Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1891-11-05
For the Ellsworth American.
Vessels Names.

For the Ellsworth Americana
Vessels Names.
Lately ARRIVING at the entrance of for
eign port | inquired of the pilot how many
American vessels were in. BY the use of
most painfully fractured English he in
formed ME there were but two: The Marx
-igatH and the Door-,adt. Not knowing
that any vessels had such idiom-like names
| asked him to repeat them and he made
it clear that the Mark Again and the Door
mat were surely there. tried to trans
| late these sounds into American names.
| but failed to tit them to anything had
ever known. There is an English bark
named Mark Twain and small American
| schooner Mark Time, but as the latter has
been marking time for some sixty years I
| jud-ed She must be too feeble To be now
so far from home. | mused over these
odd names and thought the pilot might be
right There has lately been many YES
sells built that perhaps the awe-inspirng
| names of lille Jones. Nellie May" and
'.Iennie Smith" had all been used up and
Owners of new crafts had been Obliged to
ind odd names. Perhaps the master of the
Mark Again had. by great success, made
his mark In former vessel, and now. in a
new one, he meant to make it again
could think of nothing just like it in nv
mark masters degree but no doubt it had
| a meaning. As for the Door mat-well, |
thought of home, and perhaps some pain
fully neat wife had named this vessel in
order to remind her untidy husband that
the door-mat is something to be remem-
bered.
As We sailed into port we met the Mag
| gle Cain coming out and found the Dora
Mathews lying quietly at anchor; and so
| these two new odd names went over to the
majority.
| BY tar the greater part of American yes
| seis are named for persons; and, as before
hinted. many of them have baby sound
names very sweet for child or for pret-
fitting a structure that is expected to defy
the tempest and be abused by man.
There is a greater number beginning
with Mary than with any other name or
and, as lady who wished me to name my
child for her argued, 1T is a name that
christians should have higher regard for
than any other" had never thought of
it before and might have been worldly
enough to think that the name of Eve
should be the most highly esteemed.
The next greatest number of vessels
names commence with William followed
! by the Johns; and nothing can more plain
| ly show the meanness of man than the size
| and majesty OF these vessels. The little
ones are called Mary, the great ones Will
| liam. Among all the Marys know of
but two ships and they of moderate size;
| while William is tackled on to many of the
most kingly flowers of the American fleet.
1t shows that man says, Darling, I'll
name this little fish boat for you" but
when he builds something majestic he
! names il Il"
l have just noticed in a newspaper the
launching of very fine four masted
schooner named ''Three Msrys" Now
that seems to me to be great waste all
around. Two good women ought to be
enough to name any vessel for; aud on the
other hand to have given her good solid
name, beginning with William. would have
been considerable honor to some one gen
tleman, whereas the honor is now some
what uncertainty divided among trio of
females, all of them, perhaps, quite un-
known to the marine business-world and
| probably some one of them at least not
satisfied with one side of triangle when
she believes herself quite capable of walk
ing that plank alone. But woman can
have only what is offered her, even In the
vital matter of new name for herself and
all that change of name TO her may mean
and bring-happiness or misery.
Some owners give nearly all their ves-
sells geographical names and if well chosen
they seem suitable and carry with them
two conveniences-some one can -spell-it-
without-be -being-told and having but a single
word to ''cable" or telegraph on business
matters. l knew of the schooner B. K.
Woodside being once offered for u good
freight under the name of "Woodside" only,
for sake of economy in telegraphing. The
merchant supposing it to mean the old
bark Woodside declined her when she was
really the very fine vessel that he wanted
The bark Shetland, built in Ellsworth
| think has fine name and half the mer
chants clerks ought to spell it without
stopping to ask the captain. During my
eight years in the Nantasket no one out OF
New England ever attempted to write the
name without help, though 1t seems to me
no word could be more simply phonetic.
liked the name and it never got turned in
to the baby kind but once, and that was
upon letter addressed to the negro cook.
parted in the middle instead of cOmbed
straight back. 1t had saucy look and
was somewhat better than Mamie Taskei
would have been.
The Nantasket received her name by an
innocent kind of lottery. Three owners
put each name into my hat and another
gentleman drew out the slip which named
her. The other names were Selma and Ar
lington. Though the name was not my
choice soon came to like it better than
would either of the other two. She was q
iue vessel and became well known. When
eight years old she was called by good and