The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1912-02-10


are kept breezy by a system of can
vas ventilators braced aloft The
punches of bananas are not laid fiat,
but are hung from beams to allow a
free passage of -. From $4,000 to
10000 punches are thus slowed for
the voyage.
Once loaded, the vessel loses no
time in casting off its lines and max
ing a sprint for the United States.
For the next four days it makes an
average of eighteen to twenty knots
an hour. The captains are expert
navigators and excellent seamen, and
even daring sometimes in their efforts
to beat time. They lay an unerring
course direct for their port of destin-
alton.
In the states all is readiness when
the vessel makes it's appearance at its
dock. Four sets of men await it, First
the quarantine officer makes his
rounds and inspects the crew. If the
vessel is "nabbed" it is all up with
its cargo. Next come the customs in
spectors, who stick by the ship until
it's cargo is unloaded But by far the
most active set are the men who I'M
load the ship both for the inland mar
kets and local dealers.
On a banana wharf in the states
one will see those two sets of men
emptying the steamer from both sides.
On the water side a line of barges
loaded with freight cars draws along
side, and the punches, some of them
already beginning to show the vel
low, are rapidly passed from ship to
car to be whisked perhaps thousand
or more miles inland.
On the wharf side the scene is
bit livelier. From the more prosper
Gus fruit store dealer and commission
merchant to the street vender all are
supplied from these steamers, and
there is line of teams and carts
which stretches all the way from the
steamer down the long wharf to the
street. Often it requires a squad of
policemen to keep these clamoring
merchants from an utter state of con-
fusion. They are all anxious for
share of the cargo, and as quickly as
one wagon or cart is loaded and it's
owner pays his toll another takes it's
place. Often whole caTgoes are bought
out by the larger dealers. But what
ever way the cargo is sold it never be-
J comes a white elephant on the i'm
porter's hands. Thus attacked, it is
only matter of a few hours before
the hold of steamer is emptied.
A West Indian hurricane the season
for which occurs during the busiest
time of banana transportation, will
sometimes play havoc with the YES
sells as they are plying among the is
lands. During the summer of 1908
steamers of both the United and At
lantic Fruit companies were roughly
handled in a storm of this character,
the Salvatore di Giorgio of the latter
company nearly becoming total less.
There were many steamers that came
up from the tropics that summer
which showed the marks of such bat
ties, but though vessel occasionally
comes in with battered bridge or bulk
heads and salt caked thickly around
its smokestack, it causes only pass
ing comment
Perhaps no more thrilling accident
or a closer shave from total destruc-
ton has ever occurred to any of the
fruit steamers than that which took
; place off the New Jersey coast dur
ing night in July, 1906. The steam
er left New York but a few hours be.
fore the accident, with the purpose
expressed by it's master to beat the
record in the run to the West Indies