The Portland daily press., 1896-02-28

|
he thought of them. He answered, "If
that vessel proves fast sailor, then l
don know anything about shipbulla-
ing" She proved to be the fastest ship
then af1oat and made her first passage to
san Francisco i'll 95 days surprising ev-
erybody, and no one more so than Dom
aid Mckay.
thereafter Mckay built his swiftest
ships. the Flying Cloud, Lightning,
Sovereign Of the Seas and Others on SINH
la lines
The Flying Cloud was commanded by
Captain Cressy, member of the Boston
Marine Society," and on her first passage
to San francisco in 1851 beau tne passase
of the Surprise five DAYS, making III IN
ninety days. Cressey was not an amIo-
able man, and in youth he had the small
lox, which did not improve his personal
appearance, he being pitted apouG the
face. He was we'll known In Chlna,
where ne was an old trader, anu was
called by Cinnamon, "Old Chop Dollar
| Cressey."
From 1850 to 1860 was the golden era In
| American shipping and a proud time for
the shipmaster and the shlpoWner; busl-
ness was good, ships paid well, and no
expense was spared in building, hnlsihg
ing and fitting them. Beauty ana speed
were the things sought
And those peerless clippers were the
haudsomest vessels taht ever plowed the
ocean For beauty and speed they had
no eoual Their lines were such as to
gladden. the heart of sailor and en-
trance the vision of a landsman. When
the Sovereign of the Seas, in her railroad
speed, legged nearly twenty miles an
hour for twenty consecutive hours,
a feat never before performed and so far
as am informed, never since under sail
the world looked on in wonder and
surprise.
in consequence of the unprecedented
performances of the famed Yankee dip
pers which the commercial nations OF Eu-
rope recognized, great activity prevailed
in American shipyards in the construction
of ships to be placed under the hags of
foreign nations.
The ships OF James Bins & Co.'s Aus
trailian line between Liverpool and Mel
bourne. were Largely Of Am erioan build
and the fleet Of Mr.. Richard Green OF
London, the. largest and most famed of
British builders and owners, as augment
ed by the purchase of Yankee ships.
The masters of those peerless Yankee
clippers were more calculated to adorn
their professions; thorough sailors skill
full navigators, well informed merchants
and men of affairs. The clipper captains
at that time traversed the globe in their
voyagings, aud possessing the instincts
of gentlemen, they had sure passport to
the best commercial society the world
over.
Among such captains Henry Barber of
the Galatea, Otis Baker of the Herald Of
the Morning, Zenas &. Crowell of the
Goddess, Vim. Chatfeld of the America.
Daniel W. Mclaughlin of the Glory of
the Seas, Nathaniel Spooner of tine Phae-
tor, Elias d. knight OF tho Morning
Light, John Chadwick of the Hoogly, p.
W. Penhallow Of the Sierra Nevada,
Elisha Whitney of the Mameluke Thorn
loo u ~ he Got
as p. Howes of the Black Prince Alex
ander Winslow of the Sen Serpent, and
many others belonging to the galaxy Of
| clipper captains who we're mem bers Of
the Boston Marine Society.
AT sea those same ships were workshops
half under water, when the weather was
at all rough But that WAS of no conse-
quenoe for every flaw and change of wind
and weather, were to be watched with
eager eye. to trim sail. that the most
should he made of every bIeeze. An old
second mate of mine, off Cape Horn,
drenched to the skin by a sea which
buried him as he stood at the weather
forebraoes, shook the water from his
clothing as best he could, and turned to
me on the poop and said: Captain,
have not had dry suit onfor an hour at
a time since we left Boston. I shall have
barnacles on my back by the time we
reach San Francisco, for I feel them
growing now.'
The Boston Marine Society furnished
many clipper captains, some of whom
made remarkably short passages to San
Francisco and elsewhere. They were
men in love with their calling, pride in
their ships, capable men as very trod a
plank.
But alasl they largely and their ships
wholly, are OF the past; but their memo
~ fingers with us, and for the time
lends lustre and charm to our
thoughts In the golden period of clip
per ships and shipmasters Maine had hen
share, ana it was no mean share either.
Her Red Jackets, Gauntlets, Livs Yam
KEGS and others, won renown on the
worlds race course Of waters, and her
shipmasters were second to none OF those
who sailed under the Stars and Stripes.
AS a native Of Maine and your guest to-
night, I should fall short Of my duty II
neglected to pay . just tribute to the web
footed sons Of the Dirigo State.
Yes, justly Dirigo, at this time, when
the Maine delegation in Congress furnish
es the Speaker of the House, the chair
man of the committee on ways and
means, chairman on naval affairs, the
president of the Senate and other impor-
tant committee ehairmanships and will
furnish to the country its next President
Poi tland's favored and fayOrite son. Ex-
cuse this depression it was suggested by
the motto of your state and the environ
ment in which find myself.
The Maine coast is longer, has more is.
lands and a greater number OF harbors
than any other state in the Union. 1t
was discovered, explored and settled by
men enured to the hardships and priv
tions of a sea life urged on by spirit oil
enterprise and love Of adventure. to reap
thereward or shafe in the failure such q
life would bring.
The early settlers went to their new
homes from across the sea, or from the
older New England settlements in sailing
craft There was then no other mode OF
conveyance, for the steamship and rail
road, and even common roads, were I'M
known in these parts. The ship, the
sloop, and the shallop were their only
means of conveyance, and they were
4 wholly dependent upon the winds as a
propelling power.
Those infant settlements were depe n.
dent upon sailing craft for communica-
ton with one another and with the older
New England settlements to which they
shipped their lumber, fish and products
of the farm, forest and sea in exchange
for the supplies which they needed.
The necessities of their situation com
PEELED them to build, own and mann yes.