The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1885-07-02
Sailing Over Summer Seas,
A VOYAGE TO THE COAL REGIONS OF Cal
BRETON.

when, winter having long since been dispos-
sessed OF the lap of spring, summer comes well
10 the front with its burning days and mosqui-
to infested nights, is something delightful to
think of, and yet more delightful in the reality.
1t is of course understood that the traveller is
fond of the sea, and not one of those who
shudder at thought of the rolling deck or of
the narrow limits of the stateroom In which
their voyages are usually made. One must be
ION deck" literally as well as fguratively,
prompt at meals and able to sleep the sleep of
the just while the fog whistle is blowing and
frequent soundings are made, to thoroughly
enjoy life on the ocean wave. And the
writer is just "that kind of hairpn." 1t was
therefore with a good deal of anticpatory
pleasure that he packed his valisc for d vaca-
ton of twelve days, eleven of which were
to be spent on the salt water. The trip began
Friday June 18th, when on the good steamer
Katahdin we left the wharf at Belfast and saw
the shores Of the beautiful Penobscot bay re-
ceding from view A good supper and a good
nights rest, and we are in Boston, where the
heat was oppressive, and after rafting over
| the streets for a few hours in a herdic it was
| with relief that we found ourselves on board
the steamship Worcester, ready for the voyage
and eager for the hour of DEPARTURE A little
past noon the lines were east off, the propeller
began its revolutions and we were moving
slowly seward. A goodly contingent OF
the Boston yacht fleet lay at anchor on the
South Boston flats, and as we passed we look
ed down upon their white decks set off by
darker woods and polished brass. There were
some able and slightly crafts among them, to
delight the eye of the lover Of things nautical
and a natty schooner standing up the harbor
under full sail excited the admiration of ali
Her white hull sat on the water like gull and
though the breeze was light and She made
scarcely a ripple as she passed through the
water her speed was something remarkable
The new sloop Puritan. which is to contest
for, and we trust may prove the winner of, the
Americas cup was not visible. A land breeze
followed us down the harbor bringing with it
the heat of the city, and the shady side of the
deck was generally sought. 1t was not until
we had dropped Boston light astern and were
fairly at sea that cooler atmosphere made
itself felt, and thereafter oycrcoat- We're in de.
mand.
This is perhaps as good a place as any tt
say something of the steamship line to which
the Worcester belongs and of the ship and hel
| officers. The Boston, Halifax and P. +. I-lanc
5. s. Line was established some twenty years
ago. The pioneer steamer was the Commerce
originally the blockade runner Pet-ron, anG
| Clyde built, of course-and she was followed
| by the Alhambra, Oriental and others. The
service is now performed by the sister ships
Carroll and Worcester, able and staunch pro
| pellers of 400 tons. They We're built for the
Baltimore and Ohio railway company and for
time ran between Baltimore and Liverpool.
| Each ship has its adherents. One will tel
you that the Carroll is the fastest and pleasant.
| est ship of the two, and that her officers are
simply perfection; and another will be lust az
enthusiastic over the Worcester. The genera
public will thus be left to infer that the traveller
| who selects either of these ships will not 90
amis>, and speaking from experience ON board
the Worcester the inference is fully warranted
| There may be better ships, but a finer sci OF
officer, it would be hard to find. A week on
|
ample opportunity to Judge of men. whether
they be fellow passengers or those in command
and we think it is the judgment of all who
! have sailed with them that the officers of the
Worcester stand the test. Capt. Geo. ID. Allen
/ Is every inch sailor, and although still youne
/ man has seen much service. The extent of hi,
voyagng may be inferred from the fact that
/ of ,hi
ocean, another in Liverpool. England, while !
| third was ushered into this world during a gal,
of Cape Horn. The pilot, Capt. Matthew
! Hitler, has also had much experience, standing
well i'll his profession and six feet or more ii
his stockings, and is an able seaman in all re
spects as well as a very pleasant gentleman
Mr. Sawyer, the purser. is polite and attentive
| the steward is good provider, and the two
Italians who preside in the galley skillfulll
prepare the appetiztng meals to which passen
! gers are summoned morning, noon and night
With the early cup of coffee, obtainabe by al
who wish it, and Il ship 50 steady that il
ordinary weather there is the slightest possibl,
provocation to sea sickness, life at sea on boart
the Worcester can hardly be other than enjoy
able.
| This company sells through tickets by various
connecting steamboat and railway lines, and a
| this is the season for excursions the reader
may be glad TO know of some of the routes
| Take the nearest pont-IIalifaX. Leaving Bos
ton at noon saturday you arrive in Halifax
early Monday morning. At four p. m. on The
saturday following you can take the SAINT
steamer on her return trip, arriving in Boston
| Monday morning. You have nearly six dav
in Halifax, two Sundays are spent on the wat
| er, and but one week is lost from business
Round trip tickets are sold at reasonable rates
and for short vacation we know of nothin!
more pleasant. Halifax is worth seeing, th,
summer climate is delightful, and there woult
be opportunity TO visit the gold mines and 9th
er points Of interest, or to indulge in trout ant
sea fishing. OF the Cape Breton trip we shall
later speak i'll detail. A longer voyage may b,
had by extending the trip to Prince Edward
Island, going and returning on the same steam
er, which lays two DAYS at Charlottetown, thu
enabling the tourist to 'do'' the island, whicl
is yearly resortcd to by an increasing humble
OF Americans. There are no fogs here and th
climate is said to be very beneficial to those af
tiicted with pulmonary troubles. These are tht
three principal excursion routes but they ma,
be greatly varied, and it is perhaps well to men
ton that excursion tickets are good until used
But to return to our voyage. The Worceste
had nearly two hundred passengers, the major
ity of whom were natives of Nova Scotia VIII,
| had been employed in the shops stores an,
homes of Massachusetts, and were returning t
aStonish the Old folks with the latest fashion
in "'rhe Slates.' There We're dozen or so o
tourists on pleasure bent small party boun,
for Cape Breton to angle for salmon and SCI
trout, some two or three dozen babies, tn
| youngest two weeks Old and, indeed, all class
es and conditions in life We're represented saw
the ubiquitous runner" If one OF this elias
was on board he was so unobtrusive aS not I,
have been recognized by his fellow passengers
and must have found it difficult to recognize
| himself. OF course Maine was represented
You find Maine men everywhere A Colleg
Professor, who with his wife and daughte
was taking vacation trip to Nova Scotia
though now Il resident of Providence, X. |.
and genial Captain d. n. Hall, retired ship
master, who now has his home in Boston, i
not only Maine man but Is well acquainte,