The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-03-16

Up to the breaking out of the civil,
war the Stars and Stripes were dominant
on all the seas. When peace settled again
| the fleets were sadly thinned. and from
this time dates the decline OF the Amer
lean sailing ship. Many owners regis
tered their bottoms under foreign nags.
some sold their interests outright, while
still others lost nearly all they had In the
fortunes Of the conflict. Numbers of the
finest clippers were bought by dealers in
the Baltic and North Sea lumber trade,
and finished their lives there. The Eng
lish got some for the Australian passen-
ger service, and many a record can be
pointed out, of which our British cousins
are very proud. which was made by an
American-built ship.
Flying Cloud and Dreadnaught.
Those who believe this world is rushing
on so fast would not be little surprised
to turn to the records OF some OF the
famous clippers of New YORK ana Bos-
ton and Baltimore and find that the
steamships of the present are but a
shade ahead of them in the matter OF
speed. 1t would not take long to count
the express steamers mat. can MAKE
more than twenty knots an hour. wnile
the majority of the best are unable TO
maintain more than eighteen-except on
paper Not few clipper ships logged
as high as sixteen and leg over.
The log Of the famous Dreadnaught OF
New York showed this speed several
times during her remarkable passage in
1866, from Sandy Hook to Queenstown.
a distance of i,760 miles. in nine days and
seventeen hours. Eleven knots and
fraction was her average for each hour
of the time.
The Flying Cloud. of an earlier genera
ton. on the authority Of Maury, is cred
tied with a run in one day, from noon
to noon, of 433 L. statute miles. There
is no authentic record extant of perform
ances prior to 1851, In which year she
made the run referred to. 1t was on
passage from New York toward San
Francisco, covering a distance of 1850
miles, that consumed eighty-nine days
and eighteen hours.
Such passages make the blood tingle
when their meaning Is understood. Home
ward or outward bound, 1t was all the
same, canvas and more canvas and all
hands standing by, waiting for some
thing to part company. 1t may have been
reckless work. according to the ideas of
owners and masters of today. but the
thorcughbreds were built for II. The
shippers of, the clippers. besides the pride
they had in their craft to strive to oe
| first, enjoyed substantial inducements to
run risks and take every chance to make
quick passages. Owners held out prizes
| THAI were as high in some instances as
a premium of 1 pound a ton for the first
cargo If tea or Australian wool OF the
year landed in England. There are but
few lines now that offer their Captains
more than a suit Of clothes.
A glance at the record runs of the clip
per shows what a falling off there mas
been in the speed of sailing craft since
their time. Nowadays vessels bound from
the British Isles or the Atlantic Coast to
where from 100 to $50 and sometimes ITO
DAYS. Compare this with the Flying
Clouds marvellous work.
The Sovereign Of the Seas.
In 1851 the Sovereign of the Seas reached
San Francisco from New York in l02
Of oh MA
Valparaiso, whtre she ran into gale
that partially dismasted her. After dis
charging at this port she sailed for Hon
olulu and arrived thence at New York
in IS days without starting a tack. In
ten consecutive days she made $500 miles.
From New York she sailed for Liverpool,
was becalmed In the Banks OF New
foundland, and when she got chance
ran from there to the Mersey in five and
a half days. This passage. including the
time she was becalmed. Occupied only Ii
days and 10 hours.
In the following year this same ship,
bound from San Francisco toward New
York, covered 6.2i5 miles in y days. be-
ing an average of 2S3 miles day. Her
baner run on this passage. noon to noon.
was 419 miles. Once she topped this by
a days work of 437 miles.
The Natchez was another famous YES
sell and once made the passage home
from Canton to New York in IS days.
All told she made but six voyages. and
the longest time spent on any one was
50 days, from the China Sea-
The Surprise of London, a contempt
| rary of the Natchez. came here on her
maiden voyage in 80 days. and her top
| sails were rrefed but twice during the
| entire passage. From San Francisco she
| cut across the North Pacific to Canton
| in 81 days. loaded tea, securing pounds
| a ton freight money. and. 1t is said, by
the time she reached London, she had
\ paid for herself. all her expenses Of sail
| ing. maintenance. and left balance of
| something like 10000 pounds IN her own
| ers' pockets.
The Samuel Russell of Boston, in 1854,
made 3lS miles in one day, home ward
bound from Whampoa. In thirty con-
secutive days she covered 6,722 miles, or
| nearly half the distance between New
| York and China.
The English Clipper ship Chrysolite Of
Liverpool in 1851. went from the latter
port to AMER Java, distance of l3.oW
| miles, in eighty-eight days. The Oriental
of New York. followed this up in the
same year with a record of eighty-nine
DAYS.
of New York. went to San Francisco.
| discharged. loaded. and rounded out the
| voyage. covering 1920 miles, wharf to
wharf, in six months and twenty-one
days. She sailed from the Golden Gate
to the Horn. $3.50 miles, in thrty-fiVe
| days In 1858 the Trade Wind of New
York, reached home from San Francisco
In seventv-five days.
The Lightning of Boston in 1854 crossed
the Western Ocean to Liverpool in thir-
teen days. This ship. just prior to the
beginning. of the war. was sold to the
English, cut down to bark and entered
in the Australian passenger service. She
sailed once from Melbourne to Liver
pool. 1880 miles, in sixty-four days.
On the heels Of these performances
down to 1870 others occurred quite as re-
markabie. The Comet of New York went
from Liverpool to Hongkong. l3.04o miles.
in eighty-four days the Red Jacket Of
New York from Sandy Hook to Liverpool
bar In thirteen days, eleven hours. and
10 Melbourne 12,T20 miles. in siXty-nine
| DAYS, eleven hours; the Mary WhitridRe
, of Baltimore from Cape Henry Va. to
F., Liverpool, 800 miles. in thirteen days.
{ seven hours and .he Dawn. bark -.
I New York home from Buenos Avres.