The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-01-30
GOOD SHIP "WABBLE."
Real Facts About Mysterious Tramp
Steamer.

From the Philadelphia North American.
Steamer Ponce is in tow off Bermuda of
tramp steamer Wabble.-Cable dispatch.
Some time after the evening papers
yesterday had published the above dis
patch describing the hobo steamer Wab-
BILE and her good work. folks in the Mari
time Exchange sought to throw diseredit
upon the Wabble by making sworn state
ments that there was no such ship.
"Wabble," they insisted, us merely
word in the A. 3. c. code that means,
"Shall we act as your agents?'
As a matter of fact the good ship Wab-
BILE is one of the most interesting craft
that ever sailed the Seven Seas. Her
commander Is the well known Capt Helm
rich Hassenpfeffer, one of the most trust
ed shippers of the Royal German Frank
furter line, whose home offices are at
LiVerwurst. on the south coast of Sax
ony.
She is a sister ship to the German hobo
steamer Kronprinz Hofbrau ILL., which
sailed from Woodbury., N, j., with a
cargo of empty kegs in 1887, and is still
overdue at Liverwurst.
The special cable announced that the
Wabble would get about 100000 for her
Salvage job" The money will be regu-
lar windfall to Captain Hassenpfeffer as
he was said to be In stratened clrcum-
stances the last time he was spoken off
in the late fall of 1899, while returning
with his ship from the Spanish war.
THANK God. my brother, Captain
Heine. is heard from once again al
ready" exclaimed Mrs. Lena KatZeniam-
mer last night, when Captain Hassen-
pfeffers sister was discovered exclusive
~ at her home, shortly after news of the
Wabble was eabled to this port
1t was learned from Mrs. Katzenjammer
that her brother, Captain Hassenpfeffer
sailed the seas for over 60 years. He
first sailed on the Peruvian bark Calisaya
as wheelwright in the summer of 1872
when the Calisaya sailed for South Amer
lea with cargo of artesian wells.
Captain Hassenpfeffer was a past as
sistant chauffeur on one Of the California
night boats that started the daily trips
between New York and Sacramento in
the early sos when the first thought Of
the idea of designing a boat on the
Nabble's lines.
Captain Hassenpfeffer worked a long
time to get capitalists Interested in his
unique plan of the Wabble The Wab-
bic and her sister ship. the Tsonprinz
IIofbrau III, are the only seagoing liners
that have only single sidewheel with
the exception OF the Lactea, which sails
between here and Brest carrying con-
densed milk.
Some local shipmen finally grew inter
ested in Captain Hassenpfeffer' design
ssvhen he proved to them that boat with
only one sidewheel and no screw could
be operate at only half the cost of a two
wheeler or a twln-screw craft Early N
the initial spin it was seen that unless
something was done Immediately the
Wabble would sail around and around
and around.
Far from being disheartened, Captain
Hassenpfeffer straightway got his think
ing cap, and long before the seventh lap
was completed he hit upon the scheme of
having the crew hold the tiller down
hard until she got under way and turning
the Wabble around and sending her along
stern foremost for a spell.
In this way she got along swlmmingly,
but wabbled a bit. Hence the name. But
as Captain Hassenpfeffer grows older, his
discplining relaxes, and he hasn't the
heart to make the crew reverse the ship
every few minutes. AS a result, the Wab-
BILE circles about the ocean a great part
of her time and rarely makes port
The Wabble is equipped with duplex,
open-faced, stem winding, rotary engines,
and has a marked overhang on the
hustle Her port lee scuppers are set well
aft Of the stern, and she can be recog-
nized at almost any distance by her
sduare-rigged starboard revolving storm
doors.