Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-12-04

1
other young man, w, A. Winter of
Hallowell, who had been ON two voy-
ages to Europe. paid Capt. John An
| drew Goodwin a visit. He was willing
| so we got ready to join the good shin
'"Tranquebar" then at a pier in East
| River, \. Y.
| We went to Portland by rail and
| took passage for New York on the
Chesapeake. We We're joined by
| another~yorng fellow from Augusta,
one Charles. Lamont. whose family
lived in the brick house on Capitol
street. I think we left Hallowei on
the 2Srd or 9th of December, 1859,
Christmas finding us at anchor at
Eden's Neck, Long Island, on account
of thick, heavy weather Arriving at
New York we took our "dunnage" to
the ship, and reported to the mate as
ready for business. In the course of
few weeks the ship was ready for
sea, a new crew came on board and
we set sail for Savannah, Ga, where
we loaded cotton for Liverpool, Eng
land After loading at Savannah we
took on another crew and towed
down to Typee Island at the mouth
of the Savannah river. and lay three
days for the crew to sober up for most
of them We're very drunk
When everything was ready we hove
up the anchor and made sail for Liv-
erpoel. | would here state that John
F. Harvard, a son of Major Harvard,
the ships owner, was with us, and is
still living on the old Homestead in
Bowdoinham but owing to a shock has
been confined to his bed for the past
year. We had a fair wind . and
plenty of it, being under reefed top
sails most of the time, making the
run in eighteen days, sometimes COW
ering 300 miles. in a day of "a hours
On arriving at Liverpool, which as
near as 1 can remember was not far
| from March l, 1860, we were let into
Stanley Dock, which is used for UNI
loading cotton exclusively. After dis
charging our cargo and taking a lit
| tie more ballast we hauled out into
| the river and sailed for Newport
| Wales. Every Yankee sailor in those
DAYS considered it a duty to have a
heavy pilot cloth overeoat or pea-jack-
| ct and sea boots made here and of
course 1 did the same. BY this time
| / had got over my sea-sickness and
got my sea legs on, While here La
| mont was taken sick and the Captain
| took him down to Bristol to a hospi-
| tai planning to get him before We
sailed from Newport, Wales, where
we were bound from Liverpool to load
with soft coal for Bahia. Brazil, but
he did not recover in time SO he was
sent home by our CONSUL Shipping
another crew by the run. that is. for
, the passage only, we ran down to
Newport. Wales, and loaded with coal
| for Bahia. While lying in dock at
| Newport. Winter and | were on a
small raft under the ships quarter
! : tubing off the barnacles Winter
rs u iing the raft off a little so |
| ~ do tn scrubbing act. A stick,
4, .lieh he was holding one end against
The planking and the other end in his
hands. slipped on the yet planks and
| dove head foremost into. the water. /
pulled him out onto the raft none the
worse, except that he was very wet.
| Before sailing from Newport our sec
| ond mate left the shin and w. A. Win
| ter was promoted to his office-now
Mister Winter instead of AL
! When loaded we sailed from Newport,
l III @tlhit W ANos anu Pt1sos'eses
on down the Bristol Channel, down
! past the Bay of Biseay and Madeira
Islands and soon took the southeast
trade winds which blow in one direc-
ition all the year round. and ran them
| down. having "studding sails set
tFor the benefit of landsmen would
say that Studding sails are an extra
sail hoisted UP to the yard arms to
get "a larger spread of canvas when
the wind is steady, and they help tC
increase the speed of the ship. In
variable winds they are a nuisance
and make the sailors growl some,)
In due time we ran out of the trades
and into the Doldrums near the Equa-
tor. These winds are light and varia-
BILE and. like the Paddys hurricane
elbows up one mast>and down anoth-
err" The winds prevail for "A few de-
grees both north and south of the
Equator 1t was once the custom foi
| Neptune to come on board ano
shave blindfolded greenhorns who had
never crossed the line. With slush foi
seap and a piece. of iron hoop ~for :
razor Neptune would perform that