The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1911-11-09
Full-Rigger in the Harbor.

At her berth in East Boston lies the
shin Aryan. of more than 1900 tons, the
last splendid sample of the wooden sail
ing ships that once made this country
the mistress of the seas, the last prob
ably ever to be built. The Aryan first
came from the ways in the shipyard of
Charles Minot, Phippsburg, Me-, in 1898,
and in spite of her eighteen years Of ser
vice on all seas is rated l. She brings
cargo of spars from Puget Sound and
was l4O days on the trip. rounding the
Diego Ramirez Rocks. many miles to the
southwark of Cape Horn, IN the dead of
winter.
The Aryan is a beautiful ship, taut and
trim. her hull. 24S feet long, supporting
a towering network of spars and rigging
that attracts the notice of all observers
about the harbor. But the chief inter-
est in her centres in the fact that she is
the first of her kind to visit our port for
seven wears. Previous to her coming
the last full-rigger that bore the Amerl-
can flag into this port was the w. +.
Babcock of San Francisco, arriving also
with cargo of spars in 1904. And for
five wears before that the harbor had
looked in vain for the American flag on
full rugged ship. In 1899 there were
three that arrived, and New Highlander
notes with satisfaction that they were
State of Maine ships, built and owned
there. and in part at least manned by
Maine sailors. These were the K. K.
Thomas of Searsport, the State OF Maine
of Searsport and the Sam Schotieid OF
Brunswick. All brought hemp from
Manila or Hong Kong, and in the years
Immediately preceding that seems to
have been the main cargo to arrive in
these American-built full-riggers.
Running the years back from 1899 one
finds no year without its full rugged ships
bearing the American flag, two in 1898,
six in 1897, seven in 1898 and so on. AL
most all of them brought a cargo of
hemp from Manila. Cebu or Hong Kong,
though now and then one arrived loaded
with nitrates from the west coast of
South America or with a general cargo
from Hong Kong or Calcutta. The
names of these stanch sailing ships of
score of years ago and more bring flood
of recollection alike to the mariner and
the importer of those days. The Edward
O'Bren, the j. B. Walker, the Julian P.
Thomas, all of Thomaston, Me-, were
outnumbered by the Wandering Jew, the
William H. Conner, the State of Maine
and the R. R. Thomas of Searsport.
More yet hailed from Bath, including the
Samaria, Governor ROBBIE, Abner Coburn,
El Captain and James Drummond. New
York sent US the Parthian, the Southern
Cross, the Iceberg and the St. Mark,
while the Rembrant, Great Admiral,
VigiIant, Tacoma and Llandseer called
Boston their home.
To go back to years beyond these would
be to write a chapter like that in which
Homer named the ships of Ulysses. Let
it suffice to say that, also like the ships
of Ulysses, these have passed, never to
return, almost all of them. Such as have
not laid their bones on some reef or sunk
in unfathomed depths have suffered the
far more igr ominious fate of being cut
down to coal barges, sailing the seas with
bare, unsightly stumps, in tow of steam
tug. One or two linger yet, and of these
is the W. F. Babcock, our American ship
of 1904, last reported in San Francisco
loading for Balboa.
This does not mean that all full rugged
ships have passed from the high seas.
Many still sail them, under other flags,
finding a profit in far-borne freights, and
now and then one comes into the port of
Boston. Yet their day is passing, and
the same fate which has robbed the sea
Of the stately beauty of the Maine-built
ships of towering masts and intricate
beauty of rigging is rapidly overtaking
them. The hemp that once came to Bos-
ton by sail now comes by steam in British
tramps, and the old-time glory and ro-
nance of seafaring have practically pass
ed from the earth.
The American seaman has in large
measure gone with the romance of the
high-masted square-riggers, yet not
totally. Captain McLachlan of the Aryan
is Scotchman, as his name would de-
note, to be sure, but his first mate is a
typical Down East Yankee seaman, and
of the crew of twentyfour that the
Aryan carries about half are Americans,
the balance being made up from England,
Ireland, Denmark and the Scandinavian
Peninsula.
The same fate which overlook the
American-b built full-rigged ships is rapid
ly overtaking those sailing under foreign
flags, and another quarter century will
probably show few if any remaining.
Iron steamships are built in the yards
that once produced the sailing vessel the
world over, and yearly the storm or the
they 60 by way of conversion through
oSAOOiiSio w Soe1i pe'1 SS6' A>oA 10 eiiS
schooner type itself holding its own. In
deed, it is confidently predicted by good
authority on maritime matters that an
other dozen years will see the passing of
the big schooners, five and six-masted,
that now carry such enormous cargoes of
coal to and from our port. In 1865 the
Mary E. Amsden, the largest schooner
bringing coal into the port Of Boston,
was commanded by Captain Lavendar,
now port warden of the city. The freight
on the cargo was S7.35 ton! That, of
course, was war price, which rapidly
declined after peace was declared, until
now the big four and six-masters bring
in thousands of tons at trip at freight
rate of sixty cents ton. That vessels
of such extraordinary efficiency should
be considered doomed by competent au-
thority is striking commentary on the
swiftness and cheapness of steam as
motive power.-Boston Transcript.
BEANS REGULAR DIET ON ARYAN.
A surprising quantity of beans will be
nj, Tod .v, flo o%0 of A