atlantic seaboard were
represented by one or more. Donald McKay built the _Flying Cloud_,
_Flying Fish_, and _Staffordshire_; William H. Webb, the _Challenge_,
_Invincible_, _Comet_, _Gazelle_, and _Sword-Fish_; Fernald and
Pettigrew, of Portsmouth, the _Typhoon_; Jacob A. Westervelt & Sons, the
_Hornet_ and _N. B. Palmer_; George Raynes, the _Wild Pigeon_ and _Witch
of the Wave_; Smith & Co., of Hoboken, the _Hurricane_; Perrin,
Patterson & Stack, of Williamsburg, the _Ino_; Briggs Bros., of South
Boston, the _Northern Light_ and _Southern Cross_; Hood & Co., of
Somerset, the _Raven_; J. O. Curtis, of Medford, the _Shooting Star_; J.
Williams, the _Tornado_, Isaac Taylor, of Medford, the _Syren_; Trufant
& Drummond, of Bath, the _Monsoon_, and Jacob Bell, the _Trade-Wind_.

It would be impossible to name the handsomest of these ships, for while
they were all of the same general design, each possessed her special
type of beauty; and beauty, as we all know, is elusive, depending
largely on fashion and individual taste. In order to attract the
favorable attention of shippers and to secure the highest rates of
freight, it was necessary that these ships should be handsome as well as
swift. Ship-owners were content to spend large sums of money, not only
upon refined decoration, which was but a small portion of the expense,
but also in carefully selected woods, such as India teak and Spanish
mahogany for deck fittings, and in the finest shipwright’s and joiner’s
work about the decks, which were marvels of neatness and finish.

Ship-builders certainly had every incentive to exercise their best
skill upon these vessels; they received pretty much their own prices for
building them, and each ship, as she sailed out upon the ocean, held in
her keeping the reputation of her builder, to whom a quick passage meant
fame and fortune. Six of the clipper ships launched in 1851, the _Flying
Cloud_, _Comet_, _Sword-Fish_, _Witch of the Wave_, _Ino_, and _Northern
Light_, established speed records that have not yet been broken, and as
time rolls on, the probability that they ever will be, becomes less and
less.

The _Flying Cloud_ was originally contracted for by Enoch Train, the
good friend of Donald McKay, but while on the stocks she was sold to
Grinnell, Minturn & Co., under whose flag she sailed for a number of
years. Mr. Train used to say that there were few things in his life that
he regretted more than parting with this ship. She was 1783 tons
register, and measured: length 225 feet, breadth 40 feet 8 inches, depth
21 feet 6 inches, with 20 inches dead-rise at half floor. Her main-yard
was 82 feet and her mainmast 88 feet in length, and like all the large
clippers of her day, she carried three standing skysail yards; royal,
topgallant and topmast studdingsails at the fore and main, square lower
studdingsails with swinging booms at the fore; single topsail yards,
with four reef bands in the topsails; single reefs in the topgallant
sails, and topsail and topgallant bowlines.

She was commanded by Captain Josiah Perkins Creesy, who was born at
Marblehead in 1814. Like most boys who were brought up along the coast
of Massachusetts Bay, he began his career by being skipper and all
hands of a borrowed thirteen-foot dory, with the usual leg-o’-mutton
sail, and steered by an oar over her lee gunwale. In these dories water
was carried in a strong earthen jug with a stout handle to which a tin
drinking-cup was usually attached, while a wooden dinner-pail, such as
the Gloucester fishermen used in those days, contained provisions. When
the rode line was coiled down clear with the killick stowed away
forward, and the dinner-pail, wooden bailer, and water jug had been made
fast with a lanyard to the becket in the stern sheets, the famous Cape
Ann dory was about ready for sea.

Joe Creesy was a genuine boy, large and strong for his age, freckled,
good-tempered, and fond of rowing, sailing, and fishing. When he got to
be thirteen or fourteen years old, he used to get some one to lend him a
dory, and in this, during his summer vacation, he would make short
cruises to Beverly and sometimes to the neighboring port of Salem. Here
he would loiter about the wharves, watching an Indiaman discharge her
fragrant cargo, or perhaps some ship fitting out for another voyage to
India or China; and he would gaze up in wonder and admiration at the
long tapering masts, with their lofty yards and studdingsail booms, and
what appeared to him to be a labyrinth of blocks and slender threads.
The ships’ figureheads, especially those representing warriors and wild
animals, pleased Joe mightily, and the spare spars, gratings, capstans,
boats, guns, and shining brass work, all delighted his heart.
Occasionally he would behold a sea-captain who had really sailed to
Calcutta and Canton, and the bronzed mariner was to him a being quite
apart from other mortals.

At that time Salem retained much of the spicy, maritime flavor of the
olden days, and these pleasant summer cruises to the old seaport
naturally captivated the boy’s imagination, until he yearned for the
time when he, too, might stand upon the quarter-deck in command of a
noble ship. It would, of course, have been sinful to keep a boy like
this on land, so he was permitted to follow his inclination and ship
before the mast on board of a vessel bound for the East Indies. He
advanced steadily through all the grades on shipboard, and became a
captain at twenty-three.

When Captain Creesy was appointed to command the _Flying Cloud_, he was
well known in New York, as he had commanded the ship _Oneida_, for a
number of years in the China and East India trade, and bore a high
reputation among ship-owners and underwriters, many of whom were his
personal friends and associates.

The _Flying Fish_ was owned by Sampson & Tappan, who, with George B.
Upton, were the leading Boston ship-owners of their day, and between
them owned the largest and finest clipper ships belonging to that port.
These firms were composed of men in the prime of life, who enjoyed
owning fast and handsome vessels. They cared for nothing but the best in
design, construction, and equipment, and fitted out their ships with
spare gear, stores, and provisions upon a most generous scale. The
_Flying Fish_ was 1505 tons register and measured: length 198 feet 6
inches, breadth 38 feet 2 inches, depth 22 feet, with 25 inches
dead-rise at half floor. Her commander, Captain Edward Nickels, had
sailed out of Boston for a number of years in command of the ship _John
Quincy Adams_, and was a fine seaman and navigator. He was fond of
entertaining his friends while in home and foreign ports, and his jolly
little lunches and dinners were regarded as models of refined
hospitality on shipboard. Commander John A. H. Nickels, U. S. N., is a
son of Captain Edward Nickels.

Mr. Webb’s _Challenge_, a still larger merchantman than had yet been
constructed, was regarded with pride by the shipping men of New York.
The _Challenge_ registered 2006 tons, and measured: length 230 feet 6
inches, breadth 43 feet 6 inches, depth 27 feet 6 inches, with 42 inches
dead-rise at half floor. Her mainmast was 97 feet and mainyard 90 feet
in length, and the lower studdingsail booms were 60 feet long; with
square yards and lower studdingsails set, the distance from boom end to
boom end was 160 feet. She carried 12,780 running yards of cotton
canvas, which was woven especially for her by the Colt Manufacturing
Company. Her mainsail measured: 80 feet on the head, 100 feet on the
foot, with a drop of 47 feet 3 inches, and 49 feet 6 inches on the
leach. She had four reefs in her topsails, and single reefs in her
topgallant sails, and carried skysails, studdingsails, and ringtail. She
was owned by N. L. & G. Griswold, of New York, and was commanded by
Captain Robert H. Waterman, late of the _Sea Witch_.

The _Invincible_, owned by J. W. Phillips and others, of New York, was
1767 tons register, and measured: length 221 feet, breadth 41 feet 6
inches, depth 24 feet 10 inches. She was commanded by Captain H. W.
Johnson, a gentleman who possessed a merry wit and a vivid imagination.
Some of his experiences by land and sea, as related by himself, were
certainly startling, and he told them with a minuteness of detail and an
earnestness of manner that carried conviction equal to the most
realistic illusions of the drama. There was one story about a mutiny on
board the British brig _Diadem_, of which vessel Johnson said he was
second mate. This craft carried a Lascar crew, and was in the Bay of
Bengal, bound from Calcutta to Hong-kong with a cargo of opium, when a
mutiny broke out in which all hands took part with such ferocious valor
that the second mate and the serang, both badly wounded, were the only
survivors.

The listeners are shown the dead bodies of Europeans and Asiatics, lying
about the blood-stained deck under the fierce rays of the southern sun,
and we breathe the tainted air, while chattering cormorants and
screeching fishhawks tear the thin clothing of the corpses into shreds
and fight with claw and beak over the decaying flesh. Johnson and the
serang, so widely separated by blood, language, and religion, now united
by a bond of common suffering, help each other to crawl into the caboose
for shelter from the heat and from the birds of prey. Now we hear the
gentle chafing of the gear aloft, and the lazy slatting of the sails, as
the brig rolls upon the long, glassy swell; we see the sun sink beyond
the ocean’s rim in a glory of gold and purple that illumines the zenith
and turns the sea into a lake of fire; and we feel the benediction of
the cool twilight and whispering breeze.

In the silence of the night, the two men, weak from loss of blood, drag
themselves aft to the deserted cabin; Johnson lowers himself down the
companion and gropes his way to the pantry, where he finds food to share
with his companion. In the captain’s cabin he finds a decanter of brandy
and a tumbler in the rack at the foot of the berth; he fills the glass
and pours the spirit down his parched throat to brace his shattered
nerves, then fills the glass again and takes it to the serang, but the
faithful follower of Mahomet refuses to lift it to his burning lips. We
live with them as they work their little vessel back to the muddy waters
of the Hooghly and sight a pilot brig lying at anchor on her station,
and their joy is ours when the pilot, with his leadsman, servant, and
boat’s crew, comes on board. Again these unfortunate men, haggard and
still suffering from their wounds, are being tried in an Anglo-Indian
Court of Justice under a charge of murder on the high seas, and we hear
the judge pronounce their solemn sentence of death.

The scenes to which I have referred were so real that it seemed as if
Johnson, while describing them, must have believed this story himself,
and it was interesting to note the effect upon those who heard it for
the first time, when, after giving a circumstantial account of the
miraculous escape of the serang and himself from the Calcutta prison
during the night before they were to be hanged, he would cheerfully
remark, “Well, now, I call that a pretty good yarn to spin out of
nothing.” Then some one, perhaps a lady, might say, “Why, Captain
Johnson, is it not true?” and he would smile pleasantly and reply,
“True? Why bless your soul, I never heard of a brig called the _Diadem_,
and never was in Calcutta in my life.” He had a number of these stories,
and in China we never tired of listening to them.

Captain Johnson was an uncommonly able man and a most agreeable
companion. He remained in command of the _Invincible_ for several years,
and in the early sixties he took in succession three frail wooden
side-wheel river steamboats, the _Fire Dart_, _Fire Cracker_, and _Fire
Queen_, from New York round the Cape of Good Hope to China, with no
accident or mishap--a remarkable achievement. In 1866, Captain Johnson
was the navigator, but not in command, of the yacht _Vesta_ in her race
with the _Henrietta_ and _Fleetwing_ across the Atlantic.

The _Comet_ was 1836 tons register, and measured: length 229 feet,
breadth 42 feet, depth 22 feet 8 inches. She was owned by Bucklin &
Crane, of New York, and was commanded by Captain E. C. Gardner, late of
the _Celestial_, in whose hands she gained a high reputation for speed.

The _Sword-Fish_ was owned by Barclay & Livingston, of New York, and was
1036 tons register; length 169 feet 6 inches, breadth 36 feet 6 inches,
depth 20 feet. Although not so extremely sharp as the larger ships built
by Mr. Webb during that year, she was quite as handsome, and while
commanded by Captain Babcock she eclipsed them all in speed.

Captain David Sherman Babcock, brother-in-law of Captain N. B. Palmer,
was born at Stonington in 1822, and came of a distinguished family, his
father being Major Paul Babcock and his grandfather Colonel Harry
Babcock of Revolutionary fame. He received the usual New England school
education of those days, which appears to have been a sufficient
equipment for some of the most useful men that the United States has yet
produced.

As a boy David developed a strong desire for a seafaring life, which
cannot be wondered at, as at that period Stonington and the neighboring
town of Mystic were flourishing seaports, whose ships sailed to every
quarter of the globe, and whose jovial mariners kept the social
atmosphere well charged with shadowy visions of strange lands, ancient
temples, pagodas, palms, and coral isles lying in distant tropical seas.
The departure of a ship with colors flying, the crisp, incisive orders
of her captain and mates, and the clomp, clomp, clomp, of the windlass
pawl, the songs of the sailors heaving up anchor, the hum of the running
gear as it rendered through the blocks, and the music of their straining
sheaves to the last long pulls on sheets and halliards, were a more
potent means of recruiting bright, young boys, soon to become mates and
captains of American ships, than all the press-gangs that were ever
heard of.

So it came about that young Babcock, at the age of sixteen, was allowed
to ship as boy before the mast with Captain Nat Palmer on board the
_Hibernia_, and later he sailed again with Captain Palmer as an officer
on board the _Garrick_. After making voyages to India and China on board
of various ships, he was appointed at the age of twenty-five to command
the ship _Charlestown_ on a voyage to Callao and Lima. In 1850, Captain
Babcock married Charlotte, the youngest daughter of Joseph Noyes, of
Stonington, and W. I. Babcock, the well-known naval architect and
engineer, who first introduced the scientific construction of steel
vessels on the Great Lakes, is their son.

The _Typhoon_ was owned by D. & A. Kingsland, of New York, and was
commanded by Captain Charles H. Salter, who was born at Portsmouth in
1824, and an ancestor of his, Captain John Salter, commanded a vessel in
the European trade during Colonial times, and for generations the
Salters had sailed out of Portsmouth in command of ships. Captain
Charles Salter went to sea at an early age, and at twenty-two commanded
the ship _Venice_ and later the _Samuel Badger_.

The _Typhoon_ was 1610 tons register, and measured: length 225 feet,
breadth 41 feet 6 inches, depth 23 feet. She was fully rigged on the
stocks and was launched with skysail-yards aloft and colors flying.
Before loading for San Francisco she was sent by her owners to Liverpool
and made the passage from Portsmouth during the month of March in 13
days, 10 hours from wharf to dock. She frequently ran 15½ knots by the
log on this passage, her best day’s run being 346 miles. At Liverpool
she attracted much attention, as she was not only the first American
clipper, but also the largest merchant ship that had ever been seen at
that port.

The _N. B. Palmer_ was 1490 tons register, and measured: length 214
feet, breadth 39 feet, depth 22 feet. She was owned by A. A. Low &
Brother, and was commanded by another brother, Captain Charles Porter
Low. He was born at Salem in 1824, and when a child removed with his
parents to Brooklyn. At any early age he manifested a decided liking for
ships and the society of sailors, and much against the wishes of his
parents, he determined to go to sea. In 1842 he shipped as boy before
the mast on board of the _Horatio_, with Captain Howland and made the
round voyage to China. He made a voyage to Liverpool with Captain
Griswold in the _Toronto_ as ordinary seaman, and was an able seaman on
board the _Courier_ to Rio Janeiro. He then sailed as third, second, and
chief mate of the _Houqua_, with the brothers, Captain Nat, Alexander,
and Theodore Palmer, and at the age of twenty-three took command of that
ship. As we have seen, he also commanded the _Samuel Russell_ on her
first voyage to San Francisco.

The _N. B. Palmer_ was perhaps the most famous ship built in the
Westervelt yard. In China she was known as “the Yacht,” and with her
nettings in the tops, brass guns, gold stripe, and her lavish
entertainments on the Fourth of July and Washington’s Birthday, she well
deserved the title. Her captain was a princely host, as well as a
thorough seaman, and a fine navigator. A full-rigged model of the _N. B.
Palmer_ was exhibited at the Crystal Palace, London, in 1851, and
attracted much attention as a fine example of the American clipper-ship
type.

The _Hurricane_ was owned by C. W. & H. Thomas, of New York, and
registered 1607 tons. She had the reputation of being the sharpest ship
ever built at or near New York, and she carried plenty of canvas, with
Cunningham’s rolling topsails, being one of the first American vessels
so fitted. Across the lower part of her foretopsail she carried her name
painted in large black letters that could be read much further than any
signals and looked very smart and shipshape. Her commander, Captain
Samuel Very, was born at Salem in 1815, and was a son of John
Crowninshield Very, a mariner who had sailed on many a brave Salem ship.
Among other experiences, he was one of the survivors of a shipwreck in
mid-ocean during the year 1810, when he was picked up by a passing
vessel after twenty-three days in an open boat. Admiral Samuel W. Very,
U. S. N., is a son of Captain Samuel Very, and was born at Liverpool
while the _Hurricane_ lay in the Mersey.

The _Northern Light_, of 1021 tons register, measured: length 180 feet,
breadth 36 feet, depth 21 feet 6 inches. She was a very sharp ship below
the water-line, with 40 inches dead-rise at half floor, and full,
powerful lines above water and on deck. She was built by the Briggs
Brothers at South Boston, and owned by James Huckins of Boston. Mr.
Huckins was a jolly, kind-hearted gentleman whom every one liked. His
house-flag was a white field, swallowtail, with a blue star in the
centre, and when he took his two sons into partnership, he placed two
exceedingly small blue stars in the upper and lower luff of the flag, as
he remarked, “to represent their interest in the business.” This,
however, was his joke, as he was most liberal in every way. After this
ship had made her celebrated record passage from San Francisco to
Boston, Mr. Huckins usually closed his discussions upon the speed of
clipper ships by saying, “Well, anyway, none of them can beat my
_Northern Light_.”

The _Trade Wind_ measured: length 248 feet, breadth 40 feet, depth 25
feet, and was 2030 tons register, being 24 tons larger than the
_Challenge_. Those two ships were the largest clippers that were ever
built at or about New York, and with the exception of the _Ocean
Monarch_, a packet ship of 2145 tons register, built by William H. Webb
in 1856, were the largest sailing ships ever constructed at that port.
The _Trade Wind_ was an exceedingly sharp and handsome ship, and
attracted a great deal of attention. It was estimated that more than
thirty thousand persons gathered about Jacob Bell’s shipyard at the foot
of Houston Street, East River, one bright morning in August of that year
to see her launched. She was owned by W. Platt & Son, of Philadelphia,
and was commanded by Captain W. H. Osgood, late of the ship
_Valparaiso_.

The _Nightingale_, one of the most beautiful clippers launched in 1851,
was not built for the California trade, but was originally intended for
a yacht. This ship was constructed by Samuel Hanscom, at Portsmouth,
with the intention of carrying passengers to the World’s Fair, held in
London during that year, and was fitted with extensive and

[Illustration: The “Nightingale”]

luxurious accommodations for that purpose, her between-decks being given
up to large saloons and staterooms. It was proposed, after her arrival
at London, to exhibit her in the Thames as a model American clipper
ship, and no expense or skill was spared to make her a worthy
representative. She was 1066 tons register, length 178 feet, breadth 36
feet, depth 20 feet, with 36 inches dead-rise at half floor.

Unfortunately, when the _Nightingale_ was nearly completed, and ready
for launching, her owners fell short of money. Mr. Hanscom, however,
carried out his contract, and the ship was finished and then put into
the hands of Governor Goodwin, of Portsmouth, to dispose of, each
sub-contractor agreeing to accept his _pro rata_ share of the proceeds.
She was taken to Boston and there attracted the attention of Sampson &
Tappen, who were so well pleased with the ship that they gladly paid the
sum of $75,000 for her. This left the sub-contractors, such as
sparmakers, sailmakers, riggers, and blockmakers, an additional profit
beyond their contract, and Mr. Hanscom also realized a larger amount
than he would have received under the original contract. So great was
the excitement over the news from California, and so keen the demand for
clippers at this time, that almost any of them could have been sold for
a substantial advance upon their contract price. Those were the palmy
days of the ocean carrying trade, and at no period before, or since,
have ships yielded such golden harvests to their builders and owners.

The _Witch of the Wave_ registered 1494 tons, and measured: length 202
feet, breadth 40 feet, depth 21 feet, with 40 inches dead-rise at half
floor. Her mainmast was 90 feet and her mainyard 81 feet in length.
Though built at Portsmouth, she was owned by Captain John Bertram and
Alfred Peabody, of Salem, and was the pride of that ancient seaport. It
was usual in those days for owners to entertain on board their ships
when favorable opportunity offered, so the trip of the _Witch of the
Wave_ from Portsmouth to Salem to obtain her register was made an
occasion of festivity.

The first of May was the day selected, but lowering clouds and squalls
of wind and rain decided Captain Bertram to postpone the cruise until
more favorable weather, and those of his guests who had appeared upon
the scene were rewarded by an opportunity to examine the ship at their
leisure. They found her a very handsome vessel, with grace and beauty in
every line and curve of her hull. Her decks were remarkably clear, with
plenty of room for working ship, and the between-decks had more than
ample head room and were well ventilated. Her figurehead represented a
young woman partially clad in gossamer drapery of white and gold, with
one shapely arm extended and her small bare feet lightly stepping upon
the crest of a wave, while the stern was ornamented with a seashell in
which a child was being drawn by dolphins. These designs were executed
by John W. Mason, of Boston, and were of decided artistic merit. The
cabins and staterooms were finished in the most luxurious manner, the
wainscot of the main cabin being of rosewood, birdseye maple, satin and
zebra wood, exquisitely polished, with cornices and mouldings of white
and gold.

After an inspection of the ship lunch was served, and Ephraim F. Miller,
Collector of the Port of Salem, proposed the following toast: “Success
to the newest and youngest of the Salem Witches. She perhaps includes in
her composition an equal amount of craft with her unfortunate
predecessors. Had they possessed a proportional share of her beauty, we
are confident that the sternest tribunal before which any of them were
arraigned, would never have had the heart to subject a single one to the
trial to which their successor is designed--the Trial by Water.” This
sentiment was received with applause by the company, who then separated,
some returning to Salem by train, while others remained over night, to
be ready for the next day in case the weather improved. In the evening
the Raynes Mansion was the scene of generous hospitality.

During the night the sky cleared, the sun came up warm and bright with a
pleasant northwesterly breeze, and the early morning found Portsmouth in
a state of bustle and excitement. Wagons laden with hampers, bags, and
boxes of good things, with plenty of ice to keep them cool, were
unloaded alongside the ship, and presently the _R. B. Forbes_ appeared
steaming up the river with a big bone in her teeth, the embodiment of
energy and strength. The morning train came in, bringing a large number
of men and women, from Boston, Salem, and Newburyport, who, with the
Portsmouth guests, made a distinguished company of more than two
hundred persons.

At about eleven o’clock, everything being ready, the _Witch of the
Wave_, with colors flying and the Boston Cadet Band on board playing
“The Star-Spangled Banner,” was towed out into the stream amid the
shouts and cheers of a multitude of people, who thronged the wharves and
shipyards along the river. After passing through the Narrows and
rounding New Castle Point, the _R. B. Forbes_, which had been towing
alongside, took her hawser out ahead and shaped a course for Cape Ann,
which brought the wind well over the starboard quarter. The breeze had
freshened, though the sea was still quite smooth, and this, with the
clear, blue sky and bright sunshine, made a day altogether too fine to
be spent on shore.

Many of those on board were interested to see what effect some canvas
would have on the new clipper, so Mr. Raynes said to Captain Bertram
that he thought it might perhaps be a good plan to set some sail, “just
to assist the tow-boat a little.” Captain Bertram, with a twinkle in his
eye, said he thought so, too, and gave orders to loose the topsails,
jib, and foretopmast staysail. The _Witch of the Wave_ had a crew of
Portsmouth riggers, shipped by the run to Boston, and it did not take
them long to put the topsails on her. As soon as the yards were braced,
she began to dart through the water like a fish, and soon ranged up on
the weather beam of the _R. B. Forbes_, the hawser towing between them
with the bight skipping along among the blue waves in showers of
sparkling spray. On board the _R. B. Forbes_ the safety valve was
lifting, with steam at thirty pounds pressure murmuring in protest to
the breeze. There was great joy on board the _Witch of the Wave_, with
clapping of hands and waving of handkerchiefs, while the band struck up
“A Life on the Ocean Wave.” The log was hove, and she took nine and one
half knots off the reel. The topsail yards were then lowered on the
caps, and the reef tackles hauled out, yet with only this small canvas,
the _R. B. Forbes_ did not have much towing to do.

After rounding Thacher’s Island, a banquet was served on tables in the
between-decks, which were decorated with the ensigns of all nations, and
at the close of the entertainment speeches were made by E. H. Derby, a
grandson of Salem’s great merchant of that name, Charles H. Parker,
Henry N. Hooper, and the Hon. Charles W. Upham; then the following
resolution was adopted with hearty cheers:

“Ship _Witch of the Wave_,
“Off Salem Light, May 2, 1851.

     “At a meeting of invited guests, held this afternoon, it was
     unanimously

     “_Resolved_--That the ladies and gentlemen here assembled
     gratefully acknowledge the courtesy, kindness, and generous
     hospitality of Captain John Bertram and the other owners of the
     _Witch of the Wave_, on this festive day, and tender their best
     wishes for the success of this noble vessel.

“E. H. DERBY, _Chairman_.

     “CHARLES H. PARKER, _Secretary_.”

After this, Jonathan Nicholas, of Salem, recited the following impromptu
lines:

    “I wonder what’s the dreadful row
     They’re kicking up in Portsmouth now!
     The people running up and down
     Crying ‘All Salem’s come to town!’

          Clear the track, the ship is starting!
          Clear the track, the ship is starting!
          Clear the track, the ship is starting!
          And Portsmouth hearts are sad at parting.

    “They say a man came down to-day
     To carry the _Witch of the Wave_ away;
     And the people think he oughtn’t oughter
     Just because he’s been and brought her.

    “They called it rainy yesterday,
     But I know better, anyway;
     ’Twas only Portsmouth people crying
     To see the good ship’s colors flying!

    “But Captain B. said, ‘Hang the sorrow!
     The sun is bound to shine to-morrow.’
     And when he speaks it’s no use talking--
     So the clouds and the blues, they took to walking.

    “And so to-day the sun shines bright,
     And Salem sends her heart’s delight;
     And the good ship flies, and the wind blows free,
     As she leaps to her lover’s arms--the sea!

    “They have crowded her deck with the witty and wise,
     The saltest wisdom and merriest eyes;
     And manned her yards with a gallant crew
     That it tickles her staunch old ribs to view.

    “They say she’s bound to sail so fast
     That a man on deck can’t catch the mast!
     And a porpoise trying to keep ahead,
     Will get run over and killed stone dead.

    “Then here’s a health to the hands that wrought her,
     And three times three to the mind that thought her
     For thought’s the impulse, work’s the way
     That brings all Salem here to-day.

         “Clear the track, the ship is starting!
          Clear the track, the ship is starting!
          Clear the track, the ship is starting!
          And Portsmouth hearts are sad at parting.”

Repeated rounds of applause greeted this effusion, and the company went
on deck where music called the dancers to their feet. The wind had died
out, and as the sun began to set in the west, the _Witch of the Wave_
anchored in Salem harbor. The day’s pleasure was brought to a close by a
portion of the company singing these lines of Whittier’s that had been
set to music for the occasion:

    “God bless her wheresoe’er the breeze
       Her snowy wings shall fan,
     Beside the frozen Hebrides
       Or sultry Hindostan!

    “Where’er, in mart or on the main,
       With peaceful flag unfurled,
     She helps to wind the silken chain
       Of commerce round the world.

    “Her pathway on the open main
       May blessings follow free,
     And glad hearts welcome back again
       Her white sails from the sea!”

The guests were landed in boats at Phillips’s wharf, in time to reach
their homes by the early evening trains, and on the following day the
_R. B. Forbes_ towed the _Witch of the Wave_ to Boston, where she loaded
in Glidden & Williams’s Line for San Francisco, under the command of
Captain J. Hardy Millett.




CHAPTER XI

CALIFORNIA CLIPPER PASSAGES OF 1851


Each of the clippers had her devoted admirers, who gave tangible proof
of loyalty by investing money liberally in support of their belief in
her speed. At that period the merchants and ship-owners of Boston used
to meet “on ‘change” in front of the old Merchants’ Exchange in State
Street, and before going home to their comfortable two o’clock dinners,
these old-time gentlemen would lay many a quiet wager upon the _Northern
Light_, _Flying Fish_, _Witch of the Wave_, _Raven_, _John Bertram_,
_Shooting Star_, or _Game Cock_ as to their relative speed and the
length of their passages from Boston to San Francisco.

In New York the Astor House was the meeting-place of merchants,
ship-builders, and sea-captains, who carried on endless arguments
concerning the merits of the clipper ships, their builders, owners, and
captains, and discussed the latest shipping news with untiring
earnestness. These men knew whereof they spoke, for almost any evening
there was sufficient capital represented by ship-owners to pay for half
a dozen clippers, and the men were there also who could build and
navigate them. Occasionally an argument would reach a point of
animation where something had to be done, and one might hear a remark
very much like this: “No, no, Henry, I can’t do that, but I will lay
five dollars at one to three on the _Challenge_ against the fleet, bar
one, or the same even on the _Flying Cloud_ against the _N. B. Palmer_.”
These were pleasant evenings, gay with the clink of mugs and glasses and
the murmur of small talk and laughter rippling among wreaths of smoke
from fragrant Havanas, until, at a little before ten, Michael, the
venerable barkeeper would announce, “Gentlemen, I will take the last
orders of the evening; we close in ten minutes.”

The interest in clippers was not confined to seamen and capitalists, for
when the mail steamer from Aspinwall was reported toiling up the bay,
there would be a large number of persons patiently waiting on the wharf,
who were not expecting friends among the passengers or crew, but who had
come to hear the latest news, then five or six weeks old, of arrivals of
clipper ships at San Francisco.

The first clipper to arrive at San Francisco from New York in 1851 in
less than 110 days was the _Seaman_, a smart little Baltimore ship of
546 tons. She made a fine passage of 107 days, arriving on March 11th.

The second to arrive was the _Surprise_. A merchant of San Francisco
wagered heavily on her beating the passage of the _Sea Witch_--97
days--of the year before, and as the time limit grew near he began to
feel rather nervous. On the morning of her ninety-sixth day out, March
19th, he thought if the _Surprise_ was going to win his money for him
it was about time for her to do it, so he mounted his horse and rode
over to the North Beach to get a glimpse of her if she was in sight. He
found the weather thick outside and so returned, but he had not reached
his counting-room before the _Surprise_ had passed the Golden Gate. And
by noon, Captain Dumaresq was with his friends on shore, 96 days from
New York. The _Surprise_ had sailed 16,308 miles since leaving Sandy
Hook, and had reefed topsails but twice. It should not, however, be
supposed that she had not had plenty of wind, for it was usually blowing
hard when Captain Dumaresq began to think of taking in his
topgallantsails, to say nothing of reefing topsails. A list of her cargo
on this voyage filled a manifest twenty-five feet long, and her freight
amounted to the sum of $78,000.

The _Sea Serpent_ arrived on May 17th, after putting into Valparaiso for
repairs, as she had lost spars and sails off Cape Horn. She had made the
passage in 115 days, deducting her delay at Valparaiso. This was the
first of a series of disasters which befell the clippers that year, and
which proved pretty clearly that their power of carrying canvas had been
underestimated. It became quite evident that these ships could stand
stouter spars and rigging, and indeed required them.

The _Eclipse_, Captain Hamilton, also went into Valparaiso with the loss
of some of her spars and sails, and allowing for her loss of time in
port, made the passage from New York to San Francisco in 112 days,
arriving May 20th, with the remarkable run of 63 days from New York to
Valparaiso to her credit. Captain Hamilton was not only an accomplished
mariner, but a most delightful companion, and he had many friends in San
Francisco, some of whom gave a dinner at the Niantic Hotel in honor of
his arrival on this occasion. When the proper moment came, one of the
party proposed the health of Captain Hamilton, and this is the way he
did it:

“Gentlemen! I give you the shipper-clips--the clippy--sh--the,
gentlemen, I give you the--the slipper.” Here he paused, steadied
himself by the table edge, bowed with great dignity, and began again
very slowly: “Gentlemen!--I--give--you--the--ship--_E_--_clipse_, and
her gallant cap’n Hamilton,” and then with an
at-peace-with-all-the-world grin, this disciple of Silenus subsided.

The Niantic had a curious history, even for a San Francisco hotel. This
refuge for the traveller, or rather a portion of it, had originally been
the British ship _Niantic_ which arrived at Valparaiso from Liverpool
just as the California gold fever was at its height. She was bought by a
Chilean merchant and started for Panama, where she loaded a cargo of
tropical fruits and two hundred and forty-eight passengers, and arrived
at San Francisco, July 5, 1849. Most of the fruit had either been
devoured by the passengers or become so decayed that it was thrown
overboard, and as soon as the anchor was down, the captain and all hands
cleared out for the mines, leaving the ship to take care of herself.

After some months of neglect, she was bought by a real estate
speculator, who hauled her broadside to on the beach, at what was then
the foot of Clay Street, and turned her into a warehouse. By degrees the
old craft found herself embedded in some ten or twelve feet of sand and
mud at a considerable distance from the water-front, but she made more
money for her owner here than at any other time in her career, until one
of the periodical fires swept away her top sides. The rest of her hull,
which being below ground had escaped destruction, became the cellar of
the Niantic Hotel, erected over her remains, and had the reputation of
being the only tight and dry cellar in the neighborhood.

In the course of time the Niantic Hotel was torn down to make room for a
more substantial building, and upon clearing away the débris to secure a
more solid foundation, thirty-five baskets of champagne were discovered
hidden away among the floor timbers of the old hull, where they had
remained unmolested for some twenty-one years. So faithfully had the
wine been bottled and so dry had been its resting-place, that there was
not a speck of rust on the wires securing the corks, and the labels were
as fresh as the day they were put on, while the wine was found to have
retained much of its original sparkle and _bouquet_. It was the then
celebrated Jacquesson Fils brand, which at the time of its arrival might
easily have been sold for $25 a bottle. I am not sure that it did not
sell at nearly its former value, for almost every one in San Francisco
in 1870 needed at least one bottle with which to celebrate the
anniversary of his arrival “in the fall of Forty-nine or the spring of
Fifty,” and thirty-five baskets would seem a small allowance for that
vast and increasing multitude.

The _Stag-Hound_ arrived May 26th. She sailed from New York in January,
and when six days out in a heavy southeast gale, her maintopmast and
three topgallantmasts came down by the run. She was without a
maintopsail for nine days and without topgallantsails for twelve days;
nevertheless, she crossed the equator 21 days from Sandy Hook, arrived
at Valparaiso in 66 days under jury rig, and, allowing for her detention
there, reached San Francisco 107 days from New York. Captain Richardson
reported that she was a very fast ship in moderate breezes, while in
strong winds she frequently logged sixteen and seventeen knots, although
her best day’s run was only 358 miles.

The _Witchcraft_ arrived August 11th. She, too, had suffered aloft and
put into Valparaiso for spars and repairs, and, allowing for this delay,
she had made the passage from New York in 103 days. The _N. B. Palmer_
arrived August 21st in 108 days, and the _Flying Cloud_ on August 31st
in 89 days--a passage never surpassed and only twice equalled--once
three years later by the _Flying Cloud_ herself, and once in 1860 by the
_Andrew Jackson_.

The _Flying Cloud’s_ abstract log on this passage is as follows:

Sandy Hook to the equator                  21 days.
Equator to 50° S.                          25  “
50° S. in the Atlantic to 50° S. in Pacific 7  “
50° S. to the equator                      17  “
Equator to San Francisco                   19  “
                                           --
Total                                      89  “

It was during this passage that the _Flying Cloud_ made her famous run
of 374 miles, while steering to the northward and westward under
topgallantsails, after rounding Cape Horn. This was the fastest day’s
run, under steam or sail, that had ever been made up to that time, and
exceeded by 42 miles the best day’s run that had ever been made by a
mail steamship on the Atlantic. A few extracts from her log will, I
think, be of interest:

     “June 6th (three days out from New York). Lost main and mizen
     topgallantmasts, and maintopsail yard.--June 7th. Sent up main and
     mizen topgallantmasts and yards.--June 8th. Sent up maintopsail
     yard.--June 14th. Discovered mainmast badly sprung about a foot
     from the hounds, and fished it.--July 11th. Very severe thunder and
     lightning, double reefed topsails, split fore and maintopmast stay
     sails. At 1 P.M. discovered mainmast had sprung, sent down royal
     and topgallant yards and studding sail booms off lower and topsail
     yards to relieve strain.--July 13th. Let men out of irons in
     consequence of wanting their services, with the understanding that
     they would be taken care of on arriving at San Francisco. At 6
     P.M., carried away the maintopsail tye and band round
     mainmast.--July 23d. Cape Horn north five miles. The whole coast
     covered with snow.--July 31st. Fresh breezes, fine weather, all
     sail set. At 2 P.M. wind southeast. At 6 squally; in lower and
     topgallant studding sails; 7, in royals; at 2 A.M. in foretopmast
     studding sail. Latter part, strong gales and high sea running. Ship
     very wet fore and aft. Distance run this day by observation is 374
     miles. During the squalls 18 knots of line was not sufficient to
     measure the rate of speed. Topgallantsails set.--August 3d. At 3
     P.M. suspended first officer from duty, in consequence of his
     arrogating to himself the privilege of cutting up rigging, contrary
     to my orders, and long-continued neglect of duty.--August 25th.
     Spoke barque _Amelia Packet_, 180 days from London for San
     Francisco.--August 29th. Lost foretopgallant mast.--August 30th.
     Sent up foretopgallant mast. Night strong and squally. Six A.M.
     made South Farallones bearing northeast ½ east; took a pilot at 7;
     anchored in San Francisco harbor at 11:30 A.M. after a passage of
     89 days, 21 hours.”

An analysis of this remarkable log shows that during twenty-six
consecutive days the _Flying Cloud_ had sailed a distance of 5912 miles,
an average of 227 miles a day, or within a fraction of 9½ knots, and for
four consecutive days 284, 374, 334, 264--a total of 1256, or 314 miles
per day, an average speed of 13½ knots. This splendid passage of the
_Flying Cloud_ reduced by one quarter the clipper-ship record of 120
days made by the _Memnon_ two years before, and established a new record
that stands to-day.

This grand ocean exploit was celebrated in San Francisco with rejoicing,
as every American in the town felt, now that the voyage round Cape Horn
had been made in three months, that he was nearer to his old home in the
East; while in the Atlantic seaports the news was received with
enthusiasm, and was regarded by the press not only as a personal victory
for the owners, builder, and captain of the _Flying Cloud_, but as a
triumph of the United States upon the sea. One of the New York papers[6]
in the course of an editorial remarked: “Such a passage as this is more
than a local triumph, and inures to the reputation not alone of the
builder of the ship and her enterprising owners, but of the United
States. It is truly a national triumph, and points clearly and
unmistakably to the pre-eminence upon the ocean which awaits the United
States of America. The log of the _Flying Cloud_ is now before us. It is
the most wonderful record that pen ever indited, for rapid as was the
passage, it was performed under circumstances by no means the most
favorable.”

The _Challenge_ arrived October 29th, 108 days from New York--a fine
passage, certainly, but not what her friends had hoped or expected. She
had on this voyage a large but very poor crew--incompetent and
mutinous--indeed, some of them were among the most desperate characters
that ever sailed out of the port of New York. It was only after the ship
had passed Sandy Hook and the pilot had been discharged that Captain
Waterman began fully to realize what a gang of ruffians he had to deal
with. He seriously considered taking the ship back to New York for
another crew, and a less resolute man probably would have done so; but
he realized that it would mean a heavy expense to the owners, as each of
the crew had received three month’s advance wages, which would have to
be paid over again to another crew, besides other expenses and loss of
time and disappointment to the shippers of cargo, so he decided to
protect every one but himself and kept the ship on her course.

The crew of the _Challenge_ consisted of 56 men before the mast,
supposed to be able seamen, and 8 boys. Of the men in the forecastle
only two were Americans, the remainder representing most of the maritime
countries of Europe. So soon as Captain Waterman decided to continue the
voyage, he made his plans quickly. After giving some orders to Mr.
Douglas, his chief officer, he called all hands aft and manufactured a
speech in which, among other things he said that the men would find that
they were on board of a good comfortable ship, with plenty to eat and
very little work to do; but when the officers gave them orders they must
obey willingly and quickly; that he hoped none of them had brought
spirits or weapons on board, as such things were apt to make trouble at
sea. This camp-meeting discourse occupied perhaps fifteen or twenty
minutes, during which the mates, carpenter, sailmaker, and boatswain
were employed in the forecastle breaking open chests and boxes, emptying
bags, and gathering up bottles of rum, knuckle-dusters, slingshots,
bowie-knives, and pistols which they threw over the side. After the
watches were chosen, each man was made to lay his knife on the main
hatch, where the carpenter broke the point of the blade off square.

It was found that only six men among the crew could steer the ship
properly; these were made quartermasters and did nothing else during the
passage except to lend a hand making and taking in sail, Fully one half
of the crew who had shipped as able seamen were not sailormen at all,
but blacklegs of the vilest type, who had taken this means of getting to
the California gold mines. It also developed that many of the men had
contracted a loathsome disease, most difficult to cure at sea, and at
one time seventeen of the crew were laid up and off duty. Captain
Waterman had the sailroom turned into a sick bay, but although these men
received every care, five of them died, and eight were still in their
berths when the _Challenge_ arrived at San Francisco.

For some time after sailing from New York, Captain Waterman and his
officers were always armed when they came on deck, but after a while the
crew appeared to be in such good shape that this precaution gradually
became neglected, until, one morning off Rio Janeiro, while Captain
Waterman was taking his sights, he heard shouts for help from the main
deck. He at once laid down his sextant and hurried forward to find the
mate, Mr. Douglas, with his back to the port bulwark just abaft the main
rigging, defending himself with bare fists from four of the crew armed
with knives, who were attacking him. As Captain Waterman ran along the
main deck he pulled a heavy iron belaying pin out of the rail, and using
this with both hands as a club, he dealt a terrific blow on the skull of
each of the would-be assassins, which laid them out on deck--two of them
dead. Mr. Douglas had received no less than twelve wounds, some of them
of a serious nature; indeed, he barely escaped with his life. From that
time the officers always carried arms, and there was no further trouble
with the crew.

Off Cape Horn three men fell from aloft, one of whom was drowned while
two struck the deck and were killed. The bodies of the men who died were
sewn up in canvas with holystones at their feet, and were buried in the
sea. Captain Waterman read the funeral service over their remains, but
the ship was not hove to as the braces were never allowed to be started
except when absolutely necessary, owing to the difficulty and danger of
handling the yards with such an inferior crew. The bodies of the two men
who attempted to murder the chief officer were taken from where they
fell and lowered into the sea. Many years afterward Captain Waterman
told me that he could not bring himself to read the Christian burial
service over these corpses, but that he gave the crew permission to take
the bodies forward, and offered them canvas, holystones, and a
prayer-book with which to hold their own service, but none of the crew
would volunteer to bury these men.

The _Challenge_ had moderate winds the whole passage, excepting a
succession of westerly gales off Cape Horn, and with her wretched crew
besides, there was really no opportunity properly to test her speed. Her
best day’s run was only 336 miles, with the wind abeam and skysails set.
She was 55 days from Sandy Hook to Cape Horn, thence 34 days to the
equator in the Pacific, and 19 days from the equator to San Francisco.
The great wonder is, not that Captain Waterman made such a fine passage,
but that he succeeded in getting his ship to San Francisco at all.

Soon after the _Challenge_ rounded to and let go anchor, in San
Francisco Bay, she was boarded by a throng of crimps and runners who at
once took the crew and their dunnage ashore. There was nothing unusual
in this, for it happened nearly every day, captains and mates being
powerless to prevent it. A gang of longshoremen would then be sent
aboard at wages of from $3 to $5 an hour each, to heave up anchor, put
the ship alongside the wharf, stow sails and clear up the decks. As
these prosperous sons of toil were never in much of a hurry, it usually
required from four to five hours to finish up these jobs, and meant a
heavy expense to the ship-owner for work that should have been done by
the crew.

When the crew of the _Challenge_ got on shore, some of them had terrible
tales to tell about their hardships and privations during the voyage;
how they had been nearly starved to death; how some of the crew had
starved to death or been murdered, and their bodies hove overboard like
dead rats, and how six men had been shot from the mizzentopsail yard in
a gale of wind off Cape Horn. According to these blatant imposters, no
such floating hell as the _Challenge_ had ever before set sail upon the
ocean, and as for Captain Waterman, he was a blood-thirsty, inhuman
navigator, the like of whom had never been seen or heard of, since the
days when Noah put his ship ashore among the mountains of Ararat. All
this was, of course, profitable material for journalists, one impetuous
knight of the pen actually proposing that Captain Waterman should be
burned alive, until finally the publisher of this attack became
frightened for his own safety, as he had incited the most dangerous set
of men, perhaps, that ever existed in any seaport--ticket-of-leave from
Australia, cut-throats from New Mexico, and drainings from the social
gutters and cesspools of European ports.

At this moment San Francisco happened to be in one of the numerous
stages of reform through which that amazing city has passed. It had
recently emerged from a reign of lawlessness and mob rule under the
guidance of a Vigilance Committee, and while this admirable body of
citizens was not yet disbanded, it had in a measure relaxed its grasp
upon public affairs. Now, a number of the newly-converted thugs,
murderers, and outlaws of the town, whose necks had narrowly escaped the
hangman’s noose, formed themselves into a new “Vigilance Committee,” to
deal with Captain Waterman and the officers of the _Challenge_. These
outcasts, crafty and unscrupulous as they were, possessed neither the
courage nor the mental capacity to carry out their own plans. They
accordingly called a public meeting, held somewhere among the sandhills,
at which it was decided to “execute” Captain Waterman and his officers
“on sight,” and then burn or scuttle the vessel at her wharf. Naturally,
the real Vigilance Committee were the first to learn of these
proceedings, and at once took the captain and officers under their
protection, holding themselves in readiness to scatter the mob should
this measure become necessary.

The crowd that gathered at the sandhills consisted of two or three
hundred men who had lately been hunted from one end of San Francisco to
the

[Illustration: The “Challenge”]

other, and had prudently kept themselves stowed away in order to escape
the righteous wrath of the Vigilance Committee. One can scarcely
conceive anything more grimly grotesque than the spectacle of these
inexperienced reformers, in their red flannel shirts and black slouched
hats with pistols and bowie-knives stuck in their leather belts, and
trousers tucked into the tops of their cowhide boots, the odor of the
gin palace and dance-hall clinging to their unwashed skins and clothing,
as they wended their way to Pacific Wharf, where the _Challenge_ lay
moored, and demanded that Captain Waterman and his officers be delivered
over to them for purposes of justice.

As might have been expected, these gentlemen had vanished and no one but
a few members of the Committee knew where they were. So finding that
Captain John Land had been placed in command of the ship, the mob seized
this venerable seaman, and for more than an hour wrangled among
themselves as to whether they should shoot, drown, or hang him in place
of Captain Waterman. They, however, concluded to hold him as a hostage,
and walked their white-haired prisoner up to the office of Alsop & Co.,
the agents of the _Challenge_. By this time, the crowd had been
considerably augmented and numbered about two thousand men, who filled
the air of California Street with yells, curses, lewd jests, and ribald
songs. They again demanded from the agents that their intended victims
be given up, and six of the ringleaders forced their way with crowbars
and axes into the house of Alsop & Co. At this point the bell of the
Monumental Fire Engine House began to toll--the well-known signal that
called the Vigilance Committee to arms--and long before the Marshal had
finished reading the Riot Act, the mob had dispersed with alacrity.

Captain Waterman was not the man to submit quietly to such attacks upon
his character and conduct, and he at once offered to meet any charge
that might be brought against him before a proper legal tribunal. When
no one appeared, he demanded that a full investigation be made into the
facts of the voyage of the _Challenge_. It then appeared, from the
testimony of a portion of the crew, that a large number of the men who
had shipped in New York as able seamen were grossly incompetent and
desperately mutinous; that the food had been of the best, in fact, the
same quality of beef, pork, and flour that had been used in the cabin
had also been served to the crew without stint, and that no more
punishment had been inflicted by the officers than was necessary to
maintain proper discipline for the safety of the ship and her cargo.

It also appeared that from the time the ship sailed from New York until
the time of her arrival at San Francisco, Captain Waterman had never
been out of his clothes except to change them, and had never slept in
his berth, but had taken such rest as he could find upon the transom in
his chart-room near the companionway. He was commended for his skill and
courage in bringing his vessel safely into San Francisco without the
loss of a spar, sail, or piece of rigging. It is therefore humiliating
to record that neither the owners of the _Challenge_ nor their
underwriters, for both of whom Captain Waterman had saved thousands of
dollars, ever had the courtesy to make the slightest acknowledgment of
his services, although they were well aware of their obligation in this
matter. It is, however, some consolation to know that he asked and
needed nothing at their hands.

As we already have seen, Captain Waterman had taken the Pacific Mail
steamship _Northerner_ from New York to San Francisco in 1850, and fully
intended at that time to retire from the sea. He was then forty-two
years old, and had passed thirty-two years upon the ocean; he possessed
ample means, with a portion of which he bought four leagues of land in
Solano County, California, and it was only at the earnest solicitation
of N. L. & G. Griswold, the owners of the _Challenge_, that he consented
to take her from New York to San Francisco in this year. He was now free
to attend to his own affairs. Together with Captain A. A. Richie, he
founded the town of Fairfield, California. In 1852, he was appointed
Port Warden and Inspector of Hulls at the port of San Francisco, a
position he held for twenty-eight years. He then retired to his farm,
where he died in 1884, at the age of seventy-six. Probably no man in
California was more widely known or more highly respected.

One of the best ocean races of 1851 was that between the _Raven_,
Captain Henry; the _Typhoon_, Captain Salter, and the _Sea Witch_,
Captain Frazer. These clippers sailed for San Francisco nearly together:
the _Sea Witch_ passed out by Sandy Hook on August 1st, followed by the
_Typhoon_ on August 4th, while the _Raven_ passed Boston Light on
August 6th. All had able commanders, who carried Maury’s wind and
current charts to assist them. In this month of light and baffling
breezes a quick run to the equator was hardly to be expected, but these
clippers threaded their way across the calm belt of Cancer, ran down the
northeast trades, and drifted through the doldrums, with surprising
speed. The _Sea Witch_ still kept her lead at the equator, crossing on
August 30th, closely followed by the _Raven_ and the _Typhoon_, which
crossed together on the 31st, so that the _Raven_ had gained four and
the _Typhoon_ two days on their swift competitor. They all weathered
Cape St. Roque and stood away to the southward for a splendid dash of
over three thousand miles through the southeast trades and the strong
westerly winds further south, all crossing the parallel of 50° S. in the
same longitude, 64° W. The _Raven_ had gained another day on the _Sea
Witch_ and these two clippers were now side by side, with the _Typhoon_
only two days astern.

Here began one of the keenest races ever sailed upon the ocean. They all
stood to the southward with studdingsail booms and skysail yards sent
down from aloft, with extra lashings on the boats, spare spars, and
skylights, while all hands hardened their hearts for a thrash to
windward round Cape Horn. On this desolate ocean the clippers raced from
horizon to horizon in heavy westerly gales and a long, fierce, sweeping
head sea. For fourteen exciting days and nights, with single-reefed,
double-reefed, close-reefed topsails, reefs in and reefs out, their
keen, watchful captains made use of every lull and slant to drive their
ships to the westward of Cape Horn, across the great, broad-backed,
white-crested seas. The _Sea Witch_ and _Raven_ were having it out tack
for tack, sometimes one and then the other gaining an advantage, both
carrying sail to the utmost limit of prudence, lifting their long, sharp
bows to the wild, surging seas, the cold spray flying across their decks
and blue water swirling along their lee waists, each handled with
consummate skill, and not a spar carried away or rope parted. The
_Typhoon_ in hot pursuit, was pressing the two leaders and slowly
closing upon them, for her greater length and power helped her here.
Finally the _Sea Witch_ and _Raven_ emerged from this desperate contest
side by side, as they had entered it, both crossing latitude 50° S. in
the Pacific in fourteen days from the same parallel in the Atlantic. The
_Typhoon_ had now gained another day, and was within twenty-four hours’
sail of each.

Clear of Cape Horn they all went away fast to the northward, rushing
through the southeast trades with studdingsails, skysails, water-sails,
and ring-tails--every yard of canvass set that would draw. On this
stretch to the equator, the _Sea Witch_ fairly flew through the water,
and crossed in 22 days from 50° S., leading the _Raven_ 2 and the
_Typhoon_ 4 days. They now stood to the northward, close-hauled on the
starboard tack, for their final struggle. Here again length and power
counted in favor of the _Typhoon_, and she came up with the _Sea Witch_
and _Raven_, leading them both into port; the _Raven_, too, for the
first time fairly headed the _Sea Witch_. The _Typhoon_ glided through
the Golden Gate, November 18th, 106 days from Sandy Hook; the _Raven_,
November 19th, 105 days from Boston Light, and the _Sea Witch_, November
20th, 110 days from Sandy Hook. Here is a brief abstract from their
log-books:


                                 _Raven_    _Typhoon_  _Sea Witch_
To the equator in the Atlantic
                                  25 days    27 days    29 days.

From the equator to 50° S.        21  “      23  “      22  “

From 50° S. in the Atlantic
  to 50° S. in the Pacific        14  “     13  “     14  “

From 50° S. to the equator        24  “     25  “     22  “

From the equator to the
  Golden Gate                     21  “     18  “     23  “
                                 ---       ---       ---
Total                            105  “    106  “    110  “

This was a great victory for the _Raven_, the only ship of her tonnage
that ever outsailed the _Sea Witch_, to say nothing of vanquishing the
large and famous _Typhoon_, a ship more than double her size. It should,
however, be remembered with regard to the _Sea Witch_, that she was at
that time over five years old, and had led a pretty wild life under
Waterman, while she had known no peace with Frazer in command, and had
been strained and weakened by hard driving. Moreover, a wooden ship,
after five or six years, begins to lose her speed through absorbing
water, and becomes sluggish in light airs. In her prime and at her best
with Waterman in command, the _Sea Witch_ was probably the fastest
sailing-ship of her inches ever built.

The California clippers were, of course, racing all the time, against
each other and against the record, and the strain upon their captains
in driving their ships against competitors whose relative positions were
unknown, was terrific. It became a confirmed habit with them to keep
their ships going night and day in all weathers and at their utmost
speed.

In order to appreciate what a passage of 110 days or less from an
Atlantic port to San Francisco really means, we must take a few of the
long passages of 1851, made by ships that were not clippers: _Arthur_,
from New York, 200 days; _Austerlitz_, Boston, 185 days; _Barrington_,
Boston, 180 days; _Bengal_, Philadelphia, 185 days; _Capitol_, Boston,
300 days; _Cornwallis_, New York, 204 days; _Franconia_, Boston, 180
days; _Henry Allen_, New York, 225 days; _Inconium_, Baltimore, 190
days. The logs of these vessels tell of long, weary days and nights of
exasperating calms, and dreary, heart-breaking weeks of battle with
tempests off Cape Horn.

Some of the vessels built in 1851 did not take part in the races of that
year, as they were not launched until too late; and did not arrive at
San Francisco before 1852. Those among them which became most famous
were the _Hurricane_, _Comet_, _Northern Light_, _Flying Fish_,
_Staffordshire_, _Trade Wind_, _Sword-Fish_, and _Shooting Star_. We
shall hear of them later.

The record of San Francisco passages for 1851 should not be closed
without mention of the pilot-boat _Fanny_, of 84 tons; length 71 feet,
breadth 18 feet 4 inches, depth 7 feet 2 inches, built by Daniel D.
Kelly at East Boston in 1850. This schooner was commanded by Captain
William Kelly, a brother of her builder, and arrived at San Francisco
February 18, 1851, 108 days from Boston. She passed through the Straits
of Magellan and thus saved a considerable distance; but even allowing
for this, her passage was a very remarkable one for a vessel of her
tonnage, and reflects much credit upon the skill and courage of her
captain and his plucky companions.




CHAPTER XII

AMERICAN COMPETITION WITH GREAT BRITAIN IN THE CHINA TRADE


The California clippers, after discharging their cargoes at San
Francisco, either returned in ballast round Cape Horn, or continued
their voyages across the Pacific and loaded cargoes at Asiatic ports for
the United States or Great Britain.

Some of the ships which sailed to China from San Francisco, raced across
the Pacific in ballast, touching at the Sandwich Islands only long
enough to back the main yard off Diamond Head and send the mails ashore
with perhaps a missionary or two. In those days the Kanaka maidens used
to swim off alongside the ships, and they were probably the nearest
approach to mermaids that has ever been known in real life. The
_Stag-Hound_ made the passage from San Francisco to Honolulu in 9, and
the _Flying Cloud_ and _Surprise_ in 12 days each. The _Flying Cloud_
sailed 374 miles in twenty-four hours, the day after leaving San
Francisco, with a fresh whole-sail breeze and smooth sea, under
sky-sails and royal studdingsails. The _Southern Cross_ made the passage
from San Francisco to Hong-kong in 32, and the _Game-Cock_ in 35 days,
the run of the _Game-Cock_ from Honolulu to Hong-kong in 19 days being
most remarkable. When these and other fast American vessels loaded again
in China for English ports, they, of course, added to the competition
from which British ships were already suffering.

We have seen how the _Oriental_ brought a cargo of tea from China to
England in 1850, and what interest her appearance excited in London. She
was soon followed by the _Surprise_, _White Squall_, _Sea Serpent_,
_Nightingale_, _Argonaut_, _Challenge_, and other clipper ships built
for the California trade. These American clippers received from £6 to
£6, 10s freight per ton of forty cubic feet, with immediate despatch,
while British ships were loading slowly at £3, 10s per ton of fifty
cubic feet. The American ships made fine passages and delivered their
teas in excellent condition; but what especially appealed to the Briton
was the fact that they had cleared more than their original cost and
running expenses on this, their first voyage.

An able English writer,[7] referring to the American clippers engaged in
the China tea-trade at this period, remarks: “This new competition
proved for a time most disastrous to English shipping, which was soon
driven out of favor by the lofty spars, smart, rakish-looking hulls, and
famed speed of the American ships, and caused the tea-trade of the
London markets to pass almost out of the hands of the English
ship-owner. British vessels well manned and well found are known to have
lain in the harbor of Foo-chow for weeks together, waiting for a cargo,
and seeing American clippers coming in, loading, and sailing immediately
with full cargoes, at a higher freight than they could command.

“This soon became a matter of serious moment, and the arrival of these
vessels in the Thames caused great excitement, and aroused no small
amount of curiosity and criticism. Even the attention of the Government
became attracted towards them, and draughtsmen were sent from the
Admiralty to take off the lines of two of the most famous--the
_Challenge_ and the _Oriental_--when they were in Messrs. Green’s
drydock.”

This state of affairs could not, of course, continue without further
arousing British ship-owners and builders to the danger of their
position. Here was not one vessel, but a fleet of American clippers
bringing cargoes from China at double the rates of freight that British
ships could command, and unless some measures were adopted to check this
invasion no one could predict where it might end. That British merchants
paid so liberally to get their teas to a home market was certainly not
because they cherished any special affection for American ships or their
owners. They would have been quite as willing to pay British clippers
the same freights, had there been any such to receive them, or even
Chinese junks, provided the service could have been performed by them as
quickly and as well. So we find the British ship-owners and builders of
that period forced to exert their finest skill and most ardent energy.

The firm of Jardine, Matheson & Co., of London and China, were the
owners of the first clipper ship built in Great Britain. This vessel was
the _Stornoway_, 506 tons, launched from the yard of Alexander Hall &
Co., at Aberdeen, toward the close of 1850 for the China trade. It will
be recalled that this firm had built the clipper schooner _Torrington_,
for the same owners, four years before. The new ship was named for
Stornoway Castle, Lewis, one of the Hebrides Isles, which was then owned
by Sir James Matheson, and to which he retired after his long and
successful career as ship-owner and merchant in the China trade.

It cannot be said that the _Stornoway_ was a copy of any American model,
as a comparison of dimensions will clearly show. Comparing her
measurements with those of the American clipper, barque _Race Horse_, of
512 tons register, built by Samuel Hall at East Boston in the same year,
we find:

                Length         Breadth       Depth

_Stornoway_   157 ft. 8 in.  25 ft. 8 in.  17 ft. 8 in.

_Race Horse_  125 ft.        30 ft.        16 ft.

Thus the _Stornoway_, while she exceeded the _Race Horse_ by 32 feet 8
inches in length and by 1 foot 8 inches in depth, yet had 4 feet 4
inches less breadth; and here began a contest, which extended over so
many years, of breadth against length and depth. There can be no doubt
that the _Stornoway_ with more beam and the _Race Horse_ with more
length and depth, would have been faster, but at the same time
considerably larger vessels.[8]

[Illustration: The “Stornoway”]

The _Stornoway_ was commanded by Captain Richard Robinson, and on her
first voyage she made the passage from the Downs to Java Head in 80
days, to Hong-kong in 102 days, and from Hong-kong to London in 103
days. These were at that time the quickest passages between these ports
that had ever been made by a British vessel.

In 1851 Alexander Hall & Co. built the China tea-clipper _Chrysolite_,
of 471 tons, for Taylor & Potter of Liverpool; length 149 feet 3 inches,
breadth 29 feet, depth 17 feet. As will be seen this vessel approached
more nearly the proportions of the _Race Horse_, having 8 feet 5 inches
less length than the _Stornoway_, with 3 feet 4 inches more breadth, and
8 inches less depth. She made her first passage from Liverpool to
Canton, under the command of Captain Anthony Enright, in 102 days, and
came home in 104 days. She also made the passage from Liverpool to Java
Head in 80 days, her best day’s run being 320 miles.

The very keen rivalry between the British and American clipper ships
engaged in the China trade at this time, seems to have been stimulating
to the imagination. W. S. Lindsay, in his _History of Merchant Shipping_
(vol. iii., p. 291), relates an interesting story of one of the early
races, and as I wish to do the narrative full justice, I give it in Mr.
Lindsay’s own words:

“Mr. T. C. Cowper, of Aberdeen, himself a member of a well-known
ship-building firm in Aberdeen, who had spent some time in China at the
period to which I refer, and to whom I am much indebted for the
information connected with our struggles to maintain our position in
that trade, gives the following graphic description of his voyage home
in the _Ganges_, Captain Deas, belonging to Leith, one of the vessels we
had sent forth after the repeal of our Navigation Laws, to compete with
the Americans in that trade: ‘We loaded,’ he says, ‘new teas at Wampoa,
and sailed on the first of September, 1851. Two of the fastest American
clippers, the _Flying Cloud_ and _Bald Eagle_, sailed two or three days
after us. A great deal of excitement existed in China about the race,
the American ships being the favorites. The southwest monsoon being
strong, the _Ganges_ made a rather long passage to Anjer, but when we
arrived there we found that neither of our rivals had been reported as
having passed. We arrived in the English Channel on the evening of the
16th of December. On the following morning at daylight we were off
Portland, well inshore and under short sail, light winds from the
northeast, and weather rather thick. About 8 A.M. the wind freshened and
the haze cleared away, which showed two large and lofty ships two or
three miles to windward of us. They proved to be our American friends,
having their Stars and Stripes flying for a pilot. Captain Deas at once
gave orders to hoist his signals for a pilot also, and as, by this time,
several cutters were standing out from Weymouth, the _Ganges_, being
farthest inshore got her pilot first on board. I said that I would land
in the pilot-boat and go to London by rail, and would report the ship
that night or next morning at Austin Friars. (She was consigned to my
firm.) The breeze had considerably freshened before I got on board the
pilot cutter, when the _Ganges_ filled away on the port tack, and
Captain Deas, contrary to his wont, for he was a very cautious man,
crowded on all small sails. The Americans lost no time and were after
him, and I had three hours’ view of as fine an ocean race as I can wish
to see; the wind being dead ahead, the ships were making short tacks.
The _Ganges_ showed herself to be the most weatherly of the three; and
the gain on every tack inshore was obvious, neither did she seem to
carry way behind in fore reaching. She arrived off Dungeness six hours
before the other two, and was in the London docks twenty-four hours
before the first, and thirty-six hours before the last of her
opponents.’”

       *       *       *       *       *

It is always unpleasant to spoil a really good story, but in this
instance I feel constrained to point out that the _Flying Cloud_
arrived at San Francisco on August 31, 1851, after her famous passage of
89 days from New York; it is therefore difficult to understand how she
could have sailed from Wampoa on the Canton River on or about September
1st of that year, as stated by Mr. Cowper; while the _Bald Eagle_ was
not launched until 1852.

On January 3, 1852, the _Illustrated London News_, which then, as now,
had many readers in the United States, published a portrait of the
_Chrysolite_ accompanying an article in which it was stated that both
the _Chrysolite_ and the _Stornoway_ had beaten the _Oriental_ and the
_Surprise_, and that the _Chrysolite_ had completely beaten the _Memnon_
during a race in the Gaspar Straits. This article excited a good deal of
interest in the United States, and it caused the formation by a number
of high-spirited young merchants and ship-owners at Boston of a society
called the American Navigation Club, which consisted of Daniel C. Bacon,
President; Thomas H. Perkins, John P. Cushing, William H. Bordman, John
M. Forbes, Warren Delano, and Edward King. In due time they issued the
following challenge, which was published in all the leading shipping
papers of Great Britain in September, 1852, and was copied into _Bell’s
Life_, at that period the great sporting publication of England:

     “The American Navigation Club challenges the ship-builders of Great
     Britain to a ship-race, with cargo on board, from a port in England
     to a port in China and back. One ship to be entered by each party,
     and to be named within a week of the start. These ships to be
     modelled, commanded, and officered entirely by citizens of the
     United States and Great Britain, respectively. To be entitled to
     rank A 1 either at the American offices or at Lloyd’s. The stakes
     to be £10,000 a side, satisfactorily secured by both parties, to be
     paid without regard to accidents, or to any exceptions, the whole
     amount forfeited by either party not appearing. Judges to be
     mutually chosen. Reasonable time to be given after notice of
     acceptance to build the ships if required, and also for discharging
     and loading cargo in China. The challenged party may name the size
     of the ships, not under 800 nor over 1200 American registered tons;
     the weight and measurement which shall be carried each way; the
     allowance for short weight or over-size. Reference may be made to
     Messrs. Baring Bros. & Co. for further particulars.

“DANIEL C. BACON, _President_.”



A few weeks later, on October 10, 1852, the following comment appeared
in _Bell’s Life_:

     “It will be remembered early in the past month there was wafted
     across the broad Atlantic, from the American Navigation Club, a
     challenge to the ship-builders of Great Britain, which created no
     little interest, and which after the defeat, then just
     accomplished, of the magic yacht _America_ by one of our own little
     island craft, gave rise to no inconsiderable speculation as to what
     might be the result of an acceptance of Brother Jonathan’s
     proposal.... The Club by the last clause of their terms held
     themselves at liberty to withdraw the challenge should it not be
     accepted within thirty days. The limit of the time is now expiring,
     and it is with no little disappointment that a letter received from
     the head of the eminent banking house of Baring & Co., was received
     in Boston a short time since, when it was found that he had nothing
     like an acceptance of the challenge to communicate to the American
     Club, but that, on the contrary, he had to report no inquiry as to
     the proposition. As a sort of enticement, however, to our
     ship-builders, the President of the American Navigation Club, Mr.
     D. C. Bacon, is authorized, should the present challenge not be
     accepted within thirty days, to allow the British vessels a start
     of fourteen days before the departure of the American craft. And
     also to allow us a crew picked from seamen experienced in voyaging
     between English and Chinese ports, while their own crew is to be
     composed of American seamen and officers whose experience is
     limited in sailing between China and English ports. The Americans,
     under the new conditions, are willing to augment the stake to
     £20,000, or any higher sum than the £10,000 of the present
     conditions most agreeable to us, but the last amount to be the
     minimum. The Americans want a match, and it reflects somewhat upon
     our chivalry not to accommodate them.”

The London _Daily News_ also published a leader in which it urged the
importance to Great Britain of making good her claim to maritime
supremacy by accepting the challenge and winning the race; but in spite
of all that was said the challenge was not accepted. Had it been,
Captain Dumaresq would have commanded the American ship, and Lieutenant
Maury was to have prepared special wind and current charts for his
assistance. As nearly all the American clippers had been constructed for
the California trade, it is probable that for an important race of this
nature, two ships would have been built especially for the China trade,
and very likely by Donald McKay and Samuel Hall, as the _Flying Cloud_,
_Flying Fish_, _Stag-Hound_, _Game-Cock_, and _Surprise_ had already
placed these two in the front rank of clipper ship builders. No reason
was ever given for the non-acceptance of the challenge, though the
inference seems obvious.

It would, however, be a mistake to suppose that the _Stornoway_ and
_Chrysolite_ were not fast vessels; for they were probably the two
fastest ships sailing under the British flag at that time, and were ably
commanded, and on a China voyage, which is very different sailing from a
San Francisco or Australian passage, would have given any ship afloat a
run for her owner’s money. The fitful uncertainty of the monsoons in the
China seas, with an occasional typhoon thrown in, has always rendered
the voyages to and from China rather unsatisfactory tests of speed, and
in this respect not to be compared with those to Australia or to San
Francisco.

The _Stornoway_ and _Chrysolite_ were soon followed by other British
clipper ships, among them the _Abergeldie_, of 600 tons register, built
by Walter Hood & Co., of Aberdeen, in 1851. This vessel was named for
an estate that adjoins Balmoral, at that time under a forty years’ lease
to Prince Albert, and carried a figurehead of His Royal Highness in full
Highland costume.

In 1852, Richard Green, of London, built the _Challenger_, of 699 tons.
This ship, owned by W. S. Lindsay, of London, was constructed with the
avowed purpose of beating the _Challenge_ of New York. A comparison of
the dimensions of this ship and those of the _Sword-Fish_, 1036 tons, is
interesting.

               Length         Breadth       Depth

_Challenger_   174 ft.         32 ft.        20 ft.

_Sword-Fish_   169 ft. 6 in.   36 ft. 6 in.  20 ft.

The _Challenger_ was commanded by Captain Killick, who made eight China
voyages in her, the best passage home being 105 days. Although she was
never directly matched with her American rival, they both took part in
an informal race from China in 1852, while the challenge of the
Navigation Club was pending. The passages of the seven vessels, four
American and three British, were as follows:

_Witch of the Wave_    Canton to Deal         90 days.
_Challenge_            Canton to Deal        105  “
_Surprise_             Canton to Deal        106  “
_Stornoway_            Canton to Deal        109  “
_Chrysolite_           Canton to Liverpool   106  “
_Nightingale_          Shanghai to Deal      110  “
_Challenger_           Shanghai to Deal      113  “

It is only fair to state that the _Witch of the Wave_, commanded by
Captain Millett, sailed from Canton, January 5th, in the height of the
northeast monsoon, and made the run, remarkable even at that season of
the year, of 7 days 12 hours from Canton to Java Head, while the three
British clippers, _Stornoway_, _Chrysolite_, and _Challenger_, sailed
later with a moderate monsoon, and the _Challenge_, _Surprise_, and
_Nightingale_ later still, when the monsoon was less favorable. The rate
of freight this year was £8 per ton, the highest that was ever paid.

This race, if so it can be called, resulted in “win, tie, or wrangle” as
it was claimed, for one reason or another, by every vessel engaged in
it, and ended by Sampson & Tappan, of Boston, offering to match the
_Nightingale_ for £10,000 against any ship, British or American, for a
race to China and back. The rivalry of the American clipper ships among
themselves was as keen as with those of Great Britain, and this
challenge was intended for the Navigation Club, of Boston, of which
Sampson & Tappan were not members, and for New York as well, quite as
much as for the British clippers; but it found no response from either
side of the Atlantic.

The _Nightingale_ was owned by Sampson & Tappan for a number of years,
during which she made some exceedingly fast passages, under the command
of Captain Samuel Mather. Among them were the passage from Portsmouth,
England, to Shanghai, against the northeast monsoon, in 106 days in
1853; and during the year 1855 a passage from Shanghai to London in 91
days, and from Batavia Roads to London in 70 days, an average of 197
miles per day, her best day’s run being 336 miles.

The _Surprise_ proved one of the most successful American clippers in
the China trade. After her first voyage she was for a number of years
commanded by the captains Charles Ranlett, father and son, and in their
hands made many fine passages--she made eleven consecutive passages from
China to New York in 89 days or less, six from Hong-kong, and five from
Shanghai, the best being 81 days from Shanghai, in 1857. Among other
fast passages from Canton to New York may be mentioned those of the
_Stag-Hound_ 85, 91, and 92 days; _Flying Cloud_, 94 and 96 days; _N. B.
Palmer_, 84 days; _Comet_, _Panama_, and _Hurricane_, each 99 days;
_Sword-Fish_, 80 days; _Sea Serpent_, 88 days; _Vancouver_, 96 days;
_Mandarin_, 89 days; but I am unable to find that Captain Waterman’s
passage of 77 days in the _Sea Witch_ in 1848, and 78 days in the
_Natchez_ in 1845, from Canton to New York, have ever been beaten. In
1854 the _Comet_ made a record passage of 84 days from Liverpool to
Hong-kong, an average of 212 miles per day, and in the same year the
_Typhoon_ made the run from the Lizard to Calcutta in 80 days.

In Great Britain the _Cairngorm_, of 1250 tons register, was built in
1853 by Alexander Hall & Co., and owned by Jardine, Matheson Co. Between
1853 and 1856 came the _Crest of the Wave_, _Norma_, _Flying Dragon_,
_Formosa_, and _Spirit of the Age_, built by John Pile of Sunderland,
and the _Lord of the Isles_ (iron) by John Scott & Co., of Greenock. The
ship last named registered 770 tons, measured: length 190 feet 9 inches,
breadth 27 feet 8 inches, depth 18 feet 5 inches, and was an extremely
sharp and handsome, though a very wet ship. It used to be said that
Captain Maxton, her commander, drove her into one side of a sea and out
the other; at all events, she was generally known among sailormen as the
“Diving Bell.”

The British clippers of this type, which was extremely sharp and narrow,
very nearly held their own against the American ships, and it is much to
be regretted that there never was a fair and square race between them;
for no British and American clipper ships ever sailed from China near
enough together to afford a satisfactory test of speed.

The _Lord of the Isles_ made the remarkable run from Shanghai to London
in 1855 during the northeast monsoon of 87 days. In 1856 she sailed
against the American clipper barque _Maury_, commanded by Captain
Fletcher, from Foo-chow to London, both carrying new teas. In this year
a premium of £1 per ton on the freight was offered for the first ship
home during the season. The reward was offered without regard to the
length of the passage, and was intended to encourage quick despatch in
loading as well as fast sailing. The _Lord of the Isles_ finished
loading and sailed four days ahead of the _Maury_. Both vessels arrived
in the Downs on the same morning and passed Gravesend within ten minutes
of each other, the _Maury_ leading, but Captain Maxton, having the
smartest tug, succeeded in getting his ship first into dock, and so won
the prize. The _Maury_ was an exceedingly pretty barque of about 600
tons, built by Roosevelt & Joyce, and owned by A. A. Low & Brother. She
was a very similar vessel to the barques _Fairy_, _Penguin_, and
_Benefactor_, by the same builders, all engaged in the China trade. The
_Lord of the Isles_ was the only tea-clipper built of iron at that time.
It was found that she sweated her tea cargoes, though otherwise they
were delivered in excellent condition, and she was certainly a very fast
vessel.

At this period (1853-1856) British iron ships, both sail and steam, were
coming into favor for other trades, but their introduction had been
slow. It is not easy at the present time to realize the difficulties
attending the building of the first iron vessels. The rolling of iron
plates to a uniform thickness was a matter requiring great care and
skill, and a number of years elapsed before plates exceeded or even
reached ten feet in length; then bending the frames and riveting the
plates were difficult processes, only learned through much trial and
experiment. In the early days, when an iron ship was completed, her
owner’s troubles had only begun. Finding a composition that would
prevent fouling and at the same time not destroy the plates; the
adjustment of compasses, and devising effective means of ventilation,
were all matters that required years of investigation and labor, to say
nothing of the prejudice against iron vessels, which time and experience
alone could overcome. Yet it was the skilful use of this stubborn metal
in the construction of ships, together with wise legislation, that
enabled Great Britain to regain her empire upon the sea.




CHAPTER XIII

CALIFORNIA CLIPPERS OF 1852--THE “SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS”


As one by one the California clippers came home from Asiatic ports or
round Cape Horn from San Francisco in 1852, it was found that almost all
of them needed a pretty thorough overhauling aloft. The masts, spars,
and rigging of the _Flying Cloud_ were fine examples of the skill of her
sailors in clapping on fishings, lashings, stoppers, and seizings, while
her topmast fids, crushed and broken, were taken up to the Astor House
and exhibited to the admiration of the town. Her owners, Grinnell,
Minturn & Co., had her log from New York to San Francisco printed in
gold letters on white silk for distribution among their friends, and
Captain Creesy fled to his home in Marblehead in order to escape
notoriety.

The _Sea Serpent_, _Eclipse_, and _Stag-Hound_ were in much the same
condition aloft as the _Flying Cloud_, while the _Witchcraft_, on the
voyage from San Francisco to Hong-kong had lost her main and mizzen
masts with all sails and rigging attached, during a severe typhoon in
the China Sea. The _Tornado_, commanded by Captain O. R. Mumford, bound
from San Francisco to New York, had lost her bowsprit with the foremast
and sprung her mainmast, when to the westward of Cape Horn. It required
fourteen days to complete the jury rig at sea, after which she sailed to
New York, a distance of 8000 miles, in 51 days. In acknowledgment of
Captain Mumford’s services on this occasion, the New York, Sun, Astor,
and Mercantile Insurance Companies presented him with a costly solid
silver service, which was made by Ball, Black & Co., and exhibited in
the window of their store on the corner of Murray Street and Broadway.

All of these ships were rerigged in New York with stouter spars and
rigging than they originally carried, and much valuable experience was
gained by sparmakers and riggers as to the requirements aloft of these
large, powerful clippers, while their captains had at the same time
become better acquainted with their peculiarities. The great difficulty
was to get a large ship, say from 1600 to 2000 tons, that would sail
fast in moderate winds. If she had canvas enough to drive her along in a
light breeze, the chances were that in a gale something was bound to
carry away aloft. The utmost skill and judgment were required to rig and
to handle these heavily masted ships with wooden spars and hemp rigging.

The great race to San Francisco in 1852 was between the _Sword-Fish_ of
New York and the _Flying Fish_ of Boston, both extreme clippers and
built respectively by William H. Webb and Donald McKay. The _Flying
Fish_ sailed from Boston November 11, 1851, and on the same day the
_Sword-Fish_ passed Sandy Hook. Large sums were wagered upon the
result. Captain Nickels of the _Flying Fish_ and Captain Babcock of the
_Sword-Fish_ were both young and skilful commanders, and it was believed
by their friends that each would send his ship along at her utmost
speed. The _Flying Fish_ made an excellent run of 19 days to the
equator, leading the _Sword-Fish_ by four days. From the equator to 50°
S., the _Flying Fish_ was 26 and the _Sword-Fish_ 22 days, so that they
passed that parallel on the same day. They raced round Cape Horn, part
of the time side by side, the _Flying Fish_ making the run from 50° S.
in the Atlantic to 50° S. in the Pacific in 7 and the _Sword-Fish_ in 8
days. From this point the _Sword-Fish_ came up and steadily drew away.
She made the run to the equator in 19 days, leading the _Flying Fish_ by
3 days, and from the equator to San Francisco in 20 days, gaining on
this stretch another 3 days, and arrived at San Francisco February 10,
1852, after a splendid passage of 90 days 16 hours from New York. The
_Flying Fish_ arrived on the 17th, or 98 days from Boston. The
_Sword-Fish_ was regarded by many as the fastest and handsomest ship
built by William H. Webb; and her passage of 90 days, the second best
ever made from New York to San Francisco, and within one day of the
record, together with many other fast passages, among them her record
run of 31 days from Shanghai to San Francisco in 1855, an average of 240
miles a day, certainly places her at or very near the head of the list
of clippers launched from this famous yard.

Some of the other notable passages of this year were made by the
_Sovereign of the Seas_ and _Comet_, each 102 days; _Sea Witch_ 108
days from New York; _Staffordshire_ 101 days, and _John Bertram_ and
_Shooting Star_ each 105 days from Boston.

The _Flying Cloud_, on this, her second voyage from New York, arrived at
San Francisco September 6, 1852, 113 days from New York. She had, for
her, a long run of 30 days to the equator; and when she was off the
coast of Brazil, running before a light northerly wind under skysails
and royal studdingsails, with the weather clew of her mainsail hauled
up: as Captain Creesy was taking his noon observation, a large clipper
ship was reported about six miles ahead, under the same canvas but
almost becalmed. She was soon recognized by Captain Creesy and his
officers as the _N. B. Palmer_. The _Flying Cloud_ carried the breeze
until about two o’clock, when she also ran into the calm, and signals
were exchanged. Captain Low, of the _N. B. Palmer_, reported with
pardonable pride, that he had sailed from New York eight days after the
_Flying Cloud_, and had found good winds to the equator; indeed, a few
days after sailing he had made 396 miles in twenty-four hours.

As may be imagined, Captain Creesy was somewhat chagrined, but at all
events, here at last were the ships about whose speed there had been so
much discussion, side by side on blue water, and soon there would be a
chance to find out which was the faster of the two. As there was every
indication of a southerly breeze, both ships took in their
studdingsails, rigged in the booms, and got ready for the new wind, with
a pull on sheets and halliards fore and aft. The _Flying Cloud_ had a
fine crew, and in after years Captain Creesy in describing this race
said that, “They worked like one man, and that man a hero.”

At about four o’clock there was a faint southerly air with a few
cat’s-paws, and soon the breeze came up from the south in a dark-blue
line across the horizon. Both ships felt it at the same moment, and
braced their yards on the starboard tack sharp by the wind, which soon
freshened to a fine whole-sail breeze. The _Flying Cloud_ now began to
draw away. At daylight the next morning, the _N. B. Palmer_ was hull
down to leeward, and by four o’clock in the afternoon was no longer in
sight. Both ships had strong westerly gales off Cape Horn, and the
_Flying Cloud_ led her rival into San Francisco by twenty-three days.

It is only fair to say, however, that the _N. B. Palmer_ lost five days
through putting into Valparaiso to land two of her crew, and as it
turned out, to ship seventeen men to replace deserters. One of the two
men landed had shot and wounded the mate, and the other, known as
“Doublin Jack,” had knocked the second mate down with a handspike.
Captain Low put both these men in irons, triced them up in the mizzen
rigging, and gave them each four dozen lashes of ratline stuff, which
they had well earned. Captain R. B. Forbes, one of the most humane and
kind-hearted of men, declared in an address before the Boston Marine
Society in 1854, that he regarded “the abolition of the power of
flogging refractory seamen as having been injudicious”; and I think that
most men who had experience in handling the crews of merchant ships on
the high seas in those days will be inclined to agree with him.

The demand for new clipper ships had by no means abated in 1852, and
thirty-three California clippers were launched in this year. Donald
McKay built the _Sovereign of the Seas_, _Bald Eagle_, and _Westward
Ho_; William H. Webb, the _Flying Dutchman_; Samuel Hall, the
_Polynesia_, John Gilpin, _Flying Childers_, and _Wizard_; Jacob A.
Westervelt, the _Golden City_, _Golden State_, and _Contest_; Jacob
Bell, the _Messenger_ and _Jacob Bell_; Paul Curtis, the _Golden West_,
_Queen of the Seas_, _Cleopatra_, and _Radiant_; J. O. Curtis, the
_Phantom_ and _Whirlwind_; Jabez Williams, the _Simoon_; R. E. Jackson,
the _Winged Racer_; Fernald & Pettigrew, the _Red Rover_.

Undismayed by difficulties as to spars and rigging that beset the minds
of other ship-builders, Donald McKay resolved in this year to build a
still larger clipper than had yet appeared. This ship was the _Sovereign
of the Seas_, of 2421 tons register, and when she was launched in June,
1852, the bells that had welcomed the _New World_ and _Stag-Hound_ as
the largest merchant ships afloat, again rang out a joyous greeting to
this noble clipper, as she glided smoothly and swiftly into the blue
waters of Boston harbor.

The _Sovereign of the Seas_ measured: length 258 feet, breadth 44 feet,
depth 23 feet 6 inches, with 20 inches dead-rise at half floor. It is
interesting to note that each one of Mr. McKay’s clippers had less
dead-rise than her predecessor. The _Stag-Hound_ had 40 inches dead-rise
at half floor with slightly convex water-lines; the _Flying Cloud_ and
_Staffordshire_ 30 inches with concave water-lines and shorter but
sharper ends. The _Sovereign of the Seas_ had the longest and sharpest
ends of any vessel then built, and combined the grace and beauty of the
smaller ships with immense strength and power to carry sail.

She had a crew of 105 men and boys, consisting of 4 mates, 2 boatswains,
2 carpenters, 2 sail-makers, 3 stewards, 2 cooks, 80 able seamen, and 10
boys before the mast. She was commanded by Captain Lauchlan McKay, who
was born at Shelburne, Nova Scotia, in 1811, being one year younger than
his brother Donald. Like him, he went to New York, served an
apprenticeship there with Isaac Webb, and after becoming a master
ship-wright, was appointed carpenter of the U. S. frigate
_Constellation_, in which he served four years. Admiral Farragut was a
young lieutenant on board this ship at the same time. In 1839 Captain
McKay published a work on naval architecture, and soon after, in company
with his brother Hugh, opened a shipyard at Boston. Here they did
repairing, and in 1846 built the bark _Odd Fellow_, in which Lauchlan
sailed as captain. In 1848 he commanded the ship _Jenny Lind_, and made
some excellent passages in her. When he took command of the _Sovereign
of the Seas_, Captain McKay was in his forty-first year, and of gigantic
build and strength.

The _Sovereign of the Seas_ sailed from New York for San Francisco,
August 4, 1852, a poor season of the year for a rapid run to the
equator, but she crossed 25 days out from Sandy Hook, making a run
which had never been bettered in the month of August, and only twice
equalled--once by the _Raven_ from Boston in 1851 and once by the
_Hurricane_ from New York in 1853. She was 23 days from the equator to
50° S., and 9 days from 50° S. in the Atlantic to the same parallel in
the Pacific. After rounding Cape Horn, she carried away her fore-and
maintopmasts and foreyard, and it required fourteen days to rerig her,
during which time she was kept on her course, and made the run from 50°
S. to the equator in the remarkable time, considering her disabled
condition, of 29 days. She went thence to San Francisco in 17 days,
which is the record for the month of November, and her total run from
New York to San Francisco was 103 days.

Had the _Sovereign of the Seas_ not been dismasted, it is reasonable to
suppose that she would have equalled the fastest run from 50° S. to the
equator in the month of October, which is 19 days, made by the _Ocean
Telegraph_ in 1855. This would have reduced her passage to 93 days;
still, as it stands, her passage of 103 days has never been equalled by
a vessel sailing from New York for San Francisco in the month of August.
Captain McKay received much credit for rerigging his ship at sea and not
putting into Valparaiso, and was presented with a very beautiful silver
dinner service by the New York Board of Marine Underwriters.

This was the only passage made by the _Sovereign of the Seas_ between
New York and San Francisco. She carried on this voyage 2950 tons of
cargo, and her freight amounted to $84,000; a portion of the

[Illustration: The “Sovereign of the Seas”]

cargo, consisting of flour, sold in San Francisco at $44 per barrel.

She cleared from San Francisco in ballast for Honolulu, and there loaded
a cargo, or rather several cargoes, of sperm oil which had been landed
by American whale-ships in the Pacific, and sailed for New York,
February 13, 1853. She had light and variable winds to the equator, her
day’s runs ranging from 80 to 302 miles, and she made this stretch from
Honolulu in 8 days. On February 27th, she was off the Navigator or
Samoan Islands, and one cannot help thinking of the delight it would
have given Robert Louis Stevenson if he could have looked upon this
giant clipper flying southward under her white cloud of canvas, and with
what magic words he would have made her name immortal.

On March 4th, the _Sovereign of the Seas_ sprung her foretopmast, and
although it was fished on the 6th, it was a source of anxiety for the
remainder of the passage, and Captain McKay, mindful of his recent
experience in these seas, carried sail with a considerable caution.
Nothing of special interest occurred until March 15th, when the first
strong westerly gales were felt, and a series of remarkable day’s runs
was begun. Up to noon on March 16th, she had sailed from her position at
noon the day before, 396 miles; on the 17th, 311 miles; on the 18th, 411
miles, and on the 19th, 360 miles, a total of 1478 miles in four days.
During these four days, she made 34° 43′ of longitude eastward, which
with the difference in time gives an average of 15½ knots, or an average
of a fraction over 378 miles for each twenty-four hours. In the 11 days
from March 10th to the 21st, she made the remarkable run of 3562 miles,
and as she made during this time 82° 24′ of longitude, her average
allowing for difference in time, was 13¾ knots, or 330 miles each
twenty-four hours.

During her great run on the 18th of 411 miles, she made 10° 30′ of
longitude, which reduced her sea day to 23 hours 18 minutes, and shows
an average speed of 17⅔ knots, or 424 miles in twenty-four hours. On
this day her log records: “Strong northwest breezes and rough sea.” It
seems extremely improbable that she could have maintained uniform speed
of 17⅔ knots throughout the twenty-four hours, but at times her speed
probably slackened to 15 or 16 knots. If this supposition is correct, it
follows that her speed must at times have exceeded 17⅔ knots in order to
account for this average. In the absence of any data on this point,
which is much to be regretted, it seems probable that she must have
sailed at a speed of not less than 19 knots during a portion of these
twenty-four hours, and perhaps 20 knots. After rounding Cape Horn she
had light and moderate winds, her best day’s run being only 286 miles,
and she arrived off Sandy Hook May 6, 1853, after a passage of 82 days
from Honolulu.

She sailed again from New York for Liverpool, June 18th, passing Sandy
Hook at 6:30 P.M., sighted Cape Race in Newfoundland at 6 A.M. on the
24th, was off Cape Clear in Ireland at 6 A.M. on June 30th, took a pilot
at 2 P.M. July 2d, and anchored in the Mersey at 10:30 P.M. that day,
having made the entire run from dock to anchorage in 13 days 22 hours
and 50 minutes. This must be regarded as a most remarkable passage for
the season, and has never been equalled by a sailing vessel during the
month of June. Her best day’s run was on June 28th, 344 miles, by the
wind, under single-reefed topsails, and on the 30th, 340 miles with
skysails and royal studdingsails set. The Cunard S.S. _Canada_ sailed
from Boston on the same day that the _Sovereign of the Seas_ sailed from
New York, and a comparison of their logs published at the time shows
that in five days, June 25-30th, the ship outsailed the steamer by 325
miles, and that the best run of the _Canada_ during this passage was
only 306 miles.

On this voyage her builder, Donald McKay, was a passenger on board the
_Sovereign of the Seas_, and he passed most of his waking moments on
deck, watching her movement through the water and observing the various
strains on her spars and rigging. When he returned home, Enoch Train
asked him what he thought of the ship, and Mr. McKay replied, “Well, she
appears to be a pretty good ship, but I think I can build one to beat
her”; and eventually he did so.

Mrs. Donald McKay sailed with her husband on this voyage and took a keen
interest in everything that went on aboard ship. Although this was a
summer passage, nevertheless, there was enough rough weather to bring
out the splendid sea-going qualities of the vessel, and to Mrs. McKay,
who, it is a pleasure to record, is still living, the vivid picture of
this thoroughbred clipper wrestling with the winds and waves has always
remained one of the exciting experiences of her life.

All of the American clippers made good passages home from China to
Atlantic ports in 1852, though no record was broken. The run of the
_Shooting Star_, 83 days from Canton to Boston, was the best of the
year.

It was during the passage from Canton to New York in this year that
Captain Creesy of the _Flying Cloud_ had the unusual experience of
perusing his own obituary in mid-ocean. It appears that after passing
Java Head, and when his vessel was well across the Indian Ocean, she
fell in with a ship outward bound, and in exchange for chickens, fruits,
and vegetables from Anjer, received newspapers from New York, one of
which contained the following somewhat startling announcement:

“Captain Creesy of the ship _Flying Cloud_.--It will be seen by the
telegraph news in another column that this gallant sailor is no more.
Two days after sailing from San Francisco, bound to China, he died, and
the ship proceeded in charge of the mate; he was a native of Marblehead,
and about forty-six years of age. For many years, he commanded the ship
_Oneida_ in the China trade, and was distinguished for the rapidity of
his passages. In the _Flying Cloud_, he made the shortest passage on
record to San Francisco, and eclipsed the finest and most costly
merchant ship in the world,[9] and yet this crowning triumph of his life
was attended with many disasters to his spars and sails; still, he
pressed on, disdaining to make a port short of his destination. In
every scene of a sailor’s life ‘with skill superior glowed his daring
mind’--his dauntless soul ‘rose with the storm and all its dangers
shared.’ But now he rests from his toils, regardless of his triumphs.
Peace to his manes.”

It was found that this news originated in New Orleans, having been
telegraphed from there to New York, and although no explanation of the
blunder was ever made, it at all events relieved Captain Creesy of an
annoying lawsuit. It will be remembered that in August, 1851, on the
passage to San Francisco, his first officer was put off duty soon after
rounding Cape Horn, “in consequence of his arrogating to himself the
privilege of cutting up rigging.” This was a more serious offence than
perhaps appears at first sight, as the _Flying Cloud_ was badly crippled
aloft, and was a long way from the nearest ship chandler’s store, while
Captain Creesy needed every fathom of rope on board for preventers and
lashings. In due time, the mate turned up in New York and got in tow of
a philanthropic legal “gent,” who paid his board and lodging while
awaiting the arrival of the _Flying Cloud_ in order to prosecute Captain
Creesy; but when they learned that he was supposed to be dead, the mate
was shipped off to sea again, while the sea-lawyer friend lost no time
in making fast to his three months’ advance.




CHAPTER XIV

CALIFORNIA CLIPPERS OF 1853


During the year 1853, twenty ships arrived at San Francisco from
Atlantic ports, chiefly New York, in 110 days or less, showing the high
standard of efficiency that had been reached. The best passages of the
year were made by the _Flying Fish_, 92 days; _John Gilpin_, 93 days;
_Contest_, 97 days; _Oriental_ 100 days; _Trade Wind_, 102 days;
_Westward Ho_, 103 days; _Phantom_, 104 days; _Sword-Fish_, _Hornet_,
and _Flying Cloud_, each 105 days; and _Sea Serpent_, 107 days. The
_Comet_ arrived on January 17th, after a passage of 112 days from
Boston. While off Bermuda she encountered a heavy southwest gale, and
was laying to under close-reefed fore-and maintopsails and foretopmast
staysail, when the wind suddenly shifted into the southeast and blew
with terrific force, carrying away the foretopmast stays, sending the
foretopmast over the side, and making junk of the two topsails. Captain
Gardner had a good crew, and so soon as the weather moderated, he
rerigged his ship at sea, and took her into San Francisco as noted, in
112 days.

Racing had now become close and exciting, and the fleet was so large
that it was not uncommon

[Illustration: The “Comet”]

for two or three ships to be in company at sea, each striving to outsail
the others. As we have seen, the _Flying Fish_ won the race this year,
and from one of the finest fleets of clippers that ever sailed from New
York. The match between her and the _John Gilpin_ was exceedingly close,
and taken altogether was one of the best ever sailed upon this famous
ocean course, the Derby of the sea. It was Samuel Hall against Donald
McKay, Justin Doane against Edward Nickels, and all against the fleet.

The _John Gilpin_ sailed out past Sandy Hook, October 29, 1852, followed
by the _Flying Fish_ on November 1st, and before the green Highlands of
Neversink had disappeared below the horizon both ships were under a
cloud of canvas. The _Flying Fish_ fanned along through the doldrums and
crossed the equator 21 days from Sandy Hook, leading the _John Gilpin_
by one day. From the line to 50° S., the _John Gilpin_ made the run in
23 days, passing the _Flying Fish_ and getting a clear lead of two days.
The _Flying Fish_ did some fine sailing here; dashing through the
Straits of Le Maire, she came up alongside the _John Gilpin_ just off
the Horn, and Nickels, ever famous for his jovial good-cheer, invited
Doane to come aboard and dine with him, “which invitation,” the _John
Gilpin’s_ log-book ruefully records, “I was reluctantly obliged to
decline.” This is perhaps the only instance of an invitation to dine out
being received off Cape Horn. Few men have had the opportunity to extend
such unique hospitality and certainly none could do so more heartily and
gracefully than the famous commander of the _Flying Fish_. His vessel
made the run from 50° S. in the Atlantic to 50° S. in the Pacific in 7
days, leading her rival by two days. From this point to the equator, the
_Flying Fish_ was 19 and the _John Gilpin_ 20 days. From here the _John
Gilpin_ showed remarkable speed, making the run to San Francisco in 15
days, a total of 93 days, closely followed by the _Flying Fish_, 92 days
from Sandy Hook. Their abstract logs are as follows:

                               _Flying Fish_   _John Gilpin_

Sandy Hook to the equator         21 days       24 days.
Equator to 50° S.                 27  “         23  “
50° in the Atlantic to 50° S. in
Pacific                            7  “         11  “
To the equator                    19  “         20  “
Equator to San Francisco          18  “         15  “
                                  --            --
Total                             92  “         93  “

When we reflect that this match was sailed over a course of some 15,000
miles, and that the difference of time was only twenty-four hours, one
is impressed with the perfection to which the models of the vessels had
been brought, as well as the exactness of the data relating to the winds
and currents that had been gathered and reduced to a system by Maury,
and with the skill of their captains, who were guided by his charts and
sailing directions. The average difference of sailing between these two
ships was less than six seconds per mile over the entire distance. Few
races over thirty-mile courses have been sailed by yachts more evenly
matched.

No racing yachts have ever been handled with greater care and skill than
were these clipper ships over courses of thousands of miles. It was the
custom for the captains to change their clothes at eight o’clock in the
evening and at the same time in the morning, the exceptions being in
thick and stormy weather, when they would not be out of their clothes
perhaps for two or three days at a time. The officers and men of the
watch below were expected to be ready to tumble out on deck at a
moment’s notice to make or to shorten sail. The “old man” was very
likely to appear on deck at any moment, night or day, which kept the
officers in a high state of watchfulness. This was the only way in which
these ships could be sailed and make the passages they did.

Another splendid match of this year, sailed to the eastward round the
Horn, was that between the _Northern Light_ and the _Contest_. The
_Contest_ was built by Jacob A. Westervelt and commanded by Captain
William Brewster, of Stonington, and was one of the fastest ships owned
by A. A. Low & Brother. She sailed from San Francisco for New York,
March 12, 1853, followed by the _Northern Light_ on the 13th, bound for
Boston. Off Cape Horn, the _Northern Light_ came up with and signalled
the _Contest_, and from there led her home by three days, the _Northern
Light_ being 76 days 5 hours to Boston Light, while the _Contest_ was 80
days to Sandy Hook. In 1854 the _Comet_ made the passage from San
Francisco to New York in 76 days, these being the record passages from
San Francisco to Atlantic ports.

On this famous passage the _Northern Light_ made the run from San
Francisco to Cape Horn in 38 days, and was off Rio Janeiro in 52 days,
thence to Boston Light in 24 days. Her best day’s run was 354 miles. She
made the round voyage to San Francisco and return, including detention
in port, in exactly seven months. Captain Hatch, her commander, was a
thorough clipper ship captain, who never allowed his ship to suffer for
want of canvas, and on this passage he brought his vessel across
Massachusetts Bay before a fresh easterly breeze, carrying her ringtail,
skysails, and studdingsails on both sides, alow and aloft, until she was
off Boston Light--a superb marine picture, and one seldom seen by
landsmen even in those days.

No more beautiful sight can be imagined than a morning at sea, with
these magnificent vessels racing in mid-ocean, perhaps two or three of
them in sight at once; the sun rising amid golden clouds; the dark blue
sea flecked with glistening white caps; long, low black hulls cleaving a
pathway of sparkling foam; towering masts, and yards covered with snowy
canvas which bellies to the crisp morning breeze as if sculptured in
marble; the officers alert and keen for the contest; the African cook
showing his woolly head and grinning, good-natured face out through the
weather door of the galley, while the wholesome odor of steaming coffee
gladdens the hearts of officers and men. And after all, when has
anything ever tasted half so refreshing as a tin pot of hot coffee,
sweetened with molasses, under the lee of the weather bulwark, in the
chill dawn of the morning watch?

The third mate walks over to the lee side and knocks the ashes out of
his pipe against the rail, and as the sparks fly far to leeward, like
falling stars among the foaming waves, he sings out, “Turn to there
forward and wash down decks; boatswain, take a pair of those gulpins and
rig the head pump; the rest of you get the gear triced up.” The watch,
with sand, buckets of water, and brooms, barefooted and with trousers
rolled up to their knees, begin to scrub and scrub and scrub. Then when
the sun has dried out ropes and canvas, the gear is swayed up fore and
aft, with watch tackles on the chain topsail sheets, and a hearty:

    “Way haul away,
     Haul away the bowline,
     Way haul away, Haul away, Joe!”

The halliards are led along the deck fore and aft in the grip of clean
brawny fists with sinewy arms and broad backs behind them, the ordinary
seamen and boys tailing on, and perhaps the cook, steward, carpenter,
and sailmaker lending a hand, and all hands join in a ringing chorus of
the ocean, mingling in harmony with the clear sky, indigo-blue waves,
and the sea breeze purring aloft among the spars and rigging:

    “Oh, poor Reuben Ranzo,
     Ranzo, boys, O Ranzo,
     Oh, Ranzo was no sailor,
     Ranzo boys, O Ranzo.
     So they shipped him aboard a whaler,
     Ranzo boys, O Ranzo,
     And he could not do his duty,
     Ranzo boys, O Ranzo.
     So the mate, he being a bad man,
     Ranzo boys, O Ranzo,
     He led him to the gangway,
     Ranzo boys, O Ranzo,
     And he gave him five-and-twenty,
     Ranzo boys, O Ranzo,
     But the captain, he being a good man,
     Ranzo boys, O Ranzo,
     He took him in the cabin,
     Ranzo boys, O Ranzo,
     And he gave him wine and whiskey,
     Ranzo boys, O Ranzo,
     And he learned him navigation,
     Ranzo boys, O Ranzo,
     And now he’s Captain Ranzo,
     Ranzo boys, O Ranzo.”

Finally the mate’s clear, sharp order comes: “Belay there; clap a watch
tackle on the lee fore brace.” “Aye, aye, sir!” And so every sheet,
halliard, and brace is swayed up and tautened to the freshening breeze.
The gear is coiled up, the brasswork polished until it glistens in the
morning sun, the paintwork and gratings are wiped off, decks swabbed
dry, and the pumps manned to another rousing chanty:

    “London town is a-burning,
     Oh, run with the bullgine, run.
     Way, yay, way, yay, yar,
     Oh, run with the bullgine, run.”

The “old man” gets his morning sights, the log is hove, the wheel and
watch are relieved at eight bells, and the clipper is ready for another
day of stress and strain.

Mornings like these bring keen appetites to officers and men, so the
watch below sit about on their chests in the forecastle or on the fore
hatch and dive into the mess kid with knives and spoons. It may be a
chunk of salt pork or cold salt beef, or what Rufus Choate, in one of
his flights of forensic eloquence, described as the “nutritious hash,”
“succulent lob-scouse,” or “palatable dandy funk,” with plenty of hard
tack in the bread barge, and all washed down with unlimited coffee. Not
quail on toast or devilled kidneys, to be sure, but good substantial
seamen’s food, upon which a man can work better at sea, grow stronger,
and become less tired than on any other.

In the old days captains used to lay in large stocks of chickens, eggs,
etc., for their crews at Anjer Point, but before the ship was half-way
across the Indian Ocean, the men would begin to crow in the dog watch,
and come aft in a body, asking that their salt junk might be restored to
them. In those days, as now, salmon were plentiful in California, but
their introduction on board the clipper ships failed to tempt the
appetites of sailormen when off soundings. They said they liked salt
junk a good deal better. Besides, it gave them something to growl
about--for sailors knew how to curse junk according to traditions
approved by generations of jackies, but when it came to chickens and
salmon they were at a loss for sufficiently vigorous and appropriate
expletives to express their disgust. There used to be a yarn about an
old shellback who, in a cross-examination, was asked by a smart Boston
lawyer whether the crew did not have enough to eat. The mariner replied,
“Well, yes, your honor, there was enough of it, such as it was”; and
upon further inquiry as to the quality of the food, he answered, “Now,
you see, sir, it was like this: the food was good enough, what there was
of it.” And this summed up a sailor’s idea of food and pretty much
everything else, in those days.

The building of clipper ships in the United States reached its zenith in
1853. In that year forty-eight clippers were added to the California
fleet, and the wild excitement of building, owning, and racing these
splendid ships was at its height. Every one who had capital to invest
wanted one, or at least shares in one, and the ship-building yards were
taxed to their utmost capacity. It should be remembered also that there
was a great deal of other ship-building going on in the United States
besides the clippers, and that captains, officers, and crews for such a
large number of vessels were by no means easy to obtain.

In this year Donald McKay built the _Empress of the Seas_ and _Romance
of the Seas_; William H. Webb, the _Fly Away_, _Snap Dragon_, and _Young
America_; Jacob A. Westerwelt, the _Cathay_ and _Sweepstakes_; Samuel
Hall, the second _Oriental_, the _Amphitrite_, and _Mystery_; Greenman &
Co., the _David Crockett_; Roosevelt & Joyce, the _David Brown_; John
Currier, the _Guiding Star_; Thomas Collier, the second _Panama_; J. W.

[Illustration: The “Young America”]

Cox, the _Red Gauntlet_; Briggs Brothers, the _John Land_ and _Golden
Light_; and Toby & Littlefield, the _Morning Star_--all beautiful ships,
the pride of their owners and captains.

The _Romance of the Seas_, owned by George B. Upton, of Boston, was the
last extreme clipper ship built by Donald McKay for the California
trade. She was a beautiful vessel, with extremely fine lines, heavily
sparred, and proved an exceedingly fast ship in moderate weather.
Captain Dumaresq was in command on her first voyage to San Francisco.
She was 1782 tons register; length 240 feet, breadth 39 feet 6 inches,
depth 29 feet 6 inches. The _Sweepstakes_, owned by Grinnell, Minturn &
Co., and designed by Daniel Westervelt, a son of Jacob A. Westervelt,
was a very sharp and handsome ship, and was the last extreme clipper
built in the Westervelt yard. She made three passages from New York to
San Francisco averaging 106 days. Captain George Lane, who commanded her
for a number of years, was subsequently a commander in the Pacific Mail
between San Francisco and China, and later became the agent of the
company at Hong-kong.

The _Young America_, the last extreme clipper built by William H. Webb,
was owned by George Daniels, of New York, and for several years was
commanded by Captain David Babcock. This ship was 1962 tons register;
length 236 feet 6 inches, breadth 42 feet, depth 28 feet 6 inches. She
proved an excellent and fast vessel. Among her many fine passages may be
mentioned: from New York to San Francisco, 103, 107, 110, 112, 117, and
116 days, and from San Francisco to New York, 92, 97, 85, 101, 103, and
83 days; San Francisco to Liverpool, 103 and 106 days; Liverpool to San
Francisco, 117, 111, and 99 days; and twenty consecutive passages from
New York to San Francisco averaging 117 days. Her best performance,
however, was from 50° S. in the Atlantic to 50° S. in the Pacific, in
the record time of 6 days. She, too, was an exceedingly handsome ship,
and was Mr. Webb’s favorite among all the splendid ships constructed by
him. After thirty years’ continuous service in the San Francisco trade,
during which she is said to have rounded Cape Horn over fifty times, she
was finally sold to a firm in Austria, upon condition that her name
should be changed. She then became known as the _Miroslav_ and foundered
with all hands in 1888, while bound from Philadelphia to a European
port.




CHAPTER XV

THE “GREAT REPUBLIC” AND THE “DREADNOUGHT”


Two other ships built in 1853 deserve notice here, though they were not
constructed for the California trade. They were Donald McKay’s _Great
Republic_ and the famous packet ship _Dreadnought_.

For some time Mr. McKay had contemplated building a ship for the
Australian trade, but failing to find any one to join in the
undertaking, and stimulated by the success of the _Sovereign of the
Seas_, he resolved to build her for himself. This vessel was the _Great
Republic_, the largest extreme clipper ship ever built. She attracted
universal attention from the fact of her being by far the largest
merchant ship constructed up to that time, and also, among those
interested in shipping, on account of the excellence of her construction
and her majestic beauty.

This vessel was 4555 tons register, and measured: length 335 feet,
breadth 53 feet, depth 38 feet. She had four decks, the upper or spar
deck being flush with the covering board and protected by a rail on
turned oak stanchions. She carried a fifteen horse-power engine on deck
to hoist the yards and to work the pumps, this being the first time an
engine was put aboard a sailing ship for these purposes. She had four
masts with Forbes’s rig[10] on the fore-, main-, and mizenmasts, the
after-or spankermast being barque-rigged.

October 4, 1853, was a proud day for Boston. Business was suspended, and
the schools were closed in order that every one might have an
opportunity to see the launch of the _Great Republic_. People flocked
from far and near. It was estimated that thirty thousand persons crossed
by ferry to East Boston, while Chelsea Bridge, the Navy Yard at
Charlestown, and the wharves at the north end of the city were thronged
by at least as many more. The shipping at the Navy Yard was gayly
dressed with bunting, and the harbor was filled with steamers and
pleasure boats crowded with people. It was a beautiful day, with a clear
blue sky, bright sunshine, and a gentle westerly breeze.

All the staging used in the construction of the ship had been removed,
leaving her in full view as she rested upon the ways. Her long black
hull had no ornament except a beautifully carved eagle’s head where the
sweep of her raking stem and the sharp lines of her bow intersected, and
across her handsome stern the American eagle with extended wings, under
which her name and port of hail were carved in plain block letters. She
had the same graceful sheer, finely formed midship section, and
beautifully moulded ends that had been seen in this yard in the
_Stag-Hound_, _Flying Cloud_, _Bald Eagle_, _Westward Ho_, _Flying
Fish_, and _Sovereign of the Seas_, only on a much larger scale; indeed,
from end to end she looked the out-and-out clipper. Spars were erected
at the mast partners, and from the main she carried a long coach-whip
pennant and a large white flag with the arms of the United States in the
centre; from the other three spars she flew large United States ensigns,
and from a staff on her bowsprit, the Union Jack.

The sun gleamed and sparkled upon her smooth, bright yellow-metal
sheathing, when at twelve o’clock the signal was given and the shores
fell, to the wild chorus of topmauls, so well known in every Atlantic
port fifty years ago. She moved slowly at first; then, gathering way,
fairly leaped into the sea, amid smoke and fire from the burning ways,
the roar of artillery, the music of bands, and the cheers of the vast
multitude. So swiftly did she leave the ways that two anchors and the
powerful steamer _R. B. Forbes_ barely succeeded in bringing her up,
close to Chelsea Bridge. The _Great Republic_ was named by Captain Alden
Gifford, who performed the ceremony by breaking a bottle of Cochituate
water over her bow as she began to move along the ways. This was an
innovation that created much comment at the time, and was permitted by
Mr. McKay in deference to the wishes of Deacon Moses Grant and a number
of energetic Boston women who were pushing the temperance movement and
desired to advertise their wares.

During the afternoon she was towed under the shears at the Navy Yard to
receive her masts, yards, and rigging, and the work of fitting them was
done under the supervision of Lauchlan McKay, her captain. As no vessel
before or since ever had such enormous spars, their dimensions are
interesting enough to be given in full:

Masts       Diameters       Lengths     Mastheads
             Inches          Feet         Feet

Fore           44            130             36
Top            24             76             12
Topgallant     18             28              0
Royal          15             22              0
Skysail        11             19        Pole 12
Main           44            131             36
Top            24             76             12
Topgallant     18             28              0
Royal          15             22              0
Skysail        11             19        Pole 12
Mizen          40            122             33
Top            22             69             10
Topgallant     16             22              0
Royal          10             19              0
Skysail         8             15         Pole 8


Yards                                  Yardarms

Fore           26            110              6
Lower topsail  24             90              5
Upper topsail  19             76              4½
Topgallant     15             62              4
Royal          12             51              3½
Skysail         9             40              3
Main           28            120              6
Lower topsail  24             92              5
Upper topsail  19             76              4
Topgallant     15             62              4
Royal          12             51              3½
Skysail         9             40              3
Crossjack      24             90              5
Lower mizentopsail 19         76              4½
Upper mizentopsail 15         62              4
Topgallant     12             51              3½
Royal          9              40              3
Skysail        6              29              2

The spankermast, nowadays called the jigger, was 26 inches in diameter,
110 feet long, including 14 feet head, and the topmast was 40 feet long
divided at 15 and 10 feet above the cap, for the gaff-topsail and
gaff-topgallantsail. The spanker boom was 40 feet long, including 2 feet
end, and the gaff 34 feet, including 8 feet end. The bowsprit was 44
inches in diameter and 30 feet out-board; the jibboom 23 inches in
diameter, and 18 feet outside of the cap, and the flying jibboom was 14
feet long including 6 feet end. Her fore and main rigging and fore-and
maintopmast backstays were 12½ inch, four-stranded Russian hemp rope,
wormed, and served over the eye and over the ends to the leading trucks.
The mizen rigging and mizentopmast rigging were of eight-inch rope.

It was Mr. McKay’s intention to put the _Great Republic_ into the
Australian trade in competition with the British clippers that were then
coming out, and when her rigging and outfit were completed, she was
towed to New York by the _R. B. Forbes_ and placed in the hands of
Grinnell, Minturn & Co., who began loading her for Liverpool at the foot
of Dover Street, East River. Thousands of people came to see this
splendid ship, including the Governor of New York, members of the
Legislature, and other prominent citizens. The season was favorable for
a rapid passage across the Atlantic, and it was confidently predicted
that the _Great Republic_ would make a record run to Liverpool.

She was nearly ready for sea with all her sails bent below the royals,
when, on the night of December 26, 1853, a fire broke out in Front
Street, one block from where the vessel lay, and nearly in line with her
as the wind was then blowing. At a little past midnight the watchman
called the second mate, as sparks were flying across and falling in all
directions about the ship. All hands were at once called and stationed
with buckets of water in various parts of the ship; men were sent into
the fore-, main-, and mizentops, and whips were rove to send up buckets
of water. Soon the foresail burst into flames, and one by one the
topsails and topgallantsails took fire. Every effort was made to cut the
sails from the yards, but the men were driven back exhausted, and the
firemen, who by this time had arrived with their engines, refused to
work on board or near the ship for fear of falling blocks and gear.

Captain McKay, and Captain Ellis, representing the underwriters, had a
hurried consultation, and it was decided, in order to save the hull, to
cut away the masts. The fore-and foretopmast stays and rigging were cut
and the mast went over the side into the dock; the topmast in falling
broke short off and came down, end on, through three decks. The main-and
mizenmasts were next cut away, and in falling, crushed boats,
deck-houses, and rails, and disabled the steam-engine. At this time the
decks were a mass of burning yards, masts, sails, and rigging. The
firemen now got to work, and toward morning succeeded in putting out the
fire on deck.

The firemen had left, and it was supposed that the hull and cargo were
safe, when suddenly smoke was discovered coming from the hold, and it
was found that the burning foretopmast in falling through the decks had
set fire to the cargo. This fire had gained such headway that it was
beyond control; the ship was therefore scutted in three places and sunk
ten feet when she took the bottom. Every means was used to extinguish
the fire, but she burned for two days until the flames reached the
water’s edge. After the fire had burned itself out a coffer-dam was
built and the wreck floated by means of steam pumps. It was found that a
portion of her cargo of grain had swollen to such an extent as to start
the knees and beams of the lower hold, and that the hull was otherwise
badly strained and buckled. She was therefore condemned and abandoned to
the underwriters. The ships _Joseph Walker_ and _White Squall_ were also
destroyed in this fire.

The wreck of the _Great Republic_ was subsequently sold by the
underwriters to Captain N. B. Palmer and taken to Greenpoint, Long
Island, to be rebuilt by Sneeden & Whitlock, and she eventually became
the property of A. A. Low & Brother. The rebuilding occupied more than a
year, and when the _Great Republic_ again appeared, much of the original
beauty of her hull had been restored. The spar-deck had not been
replaced, but her freeboard was nearly the same, as the height of the
bulwarks was only a little below the former upper deck, and the same
sheer line had been preserved. Forward, the eagle’s head which had been
destroyed was replaced by a carved billet head and scrool, and her bow
was still exceedingly handsome. A great change had been wrought aloft;
her sail plan had been cut down and all of her spars greatly reduced in
length--the fore-and mainmasts 17 feet, the fore-and main-yards 20 feet,
and all other spars in proportion. She still carried four masts, but her
rig had been changed to Howes’s double topsail yards.

As rebuilt the _Great Republic_ registered 3357 tons, and was still the
largest merchant ship of her time,

[Illustration: The “Great Republic”]

but her reduced rig required only one half the number of hands to handle
it--fifty able seamen and fifteen ordinary seamen and boys. It was for
this purpose that her sail plan had been cut down, as freights were
beginning to slacken and the tide of economy was setting in. It is to be
regretted that she could not have made a few voyages under her original
rig, as her performance in strong winds under the reduced rig left
little room for doubt that she would have proved, what Mr. McKay
intended her to be, the swiftest sailing ship ever built.

The _Great Republic_ sailed on her first voyage, February 21, 1855,
commanded by Captain Limeburner, and made the run from Sandy Hook to
Land’s End in thirteen days. On her arrival at London, three days later,
she was obliged to lie in the Thames, as no dock was large enough to
take her. She was subsequently chartered by the French Government as a
troop ship during the Crimean War, and carried 1600 British soldiers
from Liverpool to Marseilles. During the Civil War, she was chartered by
the United States Government as a troop ship, and was one of the
transports in Butler’s expedition to Ship Island.

The burning of the _Great Republic_ was a severe blow to Donald McKay,
from which he never fully recovered, but he soon began to bring out
Australian clippers, some of which proved quite as famous as the ships
he had previously constructed.

The well-known packet ship _Dreadnought_ also came out in 1853. She was
built by Currier & Townsend at Newburyport, and was 1413 tons register;
length 210 feet, breadth 40 feet, depth 26 feet. This ship was owned by
Governor E. D. Morgan, Francis B. Cutting, David Ogden, and others, of
New York, who subscribed to build her for Captain Samuel Samuels. He
superintended her construction and under his able command she made some
remarkably quick voyages between New York and Liverpool, sailing in
David Ogden’s Red Cross Line, with the _Victory_, _Racer_, and
_Highflyer_.

Captain Samuels was born in Philadelphia in 1823 and went to sea when he
was eleven years old, and a narrative of his adventures afloat and on
shore is contained in his interesting memoirs entitled, _From the
Forecastle to the Cabin_, published in 1887. He was a most amiable and
entertaining companion, full of good humor and penetrating wit. He also
cherished a belief in the uplifting influence of an enterprising press
agent, and perhaps no merchant ship of modern times has been better
advertised than the _Dreadnought_. She sailed on her first voyage from
New York for Liverpool, December 15, 1853, and from that date until her
arrival at New York, January 28, 1855, had made eight passages between
New York and Liverpool, the average time of her eastern passages being
21 days 15 hours, and her western passages 24 days 12 hours from dock to
dock.

Captain Samuels commanded the _Dreadnought_ for ten years, and during
that time she made from seventy to eighty passages across the Atlantic,
and must have had ample opportunity to make fast voyages and day’s runs.
The following abstracts from the logs of her best passages are therefore
of interest:

She sailed from New York for Liverpool, November 20, 1854; passed Sandy
Hook at 6.30 P.M. and ran to noon, November 21st, 120 miles; 22d, 57
miles; 23d, 225 miles; 24th, 300 miles; 25th, 175 miles; 26th, 125
miles; 27th, 250 miles; 28th, 263 miles; 29th, 240 miles; 30th, 270
miles; December 1st, 242 miles; 2d, 222 miles; 3d, 212 miles; 4th, 320
miles. Total 3071 miles. The log records:

At noon on the 4th took a pilot off Point Lynas; was detained eight
hours for want of water on the bar; arrived in the Mersey at 10 P.M.;
thus making the passage in 14 days 4 hours, apparent time. Deducting
eight hours for detention by tide at the bar, and also deducting the
difference of longitude, 4 hours and 45 minutes, gives the mean or true
time of passage, 13 days 11 hours and 15 minutes. Average speed for the
passage, 9½ miles per hour. On this passage, the _Dreadnought_ was off
Cape Clear, Ireland, in 12 days 12 hours from Sandy Hook.

She sailed from New York, May 4, 1855, and arrived at Liverpool May
20th; passage recorded as 15 days 12 hours.

She sailed from Sandy Hook, January 24, 1856 (time not given), and ran
to noon, January 25th, 345 miles; 26th, 312 miles; 27th, 252 miles;
28th, 223 miles; 29th, violent gale, drifted 90 miles west-southwest;
30th, 115 miles; 31st, 212 miles; February 1st, 228 miles; 2d, 208
miles; 3d, 185 miles; 4th, 238 miles; 5th, 252 miles; 6th, 244 miles;
7th, 212 miles; 8th, off Point Lynas. Hove-to until daylight for pilot
and tide. Total distance run 3116 miles in 14 days, or an average of 222
miles per day.

The _Dreadnought_ sailed from New York, February 27, 1859; at 3 P.M.
discharged pilot, and ran to noon, February 28th, 200 miles; wind south
to west-northwest, brisk breezes. March 1st, 293 miles; west-northwest
fresh breezes. 2d, 262 miles; northwest to north-northwest brisk gales
and snow-squalls. 3d, 208 miles; north-northwest to north heavy gales
and snow-squalls. 4th, 178 miles; north-northeast to north heavy gales
and snow-squalls. 5th, 218 miles; north to north-northeast heavy gales
and snow-squalls. 6th, 133 miles; northeast to south light breezes. 7th,
282 miles; south-southeast brisk breezes and clear. 8th, 313 miles;
south-southwest to south fresh breezes and clear. 9th, 268 miles; south
to southeast brisk gales. 10th, 205 miles; southeast to southwest brisk
breezes and squally. 11th, 308 miles; south to southwest strong breeze
and squally. 12th, 150 miles; southwest, thick weather. Distance sailed
from Sandy Hook to the Northwest Lightship, 3018 miles; passage 13 days
8 hours, mean time.

It was during this passage that the _Dreadnought_ is supposed to have
made the run from Sandy Hook to Queenstown in 9 days 17 hours, but an
analysis of the abstract log shows that 9 days 21 hours after
discharging her pilot to the eastward of Sandy Hook she was not within
400 miles of Queenstown.

How this mythical tale originated, is difficult to imagine, but it has
been passed along from one scribe to another these many years, until at
last it has reached the dignity of an “historical fact,” having recently
been embalmed in an encyclopedia. Curiously enough, Captain Samuels
appears to be

[Illustration: The “Dreadnought”]

almost the only person who has written about the _Dreadnought_ who does
not refer to this fable. In his memoirs, he makes no mention of it.

The best passage to the westward made by the _Dreadnought_ was in 1854,
when she ran from the Rock Light, Liverpool, to Sandy Hook in 19 days
While it cannot be said that the _Dreadnought_ ever made the fastest
passage of a sailing vessel between New York and Liverpool, as the
records in this respect are held by the _Red Jacket_, Captain Asa
Eldridge, from Sandy Hook to the Rock Light, in 13 days 1 hour, in 1854,
and by the _Andrew Jackson_, Captain John Williams, from Rock Light to
Sandy Hook in 15 days, in 1860, still the uniform speed of the
_Dreadnought’s_ many voyages entitles her to a high place among the
celebrated packet ships of the past.

The _Dreadnought_ was a strikingly handsome and well-designed, though by
no means a sharp ship. Her masts, yards, sails, ironwork, blocks, and
standing and running rigging were of the best material and were always
carefully looked after. She was a ship that would stand almost any
amount of driving in heavy weather, and her fast passages were in a
measure due to this excellent quality, though mainly to the unceasing
vigilance and splendid seamanship of her commander. She was wrecked in
1869 while under the command of Captain P. N. Mayhew; her crew were
rescued after being adrift fourteen days in the boats, but the noble old
packet ship went to pieces among the rugged cliffs and crags and roaring
breakers of Cape Horn.




CHAPTER XVI

AMERICAN CLIPPERS OF 1854 AND 1855


During the year 1854 no less than twenty passages were made from
Atlantic ports to San Francisco in 110 days or less. The _Flying Cloud_
repeated her famous record passage of 89 days, and was followed by the
_Romance of the Seas_, 96 days; _Witchcraft_, 97 days; _David Brown_, 98
days, and _Hurricane_, 99 days. The abstract log of the _Flying Cloud_
is as follows:

Sandy Hook to the equator          17 days.
Equator to 50° South               25 “
From 50° South in the Atlantic to 50°
    South in the Pacific           12 “
To the equator                     20 “
To San Francisco                   15 “
                                   --
Total                              89 “

On this passage the _Flying Cloud_ gave a fine example of her sailing
qualities. She sailed eight days after the _Archer_, also an exceedingly
fast ship, and led her into San Francisco by nine days. Captain Creesy
received a grand ovation on this, his second record passage, and the
merchants of San Francisco, always generous and hospitable, vied with
each other to do him honor. Upon his return to New York, a banquet was
given him at the Astor House, then the finest hotel in the city, and a
splendid service of silver plate was presented to him by the New York
and Boston Marine Underwriters.

The _Romance of the Seas_ sailed from Boston two days after the _David
Brown_, commanded by Captain George Brewster, of Stonington, had passed
out by Sandy Hook, but came up with her off the coast of Brazil. From
this point they were frequently in company for days together, finally
passing through the Golden Gate side by side, March 23, 1854. After
discharging their cargoes, they again passed out of the Golden Gate
together, this time bound for Hong-kong, and while they were not in
company during this passage of 45 days, they anchored in Hong-kong
harbor on the same day and almost at the same hour. The log of the
_Romance of the Seas_ records that skysails and royal studdingsails were
set just outside the Golden Gate and were not taken in during the
passage until entering the harbor of Hong-kong.

It is difficult to realize the intense interest with which these clipper
ship races were regarded in those days; and it is doubtful whether at
the present day any branch of sport inspires so much wholesome,
intelligent enthusiasm as did these splendid ocean matches of the old
clippers.

In this year a change came over the California trade. The wild rush to
the mines had subsided, and the markets of San Francisco, while not
over-stocked, were so sufficiently and regularly supplied as to render
great speed in the transportation of merchandise unnecessary; the rates
of freight had therefore declined, but were still good. Twenty ships,
the last of the extreme clippers, were built in 1854 for the California
trade, including some which became celebrated, such as the _Canvasback_,
_Fleetwing_, _Grace Darling_, _Harvey Birch_, _Nabob_, _Nonpareil_,
_Ocean Telegraph_, _Rattler_, _Robin Hood_, and _Sierra Nevada_; but we
miss from among the ship-builders of this year the names of Donald
McKay, William H. Webb, Samuel Hall, Jacob A. Westervelt, and George
Raynes, none of whom brought out California clippers.

Although no more extreme clippers were built for the California trade
after 1854, a fine class of ships, known as medium clippers, was
constructed, some of which proved exceedingly fast, and remarkable
passages continued to be made. Many of these medium clippers would be
considered very sharp and heavily sparred vessels at the present time.

The _Sunny South_, of 703 tons register, was one of the prettiest
clippers ever launched at New York, and was the only sailing ship built
by George Steers, the designer of the yacht _America_, steam frigate
_Niagara_, and Collins Line steamship _Adriatic_. She was built for the
China trade, was launched at Williamsburg, September 7, 1854; was owned
by Napier, Johnson & Co., and was commanded by Captain Michael Gregory.
It is a singular fact that while this ship was well known to possess
great speed when in company with other clippers, yet she never made a
passage worthy of being recorded, and was not a very successful ship
financially; although the product of the skill of a designer, who, dying
in early manhood, left a name so interwoven with his country’s triumphs
upon the sea that it can never be forgotten.

In 1859, the _Sunny South_ was sold at Havana, her name being changed to
_Emanuela_. At that time her royal studdingsail booms and skysail masts
and yards were removed. On August 10, 1860, she was seized in the
Mozambique Channel flying the Chilian flag, with a cargo of slaves on
board, by the British man-of-war _Brisk_, and the following particulars
of her capture are given by one of the officers of that vessel:

“At 11:30 A.M. on the 10th of August last, as Her Majesty’s ship
_Brisk_, Captain De Horsey, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral the Hon.
Sir Henry Keppel, K. C. B., was running to the northward in the
Mozambique Channel, a sail was reported as seen from the masthead. Steam
was got up without delay, and sail made in chase. It being hazy, the
stranger was shortly lost sight of. When the weather had partially
cleared the stranger was reported four points on our starboard bow, and
the ship’s course was altered in that direction. We were now going
eleven knots and a half, and the Captain, feeling that it must be
something out of the common that would alter bearings at that distance
in so short a time, proceeded himself with his glass to the foretopmast
head, officers mounting the rigging.

“That a general excitement prevailed was evident from the manner in
which our sails were trimmed, taken in, and set again. Hottentots and
landsmen, who on other occasions only looked at ropes, now laid hold of
them with a will. The Captain’s order from the masthead to keep away
two points showed that he had observed something suspicious--in fact, he
had noticed a sudden alteration in the course of the chase, and
pronounced her to be a long, rakish-looking ship, too large to be a
slaver, but thought there was something very suspicious in the sudden
alteration of her course, her crowd of sail, and the unusual number of
staysails.

“At about 3 P.M. we could see her hull from the deck, and, carrying with
us a fresh breeze, while she was in the doldrums, we closed on her
rapidly. When within half a mile we hoisted our colors, when every glass
was pointed toward her peak, and all sorts of conjectures were made as
to what colors she would show. No one could imagine that so large a
vessel could be a slaver.

“On closing under her lee, and when within a cable’s length, a white
package was thrown from her side into the sea; and the experienced then
exclaimed, ‘A slaver, and there go her papers!’ A few minutes more, and
we sheered up alongside to leeward of as beautiful model of a ship as
ever was seen. Some forty dejected looking individuals, apparently a
mixture of all nations, stood on her deck; still no colors, nor did she
appear inclined to shorten sail or heave-to. The Captain then determined
to run ahead and lower the quarter-boats to drop down and board; and as
this manœuvre was being carried out a blank gun caused her to square the
mainyard, which she did with studding-sails hanging to the yard, and
luffed up into the wind.

[Illustration:

The “Brisk”      The “Emanuela”
]

“It was an anxious five minutes to those on board while the boats were
away. A small white British ensign run up at her peak showed that she
was a prize, and a voice hailed us, ‘Eight hundred and fifty slaves on
board!’”

In 1855 the California fleet was increased by the building of thirteen
medium clipper ships, among which were the _Andrew Jackson_, _Carrier
Dove_, _Charmer_, _Daring_, _Herald of the Morning_, _Mary Whitridge_,
and _Ocean Express_. Only three passages were made from Atlantic ports
to San Francisco during this year in 100 days or less; the _Herald of
the Morning_, from New York, 99 days; _Neptune’s Car_, from New York,
and _Westward Ho_, from Boston, each 100 days. Thirteen ships made the
passage in over 100 days and less than 110 days; among them being the
_Boston Light_, from Boston, 102 days; the _Cleopatra_ and _Red Rover_,
from New York, each 107 days; the _Flying Cloud_, from New York, and
_Meteor_ and _Don Quixote_, from Boston, each 108 days; the _Flying
Fish_, two passages from Boston in 109 and 105 days, and the _Governor
Morton_, from New York in 104 days.

This was Captain Creesy’s last voyage in the _Flying Cloud_, and he now
retired to his home in Salem until 1861, when he was appointed a
Commander in the United States Navy and assigned to the clipper ship
_Ino_. She carried a crew of eighty men from Marblehead, and on her
second cruise in 1862 made the record run of twelve days from New York
to Cadiz. Captain Creesy subsequently commanded the clipper ship
_Archer_, and made two voyages to China. He died at Salem in 1871, in
his fifty-seventh year. So long as the American clipper ships and their
brilliant exploits hold a place in the memory of man, the names of
Josiah Creesy and the _Flying Cloud_ will be remembered with pride.

The _Mary Whitridge_ became one of the most famous of the clippers
launched in 1855. She was built in Baltimore, where she was owned by
Thomas Whitridge & Co., and was commanded by Captain Robert B.
Cheesborough, also of that port. She was 877 tons register; length 168
feet, breadth 34 feet, depth 21 feet. On her first voyage she made the
remarkable run of 13 days 7 hours from Cape Charles to the Rock Light,
Liverpool. She was engaged for many years in the China trade under the
command of Captain Benjamin F. Cutler and bore the reputation of being
the finest and fastest ship sailing out of Baltimore.

At this time an important development took place in the California
trade. It had been found that the fertile soil of the Pacific slope
could be made to yield other treasures than gold, and in May, 1855, the
barque _Greenfield_, Captain Follansbee, loaded the first consignment of
wheat exported from California, consisting of 4752 bags. She was soon
followed by the _Charmer_, commanded by Captain Lucas, which loaded a
full cargo of 1400 tons of wheat for New York at $28 per ton freight.
The export of wheat in sailing vessels rapidly increased, enabling ships
to earn freights out and home, and this continued for many years.

In 1855 Donald McKay built three fine medium clipper ships, the
_Defender_, _Amos Lawrence_, and _Abbott Lawrence_, which remind us that
a number of Boston ships bore the names of her distinguished citizens.
There were the _Thomas H. Perkins_, _Rufus Choate_, _Starr King_,
_Edward Everett_, _R. B. Forbes_, _Enoch Train_, _John E. Thayer_,
_George Peabody_, _Samuel Appleton_, _Robert C. Winthrop_, _Russell
Sturgis_, and perhaps others now forgotten. There were already a ship, a
barque, two brigs, and two schooners named the _Daniel Webster_, besides
several steamboats and tugs and a pilot-boat; hence, the owners of ships
who were desirous of honoring the great statesman were obliged to adopt
some other means of expressing their admiration, and since Webster was
known as the Defender of the Constitution and also as the Expounder of
that document, there were two ships named the _Defender_ and the
_Expounder_. Some one suggested that the latter ship might, perhaps,
have been named in honor of Yankee Sullivan, a noted prize-fighter then
retired from the ring.

The _Defender_ was 1413 tons register, and carried a splendid
full-length figurehead of Daniel Webster. She was owned by D. S. Kendall
and H. P. Plympton, of Boston, and was commanded by Captain Isaac
Beauchamp.

My object in drawing attention to this vessel is to mention a notable
gathering at Mr. McKay’s house on the day of her launch, July 27, 1855.
The leading merchants of Boston and their families were his guests on
that occasion, and speeches were made by the Hon. Edward Everett,
ex-Mayor, the Hon. Benjamin Seaver, and Enoch Train. In the course of
his address, Mr. Everett remarked: “I was at a loss, I confess, to
comprehend the secret of the great success which has attended our friend
and host. Forty-two ships, I understand, he has built--all vessels such
as we have seen to-day. I do not mean that they were all as large, but
they were as well constructed and looked as splendidly, as they rode on
the waves. Forty-two vessels![11] No one else, certainly, has done more
than our friend to improve the commercial marine of this country, and it
has long seemed to me that there was a mystery about it. But since I
have been under this roof to-day, I have learned the secret of
it--excellent family government, and a good helpmeet to take counsel
with and encouragement from. A fair proportion of the credit and praise
for this success is, I am sure, due to our amiable and accomplished
hostess [Cheers]. I congratulate also the father of our host, the father
of such a family. He has, I am told, fourteen sons and daughters, and
fifty grandchildren. Nine of the latter were born during the last year.
I wish to know, my friends, if you do not call that being a good
citizen!”

When the _Abbott Lawrence_ was launched, in October of the same year.
Mr. McKay was called upon to respond to the toast, “In memory of Abbott
Lawrence,” and his brief speech has fortunately been preserved:

“Ladies and gentlemen: I regret my inability

[Illustration: Donald McKay]

to do justice to the name that is honored and respected in every part of
the civilized world. My speech is rude and uncultivated, but my
feelings, I trust, are warm and true, and could I express those
feelings, I would tell you how much I honor the memory of Abbott
Lawrence. I know you all honor it, for you all knew him, and to know him
was to love him. Love begets love. He loved our common country as a
statesman of enlarged and liberal views, and our state and city as the
scene of his personal labors. In Massachusetts he commenced his career;
here he toiled and triumphed, here he has bequeathed the richest tokens
of his love, and here all of him that can die mingles with the soil. He
was not only a great man, but a good man. In every relation of life, he
was a model for imitation. Ever be his memory green in the hearts of his
countrymen. When the ship which bears his name shall have been worn out
by the storms and the vicissitudes of the sea, may another, and another,
and so on, till the end of time, perpetuate it upon the ocean, for he
was the patron and friend of commerce as well as of the other great
interests of the state. In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, I again
give you the memory of Abbott Lawrence. May his name and noble example
never be forgotten.”

This speech seems to me to be most interesting, as showing the natural
refinement of a mind destitute of the culture of even a common-school
education, or perhaps it would be nearer the truth to say, a mind that
had escaped the restraining influence of the pedagogue.

    “Yet is remembrance sweet,
       Though well I know
     The days of childhood
       Are but days of woe;
     Some rude restraint,
       Some petty tyrant sours
     What else should be
       Our sweetest blithest hours.”

These lugubrious lines found no echo in the early life of Donald McKay,
for his boyhood was passed in earnest, healthy toil, and filled with a
keen desire for knowledge, while his manhood had known the joy of
well-earned success.

After the _Abbott Lawrence_, Mr. McKay built the medium clippers
_Minnehaha_, _Baltic_, _Adriatic_, _Mastiff_, and barque _Henry Hill_,
all in 1856; the _Alhambra_, 1857; the _Helen Morris_, and second
_Sovereign of the Seas_, 1868, and the _Glory of the Seas_, 1869. During
the Civil War, he built for the United States Government, the iron
gunboat _Ashuelot_, the ironclad monitor _Nausett_, the wooden gunboats
_Trefoil_ and _Yucca_, and the sloop of war _Adams_. In 1877 he retired
to his farm at Hamilton, Massachusetts, and there he died, September 20,
1880, in the seventy-first year of his age.

Donald McKay was a man of untiring energy and industry. He was a rapid
and skilful draughtsman and designed and superintended the construction
of every vessel that he built. This may also be said of almost every
ship-builder of that period, but Mr. McKay’s skill, the result of an
intuitive perception ripened by experience, gave him a peculiar insight
not only into how to create, but into what to create, and it was this
genius that made him pre-eminent as a builder of clipper ships. He was a
born artist and his ships were the finest expression of mechanical art.
They are entitled to a place in the realm of fine arts far more than
much of the merchandise that claims that distinction.

Mr. McKay was of a generous nature, and liberally rewarded the men who
assisted him, and he was ever ready to lend a helping hand to those less
fortunate than himself. So soon as he began to prosper he sent for his
parents and made a new home for them at East Boston, and their comfort
and happiness were always his care and greatest pleasure. In his later
years he endured misfortune and ingratitude with the same sturdy
sweetness and equanimity that he had shown in the days when fortune
smiled.




CHAPTER XVII

AUSTRALIAN VOYAGES, 1851-1854


The years between 1849 and 1856 were perhaps the most prosperous that
ship-owners and ship-builders have ever known. The discovery of gold in
Australia in 1851 had much the same effect as that in California in
1848, and people flocked to Melbourne from all parts of the world. There
was this difference, however, that whereas passengers went to
California, after the first rush, by steamers via Panama, and the mails
and gold were always transported by this route, all the Australian
passengers, mails, and gold were for a considerable period carried by
sailing vessels. The extent of this traffic may be judged from the fact
that the yield of the gold fields up to December 30, 1852, a little more
than a year after their discovery, was estimated at £16,000,000
sterling, or $80,000,000. Prior to 1851 the emigration to the Australian
colonies had been about 100,000 persons per annum, while the average
between 1851 and 1854 was 340,000 annually. The transportation of these
passengers alone required an enormous amount of tonnage, so that the
discovery of gold in Australia gave an additional impulse to clipper
ship building.

At this time the proper route to ports on that part of the globe had
only just become known, although British ships had been sailing to and
from Australia and New Zealand for many years, taking out emigrants and
bringing back wool. They usually called at the Cape of Good Hope both
outward and homeward bound, this being the route recommended by the
Admiralty. One of the most important services rendered by Lieutenant
Maury was his careful research in this matter, which resulted in an
entire revolution of both outward and homeward tracks. Instead of
sailing near the Cape of Good Hope outward bound, he discovered that a
ship would find stronger and more favorable winds from 600 to 800 miles
to the westward, then continuing her course southward to 48°, she would
fall in with the prevailing westerly gales and long rolling seas in
which to run her easting down. It was in this region that the Australian
clippers made their largest day’s runs.

The homeward bound Admiralty track was entirely abandoned by Lieutenant
Maury in favor of continuing in the brave west winds, as he called them,
round Cape Horn, so that a voyage to Melbourne out and home encircled
the globe. By the old routes, vessels were usually about 120 days each
way, though sometimes considerably longer. By the tracks which
Lieutenant Maury introduced, the outward and homeward voyages were made
in about the same time that had formerly been consumed in a single
passage, though of course the increased speed of the clipper ships
contributed to this result.

The misery and suffering of passengers on board the old Australian
emigrant ships before the days of the clippers are difficult to realize
at the present time, but there is an account compiled from the report of
the Parliamentary Committee appointed in 1844 to investigate the matter,
which reads as follows:

“It was scarcely possible to induce the passengers to sweep the decks
after their meals, or to be decent in respect to the common wants of
nature; in many cases, in bad weather they would not go on deck, their
health suffered so much that their strength was gone, and they had not
the power to help themselves. Hence the between-decks was like a
loathsome dungeon. When hatchways were opened under which the people
were stowed, the steam rose and the stench was like that from a pen of
pigs. The few beds they had were in a dreadful state, for the straw,
once wet with sea-water, soon rotted, beside which they used the
between-decks for all sorts of filthy purposes. Whenever vessels put
back from distress all these miseries and sufferings were exhibited in
the most aggravated form. In one case it appeared that, the vessel
having experienced rough weather, the people were unable to go on deck
and cook their provisions; the strongest maintained the upper hand over
the weakest, and it was even said that there were women who died of
starvation. At that time the passengers were expected to cook for
themselves, and from their being unable to do this the greatest
suffering arose. It was naturally at the commencement of the voyage that
this system produced its worst effects, for the first days were those in
which the people suffered most from sea-sickness, and under the
prostration of body thereby induced, were wholly incapacitated from
cooking. Thus though provisions might be abundant enough, the passengers
would be half-starved.”

In an interesting book entitled _Reminiscences of Early Australian
Life_, a vivid description is given of maritime affairs in 1853. The
writer, who had arrived at Melbourne in 1840, says that: “Since that
time the town of Melbourne had developed from a few scattered and
straggling wooden buildings, with muddy thoroughfares interspersed with
stumps of gum trees, into a well-built and formed city, with wide, and
well-made streets, symmetrically laid out, good hotels, club houses, and
Government buildings. Port Phillip Bay, in which two or three vessels
used to repose at anchor for months together, was now the anchorage
ground of some of the finest and fastest clippers afloat.”

At this time (1853) upwards of two hundred full-rigged ships from all
parts of the world were lying in the Bay. This writer continues: “After
landing their living freight of thousands that were rushing out to the
gold fields to seek for gold, and fearing that they might be too late to
participate in their reputed wealth, ships now waited for return
cargoes, or more probably for crews to take them home, as in many cases
all the hands had deserted for the gold fields. On ascertaining that
there were two good ships sailing for London, with cargoes of wool and
gold-dust, about the same time, or as soon as they could ship crews--one
the _Madagascar_, of Messrs. Green & Co.’s line, and the other the
_Medway_ of Messrs. Tindall & Co.’s line--I proceeded to the office and
booked a passage by the _Madagascar_--the passage in those days for a
first-class cabin being £80. After paying the usual deposit and leaving
the office, I met a friend, who was also homeward bound, and on my
informing him that I had booked by the _Madagascar_, he persuaded me to
change my ship and go home with himself and others whom I knew in the
_Medway_, and upon returning to the office of Green’s ship, and stating
my reasons for wishing to change to Tindall’s ship, they were very
obliging, and returned my deposit, stating that they could easily fill
up my berth. It was well for me at the time that I changed ships, as the
_Madagascar_ sailed the same day from Port Phillip Head as we did, with
four tons of gold-dust on board; and to this day nothing has ever been
heard of her. She either foundered at sea, or, as was generally
supposed, was seized by the crew and scuttled and the gold taken off in
boats. All must have perished, both passengers and crew, as no tidings
of that ill-fated ship ever reached the owners.

“On board the _Medway_ there were four tons’ weight of gold-dust, packed
in well-secured boxes of two hundred pounds each, five of these boxes
being stowed under each of the berths of the saloon passengers. Each
cabin was provided with cutlasses and pistols, to be kept in order and
ready for use, and a brass carronade gun loaded with grape shot was
fixed in the after part of the ship, in front of the saloon and pointed
to the forecastle--not a man, with the exception of the ship’s officers
and stewards, being allowed to come aft.

“The character of the crew shipped necessitated the precautions; for
the day previous to the ship’s sailing men had to be searched for and
found in the lowest haunts and were brought on board drugged and under
the influence of liquor, and placed below the hatches. We, the
passengers, heaved up the anchor and worked the ship generally until
outside of Port Phillip Head, when the men confined below, who were to
compose the crew, were brought on deck, looking dazed and confused, any
resistance or remonstrance on their part being futile. But those amongst
them that were able-bodied seamen were paid in gold, forty sovereigns
down, on signing the ship’s articles for the homeward voyage.

“Amongst them were useless hands and some of a very indifferent
character. Some, no doubt, were escaped convicts, or men who had
secreted themselves to evade the police and law; others deserters from
ships then laying in the Bay--about forty in all, and in general
appearance a very unprepossessing lot. However, there being no help for
it, we had but to keep guarded and prepared against the worst; the
ship’s passengers together with the officers numbering about twenty
hands. The captain was an old and well-known sailor of high reputation
and long experience; and the ship was well found and provisioned, in
anticipation of a long voyage--which it proved to be, extending over
four months from the time we left Port Phillip Head until she reached
the English coast.”

The first clipper ship constructed for the Australian trade was the
_Marco Polo_, of 1622 tons; length 185 feet, breadth 38 feet, depth 30
feet. She was built in 1851 by Smith & Co., at St. John, N. B., for
James Baines & Co., Liverpool, and was the pioneer clipper of the famous
Australian Black Ball Line. The _Marco Polo_ was constructed with three
decks, and was a very handsome, powerful-looking ship. Above her
water-line, she resembled the New York packet ships, having painted
ports, and a full-length figurehead of the renowned explorer whose name
she bore. Below water she was cut away and had long, sharp, concave
ends. Her accommodations for saloon and steerage passengers were a vast
improvement upon anything before attempted in the Australian trade.

She sailed from Liverpool for Melbourne, July 4, 1851, commanded by
Captain James Nicol Forbes, carrying the mails and crowded with
passengers. She made the run out in the then record time of 68 days, and
home in 74 days, which, including her detention at Melbourne, was less
than a six months’ voyage round the globe. Running her easting down to
the southward of the Cape of Good Hope, she made in four successive days
1344 miles, her best day’s run being 364 miles. Her second voyage to
Melbourne was also made in six months out and home, so that she actually
sailed twice around the globe within twelve months. To the _Marco Polo_
and her skilful commander belongs the credit of setting the pace over
this great ocean race-course round the globe.

Her success led to the building of a number of vessels at St. John for
British owners engaged in the Australian trade. Among these the most
famous were the _Hibernia_, 1065 tons, _Ben Nevis_, 1420 tons, and
_Guiding Star_, 2012 tons. In Great Britain also a large number of ships
were built for the Australian trade between the years 1851 and 1854.
Many of these were constructed of iron, the finest being the _Tayleur_,
2500 tons, which was built at Liverpool in 1853 and was at that time the
largest merchant ship that had been built in England. She was a very
handsome iron vessel, with three decks and large accommodation for cabin
and steerage passengers. This vessel was wrecked off the coast of
Ireland on her first voyage to Melbourne when only two days out from
Liverpool, and became a total loss; of her 652 passengers, only 282 were
saved. Among the many other vessels built in Great Britain during this
period were the _Lord of the Isles_, already mentioned in Chapter XII;
_Vimiera_, 1037 tons, built at Sunderland; the _Contest_, 1119 tons,
built at Ardrossan on the Firth of Clyde; and the _Gauntlet_ (iron), 784
tons, and _Kate Carnie_, 547 tons, both built at Greenock. All of these
vessels were a decided improvement upon any ships hitherto built in
Great Britain, and they made some fine passages, among them that of the
_Lord of the Isles_, from the Clyde to Sydney, N. S. W., in 70 days in
1853, but the 68-day record of the _Marco Polo_ from Liverpool to
Melbourne remained unbroken.

The _Marco Polo_ was still a favorite vessel with passengers, which goes
to show what a good ship she must have been, in view of the rivalry of
newer and larger clippers. She sailed from Liverpool in November, 1853,
commanded by Captain Charles McDonnell, who had been her chief officer
under Captain Forbes. The passengers on this voyage, on their arrival
at Melbourne, subscribed for a splendid service of silver, to be
presented to Captain McDonnell upon his return to England, which bore
the following inscription: “Presented to Captain McDonnell, of the ship
_Marco Polo_, as a testimonial of respect from his passengers, six
hundred and sixty-six in number, for his uniform kindness and attention
during his first voyage, when his ship ran from Liverpool to Port
Phillip Head in seventy-two days, twelve hours, and from land to land in
sixty-nine days.” The _Marco Polo_ came home in 78 days, but these were
the last of her famous passages, as she drifted into the hands of
captains who lacked either the ability or the energy, or perhaps both,
to develop her best speed--the unfortunate fate of many a good ship.

There were at that time a number of lines and private firms engaged in
the Australian trade, the best known being the White Star Line, later
managed by Ismay, Imrie & Co., and James Baines & Co.’s Black Ball Line,
both of Liverpool. There was keen rivalry between the two, and the _Ben
Nevis_ and _Guiding Star_ had both been built by the White Star in hopes
of lowering the record of the _Marco Polo_. By degrees, however, it
became apparent that she was an exceptional ship, not likely to be
duplicated at St. John, and also that much of her speed was due to her
able commanders, while the ships built in Great Britain, though fine
vessels, had not come up to the mark in point of speed or passenger
accommodations. It was under these circumstances that British merchants
and ship-owners began to buy and build ships for the Australian trade
in the United States.

The _Sovereign of the Seas_ had attracted much attention upon her
arrival at Liverpool in 1853, and was almost immediately chartered to
load for Australia in the Black Ball Line. It is to be regretted that
for some reason Captain McKay gave up charge of the ship and returned to
the United States, the command being given to Captain Warner, who had no
previous experience in handling American clipper ships, although he
proved an extremely competent commander. The _Sovereign of the Seas_
sailed from Liverpool September 7, 1853, and arrived at Melbourne after
a passage of 77 days. In a letter from Melbourne Captain Warner gives
the following account of this passage:

“I arrived here after a long and tedious passage of 77 days, having
experienced only light and contrary winds the greater part of the
passage--I have had but two chances. The ship ran in four consecutive
days 1275 miles; and the next run was 3375 miles in twelve days. These
were but moderate chances. I was 31 days to the Equator, and carried
skysails 65 days; set them on leaving Liverpool, and never shortened
them for 35 days. Crossed the equator in 26° 30′, and went to 53° 30′
south, but found no strong winds. Think if I had gone to 58° south, I
would have had wind enough; but the crew were insufficiently clothed,
and about one half disabled, together with the first mate. At any rate,
we have beaten all and every one of the ships that sailed with us, and
also the famous English clipper _Gauntlet_ ten days on, the passage,
although the _Sovereign of the Seas_ was loaded down to twenty-three and
one half feet.” On the homeward voyage she brought the mails and over
four tons of gold-dust, and made the passage in 68 days. On this voyage
there was a mutiny among the crew, who intended to seize the ship and
capture the treasure. Captain Warner acted with great firmness and tact
in suppressing the mutineers and placing them in irons without loss of
life, for which he received much credit.

The White Star Line, not to be outdone by rivals, followed the example
of the Black Ball and in 1854 chartered the _Chariot of Fame_, _Red
Jacket_, and _Blue Jacket_. These ships, of which the first was a medium
clipper and the other two extreme clippers, were built in New England.
The _Chariot of Fame_ was a sister ship to the _Star of Empire_, 2050
tons, built by Donald McKay in 1853, for Enoch Train’s Boston and
Liverpool packet line. The _Chariot of Fame_ made a number of fast
voyages between England and Australia, her best passage being 66 days
from Liverpool to Melbourne. The _Blue Jacket_ was a handsome ship of
1790 tons, built by R. E. Jackson at East Boston in 1854, and was owned
by Charles R. Green, of New York. Her best passages were 67 days from
Liverpool to Melbourne and home in 69 days.

The _Red Jacket_, the most famous of this trio, was built by George
Thomas at Rockland, Maine, in 1853-1854, and was owned by Seacomb &
Taylor, of Boston. She registered 2006 tons; length 260 feet, breadth 44
feet, depth 26 feet; and was designed by Samuel A. Pook, of Boston, who
had designed a number of other clipper ships, including the
_Challenger_--not the English ship of that name,--the _Game-Cock_,
_Surprise_, _Northern Light_, _Ocean Chief_, _Fearless_, _Ocean
Telegraph_, and _Herald of the Morning_. He also designed several
freighting vessels and yachts. It was the custom at that period for
vessels to be designed in the yards where they were constructed, and Mr.
Pook was the first naval architect in the United States who was not
connected with a ship-building yard. On her first voyage the _Red
Jacket_ sailed from New York for Liverpool, February 19, 1854, commanded
by Captain Asa Eldridge, and made the passage in 13 days 1 hour from
Sandy Hook to the Rock Light, Liverpool, with the wind strong from
southeast to west-southwest, and either rain, snow, or hail during the
entire run. During the first seven days she averaged only 182 miles per
twenty-four hours, but during the last six days she made 219, 413, 374,
343, 300, and 371 miles, an average of a fraction over 353 miles per
twenty-four hours.

Captain Eldridge was well known in Liverpool, having, together with his
brothers, John and Oliver, commanded some of the finest New York and
Liverpool packet ships of their day; he had also commanded Commodore
Vanderbilt’s steam yacht _North Star_ during her cruise in European
waters in 1853. He was afterwards lost in command of the steamship
_Pacific_ of the Collins Line.

The _Red Jacket_ attracted a great deal of attention at Liverpool, being
an extremely handsome ship--quite as good-looking as any of the clippers
built at New York or Boston. For a figurehead she carried a full-length
representation of the Indian chief for whom she was named. She made her
first voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne in 1854 under command of
Captain Samuel Reed in 69 days, and as she received very quick despatch,
being in port only 12 days, and made the passage to Liverpool in 73
days, the voyage round the globe, including detention in port, was made
in five months and four days. On the homeward passage, bringing home
45,000 ounces of gold, she beat the celebrated _Guiding Star_ by 9 days,
though she lost considerable time through being among the bergs and
field ice off Cape Horn. Upon her arrival at Liverpool the _Red Jacket_
was sold to Pilklington & Wilson, of that port, then agents of the White
Star Line, for £30,000, and continued in the Australian trade for
several years, becoming one of the most famous of the American-built
clippers.

The competition of the Black Ball and White Star lines proved of great
benefit to both cabin and steerage passengers, as their comfort and
convenience became subjects of consideration in a manner unthought of in
the old days before the discovery of gold at Bendigo and Ballarat.

[Illustration: The “Red Jacket”]




CHAPTER XVIII

AUSTRALIAN CLIPPERS, 1854-1856


In view of the keen rivalry at this period, James Baines & Co.
determined to own the finest and fastest ships that could be
constructed, and accordingly placed an order with Donald McKay to build
four clipper ships for their Australian line. These vessels were the
_Lightning_, 2084 tons; the _Champion of the Seas_, 2448 tons; _James
Baines_, 2515 tons; and _Donald McKay_, 2598 tons, all launched in 1854,
with the exception of the _Donald McKay_, which was not completed until
January, 1855. This firm also bought from Mr. McKay the sister ships
_Japan_ and _Commodore Perry_, 1964 tons each, while they were on the
stocks in course of construction.

These ships designed for the Australian trade were very similar to the
later California clipper ships built by Mr. McKay, though with less
dead-rise and sharper ends; they were fitted with large accommodation
for cabin and steerage passengers; while the _Japan_ and _Commodore
Perry_ were somewhat fuller ships than the others, and were designed
with a view to carry large cargoes rather than to attain high speed.

The _Lightning_ measured: length 244 feet, breadth 44 feet, depth 23
feet, with 20 inches dead-rise at half floor. She had long, concave
water-lines, and at her load-displacement line a chord from her
cut-water to just abaft the fore rigging showed a concavity of 16
inches. Her stem raked boldly forward, the lines of the bow gradually
becoming convex and blending with sheer line and cutwater, while the
only ornament was a beautiful full-length figure of a young woman
holding a golden thunder-bolt in her outstretched hand, the flowing
white drapery of her graceful form and her streaming hair completing the
fair and noble outline of the bow. The after body was long and clean,
though fuller than the bow, while the stern was semi-elliptical in form,
with the plank-sheer moulding for its base, and was ornamented with
gilded carved work, though this really added nothing to the beauty of
the strong, sweeping outline of her hull.

Aloft the _Lightning_ was heavily and strongly rigged. Her main yard was
95 feet in length, and the total height from the deck to the mainskysail
truck was 164 feet; her lower studdingsail booms were 65 feet in length;
her topsails and topgallantsails were diagonally roped from clews to
earings, and her fore and main stays, lower rigging, and topmast stays
and backstays were of 11½ inch Russian hemp, with the rest of the
standing rigging in proportion. Indeed, her masts and spars were as
strongly secured as skill and labor could make them. Evidently, Mr.
McKay had grown weary of having his ships go to pieces aloft.

The quarter-deck was 90 feet long, flush with the top of the bulwarks,
and protected by a mahogany rail on turned stanchions of the same wood.
She had also two large deck-houses, which, together with the
between-decks, gave ample passenger accommodation. The quarters for the
steerage passengers were comfortably fitted and well ventilated, while
the saloons, staterooms, bathrooms, and smoking-room for the cabin
passengers were superbly decorated and furnished.

Captain Forbes, late of the _Marco Polo_, was appointed to command the
_Lightning_, and came to Boston by one of the Cunard steamers to
superintend the outfit of his ship. He brought good letters of
introduction, and was well received; indeed, he hardly needed any
introduction, as the high reputation he had gained while in command of
the _Marco Polo_ had preceded him. He made many friends in Boston,
especially among the clergy, as he was an enthusiastic churchman, and he
found a congenial spirit in Captain Lauchlan McKay, who likewise took a
great interest in ecclesiastical affairs. These two mariners became such
close friends that Captain McKay consented to accompany Captain Forbes
to Liverpool as his companion and adviser, and as we shall presently
see, the _Lightning_ developed her finest speed in the hands of these
experienced and skilful seamen.

The _Lightning_ loaded in Train’s Line at Constitution Wharf, and sailed
for Liverpool, February 18, 1854. The Boston _Daily Atlas_ of that date
published the following account of her departure:

“At 2 o’clock the _Lightning_ hove her anchor up, and at 3 o’clock
discharged her pilot off Boston Light. She went down in tow of the
steamer _Rescue_, Captain Hennessy, and was piloted by Mr. E. G.
Martin. Before the steamer left her, she set her head sails, fore-and
mizentopsails, and had a moderate breeze from west to southwest. She
appeared to go at the rate of 6 knots under this canvas, though she
draws 22 feet of water, and has only 23 feet depth of hold. We have seen
many vessels pass through the water, but never saw one which disturbed
it less. Not a ripple curled before her cutwater, nor did the water
break at a single place along her sides. She left a wake as straight as
an arrow and this was the only mark of her progress. There was a slight
swell and as she rose we could see the arc of her forefoot rise gently
over the seas as she increased her speed. At 5 P.M., two hours after the
pilot left her, the outer telegraph station reported her thirty miles
east of Boston Light, with all drawing sails set, and going along like a
steamboat. We think her talented designer and builder, Mr. McKay, cannot
improve upon her model. Her commander, being a pious man, was attended
down the harbor by a select party of brethren and sisters of the church,
who at parting gave him their blessing. This is much better than the
dram-drinking and vociferous cheering which usually make up the parting
scenes of the unregenerated.”

The voyage so auspiciously begun proved one of the most remarkable ever
made by a ship on the ocean; for before the _Lightning_ set her pilot
signal off Point Lynas, she had left more miles of salt water astern in
twenty-four hours than any vessel that has ever sailed the seas
propelled by winds and canvas. From the abstract log, published in the
Liverpool _Albion_ soon after her arrival, it appears that she went
round the north of Ireland, making the run to Eagle Island in 10 days,
and to the Calf of Man, within 80 miles of Liverpool, in 12 days, thence
to Liverpool in 13 days 19½ hours from Boston Light. Her day’s runs were
as follows:

     1.--“February 19th. Wind west-southwest, and northwest, moderate;
     200 miles.

     2.--20th. Wind north-northeast and northeast, strong breezes with
     snow; 328 miles.

     3.--21st. Wind east-southeast with snowstorms; 145 miles.

     4.--22d. Wind east-southeast, a gale with high cross sea and rain;
     114 miles.

     5.--23d. Wind north. Strong gales to east-southeast; ends moderate;
     110 miles.

     6.--24th. Wind southeast, moderate; 312 miles.

     7.--25th. Wind east-southeast and southeast. Fresh breezes with
     thick weather; 285 miles.

     8.--26th. Wind west-southwest, moderate; 295 miles.

     9.--27th. Wind west-northwest, moderate; 260 miles.

     10.--28th. Wind west and northwest, steady breezes; 306 miles.”

     [The position at noon on this day was latitude 52° 38′ N.,
     longitude 22° 45′ W., and here began the greatest day’s run ever
     made by a ship under canvas.]

11.--“March 1st. Wind south. Strong gales; bore away for the North
Channel, carried away the foretopsail and lost jib; hove the log several
times and found the ship going through the water at the rate of 18 to
18½ knots; lee rail under water, and rigging slack. Distance run in
twenty-four hours, 436 miles.

12.--2d. Wind south, first part moderate, latter part light and calm.

13.--3d. Light winds and calms.

14.--4th. Light southeast winds and calms; at 7 A.M. off Great Orms
Head; 12 m. off the N. W. Lightship.”

This was a remarkable passage considering the percentage of easterly
winds, though its memorable incident is, of course, the phenomenal run
of 436 miles in twenty-four hours, an average of 18½ knots, which
entitles the _Lightning_ to the proud distinction of being the swiftest
ship that ever sailed the seas. There was no ocean steamship of her day
that approached her record by less than 100 miles, and another
five-and-twenty years passed away before the Atlantic greyhound, the
_Arizona_, made 18 knots for a single hour, on her trial trip. Even at
the present time, according to Lloyd’s Register, there are not more than
thirty ocean-going mail steamships afloat, that are able to steam over
18 knots. It must have been blowing hard enough when the _Lightning’s_
jib and foretopsail carried away, for these were not old, worn-out
sails, put on board to attract the favorable consideration of
underwriters, but were of new canvas, made unusually strong, and had not
been out of the sail loft more than a couple of weeks.

Strange as it may seem, the “wood butchers of Liverpool,” as Donald
McKay used to call them, were allowed to fill in the concave lines of
the _Lightning’s_ bow with slabs of oak sheathing, and while she
continued to be a fast ship, she doubtless would have proved still
faster had her original design not been tampered with.[12]

The second of these ships, the _Champion of the Seas_, measured: length
269 feet, breadth 45 feet, depth 29 feet, dead-rise at half floor 18
inches; length of mainyard 95 feet. The concavity of her water-line
forward was 2½ inches, from which it will be seen that she was a
differently designed ship from the _Lightning_. She was considered by
many to be even a handsomer vessel. Her stern was ornamented with the
arms of Australia, while at her bow she carried a full-length figurehead
of a handsome sailorman rigged out in all his best go-ashore togs. She
was commanded by Captain Alexander Newlands, who came from Liverpool to
superintend her construction and equipment, the whole inside
arrangements of the ship, including the complicated plan for light and
ventilation and the details of the cabin, being made according to his
designs. After fitting out at Grand Junction Wharf, East Boston, she was
towed to New York by the _R. B. Forbes_, where she loaded for Liverpool,
and made the passage to that port during the month of June, 1854, in 16
days.

The _James Baines_ measured: length 266 feet, breadth 46 feet 8 inches,
depth 31 feet, with 18 inches dead-rise at half floor. Her mainyard was
100 feet in length, and a single suit of sails contained 13,000 running
yards of canvas 18 inches wide. Originally she carried a main skysail
only, but later she was fitted with three skysails, main moonsail, and
skysail studdingsails, and so far as I know, she was the only clipper
ship so rigged. There was only a very slight difference between the
lines of the _Champion of the Seas_ and those of the _James Baines_, the
latter ship having a somewhat more raking stem, which brought her lines
out forward a little longer and sharper above the water-line. Her bow
was ornamented with a finely executed bust of her namesake, which was
carved in England and was said to be an excellent likeness. Across her
stern she carried a carved medallion of the globe, supported by the arms
of Great Britain and the United States. She was commanded by Captain
McDonnell, late of the _Marco Polo_, who sailed from Liverpool for
Boston soon after his return from Melbourne.

The _James Baines_ sailed from Boston, September 12, 1854, and made the
run from Boston Light to the Rock Light, Liverpool, in the record time
of 12 days 6 hours. An English correspondent of one of the Boston papers
remarked: “You wish to know what professional men say about the ship
_James Baines_. Her unrivalled passage, of course, brought her
prominently before the public, and she has already been visited by many
of the most eminent mechanics in the country. She is so strongly built,
so finely finished, and is of so beautiful a model, that even envy
cannot prompt a fault against her. On all hands she has been praised as
the most perfect sailing ship that ever entered the river Mersey.”

The last of this quartette, the _Donald McKay_, measured: length 269
feet, breadth 47 feet, depth 29 feet, with 18 inches dead-rise at half
floor, and her mainyard was 100 feet long. While her water-lines were
fuller than those of the _James Baines_, she was still an extremely
sharp vessel, and with the single exception of the _Great Republic_ was
the largest merchant ship afloat. She sailed from Boston, February 21,
1855, under the command of Captain Warner, late of the _Sovereign of
the Seas_, and made the run to Cape Clear in 12 days, and thence to
Liverpool in 5 days. On February 27th, she ran 421 miles in twenty-four
hours, and on that date her log records: “First part, strong gales from
northwest; middle blowing a hurricane from west-northwest, ship scudding
under topsails and foresail at the rate of 18 knots; latter part, still
blowing from west-northwest with heavy hail squalls; very high sea
running.”

The _Lightning_ sailed from Liverpool on her first voyage to Melbourne,
May 14, 1854. She encountered light winds and calms to the equator,
which she crossed in 25 days from the Mersey; such was the nature of the
winds that the topgallantsails were not taken in during the passage, and
her best day’s runs were only 332, 348, 300, 311, and 329 miles on
various dates. She arrived out in 77 days, but the passage home to
Liverpool was made in the record time of 63 days. In ten consecutive
days of twenty-four hours each, she sailed no less than 3722 miles, her
best day’s run being 412 miles. On this voyage she brought home gold and
dust to the value of £1,000,000 sterling.

The _James Baines_ sailed from Liverpool for Melbourne December 9, 1854,
and made the passage out in the record time of 63 days, her best
twenty-four hours’ run being 420 miles. She made the passage home in 69
days, thus sailing around the globe in the record time of 132 days. On a
subsequent voyage in 1856 her log records, “June 16th. At noon sighted a
ship in the distance ahead; at 1 P.M. alongside of her; at 2 P.M., out
of sight astern. The _James Baines_ was going 17 knots with main
skysail set; the _Libertas_, for such was her name, was under
double-reefed topsails.” “June 17th. Latitude 44° S., longitude 106° E.,
ship going 21 knots with main skysail set.” This appears to be the
highest rate of speed ever made by a sailing vessel of which any
reliable record has been preserved.

The _Champion of the Seas_ made the passage out in 71 days and home in
84 days, and the _Donald McKay_ made the voyage in about the same time,
but the _Lightning_ and _James Baines_ proved the most famous of these
ships. So well pleased was Mr. Baines that he wrote to Mr. McKay,
saying, In these ships you have given us all and more than we expected.”
These were the last extreme clipper ships built by Donald McKay.

During the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857 a large number of British and American
merchant ships were chartered by the British Government to carry troops
to India, and among others the _James Baines_, _Champion of the Seas_,
and _Lightning_. The _James Baines_ sailed from Portsmouth for Calcutta
on August 8th, with the Ninety-seventh Regiment on board, and the
_Illustrated London News_, in a notice of her departure, remarked:
“Previous to her starting she was honored by a visit of Her Majesty, who
highly eulogized the vessel and is said to have declared that she was
not aware that so splendid a merchant ship belonged to her dominions.”

The _Champion of the Seas_ sailed from Portsmouth on the same day, also
bound for Calcutta with troops, and the race between these clippers was
close and exciting. Nine days out they fell in

[Illustration: The “James Baines”]

with the steamship _Oneida_ homeward bound, and the _Illustrated London
News_, again mentioning the _James Baines_, said: “When met by the
_Oneida_, on the 17th of August, on her way to Calcutta with troops, she
presented a most magnificent appearance, having in addition to her
ordinary canvas, studdingsails, skysails, and moonsail, set and drawing,
in all thirty-four sails, a perfect cloud of canvas: the troops all
well, and cheering lustily as the vessels passed each other. The sister
ship, the _Champion of the Seas_, was not far astern, both vessels
making great headway.”

These two ships arrived off the mouth of the Hooghly together, each 101
days from Portsmouth, and the finish of this race was talked about by
the Calcutta pilots for a good many years: how these splendid clippers
raced in from sea almost side by side, with a fresh three-skysail,
scupper breeze, the regimental bands on board of both ships playing
national airs, while the soldiers were cheering and wild with the joy
and excitement of seeing land once more.

The _Lightning_ sailed at a more favorable season, and made the passage
from Portsmouth to the Hooghly in 87 days, beating the entire fleet of
sailing transports, including those fitted with auxiliary screw
propellers.

Of the large number of ships bought or chartered in the United States
for the Australian trade by British ship-owners at this period, those
mentioned, with the _Red Rover_, _Comet_, _Tornado_, _Sierra Nevada_,
and _Invincible_, each with a record of less than 75 days from Liverpool
or London to Melbourne, the _Belle of the Sea_, 64 days from London to
Melbourne, and _North Wind_, 67 days from London to Sydney, N. S. W.,
were the most celebrated.

There were also many American ships that made the voyage from New York
to Melbourne, and among the fast passages may be mentioned those of: the
_Mandarin_, in 71 days; _Flying Scud_ and _Nightingale_, 75 days;
_Whirlwind_, 80 days; _Flying Dutchman_ and _Panama_, 81 days; _Snow
Squall_, 79 days, and _Ringleader_, 78 days. Most if not all these ships
loaded in R. W. Cameron’s line, and it is worth noting that, of all the
great shipping firms that flourished in New York half a century ago,
this is the only one which now survives.

It was only natural that ship-owners of Great Britain should feel keenly
the invasion of their trade by the American clippers, and in 1855, James
Baines & Co. placed an order with Alexander Hall & Co., of Aberdeen,
then the leading clipper ship-builders in Great Britain, for a large
clipper ship for the Australian trade, to “outdo the Americans.” This
vessel was the _Schomberg_, 2600 tons; length 262 feet, breadth 45 feet,
depth 29 feet. She was very sharp forward and had a long, clean run,
with considerable dead-rise at her midship section. She was built of
wood and heavily sparred, with single topsail yards and three skysails.

When this ship came around from Aberdeen to load at Liverpool for
Melbourne, she was greatly admired and it was generally believed that
she would prove faster than her American rivals, especially as Captain
Forbes, late of the _Marco Polo_ and _Lightning_, had been appointed to
command her. She sailed from Liverpool on October 6, 1855. Captain
Forbes was a proud man that day, for the pierheads of the port were
thronged with a patriotic, cheering crowd to see the _Schomberg_ off,
and as she towed down the Mersey, the signals reading, “Sixty days to
Melbourne,” fluttered gayly from her mizen truck.

She had moderate winds to the equator, which she crossed 28 days from
the Mersey, and then drifted into calms and light airs which continued
for ten days and from which she did not possess the nimble speed to
extricate herself. Her best day’s work, while running her easting down,
was 368 miles. When 81 days out she was wrecked and became a total loss
on an uncharted reef about 150 miles to the westward of Melbourne, the
passengers, crew, and mails being saved. This was by no means a record
passage, and it is to be regretted that her career was so short, as it
would be interesting to know what she might have done under more
favorable conditions. She certainly possessed the qualities of a fast
ship, and was ably commanded.

There were also many fine ships of English build sailing out of London
in the Australian trade; the _Norfolk_ and _Lincolnshire_, built and
owned by Money, Wigram & Sons; the _Kent_, _Trafalgar_, and _Renown_,
built and owned by R. & H. Green; and many others. These ships were
built of teak, oak, and elm; were copper-fastened and sheathed with red
copper. They resembled smart frigates more than merchantmen, and were
about the perfection of that type--splendid ships to be at sea in,
though not so fast as the sharper American clippers. None of these
vessels was over 1500 tons, and it was thought by shipping men in London
and Liverpool that much of the speed of the American ships was due to
their greater tonnage. There may have been some truth in this, but it
should be remembered that with these large wooden vessels an increase in
size made the difficulties in building greater, as well as in getting
their wooden masts to stand with hemp rigging, to say nothing of
handling their enormous single topsails in heavy weather.

Meanwhile attempts were being made by various companies to introduce
steam in place of the clipper ships that had carried the passengers,
mails, and specie after the discovery of gold in Australia, but these
efforts were beset with many difficulties and heavy financial losses.

The _Australian_, an iron screw steamer of 2000 tons, was the first
steamship to carry the mails from England to Melbourne. She sailed from
Plymouth, June 5, 1852, and called at St. Vincent, St. Helena, Table
Bay, and St. George’s Sound for coal, which had been sent out by ship
from England to meet her. She arrived at Melbourne in 89 days from
Plymouth, and returned by the Cape of Good Hope in 76 days. She arrived
at London, January 11, 1853, having been 7 months and 6 days upon the
voyage, a creditable but not a very brilliant performance. The
_Australian_ was soon followed by the _Great Britain_, _Adelaide_,
_Queen of the South_, _Sydney_, _Cleopatra_, _Antelope_, and other iron
screw steamers; but these vessels nearly ruined

[Illustration: The “Schomberg”]

their owners and did not greatly interfere with the clippers.

In 1854 the _Argo_, a full-rigged iron ship of 1850 tons register, with
plenty of canvas and fitted with an auxiliary engine and screw, made the
passage from London to Melbourne in 64 days and home round Cape Horn in
63 days; and though she sailed during the greater portion of the voyage,
using her engines only in calms and light winds, she was the first
merchant vessel using steam-power to circumnavigate the globe. This
voyage is peculiarly adapted to auxiliary steam vessels, as, by
following the sailing-ship track, very few strong head winds are met,
and of course the screw is of great assistance in light winds and calms.

The _Argo_ was followed (1855-1856) by the _Royal Charter_, _Istamboul_,
and _Khersonese_ and other iron auxiliary “steam clippers,” as they were
called. These vessels carried as much canvas as the clipper ships, and
were more expensive to handle and not much faster; the rivalry was
therefore keen. The clippers still secured their full share of the cabin
and steerage passengers, the mails and gold, and were by no means
vanquished; indeed, the auxiliaries proved no more successful than the
steamships, and brought much the same result to their owners.

It was not till after the close of the Crimean War in 1856, when the
Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company extended their line to
the Australian colonies, that the clipper ships began seriously to feel
the competition of steam. From that time iron sailing vessels for this
trade were built with a view to carrying large cargoes and steerage
passengers, so that by 1860 the day of the Australian clippers had
passed away, although the later China tea-clippers sometimes made this
voyage. Almost countless splendid iron and steel sailing ships have
since been built in Great Britain, and many fine passages have been made
to and from Australia, yet the records of the _James Baines_, _North
Wind_, _Lightning_, _Mandarin_, and _Lord of the Isles_ remain
unbroken.




CHAPTER XIX

LAST YEARS OF THE AMERICAN CLIPPER SHIP ERA--SUMMARY OF CALIFORNIA
PASSAGES


During the Crimean War a large number of merchant ships, many of which
were American, were chartered by the British and French Governments to
carry troops, but when peace was declared in 1856 and this demand for
tonnage ceased, it was found that there were more ships afloat than
could find profitable employment, or indeed employment of any kind.

Only eight ships were added to the California fleet in 1856--the
_Alarm_, _Euterpe_, _Flying Mist_, _Florence_, _Intrepid_, _Mary L.
Sutton_, _Norseman_, and the second _Witch of the Wave_. These were all
handsome medium clippers, and possessed what is so sadly lacking in
sailing ships of the present day--style, distinction. The _Florence_ was
built by Samuel Hall, Jr., who had succeeded his father as a
ship-builder and continued in the same yard at East Boston. She was
owned by Captain R. B. Forbes and others of Boston. Captain Dumaresq
commanded her and also owned an interest in her until his death in 1860.
As Captain Forbes used to say, “He was the prince of sea captains.”

The _Sweepstakes_ made the fastest passage to San Francisco in 1856--94
days from New York--followed by the _Antelope_, 97 days; _Phantom_, 101
days; and _David Brown_, 103 days; the _Ringleader_ made the passage
from Boston in 100 days. The abstract log of the _Sweepstakes_ is as
follows:

From Sandy Hook to the equator           18 days.
From the equator to 50° S.               23  “
From 50° in the Atlantic to 50° in the
    Pacific                              15  “
From 50° S. to the equator               17  “
From the equator to San Francisco        21  “
                                         --
Total                                    94  “

The year 1857 was one of financial depression throughout the United
States, which was severely felt by the shipping interests of the country
and continued until the Civil War. The rates of freight from New York to
San Francisco, which during the years immediately following the
discovery of gold in California were $60 a ton, gradually declined, and
in 1857 had fallen to $10 per ton. Ships that had formerly loaded
cargoes for San Francisco night and day and were hurried to sea as
quickly as possible, now lay at their loading berths for weeks,
leisurely taking on board such cargo as their agents could engage.
During this period vessels lay idle at the wharves of Atlantic ports for
weeks and even months, in charge of ship-keepers, with sails unbent,
waiting for employment.

The former activity in the ship-building yards had also subsided. During
the four years prior to the Civil War, Donald McKay built only one
ship,

[Illustration: The “Sweepstakes”]

the _Alhambra_ (1857), and William H. Webb built only one ship for the
California trade, the _Black Hawk_, beside the _Resolute_, and the
barque _Trieste_ (1857), and the barque _Harvest Queen_ (1858). The same
depression was felt in all the yards along the Atlantic coast. British
ship-builders had made such rapid progress in the construction and speed
of their vessels that it was now difficult for American ships to obtain
charters from China to England. From 1857 to 1861, they were to be found
lying idle for months at a time in Manila Bay, Hong-kong harbor,
Foo-chow, Shanghai, and Calcutta, seeking employment.

The depression in the oversea carrying trade was felt quite as much by
the ship-owners of Great Britain as by those of the United States, and
while of short duration, was as serious there as in the United States.
It was at this period, however, that Great Britain began to feel the
benefit of Free Trade in her ship building industry, and entered upon
her conquest of the world’s oversea carrying trade. In this her
ship-builders were greatly assisted by the introduction of iron as a
material for construction. In 1855 the Committee of Lloyd’s Register had
framed rules for the classification of iron ships, as their number had
so increased, and the demand of ship-owners for their official
recognition had become so general, that they could no longer be ignored.
The screw propeller was also beginning to supersede side-wheels as a
means of propulsion, and some of the ablest men in Great Britain were
engaged upon the development and improvement of the marine engine and
boiler.

The steam tonnage of the British Empire--mostly engaged in the oversea
carrying trade--had increased from 204,654 tons in 1851 to 417,717 tons
in 1856, whereas the steam tonnage of the United States engaged in the
oversea carrying trade had increased from 62,390 tons in 1851 to 115,045
tons in 1855, but had decreased to 89,715 tons in 1856. It should be
noted that while a large proportion of the steam tonnage of Great
Britain consisted of iron vessels, many of them being screw steamers,
the steam vessels of the United States were very nearly, if not all,
still constructed of wood and propelled by side-wheels.

The first symptoms of the decadence of the American merchant marine were
the falling-off in the sales of American tonnage to foreign
countries--the reduction being from 65,000 tons in 1855 to 42,000 tons
in 1856, declining to 26,000 tons in 1858 and to 17,000 tons in 1860, a
falling-off of 75% in five years--then in the total tonnage of vessels
built in the United States, which fell from 583,450 tons in 1855 to
469,393 tons in 1856, and to 378,804 tons in 1857.

These facts refute the historic falsehood that the _Alabama_ and her
consorts were the first and immediate cause of decadence in the American
merchant marine. As a matter of fact, neither the depression preceding
the Civil War, nor the depredations of Confederate privateers, nor the
Civil War itself, have had any material bearing upon the decline of
American shipping during the last fifty years. The gigantic task of
driving the American flag from the ocean has been accomplished by far
more insidious and potent means than these. It has been the inevitable
consequence of irrational and unjust laws, and until these are repealed,
as those of Great Britain were in 1849, we may hope in vain that the
ensign of the United States will be restored to its place upon the sea.

Amid the discouraging conditions of these years preceding the Civil War,
American sea-captains never lost faith in their ships nor in themselves.
They seemed to think, the lower the rate of freight, the more reason
that it should be earned quickly, and when once clear of the
disheartening influences of a seaport and well off soundings, they sent
their ships along with the same energy and skill for which they had
become famous in more prosperous days.

It was in the year 1857 that the _Great Republic_ made her remarkable
passage of 92 days from New York to San Francisco, and established a new
record of 16 days from Sandy Hook to the equator. She was still
commanded by Captain Limeburner, who had as his first officer,
Montgomery Parker, an accomplished seaman and navigator, afterward
commander of the ships _Judge Shaw_ and _Lord Lyndhurst_. The crew of 50
men before the mast were the usual assortment, 15 or 20 good seamen, the
rest adventurers and mongrels of various brands, of whom little could be
expected. Captain Limeburner and his officers always went armed, and it
was perhaps fortunate, with such a crew, that the topgallantsails were
never clewed up during the passage, and that Cape Horn was rounded with
skysails set.

The abstract log of the _Great Republic_ is as follows:

From Sandy Hook to the equator                 16 days.
From the equator to 50° S.                     25  “
From 50° S. in the Atlantic to 50° S.
    in the Pacific                              9  “
From 50° S. to the equator                     23  “
From the equator to San Francisco              19  “
                                               --
Total                                          92  “

Lieutenant Maury, in a letter on the subject to the Secretary of the
Navy, remarks: “This vessel did not have the luck to get a wind that
could keep her up to her mettle for twenty-four hours consecutively.
Here and there she got into favorable streaks of wind, but she appears
to have run out of them faster than they could follow. She made the run
to San Francisco in 92 days.

“The shortest passage that in the present state of ship-building will
probably ever be made from New York to San Francisco, is 85 days; and
the very clever first officer of this ship, writing from California,
expresses the opinion that ‘should she continue to run between New York
and San Francisco, from the experience of this voyage, she will one day
make the trip within your possible 85 days.’

“The friends of this noble specimen of naval architecture, however, can
scarcely hope for a fair trial and proper display of her prowess until
she shall be sent on a voyage to Australia. The brave west winds of the
Southern hemisphere, which she will then encounter, will enable her to
show herself; elsewhere, she can scarcely find a sea wide enough, with
belts of wind broad enough for the full display of her qualities and
capabilities.”

There can be little doubt that with her original spars and sail plan,
the _Great Republic_ would have made this passage in 85 days or less,
and it is to be regretted that, even with her reduced rig, she never
made a voyage between England and Australia, the service for which she
was built and especially adapted. Her best twenty-four hours’ run, made
upon a subsequent voyage while under the command of Captain Josiah Paul,
was 413 miles.

In 1857 the _Flying Dragon_ made the passage to San Francisco in 97
days; the _Westward Ho_ and the _Andrew Jackson_ in 100 days, both from
New York; and the _Flying Fish_ in 106 days from Boston. In 1858 the
_Twilight_ made the passage from New York in 100 days; the _Andrew
Jackson_ in 103 days; and in 1859 the _Sierra Nevada_ in 97 days and the
_Andrew Jackson_ in 102 days. In 1860 the _Andrew Jackson_ made the trip
in 89 days.

As before noted, the _Andrew Jackson_ was built in 1855. Her builders
were Irons & Grinnell, of Mystic, Connecticut; she was owned by J. H.
Brower & Co., of New York, and was commanded by Captain John E.
Williams, of Mystic. She was 1679 tons register and measured: length 222
feet, breadth 40 feet, depth 22 feet, and while not an extreme clipper,
she was a very handsome, well-designed ship. She was heavily sparred and
carried double topsails, skysails, and royal studdingsails. Her
figurehead was a full-length statue of the famous warrior and statesman
in whose honor she was named.

Upon Captain Williams’s arrival at San Francisco, in 89 days from New
York, he was presented with a Commodore’s pennant, and on his return to
New York the owners presented him with a valuable chronometer watch
bearing the following inscription: “Presented by J. H. Brower & Co. to
Captain J. E. Williams of the clipper ship _Andrew Jackson_ for the
shortest passage to San Francisco. Time 89 days 4 hours, 1860.”

With this superb record by the _Andrew Jackson_--four consecutive
passages averaging 98½ days each--the American clipper ship era may well
bring its brilliant career to a close.

It would be invidious, even if it were possible, to name the fastest of
the splendid fleet of California clippers which sailed during the years
1850-1860, as their voyages were made in different years and at
different seasons of the year; still, a comparison of their records is
of interest.

Eighteen ships made single passages of less than 100 days from New York
or Boston to San Francisco during this period. The _Flying Cloud_ and
_Andrew Jackson_ share the honor of 89 days each, and are closely
followed by the _Sword Fish_, 90 days; _Flying Fish_ and _Great
Republic_, 92 days; _John Gilpin_, 93 days; _Sweepstakes_, 94 days;
_Surprise_ and _Romance of the Seas_, 96 days; _Sea Witch_, _Contest_,
_Antelope_, _Sierra Nevada_, _Flying Dragon_, and _Witchcraft_, 97 days;
_Flying Fish_ and _David Brown_, 98 days, and _Herald of the Morning_
and _Hurricane_, 99 days each.

Four of these ships, the _Flying Cloud_, _Flying Fish_, _Great
Republic_, and _Romance of the Seas_, were built by Donald McKay, and
two of the four, the _Flying Cloud_ and _Flying Fish_, each came within
the limit twice. Two others, the _John Gilpin_ and _Surprise_, were
built by Samuel Hall, and two, the _Contest_ and _Sweepstakes_, by Jacob
A. Westervelt, with one ship each by other builders. Beside Captain
Creesy of the _Flying Cloud_ and Captain Nickels of the _Flying Fish_,
Captain Dumaresq also made the passage twice in less than 100 days, in
command of the _Surprise_ and _Romance of the Seas_.

For an average of the two fastest passages by one ship, the record of
the _Flying Cloud_--two in 89 days each--stands at the head. The others
are: the _Andrew Jackson_, 98 and 100--94½ days; _Flying Fish_, 92 and
98--95 days; _Sword-Fish_, 90 and 105--97½ days; _David Brown_, 98 and
103--101½ days; _Westward Ho_, 100 and 103--101½ days; _Sea Witch_, 97
and 108--102½ days; _Contest_, 108 and 97--102½ days; _Herald of the
Morning_, 99 and 106--102½; _Phantom_, 101 and 104--102½ days; _John
Gilpin_, 93 and 115--104 days; _Romance of the Seas_, 96 and 113--104½
days; _Ringleader_, 100 and 109--104½ days; _Sweepstakes_, 94 and
116--105 days; _Flying Dutchman_, 104 and 106--105 days; _Flying
Dragon_, 97 and 114--105½ days; _Surprise_, 96 and 116--106 days; _Young
America_, 105 and 109--107 days; _Neptune’s Car_, 100 and 112--106;
_Eagle_, 103 and 111--107 days; _Comet_, 103 and 112--107½ days; _Golden
Gate_, 102 and 113--107½ days; _Golden City_, 105 and 113--109 days;
_Flyaway_, 106 and 112--109 days; _Sea Serpent_, 107 and 112--109½
days; _Shooting Star_, 105 and 115--110 days.

The fastest three passages in 1850-1860 were made by the _Flying Cloud_,
89, 89, 105--94⅓ days; _Andrew Jackson_, 89, 100, 102--97 days; _Flying
Fish_, 92, 98, 105--98⅓ days; _Westward Ho_, 103, 106, 100--103 days;
_Sword-Fish_, 90, 105, 116--103⅔ days; _Sea Witch_, 97, 108, 110--105
days; _Young America_, 105, 107, 110--107⅓ days; _Surprise_, 96, 116,
117--109⅔ days; _Sea Serpent_, 107, 112, 115--111⅓ days.

The best four passages were made by the _Flying Cloud_, 89, 89, 105,
108--97¾ days; _Andrew Jackson_, 89, 100, 102, 103--98½ days; _Flying
Fish_, 92, 98, 105, 106--100¼ days.

By dividing this great race-course into sections, a further comparison
of the relative speed of the clipper ships may be obtained. Thus the
following separate runs were made during the years in question:

From Sandy Hook to the equator: _Great Republic_, 16 days; _Flying
Cloud_, _Northern Light_, _Sea Serpent_, _Storm_ (barque), _White
Swallow_, 17 days; _Adelaide_, _Jacob Bell_, _Surprise_, _Sweepstakes_,
18 days; _Atlanta_, _Flying Fish_, _Golden Gate_, _Hornet_, _Samuel
Russell_, _Tingqua_, 19 days; _Archer_, _Antelope_, _Climax_, _Courier_,
_Comet_, _David Brown_, _Hazard_, _Sirocco_, _Tornado_, _White Squall_,
20 days. In February, 1858, the _Stag Hound_, commanded by Captain
Hussey, made the run from Boston Light to the equator in the phenomenal
time of 13 days, eclipsing all records.

From Cape St. Roque to 50° S.: _Samuel Russell_, 16 days; _Hornet_,
_Ocean Pearl_, 17 days; _Bald Eagle_, _Comet_, _Electric_, _Hurricane_,
_Ocean Express_, _Raven_, 18 days; _Electric Spark_, _Galatea_,
_Governor Morton_, _John Gilpin_, _Sovereign of the Seas_, _Sword-Fish_,
_Witch of the Wave_, 19 days; _Aurora_, _Flying Fish_, _Golden Gate_,
_John Wade_, _Mandarin_, _North America_, _Panama_, _Ringleader_,
_Seaman_, _Sea Witch_, _Skylark_, _Trade Wind_, 20 days.

From 50° S. in the Atlantic to 50° S. in the Pacific: _Young America_, 6
days; _Flying Fish_, _Flying Cloud_, _Robin Hood_, 7 days; _Flying
Dutchman_ (twice), _Herald of the Morning_, _Stag Hound_, _Sword-Fish_,
8 days; _Mary L. Sutton_, _Sovereign of the Seas_, _Great Republic_, 9
days; _Atlanta_, _Golden City_, _Hornet_, _Snap Dragon_ (barque),
_Sweepstakes_, _Typhoon_, _Whistler_, 10 days.

From 50° S. in the Pacific to the equator: _Live Yankee_, _Mary L.
Sutton_, 16 days; _Flying Cloud_, _Sweepstakes_, 17 days; _Celestial_,
_Eagle_, _Hurricane_, _John Bertram_, _Surprise_, _Young America_, 18
days; _Belle of the West_, _Courser_, _Don Quixote_, _Flying Dutchman_
(twice), _Flying Fish_, _Mermaid_, _Neptune’s Car_, _Ocean Telegraph_,
_Sirocco_, _Starlight_, _Sword-Fish_, _Wild Pigeon_, _Winged Arrow_, 19
days; _Alarm_, _Archer_, _Electric_, _Flying Dragon_, _Golden Eagle_,
_John Gilpin_, _Malay_, _Stag Hound_, _Starr King_, _Syren_, _Shooting
Star_, _Telegraph_, _Unknown_, 20 days.

From the equator to San Francisco: _White Squall_, 14 days; _Flying
Cloud_, _John Gilpin_, _Phantom_, 15 days; _Antelope_, _Comet_,
_Contest_, _Flying Dutchman_, _Game-Cock_, _Trade Wind_, 16 days;
_Aurora_, _Flying Fish_ (twice), _Sovereign of the Seas_, _Surprise_,
_Young America_, 17 days; _Cleopatra_, _Challenge_, _Golden City_,
_John Bertram_, _Samuel Appleton_, _Seaman_, _Sea Witch_,
_Staffordshire_, _Typhoon_, _Westward Ho_, _Winged Arrow_, 18 days;
_Bald Eagle_, _Boston Light_, _Defender_, _Eagle_, _Electric_, _Golden
Eagle_, _Great Republic_, _Hornet_, _N. B. Palmer_, _Wild Pigeon_, 19
days; _Celestial_, _Cyclone_, _Eureka_, _Governor Morton_, _Herald of
the Morning_, _Intrepid_, _Living Age_, _Ocean Telegraph_, _Raven_,
_Samuel Russell_, _Sparkling Wave_, _Sword-Fish_, 20 days.

These records indicate the remarkable sailing qualities of the clipper
ships, for, if the quickest single runs are added together--the _Stag
Hound’s_ 13 days from Boston Light to the equator with an allowance of 2
days for the run from the equator to Cape St. Roque; the _Samuel
Russell’s_ 16 days from Cape St. Roque to 50° S.; the _Young America’s_
6 days from 50° S. in the Atlantic to 50° S. in the Pacific; the _Live
Yankee’s_ and _Mary L. Sutton’s_ 16 days from 50° S. to the equator; and
the _White Squall’s_ 14 days from the equator to San Francisco--we find
that these six ships sailed long distances at the rate of a passage of
67 days from Boston Light to San Francisco, or 22 days less than the
record of the _Flying Cloud_ and _Andrew Jackson_--89 days. Yet no one
of the six ships which made these splendid runs made the passage from an
Atlantic port to San Francisco in less than 100 days.

The records of the other ships are even more remarkable, for allowing 20
days as the outside limit of the four longer runs, with 10 days from 50°
S. in the Atlantic to 50° S. in the Pacific and 2 days from the equator
to Cape St. Roque, we find that no less than 157 runs were made over
distances of thousands of miles, most of them considerably within an
average rate of 92 days from Sandy Hook to San Francisco, or well within
3 days of the fastest record time. These records prove, if proof were
needed, that the reputation of American clipper ships for speed does not
rest upon the fast passages of a few ships, but is based upon the
established records of many swift vessels.

Judged by any standard of beauty, the American clipper ships were
handsome, noble-looking vessels. During the past fifty years I have seen
many fleets of men-of-war and merchant ships, besides naval reviews, and
at various times the squadrons of yachts that gather each summer in
Cowes Roads and Newport Harbor, but I have never seen a collection of
vessels which could compare in stately beauty with the fleet of American
clipper ships which lay in the harbor of Hong-kong during the autumn of
1858.

The American clippers were all built of wood and their hulls were
painted black from the metal up, though the _Invincible_ carried a
crimson stripe, and the _Challenge_, _N. B. Palmer_, _Sweepstakes_, and
perhaps two or three others, a stripe of gold. Their yards and bowsprits
were usually painted black, the lower masts white to the tops, with the
tops and doublings above scraped bright and varnished, but the
_Challenge_, _Young America_, and _Mandarin_ carried black lower masts,
and a few other ships kept their lower masts bright.

Many of their figureheads were of considerable artistic excellence,
being designed by skilful artists, some of whom have already been
mentioned. The _Romance of the Seas_ carried the full-length figure of
an ancient navigator, whose original might have stood on the high poop
of Magellan’s flag-ship, with head bent forward and right hand raised to
shade his eager eyes, as he gazed upon an unknown land in an uncharted
sea. The _Sea Serpent_ carried a long slender serpent, whose life-like,
slimy-looking body, picked out in shades of green and gold, suggested
his recent escape from the waters of one of the summer resorts along the
Atlantic coast. The _Nightingale_ carried a beautiful bust of Jenny
Lind, for whom she was named. The _Panama_ carried at her bow a nude,
full-length figure of a beautiful woman with arms extended, pure white
and of great artistic merit, perhaps the most beautiful figurehead ever
carried by a ship. The _Flying Fish_ carried a fish on the wing, of
life-like color and giving a vivid sense of speed; the _Witchcraft_, a
grim Salem witch riding upon her aerial broomstick; the _Game-Cock_, a
fighting bird with outstretched neck and head, apparently eager for
combat; the _Northern Light_, the full-length figure of an angelic
creature in flowing white drapery, one graceful arm extended above her
head, and bearing in her slender hand a torch with golden flame.

One of the most striking figureheads was the tall square-built sailor,
with dark curly hair and bronzed clean-shaven face, who stood at the bow
of the _Champion of the Seas_. A black belt with a massive brass buckle
supported his white trousers, which were as tight about the hips as the
skin of an eel, and had wide, bell-shaped bottoms that almost hid his
black polished pumps. He wore a loose-fitting blue-and-white-checked
shirt, with wide, rolling collar, and black neck handkerchief of ample
size, tied in the most rakish of square knots with long flowing ends.
But perhaps the most impressive of this mariner’s togs were his
dark-blue jacket, and the shiny tarpaulin hat which he waved aloft in
the grip of his brawny, tattooed right hand. The only exception that one
could possibly take to this stalwart sailorman was that his living
prototype was likely to be met with so very seldom in real life. There
were many other figureheads that might be mentioned, but these are best
remembered.

In those days New York was one of the most beautiful and picturesque
seaports of the world; the water-front was lined with majestic clippers,
stately Indiamen, and noble packet ships, their American ensigns and
well-known house flags of many brilliant colors floating in the
breeze.[13] The view and skyline of the port from the harbor were very
beautiful; Battery Park with its fine lawns and trees in the foreground,
the graceful spire of Trinity Church forming a prominent landmark, while
clustered on every side were the modest yet dignified and substantial
residences, gardens, and warehouses of the merchants, with a quiet,
refined atmosphere of prosperity and contentment, long since departed.

The New York pilot-boats were remarkably fast and able schooners of from
80 to 90 tons, which cruised to the eastward as far as the Grand Banks,
with a hand in the crow’s nest on the lookout for the packets and
steamships bound for New York. Among these stanch little vessels were
the _Washington_, _Ezra Nye_, _George W. Blunt_, _William H. Aspinwall_,
_Mary Taylor_, _Moses E. Grinnell_, _Charles H. Marshall_, _Mary Fish_,
_George Steers_, and _Jacob Bell_. The New York pilots themselves were a
very superior class of men, who always wore beaver hats when boarding a
vessel, and owned their boats, and it was regarded as a compliment and
an honor for a citizen of New York to have one of their vessels named
for him.

Of the men who commanded the American clipper ships, it may be said that
they carried the ensign of the United States to every quarter of the
globe, with honor to their country and themselves. They were not,
however, all cast in the same mould. Each had his strongly marked
individual traits of character, and his human weaknesses. Nothing could
be more remote from the truth than to imagine these men as blustering
bullies at sea or rollicking shell-backs on shore; neither were they
Chesterfields or carpet knights, afloat or ashore, nor at all the type
of skipper that one is apt to meet in works of fiction. Many of them
might easily have been mistaken for prosperous merchants or professional
men, until a more intimate acquaintance disclosed the aura of salted
winds and surging seas, and a world-wide knowledge of men and cities.
These were the qualities which made so many of these master mariners
delightful companions and welcome guests at the firesides of refined and
luxurious homes, whose doors could not be opened by golden keys. It may
well be doubted whether braver, truer-hearted gentlemen or finer seamen
than many of the American clipper ship captains of half a century ago
have ever sailed the seas.

Many of the clipper ship captains were accompanied on their voyages by
their wives, whose influence at sea was humanizing, while their
companionship was a comfort and solace to their husbands. In foreign
ports, especially in China and India, they were made much of. The
merchants vied with each other to render their visits enjoyable, and
nothing in the way of lavish entertainment or costly gift was regarded
as too good for them. Mrs. Babcock, of the _Sword-Fish_ and _Young
America_; Mrs. Low, of the _N. B. Palmer_; Mrs. Very, of the
_Hurricane_; Mrs. Creecy, of the _Flying Cloud_, and Mrs. Andrews, of
the _Red Gauntlet_, were veritable sea belles, while Mrs. Patten of the
_Neptune’s Car_ proved herself a true heroine.

The _Neptune’s Car_ sailed from New York for San Francisco in June,
1856, and before she reached Cape Horn, Captain Patten was compelled to
put his chief officer under arrest on account of incompetence and
neglect of duty. That winter off Cape Horn was unusually cold and
stormy, and the exposure and fatigue which Captain Patten was obliged to
endure brought on an attack of brain fever which soon resulted in his
becoming entirely blind. The second mate was a good seaman but knew
nothing about navigation. Mrs. Patten at that time was not more than
twenty-four years old, but she had acquired a thorough knowledge of
navigation upon a previous voyage with her husband round the globe, and
she at once assumed command of the ship. For 52 days she navigated this
heavily masted clipper of over 1600 tons, taking her safely into the
harbor of San Francisco, besides acting as nurse and physician to her
husband and keeping him alive by constant care and watchfulness. The
chief mate asked to return to duty, but Mrs. Patten declined his aid, as
she had no faith in his ability or loyalty, and preferred to trust the
faithful though illiterate second mate.

Captain Patten never recovered his health and died at Boston on July 26,
1857, in his thirty-sixth year. His funeral took place at Christ Church
in that city, with the colors of the shipping in the harbor at half
mast, and the bells of the church tolling in his honor. Captain Joshua
A. Patten was born in Rockland, Maine, and had followed the sea from
boyhood. He was a prominent Mason, and for several years had been a
member of Christ Church. Mrs. Mary Patten was a beautiful woman of the
finest New England type, with a refined, gentle voice and manner. While
not active in the then newly-organized women’s rights movement, she was
unwillingly made to appear as the star example of woman’s ability to
compete successfully in the pursuits and avocations of man.




CHAPTER XX

THE GREATNESS AND THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE


The year 1851 is memorable in our maritime annals, because at that time
the United States was at the zenith of her power upon the ocean, and had
completely outstripped her rival Great Britain in the efficiency and
extent of her oversea carrying trade. It is true that the total tonnage
of merchant shipping owned in the United States in this year, including
steam, was only 3,718,640 tons, against 4,332,085 owned by the British
Empire with all its dependencies; but these figures, like many
statistics of this nature, are somewhat misleading. The primary reason
for the existence of a merchant ship is, of course, her ability to pay
her way and earn money for her owners. When a ship ceases to be able to
do this, the sooner she is converted into a hulk or broken up, the
better. So the true measure of a nation’s merchant marine is its earning
capacity, not merely the number or tonnage of its ships; and judged by
this standard, the merchant marine of the United States was at this time
far in advance of the merchant shipping of the whole British Empire.

In the first place, the merchant ships of the British Empire were of
such massive construction that they could not carry at the very most
more than ninety per cent. of the cargo carried by ships of similar
tonnage owned in the United States; then in the matter of speed, an
American merchantman would make five voyages while a British ship was
making four of equal length; and as to freights, the American ships had
the splendid rates to San Francisco all to themselves, while from China
to England the rates of freight were quite double in their favor, as
compared with British ships.

If any one with a liking for statistics will apply these facts to the
foregoing figures, the seeming advantage of tonnage possessed by the
British Empire will disappear and it will be found that the merchant
marine of the United States at that time held a commanding position in
the maritime carrying trade of the world. Furthermore, the ship-builders
of this country still excelled in every branch of merchant marine
architecture.

On the North Atlantic in 1851, the American Collins Line steamships
_Arctic_, _Atlantic_, _Baltic_, and _Pacific_ were competing
successfully with the British Cunarders _Niagara_, _Canada_, _Asia_, and
_Africa_: the _Baltic_ holding the speed record for both the eastern and
the western passages between New York and Liverpool; while the New York,
Philadelphia, and Boston packet ships still held their own. No sailing
ships of other nationalities could compete with them, and though hard
pressed by steamships of the various lines, they still retained their
popularity with passengers and shipping merchants. American ships from
home ports were profitably engaged in the India, China, African, and
South American trades; the New Bedford and Nantucket whaling ships were
to be found upon every sea; the Mississippi, Hudson River, and Long
Island Sound steamboats were the most perfect types of this period for
inland navigation; and the Massachusetts fishing schooners, the North
River sloops, and the New York pilot-boats were far famed for speed and
beauty; while the American clippers were now known and admired
throughout the maritime world.

It was in this year also that the Royal Yacht Squadron presented a cup
to be sailed for at Cowes by yachts belonging to the yacht clubs of all
nations, which, as every one knows, was won by the _America_,
representing the New York Yacht Club.

    “To teach the Mistress of the Sea
       What beam and mast and sail should be,
     To teach her how to walk the wave
       With graceful step, is such a lore
     As never had been taught before;
       Dumb are the wise, aghast the brave.”[14]

Surely De Tocqueville was right when he said: “Nations, as well as men,
almost always betray the most prominent features of their future destiny
in their earliest years. When I contemplate the ardor with which the
Anglo-Americans prosecute commercial enterprise, the advantages which
befriend them, and the success of their undertakings, I cannot refrain
from believing that they will one day become the first maritime power
of the globe. They are born to rule the seas, as the Romans were to
conquer the world.”[15]

This day had then come. The victory of the _America_ off the Isle of
Wight may be likened to the gilded weathercock at the top of some lofty
spire, being highly decorative and at the same time showing the
direction of the wind. At that time the commercial greatness of the
United States rested upon the splendid qualities shown by her sailing
ships and their captains upon the ocean. And after all the only really
rational sovereignty of the seas that exists, or has ever existed, is
maintained by the merchant marine, whose ships and seamen contribute not
only to the welfare and happiness of mankind, but also to the wealth of
the nations under whose flags they sail.

In those early days, as the flaming posters in the downtown streets of
New York used to announce, it was “Sail versus Steam” and the packet
ships justified their claim more than once by beating a steamship from
port to port. When, as not infrequently happened, a packet ship running
before a strong westerly gale in mid-ocean overhauled a wallowing
side-wheel steamer bound the same way, the joyous shouts and derisive
yells of the steerage passengers on board the packet, as she ranged
alongside and swept past the “tea-kettle,” were good for the ears of
sailormen to hear. In those days no sailors liked steamships, not even
those who went to sea in them. If a packet captain sighted a steamer
ahead going the same way, he usually steered for her and passed to
windward as close as possible, in order that the dramatic effect of the
exploit might not be lost upon the passengers of either vessel.

The Atlantic steamship lines with which the packet ships had to compete,
the Cunard, Collins, Havre, Bremen, and Vanderbilt lines, ran only
wooden side-wheel steamers; but when the Inman Line was founded in 1850,
and began to run iron screw steamers between Liverpool and Philadelphia,
the Atlantic packet ships began to lose their trade. Indeed, from 1840,
when the Cunard Line was established, until the Inman Line began to run
their fast iron screw steamships to New York in 1857, the rivalry
between sail and steam was keen and spirited. During these years the
Atlantic mail steamships carried almost as much canvas as sailing
vessels, and they continued to do so for many years. Most of the
Cunarders were barque-rigged, and the famous _Russia_ of that line
carried topmast and topgallant studdingsails. The Allan liners were also
barque-rigged, and the Inman steamships were full ship-rigged, while the
White Star liners were ship-rigged with a jiggermast. It was not until
1889, when the White Star Line brought out the _Majestic_ and the
_Teutonic_ with twin screws, pole masts, and no canvas, that the
Atlantic Ocean began to be navigated by vessels propelled entirely by
steam; so that the complete transition from sail to steam required very
nearly half a century.

It cannot be said that steam competition had any direct effect upon the
California clippers, as it is only of late years that there has been
direct communication by sea between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and
the Pacific Mail Company, after once getting its steamers round into the
Pacific, had always carried passengers, the mails, and specie with
transshipment at Panama. The demand for the California clippers ceased
when rapid transportation of cargoes round Cape Horn became no longer
necessary.

Besides the competition between sail and steam, there was also going on
for many years, as has already been suggested, the attempt to substitute
iron for wood in the construction of vessels, and screw propellers for
paddle-wheels as a means of propulsion by steam. In both branches of
this transition, which were parallel but not necessarily connected,
Great Britain took the lead, and she has rightfully reaped the benefit.

How gradually the change came about will be seen from the following
facts and figures: The first iron sailing ship was the _Vulcan_, built
on the Clyde in 1818, and in the following year the first sailing vessel
with an auxiliary engine crossed the Atlantic. This was the _Savannah_,
a wooden ship of 350 tons, with portable paddles and an engine and
boiler on deck. She was built at New York. The first vessel to cross the
Atlantic using steam-power during the entire voyage was the _Royal
William_, which was taken from Quebec to London in 1833; and in 1838 the
first steamers of British build, the _Great Western_ and the _Sirius_,
made the westward passage. The first steamer constructed of iron was the
_Aaron Manby_, a small paddle-wheel vessel about 50 feet long, built at
Horsley, England, in 1821; and the first screw steamer of any importance
was the _Archimedes_, an iron vessel of 237 tons, built in England in
1839. The _Great Britain_, built at Bristol, England, in 1843, was the
first screw, as well as the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic,
but it was not until 1850, when the Inman liner _City of Glasgow_ began
to run regularly between Liverpool and Philadelphia, that iron screw
steamers took a recognized place upon the ocean.

It is to be noticed how closely these last dates correspond with those
of the clipper ship era, which opened with the advent of the _Rainbow_
in 1843, and was brought to its greatest brilliancy through the
discovery of gold in California and Australia in 1848 and 1851. At this
time each nation was devoting its best talents to developing the
material that lay nearest at hand; and while the American wooden-built
type was earlier brought to perfection, its possibilities were more
limited by natural causes. Greater economy, durability, and regularity
of speed on the part of the iron screw steamer were the qualities that
finally drove from the seas the far more picturesque and beautiful
wooden sailing ship.

The supremacy held by the merchant marine of the United States in 1851
was maintained until about 1856, and during this period American ships
continued to be built, bought, and chartered by British ship-owners; but
after the great financial depression which affected both countries from
1857 to 1859, British ship-owners no longer needed American-built
ships, for in Great Britain iron had by this time superseded wood in the
construction of large vessels. Thus the advantage to the United States
of having an abundant supply of timber was taken away, while the
advantage of Free Trade, with low cost of living, was on the side of
England. Moreover, the spirit of enterprise, which had been growing in
Great Britain during the years of free competition in the carrying trade
since 1849, was having its effect.

Following the repeal of the Navigation Laws, the Merchant Shipping Act
of 1854, a wise and far-seeing measure, completed the foundation upon
which the merchant marine of Great Britain has been developed. This act
of Parliament contains 548 clauses, dealing with all questions which
relate to British merchant ships and seamen, including tonnage. The
ship-builders of Great Britain had been much hampered by the old tonnage
laws and were glad to see them abolished.[16] The new tonnage rules,
which are still in force, were based upon the actual cubic capacity of
the hull, the unit of 100 cubic feet being one ton register, so that a
vessel measuring 100,000 cubic feet internal capacity registers 1000
tons, and is able to carry 2000 tons at 50 cubic feet per ton. This new
system of measurement encouraged the application of scientific knowledge
to the design of vessels, and, as we shall see, helped somewhat to
prolong the clipper ship era in England, when it was practically dead in
the United States.

It is true that during our Civil War American ships were still sold in
England, but this was rather because their owners had no profitable use
for them at home than from any lack of British iron vessels. Since that
period, the decline of American shipping, for reasons that should be
well understood, has been constant.

I refer to the Navigation Laws and Protective Tariff of the United
States. The former, first enacted in 1792 and revised and added to since
that time only in unimportant details, have long out-lived the
usefulness they may once have possessed, and completely fail to meet the
requirements of the changes in ocean navigation that have taken place
during the period of more than a century that has since elapsed. As is
well known, they prohibit an American citizen from owning a
foreign-built merchant ship. Meanwhile the Protective Tariff so
increases the cost of living and with it the cost of the labor and
materials that go into the construction of a modern ship, that the
American ship-builder cannot produce a steel or iron vessel at anything
like a cost that will enable her to compete successfully with a ship of
the same class constructed in a European shipyard. Were it not for this
hindrance, the immense natural advantages of such broad, deep waters as
those of the Delaware and Chesapeake, where the finest coal and iron ore
are within easy transportation, and the abundant food supplies of the
neighboring garden States and of the West which are easily accessible,
would make them ideal spots for the construction of ships. So it will be
seen that the Navigation Laws and Protective Tariff are the mill-stones
between which the American ship-owner and ship-builder at present find
themselves ground with an ever-receding prospect of escape from this
cunningly devised dilemma. Meanwhile, the ensign of the United States no
longer contributes in any marked degree to the gayety of foreign
seaports; whereas, Great Britain, with inferior coal and iron ore,
compelled to import the food and clothing material for her shipwrights
from distant lands, and with certainly no keener intelligence nor
greater energy among her ship-owners and builders, but guided by the
enlightened policy of Free Trade, sends her endless procession of
merchant ships, both sail and steam, to every seaport upon the globe.




CHAPTER XXI

THE LATER BRITISH TEA CLIPPERS


In what may be called the ante-Suez Canal days, China was a pretty
comfortable place to be in. The East India Company, with its pomp and
grandeur, had passed away, but the older residents treasured the
picturesque traditions of former times, and the comfort and luxury of
the old days still survived.

All white foreigners in China were known as Europeans, and at the little
treaty ports along the coast their communities were closely united by
ties of social necessity, the barriers of national prejudice, if they
existed, being soon obliterated in the effort of each member to
contribute to the well-being of all. Hong-kong was the European capital.
With its cathedral, Government House, regiment of soldiers, court of
justice, race-course, social clubs, and annual Derby and Regatta week,
it was a most entertaining pocket edition of England, set down at the
base of a lofty island mountain-peak, between the bluest of seas and the
brightest of skies. Almost the only things that reminded one of the
Orient were the tiers of junks that lay moored at the western end of the
town, and the industrious well-mannered Chinese who mingled so
unobtrusively with their visitors from the west.

All of these things worked together for good. There were no cables or
telegraphs to vex the souls of the righteous. The P. & O. steamer, via
the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, usually arrived every month, though
frequently four or five days overdue, and once in a while she would not
appear at all, having fetched up on one of the numerous uncharted reefs
or shoals that then infested these seas. When she did arrive, there was
a ripple of excitement over receiving letters and newspapers from home,
and when she had departed, the little colony settled once more into
agreeable repose. The towns and cities of America and Europe seemed far
away--bright, shadowy visions that dwelt in our hearts as “home.”

In 1862 the Messageries Imperiales of France extended their steamship
line to China, and in 1867 the first steamship of the Pacific Mail
Company from San Francisco arrived at Hong-kong. Vast numbers of
globe-trotters then began to appear, most of them far too energetic;
they insisted, among other things, on tying their own shoestrings, and
in general proved very inferior lotus-eaters. When the Suez Canal was
opened and telegraph cables began to be laid, then the remnant of charm
that had made the old life in China so pleasant vanished forever.

In 1859 quite a new type of China tea clipper appeared in Great Britain.
The first of these beautiful vessels was the _Falcon_, built by Robert
Steele & Son, at Greenock, and owned by Shaw, Maxton & Co. She was a
wooden vessel of 937 tons register; length 191 feet 4 inches, breadth 32
feet 2 inches, depth 20 feet 2 inches, and was commanded by Captain
Maxton, who had been in command of the _Lord of the Isles_. The _Falcon_
was the first of the really handsome tea clippers sailing out of London.
Like her, the _Fiery Cross_, built by Chalour & Co., of Liverpool, in
1860; the _Min_, by Robert Steele & Son, of Greenock, and the _Kelso_,
by William Pile, of Sunderland, in 1861; the _Belted Will_, by Feel &
Co., of Workington, and the _Serica_, by Robert Steele & Son, in 1863
were all wooden ships sheathed with red copper. The _Fiery Cross_, the
largest of these, was only 888 tons. They were all beautiful vessels of
an entirely original type and with nothing about them to remind one of
the American clippers; for they had considerably less sheer, much less
freeboard, and lower bulwarks, and their comparatively small breadth
gave them a slim, graceful appearance.

These ships and the tea clippers which followed them had very clear
decks for working ship. The deck-houses were small, and with the rails,
bulwarks, waterways, bitts, hatch-coamings, companions, and skylights
were of India teak varnished; the decks, also of India teak, were
holystoned; and this, with the polished brasswork and the spare spars
lashed amidships, made them very smart and shipshape.

The tea-trade in the early sixties was comparatively small, and did not
require many vessels, but speed in the delivery of new teas was of the
utmost importance, and it was this demand that brought these clippers
into existence. They were designed with great skill for this special
purpose, and as they invariably sailed from China with new teas during
the southwest monsoon, it was necessary that they should be smart in
moderate weather going to windward, as well as in getting through the
northeast trades in the Atlantic. It was under these conditions that
they did their best work. They did not carry as heavy spars nor as much
canvas as the American clippers of the same length, and probably could
not have done so to advantage, as their breadth was considerably less,
and with their easy lines they did not require much canvas to drive
them. They were remarkably fast in light and moderate winds, and made
fine averages rather than exceptional daily records of speed, none of
them reaching the extreme speed of many of the sharper and more powerful
American clipper ships. Only twenty-five or thirty of these vessels were
built from first to last, and not more than four or five in any one
year. A list of the most celebrated of them will be found in Appendix
III.

The captains were men of great ability, who handled their ships with
skill and judgment; some of them accumulated considerable fortunes,
being part owners of the vessels which they commanded. These ships were
manned by fine British seamen, many of whom had served in the Royal
Navy. When these fellows got safely to sea and properly sobered up,
there were no smarter sailors afloat, whether aloft or with marlinspike,
palm and needle, or watch tackle.

In 1863 the first tea clippers of composite construction were brought
out--the _Taeping_, built by Robert Steele & Son; the _Eliza Shaw_, by
Alexander Stephen, and the _Yang-tze_ and _Black Prince_, by Alexander
Hall. This system of ship-building--iron frames and wood planking--was
invented by John Jordan, son of a member of the firm of L. H. Macintyre
& Co., ship-builders of Liverpool, who built the schooner _Excelsior_
upon this principle in 1850, and the barque _Marion Macintyre_, in 1851,
these being the first composite vessels constructed.

This system combined the strength of iron frames with the advantage that
the wooden planking could be coppered to prevent fouling, which was a
serious matter in this trade. Great care had to be taken in building
these vessels to prevent galvanic action so far as possible.
Gutta-percha was placed between the frames and planking as a
non-conductor; the planking was then fastened with yellow-metal screw
bolts with counter-sunk heads, the holes being afterwards filled with a
composition prepared for the purpose. Mr. Jordan obtained a patent for
his invention, but it did not attract much attention until adopted in
the construction of the _Taeping_, _Eliza Shaw_, _Yang-tze_, and _Black
Prince_. From that time all the tea clippers were of composite build,
though it was not until 1867 that the Committee of Lloyd’s Register
issued rules for their construction.

It was in 1863 also that the _Seaforth_, an iron ship of 1200 tons,
built for the Calcutta trade by Jones, Quiggin & Co., of Liverpool, was
fitted with steel lower masts, topmasts, topsails yards, and bowsprit,
and with standing rigging of steel wire

[Illustration: The Composite Construction]

rope. It was estimated that by replacing wood and hemp with steel, she
saved 21 tons weight aloft, besides getting less wind resistance and a
very considerable increase in strength. The _Seaforth_ was the first
vessel to have steel spars and rigging, but they soon came into use on
board the tea clippers.

The wild, speculative years of ship-owning which followed the discovery
of gold in California and Australia, when a clipper ship was expected to
pay for herself every voyage or two, had now passed away. Ship-owners
retained a lively recollection of the crash in 1857 and the depression
which followed, so the tea clippers were built with an eye to economy as
well as speed. The rates of freight, which in the early fifties had been
£6 and even as high as £8 per ton, were in 1863 £4 10s. to £5 per
ton--still fine paying rates on the investment of capital, after
allowing for running expenses and depreciation. Ship-owning in Great
Britain had now become established upon a less profitable, though more
rational and substantial basis.

The tea clippers carried from 200 to 300 tons of clean shingle ballast,
laid beautifully smooth and even, upon which the chests of tea were
stowed, and a considerable quantity of dunnage wood, for which
allowances were made in reckoning the actual cargo capacity. The
_Taeping_, which under the new rules based on the cubic capacity of the
hull registered 767 tons, carried 1234 tons of tea at 50 cubit feet per
ton, with a crew of 30 men all told. Vessels were now designed on
scientific principles, and it may be doubted whether the qualities then
desirable in a merchant sailing ship--speed, strength, carrying
capacity, and economy--have ever been so successfully united as in these
famous China tea clippers.

Some exciting contests took place between the various clippers of the
new type, the _Falcon_, _Fiery Cross_, _Serica_, and _Taeping_ proving
the most successful. In the year 1865 the _Fiery Cross_ and _Serica_
sailed from Foo-chow side by side, on May 28th, both bound for London.
After a close race during which they sighted each other several times,
both ships made their signals off St. Catharine’s, Isle of Wight, at
almost the same moment, 106 days from Foo-chow, and continued up Channel
before a light westerly breeze. Off Beechy Head they fell in with the
tugs sent out to meet them, the _Serica_ at that time having a lead of
about two miles. The _Fiery Cross_, however, secured the most powerful
tug and reached her dock one tide before the _Serica_, thus winning the
premium of 10 shillings per ton. The _Taeping_ sailed from Foo-chow some
days later and made the passage to the Downs in 101 days. As may be
supposed, this system of awarding premiums led to a good deal of
unpleasantness.

In 1865, Robert Steele & Son brought out the sister ships _Ariel_ and
_Sir Launcelot_; Alexander Hall, the _Ada_, and Connell & Co., of
Glasgow, the _Taitsing_, all of composite construction; and in the
following year the most famous race between these vessels--the one which
the tea brokers of Mincing Lane still discuss with enthusiasm--was
sailed. It was arranged that nine clippers should sail from Foo-chow as
nearly the same date as possible, and during the last week in May the
picturesque Pagoda Anchorage presented a scene of unusual activity. The
_Ada_, _Black Prince_, _Chinaman_, _Fiery Cross_, _Flying Spur_,
_Serica_, _Ariel_, _Taeping_, and _Taitsing_ were all hurrying to finish
loading and get to sea. Cargo junks and lorchers[17] were being warped
alongside at all hours of the day and night; double gangs of
good-natured, chattering coolies were on board each ship ready to handle
and stow the matted chests of tea as they came alongside; comfortable
sampans worked by merry barefooted Chinese women sailed or rowed in
haste between the ships and the shore; slender six-oared gigs with crews
of stalwart Chinamen in white duck uniforms darted about the harbor;
while dignified master mariners, dressed in white linen or straw-colored
pongee silk, with pipe-clayed shoes and broad pith hats, impatiently
handled the yoke lines.

On shore the tyepans and their clerks hurried about in sedan chairs
carried on the shoulders of perspiring coolies, with quick, firm step to
the rhythm of their mild but energetic “woo ho--woo-ho--woo ho.” The
broad, cool veranda of the clubhouse was almost deserted; in the great
hongs of Adamson, Bell; Gilman & Co.; Jardine, Matheson; Gibb,
Livingston; and Sassoon, the gentry of Foo-chow toiled by candle-light
over manifests and bills of lading and exchange, sustained far into the
night by slowly swinging punkahs, iced tea, and the fragrant Manila
cheroot.

The _Fiery Cross_ was the first ship to get her final chest of tea on
board, at midnight, and she towed to sea early on the morning of May
29th; the _Ariel_ left the Pagoda Anchorage at 10:30 and the _Serica_
and _Taeping_ at 10:50 A.M. on the 30th; the _Taitsing_ followed at
midnight on the 31st. Here we must bid good-bye to the _Ada_, _Black
Prince_, _Chinaman_, and _Flying Spur_, for these vessels,
unfortunately, did not finish loading in time to take part in the race.
The five competing ships, however, represented the flower of the fleet,
and for this reason had been the favorites with shippers. The _Fiery
Cross_, _Taeping_, and _Serica_ were fast and well-tried vessels, while
the _Ariel_ and _Taitsing_ were just beginning their successful career.
The captains, Keay, of the _Ariel_; Robinson, of the _Fiery Cross_;
Innes, of the _Serica_; McKinnon, of the _Taeping_, and Nutsfield, of
the _Taitsing_, were all seamen of skill and experience, well known in
the China trade.

The _Fiery Cross_ found a light northeast breeze outside, and passed
through the Formosa Channel with royal studdingsails set, followed by
the other four ships. They all carried this breeze for four hundred
miles, when the _Fiery Cross_ drifted into a calm which let the other
ships run up, but she was the first to get the southwest monsoon, and
soon drew away again. On June 8th the _Fiery Cross_ and _Ariel_ met on
opposite tacks, both ships having a strong southwest breeze, and the
_Fiery Cross_ passed three miles to windward. She kept her lead through
the Straits of Sunda, passing Anjer Point at noon on June 19th, and was
followed by the _Ariel_ on the morning of June 20th and the _Taeping_
during that afternoon; the _Serica_ passed Anjer Point on the 22d and
the _Taitsing_ on the 25th. From Anjer Point to the meridian of
Mauritius they all carried fresh trade winds, and it was on this stretch
across the Indian Ocean that each ship made her best twenty-four hours’
run--the _Ariel_, 317; _Taeping_, 319; _Serica_, 291; _Fiery Cross_,
328; and _Taitsing_, 318 miles.

The _Fiery Cross_ rounded the Cape of Good Hope on July 14th, 46 days
from Foo-chow, followed by the _Ariel_ also 46 days; _Taeping_, 47 days;
_Serica_, 50 days, and _Taitsing_, 54 days. The _Fiery Cross_ was on the
equator, August 3d, 20 days from the Cape of Good Hope, with the _Ariel_
still only one day astern, while the _Taeping_ and _Taitsing_ had each
gained 1 and the _Serica_ 2 days on this stretch. On August 9th, in
latitude 12° 29′ N., the _Fiery Cross_ and _Taeping_ exchanged signals,
and they continued in company, with calms and variable winds until the
17th, when the _Taeping_ picked up a breeze which carried her out of
sight while the _Fiery Cross_ lay becalmed for another twenty-four
hours. Meanwhile, the _Ariel_, which was about thirty miles further to
the westward, found better winds and now led the fleet, while the
_Taitsing_ brought up a good breeze and passed the _Taeping_, _Serica_,
and _Fiery Cross_ and was closing on the _Ariel_. At the Azores the
_Ariel_ still held the lead, though closely followed by the _Taitsing_,
_Fiery Cross_, _Serica_, and _Taeping_ in the order named. From the
Azores to the entrance of the English Channel, the _Taeping_ and
_Serica_ passed the _Taitsing_ and _Fiery Cross_ and closed on the
_Ariel_, the _Taeping_ leading the _Serica_ by about six hours.

At daybreak on the morning of September 5th, two of the clippers sighted
each other running in for the Lizard; they were about five miles apart,
beam and beam, steering on slightly converging courses. There was a
strong southerly wind with smooth sea, and both ships were being driven
at their utmost speed--a good fifteen knots--their lee scuppers
smothered in foam, with the wind well abaft the starboard beam; both
were under the same canvas, main skysail, topmast, topgallant, royal,
and square lower studdingsails. Neither captain required the example of
the other to send his ship along at her best speed--they had been doing
that for ninety-eight days and nights. When their signals could be made
out these ships proved to be the _Ariel_ and the _Taeping_. After
passing the Lizard the wind moderated, and they raced up channel almost
side by side, now one and then the other gaining a slight advantage, but
never far apart, and as they passed the various headlands along the
coast they presented a spirited marine picture. They were off the pilot
station at Dungeness at three o’clock the next morning and burned their
blue lights for pilots, who boarded both ships at the same time. With a
moderate wind they were now making not more than five or six knots
through the water, but the tide was sweeping them along fast. Off the
South Foreland the wind slackened again with the rising sun. Here the
_Ariel_ held a slight lead and she passed Deal at 8 o’clock, followed by
the _Taeping_ eight minutes later, but as the latter vessel had sailed
from the Pagoda

[Illustration: The “Ariel” and “Taeping” Running up Channel, September
5, 1866]

Anchorage twenty minutes after the _Ariel_, ninety-nine days before, she
had won the race by twelve minutes. Both ships had sailed 16,000 miles.

The _Serica_ passed Deal four hours later; all three ships went up the
Thames on the same tide, and after the usual tugboat race, the _Taeping_
arrived in the London Docks at 9:45, the _Ariel_ in the East India Docks
at 10:15, and the _Serica_ in the West India Docks at 11:30 P.M. on
September 6th. The _Fiery Cross_ passed Deal on the 7th and the
_Taitsing_ on the 9th, each 101 days from the Pagoda Anchorage.

The following is an abstract of their logs:


                 _Ariel_   _Taeping_  _Serica_  _Fiery Cross_ _Taitsing_
From the Pagoda
Anchorage to
Anjer            21 days    21 days     23 days    21 days    26 days.

From Anjer to
the Cape of
Good Hope        25  “      26  “       27  “      25  “      28  “

From the Cape
of Good Hope
to the equator   20  “      19  “       18  “      20  “      19  “

From the equator
to Deal          33  “      33  “       31  “      35  “      28  “
                 --         --          --        ---        ---
Total            99  “      99  “       99  “     101  “     101  “

The best twenty-four hours’ runs were as follows:

                                                _Average_
_Ariel_         June 25       317 miles      13.2 knots.
_Taeping_         “  25       319  “         13.3   “
_Serica_          “  29       291  “         12.1   “
_Fiery Cross_     “  24       328  “         13.7   “
_Taitsing_      July  2       318  “         13.25  “

This contest of 1866 was one of the grandest ocean races ever sailed,
partly on account of the number of evenly matched vessels engaged in it,
but chiefly by reason of the splendid manner in which it was contested
and the close, exciting finish. The tea cargoes of the five ships were:
_Taeping_, 1,108,709 lbs.; _Ariel_, 1,230,900 lbs.; _Serica_, 954,236
lbs.; _Fiery Cross_, 854,236 lbs.; _Taitsing_, 1,093,130 lbs.

The usual altercation arose over the award of premium, which this year
was 10 shillings per ton; Shaw, Maxton & Co., owners of the _Ariel_,
protested that their ship had arrived first at Deal and was therefore
entitled to the prize money, but the contention of Rodger & Co., owners
of the _Taeping_, that their ship had made the fastest passage and had
also reached her dock first, prevailed, and the matter was finally
adjusted by dividing the premium. The captains all dined together at the
Ship and Turtle Tavern in Leadenhall Street, and harmony was restored,
but there were no premiums after this race. The system of awards had
always led to controversy, and such an effort to combine sport and
business could not be made to flourish. There had also been heavy
betting on these races, large sums of money changing hands, and this
continued; but it was better understood whether wagers were being laid
on the clippers or tugboats, for under the old system, there had been
nothing except expense to prevent a ship towing from the Azores.

In the next two years the fleet was increased by a number of fine
vessels, built to meet the competition of steam, which was now beginning
to be felt in the China trade. We have seen how fierce and prolonged a
contest there had been between sail and steam on the Atlantic, where the
brave old packet ships had finally been driven into other trades, and
how the California and Australian clippers had gradually been superseded
by other means of transportation. The difficulty and peculiar conditions
of the China voyage made this a harder field to conquer.

Since 1845 the P. & O. steamers had carried passengers between England
and China via the Red Sea, but they were expensive vessels to operate,
and there were difficulty and delay in transportation across the Isthmus
of Suez; consequently, their rates of freight were high and they were
unable to compete with the tea clippers. On the other hand, auxiliary
vessels did not have sufficient power to drive them against the
southwest monsoon when new teas were shipped from China, as their heavy
masts, yards, and rigging held them back in head winds. A number of
auxiliaries were tried in the China trade, among them the _Scotland_,
_Erl King_, _Robert Lowe_, and _Far East_, but they were not successful.
As late as 1866 there were no steamers that could make the voyage
between England and China with sufficient cargo to meet expenses, and
very few persons at that time believed that the direct trade between
Europe and China could ever be carried on by steamers, or that the Suez
Canal, even if completed, would prove of any commercial value.

In this year, however, Alfred Holt, of Liverpool, brought out three iron
screw steamships with compound engines--the _Ajax_, _Achilles_, and
_Agamemnon_,--2270 tons gross and 1550 tons net register--and put them
in the China trade. These vessels could steam from London to Mauritius,
a distance of 8500 miles, without coaling, a remarkable performance in
those days, and they made the passage from Foo-chow to London in 58
days, at an average speed of 235 miles per day. These were the first
steamships to perform long ocean voyages successfully, and they marked a
new era in steam navigation, although they were expensive vessels to
operate compared with steamers of the present day, and it was at first
doubted whether they could be made to pay.

The owners, builders, and captains of the tea clippers were not men to
yield without a contest; they met this new and aggressive invasion of
steam by building in rapid succession such noted fliers as the
_Titania_, _Spindrift_, _Forward Ho_, _Lahloo_, _Leander_, _Thermopylæ_,
_Windhover_, _Cutty Sark_, _Caliph_, _Wylo_, _Kaisow_, and _Lothair_.
These, with the older tea clippers, held their own against the steamers
until the opening of the Suez Canal in November, 1869, greatly lessened
the length of the voyage and the difficulty and expense of obtaining
coal.

In 1868 the _Ariel_, _Taeping_, and _Sir Launcelot_ sailed from
Foo-chow on May 28th, the _Spindrift_ on the 29th, the _Lahloo_ on the
30th, the _Serica_ on June 1st, and the _Leander_ on June 3d. The
_Ariel_ and _Spindrift_ made the passage to Deal in 97 days, the _Sir
Launcelot_ in 98 days, the _Lahloo_ in 100 days; _Taeping_, 102 days;
_Leander_, 109 days, and _Serica_, 113 days.

The famous tea clipper _Thermopylæ_ was launched in this year. She was
of composite construction, built by Walter Hood, of Aberdeen, for George
Thompson & Co., who also owned the _Star of Peace_, _Ethiopian_,
_Aristides_, _Patriarch_, _Salamis_, and other fine ships well known in
the Australian trade. The _Thermopylæ_ was 947 tons register; length 210
feet, breadth 36 feet, depth 21 feet; she carried double topsails, but
no skysail, and like all the Thompson ships, her hull was painted sea
green from the copper up with white yards and lower masts. She carried a
handsome figurehead of the brave Leonidas, and was a very beautiful
ship. She was designed by Bernard Weymouth, an accomplished naval
architect who was for many years the secretary to Lloyd’s Register of
Shipping. He had before this designed the tea clipper _Leander_, and
later designed the _Melbourne_, a fast ship in the Australian trade,
built and owned by Richard Green, of London, of which further mention
will be made later.

On her first voyage the _Thermopylæ_ sailed from London to Melbourne
under command of Captain Kemball, who had formerly commanded the
_Fairlight_ and the _Yang-tze_. She left Gravesend, November 7, 1868,
and arrived at Melbourne, January 9, 1869, thus making the passage in
the remarkable record time of 63 days, the same time as the record
passage of the _James Baines_, from Liverpool to Melbourne fourteen
years before. She had a fast run of 21 days to the equator; on the three
days before and after crossing the line she made 202, 140, 228, 271,
288, and 293 miles--an unusual rate of speed for that part of the ocean.
Her best days’ runs were made on January 3d and 4th--330 and 326 miles;
her log records on both days “northerly, strong,” so that it may be
assumed that she had as much fair wind as she needed. Her log records
nine days during the passage when her runs were over 300 miles, and five
days of less than 100 miles. The entries on December 9th and 10th are:
“Northwesterly, fresh gale, 240 miles,” and “southwesterly, blowing a
gale, 224 miles.” These were fair winds. An analysis of this log leads
to the conclusion that the _Thermopylæ_ was a very fast ship in average
weather at sea, but in heavy weather could not be driven at a high rate
of speed for a vessel of her length, probably on account of her small
breadth and low foreboard.[18]

She next made the run from Newcastle, New South Wales, to Shanghai in 28
days, which is the record between those ports. On this passage large
days’ runs are not to be expected, but on one day she made 300 miles,
and she showed the same fast averages in moderate weather as before.

There was great excitement in the hongs at the coast ports of China in
this year (1869) when it became known that the _Thermopylæ_ was
chartered to load new teas at Foo-chow for London; for no racing yachts
ever had firmer friends and backers than the tea clippers; moreover, the
rivalry between Aberdeen and the Clyde was acute. Of late years the
Clyde clippers had carried all before them, and it was now felt that
Aberdeen was about to regain her former glory; but this did not prove to
be the case. The _Ariel_ sailed from the Pagoda Anchorage on June 30th;
the _Leander_, July 1st; _Thermopylæ_, July 3d; _Spindrift_, July 4th;
_Taeping_, July 9th, and the _Sir Launcelot_, July 17th. They arrived
off Deal as follows: _Sir Launcelot_, 89 days; _Thermopylæ_, 91 days;
_Taeping_, 102 days; _Leander_, 103 days; _Ariel_, 104 days, and
_Spindrift_, 106 days.

The winner, the _Sir Launcelot_, was commanded by Captain Robinson,
formerly of the _Fiery Cross_, a seaman of great energy and experience.
On this passage she sailed 354 miles in twenty-four hours while running
through the trades in the Indian Ocean, which is believed to be the
greatest speed ever made by any of the tea clippers of that period. This
vessel was 886 tons register; length 197 feet 6 inches, breadth 33 feet
7 inches, depth 21 feet, drawing 18 feet 9 inches aft and 18 feet 7
inches forward, and carried 45,500 square feet of canvas, with a crew of
30 hands all told. She delivered 1430 tons of tea at fifty cubic feet
per ton, and in addition to 200 tons of shingle ballast, she carried 100
tons of kentledge, cast to fit the floors along the keelson between the
fore and mizzen masts. Her owner, James MacCumm, of Greenock, claimed
that she was the fastest of the tea clippers, which her record passage
of 89 days from Foo-chow to London and her twenty-four hours’ run of 354
miles would seem to justify, though there were probably very slight
differences in speed between any of these vessels under similar
conditions of wind and weather.

The race of 1870 from Foo-chow to London was won by the _Lahloo_ in 97
days, the other vessels being: the _Windhover_, 100 days; _Sir
Launcelot_, 102 days; _Leander_, 103 days; _Thermopylæ_, 106 days. In
1871 the _Titania_ won in 93 days; the _Lahloo_, 111 days, from Foo-chow
to London; and from Shanghai to London the _Thermopylæ_ was 106 days;
_Cutty Sark_, 110 days, and _Forward Ho_, 118 days. This was about the
last of the tea clipper racing, for the combined competition of steam
and the Suez Canal proved too powerful for sail. No more tea clippers
were built after 1869; by degrees these beautiful vessels were driven
into other trades; and so the Clipper Ship Era drifted into history.

Great Britain had regained her empire upon the sea, and few British
ship-owners could be found who any longer doubted the wisdom of Free
Trade. Through the irony of fate, Duncan Dunbar, who had been one of the
most vehement opponents of the repeal of the Navigation Laws, became
under the new conditions, the largest ship-owner and one of the
wealthiest in the United Kingdom, leaving at his death an estate of
£1,500,000.

In comparing the speed of the British tea clippers with that of American
clipper ships, a good deal depends on what is meant by speed. In
ordinary weather at sea, when great power to carry sail is

[Illustration: The “Lahloo”]

not required, the British tea clippers were extremely fast vessels,
chiefly on account of their narrow beam, which gave their hulls a
comparatively small wetted surface, and their smooth copper bottoms
which reduced skin resistance. Under these conditions they were,
perhaps, as fast as the American clippers of the same class, though from
very different causes;--such ships, for instance, as the _Sea Witch_,
_Samuel Russell_, _Game Cock_, _Phantom_, _White Squall_, _Nightingale_,
_Shooting Star_, _Northern Light_, _Surprise_, _Witch of the Wave_,
_Sword-Fish_, and others. But if speed is to be considered as the
maximum performance of a ship under the most favorable conditions,
though these conditions may not often occur, then the British tea
clippers were certainly no match for the larger American ships such as
the _Flying Cloud_, _Typhoon_, _Neptune’s Car_, _Challenge_, _Comet_,
_Hurricane_, _Flying Fish_, _Stag-Hound_, _Young America_, _Trade-Wind_,
and others of this class, to say nothing of the _James Baines_, _Red
Jacket_, _Champion of the Seas_, _Lightning_, _Sovereign of the Seas_,
and _Great Republic_. The greater breadth of the American ships in
proportion to their length, meant, in sailing vessels of this type, not
only power to carry canvas, but also power in the form of buoyancy; and
this, with their longer and sharper ends, enabled the American clippers
to be driven at much greater speed than the British clippers in strong
gales and before heavy seas. It should, however, be remembered that none
of the British tea clippers exceeded 1000 tons register, and it may
again be said that they probably combined the good qualities of a
merchant ship in a higher degree than any other vessels that have ever
been built.

The _Melbourne_, already mentioned, was perhaps the fastest ship ever
built in Great Britain. In 1875, commanded by Captain Marsden, she made
the passage from London to Melbourne in the not very remarkable time of
74 days, but when running her easting down in strong westerly gales she
sailed 5100 miles in 17 days, an average of 300 miles a day, and her
best twenty-four hours’ run was 374 miles, an average of over 15½ knots.
She was an iron vessel of 1865 tons register; length 269 feet, breadth
40 feet, depth 23 feet 7 inches, and while not an extreme clipper, was a
finely designed ship.

It should be remembered that both the American and the British clippers
were dependent upon the form of their lines for stability; this problem
in their design was therefore a far more intricate and difficult one to
deal with than that of producing stability by hanging a huge mass of
lead below the body of a hull, as is the custom with our modern racing
yachts.

Yachting is the grandest of sports when yachtsmen handle their yachts
themselves, and there are a good number of yachtsman who are excellent
seamen and navigators. It is pleasant to recall that in the race for the
Emperor’s Cup in 1905, four of the competing yachts were sailed and
navigated by their owners; and although there is far too much wasteful
extravagance and enervating luxury in yachting, still, the increasing
number of yachtsmen who show a keen interest and are amateur experts in
the design, construction, rigging, and sailing of their yachts, is an
encouraging sign for the future of the sport.

Nevertheless, it must be frankly admitted that yacht racing, even across
the Atlantic, in comparison with the old clipper ship racing, resembles
snipe shooting as compared with hunting big game in the wilds of Africa,
while the gold and silver yacht racing cups appear as mere baubles
beside the momentous stake of commercial supremacy for which the
clippers stretched their wings.




CHAPTER XXII

THE FATE OF THE CLIPPER SHIPS


We have already seen how, about the year 1855, the extreme clippers were
succeeded in the United States by a class of vessels known as medium
clippers. These vessels were not so sharp and did not carry as heavy
spars or so much canvas as the old clippers, but they could carry more
cargo and could be handled with fewer men. This made them more
profitable when the demand for speed and the rates of freight had
declined, and the extreme clippers were unable to command any higher
rate than the medium clippers. After the Civil War ship building for the
oversea carrying trade steadily declined, though it was not until 1893
that the last American wooden sailing ship, the _Aryan_, was launched.
During these thirty-eight years a good many ships were built, and by
degrees a new type of vessel, designed to carry large cargoes at
moderate speed, was developed, which enterprising agents advertised as
clippers; but those who had known the real clippers were not deceived.
Many of the old names survived; thus there were a second _Memnon_,
another _Rainbow_, _Sea Witch_, _Oriental_, _Eclipse_, _Comet_,
_Northern Light_, _Ringleader_, _Invincible_, _Witch of the Wave_,
_Blue Jacket_, _Charmer_, _Sovereign of the Seas_, _Lightning_, and
_Andrew Jackson_ which should not be mistaken for the famous clippers
after which they were named.

One may well ask what became of all the splendid clipper ships? The fate
of some of them has already been told in these pages, others have
disappeared from one cause or another, as time went on, until now
scarcely one is left. During the Civil War many of them were sold and
sailed under foreign flags, their names were changed and their identity
all but lost.

Of the more famous early clippers, the _Houqua_ foundered in a typhoon
in the China seas in 1865 while under command of Captain McKenzie. The
_Sea Witch_ made her last voyage to San Francisco in 1852 and then
returned to the China trade for which she had been built. On her voyage
to China in 1855 Captain Fraser was murdered at sea by his chief mate,
and the vessel put into Rio Janeiro, where Captain Lang took command. On
the homeward voyage from Amoy to Havana with a cargo of coolies, the
_Sea Witch_ was wrecked and became a total loss on the eastern coast of
Cuba, March 26, 1856. The _Samuel Russell_ was wrecked in the Gaspar
Straits in 1870, under command of Captain Frederick Lucas.

The _Stag-Hound_ was burnt off the coast of Brazil in 1863, her United
States ensign, which the captain brought off and returned to the owners
in Boston, being the sole relic. The _Surprise_, under command of
Captain Charles Ranlett, struck a sunken rock while beating into
Yokohama Bay and became a total wreck, February 4, 1876; the
_Game-Cock_ was condemned at the Cape of Good Hope in 1880.

The _Staffordshire_ was lost off Cape Sable, while bound from Liverpool
for Boston in December, 1854. She struck on a ledge during a thick fog
and foundered in deep water. Two days before her wreck Captain
Richardson had fallen on deck and fractured his spine, and while he lay
helpless in his berth, Joseph Alden, his chief mate, reported that the
ship was sinking. Captain Richardson gave directions to the mate for
saving the women and children passengers, but declined assistance for
himself. His last words were: “God’s will be done,” and as the vessel
settled deeper and deeper in the water and the waves closed in upon her
deck, the brave spirit of her captain returned to God who gave it, to
join the innumerable host of heroes and martyrs of the sea.

The _Flying Cloud_ was sold to James Baines in 1863 and was destroyed by
fire at St. John, N. B., in 1874. The _Flying Fish_ was wrecked in
November, 1858, while coming out of Foo-chow, bound for New York with a
cargo of tea, and was abandoned to the underwriters, who sold her to a
Spanish merchant of Manila. She was subsequently floated and rebuilt at
Wampoa, her name being changed to _El Bueno Suceso_. She sailed for some
years between Manila and Cadiz, and finally foundered in the China Sea.
The _Typhoon_ was sold to the United States Government during the Civil
War, and was finally broken up. The _Northern Light_ was abandoned at
sea, December 25, 1861, after being in collision while bound from Havre
for New York.

The _Comet_ was sold under the British flag and renamed the _Fiery
Star_. She sailed between England and Australia for several years and
was finally burned at sea in 1865, while on a voyage from Moreton Bay,
Queensland, for London. She had been on fire for twenty-one days when
the crew were rescued by the ship _Dauntless_. The _Trade Wind_, while
bound from Mobile for Liverpool, in 1854, was in collision with the ship
_Olympus_, from Liverpool for New York. Both vessels foundered,
forty-four of the sixty-four passengers and crew of the _Trade-Wind_ and
fifty-two of the fifty-eight on board the _Olympus_ being rescued by the
Belgian barque _Stadt Antwerpen_, Captain Wyteerhoven, and landed at New
York.

The _Nightingale_ was sold to a firm in Salem and sent to Rio Janeiro,
where she was bought and sailed in the African slave trade under the
Brazilian flag. About the year 1860 she was captured by a United States
war-vessel and sent home as a prize. She was subsequently fitted out by
the Government as an armed cruiser during the Civil War, and at the
close of the war was sold and sailed in the California and China trade.
Later she sailed for many years under the flag of Norway. The _Shooting
Star_ was sold to a merchant of Siam in 1862 and was wrecked on the
coast of Formosa in 1867. Captain Low remained in command of the _N. B.
Palmer_ until she was sold abroad in 1872. The _Tornado_, _Whirlwind_,
and _Neptune’s Car_ were sold in England and disappeared from the
Shipping Lists many years ago.

The _Golden Light_ under command of Captain C. F. Winsor, sailed from
Boston on her first voyage bound for San Francisco, February 12, 1853,
and ten days out was struck by lightning which set fire to cargo in the
forehold. After every exertion had been made to save the vessel, Captain
Winsor gave orders to abandon the ship, and at 6 P.M., February 23d, her
people took to the boats. At that time the ship was in flames. Her
foremast had burnt off and fallen; soon after her main-and mizzen-masts
went over the side. She had eleven passengers, including three ladies
who were in the long boat with the captain. There were five boats in
all, four of which, after being adrift eight days, were picked up by the
British ship _Shand_ from Calcutta bound for Boston; the other boat, in
charge of the mate, reached Barbadoes in safety, so that all hands were
saved.

The _Sovereign of the Seas_ was sold to a Hamburg firm and was wrecked
on the Pyramid Shoal in the Straits of Malacca, August 6, 1859, becoming
a total loss. The _Contest_ and _Winged Racer_ were destroyed by the
_Alabama_ off the coast of Java in 1863, and the _Jacob Bell_ by the
_Florida_ during the same year. The _Harvey Birch_ was destroyed by the
_Nashville_ in 1861. The _Flying Dutchman_ went ashore on the Brigantine
Shoal, off the coast of New Jersey, during a thick snowstorm in
February, 1858, and became a total loss. The _Highflyer_, under command
of Captain Gordon B. Waterman, sailed from San Francisco, October 24,
1856, bound for Hong-kong and was never heard from. The _John Gilpin_
struck an iceberg off Cape Horn and foundered, January 29, 1858, while
bound from Honolulu for New Bedford under command of Captain John F.
Ropes, all hands, including fifteen passengers, being saved by the
British ship _Herefordshire_.

The _Phantom_ was lost on Prates Shoal, about two hundred miles
east-southeast of Hong-kong, in 1862, while under command of Captain
Henry Sargent. All hands were saved in the boats, which reached
Hong-kong safely, and a large amount of treasure that she had on board
was also saved. Captain Sargent received great credit for his brave and
judicious action at the time of the wreck; for in those days the China
Sea was filled with junks whose crews required only the sight of a
vessel in distress to turn them into most barbarous pirates. Captain
Sargent soon after took command of the clipper barque _Emily C. Starr_
and sailed from Shanghai for Yokohama. She was never heard from, and it
was supposed that she foundered in a typhoon. Captain Sargent belonged
to an old Boston family whose home was on Beacon Street. He had sailed
with Captain Nickels in the _Flying Fish_ and had also commanded the
ship _Rockland_. He was one of the youngest and most accomplished of all
the American clipper ship captains.

The _Bald Eagle_ and _Romance of the Seas_ both sailed from Hong-kong in
1860 and were never heard from. The _Reporter_ foundered off Cape Horn
in 1863, and in the same year the _Undaunted_ was condemned at Rio
Janeiro.

The _Sweepstakes_ was condemned in Batavia in 1864. The _Great Republic_
was sold to the Merchants’ Trading Company, of Liverpool, in 1869 and
her name was changed to the _Denmark_. She finally foundered in a
hurricane off Bermuda in 1872. The _Morning Star_ was sold to a
Liverpool firm, who renamed her the _Rockingham_; she foundered while on
a voyage from Samarang for Falmouth in 1879. The _Ocean Telegraph_ was
sold to an English firm and renamed the _Light Brigade_ and was finally
condemned at Gibraltar and converted into a coal hulk.

The _Marco Polo_, _Red Jacket_, and _Donald McKay_ ended their days in
the Quebec lumber trade, and the _Lightning_ disappeared from the
Shipping List in 1866. The _Champion of the Seas_ foundered while
homeward bound round Cape Horn in 1877. The _James Baines_ was burnt at
Liverpool in 1858, and her wreck was converted into the old landing
stage for Atlantic steamship passengers, few of whom probably realized
that they were walking over the remains of one of the grandest ships
that ever sailed the sea.

Of the British-built clippers, the first _Lord of the Isles_ built in
1854 was burnt in 1862. The second of the name, built in 1864 by Robert
Steele, of Greenock, was sold in France and became known as the _Paul
Albert_. The _Spindrift_ and _Serica_ were both wrecked in 1869. The
_Forward Ho_ was lost in 1881. The _Sir Launcelot_ was sold to a
merchant of Bombay and sailed for many years between that port and
Mauritius, and was finally wrecked in 1895. The _Cutty Sark_ was sold to
a merchant in Lisbon in 1895. The _Chinaman_ was sunk by a steamer on
the coast of China in 1880. The _Windhover_ was wrecked on the coast of
Australia in 1884. The _Falcon_ was sold in Australia, her name being
changed to the _Sophia Branilla_. She was wrecked on the coast of Java
in 1871. The _Thermopylæ_ is now a schoolship at the mouth of the Tagus.
The _Yang-tze_ was lost in 1872. The first _Guinevere_, built by Robert
Steele, in 1862, was lost in 1866, while the second _Guinevere_, built
by Randolph Elder & Co., in 1868, was sold in Norway. The _Ariel_ sailed
for Melbourne and was never heard from. The _Taitsing_ was wrecked on
the coast of Zanzibar in 1883.

The _Titania_ is the only one of all the old clipper ships that can now
be traced as in active service. She is owned by Madame Maresca, of
Castellamare, and sails under the flag of Italy, usually between
European and South American ports. A few years ago she arrived at New
York, and I was much interested in going on board of her, as I had known
the ship and her captain many years before in China. She appeared so
little changed that it was difficult to realize that nearly forty years
had passed away since I last stood upon her deck one bright June morning
at the Pagoda Anchorage, bidding Captain Burgoyne good-bye as he was
getting under way bound for London with new teas. Her spars had been
somewhat reduced and her rig changed to a barque, but the beautiful
India teak used in the construction of her hull, decks, and bulwarks,
with the polished brasswork of her rails, skylights, bells, and
capstans, blinking cheerfully in the autumn sunshine, seemed to have
paid little heed to the flight and ravages of time.

And so I have endeavored to record the leading events of an era in
maritime history long ago departed; and however much the remarkable
development of steam navigation may have contributed to the welfare of
mankind, I think that the memory of the clipper ships and the men who
built and commanded them, will always find a welcome in the hearts of
those who know and love the sea.




Appendix I

CALIFORNIA CLIPPER SHIPS BUILT IN THE UNITED STATES FROM 1850 TO 1857
INCLUSIVE

1850


     SHIP        TONS  CAPTAIN          BUILDER         OWNER & PORT

_Celestial_       860  Gardner   William H. Webb,    Bucklin & Crane,
                                 New York            New York.

_Eclipse_         223  Hamilton  J. Williams & Son,  T. Wardle & Co.,
                                 Williamsburg, N. Y. New York.

_Game-Cock_       392  Hollis    Samuel Hall,        Daniel C. Bacon,
                                 East Boston         East Boston.

_Governor Morton_ 318  Burgess   James M. Hood,      Handy & Everett,
                                 Somerset            New York.

_John Bertram_    080  Landholm  R. E. Jackson,      Glidden & Williams,
                                 East Boston         Boston.

_Mandarin_        776  Stoddard  Smith & Dimon,      Goodhue & Co.,
                                 New York            New York.

_Race Horse_      512  King      Samuel Hall,        Goddard & Co.,
                                   East Boston         Boston.

_Seaman_         546  Myrick      Bell & Co.,        Funch & Meincke,
                                  Baltimore          Baltimore.

_Sea Serpent_   1337  Howland     George Raynes,     Grinnell, Minturn & Co.,
                                  Portsmouth, N. H.  New York.

_Stag-Hound_    1535  Richardson  Donald McKay,      George B. Upton and Sampson
                                  East Boston        & Tappan, Boston.

_Surprise_      1361  Dumaresq    Samuel Hall,       A. A. Low & Brother,
                                  East Boston        New York.

_White Squall_  1118  Lockwood    Jacob Bell,        W. Platt & Son,
                                  New York           Philadelphia.

_Witchcraft_    1310  Rogers      Paul Curtis,       S. Rogers & W. D. Pickman,
                                  Chelsea, Mass.     Salem.

1851

_Alert_      764  Bursley                             Crocker & Warren,
                          Damariscotta, Me.           New York.

_Challenge_ 2006  WatermanWilliam H. Webb,            N. L. & G. Griswold,
                          New York                    New York.

_Comet_     1836  Gardner William H. Webb,            Bucklin & Crane,
                          New York                    New York.

_Courser_   1026  Berry   Paul Curtis,                Richardson & Co.,
                          East Boston                 Boston.

_Eagle_     1340  Farran  Perrin, Patterson & Stack,  Harbeck & Co.,
                              Williamsburg, N. Y.         New York.

_Eureka_      1050  Canfield   Jacob A. Westervelt & Son,
                                 New York

_Flying Cloud_1793  Creesy     Donald McKay,          Grinnell, Minturn & Co.,
                                 East Boston            New York.

_Flying Fish_ 1505  Nickels    Donald McKay,          Sampson & Tappan,
                                 East Boston            Boston.

_Gazelle_     1244  Henderson  William H. Webb        Chamberlain & Heyser,
                                 New York               New York.

_Golden Gate_ 1347  Barstow                           Taylor & Merrill,
                                 New York               New York.

_Hornet_      1426  Lawrence   Jacob A. Westervelt & Son,  Chamberlain & Co.,
                                     New York                    New York.

_Hurricane_       1607  Very       Smith & Co.,               C. W. & H. Thomas,
                                     Hoboken, N. J.             New York.

_Invincible_      1767  Johnson    William H. Webb,           J. W. Phillips,
                                     New York                   New York.

_Ino_              895  Plummer    Perrin, Patterson & Stack, Sifkin & Ironside,
                                     Williamsburg, N. Y.        New York.

_John Wade_        639  Willis                                Augustine Heard & Co.,
                                     Medford, Mass.             Boston.

_Monsoon_          773  Winsor     Trufant & Drummond,        G. Hussey,
                                     Bath, Me.                  New Bedford.

_Northern Light_  1021  Hatch      Briggs Brothers,           James Huckins & Sons,
                                     South Boston               Boston.

_N. B. Palmer_       1490  Low         Jacob A. Westervelt,   A. A. Low & Brother,
                                         New York               New York.

_Queen of the East_  1275  Bartlett    Metcalf & Co.,         Crocker & Warren,
                                         Damariscotta, Me.      New York.

_Raven_               715  Henry       Hood & Co.,            Crocker & Warren,
                                         Somerset               New York.

_Shooting Star_       903  Baker       J. O. Curtis,          S. G. Reed & Co.,
                                         Medford, Mass.         Boston.

_Snow Squall_         742  Bursley                            Charles R. Green & Co.,
                                         Portland, Me.          New York.

_Southern Cross_      950  Stevens     Briggs Brothers,       Baker & Morrell,
                                         Boston                 Boston.

_Staffordshire_      1817  Richardson  Donald McKay,          Enoch Train & Co.,
                                         East Boston            Boston.

_Sword-Fish_         1036  Babcock     William H. Webb,       Barclay & Livingston,
                                         New York               New York.

_Syren_              1064  Silsbee     Isaac Taylor,          G. Z. Silsbee & Co.,
                                         Medford, Mass.         Boston.

_Tornado_            1801  Mumford     J. Williams,           W. T. Frost & Co.,
                                         Williamsburg, N. Y.    New York.

_Trade-Wind_         2030  Osgood      Jacob Bell,            W. Platt & Son,
                                         New York               Philadelphia.

_Typhoon_            1610  Salter      Fernald & Pettigrew,   D. & A. Kingsland,
                                         Portsmouth, N. H.      New York.

_Wild Pigeon_         996  Putnam    George Raynes,         Olyphant & Co.,
                                     Portsmouth, N. H.      New York.
_Witch of the Wave_  1500  Millett   George Raynes,         Glidden & Williams,
                                     Portsmouth, N. H.      Boston.

1852

_Antelope_           1187  Cole      J. Williams & Son,     Harbeck & Co.,
                                     Williamsburg, N. Y.    New York.
_Ariel_              1340  Delano    Patten & Co.,          Patten & Co.,
                                     Bath, Me.              Bath, Me.
_Bald Eagle_         1790  Dumaresq  Donald McKay,          George B. Upton,
                                     East Boston            Boston.
_Celestial Empire_   1399  Pierce    J. Stetson,            C. H. Parsons & Co.,
                                     East Boston            New York.
_Cleopatra_          1562  Thayer    Paul Curtis,
                                     East Boston
_Climax_             1051  Howes                            Howes & Crowell,
                                                            Boston.
_Contest_            1150  Brewster  Jacob A. Westervelt,   A. A. Low & Brother,
                                     New York               New York.
_Dauntless_           791  Miller
_Fleetwood_           666  Dale      George Raynes,         Captain and others,
                                     Portsmouth, N. H.      Boston.

_Flying Childers_  1125  Cunningham  Samuel Hall,          Cunningham & Sons,
                                     East Boston           Boston.
_Flying Dutchman_  1257  Hubbard     William H. Webb,
                                     New York
_Golden City_      810   Canfield    Jacob A. Westervelt,  H. A. Pierce & Co.,
                                     New York              Boston.
_Golden Eagle_     1120  Fabens      Hayden & Co.,         William Lincoln & Co.,
                                     Medford, Mass.        Boston.
_Golden Light_     1141  Winsor      Briggs Brothers,      James Huckins & Sons,
                                     South Boston          Boston.
_Golden State_     1363  Barstow     Jacob A. Westervelt,  A. A. Low & Brother,
                                     New York              New York.
_Golden West_      1443  Kerwin      Paul Curtis,          Glidden & Williams,
                                     Boston                Boston.
_Highflyer_        1092  Waterman    Currier & Townsend,   David Ogden,
                                     Newburyport           New York.
_Jacob Bell_       1382  Kilham      Jacob Bell,           A. A. Low & Brother,
                                     New York              New York.
_John Gilpin_      1089  Doane       Samuel Hall,          Pierce & Hunnewell,
                                     East Boston           Boston.
_Messenger_        1350  Corning     Jacob Bell,           Slade & Co.,
                                     New York              New York.
_Meteor_           1063  Pike        Briggs Brothers,      Curtis & Peabody,
                                     South Boston          Boston.

_Phantom_                1177  Paterson    J. O. Curtis,         Henry P. Sturgis,
                                           Medford, Mass.        Boston.
_Polynesia_              1068  Watson      Samuel Hall,          Hunnewell, Pierce & Co.,
                                           Boston                Boston.
_Queen of the Seas_      1400  Knight      Paul Curtis,          Glidden & Williams,
                                           East Boston           Boston.
_Radiant_                1300  Hallet      Paul Curtis,          Baker & Morrell,
                                           East Boston           Boston.
_Red Rover_              1021  Putnam      Fernald & Pettigrew,  R. C. Taylor,
                                           Portsmouth, N. H.     New York.
_Simoon_                 1436  Smith       Jabez Williams,       B. A. Mumford & Co.,
                                           New York              New York.
_Sovereign of the Seas_  2421  McKay       Donald McKay,         Grinnell, Minturn & Co.,
                                           East Boston           New York.
_Storm_ (barque)          545  Roberts                           Chamberlain & Heyser,
                                           Sag Harbor            New York.
_Westward Ho_            1600  Hussey      Donald McKay,         Sampson & Tappan,
                                           East Boston           Boston.
_Whirlwind_               962  Burgess     J. O. Curtis,         W. & F. H. Whitmore,
                                           Medford, Mass.        Boston.
_Winged Racer_           1760  Esterbrook  R. E. Jackson,        R. L. Taylor,
                                           East Boston           New York.
_Wizard_                 1600  Woodside    Samuel Hall,          Slade & Co.,
                                           Boston                New York.

1853

_Amphitrite_         1687            Samuel Hall,
                                    East Boston
_Archer_             1098  Bursley   Hood & Co.,           Crocker & Warren,
                                     Somerset              New York.
_Belle of the West_  936   Howes                           Glidden & Williams,
                                     Dennis                Boston.
_Black Warrior_      1878  Murphy    Austin & Co.,         W. Wilson & Sons,
                                     Damariscotta, Me.     Baltimore.
_Bonita_             1127  Windsor                         Hallett & Co.,
                                     Boston                Boston.
_Boston Light_       1164  Crowell   Briggs Brothers,      James Huckins & Sons,
                                     Boston                Boston.
_Challenger_         1334  Hill      R. E. Jackson,        Whitmore & Son,
                                     East Boston           Boston.
_Cyclone_            1109  Osgood    Briggs Brothers,      Curtis & Peabody,
                                     Boston                Boston.
_Dashing Wave_       1239  Young     Fernald & Pettigrew,  S. Tilton,
                                     Portsmouth, N. H.     Boston.
_David Brown_        1715  Brewster  Roosevelt & Joyce,    A. A. Low & Brother,
                                     New York              New York.
_David Crockett_     1679  Spicer    Greenman & Co.,       Handy & Everett,
                                     Mystic, Conn.         New York.

_Don Quixote_          1470  Nott                            John E. Lodge,
                                       Medford, Mass.      Boston.
_Eagle Wing_           1174  Linnell     J. O. Curtis,       Chase & Tappan,
                                       Medford, Mass.      Boston.
_Edwin Forrest_        1200              D. D. Kelly,
                                         East Boston
_Empress of the Seas_  2200  Putnam      Donald McKay,       W. Wilson & Son,
                                       East Boston         Baltimore.
_Fearless_             1183  Manson      A. & G. T. Sampson, W. F. Weld & Co.,
                                        East Boston         Boston.
_Flora Temple_         1915 Myers        J. Abraham,         Abraham & Oshcroft,
                                        Baltimore           Baltimore.
_Flying Dragon_        1140  Baker       Trufant & Drummond, S. G. Reed & Co.,
                                        Bath, Me.           Boston.
_Gauntlet_             1860  Borland     T. J. Southard,     Stephenson & Thurston,
                                         Richmond, Me.       New York.
_Great Republic_       3357  Limeburner  Donald McKay,       A. A. Low & Brother,
                                         East Boston         New York.
_Guiding Star_          899  Hale        J. Currier,         C. Hill & Co.,
                                         Newburyport, Mass.  Newburyport, Mass.
_John Land_            1061  Howes       Briggs Brothers,    Baker & Morrell,
                                         South Boston        Boston.
_Kate Hooper_          1507  Johnson     Hunt & Wagner,      J. Hooper,
                                         Baltimore           Baltimore.

_Kathay_          1460   Stoddard            Jacob A. Westervelt,
                                           New York
_Kingfisher_      1300   Crosby                                    William Lincoln & Co.,
                                           Medford, Mass.        Boston.
_Lightfoot_       1996                       Jackson & Ewell,
                                           East Boston
_Live Yankee_     1637   Thorndike                                 Foster & Nickerson,
                                           Rockland, Me.         New York.
_Matchless_       1033   Potter                                    N. S. Goddard,
                                           Chelsea, Mass.        Boston.
_Morning Light_   1713   Knight              Toby & Littlefield,   Glidden & Williams,
                                           Portsmouth, N. H.     Boston.
_Mystery_         1200                       Samuel Hall,
                                           East Boston
_Neptune’s Car_   1616   Patten                                    Foster & Nickerson,
                                           Portsmouth, Va.       New York.
_North Wind_      1041   Gore                Jacob Bell,           Grinnell, Minturn & Co.,
                                           New York              New York.
_Oriental_        1654   Fletcher            Samuel Hall,          D. G. & W. B. Bacon.
                                           East Boston           Boston.
_Pamparo_         1376   Coggins             Charles Mallory,      J. Bishop & Co.,
                                           Mystic, Conn.         New York.
_Panama_          1349   Cave                Thomas Collyer,       N. L. & G. Griswold,
                                           New York              New York.

_Queen of Clippers_     2360   Zerega     Jackson & Ewell,       Zerega & Co.,
                                        East Boston            New York.
_Red Gauntlet_          1038   Andrews    J. W. Cox,             F. Boyd & Co.,
                                        Robbinston, Me.        Boston.
_Reporter_              1474   Howes      Paul Curtis,           E. Snow,
                                        East Boston            Boston.
_Ringleader_            1156   Matthews                          Howes & Crowell,
                                        Medford, Mass.         Boston.
_Romance of the Seas_   1782   Dumaresq   Donald McKay,          George B. Upton,
                                        East Boston            Boston.
_Skylark_               1209   Henry      Hood & Co.,            Crocker & Warren,
                                        Somerset               New York.
_Snapdragon_ (barque)   619    Brown      William H. Webb,
                                        New York
_Spirit of the Times_   1206   Klein      Cooper & Slicer,       Aymer & Co.,
                                        Baltimore              New York.
_Spitfire_              1550   Arey                              Manning & Stanwood,
                                        Frankfort, Me.         Boston.
_Storm King_            1408   Callahan   Isaac Taylor,          John E. Lodge,
                                        Chelsea, Mass.         Boston.
_Sweepstakes_           1735   Lane       Jacob A. Westervelt,   Grinnell, Minturn & Co.,
                                        New York               New York.
_Undaunted_             1371   Freeman    Snow & Hall,           W. H. Foster & Co.,
                                        Bath, Me.              Boston.

_Viking_          1449   Windsor   Trufant & Drummond,   G. Hussey,
                                 Bath, Me.             New Bedford.
_Whistler_        820    Brown     George W. Jackman,    Bush & Wildes,
                                 Newburyport, Mass.    Boston.
_Wild Wave_       1547   Knowles   G. H. Ferrin,         Benjamin Bangs,
                                 Richmond, Me.         Boston.
_Young America_   1961   Babcock   William H. Webb,      George Daniels,
                                 New York              New York.

1854

_Adelaide_        1831   Wakeman   Jacob Bell,           Williams & Guion,
                                 New York              New York.
_Canvas Back_     735    Clarke                          S. Lurman,
                                 Baltimore             Baltimore.
_Black Prince_    1050   Brown     George W. Jackman,    Bush & Wildes,
                                 Newburyport, Mass.    Boston.
_Electric_        1271   Gates                           C. Adams,
                                 Mystic, Conn.         New York.
_Fleetwing_       912    Howes     Hayden & Cudworth,    Crowell, Brooks,
                                 Medford, Mass.        Boston.
_Grace Darling_   1240   Doane     Briggs Brothers,      C. B. Fessenden,
                                 South Boston          Boston.
_Harvey Birch_      1488   Nelson          Irons & Grinnell,      J. H. Brower & Co.,
                                         Mystic, Conn.          New York.
_Midnight_          1000   Hatch           Fernald & Pettigrew,   Henry Hastings,
                                         Portsmouth, N. H.      Boston.
_Nabob_             1254   Baxter          J. Taylor,             William Appleton,
                                         Chelsea, Mass.         Boston.
_Nonpareil_         1431                   Dunham & Co.,          T. Richardson & Co.,
                                         Frankfort, Me.         New York.
_Nor’wester_        1267   Gregory         S. Lapham,             Coolidge & Co.,
                                         Medford, Mass.         Boston.
_Ocean Telegraph_   1492   Willis          J. O. Curtis,          S. G. Reed & Co.,
                                         Medford, Mass.         Boston.
_Rattler_           794    Forrest         Forster & Borze,       D. Stewart,
                                         Baltimore              Baltimore.
_Robin Hood_        1185   Sears           Hayden & Cudworth,     Howe & Crowell,
                                         Medford, Mass.         Boston.
_Sancho Panza_      850    Friend                                 John E. Lodge,
                                         Medford, Mass.         Boston.
_Saracen_           1266   Barry           Briggs Brothers,       Curtis & Peabody,
                                         South Boston           Boston.
_Sierra Nevada_     1942   Penhallow       Toby & Littlefield,    Glidden & Williams,
                                         Portsmouth, N. H.      Boston.
_Starlight_         1150   Matthews        Briggs Brothers,       Baker & Morrell,
                                         South Boston,          Boston.
_Starr King_        1170   Turner           George W. Jackman,     Bates & Thaxter,
                                          Newburyport, Mass.     Boston.
_Swallow_           1435   Tucker           Robert E. Jackson,     W. T. Dugan,
                                          East Boston.           New York.

1855

_Andrew Jackson_    1676   Williams         Irons & Grinnell,      J. H. Brower & Co.,
                                          Mystic, Conn.          New York.
_Beacon Light_      1320   Barwell                                 J. A. Stetson,
                                          Chelsea, Mass.         Boston.
_Carrier Dove_      1694   Conner           J. Abraham,            Montell & Co.,
                                          Baltimore.             Baltimore.
_Charmer_           1060   Lucas            George W. Jackman,     Burt & Wildes,
                                          Newburyport, Mass.     Boston.
_Courier_           1025   Smith                                   Foster & Elliott,
                                          Newburyport, Mass.     New York.
_Daring_            1097   Simonson         George W. Jackman,     Bush & Comstock,
                                          Newburyport, Mass.     Boston.
_Electric Spark_    1215   Howes            Thacher & Magoun,      Magoun & Co.,
                                          Medford, Mass.         Boston.
_Golden Fleece_     1538   Manson           Paul Curtis,           Weld & Baker,
                                          East Boston.           Boston.
_Herald of the Morning_ 1300    Baker      Thacher & Magoun,      Magoun & Co.,
                                         Medford, Mass.         Boston.
_Mary Whitridge_     978  Cheesebrough     Hunt & Wagner,         T. Whitridge,
                                         Baltimore.             Baltimore.
_Noonday_           1177  Gerry            Fernald & Pettigrew,   Henry Hastings,
                                         Portsmouth, N. H.      Boston.
_Ocean Express_     1699  Cunningham       J. O. Curtis,          Reed & Wade,
                                         Medford, Mass.         Boston.
_War Hawk_          1067  Simmons          George W. Jackman,     Captain and others,
                                         Newburyport, Mass.     Boston.

1856

_Alarm_             1184  Matthews         Briggs Brothers,       Baker & Morrell,
                                         South Boston.          Boston.
_Euterpe_           1984  Avery            H. Merriman,           Foster & Nickerson,
                                         Rockland, Me.          New York.
_Florence_          1310  Dumaresq         Samuel Hall, Jr.,      R. B. & John M. Forbes,
                                         East Boston,           Boston.
_Flying Mist_       1150  Fennell          J. O. Curtis,          T. Chase & Co.,
                                         Medford, Mass.         Boston.
_Intrepid_          1173  Gardner          William H. Webb,       Bucklin & Crane,
                                         New York.              New York.

_Mary L. Sutton_  1450  Rowland  Charles Mallory,   Charles Mallory,
                                 Mystic, Conn.      Mystic, Conn.

_Norseman_        820   Haskell  R. E. Jackson,     Cunningham Brothers,
                                 East Boston.       Boston.

_Witch of the Wave_ 1200  Todd                      Titcomb & Co.,
                                 Portsmouth, N. H.  Newburyport, Mass.

1857

_Black Hawk_   1108     Bowers   William H. Webb,   Bucklin & Crane,
                                 New York.          New York.

_Black Hawk_   970      Shoof    J. Currier,        M. Devenport & Co.,
                                 Newburyport, Mass. Newburyport, Mass.

_Hotspur_    862        Porter   Roosevelt & Joyce, Wisner, McCready & Co.,
                                 New York.          New York.

_Twilight_    1482      Gates    Charles Mallory,   G. Gates & Co.,
                                 Mystic, Conn.      Mystic, Conn.




Appendix II

RECORD PASSAGES OF THE CALIFORNIA CLIPPER SHIPS MADE IN 110 DAYS OR LESS
FROM 1850 TO 1860, INCLUSIVE


1850

                       PORT OF           ARRIVAL AT
SHIP                   DEPARTURE         SAN FRANCISCO    DAYS

_Celestial_              New York          November 1       104
_Race Horse_             Boston            November 24      109
_Samuel Russell_         New York          May 1            109
_Sea Witch_              New York          July 24           97

1851

_Challenge_              New York          October 29       108
_Flying Cloud_           New York          August 31         89
_N. B. Palmer_           New York          August 21        106
_Raven_                  Boston            November 19      105
_Sea Witch_              New York          November 20      110
_Seaman_                 New York          March 11         107
_Stag-Hound_             New York          May 26           107
_Surprise_               New York          March 19          96
_Typhoon_                New York          November 18      106
_Witchcraft_             New York          August 11        103

1852

_Celestial_              New York          February 17      106
_Comet_                  New York          January 13       103
_Courser_                Boston     April 28     108
_Eclipse_                New York   April 22     104
_Northern Light_         Boston     March 8      109
_Sea Witch_              New York   December 8   108
_Staffordshire_          Boston     August 13    101
_Sword-Fish_             New York   February 10   90
_Flying Fish_            Boston     February 17   98
_John Bertram_           Boston     March 26     105
_Shooting Star_          Boston     August 17    105
_White Squall_           New York   July 29      110
_Wild Pigeon_            New York   January 28   104
_Sovereign of the Seas_  New York   November 15  103

1853

_Bald Eagle_             New York   April 11     107
_Contest_                New York   February 24  108
_Contest_                New York   October 24    97
_Flying Cloud_           New York   August 12    105
_Flying Dutchman_        New York   January 27   104
_Flying Dutchman_        New York   October 7    106
_Flying Fish_            New York   February 1    92
_Golden Age_ (barque)    Boston     May 31       103
_Golden Gate_            New York   March 20     102
_Hornet_                 New York   August 12    105
_Invincible_             New York   September 9  110
_John Gilpin_            New York   February 2    93
_Meteor_                 Boston     March 10     110
_Oriental_               New York   May 7        100
_Phantom_                Boston     April 21     104
_Rebekah_ (barque)       Baltimore  May 10       106
_Sea Serpent_            New York   June 1       107
_Sword-Fish_             New York   May 30       105
_Storm_ (barque)         New York   April 10     109
_Tornado_                New York   May 2        109
_Trade-Wind_             New York   February 24  102
_Westward Ho_            Boston     February 1   103
_Witchcraft_             New York   July 8       110
_Winged Racer_           New York  March 30     105
_Young America_          New York  August 29    110

1854

_Archer_                 New York  April 29     106
_Challenger_             Boston    June 9       110
_Courier_                Boston    April 28     108
_David Brown_            New York  March 23      98
_Eagle_                  New York  February 16  103
_Eagle Wing_             Boston    April 5      106
_Flying Cloud_           New York  April 20      89
_Golden City_            New York  February 8   105
_Herald of the Morning_  Boston    May 7        106
_Hurricane_              New York  September 4   99
_Matchless_              Boston    February 8   109
_Pamparo_                New York  January 25   105
_Polynesia_              New York  April 10     104
_Ringleader_             Boston    February 8   109
_Romance of the Seas_    Boston    March 23      96
_Samuel Russell_         New York  January 20   106
_San Francisco_          New York  February 8   105
_Stag-Hound_             New York  August 14    110
_Westward Ho_            New York  February 28  106
_Witchcraft_             New York  August 15     97
_Young America_          New York  October 20   110

1855

_Boston Light_           Boston    April 11     102
_Cleopatra_              New York  March 4      107
_Don Quixote_            Boston    March 29     108
_Electric_               New York  March 4      109
_Flying Cloud_           New York  June 6       108
_Flying Fish_            Boston    January 10   109
_Flying Fish_            Boston    December 27  105
_Golden Eagle_           New York  August 25    106
_Governor Morton_        New York          April 2          104
_Greenfield_ (barque)    New York          May 6            110
_Herald of the Morning_  New York          May 16            99
_Meteor_                 Boston            August 30        108
_Neptune’s Car_          New York          April 25         100
_Red Rover_              New York          June 13          107
_Telegraph_              Boston            April 9          109
_Westward Ho_            Boston            April 24         100

1856

_Antelope_               New York          March 15          97
_David Brown_            New York          April 28         103
_Don Quixote_            Boston            May 31           108
_Electric Spark_         Boston            April 9          106
_Flyaway_                New York          April 8          106
_Mary L. Sutton_         New York          July 20          110
_North Wind_             Boston            July 21          110
_Phantom_                New York          April 29         101
_Red Rover_              New York          April 7          110
_Reporter_               New York          March 27         107
_Ringleader_             Boston            February 3       106
_Sweepstakes_            New York          May 25            94
_Tornado_                New York          March 27         110
_Wild Hunter_            Boston            April 29         108
_Young America_          New York          October 14       107

1857

_Andrew Jackson_         New York  February 28              100
_Flying Dragon_          New York  April 10                  97
_Flying Dutchman_        New York  September 10             102
_Flying Fish_            Boston  October 2                  100
_John Land_              New York  July 30                  104
_Reporter_               New York  April 17                 110
_Westward Ho_            New York  March 26                 100

1858

_Andrew Jackson_  New York  April 27   103
_Dashing Wave_  New York  August 18   107
_Don Quixote_   New York  March 4   108
_Esther May_   Boston  May 19   103
_John Land_   New York  July 24   108
_Twilight_   New York  April 16   100

1859

_Andrew Jackson_  New York  April 5   102
_Robin Hood_   New York  March 25   107
_Sierra Nevada_  New York  December 17  97
_Young America_  New York  July 24   105

1860

_Andrew Jackson_  New York  March 23   89
_Archer_    New York  March 18   106
_Lookout_    New York  February 20  108
_Mary L. Sutton_  New York  May 12   103
_Ocean Telegraph_  New York  March 13   109
_White Swallow_  New York  August 7   110

During the forty-five years that have elapsed since the close of the
Civil War a large number of sailing ships have been built for the
California trade, and it is a notable fact that only two of these
vessels made the passage from an Atlantic port to San Francisco in less
than one hundred days. The _Seminole_, built by Maxon & Fish at Mystic,
Connecticut, in 1865, arrived at San Francisco from New York, March 10,
1866, in 96 days, and the _Glory of the Seas_, already mentioned as the
last ship built by Donald McKay, made the same voyage, arriving at San
Francisco, January 18, 1874, in 94 days.

The two most successful ships in after years were the _David Crockett_
and _Young America_. Both were built in 1853, and both continued in the
San Francisco trade until 1883, during which time the _David Crockett_
made her best twelve passages from New York to San Francisco in an
average of 109-7/12 days each, her best being 102 days in 1872. The
_Young America_, during this period also made twelve passages in an
average of 110-7/12 days each, her best being 102 days in 1880.

As these ships were by many years the oldest survivors of the California
clippers, there was a good deal of rivalry between them, and their
records show that they were very evenly matched. It should, however, be
remembered that about the year 1860 their spars and canvas were
considerably reduced and that they were fitted with double topsail
yards, all of which hampered their speed in moderate weather. Indeed,
they resembled two faded beauties who in their youth had been rival
belles.




Appendix III

CHINA TEA CLIPPERS, 1859-1869


  SHIP               TONS CONSTRUCTION  BUILDER                 YEAR

_Falcon_             937    Wood     Robert Steele & Sons,
                                     Greenock                   1859
_Isle of the South_  821     “       Laing & Co., Sunderland    1859
_Fiery Cross_        888     “       Chalour & Co., Liverpool   1860
_Min_                629     “       Robert Steele & Sons,
                                       Greenock                 1861
_Kelso_              556     “       Pile & Co., Sunderland     1861
_Belted Will_        812     “       Feel & Co., Workington     1863
_Serica_             708     “       Robert Steele & Sons,
                                       Greenock                 1863
_Taeping_            767  Composite  Robert Steele & Sons,
                                       Greenock                 1863
_Eliza Shaw_         696     “       Alexander Stephen, Glasgow 1863
_Yang-tze_           688     “       Alexander Hall, Aberdeen   1863
_Black Prince_       750     “       Alexander Hall, Aberdeen   1863
_Ariel_              853     “       Robert Steele & Sons,
                                       Greenock                 1865
_Ada_                686     “       Alexander Hall, Aberdeen   1865
_Sir Launcelot_      886     “       Robert Steele & Sons,
                                       Greenock                 1865
_Taitsing_           815     “       Connell & Co., Glasgow     1865
_Titania_            879     “       Robert Steele & Sons,
                                       Greenock                 1866
_Spindrift_          899     “       Connell & Co., Glasgow     1867
_Forward_ Ho         943     “       Alexander Stephen, Glasgow 1867


 SHIP         TONS   CONSTRUCTION         BUILDER               YEAR

_Leander_       883   Composite  Lawrie & Co., Glasgow     1867
_Lahloo_        779     “        Robert Steele & Sons,
                                 Greenock                1867
_Thermopylæ_    947     “        Walter Hood, Aberdeen     1868
_Windhover_     847     “        Connell & Co., Glasgow    1868
_Cutty Sark_    921     “        Scott & Co., Dumbarton    1868
_Caliph_        914     “        Alexander Hall, Aberdeen  1869
_Wylo_          799     “        Robert Steele & Sons,
                                 Greenock                1869
_Kaisow_        795     “       Robert Steele & Sons,
                                Greenock 1869
_Lothair_       794     “       Walker & Son, London       1869




Appendix IV

RULES FOR TONNAGE MEASUREMENTS


The English system of measuring the tonnage of vessels in the eighteenth
century is given in Falconer’s _Marine Dictionary_, 1780, as follows:

“To determine the burden, or, in other words, the tonage, of a ship, it
is usual to multiply the length of keel into the extreme breadth of the
ship within board, taken along the midship beam, and multiplying the
product by the depth in the hold from the plank joining to the keelson
upwards to the main-deck, and divide the last product by 94; then will
the quotient be the burden required, in tons.”

This rule continued in force till 1819, when it was changed by the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty as follows:

“Multiply the length of the keel by the breadth of beam, and that
product by half the breadth of beam, and divide the last product by 94,
and the quotient will be the tonnage” (_Marine Dictionary_, William
Burney, LL.D., 1830). Dr. Burney remarks: “It appears from the general
construction of merchant ships, that more attention is paid to evade the
tax on tonnage than to their sailing well with the wind in different
directions; and if the real tonnage of ships were taken, an alteration
would soon be made in the construction for the better.”

This form of the rule continued until 1842, when by Act of Parliament
the following method was adopted:

“Divide the length of the upper deck between the after part of the stem
and the fore part of the stern-post into six equal parts. Depths: at the
foremost, the middle, and the aftermost of these points of division,
measure in feet and decimal parts of a foot the depths from the under
side of the upper deck to the ceiling at the limber strake. In the case
of a break in the upper deck, the depths are to be measured from a line
stretched in a continuation of the deck. Breadths: Divide each of those
three depths into five equal parts, and measure the inside breadths at
the following points--viz., at one fifth and at four fifths from the
upper deck of the foremost and aftermost depths, and at two fifths and
four fifths from the upper deck of the midship depth. Length: At half
the midship depth, measure the length of the vessel from the after part
of the stem to the fore part of the stem-post; then, to twice the
midship depth add the foremost and the aftermost depths; add together
the upper and lower breadths at the foremost division, three times the
upper breadth, and the lower breadth, at the midship division and the
upper and twice the lower breadth at the after division, for the sum of
the breadths; then multiply the sum of the depths by the sum of the
breadths, and this product by the length, and divide the final product
by three thousand five hundred, which will give the number of tons for
register” (Young’s _Marine Dictionary_, 1846).

In 1854 this rule was changed by the Merchant Shipping Act, which
provided that the actual cubic contents of a vessel’s hull should be
measured, a registered ton being reckoned as 100 cubic feet. This is
known as the Moorsom system, and is still in use and likely to continue.
It was adopted by the United States in 1865; Denmark, 1867; Austria,
1871; Germany, France, and Italy, 1873; Spain, 1874; and Sweden, 1875.

The old practice of calculating tonnage in the United States was adapted
from the English, and the mode of measurement was as follows:

The length was measured on deck from the fore part of the stem to the
after part of the stern-post; the breadth from outside to outside
planking at the broadest part of the vessel; the depth of the hold from
the plank on deck to the ceiling of the hold. This last measurement was
not used, the depth of a vessel for tonnage purposes being assumed to be
one half of her breadth. In order to find the tonnage, three fifths of
the breadth were deducted from the length and the remainder multiplied
by the breadth, and this product multiplied by one half the breadth, or
the assumed depth, the last product was then divided by 95, giving the
formula:

                        (L - ⅗ B) × B × ½ B/95

Thus in a vessel measuring 100 ft. x 20 ft. x 18 ft.:

Length of vessel              100

Subtract ⅗ breadth             12
                           ------
Length for measurement         88

Multiply by the breadth        20
                           ------
                             1760

Multiply by half breadth       10
                           ------
                           17,600

Divide 17,600 by 95   and

  the result is               185 + 12/19

Total tonnage                 185 + 12/19

This mode of measurement continued from colonial times until the Moorsom
system was adopted in 1865.

The dimensions of ten representative American and British clippers were
as follows:

                                  Length        Breadth

         _Nightingale_ (1851)      178 “          36 “

American _Oriental_ (1849)         183 ft.        36 ft.

         _Celestial_ (1850)        158 “          34  “ 6 in.

         _Stag-Hound_ (1850)       209 “          39  “

         _Flying Dutchman_ (1852)  187 “          38  “ 6 in.

British  _Falcon_ (1859)           191 “ 4 in.    32  “ 2 in.

         _Taitsing_ (1865)         192 “          31 “ 5 in.

         _Titania_ (1866)          200 “          35 “

         _Spindrift_ (1867)        219 “ 4 in.    35 “ 6 in.

         _Thermopylæ_ (1868)       210 “          36 “

Although these British ships show less breadth than the American, yet
they have more breadth in proportion to length than the earlier British
clippers, such as the _Stornoway_ (1850), _Lord of the Isles_ (1855),
etc.




INDEX

Vessels not otherwise designated are American


A

_Abbot Lawrence_, medium clipper ship, 255, 256, 258

_Abergeldie_, British clipper ship, 205

Abrahams, J., builder, Baltimore, 357, 362

Abrahams & Ashcroft, owners, Baltimore, 357

_Achilles_, British iron screw steamer, 332

Ackley, Samuel, builder N. Y., 16, 17

_Ada_, Brit. clipper ship, tea-trade, 325-6, 371

Adamson & Bell, China merchants, 325

_Adelaide_, packet ship, 44

---- clipper ship, 298, 360

---- British iron screw steamer, 286

_Admiral Gardner_, Brit. E. Indiamen, 25

_Adriatic_, Collins Line S. S., 49, 250;
  med. clipper ship, 258

_Ajax_, Brit. iron screw steamer, 332

_Akbar_, clipper ship, China trade, 62, 138

_Alarm_, Cal. clipper ship, 289, 299, 363

_Albert Gallatin_, packet ship, 42, 48, 142

_Albion_, packet ship, 38

_Alert_, Cal. clipper ship, 350

_Alexander Marshall_, packet ship, 41

_Alfred_, Brit. ship, 36-37

_Alhambra_, med. clipper ship, 258, 291

Allen, Wm. H., N. Y. packet captain, 44

_Alliance_, U. S. frigate, 1778, 6, 7

Alsop & Co., S. Francisco, agents of _Challenge_, 187

_Amelia Packet_, Brit. barque, 180

_America_, Brit. fifty-gun frigate, built at Portsmouth, N. H., 9

_Amos Lawrence_, med. clipper ship, 255

_Amphitrite_, Cal. clipper ship, 232, 256

_Andrew Jackson_, Cal. med. clipper ship, 253, 295; 362;
  89 days to S. Francisco, 144, 178, 296, 300, 369;
  other records, 247, 295, 297, 298, 368

Andrews, Capt., later ship, 341;
  _Red Gauntlet_, 359

_Anglo-American_, packet ship, 56

_Anglo-Saxon_, packet ship, 56

_Angola_, clipper schooner, opium trade, 58

_Ann McKim_, first clipper ship built, 60-2

_Antarctic_, ship, 56

_Antelope_, clipper brig, opium trade, 58, 59, 138

---- Cal. clipper ship, 353;
  records, 290, 296, 298, 299, 368

Appleton, Wm., ship-owner, Boston, 361

_Archer_, Cal. clipper ship, 248, 356;
  records, 248, 298, 299, 367, 369

_Architect_, clipper ship, 70

_Arctic_, Collins Line S. S., 309

Arey, Capt., _Spitfire_, 359

_Argo_, Brit., first merchant ship with steam power to circumnavigate the globe, 287

_Argonaut_, clipper ship, 196

_Ariel_, clipper schooner, opium trade, 58

---- clipper ship, China trade, 68

---- Cal. clipper ship, 353

---- Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 324, 347, 371;
  racer, 324-30, 332-3, 335

_Aristides_, Brit. ship, Australian trade, 333

_Arizona_, S. S., 278

_Aryan_, last Amer. wooden sailing ship, 1893, 340

_Ashburton_, N. Y. packet, 41, 54

_Atlanta_, clipper ship, Cal. trade, 298, 299

_Atlantic_, first Amer. ship in India, 12-13

_Aurora_, ship, 236, 299

_Austerlitz_, ship, 193

Austin & Co., builders, Damariscotta, Me., 356

_Australian_, Brit. screw steamer, 286

Avery, Capt., _Euterpe_, 363

Aymer & Co., owners, N. Y., 359


B

Babcock, Col. Harry, 160

---- Maj. Paul, 84, 160

---- Capt. David S., 84;
  _Sword Fish_, 160-1, 213, 352;
  _Young America_, 233, 360

Bacon, Daniel C., owner, 135, 349;
  Pres. Amer. Nav. Club, 202-4

---- D. G. & W. B., owners, 304, 358

Bailey, Capt., _Yorkshire_, 46

Baines, James, owner, L’pool, 342

---- & Co., L’pool, Australian Black Ball Line, 266, 268, 272;
  vessels for, 273, 284

Baker, Capt., 352, 357, 363

Baker & Morrill, owners, Boston, 352, 355, 357, 361, 363

_Bald Eagle_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 237, 343, 353;
  story of race, 200-2;
  records, 299, 300, 366

_Baltic_, med. clipper ship, 258

---- Collins Line S. S., 309

Baltimore, ship-building, 54, 60-62, 70, 136, 254, 350, 357, 362

_Baltimore_, Havre packet ship, 41

Bangs, Benj., owner, Boston, 360

Barclay & Livingston, owners, N. Y., 159, 352

Baring Bros. & Co., 203-4

_Barrington_, ship, 193

Barry, Commodore, 11

Barry, Capt., _Saracen_, 361

Barstow, Gideon, of E. Boston Timber Co., 49

Barstow, Capt., 351, 354

Bartlett, Capt., 352

Barwell, Capt., 362

Bates & Thaxter, owners, Boston, 362

Bath, Me., ship-building, 105, 152, 351, 353, 357

_Bavaria_, packet ship, 48

Baxter, Capt., _Nabob_, 361

_Beacon Light_, Cal. clipper ship, 362

Beauchamp, Capt. Isaac, _Defender_, 255

_Beauregard_, Confederate privateer, 14

_Beaver_, ship, China trade, 17

Bell, Jacob, builder, N. Y., 47, 136, 152, 164, 216, 352, 354, 358, 360;
  _see_ Brown

Bell & Co., builders, Baltimore, 136, 350

_Belle of the Sea_, clipper ship, Australian trade, 284

_Belle of the West_, Cal. clipper ship, 299, 356

_Belted Will_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 320, 371

_Ben Nevis_, Brit. clipper ship, Australian trade, 266, 268

_Benefactor_, clipper barque, China trade, 209

_Bengal_, ship, 193

Benjamin, Capt., _Helena_, 62

Bennett, Capt., _Oliver Ellsworth_, 16

Bergh, Christian, builder, N. Y., 17, 47, 48

Berry, Capt., _Courser_, 350

Bertram, Capt. John, Salem, 141, 166-8

Best days’ run, 69, 70, 178, 179, 207, 220, 221, 228, 266, 278, 281, 295, 320, 327, 330, 334, 336, 338

Bishop, J., & Co., owners, N. Y., 358

Black Ball Line, N. Y., L’pool packets, 38, 39-40, 41, 42;
  vessels, 38, 41, 52;
  flag, 42;
  match, 45;
  captains, 39-40;
  discipline, 44, 73

Australian clippers, _see_ James Baines & Co.

_Black Hawk_, Cal. clipper ships (Webb), 291, 364;
  (Currier), 364

_Black Prince_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 322, 371;
  race, 325-6

---- Cal. clipper ship, 360

_Black Warrior_, Cal. clipper ship, 356

_Blenheim_, Brit. merchant frigate, 36

_Blessing of the Bay_, colonial barque, 1631, 2

_Blue Jacket_, clipper ship, Australian trade, 270;
  later ship, 341

_Bombay_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 34

_Bonita_, Cal. clipper ship, 356

Bordman, Wm. H., Amer. Nav. Club, 202

Borland, Capt., _Gauntlet_, 357

Borrows & Spooner, owners, N. Y., 84

_Boston_, packet ship, 52

_Boston Light_, clipper ship, 253, 300, 356

Boston & Liverpool Packet Company, 51-2

Bowditch, Nath., navigator, 141

Bowers, Capt., _Black Hawk_, 364

Boyd, Col. Geo., 1767, 53

Boyd, F., & Co., owners, Boston, 359

_Brenda_, packet ship, 52

Brewster, Capt. Geo., 249, 356

Brewster, Capt. Wm., 227

_Briganza_, ship, eighteenth century, 16

Briggs Brothers (E. & H. O.), builders, South Boston, 50-1;
  Cal. clippers, 152, 163, 233, 351-63

_Brighton_, packet ship, 40

_Britannia_, Black Ball packet ship, 38, 43, 47, 73

Britton, Capt. John, _Constitution_, 43

_Brookline_, ship, 52

Brower, J. H., & Co., owners, N. Y., 295, 361, 362

Brown, Adam & Noah, builders, 17

---- Charles, builder, N. Y., 17

---- David, of Brown & Bell, 47

---- Vernon H., owner, 303

---- Bates & Delano, builders, E. Boston, 50

---- & Bell, builders, N. Y., 47-8, 53, 58, 63, 70, 72

Brown, Capt., 359, 360

Bryant & Sturgis, owners, Boston, 52

_Bucephalus_, Brit. frigate, 36

_Buckinghamshire_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32, 34

Bucklin & Crane, owners of first Cal. clipper ship, N. Y., 135, 159, 349, 350, 363, 364

Burgess, _see_ Snow, owners, 304

Burgess, Capt., 349, 355

Burgoyne, Capt., _Titania_, 347

Bursley, Capt. Ira, 43, 350, 356

Bush & Comstock, owners, Boston, 360, 362

Bush & Wildes, owners, Boston, 362


C

_Cairngorm_, Brit. clipper ship, China trade, 208

_Cairo_, ship, Boston, 54

_Caledonia_, ship, 47

_Calhoun_, ship, 47

_California_, Pacific Mail, S. S., 103

_Caliph_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 332, 372

Callahan, Capt., _Storm King_, 359

_Cambria_, N. Y., packet ship, 40

_Cambridge_, N. Y. packet ship, 41

Cameron, R. W.’s Australian line, 284, 304

_Canada_, N. Y. packet ship, 38, 47

---- Cunard S. S., 221, 309

Canfield, Capt., 351, 354

_Canning_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32, 34

_Canvasback_, Cal. clipper ship, 250, 360

_Capitol_, ship, 193

_Carmelite_, ship, 1807, 17-18

_Carnatic_, Brit. ship, 36

_Carrier Dove_, Cal. clipper ship, 253, 362

_Castle Eden_, Brit. ship, 36

_Cathay_, _Kathay_, Cal. clipper ship, 232, 358

Cave, Capt., _Panama_, 358

_Celestial_, Cal. clipper ship, first to be launched, 135, 136, 159, 349;
  records, 145-6, 229, 300, 365

_Celestial Empire_, Cal. clipper ship, 353

_Challenge_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 156, 164, 174, 222, 337, 350;
vicious crew, 77, 181-9;
in China trade, 196-7, 206-7;
records, 181, 299, 301, 365

_Challenger_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 206;
  race, 206-7

---- Cal. clipper ship, 271, 356, 367

Chamberlain & Co., owners, N. Y., 351

Chamberlain & Heyser, owners, N. Y., 351, 355

_Chariot of Fame_, med. clipper ship, Australian trade, 270

_Charles Carroll_, packet ship, 41

_Charles Grant_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32

_Charles H. Marshall_, N. Y., pilot boat, 305

_Charlestown_, ship, South American trade, 161

_Charmer_, Cal. clipper ship, 253, 254, 362

---- later ship, 341

Chase, T., & Co., owners, Boston, 363

Chase & Tappan, owners, Boston, 357

Cheesborough, Capt. Robt. B., 254, 363

_Chinaman_, clipper ship, 325-6, 346

_Chrysolite_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 199, 202, 205, 206-7

Chrystall, James, British owner, 35

_City of Glasgow_, Inman Line, S. S., 314

_City of Pekin_, Pacific S. S., 86

Clarke, Capt., _Canvasback_, 360

_Cleopatra_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 353;
  records, 253, 299, 367

_Climax_, Cal. clipper ship, 298, 353

Coggin, Capt., _Panparo_, 358

Coleman, Wm. T., & Co., owners, N. Y., 106

Collins, E. K., manager of Dramatic Line, 40, 43

---- Capt. John, _Shakespeare_, 43

Collins Line S. S., 250, 271, 309, 312

Collyer, Thos., & Mm., builders, N. Y., 49, 232, 358

_Columbia_, 1773, first Amer. ship to sail round globe, 14, 51

---- N. Y. packet ship, 38, 40, 43;
  No. 2, 48

_Columbus_, N. Y., packet ship, 41, 43, 45, 52

_Comet_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 153, 159, 193, 337, 343, 350;
  records, 213, 224, 227, 297, 299, 365;
  China passage, 208;
  Australian trade, 283

---- later ship, 340

_Commodore Perry_, ship, Australian trade, 273

Composite build, 321-2, 371-2

Condry, Dennis, owner of _Delia Walker_, 53-5

_Congress_, ship, 47

Connell & Co., builders, Glasgow, 324, 371, 372

Conner, Capt., _Carrier Dove_, 362

_Constant Warwick_, first frigate built, 5

_Constantine_, packet ship, 141

_Contest_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 227, 344, 353;
  records, 224, 296, 297, 299, 366;
  race with _Northern Light_, 227

---- Brit. ship, 267

Coolidge & Co., owners, Boston, 361

Cooper & Slicer, owners, Baltimore, 359

Cope, Thos., Phila., owner of packet line, 40

Copper fastened, 10, 30, 33, 34, 61, 285;
  sheathed, 61, 285, 320, 322

_Coquette_, clipper barque, China trade, 64

_Corinthian_, packet ship, 40

_Cornelia_, ship, 48

_Cornelius Grinnell_, packet ship, 42, 56, 141, 236

_Cornwallis_, ship, 193

_Cortes_, N. Y. packet ship, 40

_Courier_, packet ship, 1816, 38

---- early clipper ship, 1842, 54, 62, 162

---- Cal. clipper ship, 1855, 298, 363, 367

_Courser_, Boston packet ship, 52

---- Cal. clipper ship, 299, 350, 366

Cox, J. W. builder, Robbinston, Me., 233, 359

Creesy, Capt. Josiah P., boyhood, 153-5;
  _Oneida_, 155;
  _Flying Cloud_, 153, 211, 248-9, 253-4, 297, 351;
  race, 214-15;
  “obituary,” 222-3;
  Mrs. Creesy, 306

_Creole_, N. Orleans packet ship, 41

_Cressy_, Brit. ship, 36

_Crest of the Wave_, Brit. clipper ship, 208

Crocker & Warren, owners, N. Y., 304, 356, 359

Crosby, Capt., _Kingfisher_, 358

Crowell, Capt., _Boston Light_, 356

Crowell & Brooks, owners, Boston, 360;
  _see_ Howes

Crowninshield, Jacob, owner, Salem, 13

Cunningham, Capt., 354, 363

---- Bros., owners, Boston, 364

---- & Sons, 354

Cunningham’s rolling topsails, 163

Currier, John, Jr., builder, Newburyport, 52, 68, 232, 357, 364

---- & McKay, 53-4

---- & Townsend, 52, 243, 354

Curtis, J. O., builder, Medford, 52, 152, 216, 352, 355, 357, 361, 363

---- Paul, builder, Chelsea, 136, 350;
  E. Boston, 216, 350, 353, 354, 355, 359, 362

Curtis & Peabody, owners, Boston, 354, 356, 361

Cutler, Capt. Benj. F., _Mary Whitridge_, 254

Cutting, Capt. Robt. C., packet ship _Adelaide_, 44

Cutting, Francis B., part owner of _Dreadnought_, N. Y., 244

_Cutty Sark_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 332, 336, 346, 372

_Cyclone_, Cal. clipper ship, 300, 356


D

Dale, Capt Fleetwood, 353

_Daniel Webster_, packet ship, 56

Daniels, Geo., owner, Boston, 233, 303

_Daring_, Cal. clipper ship, 253, 362

_Dashing Wave_, Cal. clipper ship, 356, 369

_Dauntless_, Cal. clipper ship, 343, 363

_David Brown_, Cal. clipper ship, 232, 356;
  records, 248, 290, 296, 297, 298, 367, 368

_David Crockett_, Cal. clipper ship, 232, 356, 369-70

_David Malcolm_, Brit. ship, 36

Dean, Capt. Stewart, sloop _Enterprise_, 1785, 6

Deas, Capt., _Ganges_, 200-1

Decline of American shipping, 290, 292-3, 314-17, 341

_Defender_, med. clipper ship, 255-6, 300

De Horsey, Capt. of H. M. S. _Brisk_, 251-2

Delano, Capt., _Ariel_, 353

---- Capt. Joseph, packets, 43

---- Warren, owner, Boston, 70;
Amer. Nav. Club, 202

_Delia Walker_, ship, 53, 54

Dent & Co., owners, China, 59

Depaw, Francis, owner of Havre packet line, 41

De Peyster, Capt. F. A., packets, 43, 45

Derby, Elias Haskett, Salem merchant, eighteenth century, 12-13;
  Jr., Capt., _Atlantic_, 12

_Devonshire_, packet ship, 48

“_Diadem_,” Brit. brig., Capt. Johnson’s story, 157-9

“Diving Bell,” _Lord of the Isles_, 209

Doane, Capt. Justin, 225, 354, 360

Donald McKay, clipper ship, Australian trade, 273, 280, 346

_Don Quixote_, packet ship, 41

---- Cal. clipper ship, 357;
  records, 253, 299, 367, 368, 369

_Dorchester_, Boston ship, 54

_Dorsetshire_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32

Douglas, Mr., chief officer on _Challenge_, 182-3

_Dragon_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 23, 32

Dramatic Line, 40, 42, 45

_Draper_, 18th cent. ship, 16

_Dreadnought_, 44, 235, 243-7

_Duchesse d’Orléans_, Havre packet ship, 41

_Duke of York_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32

Dumaresq, Capt. Phillip, 62, 71, 138, 175, 205, 233, 289, 297, 350, 353, 359, 363


E

_Eagle_, N. Y. packet ship, 38

---- Cal. clipper ship, 297, 299, 350, 367

_Eagle Wing_, Cal. clipper ship, 357, 367

_Earl of Balcarras_, largest ship of Brit. E. India Co., 32, 33, 34

_Echo_, early N. Y. ship, 16

Eckford, Henry, builder, N. Y., 17, 47

_Eclipse_, Cal. clipper ship, 136, 175-6, 211, 349, 364

---- later ship, 340

_Edward Everett_, ship, 255

_Edwin Forrest_, Cal. clipper ship, 357

Elder, Randolph & Co., builders, 347

Eldridge, Capt. Asa, 43, 247, 271

---- Capt. John, 43, 271

Eldridge, Capt. Oliver, 43, 64, 70, 271

_Electric_, Cal. clipper ship, 299, 300, 360, 367

_Electric Spark_, Cal. clipper ship, 299, 362, 368

_Eliza Shaw_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 322, 371

Ellis, Capt., 241

Emanuel, _see_ Wells

_Emily C. Starr_, barque, 345

_Empress of the Seas_, Cal. clipper ship, 232-3, 357

Englis, John, 149

Enright, Capt. Anthony, _Chrysolite_, 199

_Erie_, Havre packet ship, 41

_Erl King_, Brit. auxiliary steamer, China trade, 331

_Espirito Santo_, 78-9

Esterbrook, Capt., _Winged Racer_, 355

_Esther May_, clipper ship, 369

_Ethiopian_, Brit. ship in Australian trade, 333

_Eureka_, Cal. clipper ship, 351

_Euterpe_, Cal. clipper ship, 289, 363


F

Fairbank & Wheeler, owners, Boston, 56

_Fairlight_, Brit. ship, 333

_Falcon_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 319-20, 324, 347, 375

Farran, Capt., _Eagle_, 350

Fast days’ runs, 179, 180, 195, 214, 219-20, 245-6, 271, 277, 281, 334

Fast passages: Atlantic, 46, 221, 247, 254, 277-8
  Australian, 266, 268, 281-2, 284, 336, 338
  California, 213, 218, 225, 227-8;
  (eastward), 233, 293, 296, 365-9
  China, 199, 207, 208, 209, 329, 335

Fastest ships: packet, _Yorkshire_, 46;
  clipper, _Rainbow_, 67;
  _Sea Witch_, 192;
  _Gt. Republic_, 243;
  _Lightning_, 278

_Fearless_, Cal. clipper ship, 271, 357

_Federal Eagle_, brig, 15

Fennell, Capt., _Flying Mist_, 363

Fernald & Pettigrew, builders, Portsmouth, N. H., 52, 152, 216, 352, 355, 356, 361, 363

Fessenden, C. B., owner, Boston, 360

_Fidelia_, N. Y. packet ship, 41, 48

_Fiery Cross_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 320, 335, 371;
  race, 325-30

_Fiery Star-Comet_, 343

_Flavio_, ship, 52

_Fleetwing_, yacht, 159

---- Cal. clipper ship, 250, 260

_Fleetwood_, Cal. clipper ship, 353

Fletcher, Capt., _Maury_, 209;
  _Oriental_, No. 2, 358

_Florence_, Cal. clipper ship, 289, 363

Floyd, John, builder, N. Y., 17

_Fly Away_, clipper ship, 232, 297, 368

_Flying Childers_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 236, 354

_Flying Cloud_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 153, 155, 174, 205, 217, 237, 254, 337, 342, 351;
  N. Y. to S. F.

in 89 days, 144, 178-81, 248, 296, 297, 300, 365, 367;
  log, 179-80, 248;
  other California passages, 214-15, 224, 253, 298-9, 366, 367;
  other passages, 195, 208, 222;
  story of race with _Ganges_, 200-2

---- Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 208

---- Cal. clipper ship, 357;
records, 295, 296, 297, 299, 368

_Flying Dutchman_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 344, 354, 375;
  records, S. F., 297, 299, 366, 368;
  Australia, 284

_Flying Fish_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 155-6, 173, 193, 205, 237, 302, 337, 342, 345, 351;
  race with _Sword-Fish_, 212-13;
  other Cal. passages, 224-6, 253, 295-9, 366-8

_Flying Mist_, Cal. clipper ship, 289, 363

_Flying Scud_, clipper ship, 284

_Flying Spur_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 325, 326

Food on board ship, 29, 78, 90, 107-8, 188, 231-2, 262

Forbes, Capt. James Nicol, _Marco Polo_, 266;
  _Lightning_, 275-6;
  _Schomberg_, 284

Forrest, Capt., _Rattler_, 361

_Forward Ho_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 332, 336, 346, 371

Foster, W. H., & Co., owners, Boston, 359

---- & Nickerson, owners, Boston, 358, 363

_Francis_, brig, 84

_Francis Depaw_, ship, 47

Fraser, Capt. Geo., _Sea Witch_, 69, 145, 189, 192, 341

Freeman, Capt., _Undaunted_, 359

Friend, Capt., _Sancho Panza_, 361

Funch & Meincke, owners, N. Y. and Baltimore, 136, 350


G

_Galatea_, clipper ship, 299

_Game Cock_, Cal. clipper ship, 135, 173, 205, 271, 302, 337, 342, 349;
  records, 195, 299

_Ganges_, Brit. ship, 200-1

Gardner, Capt. E. C., _Celestial_, 159, 349;
  _Comet_, 159, 224, 350;
  _Intrepid_, 363

Gates, Capt., 360, 364

_Gauntlet_, 267

_George Canning_, ship, 47

_George Peabody_, ship, 255

Gerry, Capt., _Noonday_, 363

Gibb & Livingston, 325

Gilman & Co., 325

_Gipsey_, brig, 1804, 17

Girard, Stephen, capt. and owner, 15

Glidden & Williams, Boston, owners of line of S. Francisco clippers, 136, 141, 172, 349-61

_Globe_, Brit. merchant ship, 36

_Gloriana_, Brit. ship, 36

_Glory of the Seas_, med. clipper ship, 258, 369

Goddard, N. S., owner, Boston, 358

Goddard & Co., owners of _Race Horse_, Boston, 135, 349

_Golden Age_, clipper barque, 366

_Golden City_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 354;
  records, 297, 299, 300, 367

_Golden Eagle_, Cal. clipper ship, 354;
  records, 297, 299, 300, 367

_Golden Fleece_, Cal. clipper ship, 362

_Golden Gate_, Cal. clipper ship, 351;
  records, 297, 298, 299, 366

_Golden Light_, Cal. clipper ship, 233, 343-4, 354

_Golden State_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 354

_Golden West_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 354

Goodhue & Co., N. Y., owners of _Mandarin_, 135, 349

Goodwin, Gov. of N. H., 165

Gordon, Capt. Geo., _Memnon_, 145

Gore, Capt., _North Wind_, 358

_Governor Morton_, Cal. clipper ship, 136, 349;
  records, 253, 299, 300, 368

_Grace Darling_, Cal. clipper ship, 250, 360

_Grand Turk_, Salem ship, 12

Gray, Capt. Robt., 1788, 14

---- Wm., Salem merchant, 13

_Great Britain_, packet ship, 47, 71-2, 138

_Great Republic_, clipper ship, largest extreme clipper ship ever built, 235-43, 337, 345, 357;
  launch, 236-8;
  masts and spars, 238-40, 242-3;
  burnt, 240-2;
  rebuilt, 242-3;
  records, 293, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300;
  log, 294;
  estimated speed, 343, 294-5

_Great Western_, packet ship, 41

_Greenfield_, barque, 368;
  brought first cargo of wheat from California, 254

Greenman & Co., builders, Mystic, Conn., 232

Gregory, Capt. Michael, 250, 361

Griffeths, John W., 65-66

Grinnell, Minturn & Co., N. Y., owners, packet lines, 40, 42;
  Cal. clippers, 136, 153, 211, 233, 350, 351, 355, 358, 359;
  flags, 42, 303

Griswold, John, N. Y.,-London packet line, 40, 42

---- N. L. & G., owners, N. Y., 60, 62, 64, 68, 156, 189, 303, 350, 358

---- Capt., _Toronto_, 162

_Guest_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 1611, 23

_Guiding Star_, Cal. clipper ship, 232, 357

---- Brit. clipper ship, 267, 268, 269, 272

_Guinevere_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, Nos. 1 and 2, 347


H

Hackett, Wm. & John, builders, Salisbury, Mass; U. S. frigate _Alliance_, 1778, 6

Hale, Capt., _Guiding Star_, 357

Hall, Alexander, & Co., 58, 59, 198, 199, 208, 284, 322, 324, 371-2

Hall, Samuel, builder, East Boston, 50, 137, 205, 250;
  clipper schooner, 58;
  China clippers, 62, 64;

  Cal. clippers, 135, 198, 216, 225, 232, 349-58

---- Jr., 289, 363

Hallet, Capt., _Radiant_, 355

---- & Co., owners, Boston, 356

Hamilton, Capt., _Eclipse_, 175-6, 349

Handy & Everett, owners, N. Y., 136, 349

Hanscom, Saml., Portsmouth, N. H., builder of _Nightingale_, 164-5

_Harvest Queen_, packet ship, 41

---- barque, 291

_Harvey Birch_, Cal. clipper ship, 250, 344, 361

Haskell, Capt., _Norseman_, 364

Hastings, Henry, owner, Boston, 361, 363

Hatch, Capt., _Northern Light_, 228, 351;
  _Midnight_, 361

Hathorne, Wm., of Hathorne & Steers, builders, N. Y., 49

Hayden & Cudworth, builders, Medford, 52, 354, 361

Hayes, Capt., lost on _Rainbow_, 68

Hays, Capt. Gilbert, of _Beauregard_, 141

_Hazard_, Cal. clipper ship, 298

Heard, Augustine, & Co., owners, Boston, 303, 351

_Hebe_, French frigate, model for British, 5

_Hector_, Brit. E. Indiamen, in first fleet, 23, 24

_Helen Mar_, packet ship, 41

_Helen Morris_, clipper ship, 258

_Helena_, early clipper ship, 62

_Helicon_, barque, 56

_Helvetia_, Girard ship, China trade, 16

Henderson, Capt., _Gazelle_, 351

Henning, Capt., Brit. ship _Alfred_, 37

_Henrietta_, yacht, 159

Henry, Capt., _Raven_, 189-92, 352;
  _Skylark_, 359

_Henry Allen_, ship, 193

_Henry Clay_, packet ship, 43, 48, 141;
  admired at L’pool, 89

_Henry Hill_, clipper barque, 258

_Herald of the Morning_, med. clipper ship, 253, 271, 363;
  records, 253, 296, 297, 299, 300, 367, 368

_Hercules_, early ship, 16

---- packet ship, 40

_Herefordshire_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32, 345

_Hersilia_, brig, sealing voyages, 77-80

_Hibernia_, packet ship, 43, 47, 84, 160

---- Brit. clipper ship, Australian trade, 266

_Highflyer_, N. Y. packet ship, 244

---- Cal. clipper ship, 344, 354

Hill, Capt., _Challenge_, 356

Hollis, Capt., _Game Cock_, 349

Holt, Alfred, L’pool, builder of iron screw steamers, 332

Hood, Jas. M., builder, Somerset, Mass., 136, 349

---- & Co., builders, Somerset, Mass., 152, 356, 359

Hood, Walter & Co., builders, Aberdeen, _Abergeldie_, 205-6;
  _Thermopylæ_, 333, 372

Hooper, J., owner, Baltimore, 357;
  _Witch of the Wave_, 169

_Hope_, ship, 15

_Horatio_, ship in China trade, 141, 162

_Hornet_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 351;
records, 224, 298, 299, 300, 366

_Hotspur_, Brit. merchant frigate, 36

---- Cal. clipper ship, 364

_Hottinger_, N. Y. packet ship, 41, 43

_Houqua_, clipper ship in China trade, 63, 70, 77, 84, 85, 162, 341

Howes, Capt. Frederic, 236, 353, 357, 359, 360, 362

Howes & Crowell, owners, Boston, 353, 359

Howland, Capt. Williams, 141-2, 162, 350

Hubbard, Capt., _Flying Dutchman_, 354

Huckins, Jas., Boston, owner of _Northern Light_, 163-4

---- & Co., owners, Boston, 351, 354, 356

_Hudson_, N. Y., packet ship, 40, 44

Hunnewell, Jas., owner, Boston, 354, 355

Hunt & Wagner, builders, Baltimore, 357, 363

_Huntress_, ship, 52

_Huntsville_, N. Y.,-N. Orleans packet ship, 41, 43, 84

_Hurricane_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 163, 193, 337, 351;
  records, 208, 218, 248, 296, 299, 367

Hussey, Capt., _Westward Ho_, 355

_Hyderabad_, Brit. ship, 36


I

_Inconium_, ship, 193

_Independence_, New York-L’pool packet ship, 41, 43, 45, 47, 48;
  carried President’s message, 45

Innes, Capt., _Serica_, 326

_Ino_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 153, 351;
  in U. S. Navy, 253

_Intrepid_, Cal. clipper ship, 289, 300, 363

_Invincible_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 156-7, 159, 301, 351, 366;
  in Australian trade, 283

Irons & Grinnell, builders, Mystic, Conn., 295

_Isaac Wright_, N. Y. packet ship, 41, 44, 45

_Isaac Webb_, N. Y. packet ship, 41, 48

_Isaac Wright_, N. Y. packet ship, 41, 48

Ismay, Imrie & Co., L’pool, White Star Australian Line, 268

_Istamboul_, Brit. auxil. vessel, 287

_Ivanhoe_, packet ship, 48


J

Jackman, Geo. W., builder, Newburyport, 52, 360-3

---- R. E., builder, East Boston, 136, 216, 270, 349, 355, 356

---- & Ewell, builders, E. Boston, 358, 359

_Jacob Bell_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 298, 344, 354

---- N. Y. pilot boat, 305

_James Baines_, clipper ship, for Australian service, 273, 279-80, 281, 288, 334, 337, 346;
  carried troops to India, 281-2

_James Cropper_, N. Y. packet ship, 38, 43

_James Monroe_, N. Y. packet ship, 38

_Jamestown_, N. Y. packet ship, 43

_Japan_, ship in Australian trade, 273

Jardine, Matheson & Co., China merchants, 59, 197, 208, 325

_Jenny Lind_, ship, Boston, 56, 217

_John Bertram_, Cal. clipper ship, 136, 141, 173, 349;
  records, 299, 300, 366

_John E. Thayer_, ship, Boston, 255

_John Gilpin_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 344, 354;
  records, 224, 296, 297, 299, 366;
  race, 224-6

_John Jay_, ship, N. Y., 47

_John Land_, Cal. clipper ship, 233, 357, 368, 369

_John Quincy Adams_, ship, Boston, 156

_John R. Skiddy_, N. Y. packet ship, 54

_John Wade_, Cal. clipper ship, 299, 351

Johnson, Capt. H. W., _Invincible_, 157, 159, 351;
  story of _Diadem_, 157-9

---- Capt., _Kate Hooper_, Baltimore, 357

---- Napier & Co., 303

Johnston, Capt. John, N. Y. packets, 44, 45

Jones, Quiggin & Co., L’pool, owners of _Seaforth_, 322

Jordan, John, L’pool, inventor of composite construction, 322

_Joseph Walker_, ship, 242

_Joshua Bates_, Boston-L’pool packet ship, 55

_Judge Shaw_, ship, 293


K

_Kaisow_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 332, 372

_Kate Carine_, Brit. ship, 267

_Kate Hooper_, Cal. clipper ship, Baltimore, 357

_Kathay_, _Cathay_, Cal. clipper ship, 232, 358

Keay, Capt., tea clipper _Ariel_, 326

_Kellie Castle_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32

Kemball, Capt. John, 1788, 14

Kennard & Williamson, Baltimore, builders of _Ann McKim_, 60

Kermit, Robert, N. Y.-L’pool packet line, 42, 46

Kerwin, Capt., _Golden West_, 354

_Khersonese_, Brit. auxiliary steamer, 287

Kilham, Capt., _Jacob Bell_, 354

Killick, Capt., _Challenger_, 206

King, Capt., _Race Horse_, 349

_Kingfisher_, Cal. clipper ship, 358

Klein, Capt., _Spirit of the Times_, 359

Knight, Capt., _Queen of the Seas_, 355;
  _Morning Light_, 358

Knowles, Capt., _Wild Wave_, 360


L

_L. Z._, N. Y. ship, 56

_Lady Melville_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32

_Lahloo_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 332, 372;
  races, 332-3, 336

Laing & Co., builders, Sunderland, Eng., 371

Lamb, Edward, & Co., Boston, owners, 56

_Lanark_, Brit. clipper brig, opium trade, 59

_Lancaster_, packet ship, 40

Land, Capt. John, 67, 187

Landholm, Capt., _John Bertram_, 141, 349

Landor, W. S., yacht _America_, 310

Lane, Capt. Geo., _Sweepstakes_, 233, 359;
Pacific Mail S. S. Co., 233

Lang, Capt., _Sea Witch_, 341

Lapham, Saml., builder, Medford, 52

Laurence & Folkes, builders, N. Y., 49

Lawrie & Co., builders, Glasgow, 372

_Leander_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 332, 372;
  records, 333-6

_Leonore_, packet ship, 54

_Libertas_, ship, 282

_Liberator_, Greek frigate built in N. Y., 47

_Light Brigade-Ocean Telegraph_, 346

_Light Horse_, barque, Salem, 1784, 12

_Lightfoot_, Cal. clipper ship, 358

_Lightning_, clipper ship for Australian trade, 273, 274-5, 285, 337, 346;
  passages, 275-8, 281-8;
  log, 227-8;
  carrying troops to India, 282-3

---- later ship, 341

Limeburner, Capt., _Great Republic_, 243, 293, 357

Lincoln, Wm., & Co., Boston, owners, 354, 358

_Lincolnshire_, Brit. ship in Australian trade, 285

Linnell, Capt., _Eagle Wing_, 357

_Lintin_, ship. Forbes’s rig, 236

_Live Yankee_, Cal. clipper ship, 299, 300, 358

_Liverpool_, packet ship, N. Y., 42, 43, 48

---- packet ship, Boston, 52

Lockwood, Capt., _White Squall_, 142, 350

Lodge, John E., Boston, owner, 357, 359, 361

Logs: _Flying Cloud_, 178-81, 211;
  _Raven et al._, 192;
  _Sov. of Seas_, 219-20;
  _Flying Fish_ and _John Gilpin_, 226;
  _Dreadnought_, 245-6;
  _Romance of Seas_, 249;
  _Lightning_, 277;
  _James Baines_, 281-2;
  _Sweepstakes_, 290;
  _Great Republic_, 294;
  tea clippers, 329-30;
  _Thermopylæ_, 334

_Look Out_, clipper ship, 369

_Lord Amherst_, Brit. schooner, opium trade, 58

_Lord Lyndhurst_, ship, 293

_Lord of the Isles_, Brit. clipper ship (iron), tea trade, 208-10, 267, 288, 320, 346, 376;
  second of the name, 346

_Lothair_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 332, 372

_Louis Philippe_, Havre packet ship, 41

Low, Capt. Chas. P., 145, 162, 214-15, 343, 352;
  Mrs. Low, 306

---- A. A., & Brother, owners, N. Y., 63, 64, 70, 85, 87, 135, 162, 209, 227, 242, 303

_Lowell_, Boston packet ship, 52

_Lowther Castle_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32, 34

Lucas, Capt. Frederic, 254, 341, 362

_Lucilla_, ship, 52


M

McCumm, Jas., Greenock, owner of _Sir Launcelot_, 335

McDonnell, Capt. Chas., _Marco Polo_, 267-8

McIntyre, L. H., & Co., builders, Liverpool, 322

McKay, Donald, Highland chieftain, 53

McKay, Donald, clipper ship builder, 42, 53, 205, 225, 258-9, 276, 297;
  boyhood, 53, 258;
  New York, 53;
  Newburyport, 53-5;
  East Boston, 56, 62;
  packet ships, 62, 270;
  California clippers, 136, 142, 152, 153, 212, 216, 232, 233, 250;
  _Sovereign of the Seas_, 221;
  _Great Republic_, 235, 243;
  medium clippers, 255, 258, 290-1;
  tribute to Abbott Lawrence, 256-7;
  Australian clippers, 273-83;
  Civil War, 258;
  last years, 258;
  Mrs. McKay, 221-2;
  Currier & McKay, 53-4;
  McKay, & Pickett, 54

---- Hugh, builder, Boston, 217

---- Capt. Lauchlan, 217-275;
  _Sov. of the Seas_, 217-19, 269, 355;
  _Great Republic_, 238, 241

McKenzie, Capt., _Houqua_, 63, 145, 341

McKim, Isaac, Baltimore, owner of _Ann McKim_, 60, 61

McKinnon, Capt., _Taeping_, 326

_Madagascar_, Brit. ship, Australian line, 263-4

Magoun, Thacher, builder, Medford, 51-2

---- Medford, builder of Cal. clippers, 362-3

_Malay_, clipper ship, 299

Mallory, Chas., builder, Mystic, Conn., 358, 364

_Mandarin_, Cal. clipper ship, 135, 136, 145-6, 301, 349;
  passages: S. Francisco, 146, 299;
  Canton, 208;
  Melbourne, 284, 288

_Manhattan_ ship, 1796, China trade, 16-17

---- N. Y. packet ship, Red Star Line, 40

---- N. Y. packet ship, Black Ball Line, 41

Manning & Stanwood, owners, Boston, 359

Manson, Capt., 357, 362

_Marco Polo_, Brit. clipper ship, Australian service, 265-6, 267-8, 275, 284, 346

_Margaret Evans_, packet ship, 89

_Margaret Forbes_, ship, Boston, 52

_Maria Somes_, Brit. ship, 36

_Marion_, Brit. ship, 36

_Marion MacIntyre_, Brit. barque, composite build, 322

_Marlborough_, Brit. merchant frigate, 36

_Marquis of Camden_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32

_Marquis of Wellington_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32

Marsden, Capt., _Melbourne_, 338

Marshall, Benj., part owner, Black Ball Line, N. Y.-L’pool, 38

---- Capt. Chas. H., owner, Black Ball Line, 41, 43, 73, 303

_Mary and John_, ship of Popham colonists, 1607, 1

_Mary Broughton_, barque, 53

_Mary Fish_, N. Y. pilot boat, 305

_Mary Howland_, ship, N. Y., 47

_Mary L. Sutton_, Cal. clipper ship, 289, 364;
  records, 299, 300, 368, 369

_Mary Taylor_, N. Y. pilot boat, 305

_Mary Whitridge_, Cal. clipper ship, 86, 253, 254

Mason, John W., carver, Boston, 166

_Mastiff_, med. clipper ship, 258

Masting of _Rainbow_, 66-7

_Matchless_, clipper ship, Boston, 367

Materials of merchant ships, 3, 10, 30, 50, 210, 285, 287-8, 301, 313-15, 316, 322, 340

Mather, Capt. Saml., _Nightingale_, 207

Matheson, Sir James, owner of _Stornoway_, 198;
  _see_ Jardine

Matthews, Capt., Cal. clippers, 359, 361, 363

Maury, Lieut. M. F., U. S. N., life, 146-50;
  Wind and Current Charts, 147-8, 205, 226;
  “Maury’s log,” 148;
  Sailing Directions, 147-49;
  Physical Geography of the Sea, 148;
  Australian routes, 261;
  opinion of _Gt. Republic_, 294

_Maury_, clipper barque, tea trade, 209

Maxon & Fish, builders, Mystic, Conn., 369

Maxton, Capt., _Lord of the Isles_, 209, 320

Mayhew, Capt. P. N., _Dreadnought_, 247

_Medway_, ship, London-Melbourne line, 263-5

_Memnon_, clipper ship, China trade, 70, 202;
  California passages, 145-6, 180

_Merchants’ Hope_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 232

_Merchants’ Magazine_, Hunt’s, 148

_Mercury_, packet ship, 41

_Mermaid_, clipper ship, 299

_Messenger_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 354

Metcalf & Co., builders, Damariscotta, Me., 352

_Meteor_, packet ship, 40

---- Cal. clipper ship, 354;
  records, 253, 366, 368

Middleton, Sir Henry, commander of _Trades Increase_, 1609, 23

_Midnight_, Cal. clipper ship, 361

Miller, Capt., _Dauntless_, 353

Millett, Capt. I. H., _Witch of the Wave_, 172, 206, 353

_Min_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 320, 371

_Minerva_, ship, 15

---- Brit. E. Indiaman, 32, 34

_Minna_, clipper schooner, opium trade, 59

_Minnehaha_, med. clipper ship, 258

Minot & Hooper, owners, Boston, 68

Minturn, Robt., 109

_Miroslav-Young America_, 234

_Monarch_, Brit. ship, 36

---- Aberdeen clipper, 58

_Monsoon_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 351

_Montana_, packet ship, 41

_Montauk_, clipper ship, China trade, 63-4

_Montesquieu_, Girard ship, China trade, 16

_Montezuma_, N. Y. packet ship, 41, 46, 48, 89

Morgan, Capt. E. E., packet ships, 44

_Morning Light_, Cal. clipper ship, 358

_Morning Star_, Cal. clipper ship, 233, 346

Morris, Capt., _R. B. Forbes_, 139-40

_Moses Wheeler_, ship, Boston, 56

Mumford, Capt. O. R., _Tornado_, 211-12, 352

Murphy, Capt., _Black Warrior_, 356

Murray, Alexander, 11

Myers, Capt., _Flora Temple_, 357

Myrick, Capt., _Seaman_, 350

_Mystery_, Cal. clipper ship, 232, 358

Mystic, Conn., 160;
  ship-building, 105, 295, 360, 364


N

_N. B. Palmer_, Cal. clipper ship, 87, 152, 162, 174, 301, 306, 343, 352;
  records, 178, 208, 300, 365;
  race with _Flying Cloud_, 214-15

_Nabob_, Cal. clipper ship, 250, 361

Napier, Johnson & Co., N. Y., owners of _Sunny South_, 250, 303

_Napoleon_, N. Y. packet ship, 40

_Nashville_, New Orleans packet ship, 41

_Natchez_, N. Orleans packet ship, 41, 68;
  in China trade, 74-5, 135, 208

Nelson, Capt., _Harvey Birch_, 361

_Neptune’s Car_, Cal. clipper ship, 306-7, 337, 343, 358;
  records, 253, 297, 299

_Nestor_, packet ship, 38

_New World_, packet ship, 42, 43, 56, 89, 142, 216

_New York_, packet ship, 38, 41

Newburyport, 167;
  ship-builders, 18, 52;
  _see_ Currier, Jackson, McKay;
  ship-building, 7, 49, 68, 105, 243

Newlands, Capt. Alexander, _Lightning_, 279

_Niagara_, first ship built at E. Boston, 50

_Niantic_, Brit. ship, 176-7

Nicholas, Jonathan, impromptu lines, 170

Nickels, Capt. Edward, _Flying Fish_, 156, 213, 225, 297, 345, 351

---- Commander John A. H., U. S. N., 156

_Nightingale_, Cal. clipper ship, 164-5, 196, 302, 337, 343, 375;
  China passage, 206-7;
  Australian passage, 284

_Nonpareil_, Cal. clipper ship, 250, 361

_Noonday_, Cal. clipper ship, 363

_Norfolk_, Brit. ship, Australian trade, 285

_Norma_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 208

_Norseman_, Cal. clipper ship, 289, 364

_North America_, ship, 1804, 17

---- clipper ship, 299

North Beach, S. Francisco, 175

_North Wind_, Cal. clipper ship, 284, 288, 358, 368

_Northern Light_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 153, 163, 164, 173, 193, 302, 337, 351;
  records, 227-8, 298, 366;
  quickest eastward passage from S. Francisco, 227-8

---- later ship, 340

_Northerner_, Pacific Mail S. S., 75, 189

Northfleet, Kent, ship-building, 32

_Nor’wester_, Cal. clipper ship, 361

Nott, Capt., _Don Quixote_, 357

Noyes, Charlotte, Mrs. D. S. Babcock, 161, 306

---- Joseph Stonington, 161

Nutsfield, Capt., _Taitsing_, 326

Nye, Capt. Ezra, packet ships _Independence_, 45;
  _Henry Clay_, 89

Nye, Parkin & Co., China merchants, 70


O

_Oberlin_, packet ship, 52

_Ocean Chief_, clipper ship, 271

_Ocean Express_, Cal. clipper ship, 253, 299, 363

_Ocean Monarch_, packet ship (McKay), 56

---- packet ship (Webb), 164

_Ocean Pearl_, clipper ship, 299

_Ocean Queen_, packet ship, 48

_Ocean Telegraph_, Cal. clipper ship, 250, 271, 346, 361;
  records, 218, 299, 300, 369

_Odd Fellow_, barque, 217

Ogden, David, N. Y., owner Red Cross packets, 244, 304

_Oliver Ellesworth_, ship, N. Y., 16

Oliver, Francis, E. Boston Timber Co., 49

_Olympus_, ship, 343

_Oneida_, packet ship, 41

---- ship, China trade, 155, 222

_Orbit_, packet ship, 1821, 38, 47

_Oriental_, clipper ship, 1849, China trade, 77, 84, 85, 96-8, 142, 202, 375;
  carrying tea to London, 97-8, 196;
  California passage, 224, 366

---- Cal. clipper ship, 1853, 232, 358

---- later ship, 340

Osgood, Capt. W. H., _Trade Wind_, 164, 352;
  _Cyclone_, 356

_Oxford_, packet ship, 41

Oxnard, Henry, owner, Boston, 52


P

_Pacific_, packet ship, 1816, 38

---- ship, 47

---- Collins Line S. S., 271, 309

Pacific Mail S. S. company, 62, 75, 84, 103, 189, 233, 313;
  first S. S. to reach S. Francisco, 1849, 103;
  first to reach China, 1862, 319

Paige, James, E. Boston Timber Co., 49

_Pallas_, barque, Boston, 15

Palmer, Capt. Alexander, 43, 86, 162

---- Capt. N. B., 43, 63, 70, 77-86 (life), 96, 160-2, 242;
  mate of _Hersilia_, 77-80;
  discovered Antarctic continent, 81-3

---- N. B., 2d, 86

---- Capt. Theodore, 97, 162

_Palmer_, schooner yacht, 87

_Pamparo_, Cal. clipper ship, 358, 367

_Panama_, clipper ship (Webb), 1844, China trade, 64, 208

---- Cal. clipper ship (Collyer, 1853), 232, 284, 299, 358

_Panther_, N. Y. packet ship, 40

Parker, D. P., Boston, owner of _Lucille_, 52

Paterson, Capt., _Phantom_, 355

_Patriarch_, Brit. ship, Australian trade, 333

_Patrick Henry_, packet ship, 41, 43, 46

Patten, Capt. Joshua A., _Neptune’s Car_, 306-7;
  Mrs. Mary Patten, 306-7

Paul, Capt. Josiah, _Great Republic_, 295

_Paul, Albert-Lord of the Isles_, 346

_Paul Jones_, clipper ship, 62-3, 77, 84

Peabody, Alfred, owner, Salem, 166

---- Joseph, owner, Salem, 13, 119

_Peggy_, Salem ship, brought first cargo of cotton to Massachusetts, 13

Pierce, Henry A., Boston, owner, 354, 355

_Penguin_, clipper barque, China trade, 209

Penhallow, Capt., _Sierra Nevada_, 361

_Pennsylvania_, N. Y. packet ship, 41

Perrin, Patterson & Stock, builders, Williamsburg, N. Y., 49, 152, 351

Perry, Capt., _Ann McKim_, 61

_Perseverance._, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32

_Phantom_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 337, 345, 355;
  records, 224, 290, 297, 299, 366, 368

Phillips, J. W., N. Y., owner of _Invincible_, 156

Pierce, Capt., _Celestial Empire_, 353

Pike, Capt., _Meteor_, 354

Pile, John, builder, Sunderland, Eng., 208

---- Wm., builder, Sunderland, 320

Pile & Cole, builders, Sunderland, 371

Pilkington & Wilson, Liverpool, owners, 272

Pitcher shipyard, Northfleet, Kent, 33

Platt, W., & Son., Phila., owners, 136, 164, 350, 352

_Plymouth_, packet ship, 52

_Plymouth Rock_, ship, Boston, 56

Plympton, H. P., Boston, part owner of _Defender_, 255

_Polynesia_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 355, 367

Pook, Saml., naval architect, 270-1

Potter, Capt. Geo., _Architect_, 70

---- Capt., _Matchless_, 358

_President_, 44-gun frigate, 16

---- packet ship, 40

_Prince Regent_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32

_Prince of Wales_, “Blackwall frigate,” 36

_Princess Amelia_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32

_Princess Royal_, Brit, ship, 36

Protection, 92, 94, 95, 316-17

Putnam, Capt., Cal. clippers, 353, 355, 357


Q

_Queen of Clippers_, Cal. clipper ship, 359

_Queen of the East_, Cal. clipper ship, 352

_Queen Mab_, packet ship, 41

_Queen of the Seas_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 355

_Queen of the South_, Brit. iron screw steamer, 286

_Queen of the West_, packet ship, 41, 43, 48


R

_R. B. Forbes_, ship, 236, 255

---- wrecking steamer, 138-40, 167-72, 238, 240, 279

_Race Horse_, Cal. clipper barque, 135, 145, 198, 349;
  records, 146, 365

Races:
  packet, 45;
  yachts, 64, 159, 310-11;
  California clippers, 145-6, 189-92, 212-13, 214-15, 225-6, 227-8;
  tea clippers, 200-2, 206-7, 209, 324-30, 332-3, 335-6;
  to India, 282-3

Racing:
  packet ship, 45;
  yacht, 226, 339;
  Cal. clippers, 145, 192-3, 195, 224, 226, 228, 249;
  sail and steam, 311-12

_Radiant_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 355

_Rainbow_, Brit. frigate, 1782, 5

---- first extreme clipper ship, 62, 65-7, 68, 314

---- later ship, 340

Ranlett, Capt. Chas., 208

---- Jr., 208, 341

_Rapid_, schooner, Aberdeen clipper, 58

_Rattler_, Cal. clipper ship, 250, 361

_Raven_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 173, 352;
  race, 189-92;
  log, 192;
  records, 218, 299, 300, 365

Raynes, Geo., builder, Portsmouth, N. H., 52-3, 59, 136, 141, 152, 168, 250, 350, 353

_Rebekah_, clipper barque, 366

Record days’ runs, 179, 278;
  _see_ Best days’ runs

Record passages:
  transatlantic, 221, 247, 309 (steamer);
  California, westward, 144, 145-6, 175, 178, 295, 296-8, 298-300 (in sections);
  eastward, 227;
  Pacific, 195-6, 218;
  China, 74, 329, 336-7;
  Australian, 281, 287, 333-4

_Red Gauntlet_, Cal. clipper ship, 233, 306, 359

_Red Jacket_, clipper ship, Australian service, 247, 270-2, 337, 346

_Red Rover_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 355;
  records, 253, 283, 368

Reed, Capt. Saml., _Red Jacket_, 272

_Reindeer_, ship, 56

_Reporter_, Cal. clipper ship, 345, 359, 368

_Republic_, packet ship, 52

_Rescue_, Boston wrecking steamer, 275

_Resolute_, clipper ship, 291

_Resource_, ship, 16

_Rhinebeck_, 47

_Rhone_, packet ship, 41, 44

Richardson, Capt. Josiah, _Stag Hound_, 144, 178, 350;
  _Staffordshire_, 342, 352

Richie, Capt. A. A., Fairfield, Cal., 189

_Ringleader_, Cal. clipper ship, 359;
  records, 284, 290, 297, 299, 367, 368, (to Melbourne)

---- later ship, 340

_Robert C. Winthrop_, Boston ship, 255

_Robert Lowe_, Brit. aux. steamer, 331

Roberts, Capt., _Storm_, 355

_Robin Hood_, Cal. clipper ship, 250, 361;
  records, 299, 369

Robinson, Capt. Richard, tea clippers, 199, 326, 335

_Rockland_, ship, 345

Rodger & Co., London, owner of _Taeping_, 330

Rogers, S., Salem, owner, 136

---- Capt. Wm. C., _Witchcraft_, 140-1, 350

_Romance of the Seas_, Cal. clipper ship, 232, 233, 302, 345, 359;
  records, 248, 249, 296, 297, 367

Roosevelt & Joyce, builders, N. Y., 209, 232

Ropes, Capt. John F., _John Gilpin_, 345

_Roscoe_, packet ship, 41, 47

_Roscius_, packet ship, 40, 43

_Rose_, Brit. clipper schooner, opium trade, 59

Ross, Sir John, explorer, 84

_Rousseau_, Phila. ship, China trade, 16

Rowland, Capt., _Mary L. Sutton_, 364

_Royal Charter_, Brit. iron aux. steamer, 287

_Royal William_, first vessel to cross Atlantic by steam power, 313

_Rufus Choate_, Boston ship, 255

Russell, Capt., packets, 45

---- & Co., China merchants, 58, 63, 64, 70, 97, 303

_Russell Sturgis_, Boston ship, 255


S

_St. Andrew_, packet ship, 46

_St. Clair_, packet ship, 52

_St. George_, packet ship, 54

_St. Lawrence_, Brit. merchant frigate, 36

_St. Michael_, schooner, 15

_St. Patrick_, Boston ship, 54

_Salamis_, Brit. ship, Australian trade, 333

Salter, Capt. Chas. H., _Typhoon_, 161, 189, 352

_Samarang_, 346

_Sampson_, ship, 16

Sampson & Tappan, Boston, owners of _Nightingale_, 136, 155, 165, 207, 303, 350, 351, 355

_Samuel Appleton_, Boston ship, 255, 300

_Samuel Badger_, ship, 161

_Samuel Russell_, clipper ship, China trade, 70, 77, 84, 85, 142, 162, 337, 341;
  records to S. Francisco, 145, 298, 300, 365, 367

Samuels, Capt. Samuel, _Dreadnought_, 44, 244, 246-7

San Francisco passages:
  Atlantic ports, 1849, 101, 145;
    1850, 145-6;
    1851, 174, 175, 178-81, 181-5, 189-94;
    1852, 212-5, 217-8, 222;
    1853, 224-8, 233;
    1854, 248-9;
    1855, 253, 254;
    1856, 290, 306-7;
    1857, 293-4, 295;
    General, 69, 233-4, 365-9;
    long, 193;
  Pacific ports, 195, 211, 219

_San Francisco_, clipper ship, 367

_Sancho Panza_, Cal. clipper ship, 361

_Santa Barbara_, 86

_Sapphire_, packet ship, 51

_Saracen_, Cal. clipper ship, 361

_Saratoga_, packet ship, 43

Sargent, Capt. Henry, _Phantom_, 345

Saunders, Capt. Thos. M., Salem, from cabin boy to captain, 119-20

_Savannah_, ship, 47

---- first sailing ship with auxl. engine to cross Atlantic, 1819, 313

_Schomberg_, Brit. clipper ship, built for Australian service, 284-5

Scott, John, & Co., builders, Greenock, 208

Scott & Co., builders, Dumbarton, 372

_Sea Serpent_, Cal. clipper ship, 136, 141, 196, 211, 302, 350;
  records, 175, 208, 224, 298, 366

_Sea Witch_, clipper ship, built for China trade, 68, 69, 73, 75-7, 136, 156, 337, 341;
  passages, 68-9, 189-92 (race);
  records, 145, 174, 208, 214, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 365

Seacomb & Taylor, owners, Boston, 270

_Seaforth_, Brit. ship, first vessel with steel spars and rigging, 322-3

_Seaman_, Cal. clipper ship, Baltimore, 136, 174, 350;
  records, 299, 300, 365

Sears, Capt., _Robin Hood_, 361

Seaver, Hon. Benj., Boston, 225

_Seminole_, ship, 369

_Serica_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 320, 346, 371;
  races, 324, 325-30

_Severn_, ship, 16

Shackfords, captains and builders, Portsmouth, N. H., 52

_Shakespeare_, packet ship, 40, 43, 48

_Shand_, Brit. ship, 344

Shaw, Maxton, & Co., owners, London, 319-20

Sheathing, copper, 61, 285, 320, 322;
  yellow metal, 237

Sheer, 18, 237, 320

Sheffield, Capt. J. P., _Hersilia_, 77-80

Shelburne, N. S., 53, 217

_Sheridan_, packet ship, 40, 45, 48

Shoof, Capt., _Black Hawk_, 361

_Shooting Star_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 173, 193, 337, 343, 352;
  records, 214, 222, 298, 299, 366

Shuter, Thos. A., owner, London, 34

_Siddons_, packet ship, 40, 43, 48, 84

_Sierra Nevada_, Cal. clipper ship, 250, 283, 361;
  records, 295, 296, 369

_Silas Richards_, packet ship, 40

Silsbee, Capt., _Syren_, 352

_Silvia de Grasse_, packet ship, 41, 47

Simmons, Capt., _War Hawk_, 363

Simonson, Capt., _Daring_, 362

_Simoon_, Cal. clipper ship, 355

_Sir George Seymour_, Brit. ship, 36

_Sir Launcelot_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 324, 332-3, 335-6, 346, 371

_Sir Robert Peel_, packet ship, 48

_Sirius_, Brit. steamer, 313

_Sirocco_, clipper ship, 298, 299

Skiddy, Francis, 43

---- Capt. William, 43

_Skylark_, Cal. clipper ship, 299, 359

Smith, Adam, _Wealth of Nations_, 92

---- James, & Son, owners, N. Y., 106

---- Stephen, builder, 47

---- T. & W., builders, Newcastle, Eng., 35, 36

---- & Co., builders Hoboken, N. J., 152, 351

---- & Co., builders, St. John, N. B., 266

---- & Dimon, builders, N. Y., 45, 47, 65, 68, 70, 135, 349

---- Capt., 355, 362

_Smyrna_, brig, first Amer. vessel in Black Sea, 15

_Snapdragon_, Cal. clipper barque, 232, 299, 359

Sneeden & Whitlock, builders, Greenpoint, L. I., rebuilt _Great Republic_, 242

Snow & Burgess, owners, 304

_Snow Squall_, Cal. clipper ship, 284, 352

Somes, Jos., owner, London, 34, 35, 36

_Sophia Branilla-Falcon_, 347

_South America_, packet ship, 43

_South Carolina_, ship, first to leave S. Francisco in 1849, 101

_Southampton_, packet ship, 46

_Southern Cross_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 195, 352

_Sovereign_, packet ship, 40

_Sovereign of the Seas_, Cal. clipper ship, 216-21, 235, 237, 281, 337, 344, 355;
  speed, 220-1;
  records: California, 213, 217, 299, 366;
  N. Y.-L’pool, 220-1;
  Australia, 269-70

---- No. 2, 258

---- No. 3, 341

_Sparkling Wave_, clipper ship, 300

Speed:
  Conditions and tests, 9-10, 11, 39, 46, 71, 90, 134, 192, 198, 205, 243, 286, 294-5, 321, 336-7
  Vessels built for, 57, 60
  Speed of Brit. and Amer. frigates, 4, 8, 10;
    E. Indiamen, 30, 35;
    opium clippers, 59;
    Amer. clippers, 135-6, 153, 193, 278, 282 (highest rate);
    of Brit. tea clippers, 320-1, 324, 334, 335-6;
    of steamers, 221, 278, 309

Speed in knots, 71, 161, 169, 178, 220, 251, 276, 278, 281, 282, 328;
  average, 46, 180, 219-20, 245, 278, 338

Spicer, Capt., _David Crockett_, 356

_Spindrift_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 332, 333, 335, 346, 371, 375

_Spirit of the Age_, Brit. clipper ship, 208

_Spirit of the Times_, Cal. clipper ship, 359

_Spitfire_, Cal. clipper ship, 359

_Splendid_, packet ship, 48

Spofford & Tillotson, N. Y.-L’pool packet line, 42-3

Spooner, _see_ Borrows

Sprague & James, builders, Medford, 52, 58

_Stadt Antwerpen_, Belgian barque, 343

_Staffordshire_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 193, 217, 342, 352;
  records, 214, 300, 366

_Stag Hound_, Cal. clipper ship, 136, 142-3, 151, 205, 211, 216, 237, 337, 341, 350, 375;
  records, 178, 195, 208, 298, 299, 365, 367

_Star of Empire_, packet ship, 270

_Star of Peace_, Brit. ship, Australian trade, 333

_Starlight_, Cal. clipper ship, 299, 361

_Starr King_, Cal. clipper ship, 255, 299, 362

Steele, Robt., & Son, builders, Greenock, 319, 320, 322, 324, 346, 347, 371, 372

Steers, Geo., designer and builder, 49, 250

_Stephania_, packet ship, 41

Stephen, Alex., builder, Glasgow, 322, 371

Stoddard, Capt., 349, 358

Stevens, Capt., _Southern Cross_, 352

_Storm_, Cal. clipper barque, 298, 355, 366

_Storm King_, Cal. clipper ship, 359

_Stornoway_, Brit. clipper ship, 198, 202, 205, 206-7, 376

_Strabo_, ship, 52

_Sultana_, barque, 56

_Sunny South_, clipper ship, China trade, 250;
  slaver, 251

Supremacy, 339;
  American, 311, 314;
  British, 210

_Surprise_, Cal. clipper ship, 135, 136-8, 174-5, 196, 202, 205, 207-8, 271, 337, 341, 350;
  records, 175, 195, 206, 208, 296, 297, 298, 299, 365

_Susannah_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32

Sutton & Co., N. Y., owners, 106, 303

_Sweepstakes_, Cal. clipper ship, 232, 233, 301, 345, 359;
  records, 289-90, 296, 297, 298, 299, 368;
  log, 290

_Sword Fish_, Cal. clipper ship, 84, 152, 153, 159, 193, 206, 306, 337, 352;
  records, 208, 224, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 366;
  race, 212-13

_Syren_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 352


T

_Taeping_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 322, 371;
  races, 324-30, 332-5

_Taitsing_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 324, 347, 371, 375;
  race, 324-30

_Talbot_, ship, 52

_Tampico_, brig, 84

_Tayleur_, Brit. ship (iron), for Australian service, 267

Tea Trade, iii:
  to England: Amer. clippers in, 96-8 196-7, 200-2;
  _see_ Tea clippers;
  amount, 320;
  freights, 196, 207, 323;
  premiums, 324, 330

_Telegraph_, clipper ship, Cal. passages, 299, 368

Templer, Henry, owner, London, 34

_Teutonic_, White Star S. S., 312

Thacker & Mangels, owners, London, 34

_Thames_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 35

Thayer, Capt., _Cleopatra_, 353

_Thermopylæ_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 332-6, 347, 371, 375

Thomas, C. W. & H., N. Y., owners of _Hurricane_, 163

---- Geo., Rockland, Me., builder of _Red Jacket_, 270

_Thomas_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 24

_Thomas Coutts_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32

_Thomas Granville_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32

_Thomas H. Perkins_, ship, Boston, 255

Thorndike, Capt., _Live Yankee_, 358

Tindall & Co.’s Australian line, 263

_Tingqua_, clipper ship, 298

_Titania_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 332, 336, 375;
  still in service, 347

Toby & Littlefield, builders, Portsmouth, N. H., 52, 233

Todd, Capt., 2d _Witch of the Wave_, 364

Ton in cubic feet, 104, 196, 323, 335, 373-5

Tonnage, aggregate:
  Afloat, 289;
    built, 3-4, 52, 151;
    captured, 7;
    owned, 13, 71, 292
    (steam), 308;
    sent out, 33;
    sold, 292

Tonnage, detail:
  American, early, 1, 2, 4, 6, 14-18, 51-4, 80, 119;
    packets, 38, 40, 42, 45, 46, 142, 243;
    opium clippers, 58-9;
    China clippers, 60, 62-5, 68, 70, 96, 250;
    California clippers, 135-6, 142, 153-6, 159, 161-6, 216, 233, 254, 349-64;
    Australian clippers, 235, 242, 265-7, 270, 273;
    pilot boats, 193, 305;
    increase in, 42, 151, 216
  British: E. Indiamen, 23, 25, 32-7;
    Aberdeen clippers, 58;
    tea clippers, 198, 199, 205-6, 208, 320, 322-3, 333, 371-2;
    Australian clippers, 267, 284, 338;
    steamers, 286, 287

Tonnage Laws, 20, 198-9, 315, 323, 373-6;
  _see_ Tax

_Topaz_, packet ship, 51

_Tornado_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 211, 283, 343, 352

_Toronto_, packet ship, 48, 162

_Trade Wind_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 164, 193, 337, 343, 352;
  records, 224, 299, 366

_Trades Increase_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 1609, 23

Train, Enoch, Boston, owner, 54-5, 153, 221, 255

Train’s Line, Boston-L’pool packets, 55-6, 270, 275

Trask, Capt. Benj., packet ships, 43

_Trenton_, packet ship, 52

_Trident_, ship, 1805, 17

_Trieste_, barque, 291

_Triton_, ship, 1805, 17

Trufant & Drummond, builders, Bath, Me., 152, 351, 357, 360

Tucker, Capt., _Swallow_, 362

Turner, Capt., _Starr King_, 362

_Tuscarora_, packet ship, 40

_Twilight_, Cal. clipper ship, 295, 364, 369

_Two Friends_, brig, 15

_Typhoon_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 161, 337, 342, 352;
  race, 189-92;
  records, 192, 208, 299, 300, 365


U

_Undaunted_, Cal. clipper ship, 345, 359

_Union_, sloop, 15

Upham, Hon. Chas. W., 169

Upton, Geo. B., Boston, owner, 56, 136, 155, 233, 304

_Utica_, packet ship, 41


V

Vail, Thos., builder, N. Y., 16

_Valparaiso_, ship, 164

_Vancouver_, ship, 208

_Vanguard_, packet ship, 48

_Venice_, ship, 161

Very, John Crowninshield, 163

---- Capt. Saml., _Hurricane_, 163, 351;
  Mrs. Very, 306

_Vicksburg_, ship, 47

_Victoria_, packet ship, 44, 47

_Victory_, packet ship, 244

_Viking_, Cal. clipper ship, 360

_Vimiera_, Brit. ship, 267

Vincent, Wm., builder, N. Y., 16

_Voltaire_, ship in China trade (Girard), 16

_Vulcan_, Brit. ship, first iron sailing ship, 1818, 313


W

Wakeman, Capt., _Adelaide_, 360

_Wanderer_, Brit. clipper schooner, opium trade, 59

_War Hawk_, Cal. clipper ship, 363

Wardle, T., & Co., N. Y., owners of _Eclipse_, 136, 349

Warner, Capt., _Sov. of the Seas_, 269-70;
  _Donald McKay_, 281

_Washington Irving_, packet ship, 56

Waterman, Capt. G. B., _Highflyer_, 344, 354

---- Capt. Robt. H., 73-7, 145, 189;
  _Britannia_, 73-4;
  _Natchez_, 68, 74-5;
  _Sea Witch_, 68-9, 73, 75, 208;
  _Northerner_, 75, 189;
  _Challenge_, 156, 181-9, 350;
  Mrs. Waterman, 75

---- & Elwell, builders, Medford, 52, 63

Watkins, Capt. Jas., _Akbar_, 62

Watson, Capt., _Polynesia_, 355

Webb, Isaac, builder, N. Y., 47, 48, 53, 74, 217;
  & Co., 40

---- Wm. H., son of Isaac, builder, 42, 48, 62, 63, 135-6, 142, 152, 156, 159, 164, 212, 216, 232-4, 250, 291, 349-52, 354, 359

---- Wilsey, father of Isaac, 47

---- & Allen, builders, N. Y., 48

Weld, W. F., & Co., owners, Boston, 304, 357

---- & Baker, owners, Boston, 363

Wells & Emanuel, owners, N. Y., 106, 304

_West Point_, packet ship, 44, 48

Westervelt, Aaron and Daniel, sons of Jacob A., 49, 233

---- Jacob A., builder, N. Y., 48-9, 216, 227, 232, 250, 297, 352-4, 358-9

---- & Co., 49

---- & Sons, 49, 152, 162, 351

---- & Mackay, 46, 48

_Westward Ho_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 237, 255;
  records, 224, 253, 295, 297, 298, 300, 366, 367, 368

_Whirlwind_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 284, 343, 355

_Whistler_, Cal. clipper ship, 299, 360

_White Squall_, Cal. clipper ship, 136, 142, 196, 242, 337, 350;
  records, 298, 299, 300, 366

_White Swallow_, clipper ship, 298, 369

Whitridge, Thos., & Co., owners, Baltimore, 254

Wigram, Robt., builder and owner, London, 35, 36, 285

_Wild Dayrell_, Brit. clipper schooner, opium trade, 59

_Wild Hunter_, clipper ship, 368

_Wild Pigeon_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 353;
  records, 299, 300, 366

_Wild Wave_, Cal. clipper ship, 360

_William G. Anderson_, U. S. clipper barque, 141

_William Tell_, packet ship, 41, 47

_William Thompson_, packet ship, 38

Williams, J., & Son, builders, Williamsburg, N. Y., 136, 152, 349, 352

---- Jabez, builder, N. Y., 216, 355

---- Capt. John E., _Andrew Jackson_, 247, 295, 362

---- & Guion, owners, 304

Willis, Capt., Cal. clippers, 351, 361

Wilson, W., & Sons, owners, Baltimore, 356, 357

_Windhover_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 332, 336, 346, 372

_Windsor_, Brit. E. Indiaman, 32

_Windsor Castle_, Brit. ship, 36

_Winged Arrow_, clipper ship, 299, 300

_Winged Racer_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 344, 355, 367

Winsor, Capt. C. F., 344, 351, 354, 356

_Witch of the Wave_, Cal. clipper ship, 152, 153, 166-72 (trip on), 173, 353;
  records, 206, 299

_Witchcraft_, Cal. clipper ship, 136, 140, 211, 302, 350;
  records, 178, 248, 296, 365, 366, 367

_Wizard_, Cal. clipper ship, 216, 355

Wolfe, W. A. & A. Foster, Jr., N. Y., owners of _Courier_, 54

Woodhouse, Capt. Philip, packet ships, 43

Woodside, Capt., _Wizard_, 355

Wooton, Jas. A., packet ship captain, 44

_Wylo_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 332, 372

Wyteerhoven, Capt., 343


Y

_Yang-tze_, Brit. clipper ship, tea trade, 322, 333, 347, 371

_Yorkshire_, packet ship, 41, 46, 48, 89

_Yorktown_, packet ship, 48

_Young America_, Cal. clipper ship, 84, 232, 233-4, 301, 306, 337, 360;
  records, 233-4, 297-300, 367-70


Z

Zerega, Capt., _Queen of Clippers_, 359

Zerega & Co., owners, N. Y., 56, 359


FOOTNOTES:

[1] A frigate was a ship designed to be a fast, armed cruiser and
mounted from twenty to fifty guns; when a naval vessel mounted less
than twenty guns she became a sloop of war, and when she mounted more
than fifty guns she became a line-of-battle ship. The frigate was
always a favorite type of vessel with the officers and men of the
navy, as she was faster and more easily handled than a line-of-battle
ship, and was at the same time a more powerful fighting and cruising
vessel than a sloop of war. Frigate-built means having the substantial
construction, arrangement of the decks, masts, spars, rigging, and guns
of a frigate.

[2] When peace was declared in 1783, the Government of the United
States sold or otherwise disposed of all its vessels, a fact that was
quickly taken advantage of by the Barbary corsairs. They at once began
to prey upon American merchant shipping in the Mediterranean and even
in the Atlantic, and made slaves of the captured crews. The French and
English, too, in their wars with each other, by no means respected the
neutrality of American commerce, the former being the worse offenders.
It was not, however, until 1794 that Congress again authorized the
formation of a navy, under the Secretary of War, and in 1798 the
office of Secretary of the Navy was created. Among the vessels built
in 1794-98 was the frigate _Constitution_, the famous “Old Ironsides”
which still survives. The separate States had meanwhile maintained
vessels for the protection of their own coasts, and, of course, there
had been no cessation in the building of merchant ships during the
period preceding the War of 1812.

[3] A typean was the head merchant of one of the Company’s “factories”
or mercantile houses, such as were later known in China as “hongs.”

[4] _Annus Mirabilis_, stanza 89 (1667).

[5] Second American edition, translated by H. Reeve, pp. 403-4.

[6] _New York Commercial_, October 8, 1851.

[7] William John, in an article on clipper ships in _Naval Science_,
vol. ii. (1873), p. 265.

[8] The various systems of calculating the tonnage of vessels which
were in force in Great Britain prior to 1854, (see Appendix iv.,) gave
the breadth measurement a preponderating influence upon the result, and
as taxation, port, and light dues, etc., were based upon the registered
tonnage of a vessel, there was economy in decreasing the breadth of a
vessel at the expense of the other dimensions. Ship-builders and owners
in England showed a much greater tendency to profit by this feature
of the law than did those in the United States, where substantially
the same system was in force. In this country some very narrow vessels
were built for the New Orleans and West India trade, in the period
1820-1845, but it was found that the saving in taxation did not pay for
using such an undesirable type of vessels, so they were given up. As a
rule, American owners and builders preferred to build vessels of a type
which they regarded as the best for speed and for the trade in which
they were engaged, without regard for the tonnage laws.

[9] The _Challenge_.

[10] Forbes’s rig was invented by Captain R. B. Forbes, and was
first put on the topsail schooner _Midas_ in 1841, afterwards on the
auxiliaries _Edith_, _Massachusetts_, and _Meteor_; ships, _R. B.
Forbes_, _Lintin_, _Flying Childers_, _Aurora_, _Cornelius Grinnell_,
and probably others. In this rig the topmast was fidded abaft the
lowermast head, and the lower topsail yard hoisted on the lowermast
head from the eyes of the lower rigging to the cap. The lower topsail
had two reefs with reef-tackles, buntlines, and clew-lines, as in the
single topsail rig. The upper topsail hoisted on the topmast and had
the same gear as the lower topsail. Sometimes the topmast was fidded
before the lower masthead, and then the lower topsail yard hoisted
on the doubling of the topmast. This rig was an improvement upon the
single topsail rig, but was eventually superseded by Howes’s rig, which
was invented by Captain Frederic Howes, of Brewster, Massachusetts,
who in 1853 first put it on the ship _Climax_, of Boston, which he
commanded. Captain Howes took out a United States patent for his rig in
1854. In this rig, the lower topsail yard is slung by a truss at the
lower mast cap; indeed, Howes’s rig is the double topsail rig of the
present day, though one does not often hear the name of Captain Howes
in connection with it.

[11] Mr. Everett is reported to have said “eighty-two,” but if he did
so, it was a mistake, for forty-two is the true number.

[12] These slabs were subsequently removed, one side being washed away.

[13] The following are some of these house flags: The crimson field
and black ball, of Charles H. Marshall; the red, white, and blue
swallowtail, of Grinnell, Minturn & Co.; the yellow, red, and yellow
horizontal bars with white “L” in centre, of A. A. Low & Brother; the
thirteen blue and twelve white squares, of N. L. & G. Griswold; the
crimson field and yellow beehive, of Sutton & Co.; the crimson field,
white border, and white “D” in centre, of George Daniels; the red,
white, and red vertical stripes with red “B” in centre, of Vernon H.
Brown; the blue and white half-diamonds, of Russell & Co.; the crimson
field and white diamond, of Augustine Heard & Co.; the white above
blue and red ball in the centre, of Sampson & Tappan; the white above
yellow and red star in centre, of Glidden & Williams; the narrow blue
and white horizontal stripes with red ball in the centre, of Napier,
Johnson & Co.; the white field and blue cross, of George B. Upton; the
crimson swallowtail and blue cross, of Charles R. Green; the white
swallowtail, red cross with white diamond in the centre, of R. W.
Cameron; the crimson swallowtail, blue cross, and white ball in the
centre, of Wells & Emanuel; the blue above white, white ball in blue
and red ball in white, of D. & A. Kingsland; the white field and red
cross in the centre of D. G. & W. B. Bacon; the white swallowtail and
black S. & B., of Snow & Burgess; the white field and black horse, of
William F. Weld & Co. The flag of Howland & Aspinwall had a blue square
in the upper corner of the luff and lower corner of the fly; the rest
of the flag was white with narrow blue lines in the lower corner of the
luff and upper corner of the fly, which formed squares, and also formed
a white cross extending the full hoist and length of the flag. David
Ogden’s flag was a white field and red cross; Crocker & Warren’s, blue
above yellow with a yellow “C” in the blue and blue “W” in the yellow.
Then there was the red swallowtail with white cross and black star in
the centre, of Samuel Thompson & Nephew; the blue field, white diamond,
and black star, of Williams & Guion; the crimson field and black “X” of
John Griswold. These were the private signals of most of the leading
New York and Boston ship-owners, which, half a century ago, enlivened
the water front of New York, though there were some others which have
now faded from memory.

[14] Walter Savage Landor.

[15] _Democracy in America_ (1835); Second American edition, p. 408.

[16] See Appendix IV.

[17] A lorcher is a fast Chinese vessel, used a good deal by fishermen,
and in former times by the Chinese pirates and smugglers.

[18] The _Thermopylæ_ repeated this remarkable passage of sixty-three
days from London to Melbourne during the following year.



Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:

their chests, mess-kids=>
their chests, mess-kits
{pg 28}

A seires of voyages=>
A series of voyages
{pg 75}

upon the the transom=>
upon the transom
{pg 188}

a ship-bulding yard=>
a ship-building yard
{pg 271}

receiving letters and newspapars=>
receiving letters and newspapers
{pg 319}

David Crocket=>
David Crockett
{pg 369}

McKensie, Capt., _Houqua_, 63, 145, 341=>
McKenzie, Capt., _Houqua_, 63, 145, 341
{pg 391 index}

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 69154 ***