The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1908-06-02
HERRESHOFF BROTHERS
mat" AM His Brother
John b. the Coat Builders
HOME AT BRISTOL
John b., is "A Won 1erful Blind Man
Whose Specially Is Steam Craft
NAT Is Tall, Reserved, and u
Strict Disciplinal.an. Some of His
Traits.

NAT" Herreshoff has done such
wonderful things in puttiI. together
wood and iron and canvas and hemp
In its speediest form that L.j name
is known wherever yacht floats in
the waters OF the Seven Seas He
has kept the Americas cup SO many
years from those who sought to nit"
it that he has come to be regaruei
on this side OF the water as sSrt
of wizard. who can do anything -
that line, and when challenges II
accepted the work of meeting til,
is turned over to Nat" as matt :.
of course.
When a man Is called by an A.
breviation OF his first name, 1t u
generally taken for granted that | }
is a good fellow" mixer"
"hustling," democratic" person.
But Nat Herreshoff Is none OF
these. He IS cold, reserved,
thoughtful, distant man-polite en-
ough. well-bred enough, but one OF
those persons whom one would ex-
pect to hear called Nathaniel Greene
Herreshoff, Esq. rather than Nat
Yet as NAT" he Is always spoken or,
Just as his brother, the blind wizard.
Is always known as John b." The
Herreshoffs are remarkable family,
a family of geniuses, and the most
remarkable of them are Nat and
John b. These two brothers are
the active men of the HeGreshoff
Manufacturing Company of Bristol.
and they are rich-nobody knows
how rich, for the Herreshoffs are
not given to parade of wealth.
They live quietly, comfortably, UNI
ostentatiously, and belong to the
"old families" of Bristol.
Nat first established the fame
of the firm by the wonderful cat
boats he built and the wonderful way
In which he sailed them. When the
Madge came over here In 1881 and
beat everything that New York
could put against her. she went
down East" and was beaten by the
Shadow, a Herreshoff boat. 1t was
her only defeat When Burgess
died, the American yachting world
turned to the rather "stiff-necked
Bristol men as its only hope for
defender for the Americas cup.
NAT" Herreshof, who may once
more build a defender, is a large
man, over six feet, If he would stand
up straight. and bulky in proportion.
He is probably the best liked OF the
Herreshoff brothers. In spite of all
his peculiarities, people have implicit
Bristol about Nat" and they will
say, We'll. all | know is he is a
man who seldom says much" Once
q day Nat" makes round of the
works." going through the ship
house and the machine shop with his
head bowed as If he were meditating
on something far, far away Appar-
emily his eyes glance neither to right
nor left. His arms swing widely on
either side. Nobody knows exactly
at what hour this inspection will be
made-if there is much work on
manu. IL may NC A"ASC NhJT NV
once a day always. Novices stop
their work to look at this large, bent
figure with the short, red beard.
streaked with gray, and the wide
swinging arms. But among the work
men who are old hands In the Here
shoff employ the rule is: Here
comes Nat" get move on" and
they pick up some sort of tool
a hammer, a calking iron. anything
which will make a noise like work.
and go at It,.
For, wonderful to relate, Nat.
by simply walking through the ship
house, without apparently looking
either to the right or left, can tell
exactly how many men are idle, ana
upon what part OF the work In hand
they ought to be busy. Mr.. So-and-
so. he will say to the foreman, you
have SO many men idle here. ms
won't do. Set them to work. lie
win designate exactly on what part
of the business In hand there Is Idle
ness, To the workmen NAT never
speaks-always TO the foreman.
when a piece of work is completed.
he will cast his eye over it-whiIe
Il is In progress he holds the rore-
man responsible for the carrying out
of orders.
OF John B." the blind brother.
II ia asserted that besides being poss-
essed of abnormally acute hearing.
his sense of touch is so extraordinary