The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1878-10-11
OIL AT SEA.
Practical Effects Of Oil on Troubled Waters


4A&lAfC ocuLlmtnl,
there are o few modern instances Of it.
wonderful power at sea in cases Of impend.
ing shipwreck- Those few cases, however,
which have found a faithful record, ought
to arrest more deeply the public attention
for il the efficacy of oil is Of the nature
which these accounts would lead us to ao1ept
so simple a provision against the disasters
OF the ocean cannot be too extensively
known. ~
As far back as ITO o Dutch East India.
man was saved from wreck in q storm near
the island of a and Amsterdam by pour
ing on the sea a jar of olive oil.
The writer Of Wellerdehre states that n
Mr.. Richie, who accompanied q Danish
Captain to the island of Porto Santo (beine
tutor to his SOM, was standing on the shore
during q hurricane, when he saw the vessel
in which he arrived torn from her anchor
and swallowed up. Suddenly in the middle
OF the bay appeared a boat driving towards
shore. The waves, however, advanced
with redoubled energy, but without break
ing and tossed the boat so high on the strand
that the men were able to jump. out and
scramble up the beach. The rescue was
due to the captain, who, as the boat entered
the breakers, stove in a key of oil, which,
though unable to lessen their height, pre-
vented the waves from breaking and caused
1ah Up khe u IKE OleTS.
carrying the boat with them.
In 1867 a master stated in the New York
shipping List that he had been ut sea twenty
eight years, and master for ten years, and
that he had saved the vessel under his COM
mand twice by oiling the sea- He saws
when a ship is disabled and cannot get out
OF q storm, and the master has to make the
best of a gale, If he has oil on board he
should start two or three gallons over the
side, to windward this will make smooth
water. The oil allowed to drip slowly out
Is all that is required the ship is in smooth
though heaving wnter as long as the oil
runs In 1864, in the heaviest gale of wind
he ever experienced, he lost all sails, and
then the rudder followed and he knew the
vessel could not have ridden the sea for an
hour longer if he had not had some oil.
Five gallons lasted fifty-six hours, and thus
saved the vessel, cargo, and lives. He
recommends that ships of heavy tonnage
should have two iron tanks of forty gallons
each, one on one side, with the faucets SO
arranged that the oil can be started at any
time into small vessels-say ten gallon
casks; and in all ships boat tanks of FIVE
gallons each well filed, so that in case the
ship founders or burns the boats will have
oil to smooth the sea in q gale. With these
tanks and a good master who knows the
law of storms and handles the ship so as to
get out of the center of it, the danger of
laundering is greatly reduced.
Capt. Belts, of the King Cenric. of 1. 400
tons, which lately arrived at Bombay from
Liverpool with a cargo of coal, used COM
mon pine oil in a heavy gale of wind to
prevent the sea breaking on board, and with
perfect success. The gale continued for
nearly five days, n ragged with determined
Jury. 1t had lasted some time, when the
chief officer, Mr.. Bowyer, bethought him
self of q plan he had seen tried upon some
occasions when in the Atlantic trade to pre-
vent the sea breaking in. He got out two
canvas clothes bags into ench he poured
gallons Of oil. He punctured the bags
nightly and hung one over each quarter.
towing them along. Tho effect was magi.
cal. The waves no longer broke against
the poop and sides of the ship but yards
and yards away, where the oil had spread
Itself over the water, and in the wake of the
vessel was q large space Of calm water.
The crew were thus able to repair damages
with greater ease; the ship WINS relieved
from those tremendous shocks received from
the mass of water which had burst over her
quarters and stern and the danger was con
siderably lessened. The two bags lasted
two days; after which the worst rage OF
the storm having expended itself, no more
oil was used. Four gallons of oil, scarcely
worth thirty shillings, perhaps, here saved
King Cenric, its cargo and the lives and
property of the crew.
The above facts are capable of absolute
veriication. The philosophy Of the oper
alton is simple, and the thin covering of oil
floating on the waves prevents the wind
from entering under the surface, n there.
fore, greatly reduces the roughness of the
sea, and probably the height of the waves
the crests of which are thus prevented from
breaking, which is one of the principa
causes of danger. There is, however, moth
ing new in the application of oil for such
purposes. Pliny mentions that in his days
divers used to throw oil to lessen the rough.
ness of the sea in order that they might
more readily discern objects on the bottom.
The position of seals is readily known by
the traces of oil which they throw up wher
feeding on oil-giving fishes such as the cod :,
and the course taken by shoals of herrings
and pilchards can also be easily observed iy
the oil, let free, causing streaks of smootf
water in the midst of the otherwise turbulent
element. From the same reason the sea
never breaks oundt the body Of a dead or har
pooned whale, INT its track for q long di.
lance may be clearly disccrnod. The cools ,
slush or the waste from a disuscd oil barrel
or a little coal tar thrown overheard, ha.
caused n rough cen to become rcmarkabl,
smooth. DIR. Franklin tells us that in New
port harbor, u. S., tho sea was always smooth
when there werc any whaling vessels at
anchor in it, through the waste Of blubber
and oil from thom. When the bilge-watei
from oil ships in tho Ceylon trade i,
pumped overheard the r~oughness caused b.
. gale subsidies immediately and KNOWN,
this, some intelligent masters. cspccirli,
when near the Cape of Good Hopo, alwey,
resort to the pumps of such ships previoy.
to encountcring heavy weather. Indeed
when running n gale, oil is Gometimcs throw,
from vessels in the New Foun6land and Lab
rador trade to keep the sea FROM breakin,
over them. They can run much longer witt
assistance han without it, and the oil
spreads to windwnrd rs fast as to leewar6
Yet how little are these facts known. Til.
writer has spoken of them for years TO cap
tains of vessels, who have either receive.
these facts with indifference or refused then
credence. 1t is to be hoped that more gel.
eral attention may be given to this impoi
tant subject and as it is ono which deepl
concerns the interests of the mercantile
marine, 1t seems most desirable that somp
public body-the wreck commissioners, foi
instance-should get together all the sub.
stantial information which might lead to
placing the matter in an effective shape.
What could be more applicable for initial
experiments than a trial of life boats, etc.
going out in rough weather to stranded or
wrecked vessels We throw out the hint.
SSound ~ said the echnoluostar 90 "a.