The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1886-01-08
A Remarkable Ocean Race.

time exchange who have had nothing
to talk about except the hard times
Tor nobody can tell how many years,
have had to drop the topic for a few
days past in order to recall with AMI
nation the days when clipper ships
were built and times were good, and
each ship that came out had to beat
the record or take reduced freights.
The cause of all this change was due
to the arrival OF four vessels at this
port that had crossed the Atlantic in
remarkable time, one OF them having
eclipscd all former records from the
port from which she sailed. Two OF
these ships were big Maine clippers on
their first round voyages in the San
Francisco trade, and two We're built
in Nova Scotia.
At noon on October 10 the ship
Albert G. Ropes, Capt. David II.
Rivers, hauled out OF the dock at
Liverpool, having 1900 tons OF salt
on board She was in tow for eight
hours and then made all sail with Il
fresh wind in thenortheast. Onehour
after the Ropes had left the dock, the
Commodore 4. II. Allen, Capt Robert
Mcrriman, carrying q like cargo, fol-
lowed her. and began making sail at
about the same time. Both ships
measure over 2,2O0 tons, both have
masts so tall that Il lardsman gets
dizzy looking at the tops of them, and
both spread nearly two acres OF can
vas in such q wind as was whistling
over their decks on the evening of Oc-
tober TO-.
There were only two dirty Liverpool
tugs to see the send-otf, but there has
not been such o race in 20 years as
was then begun. The two ships lost
sight of each other during the night,
but each captain knew that the other
was not far away and each one watch
ed the trim of his canvass and the
courseby the compass in a way that
would prevent the loss of an inch OF
vantage. For AS hours neither saw
the other, but at the end OF that time
Capt. Rivers saw the skysails OF the
Allen looming above the horizon as
tern. The wind was light and in the
east, and the Allen continued to loom
up. The men on the Allen had recog-
nized their opponent ahead, but with
such light airs the race las aggravat-
ing. The Allen crawled up a bit dur
ing the day, which was Monday, and
fer two days the two ships watched
each other, having the whole ocean to
themselves. They We're reeling off the
miles at u fair rate, but were doing
nothing to brag of.
1t is likely that there ncverweret two
captains more surprised than these
were when. on Wednesday morning
theyawoketo thefact that somebody's
royal sail was showing up astern, and
that it was a British royal at that.
Before night the third ship, the Flora
p. Stafford of Windsor, Nova Scotia,
Captain John Smith had passed the
Allen and was tagging along after the
Ropes in Il most provoking style. The
Stafford had left Bristol on the day
afterthe two American ships left Liv-
| erpool, and here she was overhauling
both of them.
Thereafter for six days these three
ships watched each other as cats watch
mice and her the Stafford disappear
cd. When the Georges Bank wasreach-
ed l6 days after leaving Liverpool,
the Allen and the Ropes were still in
sight OF each other. But there they
| separated. They had Field a good
wind from north to enst,a had had
every reason to feel comfortable over
the work done.
Five days later both were cruising
along Long Island, the Ropes passing
Fire Island light about four hours
ahead OF the Allen. But that four
hours was enough to land the Ropes
inside the bar nearly "a hours ahead
of her rival. The weather came on
thick and hewind heavy, and the Al
len had to lie outside until Friday.
On that day the Flora Stanford ar
rived. She was of the bar at )
O'Clock in the morning, but her pllotre.
fused to take her i'll.
The actual time OF the Ropes to the
bar was IS days and II hours, and
from dock to dock a few minutes less
than 10 days. The captains OF these
three ships were inclined to be iubi
liant, but when they got on shore they
heard of a little Nova Scotia bark
that had beaten them all. On Octo,
Der II, the bark Belt commanded by
n. V. Munro, sailed out of Flushing
the port at the mouth ofthe river two
hours below Antwerp at about lC
O'Clock, having silver sand and empty
petroleum barrels for this port. She
made runs varying from $50 to 26s
miles day after day. Her run was
between IT and IS days. She hac
beaten the record from Antwerp
When it is considered that Antwerp i:
at least aday and a halffurther away
/ +l,,, -,rr~o1 ~. Rrjc+rl II ic cnDt
that the Belt, which measures only
1,246 tons, had made q passage tina
compares f~avorably with the most
famous passages Of the old American
Liverpool packets.
While the Ropes made record iron
Liverpool that she may be proud OF
her record as a whole since she wa
launched is still more remarkable
The Ropes was built at Bath by j
L. Chapman & Co., and sale,
for New York on November 16, littl
more than a year ago. Sh
arrived here November 81, discharged
700 tons OF ballast, went into the dr.,
dock and out again, took on 4,29'
tons OF general merchandise, and sail
ed on December % for San Francisco
She arrived there in 1O7 days. Sh
remained there 13 days, ~takingon3, 80
long tons dead weight of wheat, am
then sailed for Liverpool. She was a
days in reaching the Horn, and 10;
in reaching Liverpool. She was il
Liverpool SO days. Considering Il.
amount OF cargo handled, she ha
beaten the record for the round tri'
in her trade. The Allen left New Yor
on her first trip in September Of las
year. Both ships show the improve
ment made in American ships i'll rt
cent years.
The Tower Of London.
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