The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-12
A NAUTICAL MEDLEY.
some Interesting Facts AbOut ships.
Ancient and Modern.

From the Philadelphia Times
To the average landsman the disaster
of the Elbe steamship justines the pop
ular belief in the infinite dangers OF the
sea, while sailor can scarcely realize
that in roadway % miles wide two yes
sells can meet in collision, and in fact q
illustrates the widest possibility Of chance
that such a thing should be. But there
are no conditions of safely to life that
the selfish greed of man may not vitiate
4 short voyage and quick dispatch means
money in the ship owners pocket, and his
ship must take the shortest road and drive
ahead TO make this result. How we'll de-
fined are the ocean paths may be seen
from the race of three English clipper
ships from San Francisco in
1890. They We're bound for Liv-
ali went around the Horn. and when the
Speedwell took her pilot at the mouth of
the Mersey the royals of the Lord Cor
ing were seen ten miles away, and by the
time the victor reached her dock the third
vessel was signaled. These ships had
sailed 1000 miles, tackled frequently, met
head winds, and yet, taking one common
road across the stormy main, came into
port within six hours of each other.
Old sailors still contend that there is as
much disaster on the ocean as ever De-
spite the enormous increase of commerce,
it is not unlikely that there were more
ships traversing the ocean in 1880 than
now, but they were seldom over 800 tons
and one or our tramp steamers will carry
more cargo than five of the old square
400 ships making ocean voyages from this
port and owned here. John Thompson q
Co. owned and chartered 80; now there is
not a single ,square-rigged snip belong
ing to Philadelphia.
As there was no tugboat in those days
there would be sometimes thirty ships ly-
ing at the capes waiting for wind, and
when a sOutheaster set in all set sail
and 'hackeG and filed their way up,
getting in safely Even now, although
we have tugs, and the Delaware is buoyed
aaNn ~
union, scarcely a day passes without
ships coihding, grounding or going ashore.
But the Delaware was a much bigger river
then than Tow.
Those old ship builders must have
wrought with conscience, for SOME of
their work seems invulnerable to the as
saults of time. In 1917 a Dutch brig came
here with cargo of gin for the Bohlens
That brig had been on the stocks the
very day that William of Orange sailed
for England to drive King James from the
throne, 1888, and the old tub looked good
FOR another century. In 1880 another
Dutch bark was in port, the Stakeholder
and II Is in the recollection of the writer
in lS4l that in this craft John Caldwalader
came to America in 1901.
Concerning the hazardous nature of
their employment, whalers attain a very
marked length of service. The Samuel w.
Enderby of Hull, Eng, is still in service.
men, or Tea wagons" were practically
invulnerable to the assault of time. They
were nearly all built in Bombay of teak
timber, and by Parsee ship carpenters
and their toinery and fitting was like
fine cabinet work. In ITO the Scarbo-
rough, East Indlaman, was wrecked on
the Laccadive islands, on the west coast
of India, and with her went 100000 of
Warren Hastings spoils. In $50 the wri-
ter went ashore to see this wreck Her iron
work had rusted away, but the massive
bow was as intact as when II left the
stocks. 1t took two men five hours to
saw off enough wood to make a small
chest.
The loss of this vessel is one of Britain's
mainland in boats, but what became of the
treasure, nearly 100000? The island is a
barren sand-bank without a living thing
on 1t, so the wreck was not looted by the
natives. Great sums have been spent in
searches, all terminating in fearful disas-
tiers; but one cleW was ever found. Among
the treasures was a magnificent collar of
rubies valued at $4,000, and 10000 was the
reward offered for its recovery. In 1901
islands, about 800 miles south of the Lac
cadiVes, as convict stations. The surgeon,
q Scotchman, in exploring the island,
stopped a a natives hut near the shore.
A woman who was moving about had
something that glittered woven in her
black hair The doctor said that il was a
Jewel in a European setting, and spoke 10
jewels to the surgeon for small sum.
They were the LOST rubies. When search
was made for the former possessors they
had fed, and no Information could be OBJ
tanned of the means by which the rubies
had come into their possession. They final
~ became the property of the Duke Of
Hamilton.