The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-07-27
THE BIG SCHOONERS, ].
 AND THE LITTLE ONES
What the New Seyen-MaSter Means in the History of the Typical American Graft, The
 Thomas w. Lawson.

f gies has replaced building schooners-- about 1so5. and was used as a privateer
 in the war of 1s12. Her log during the early part of her career is still in exist
 ence. being owned in Machfas, Me. and her story is good to read. For example.
 under command of Captain Jeduthun Up- ton of Salem, she was captured by tha
 British ship Phoebe of e guns, and her
 captain and crew taken to England and.
 held as prisoners for seven months; but the Polly herself did not so to England
 her British prize crew declared for the,
 young republic and carried her trtum- phantly back to the American flag. The
 Pelly's last fight was with a rich British
 merchantman. said to be heavily armed,
 half way between Mount Desert and the
 Duck Islands, oG the coast of Maine. This time she was successful. and brought the merchantman into port. The Polly. with her crew of two men, Is to be sssn constantly in New England harbors still, from here to Castine-ussful still, al- though she is as stubby as a ferry boat and hardly bigger tssan' the gasolene launch which hangs from the LawsoH.s stern davits. Though she may look bat tered and dingy she Is still as sound as a nut. It took nearly a century and half for the schooner to become a three master The first three-masted schooner was the Zachary Taylor. which was bulls at Philadelphia in 1sz9. She carried something less than one-twentieth the cargo capacity of the Lawson. The sec ond three master was built the same year at Wilmington. in Delaware. Sevs enteen years later a BriHsh shipyaFd turned out the first four-master--a four master. however, by accident. since the fourth mast was an afterthought when it appeared that she would be ratner unwieldy with no more than three. Ie was as late as 1ss2 that the schooner rose to over a thousands tons regtsfers when the .EIicott B. Church. LIST tons, was built In Maine with four masts The year 1884 saw the schooner's reeiss tered tonnage rise to 1890 tons: 1887, to 1,e0o tons: 1887, 2.000; 1900, 5000 tons; and last week to 5,6O0 The first five-master was the Governor Ames, in 1888; the six masted Wells, followed the next year by her rival, the Percy, was built in 1900.
 These are bare statistics, but if they are any indication of the future there Is no telling when the schooner will stop, except, as has been mentioned before, that her size must always be goverueds if by nothing else, by the depth of the coastwise harbors which she wishessto enter Probably the Wells and Percy are the last very large wooden schooners. The special advantages of steel are ntlr merous The cost Is perhaps third more over wood but in stability, in economy of repairs. and especially in cargo .pa- pacity, everything is in favor of gseels The big six-masters. aor example, had to be bFaced from stem to stern by an eneEts
 nous backbone or keeison of wood, which
 took up valuable cargo room. Even then
 in a stifr sea one could stand at one end of them and see them give under the strain of the wind and water. It Is prob- able that owners like Captain Crowley will use steel more and more hereafter, One reason. perhaps. for their not having employed 1t before is that steel shipyards in New England, where the schooner has its special habitat, are comparatively new institution; but in Maine and Con- necticut, and especially here at Fore River, this difficulty has now been over- come by the establishmeDt. on the most modern principles, of, exclusively steel yards. sg'' ,,i E.