The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-01-29

The old clipper ship ~ y Grace was
recently changed to barkcutinc rig and
went ashore and broke w ON Long Isle
and ON her first voyage under her new
rig. The following is description
from the New York Evening Post of
the vessel after her last voyage under
her old rig:
The stately old clipper ship NJ. p.
Grace, after 3G years of bumetng with
the seven seas. swings at her anchor
off quarantine, just I'm from a 136-d3y
voyage around the Horn from Port
Townsend with every mast and stick,
rope and spar i'm position and her bot
tom as tight as "a cup defenders. She
makes a refreshing contrast i'm the ma
rine 'scape of the bay showing up to
decided advantage beside the groups of
.smutty coal barges and dirty German
land English tramps, with here and
there an occasional schooner, brigan-
tine or bark.
The old salts who spend the even
time of their lives along the dock front
of Tompkinsville gazing over the con-
stantly shifting scenery Of the water
front, fondled their little black cuddies
Icontentedly and exchanged reminis-
cences of the days of the old Black
Ball packets and the times when the
swiftest ships and the cleverest cap
tains on the seas under American col
ors kept the world on edge by their
daring pacemaking Her lofty royals
with their yards cock-billed and grace
fully tapering spars, rise high above
so that for miles down the bay the
may tangles of her rigging greet the
eyes of curious multitudes on hurrying
modern ferryboats and incoming ocean
liners.
What kind of a trip did we have?"
repeated the bronzed old mate. well
guess it was what you might call an
Iuneventful voyage-leastways most Of
the way. Once in a while things got
interestin' but here we are, from Port
Townsend in 1856 days, and nary a rope
or spar missin, an blame if the old
hooker amt got as sound a bottom as
la Dutch beer keg-barring once or
twice, just a little bilge leakin' in, we
.aint never had to use the pumps. How
do you account for our luck? HIM,
good crew-purty green, though,-an'
la dam good ship. They don't build
ships like the old Grace no more, prin-
cipally because they don't pay, l sup
pose, but 1 can't see why not, myself,
We amt never had no trouble with her,
am she's reliable s they make 'em.
ooh, well, the times of sailing ships
lam saiormen is over. l guess. They
aint no more American ships nor no
more American sailors-nothin' but
lot of fool foreigners as don't know
scuttle butt from a bilge plank, moth
in but the way to trim coal an lie
Engines. Yes, sir, that's what the pres
ent kind of sailorman S becomin' an
I'm thankful he amt an American.
well, sir, we had bully good wealth
er comm down the sound-that was
just about the time of that big steam
er disaster they had out there-an'
likewise comm down the coast, good
winds an not too heavy and we sim
ply roared along under big canvas. In
these bloody days of socialism, unions
and centrally COMPOUNDED tomfOOlery.
they've even got sailors unions, an in
conscience it's purity night impossible
to ship a decent crew. Thuslv we put
out of Townsend with Is men-harf of
'em green boys, kids of Is or is, as
may have known how to milk a COW,
but couldn't tell the stern from the
main tops'l yard-and only two Ameri-
cans in the hull crowd. It's fair to
say, though, that they was all wllin' to
work, but you can bet anything you
like, they'd have worked whether they
liked it or not Why, l had to put the
different ropes in their hands and tell
EN- what to do, and it was two weeks
before dared to send em up the cross
trees-me not wishing to have murder
on me soul. What are you goin' to do
with the likes of that? Have patience,
you say An did. Never was so pa
tient a man. An yet they'll tell you
that American ships axe foatin bells
and American masters slave drivers,
an their officers nothin' but apostles of
the ropes end.
Lucky it was too, we had that spell
of easy weather to break EN- in fof as
we made latitude the breezes grew with
it, an long before we ran by the straits,
they was a-blowing' a gale. The wealth
err veered right around then-it was
late in May-an' grew cold as the devil.
OF course, you know, only steamers go
through the straits, so we had to keep
on maxim southn' until we got where
we could claw 'round-it bein' easy to
see, sir, from what you learns in your
jog rafy at school, that Cape Horn amt
no lady's boudoir for restful ease.
'All the time the wind blew harder
an harder, an then it began to snow.
The owners rugged us out with dom
key puffer an reduced the crew five
men before we sailed, hopin' I s'pose,
to save expense; but my opinion of
donkey ingines for histin' sails on full
riggers amt very high, They may do
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