The new North-west., 1888-10-12

Ballers would be thought small craft now.
They were about 400 or 5OO.tons burden.
They sailed from New York to Liverpool
on tho first day Of each month until in 1921,
when the Red Star line was organized Then
tie time between the departure Of vessels
from New York was shortened, until finally
they left every week. The tonnage gradually
increased until vessels as large as the Henry
Clay, ,s250 tons, and tho New World, 1,40O
tons, were built in the 4O's These were the
halcyon days of the American packet ships.
This era extended to the SOS, but before this
the clipper had come into prominence
The clipper ship was built expressly for
speed. The China and India trade was
growing, and the discovery Of gold in CAL
ifornia had stimulated commerce to a won
derful extent. The ships were made narrow
and sharp proved, and ship building got an
impetus which led to extraordinary results.
Some of tho long voyages made in those days
read like fairy stories now. Eighteen hun
dred and forty-three IS the year of the
first clipper. Her name was the Rainbow,
Of $50 tons. She made so much money that the
Helena, the Honqua, the Sea Witch and the
Samuel Russell followed shortly afterwards;
but these vessels were too small, and in 1851
William H. Webb built four clippers, tho
largest Of which was the Challenge, about
1900 tons, the largest clipper ship ever built
in New York. One of the most remarkable
vessels Of the time was the Surprise. She
sailed from Liverpool to San Francisco in
ninety-six days, then the shortest time on
record. She sailed from San Francisco to
London by way of Canton, and when she
reached the British capital she had cleared
her cost and running expenses, and besides
this had netted her owners $50, ,O00l Tho
Sovereign of the Seas in 1852 sailed from New
YCrk to Liverpool til ;1e a1eu unprecedented
time of thirteen days and nineteen hours.
At that time tho American clipper was in
deed the sovereign of the seas. American
captains got two and threo times the salaries
paid to captains of other nationalities. Tho
American flag was known all over the world,
and the captain was an important parsonage.
Ho was absolute monarch of all he surveyed.
and his word was law.
The Dreadnought was the most famous Of
ell these vessels. and Capt. Samuels was the
most famous Of American sea captains. To
say that his life reads like a romance Is 'sput-
ting it mild" He was born in Philadelphia
in 1926, and started out on his adventurous
career at the immature age Of eleven. At
twcnty-one he was captain of ship. He
possessed reckless, daredevil spirit which
was tempered by an extraordinary judgment
in one so young, and by a thorough knowledge
Of his profession, gained by ten years of oneof
the hardest lives known to men. The Dread
nought was built for him in 1853 She was
named after tho famous vessel in Admira.
Nelson's fleet, and her owners sent to Eng
land to find out the truo spelling Of her name.
On her first trip from Liverpool to New York
sho leaped into fame by beating tho Cunard
steamship Canada They both arrived of
Sandy Hook at tho same time, the Canada
having left Liverpool one day earlier. In
1850 she made the trip from Sandy Hook to
Rock Light, Liverpool. distance of 5000
miles, in thirteen days and eight hours. A
passenger who sailed with Capt. Samuels in
the "wild boat of the Atlantic" /" as sho was
called, thus describes very vividly that famous
trip:
before going Oh board on Sunday morn
ing, Feb 20, 1859, had taken breakfast in
Brooklyn, where, among other kind friends
assembled to SEQ mo of, were Buchanan
Read and Mr.. Major, the business partner of
nv host and vice commodore of the New
York Yacht club. The latter warmly con-
graduated me upon the prospects of my voy