The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1895-03-27
OCEAN TRAMPS.
Steamships That are the Guerrillas
of the Sea.
Sailors Lead Cheerless Lives
Aboard the Dirty Nomad.


try about which very little is generally
known and that is the tramp steam
ship, says the Brooklyn Eagle. Every
year numbers of steamers, some large,
some small, often ugly and dirty to
look at, and commonly called tramps
from their readiness to go anywhere
and take hand in trade that happens
at the moment to promise a profit, ar
rive at and leave our shores. These
ocean footpads are generally worn out
hulks, discarded by the companies
who own them, and belonging to no
regular line and identified with no
particular class of cargo, and are sent
out as matter of speculation to pick
up what freight they can from port to
port, like an old and worthless horse
turned out of the regular pasture to
find living by the roadside. They
are guerrillas of the sea. Some OF
them leave their native countries
England, Norway, Germany and Spain
a few months before their annual
tickets of inspection expire, and re-
main away sometimes for years with
out ndergoing new survey and in
spection. On such ships the boilers may
be on the point of explosion, the machin-
cry may be dangerous condition, in
adequate in power to propel the ship
against great stress of weather; the
steering gear may be warranted to jam
at some critical moment; their hulls
may be in the last stage of decay, and
perhaps their boats are not fit to float
when lowered from the davits, yet so
long as the vessel holds together and
after leaving one port arrives safe at
another, no one grumbles except the
crew, whose arr gements are often
times such that they cannot leave the
vessel if they would, for care is taken
to ship, if possible, only married men,
and with IN offer OF allotment notes,
leaving half pay to their families, these
seamen must invariably find sureties
that they will not desert the ship dur
ing the period agreed upon in the
ships articles. There can be nothing
worse in the way of cheerlessness and
discomfort than life aboard such craft,
and the hardships aud grievances of
these seafarers are peculiarly great.
After having been laid up at Liver
pool or Glasgow for some time, orders
will be given to prepare the tramp for
sea. OF she will start on voyage
that will be extraordinarily zigzag.
Perhaps to commence with she goes
to Cardiff for cargo of coal to one of
the West Indian Islands. Arriving at
destination orders are given to pro-
ceed to Rio, where the Captain finds a
cargo OF coffee for Cape Horn, from
whence he proceeds to Shanghai or
Foochoo for shipment of tea to San
Francisco or New York, if to the lat
ter port, perhaps there is another trip
to Rio, thence a journey to Antwerp.
Eventually the ship gets back home,
more or less the worse for her journey
round the globe, and then, with coat
of paint and polish to such metal as
she may, this tramp is made to appear
to the landsman's eye staunch and
good ship. Besides being able to carry
cargoes and freight at much lower
rates than the ships Of regular COM
panies, the fact Of their being able to
carry on other business gives tn EN- O
still further opportunity to unfairly
compete with established lines.
The operating expenses of these
ocean tramps are reduced to very
low level. The coal consumption is
small, in many cases not over twenty.
five to forty tons n day the crew is as
small MS possible, and the other gen.
eral expenses are kept ut minimum.
On the sen the tramp steamer is but
little liked. Blundering along with q
bad lookout, perhaps none at all, the
tramp is n terror to the owners OF
small sailing craft-yachts, fishing
and coasting schooners- and, taking
no notice of their lights, often crashes
into them, remorselessly sending some
of the occupants to watery grave.
The officers of mail steamers, also
profess great dislike to the tramp,
which may be partly assumed. and
partly real, for they greatly dread o
collision with some badly steered
.carelossly managed vessel heavily la
den with coal or iron or grain. TIT
question is, what becomes of all tn,
ocean tramps? Some are sold for coast
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