The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1858-03-06
Launch OF the Leyilthan

ltptIllIIl 900 IN' lliHii IifI" I'D NN.'H fN' I'
uop 90 ba subjected The don I4o Of
Fcb. g. gi,r lhr following NN description
of the tual iuo.luu of,bc IfmGhi
"Ycfterlay afternoon tho hong ruludd
process Of launching lhs weasel wus happily
brought 10 q successful termination, and The
Leyialhan' was foalrd oG hrr vay ud tov,d
+ 20 hfr moorings uIhcuEr IS was stated
in our laft impression % was rcsolred on
/ Itidny night thai lhr HuDmpt 90 lnul her 90
T hrF m0uriuFs should be- mudr ON the follow
! Ing day, aud 10 ihis cud OH lho necessary
| preparation aud precautions we're duly ar
iapgod, But yllbn couple NJ hours after
| this decision bad bcoa made, every arrange,
mcnt was frustrated aud all the plans over
turned by the sudden change Of wind,
Toward Saturday morning the breeze
steadi! INCREASED, sweeping atIos, the river
I lul on the broadsiio Of tho Le,alhan, with
such force as would difCn her high and dry
back again Ia her old position in the yard
had she once hoated even for i,e minutes
with the break Of day, therefore, Captain
| Harrison, with whom alone rested the
I responsibility Of taking her To- her berth, de-
dded against floating her ON Saturday, and
Immediately all the pumps and puSilary cn-
gines wors sot to work 10 pump back again
the water ballast, Of which, 10 the extent Of
SOME three thousand tuns, shc had been
lighIcned during the night
Saturday 's weather justified all these pre-
cautions 20 the fullest cNloul, The wind
kept bock the tide, 30 that oven empty Of
ballast the Io,iathan would scarcely have
loatcd while % tho same time Il blow with
pressure Of nearly $50 tuns upon the mon
stcr's broadsidc, Even under the most ip-
yorable view oftho casc, she must have gone
ashore al once, or failing this, have swept
broadsidc up tac stream, tugs and all, when
she would have entirely sotllcd the question
q, to the supremacy Of the river, and put the
Great Eastern Steam Navigation Company
into the GaseH in half an hour.
Nothing OF this kind, however, was 20 he
apprehcuded yesterday. The weather was
fine, clear and ealm with searccl, any breeze,
and what little there was, all in favor Of
thc vessel and high tide ran up with unusual
,Ninncss, and a. the iiood relieved the weight
upon the launching ways, some of the by
draulie machines were set 10 work for the
last time, TO push the monster as far 40 pos
sible into the centre Of the river, She moved
easily, aud with such low rate of pressure
that short time gave an advance Of eighty
inches, which showed that more than hnlfthc
cradles were Quite pushed off the ways a1d
rested on the river bottom. All - the
la,
observed that sho no longer rested on the
cradlcs-thlt she was, in fact, n1oat, but, of
course, tbc transition SO gradual IL &
".','s ,.,s
s,camng ahcarl, and showed that at last sho
was fairly under way. Then the cheers which
arose from tho yard and from the docks, from
the boats in the river, and the crews of the
ships al anchor up and down Tho stream.
spread The great news far apd wide and thus
under the most favorable circumstances the
Teyidthan c0mmcnccd her rfsr voyage on
ti7r iiT5I575T.
Two powerful tug-hoais were ut her bows
and two were fastened astcrn. Other stcaw-
crs also were in Attendance, and rendered
their aid, but the efforts of the four We have
mentioned wcro instrumental in managing
her Al first the c.ilrts Of those ahead seem
ed to have lhtle effect, and when at length some
way was made ON her, il was abruptly check
ed 10y one of the paddle wheels foelhg the
cradles. II took some time to clear her Of
this obstacle, but was at last accomplished
her-heat ~rs II, ust--irt swing partly yr0und
with the tide, and the steamers began moving
her slowly, but very slowly, forward, clear of
the cradles, These, as our rcadcrs are
aware, were composed of immcnst bulks of
timber, on which the vessels bottom rested,
and which her weight alone kept down. The
police, therefore, had to take unusual pre-
cautions yesterday. to keep all horrSclear Of
her while the wrecks of the cradles plunged
up in tremendous masses as each was rclcas-
ed by the onward movement of Lcyiathan.
II WIS rurtUuv to srr tf1ryr iirrgr groups of
beams emerge from the river rising rapidly
from the surface Of the water twenty or thirty
feet, with slow, heavy movement, and then
falling over with great crash that churncd
the water into foam around them. Some bro
ken and splintercd by the violence with which
they were thrown against each other, formed
loose tanglc of timber " ork, and went slow
ly drifting up the river in little islands, which
rose some four or Gyc feet from the water.
Others long after the great mass had iloatcd
up, came plunging to the surface, falling about
in way that showed the necessity of theyprc-
cautions taken by the police, and the certain
destruction that would have overwhelmed any
boat within their reach
Soon after the cradles were cleared, and
the surface ofthe river covered with thcr frng-
,ments, the Leyiothon fouled the bargcs which
moorcd with tremendous chains, were form
trly used to pull her downward toward the