Norwich bulletin., 1916-02-05
cARcoEs OF EARLIER YEARS

Il
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considerable trading with the ports of
New York and Boston.
witch to New York were the Juno,
Caut Robt. Niles, the Venus, Chris
TOPPER Vail, and the Lady Washing
ton. Stephen Culver. The Norwich
packet, BENJAMIN Culver piled regular
y to Newport. and the Swallow,
zephaniah Jennings, to Boston.
Several other coasting sloops kept
things lively in the river. among them
being the Lark, Jonathan Roath, and
the Royal Oak Timothy Parker.
The first clearanees from Norwich
ment OF the new collector. General
Jedediah Huntington, are recorded as
follows, during August. 1889:
sloop Sally. Frederick Tracy. for
Schooner Friendship, Absalom Pride.
for st. Martins.
Schooner Nabby. Joseph Pierce, for
st. Martins.
The earliest entries Of note were:
Aug. Brig Neptune. Hezekiah Per-
kins, from Hispaniola.
Enterprise, Jerahmeel Williams,
with 500 tubs OF salt.
When the ship Josephus, Elisha
huntington, Cleared for Demerara,
lading viii give a good idea of an old
time Norwich cargo to the West In
dies:
In livestock, 81 horses and mules
several cows, a yoke of oxen and a
dozen sheep and swine. OF provisions
potatoes, Sc boxes OF cheese, IS firkins
of butter. about so hhds. of beef and
pork. 30 kegs Of crackers, 81 bbls. OF
bread and so bbls. flour.
The Josephine carried also a large
amount of brick and lumber, planks
ciapboards, slaves, joints and spars;
lis water hogsheads, also a big con-
Signment of parlor furniture, includ-
ing mahogany tables, green chairs and
sofas. Her cargo included a few sad
good idea of the various lines of in
dustry in the old town. which we are
accustomed to consider so slow in the
years up to our own times!
That was the era when farmers
| made q business of raising cattle and
horses and when shippers and owners
ing what we would now consider g
| dangerous number Of such on theii
small craft. For instance, among the
| smaller vessels or sloops, popularity
referred to as horse jockeys, was the
Betsey, Capt. Jabez Lord, which or
one trip took out IS horses, while the
Nancy, Capt. John Tanning, carried
36. The brig Neptune, which cleared
| Oct. LIST, 1889, for Hispaniola, carried
40 horses, and the Enterpriser. Isaac
| Williams, sailing for Demarara, Nov
| End. had a cargo which included be-
| sides brick and lumber and provisions
| 20 horses, II cattle, 9 mules, 20 sheep
| 20 swine, 15e geese and 100 turkeys.
The return cargo consisted of mo
| Iasses, rum, sugar, wine, pimento
pepper, lines, tamarinds, sweetmeats
aniseed, bags of coffee, bales of cot
/ ton, tobacco. indigo and salt. 1t i:
recorded that the Enterpriser, on hel
| return voyage, was libeled by the gov
eminent for importing goods not con
| tanned in her manifest, concealing an(
| delivering them at Norwich without &
permit, viz: Is hhds. spirits, 10 bale:
| cotton, 1 Dbl. sugar, cask cocoa. 81
we see that smuggling was not an un
I4known art among the forefathers o
! the hamlet, any more than it is at thi
| later day, when to cheat Uncle San
| seems to many to be not only limo
j
One skipper for many years en-
gagged in the West India trade wa
Capt. Isaac Hull, who sailed from New
| London in the employ of Norwich an
| New London merchants. On one o
his voyages in the ship Minerva, il
| 1898, he carried 90 oxen on the deck
A big and profitable trade was 500
established between Norwich and tn
northern coast of South America, es
pecially to Dutch Guiana, and the car
goes brought from there paid a highe
duty than did any Of the others. Som
of the little vessels averaged two voy
! ages year; and there must have bee
great hustle and hustle when one O
them prepared to clear for such distan
ports, loaded with a Norwich-produce
cargo, and great rejoicing when, afte
the silence of those months of wire
lessness, the craft would be sighte
coming briskly up the Thames. on he
return.
/ THE DICTAGRAPH