New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-04-18
TIE SHIPPING OF NETWORK
wHARvEs AS THEY WERE AND Az THEY
ARE.

BAYS or CLIPPER SHIPS AND THE WONDERFUL
RvcoRps MADE-BuRNING OF THE GREAT RE-
PUBLIC.
Changes in New-York within the past ee
decades have been slow in some places, rapid In
sthers. enduring in all; and the river fronts mark
Ihe transition with unerring certainty. The North
River formerly denominated the Steamboat DIS
tricty maintains its prestige. The big boats round
the Battery on their way up the Sound, ana tne
highway Of the Hudson claims IT'S quota OF steahi-
boats and barges. which even the railroads cannot
crowd out of profitable existence. The East Side
with some steamboat lines left has changed its
front materially Whitehall and CoeDties-slip still
harbor their canal boats and the =" Flour District
maintains it's pasty identity on wet days. reward
Wall-st however. things have changed. and
bevond this the big bridge stretches its cabled
spans over the old buildings near the Roosevelt
Street Ferry Thence to the sectional and balance
docl vicinity and further on toward the Hook
the old identity has been successfully merged INTO
n nrcsent which, according to an old d" sea-does
ideas of how things ought to be- would oe uhsa.i, ,,
factory Some of the larger buildings aro SUI,
warehouses; with their Importance on the ""''o "'u
a struggle for existence The marble yarus eAls' a'
the bend. where the big bulkheads are out 'neic
arc feuer vessels at the wharf and there is less
marble in the yards.
In the palmy days of South-st., twenty-five or
thirty wears ago. every pier scene of busy life
md money making Square-riggers from every
mort pointed their jib-booms far over the pave
mcnts and the forest of tall masts extended from
below Walst. away mp beyond Market ana Plke
sts The only break in the line was Just at the
balance-docks, where half hundred sleeps
@snuggled" themselves into place. and made
things generally lively with their trade in mer-
chandise and market stuff from the big and httie
nlaces on the Sound. Pa,my days those were for
tha chi
stevedores. 'longshoremen and the ship-owners
The monthly fees from registered vessels and the
nerouistes from coasters made the Harbor Master
ships the plums worth struggling for in the dis
fributiOn of Executive patronage. Politlclans
sought them for their friends and secured them for
themselves When there were seven harbor
Masters the wire pulling was energetic. L hen Inere
were nine and the wires were still taut. Then
there were eleven hungry officials to BIT at the
shiIIed talent in requsition at the old Capitol
chambers. the Delavan House and Stanwix Hall
successfully p tpg
for more than one term, And this, too. while
stubborn ola Commodore Vanderbilt was fighting
against paving the fees The fight amused the
his way, az the Harbor Masters But the old Com
p,odore failed to win, and finally paid for his
as owen w Brennan. Alexander H. Schultz James
Beyins. Mathew ID. Greene. Lew" Brainard, s.
BurIeigh. Abram Pierce and James w; Hustled
found the Har5or Mastershlps prohtable' con-
Venient. cOnsoliDg and cOmputaD!e.
In those busy days before the war" there vas
much to be seen along the docks, and the rural
visitor had reason to wonder where al the Dlg
ships came from. The Southern coasting trade was
an important factor in the revenues to the mel
chants of New-York from inter. commerce eT
H% the fS as 1 u paid d0 th
amount for the berths provided by the Harbor
Masters and the schooner district was the pet one
firms as Dollner Potter Il Co.. Jonas Smith & Co..
K. NJ Demil and others had the cream Of the
naval aid rd ber With these
honses The Dow casters hal trade of their
own The lumbermes from Maine and the traders
headonarters among the Wall-st. offices near the
river. Among them j. ". Elwcll Il Co. and the
circle of merchants who originated and supported
lie Marine Bank were the leading spirits.
The immigrant trade with the Old Country was
represented in the vessels belonging TO the TAP;
Iileston's and MOrgau's lines, while tioWland "
Aspnwall Durham DWon snow cr * D%ag and
othe2 time houses had regular vessels plying
between New-York and English ports. ,.o,.
The discovery of gold in Calil9mIa IN Az bes sh
the excitement in 40. when golden visions OF the
riches of the Pacific Coast entlced the adventurous
srrits firm the Atlantic States. The hard-handed
farmers built air castles and followed Their fances
across the plains many OF them to be lost in the
canons of the Rockies. 1t was long way round
the Horn, hut the Pacific Coast beckoned with its
golden hand and the American shpbuil ders were
t. meet the emergency by craft winch sh0uld
shorten the voyage by speed and bring the golden
shores closer. NtW-1 OTk Hdu lS 'o"'H 9"p
fLe New En- glanderS Webb, Westervelt. steers
such men were ready to begin work and the blows
OF the axe and mallet resounded increasingly
StronQ-rbbed ships grew steadily under the prac-
tsed hands of enthusiastic workmen. and the
careful eyes of the master: who owned the yards
and took the risk of failure or reputation in
success New Eneland's competition was earnest
AMI generous. East Boston. Rockport, hennebunk.
Portland Bath-all deep-water ports-were busy.
The California trade must be supplied with swift
winged racers Abundant capital and stimulated
labor produced with marvellous rapidity the sharp
bowed nC-hulled. rakish clippers, modelled with
as mich care rs yachts. and much like the feet OF
iast-sailrng vessels peculiar to Baltimore and trad
ing in and ont from Chesapeake Bay. There's
another new ship" was expression to be
pnnctuaed with period instead OF an exclamation
point and the big ships moored three and four
aIreast in the East River docks awaiting turns at
the wharves Freight awaiting shipment was piled
up tafral high. and at the longshoremen incoming
an army of sunDurnt men lounged along the river
front Snch firms as W. f. Coleman & Co., Sutton
& Co., Snow a. BURGESS, the Ansins and the
There ere big records for the big ships in those
days. and a aslice in a clipper paid rcnndlv,
while the builders were proud OF their WORK ne
Challenge. a 2.OOO-toD ship owned by the GIis-
wolds, was A racer SO was the Red Jacket. The Fly
ing Cloud in SOL cast the foam from her bows In
run from Sandy Hook to San Francisco In eighty
nine DAYS making 1873 miles in one day The Comet
made the run from San Francisco to NewYork IN
eighty-three avs, aid the sovereign OF the seas
came home from the Sandwich Islands in eighty
three days in the spring of 1852. All the ships
were fast and the records Of 50 many are notable
lin" Dreadnaught N s53 when she made steamers
time of thirteen days from Liverpool to New-iork.
was one of the noted.
The shp-bnilding industry which began so
lnstily in 1850 had lost no strength IN 1903 There
was no less demand from California, ana European
business had been turned Tito the clipper service
while the carrying trade between China and New
York called for the best attanable speed A. A.
Low d. Brothers then the leaders III the tea trade
numbered in their fleet the ships n. 3. Palmer and
Samuel RUSSELL and the noted barks Benefa9tor
and Benefactress. In 1858 the Great Republic
touched the water from the stocks of Donald
Mckay. at East Boston built for the Lows. and
having a tonnage of 1856 She was a four master
and four-decker. designed for the China trade
and to be the largest possible box of tea" afoat
All New-iork was anxious for the coming of the
big vessel and for several days. while berthed at