December 2015 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 25. HISTORY FROM THE PAST - Bangor Daily Commercial - Early 1900s
never did before and to whom ‘Old Glory’ is dearer for what she has lately borne. “Besides the three hundred recruits who will be attached to the ship, three will be a regular enlisted force of 150 practiced seamen, selected because of their ability to teach and to lead their new companions. It will be the duty of these older men to direct the educational work of a practical nature and these men will in turn be under the supervision of offi cers peculiarly gifted with the quality of leadership.” The HARTFORD is not the same old craft that stood those frightful ordeals of fi ve thirty odd years ago, although she has retained most of the fi ne lines that dignifi ed her in the days of low. Except in name, the good ship is substantially a new vessel and in the features of gunpower and machinery is typically modern in every sense. Her battery of rapid fi re guns will afford the best sort of school for the making of modern artillerists, and the men will be given ample opportunities to prove what they can do to a target a thousand and more yards away. Such will be the future work of the
new HARTFORD in the training of men that know nothing about the sea to be such seaman in turn as those who have followed the fortunes of Dewey or have held to the pace set by our other visitors in the West Indies. It has not yet been settled how long the course of instruction on ship board will be but there is good reason to believe it will not be less than six months. After that, the graduates will be portioned off among the ships of the north and south Atlantic, the Pacifi c and the Asiatic stations, respectively. Should the vessel go through the Suez canal on her way to New York, as seems highly probable, she will touch at the Hawaiian Islands, the Philippines, and among the Asiatic ports, and with the association of Farragut about her, there will be something fi tting following in the wake of the victories of that man who learned his fi rst lessons of war under that grand old man and within the shadow of the HARTFORD herself.
The old HARTFORD was built more than forty years ago, and in her day was considered one of the fi nest sloops-of- war ever constructed. She was launched at Boston on the 23d of November, 1858 was 225 feet long on the water line, had 44 feet of beam, and drew 16 full feet of water upon a displacement of 2,250 tons. Her engines and her boilers were deemed beauties in their day, although we should call them hopelessly antiquated now. She was a full rigged ship with something like fourteen very signifi cant nine-inch smooth- bore guns. In action she carried others in her ports, besides some pretty effective weapons forward and aft on her forecastle and her poop decks. Rear Admiral John C. Watson, now on his way to relieve Dewey, was Farragut’s fl ag lieutenant on the HARTFORD at the battle of Mobile Bay, and he it was that lashed that Father of Fighters in the rigging of that ship. During the past winter Admiral Watson, as commander of the Mare Island yard, directed that the brass shoe of the old ship, a stout metal support passing beneath the propeller to hold the lower shaft of the rudder, be placed in front of the commandant’s quarters. Two of the ship’s old nine-inch guns, mounted on the ancient wooden carriages, were so arranged that their muzzles should look grimly through the shoe, and there they stand now as a lasting memento of the ship that was. The work of reconstructing the
HARTFORD began in December of ’94, and was hastening to a fi ne conclusion when interrupted by the more urgent demands of
the war with Spain. Today she is bark rigged, without royals, and in place of her old battery she carries thirteen modern fi ve-inch guns of the murderous rapid-fi re type, together with four six and one three-pounders, also of the quick-fi ring order. She will be able to steam at a very comfortable jog of twelve knots an hour, and with a fair wind and her canvas set, should be able to do quite fi fteen. The memories of this fi ne ship are the proud possession, today, of a united people, and to no better purpose can she be put than as a school for the men behind the guns that are for the future to watch over our widened interests.
7 June 1899 Handsome ARIA.
Hon. E. H. Blake’s Yacht Nearly Finished.
She is the Largest Steam Craft Owned in Maine.
Finely Built With Best Machinery and Elegantly Furnished.
A notable addition to the fl eet of steam yachts to be seen in Maine water this season will be the ARIA, built for Edward H. Blake, of Bangor by the Gas Engine & Power Co., at their yards at Morris Heights, New York City. This fi ne yacht, which without a very great fi ght of the imagination, might be described as a fl oating palace, is almost completed and will be delivered to her owner sometime this month. The ARIA will be the largest and most costly steam yacht possessed by a citizen of Maine. She is constructed of steel, measures 145 feet over all, 117 feet on the water line, has a depth of 10 feet, beam of 17 feet and draws 7 feet of water. She has a high free board and is schooner rigged. Her guaranteed speed is 18 knots which places her among the leaders of high-speed boats of her class. The ARIA’s machinery is the best that money can buy; consisting of a Seabury triple expansion engine and a Seabury water tube boiler. Her wheel and rudder are of bronze. Her coal capacity will allow her a steaming radius of 1600 miles at moderate speed. She has several small boats and an 18-foot naplitha launch which is a beauty. Her deck house is built of selected
mahogany, paneled and fi tted with plate glass windows. The dining saloon is roomy and well lighted and ventilated, which is likewiset true of the butler’s pantry adjoining. On top of the deck house is the bridge, ornamental as well as substantial; here are the steering gear, compass, binnacle, etc.
Below Deck. Below deck, well forward, is the chain
hold, and a large storeroom. Aft of the chain hold are the crew’s quarters, mess room and toilet room, the fi rst mentioned having folding beds and lockers beneath. Next aft comes the staterooms of the captain and chief engineer.
Abaft these rooms is a galley, whose dimentsion and appointments will win the heart of the ARIA’s cook at once. It contains a range, stove, sink, pump connections, and every useful appurtenance to be found in the gallery of a millionaire’s yacht.
The boiler and engine rooms just aft
of the cook’s quarters have fl oors of sheet stell and brass respectively. The various compartments are protected from heat by non-conducting materials in the bulkheads. The Staterooms.
The owner’s staterooms are aft of the machinery. They are commodious and handsomely, though by no means gorgeously fi nished and furnished. The two rooms are eight feet, six inches long and take up the full width of the yacht. The fi nish is in hard woods, thoroughly rubbed down.
There are dressing cases and clothes closet and in the sleeping room will be a standard size brass bedstand. Skylights and post holes afford sample light and air. Abaft this suite are Mr. Blake’s bath and
toilet rooms.
Next comes the main saloon fi nished in hard woods, lighted from the sides and top and having an entrance from the deck by a spacious companion way. Opening out of the saloon are two perfectly appointed guests rooms.
Will Come Soon.
The yacht will be seen in Maine waters this summer and later her owner, with a party of friends will make a trip in her to New York to witness the races between the COLUMBIA and SHAMROCK.
15 June 1899 Nearly Drowned.
Capt. Bendix’s Narrow Escape Off Bar Harbor.
Finally Rescued by the Crew of the Schooner ROSELLE.
His Numerous Adventures on the Sea – Has a Charmed Life.
Bar Harbor, June 15.
There was a thrilling and timely rescue by members of the crew of the Islesford schooner ROSELLE of Capt. James Bendix of the schooner EAST LYNNE in the channel off Bald Porcupine Island, in Frenchman’s Bay, Tuesday afternoon, just as Capt. Bendix was about to give up the struggle in the water and meet the death that has almost reached him several times before. A brisk breeze was howling around the out islands in the bay in the afternoon successing a dead calm and in the fair breeze Capt. James Bendix of Prospect Harbor, 65 years old, who with his good ship EAST LYNNE was lying at anchor off Bar Island, set out for home. He had a load of empty fi sh barrels aboard the ten-ton schooner. Like the Ancient Mariner. Capt. Bendix, like the mythical sea captain, does not bother himself with a crew aboard the EAST LYNNE for fi ve years as his predecessor, Capt. Will Shallow, did before him. She is his fl oating castle, his republic and he swears by her as if she were his God-through fair and foul weather. Homeward Bound.
Capt. Bendix makes his living fi shing
along the coast and it was homeward bound with empty fi sh barrels when he met with his narrow escape from death. He weighed anchor at 1:30 in the afternoon and pointed the EAST LYNNE for the channel facing ironbound island. Just as the EAST LYNNE rounded the easterly ice shore of Bald Porcupine a young twisting typhoon struck her sails.
Quick as an arrow from the bow the main boom swung round with mighty force and swept Capt. Bendix into the sea far from the ship, as if he were a feather. Some of the fi sh barrels were cleaned from the deck and went vavorting over the crest of the waves like corks.
The EAST LYNNE with a shake of her ample shirts and a toss of her top malinery, hesitated, then turned on her heel and ran before the wind as if frightened by a big sea mouse.
Caught Her Bustle String. Captain Bendix had just succeeded in lifting his gray head from beneath the waves when he caught sight of his pet playing this trick on him and his heart sank with his body as he saw her tear through the waves and abandon him to his fate. He heard a swish swish in the waves close by him just as his past life began to kinetoscope before him and he blindly reached for it. It was the long pointer trailing from the bustle of the EAST LYNNE and he closed the difi ts of both hands around in the grip of death and despair. With the force of the connection Capt. Bendix was lifted bodily but of the water and then began his thrilling ride in Frenchman’s Bay astern of the frightened and masterless EAST LYNNE. The gale flapped her swinging mainmast sheets with a sound like a huge bird’s wings clapping together; the wind shrieked through her shrouds and she (???) along for the open sea. She swung on (???) rocks for which she once headed and made for the Mt. Desert shore. With another shift of the wind she circled and made for Bald Porcupine’s rocky shore, then careened to the eastward and came up standing at almost the same spot in the bay from which she started on her runaway course. This gave Capt. Bendix a breathing spell and he began to haul himself hand over hand much like an aerial circus performer close to the stern. Nearly exhausted he reached the craft
Thanks to the Fishermen who
Donated Lobsters to the MDI Lions Club (October Fest) Outing. You made this year's Fundraising
Event successful again. Bob Lee
Bob Kelly Jim Dow
F/V JUSTIN COLBY F/V ONE EIGHTY SIX F/V BLYTH MEGAN
Dan Classon F/V NEVER ENOUGH Charlie Dillon F/V JANA D. Chris Goodwin F/V DREW & HENRY Dicky Beal
F/V AMANDA ROSE
A special thanks goes out to the Volunteers who worked at the Event!
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