Smyrna times. [volume] (Smyrna, Del.) 1854-1987, 1888-01-11
For the Smyrna Times.
The Cellular Construction of
Ocean Steamers.

~ JS"A ago al drIlCl6 appeared
in the columns of this paper giving
an account Of the remarkable drift of
the Philadelphia schooner TlUentv One
Friends across the Atlantic. The YES
sci had on March oath, 1885, collided
with the schooner Henry May 100 miles
notheast of the Chesapeake Capes; and
was so seriously injured as to cause the
captain and crew to abandon her and
seek refuge on the less injured vessel
Henry May which had laid by after the
accident to render assistance. The
It0enty One Friends was lumber laden
at the time and her insurance amount
ing to $4,000 is now being adjudicated
IN admiralty, payment having been
refused previously on account of the
vessel having been repeatedly met at
sea after being abandoned.
A singular coincidence in this con-
nectiOn Was, she was fallen in with
twenty-one times by as many different
ships. In her lonely route these
friends had bid her good day upon the
road. AT the time the article first
mentioned was written, Lieutenant
Greedy and his companions had lust
been rescued from Cape Sabine in the
Arctic regions, and their unparalleled
sutterings from the intense cold of an
arctic winter at this bleak cape was
rendered gloOmier by the desperate
resort of the party to cannibalism. Be
this as it may, it was shown that at
their station in Lady Franklin Bay in
81 of latitude, the weather was much
warmer during the winter than it was
at any time at Cape Sabine, which was
three degrees of latitude to the south.
1t IS well known that the Gulf Stream.
the mysterious river of the ocean.
whose banks are lined with water. is
completely lost off the coast of Ireland.
or spreading out branch like az this
point merges into and consequently
loses its identity among the surround
ing and colder waters. But in effect
this is not the case, if a cause is sought
for the mild climate prevailing within
81 Of the north pole
The deductions of orr arctic explor-
ers, Drs. Kane, Hayes, as also the ex-
perience of Lieutenant Greedy tends to
lay down the theory that the mild eli
mate about the pole is due to the gulf
stream, which becoming submarine
current off the coast of Ireland. de-
bOuches at the pole again and becomes
a surface current, giving its beneticent
blessing of warmth to those regions
which have not inapuy been called
" the back Of Gods hand" Followed
up, this theory gives the best explana-
ton extant of the formation from the
vast Mer de Glaze" of Greenland.
and the adjacent continent, of huge
icebergs whose towering height and
wOnderOus drift is alike the terror and
the admiration of the mariner.
The article above referred to was de-
signed to show the close connection of
the laws governing these ocean cur
rents in the drift of this derelict TiOenty
One Friends and the numerous rudder-
less icebergs. BY some means a Dor
ton of the manuscript was mislaid and
1t did not appear as the writer intend
ed that it should. Those who are
familiar with the article no doubt
were puzzled at the sudden break in
the narrative threads from ocean cur
rents to coral formations, etc. This
was due from a whole page being left
out in the press room and it was not
thought worth while at the time to
make afterwards a correction. Since
then the drift of this schooner goes
upon record as the most remarkable of
modern times, and not only that but
conclusively proving that the disasters
now so common with great ocean
steamers are within the scope of pre-
vention, that is to say, 50 far as TIE APP
palling loss of life is concerned, among
helpless passengers with which as
rule they are crowded. A resort to
boats with hundreds of bewildered
people is under the most exceptionable
circumstances attended with the very
danger it seeks to avoid. In nine times
out of ten excepting in case of fire, the
people would De far better off on the
disabled ship, providing always that
she does not sink. To prevent this
sinking the utmost that has been done
is to construct in these ships what are
called water tight bulkheads extending
transversly across the entire length of
the ship say forty feet apart. On mod
ern steamships so far, this is the main
reliance to prevent sinking in case
damage results from the accidents of
the sea.
But a watertight bulkhead to be
effective must also be air tight, and
when this is the case, the vessel is
practically unsinkable, as was the
case of the schooner Twenty One
Friends which Notwithstanding the
ugly hole stove in her bow, drifted for
four and one half months, covering in
that time 2130 miles and then on an
other tack lasting four months and ten
days of 1895 miles making, total
in these eight months of 1925 miles.
The chances are that if the vessel had
been coal loaded, her fate would have
been sealed in eight minutes after be-
ing struck. instead of going off upon an
eight month cruise. But as it was, be-
ing timber loaded and with seasoned
material, the vessel was buOyed up
during all this time.by the innumera-
bic air tight cells present at the time OF
collision in this seasoned timber stow
ed away in the hold. By no other
means could the vessel have remained
aAoat so long and traverse such an inn
mense distance through the fearful
gales prevailing nearly at all times
along the pathway of the gulf stream.