The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-08-20

N~----NNNNN@NS sage on another vessel.
 Whenever a steamship is scheduled to sail at 10 o'clock in the moring, it means that everything must be inread- mess for her to leave promptly at that time. Her fires must be started in time to have a full head of steam, and tug boats are chartered to help her out of her pier on the stroke of the hour. To hold the ship for a. time after she is ready means of expense to the company. company. There is the price of coal, There is the price of coal, which is not a small item, and when five or six tugs are chartered at SIP an hour to swing the vessel out, the extra cost begins to mount up. Just suppose each steam ship was held for fifteen minutes after Ter sailing time and you can see that the companies would lose thousands of dollars in a year.
 k Glasses down the bay after staem- ships are always exciting. If the steamship has not gone too far, or if she has not worked up full spead. the late passenger has some chance, but other wise he might as we'll save his money.
 Several years ago a coaster, think was the Yucatan, sailed for Havana and Mexico. There had been floods all through the Southwest, stalling the trains for weeks, and young man who had very important business to transact in Mexico, had raced to New York with the hope of reaching Vera Cruz by the Yucatan.
 He appeared at the pier about twen- ty minutes after the vessel had sailed. He puffed and fumed for a moment, un- til advised to try a tug boat. Accepting the suggestion, he rushed to 2 nearby pier, where several big fellows were tied up. To the captain of one of them he offered s15O if he caught the steamship.
 The captain accepted and the chase began. The tug swept down the bay giving forth tfle greatest cloud of black smoke and showing water up in huge punches of spray. so that her upper works were all wet, The day was rather nasty. The clouds hung low, and a sea breeze brought in the fog gradu- |ally. The further down the tug went the thicker became the weather. At last the steamship disappeared in the fog bank, but the captain of the tug |eontinued the chase, not willing to lose the amount offered if he succeeded.
 Finally, just off the Atlantic high lands the fog became so bad that hewas compelled to quit the chase and turn in to shore. The man was disappoint- ed, and he asked if there was no other way of catching the vessel. The cap tain thought for a moment.
 <" You might go ashore, he said, and get a, train down to Atlantic City. If the Yucatan has not passed before you get there, you may be able to get an other tug to take you out to her
 "As this was the only hope left, the young man started off again. He man aged to get a train at once, and by go- ling in roundabout way and making good connections he landed at Atlantic City two hours later. The fog had de- tained the. Yucatan several hours, so that he managed to get aboard of her from another hired tug.
 ''I learned later that his having been twenty minutes late at the pier in New York had cost him more than the amount of his passage money on the Yucatan.
 Another miss I recall was that of an army officer stationed in Porto Rico and who was here on a leave of absence His time had run out, and he booked on steamship to return to his post. He missed her by an hour, so he reported to a superior at Governors Island and was told to be sure to get the next vessel He also received a reprimand.
 "A week later he again appeared at the pier--a few minutes after the vessel had left. You can imagine how he felt. He tore his hair, and went about nut tering something about court-martial and damning everything and everybody. Finally he got aboard a tug, and after paying the captain $75 he was taken down the bay and caught the vessel as she was passing out of the Hook. The tide was very low that day or he certainly would not have reached her. 'I have friend who wanted to marry a girl, but her folks objected. They planned to elope and waited until Saturday morning to do so, in order that they might catch a Cunard Line steamship and sail for Liverpool. They were married and everything went well with them until they reached the pier. The steamship was just pulling out
 The company agent put them aboard a tugboat, and several minutes later they were alongside the vessel. Then came the funny part. '@ ,@s@
 "To get aboard the lovers had to ge up ladder from the deck of the tug The young man went first and reached the steamship deck safely Then the
 girl tried it. She was in the middle ot the ladder when she tripped on he1 skirt, slipped over the side of the ladder
 and went tumbling into the water. Ot
 course all was excitement. Life ore. servers were thrown to her, and the
 men on the tug went after her with boat hooks, while the pale and frightened
 husband stood trembling on deck. Al last she was fished out with salt water and with her gown ruined, but stil ready to complete the elonennent D.