The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-02-15
~ DAVID HANNAY.
VIE HISTORY Of sea born,


shorter period which lies between us and
the voyages Of Columbus. Nasco da
Cana and Magellan. The first was the
epoch Of the coaster. The second Is the
epoch of the high seas. 1t Is the Diff
ference between la navigation cOtiere
and la navigation hauturier. 1 do not
of course mean that there Is a hard.
impossible line drawn between the
ages before and those after the year
1l?2 Men were already using. and for
generations had used. the compass when
Columbus sailed. They were also maxi
ing use of the astrolabe to take the
height of the sun and so find their lati-
tude. They were no longer confined
wholly to the coast. without the com
pass and the astrolabe Columbus would
never have dared to steer out to the
west. There are parts of the world to
this day where trade goes on, even in
small details, very much as 1t was con
Quoted by the seamen of the Middle
Ages. In the Malay Archipelago, for in
stance the native sea traders have still
little cause for departing from the GUS
toms Of their fathers. But though the
two conditions overlap, the fact re-
mains that. until 1t had been shown To
be possible to sail right across the At
lantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. all
trade was conducted in what We're
really coasting voyages. longer or
shorter. and all seamen were coasters.
Since 14?2 this has not been the case,
and though the coaster survives, and
no doubt will survive, he is no longer
the typical seafaring man.
The improvement of the ship itself
has been of vital Importance. In the
ancient world. and till late in the Middle
Ages. ships were laid up in winter, for
they were not qualified to encounter
its storms. The development of the rig
ging was slow. and it was secret. The
sailors were jealous of their art and
mystery" The changes came in little 10y
little. and always in the face Of logged
opposition. 1t Is quite certain that when
the jibsail, about the middle of the
eighteenth century replaced the old
square spritsail. the gain To the handi-
ness of the ship was great. and the re-
sources OF the seaman We're notably in
creased 1t is equally beyond question
that the square spritsail was an alb
surdity. for as 1t could not be set fore
and aft it was of no use when the ship
was close hauled. The mizzen could not
be set when the spritsail was furled, lest
the ship should be overloaded with cam
vas at the stern, and so come head To
wind.
The old experienced seaman had his
way in some countries SO effectually
that he fixed the type his ship for
centuries. Among the races of more
open mind change. if slow has been
continuous. The regular bred sailor Of
one generation could not rig ship
exactly as she would have been rugged
by a sailor fifty years before his time
If the model of the hun Of IA ship of
the year 1900 We're To he put into the
hands of a veteran who began To serve
his time about 1880, and ne were asked
to rig IL. he would turn out something
rather better than the original he sup
posed himself to lie engaged IN repro
ducing.
The Ralleys of Venice, in which the
pilgrims are carried. Brother Felix tells
us, are as like one another as the nests
of the swallow. Some, 1t is true, are
biremes and some are triremes. a
bireme has two rowers and two oars
an oar per man-on each bench: In
the trireme there are three rOwers, each
pulling his own oar, to the bench: but
the general arrangement is the same in
both. The galley has masts and sails.
A gangway runs fore and aft amidships,
and on it the "eNhorters," who call the
time to the rowers, run up and down.
There is "A poop aft wherein there are
cabins In front Of the poop on the
starboard side is the kitchen and the
stall for the live stock to he eaten on the
voyage. Therefore there are fewer
benches on the starboard than on the
port side. Wealthy passengers can hire
Nrtx l,,tp ,,,S,
The ordinary pilgrims occupy the hold.
which runs the length of the galley
from the first class poop cabins for
ward. In "a trading galley the hold is
full of cargo. In passenger galley
II is the pilgrims common sleeping
place You go down to II 10y one hatch
way close to the mainmast, and by "a
ladder of seven steps. 1t is lighted
only by the hatchway--and We may
add that of course il is not ventilated.
Here the pilgrims sleep. their heads
toward the side Of the galley. their
feet toward the gangway amidships.
Their boxes fiji the gangway. Their
mattresses touch one another. when
any of the pilgrims come down late
they have to climb along the boxes. and
tumble over the legs of those who are
down and are trying to sleep. Some
men will persist In talking noisily
others will keep a candle alight. to tn,
evaporation of the more somnolent.
And what of the captain and crew?
or them the Friar speaks but inciden-
tally. The padrone We see was great
man with whom the pilgrim contracted
for the voyage. The boatswain was n
terrible fellow, feared by the crew like
the devil c'sicut diabolum"). for he was
as free as Mr.. Chucks with the rattan. Az
Tor the men, we gather from the silence
of the Friar as to any other quarters
they had that they slept under the
benches on the upper deck. Punish
ments. he says, not very consistently
were light-a mere matter of being
logged by the boatswain. who was a
"diabolus," or. In extreme cases, maroon
Ing. ON the whole, Brother Felix seems
to have regarded the boatswain and his
men alike as an unhallowed race When
detailing all the reasons why the Host
mist not be conseCrated, or elevated, on
Kept in monstrance in "a ship he In
cludes among them this: that on any
Sudden emergency calling for exertions
the crew would assuredly pay no re.
spect to priest or sacrament but would
spill them. altar and all. into the SOUP
a n hat i'm, H.,