Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1888-01-26
Cnlminr Wares Mith 0IL

When photographic students first sug,
gested to shippers who had sailed the
seas for years that pouring oil on the
troubled waters might save both vessel
and cargo, the proposition was laughed
to scorn. The wise old heads knew bet
ter. Some of the younger shippers
thought the scheme might be worth try
ing, and so put the theory to the test.
They found it to work exceedingly well,
so well, indeed, that in port here they
told their brother masters of their sue
cess. Stories of vessels having Eeen
saved by the method were told at fire.
quent intervals in the South street re-
sorts, and were received with much of
the doubling Thomas spirit. Finally
what were looked upon as yarns took on
a color of verify with vengeance, and
even the oldest of the shippers began to
believe in the oil story.
The result of this has been that there
is not week passes, in fact hardly a
day, but the master of some vessel drops
into the United States photographic
Bureau and informs Lieut.. Cottman or
some of his staff of the benefits he has
derived during the stormy weather which
now prevails from the use of oil. So
efficacious has it proved in number of
instances that the attention of ship
owners has been called to it, and they have
fitted up their craft with special fixtures
for the purpose of fighting huge waves
with oil. The British steamship Kate
Fawcett is one of these. Tanks are
fitted upon deck for the special purpose
of carrying oil, and from them pipes lead
through the ships side just above the
water line. In case the waves became
particularly threatening Capt. Young has
the stopcocks in the pipes opened and
let's out bit of oil. He has found the
plan to work extremely well, and when
running finds it necessary to send out
but one gallon in four hours. He uses
linseed or varnish oil. The British
steamship Earnwell is similarly fitted,
and its officers have found that the
loosening of even small quantity of oil
has kept the water from breaking over
the decks of the steamer
In cases where vessels are not specially
fitted for fighting mountains of water
with oil, shippers sling over the bows
bags filed with coarse heavy oil, which
oozes through the coarse material of
which the bags are made, and has a
wonderfully calming effect ON old Nep-
tune. The only trouble in these cases,
say the skippers, is that the oil is apt to
clog up the canvas of the bags and so
prevent perfect percolation This Capt.
Lord of the American steamship Ad-
vance found out when he was caught in
severe storm between st. Thomas and
the Barbados last month. So he rugged
up big water filter over the weather
board, and treated the waves which
threatened to engulf his vessel to copi-
ious bath of oil, and so kept the cross
seas from washing over the deck of his
steamer. Most any kind of oil seems to
do the work required, but Capt. Peters,
of the British steamship Lyon, has proba-
bly, used the strangest mixture yet re-
ported, one of cod liver oil and linseed
oil, both of which he happened to have
a big consignment of in his cargo. A
couple of gallons of fish oil, says Capt.
Shultz, saved the schooner w. H. Jones
from losing single stick of logwood
from his deck cargo, while he was try
ing to weather gale off Hatteras during
his last trip to this port.-Neao York
Times.