Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1886-05-22
OIL ON The WATERS

OIL ON THE WATERS.
Captains Who Have Used It Testify to its
New York Tribune.
Among the captains Of sailing vessel
trading at foreign ports the great value
Of oil for breaking the force OF the waves
Is generally acknowledged, although the
practice Of carrying. it especially for this
purpose is by no means universal A
reporter has talked with several of those
captains whose business takes them upon
long voyages and they have all admitted
the efficacy Of oil
When asked for his opinion on the
subject, Captain Bailey, of the bark
Southern Cross, which had lately arrived
from Manila, in the Philippine islands,
said that he was firm believer in the
virtue Of oil. "It's not new idea, you
know" said the captain. II got it from
the whalers, who have always used whale
oil when the waves grew troublesome
Common whale oil is as good for this
purpose as any other kind Of oil. I al
ways take some with me when I go to
sea, but 1 cannot say that think the
practice general among captains. Ihave
large canvass bag, the lower part of
which is perforated with holes. When
the sea is very rough, I fill this bag with
oil and hang it over the ships side. It
allows the oil to drip slowly upon the
water, and the effect is wonderful in tax
ing the cops off the waves and convert
ing them into long, gentle swells. wish
the Herald could succeed in getting all
captains to take oil to sea with them"
"Can you tell me, captain" asked the
reporter, show it is that oil is of any use
when vessel is running through the
water? I should think that she would
leave it all behind her and derive no
good from it."
'Well," replied the cawtain, ''that's a
question cannot answer out of my own
experience, because it happens that the
only time when I have used oil have
Teen when the ship was hove to-
Captain Davis of the bark James A.
Borland had used oil when under sail,
and in reply to the reporters question,
he said: "Why, the explanation is this:
When the weather is so bad that the use
of oil has to be resorted to ship is usu-
ally running before the wind. Now
when this is the case the bow and fore
part of the vessel do not need protection.
The great damage is done by the batter
ing of the heavy seas aft, and this is
just what the oil prevents. Pour it out
or rather let it drip out forward, and it
makes easy water for all the ship abaft
the fore, or certainly the main, mast to
pass through"
In the custom house, attending to his
ships paper, the reporter found Captain
Simmons of the brig The Charley. 'Is
oil good thing?" he repeated, with a
humorous twinkle in his eye. "Why,
of course, it is. Haven't we got scrip
tural authority for it, oil on the troub-
led waters Ell? Well it is a good
thing. 1t breaks the head of the pillows,
and no mistake But, then, when you
get good big storm and tossing sea
it is likely to stay good while-days
and often weeks and you would need a
great lot of oil, and you wouldn't have
it, because shipowners would not care to
pay for it."
Captain johnson, of the ship Saturnus,
which sprung a leak in gale off Savan-
nah, Ga, and had to be abandoned, also
acknowledged the value of oil, although
he had not been in the habit of carry
ing it and could not tell the extent of its
utility. He said, however, that he had
used it with excellent results to still the
water in order to enable the boats FROM
his ship to be rowed to the shore. He
thought that great quantity of oil
would have to be carried by a vessel to
be of much use, and this he considered
impracticable.
Captain Salvesen, of the abandoned
Norwegian bark Nordcap, on the other
hand. II believe that it saved our lives
on the Nordcap's last cruise" he said,
land I shall never go to sea without it
again. I had four canvass bags on the
Nordcap, each containing large piece
of oakum thoroughly saturated with oil.
These I hung over the ships side, to the
windward, and left the oil drip into the
sea. I verify believe that without the
relief afforded by this the ship could not
have lived long enough to meet the ves-
sci which rescued her crew. There are
many seamen who are skeptical about
the value of oil for calming the waves,
and had some firm unbelievers on my
ship, but they were all converted on this
last voyage.
81 have always used oil before this
and have been believer in it, but here
tofore I have not carried special sup
ply, and when we were taken of the
Nordcap my supply was gone. But, as
I said before, shall never after this 20
to sea without It."
Pronunciation in School,