Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1893-06-23
THF VIKING.

After many days and nights ct sea- wrast-
hing with storm, ice and current. the good
Morse ship Viking. modelled after the old
Oaken ships OF the time of Eric the Red.
reached New London Conn harbor in the
teeth Of q gray southeastern. and after return
inG; salutes rode placidly at anchor under her
snugIy folded sail Her first officer Gustav
GurdersOn. q sailor of great experience told
this story of the voyage:
1--WE have had very comfortable passage.
We left Norway with crew Of twelve men,
including SIX sailors. a cook. sailmaker and
carpenter. A temporary canvas awning was
erected over the bow from stem to stern, as
you see, for shelter, and we bent iib On the
stay running from the masthead to the bows
We called it the 'foresail.' There was no lib
on the viking boat. but We found that it stead
led our craft greatly and helped her speed. Al
together we spread about 200 yards of canvas
in our mainSail and about eighty more in jib.
Our best days run was 211 miles. We passed
the Shetland Islands. and then sailed directly
for Cape Race. Newfoundland. We did not
strike Cape Race, however. because of adj
verse winds. The first land we made was
tOundland, on the morning Of May q, at 3
O'clock and that same day we spoke the
ocean tug Ingraham. On June fourteen
fishermen from the Gloucester schooner
Brunhide boarded us off Cape Canso, and
gave US the first copy of a newspaper we had
seen since leaving Norway. On the
18th of June We sighted Cape Cod at
o'clock in the morning, and the Captain
called all hands aft in celebration of the
event, Cape Cod being the famous vineland,
as we suppose, discovered by our ancestors.
From that time we have been sauted and
cheered by steam whistles and fog horns
everywhere.
The vessel is perfect model of an old Vik-
ing ship unearthed from a mound in Norway
thirteen years ago. The Viking ship is built
of the very best oak. Her length is eighty
one feet. width 1615 feet, and extreme depth
So feet.
The Vikisy ship has only one mast, but
that is tifty-One feet high. She carries very
great area of canvas. het one square sail
being thirty-twO feet wide at the top and
3711 feet at the bottom, the material out of
which it is made being red and white striped
duck.
The standard of the Viking ship is conspicu-
Gus and can be seen at great distance It
is made of red felt and has emblazOned on it
i gilt lion and the name of the ship. The
banner of the ship is also made of red felt.
on which is painted huge black raven.
Eight shields, painted black and yellow, are
placed on either side
To cross the ocean in sucn a frail craft as
this required no ordinary skill and seaman
ship. To make the ship more seaworthy she
was supplied with floating piers OF reindeer
skin, twenty-one decimetres in diameter.
The rudder is placed on the starbOard side,
while there are two rows Of seats extending
The Viking ship has no deck, her in
terror being just like an ordinary rOwbOat.
but in order to preserve the charts and in
struments she has four water and alright
compartments made of solid oak.
During the voyage the crew had to use the
seats for hunks, and wrapped in a reindeer
rug and a couple of wooden blankets were
compelled to make the best of it. There were
twelve men on the Viking, captain included.
This is not enough, as she possesses fourteen
pairs of oars, and before she is brought to
Chicago additional Norwegian sailors must
be engaged to man her.
The crew are dressed in dark navy-blue
breeches, jacket and cap and gray vest. On
the collar of the officers jackets are en-
broidered three, two or one gilt star, accord
ing to the rank which they bear. On the
front of the cap is the name viking.
Every man aboard is tirst-class sailor.
When it was known in Norway that the Vlk-
ing was bound for the Worlds Fair, applica-
tons for positions from all quarters of the
country came in. By careful weedlng-out
process the most suitable candidates were
selected, and it may be safely said that very
few ships that ever crossed the Atlantic
carried such a splendid lot Of seamen as did
the Viking.
Captain Magnus Anderson, the captain OF
the Viking and the man who first suggested
that the vessel should be brought to the
Worlds Fair, is as daring and as sknlfu1 u
sailor as ever trod deck.