The Republican journal., 1877-08-23
From the Hartford Times.
CRACKING ON SAIL.
By j. T. GOLDRICK.

~
are directly due to the passion of driving
or cracking on. American shipmasters
excel in this particular-no other ships
are 50 recklcssly managed, and no ships
in the world are so poorly manned. Then,
if a man has a general idea of seaman
ship, wealth, or wealthy friends, he is at
once put in command. Fertility in re
sources, energetic and prompt to execute,
and other nameless qualifications ought
to be essential elements in the man who
assumes the discharge of Il ship officers
duties, and yet shipowners seem to ignore
all that, seeking to find the half, the third,
or even the quarter, interest as of a deal
more Importance. 1t is very true that a
good many good seamen have command
of ships who are indebted to wealth or
influence for the distinction. But the
rule is to give the vessel to the man who
puts the most money into the venture,
without regard to the necessary ability to
handle Il ship.
The Messrs. Blunt, Fitch & Wadleigh
were ship owners, and their office in South
street did a large South American bust
ness. They had several ships in the
Liverpool trade, not speaking of the
round dozen of coasters owned by this
| firm. The firm always insisted on Il
money qualification in a captain, and the
result was that their ships We're driven
until they were almost worthless. Then
they were loaded up with odds and ends,
heavily insured, and sent to sea. They
rarely came back. Ii they came back
they We're sure to disappear the next trip,
and the captain was bound to find a new
| ship waiting for him Occasionally the
! Messrs. Blunt, Fitch & Wadlcigh would
| lose q ship unexpectedly, but as long as
| they were safe on the underwriters books
| they did not much care about the ships
| company, or enquire II anybody was saved.
| The ship Planet, belonged to the above
! firm, and when my story commences she
was in the Waterloo dock taking in emil
| grants and their stores. Her destination
was New York, and she was advertised to
| sail in a day or two She was a half clip
! per, heavily spared, and bearing the evil
dence about her that she was not allowed
to loiter by the way. She had all the
features of Il safe and trustworthy ship,
and so there was 10 difficulty found in
securing the 400 and odd passengers that
We're about to trust themselves to the
tender mercy of the Atlantic. The cap
tttIl tto al i'llttl Will ilOdt-
ed features aIlu suspicious redutos i'll Ills
face, but he rarely came on deck or in
tertrred with the first officer. who per
formed his duty with a great flourish,
evidently calculated to impress the pas
sengers with a due sense Of his import
| ance.
The day before the ship hauled out in
TO the stream, a quiet gentcmanly ap-
/
| keen stare at the mate and a glance at
| the cabin accommodations, engaged a
| statc-rOom AS the man elboWed his way
/ among the passengers, those who noticed
him little thought the day would come
when their safety depended upon his
ability to handle ship. He did not stay
| long, but fastened away to send his traps
on board. The next morning, as the ship
was hauling out, he came on board and
sundry trunks and boxes marked '.E. S.
W." were slowed away in the hold. \
small leather trunk and a valise were
| transferred to his state-room, after which
he disappeared from view.
The next time he emerged from the
cabin the ship had cleared the channel
and was running to the westward with a
light breeze under perfect cloud Of can
vass -studding sails on both sides up to
the main to gallant sail, and the crew, Il
hard looking. vicious gang of Liverpool
Irishmen-the hardest characters in the
world - were being driven about from
sheets to braces. The captain was en-
gagged in his tavOrlte amusement OF ''curs-
inc and blasting the eyes" Of the man at
the wheel. and it was evident at a glance
that that red face and those blear eyes
were the result of Il long debauch. Each
lurch of the ship caused him to sway to
and fro by the bacil-stay, which was his
usual holding-on place when " "slightly
sprung" The mate was a fair seaman,
but standing in mortal fear of the cap
tain and the same might be said of the
other officers, who stood in mortal fear of
the mate. 1t was the mates watch, and
he was busily engaged in securing things
for the long trip across the western ocean.
The passengers in open eyed wonder
looked at the crew as they scurried about
the decks, surprised that man could
calmly take such hearty abuse without at
least resenting it by Il word or look.
After day or two out things became
shaken into their places. The captain in
port and the same man at sea were diff
ltltlll IUtllN ltlttdlS. 4NON uc NdS Il tloSS,
Sulkv man, with a VillainouS Odor of WhiS-
key clinging to him. There were about
Il dozen cabin passengers, and alter each
of them had received a snub or two, they
preferred to let the captain alone. The
quiet man didn't seem to have eyes tol
anything but book, which was his con-
stant companion. Occasionally game
of chess, checkers, or Spanish polo en-
livened the cabin people, and when these
things failed to interest, they would saun-
ter about the deck until it was time to re-
tire The other passengers, mostly Irish
! and Dutch, had a hard time of it anC
bitterly complained of the trashy stuf
served out to them as if they were dogs
For the first ten days, battling wind'
t and Il nasty head-sea did not tend tt
make the captain a very amiable man
but on the morning of the 18th day out ;
2 fresh breeze from the northeast overlook
T her, and, all the morning, the hasty
t tramping of the sailors intimated to thos,
3 below that there were lively times OF
deck. The hoarse orders of the matt
We're succeeded by the still hoarser roar
l of the captain setting studding sails, ant
I when the cabin passengers began to craw
s on deck the ship was covered with can
vas from the lower sails to her royals
All that day the wind increased in VIC
lence, and, in the dog watches, was in
d creased to gale. Still those in the shi1
: did not notice that so much on accOun
: of the fact that she was running from il
d The sea, too, came in regular ridges, an
v the heavy pressure on her masts kept he
steady; so she skinned along with
gliding motion. Towards night, it bein
s the mates watch, he took in the studding
e sails and hauled the three royals He wa
If getting ready to clew up the mainsai
d when the captain staggered on deck, and
II lurchng in the direction of the back-stay
he managed to grasp it as he roared out