Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-06
THE MAINE COASTER.
He is Combination of Sailor, Farmer
and Business Man.

| From the Brooklyn Eagle.
OF all the sailors OF the sea, the down
east coaster does the hardest work braves
| the greatest dangers and gets the poorest
reward. His occupation has been aptly
described as tempting fate at SIS
month" The coaster is an unsung hero.
but he is unconsecutive days of easterly
winds in one IL freights were fairly good
from Bangor to Boston and there were not
more than ten consecutive days OF easterly
wind in any one month.
The Maine coaster is a queer mixture OF
sailor farmer and business man. and fire.
quently he is also an expert deep sea fish,
erman. Many of the masters of the little
schooners have in their younger days sailed
round and round the world. finally settling
down in some seacoast village and buying
a small craft of which they can be at once
the managing owner and skipper, and in
which they can make a living by eight
months sailing, hauling the vessel up and
taking comfort at home from Thanksgiving
or Christmas till spring. Some of the mas
tiers sail vessels owned by other people.
either for a stated salary of ION shares.
and occasionally it happens that the vessel
is sort of family affair, being owned ard
manned by father and sons or by brothers
In times of disaster this arrangement is most
unfortunate. for wnen the vessel goes down
the whole family is likely to go with her,
leaving behind a pitiful array of orphans
Such a case occurreu In the loss OF the
schooner Ella Brown. several of the Pea
body family OF Jonesport having gone down
In that vessel In the great November north
easter last year.
The natives of the Maine coast towns and
of the islands that strewn along shore
from Portland to Quoddy Head among
the finest sailors in the world. They are
sailors from force of circumstances, hardy
from inheritance and cute because they
are Yankees. No other men could make
living out of coasting In these waters, and
how the natives do it is a source of wonder
to every one who ever studied the subject.
The coaster begins going when he is twelve
or fourteen years old and quits when he is
too old to stand a watch at the wheel. IL
he manages to stay above water that long.
Man or boy, he Is generally lank and lean.
with a skin like leather, and a constitution
Of iron ard capacity to endure great hard
ships without complaint. His vessel is gen
orally of great age and small size-J0 to
80 tons and twenty to sixty years old.
rugged as a two-masted schooner. Gen
orally she is a dull sailor and almost always
leaks like basket Only the fact that she
carries lumber accounts for her being
long afioat-hundreds OF the old hookers
now going would have been on the bottom
long ago only their cargoes wouldn't let
them sink.
An aVera ge size coaster trading between
Maine ports and Boston carries a master.
mate, one seaman and cook and hand
many of them make trips from Bangor to
and last summer the schooner Angler, 80
tons, was navigated from Boston to Calais
and half way back again by her master
single handed. The coasters cargo is, nine
times in ten, lumber, and she gets sl.,0 To
S1.73 a thousand feet for carrying 1t from
Bangor to Boston. Out of this she has to
pay for loading and discharging. for tow
ages, commissions to brokers. crews wages
and stores. The stores salt pork, salt
Goldfish. flour. molasses, potatoes, baking
powder and kerosene; there may be a chunk
or two of corned beef, and in the fail OF
the year the skipper will add cabbages. ap-
pies, onions. etc, to the menu, but at no
time fs the fare rich or varied as to
worry the cook or invite the govt. A man
who wants to go must be both strong and
willing. not only to reef, hand and steer.
but to work cargo as well, for it frequently
happens that there are no stevedores avail
able or that the skipper is unwilling to pay
for loading or discharging. If a man sail
Ing before the mast manages to put in six
months in year at SO a month he is do
ing as well as the average of coasters; the
mate and the cook and hand" get a little
more, and the captain gets whatever cir
cumstances, weather, luck and his business
abilities allow. This may be considerable
or Ii may be nothing at all.