The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1901-05-23
THE OLD SQUARE ROGERS.
What Has Become of the Few That Are
Left,

Ilme Dlg wooden sailing ship was at It's
height, and no less than 25 were launch
ed from Maine yards. Until the recent
revival of shipping, full-rigged Amer
lean ship was something Of a novelty,
and here the question arises as to where
they all have gone. To be sure there
are few left, such as have not been
burned, wrecked or converted into
barges, which latter fate seems bound
to Overtake the last of the old fleet.
The list of 1877 is an interesting one
and in that year craft were set af1oat
whose history would make big books
and interesting ones. In that year the
chips were flying in yards all along the
Maine coast, many long since grass
grown and effaced. In addition to the
ships there were also many briggs, barks
schooners, ETC., on the stocks. But as
this particular sketch has reference to
a ship, look at the list of the famous
craft born in 1877.
At Bath went over the ships C. C.
| Challenger, Daniel Barnes, Hecla, St.
Nesmith; at Thomaston, the Barring
Brothers, Levi G.. Burgess, and Alex
Gibson; at Freeport, the Sintram; at
SearspOrt, the William H. Conner; at
Waldoboro, the Willie Reed; at Kittery,
the Granite State; at Camden, the
Wandering Jew; at Damariscotta, the
Normandy; at Kennebunk, the Vigi-
liant; at East Deering, the William G.
Davis and many others. These ships
carried the stars and stripes to many
chimes, and their days were the glorious
days of the old time square-rigged deep
water skipper.
In the year 1877 was launched at
Brewer big ship, the Llewellyn J..
Morse, named for Capt. L. j. Morse of
Bangor and it might be mentioned that
in the same year the schooners En-
press, Lester A. Lewis, and the brig
Havilah were also launched on the
river, the latter from Bangor yard.
The name of the Llewellyn j. Morse
does not appear in the shipping reports
these days. One might haunt the docks
of the Atlantic coast from Passama-
quoddy to Corpus Christi and speak
every incoming craft, but none could
give any tidings of a ship called the
Llewellyn ]. Morse built at Brewer
Maine, in 1877, l 1925 net tonnage, and
which would show the signal letters
j. $. l.. Y. The famous old ship has
dropped out of society. Many who
noted her comings and goings have lost
all track of her. Her old chums are
nearly all out of it, wrecked, or worse
coal barges.
The fact is that the Morse and a
dozen other fine Yankee-built crafts
that were once in the aristocratic trades
of Hong Kong, Singapore, Manila and
The River, form little fleet of old
timers that, to escape from the poor
house, as it were, have hidden them
selves away in a trade where they are
seldom heard from or reported Many
an old-time skipper will tell you that he
thinks the Geo. Skolfield, the st.
Nicholas, the Sterling, Eclipse-and
others that might be named-and the
Llewellyn J. Morse We're dead" long
ago. But they are still afloat.
Scattered along almost the entire
coast of Alaska are long. low, rough
buildings on shaky piles salmon can
nenes. In most cases the wild and
barren wilderness grudgingly allows but
a strip of beach barely wide enough for
the buildings and the rougher shacks in
which the operatives live for a time.
The Alaskan coast is something like
that of Maine, with many islands,
inlets and bays. These are alive with
salmon and red fish-big coarse fish
when compared with the Penobscot
article, but red of flesh and nice to
look at and eat by those who know
nothing better.
A score or more of syndicates operate
these canneries in the season, but the
exigencies of the business require that
they bring their employees with them,
for where the salmon are most plenti-
f1I1 ,,,l,p II
few, lazy, half civilized Indians. The
canning companies for the most part
have headquarters at San Francisco.
their transports for the canneries.
craft, for they must carry from POO to
400 people, including the Chinese who
make the cans and pack the fish, as
well as the fishermen, engineers for
the seine steamers, and supplies of all
kinds.
And this is what the solid old Maine
ship the LlewellynJ J. Morse has come to.
For a few months she is tied up at San
Francisco, then with a miscellaneous
cargo she heads far to the northward
for Chiknik bay, where all summer,
high and light, she swings at her moor
ingS in the sheltered bay which receives
the waters of the Chilkoot river. In
the fall when the season is over she is
docked, and case upon case and ton up
on ton of the canned salmon are stored
away in her spacious hold, the doors
and windows of the canneries are nail
ed up, the boats housed, and with the
last man on board, the Yankee craft
heads down the coast once more.
Her skipper probably Dever heard of
J. Morse of Bangor, or Bath,
or the Penobscot river, but the craft is
pretty good ship yet. The
Chjknik Bay Packing Co., who now
own her, put down her value as 1926, OOO
But the Llewellyn J. Morse is not the
only Maine built craft that is lodging
the coal barges fate up towards the
Behring sea. The bark Nicholas Thay- !
Ell, built at Thomaston in 1868, carries
the supplies of the Alaska Salmon !
Packing and Fur Co., to Loring on Ma |
ha bay, and has consort, the bark Elec-
ira, built at Boston the same year.
When the ship the Geo. Skofeld, l ,275 !
tons, was built far up the Kennebec at |
Brunswick 30 years ago, the Bowdoin |
class prophet did not foretell that the
beautiful craft to which he alluded by
way of very pretty and convenient |
smile in connection with the class of |
TO- would ever be freighting Chinese
laborers up the Pacific coast, but that is
what the Glacier Packino 20 who |