Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-05-10
AUGUSTA LOCALS.
ACROSS THE BIG POND.
Hon. c. A. MiIliken Writes Interest
ingIy Of Life on an Ocean Liner.


| interesting glimpses CT life on big
| ocean steamer. These letters were
written previous to those published.
| Tuesday. but owing to some delay did
not reach the Journal office until yes
| terday. These letters are as follows:
| Dear Journal:-You see / have I'M
derscored the U. s.. A. at the beginning
J of this letter. the land which as dis
tance between us increases, seems
more and more to have real and not
borrowed enchantment. One week
ago yesterday noon we backed out of
the dock at New York on this splendid
ship. This is the seventh steamship
| Gn siZe) now af1oat. This same line
has two building which will be larger.
She is 600 feet long. about 70 feet wide
aid about ,5 to SO feet deep from keel
/ to bridge. Imagine her in Water
| street, reaching from the Journal
Office away UP past Winthrop street,
| or from pOstofflce to Oak street, filling
the street from one side to the other.
| question whether it would not crowd
the buildings apart and necessitate a
wider street. Then with her keel
resting on the paving. you would be
able to step from the bridge off on top
Of Allen building, by having a good
long ladder to let you down from
bridge to roof. She has heavy bilge
! keels which make her very steady in
the sea. The vessel is equipped with
| twin propellers. Her engines are of
the quadruple expansion type. The
cylinders are .9-411a. 81 and 81 inches
in diameter. Engine. has 60-inch
stroke and makes about 20 turns per
minute. The steam plant consists of
one battery of four boilers Is feet in
diameter and 1871. feet long. Another
battery Of four boilers Of same dame
ter and eleven feet long. They are
OF tire Scotch type. The boiler shell
is 1882 inches in thickness of steel
and carries 215 pounds of steam
to the square inch. The propellers are
each II feet 6 inches in diameter. with
2S feet, = inches pitch. The engineer
| tells me that the slip in fair wealth
er with present draft GIG feeD amounts
to about per cent. with full load (35
| feeD. under same weather conditions
about l. per cent. men loaded to 80 feet
draft. Her displacement is about So
| O0U tons. Only think of this mass OF
| iron and steel freighted with full cargo
! and full passenger list blowing
through the water Is to Is miles per
| hour.
| As look over the side it seems that
we are stationary and a mighty river
is rushing by. She has 1865 staterooms
and 1000 berths, carries 533 first-class
passengers is allowed to carry all told
25r0 passengers. besides her crew. Only
think about 5000 people-a whole town.
WheI. lying at the dock she seems to
be monstrous in size. When you have
been speeding along for days without
j any sign Of land. you begin to feel
how Small part Of this world is the
ship and all its company. Our runs
UP to today noon have been 300, '3f.
sEi. 347, go. 81. 1874 and 354. The 1874
+, was up to midnight Wednesday night.
| when we Preached Penta Deigardo.
! Island of St. Michael-one of the
f, Azores-ar,d anchored for the night
! and next forenoon to allow the passen-
gers TO go ashore and look about this
quaint old town. The AZore Islands
! are 9 in number and were discovered
/. in 1449 f.; years before Columbus dis
!, covered America.
| OF these islands. I expect to write
more at length. Life on shipboard
makes me lazy. find the general feel
ing is aversion to work. Some of us
do not need 4 sea voyage to encourage
this trait of character. / want to write
something of our life on board,-the
+! celebrities we have, &c. &c. This
/ | hope will not be long in forthcoming.
| | constantly have in mind the very
pleasant experience I had the evening
| of my departure, when 50 many
! kind friends gave us farewell hand
| shakes at the station. My own
thoughts will constantly take sheer
towards the home, country and friends
| love so well and while the trip grows
more and more interesting. l think the
I best part of the trip will be when l
have seen and taken in the many new
and interesting sights and stand on the
deck of the steamer with her prov
pointing westward.
| Different people have different expe-
| ricncrs. even under similar conditions.
! Ten people may start on the same trip.
on the same train or ship. and each VIII
| write his or her version of the trip.
Each will view from his own stand
Joint.
| My trip begins with a very pleasant
farewell from friends at home. No
friends like your OVID everyday friends
who are with YOU and stand by you
and with you through thick and thin.
The trip to New York was uneventfHl.
We found our steamer and stateroOm
without difficulty. Promptly to a min
Ute at IL noon. April 18th. the whistle
began to blow AMI We were backing out
of the dock. What a grand sight! The
great ship slowly but steadily moving
away and the tugs like little ants tug
ging away at load many times their
size.
| soon repaired TO the engine room to
see who were to be our faithful friends
for the next twelve days. And faithful
they have been thus far. by day and by
right, ceaselessly, tirelessly working
laway propelling this great mass
through the sea at rapid pace. l
watts interested in passing Sandy Hook.
Then we pointed our PROV out across
the trackless ocean. Well, | began to
be hungry and then found that there
were two sittings at table called first
/ and second sittings: and that people
who had been there before had Cob
bled all the sittings at the first table,