The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1891-11-27
JOHN BULL is MUCH ASTONISHED.
He Awoke One Morning and Saw
Yankee Tramp.
The American Steamer Saturn's
Voyages to England.
Her Owners Find Them Profitable
possibilities Of the Trade.

NEW YORK. November 26-The Sun
says today: "The city Of Bristol. Eng
land, was somewhat disturbed on Nov.
by the sensational rumor that an Ameri.
can steamship had arrived there. The
rumor turned out to be true. 'Longshore
folks stared at the unfamiliar craft and the
strange ensign floating over her taffrail
and rubbed their eyes.
There was not the remotest doubt that
the ensign was the emblem of the universal
Yankee nation, and that the skipper Of the
steamship was fine old specimen of the
American tar. He was lank and quiet and
wise looking, and had quid in his cheek.
He was also, like all American shippers,
proud of his ship, and his name Is Daniel
Webster Wylie. He had good reason to be
proud, for she Is the first American tramp
that ever sailed into aR English port. She
Is also one OF the sturdiest steamships that
ever crossed the western ocean.
"The voyage she finished at Bristol on
N0v.t5 was not her maiden one to the other
side. She left here originally on Sept. IL
and arrived at AvOnmOuth on Sept "a,
making the splendid time-for freighter
of eleven days and eighteen hours. She
sailed hence on her second trip Oct. %. and
after very stormy voyge. reached Bristol
ON Nov. 8, beating several English tramps
that left New York ahead of her.
"She probably never would have carried
the Stars and Stripes across the sea this
year but for the scarcity Of grain in Eu-
rope and its superabundance mere. Ship
pers have been filling the holds of all sorts
OF steamships with wheat for the last two
months, at present nearly forty tramps
are waiting for dock room to load for the
European market. There was money in
chartering the Saturn, and through her
New York agent, Fred b. DalZell, she was
chartered to carry 1900 tons of wheat and
cavgo OF 748 tons OF general merchandise
to Bristol. Although the Saturn came
back In ballast-or without cargo-she
Captain Wylie thinks she made better
thing Of it than any British tramp that
took grain to Bristol. BE said:
I'VE have crew Of "a men, and all re-
ceive higher wages than are paid on any
British ship. We burned probably eight
atioat on our trips to and from Bristol.
But what we lost in coal we made up in
days. In pleasant weather we could have
made the trip In about ten days. Our en-
gineer, James A. Gilkey, says the way to
get ahead of the Britisher Is not to econo-
mize in coal during the voyage, but after
the voyage. He believes, and agree with
fires. Let them burn for all they are
worth on the sea, and get all of the power
out of the boilers that is In them. We
rushed to Bristol and rushed back in
American fashion, and we made money
"The Saturn returned from Bristol on
Tuesday. Her time was IL days and 6
hours, which is nearly as good as the
freighters of the big lines do in winter
weather. The Saturn was built at Will
mingtoD, Del, by the Harlan and H0lliDgs-
worth Company, in October last year. She
measures 226S tons, is 295 feet long, 40 feet
beam, and 26 feet deep, and is provided
with triple expansion engines. When
laden she draws 22f feet She was de-
signed to tow heavy coal barges, many of
which are made of the hulls of old Ameri-
eau clippers. She thinks nothing OF going
along the Atlantic coast, from Newport
News to Boston, with 5000 tons of coal
stored In her own capaciOus hold, towing
three giant barges carrying over 5000 tons.
With this tremendous sea burden she
makes eight knots an hour, or about as
much as the ordinary foreign tramp makes.
She burns % tons of coal an hour, and can
carry enough in her bunkers for a voyage
of 25 days. She has a sister ship, the
orion, not quite so powerful. Mr.. DalZell
said yesterday that the performance of the
Saturn might inspire other American
steamship owners TO tay their luck In send
Ing cargoes to English ports. He thought
II was not unlikely that the Saturn or some
powerful towing steamer like her would
astonish the Britishers by dragging across
the sea several steel, whale backed baIges
laden with 10000 or 1900 tons of things
Tor British consumption"