Page 24. MAINE COASTAL NEWS January 2016 HISTORY FROM THE PAST - Bangor Daily Commercial - Early 1900s Continued from Page 23.


on the coast off Winthrop and anchored, and the bell was lowered into the water through a well in her bottom. Then a party of well known men, invited to witness the experiment, were taken off shore in a steamer a distance of 12 miles. They were invited to listen at a receiver for sounds of the bell rung under water from the scow. The results of the experiment are


testifi ed to by the party in a signed statement, in which they say:


“At one and one-half miles the sound of the bell, was heard very loud and very distinctly; at eight miles the sound was heard very loud and very distinctly; at eight miles the sound was quite as distinct and almost as loud; at 12 miles the sound was heard at times quite distinctly and at times somewhat feebly. Even at 12 miles the sound received was suffi cient to give a practical warning signal.”


The receiver used in the new system shows not only what the sound is, but whence it comes. On a coast equipped with bells at intervals of, say, 20 miles, any mariner can pick out his position on the chart, by taking the two angles from which the sound comes. The patent offi cials at Washington tell Mr. Mundy, originator of the device, that he “has invented a new science.”


The bell, with a mechanism for swinging the clapper, is lowered through a well hole to 20 feet below the surface of the sea. It may be made to ring continuously, as a church bell is toiled, or any desired number of strokes at lesser or greater intervals, so that intelligible messages may be sent. It is obvious that instead of suspending the bell from a boat it may be suspended from a buoy. In such a case the electrical current would be brought to the bell from the shore by means of a submarine cable.


The simplest method for receiving the sound on board ship is to go below in the hold of the vessel as close to the keel as possible, without any apparatus whatever, and listen. By placing one end of a wooden rod against the side of the ship and the other end to the ear the sound is heard at a distance of three miles. For greater distances the inventors have constructed an electrical receiver. It is proposed by the inventors to station along the coast at intervals of, any 10 miles, a series of submerged bells to be thus rung electrically from a shore station. These bells will announce their identity by ringing each a different number, and their position will be charted.


It is, of course, obvious that by equipping ships with these sound producers and sound receivers intelligible messages may be sent back and forth, either between ships or between ships and the shore. And vessels thus equipped may avoid collision by notifying each other of their approach and the direction of their course.


16 January 1901 News of Shipping


Bath to Have a Launching Saturday. Portland Man Will Give a Dinner Afterwards.


Other News of Vessels of Interest to Bangor Shipping Men.


Bath is going to have another launching


Saturday, followed by a dinner at the New Meadows Inn, one of the fashionable resorts in the vicinity of the Shipping city which will be given by Oakley C. Curtis of the fi rm of Randall & McAllister of Portland, for whom the vessel is named. The CURTIS is a fi vemaster and will be commanded by Capt. M. E. Hodgdon, formerly of the fourmasted FRANK T. STINSON. The CURTIS is being built for J.


S. Winslow & Co. of Portland, the fi rm which has recently purchased the fi ve- masted NATHANIEL T. PALMER, the big fourmasted FRANK A. PALMER and several other well known schooners. The fourmasted schooner CHARLES


L. DAVENPORT, Capt. Crocker, which is well known in Bangor, has arrived at Santiago, Cuba, with a load of iron ore from Baltimore. The DAVENPORT’s entrance into this division of commerce is interesting as formerly this business was done almost exclusively by foreign steamers. Bath is jubilant over the shipbuilding outlook for the present year. The output last season was 41,000 tons and already there are 26 vessels which will aggregate nearly 50,000 tons.


The ocean tug C. W. MORSE which is being placed in trim for her long southern trip will probably leave tomorrow for her long southern trip will probably leave tomorrow for New York and after receiving supplies leaves for New Orleans.


21 January 1901 The GEO. P. DAVENPORT a Wreck Big Four Masted Bath Schooner Going to Pieces on Nashawana Island – The Mate on Board.


Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts,


January 21. – The captain of the Gaylead life saving station reported Monday morning that the seas are making a clean breach over the four master schooner GEO. P. DAVENPORT of Bath, Maine, which stranded on Nashawena Island Saturday night. Her stern has settled since Sunday and she is full of water.


The Cuttyhunk life saving crew took


off all of the crew, except the mate, Sunday night. The latter, in the absence of the captain, who had gone to Vineyard Haven for assistance, stayed by the wreck and his position Monday morning was considered very perilous.


The crew were safely housed at the Cuttyhunk life saving station.


Monday morning it was impossible to reach the vessel with the surf boat and the greater part of the big schooner is submerged. At daylight Capt. Weeks gathered his men and the life saving apparatus was transferred from Cuttyhunk to Nashawena Island, as near as possible to the wreck. A heavy gale was blowing directly in shore and it was extremely diffi cult to shoot a line across the vessel. Finally this was accomplished about 10 o’clock, and the line was secured by the mate on board the schooner. At 10:30 the man on board the schooner. At 10:30 the man had not been landed by the breeches buoy but there was no doubt that he would reach the shore. It is now considered doubtful if the DAVENPORT can be saved. The Boston Tow Boat Co.’s tugs


STORM KING and JUNO, with a wrecking lighter, are on the scene waiting for a change in the weather which will enable them to ascertain if it is possible to save the craft. The schooner was built by Wm. T. Donnell, Bath, Maine, in 1891, and up to the present time has had no serious accidents. She registers about 1400 tons. * * * * *


A Bangor Schooner Iced Up.


Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, January 21. – The schooner GEORGE NEVINGER, Capt. Bullock of and from Bangor, for New York, with cargo of lumber, is anchored off Nantucket shoal with her mainsail and jib blown away. She is badly iced up, and a fl ag has been set in her rigging for assistance.


* * * * * Unknown Vessel Ashore. Chatham, Massachusetts, January 21. –


An unknown three-masted schooner parted her chains during the southwest gale in Chatham Bay Sunday night and went ashore at Harding’s Beach. The Chatham life saving crew has gone to the vessel’s assistance.


A Calais Schooner Ashore


The T. W. ALLAN on the Rocks off Bass River Light Near West Dennis, Massachusetts, Owned by Murchie & Sons.


West Dennis, Massachusetts, January


21. – The schooner T. W. ALLAN, Capt. Pottle of Calais, Maine, laden with lumber for Vineyard Haven is ashore off Bass River light. She lost both anchors during the gale Friday night and was blown off shore until Sunday evening, when the captain succeeded in, getting into the sound again and he beached his vessel at high water off Bass River light. The schooner is lying easy and is awaiting the arrival of the owners, Murchie & Sons, Calais, Maine.


22 January 1901 Schooners Suffer


ELECTA BAILEY is Probably Lost Schooner W. J. LIPSETT is Going to Pieces Fast


Other Recent Marine Disasters – Quiet at Bucksport Now


The past week has been a severe period for shipping and numerous schooners have suffered from heavy seas and stormy weather, the latest disaster to be reported is that the three-masted ELECTRA BAILEY an old and well-known Bangor craft, ashore off Harding’s Beach, Cape Cod, having been discovered in trouble on Monday. She was bound to Portsmouth, Virginia, from Poole’s Landing, Maine, with ice when she encountered the storm on Saturday night off Cross Rip.


Capt. Cay reports that they had a hard


time of it. The sails were blown away so that they could not get to windward so they turned back and anchored off the northwest of Handkerchief. A great amount of ice formed about the vessel and fi nally her anchor chains parted and she was driven before the gale into Chatham Bay, where she went ashore. Capt. Herbert Eldridge and the crew of the Chatham life saving station went to the assistance of the crew Monday morning and took them off. The men were all badly frostbitten, but are doing well. The BAILEY, which is owned by Henry Lord & Co., was built in Petersburg, New Jersey, in 1868, and hails from this city. She is 118 feet long, 31.1 feet broad, 9.2 deep and 344 tons gross and 299 net tonnage. It is feared that she will go to pieces though there is a possibility that she may be saved.


The schooner GEORGE NEVINGER, also of Bangor, is anchored off Nantucket Shoal, minus her mainsail and jib and badly iced up. She has been assisted by lifesavers and a tug.


The four-masted schooner GEORGE


P. DAVENPORT, as reported in Monday’s Commercial, is stranded on Hashawena island and because of the heavy seas, it is considered doubtful if she can be saved. The LIPSETT Lost The wrecking tug NORTH AMERICA is engaged in stripping the wrecked schooner WILLIAM J. LIPSETT, from Philadelphia for Savannah, ashore on Winter Quarter Shoal, off the coast of Virginia, where she struck while bound from Savannah to Philadelphia. Very little of the vessel remains. Part of the crew arrived here last night from the Delaware a total loss, and what little can be saved will hardly pay the expense of the work connected with recovering it. Both the vessel and cargo are


insured. The WILLIAM J. LIPSETT is well known in Bangor, having been here last season from Philadelphia with coal cargoes. Bath’s New Five-Master


The fi ve-masted schooner OAKLEY


C. CURTIS which was launched from the yard of her builders, Percy & Small, Bath, last Saturday, was built for J. S. Winslow & Co. of Portland, and will be commanded by Capt. N. E. Hodgdon, formerly Commander of the schooner FRANK P. STEVENS. The vessel is built craft in every particular. She is fi tted with many labor saving devices and has all the modern improvements for comfort and safety. She is 265 feet long, breadth 46.2, and depth of hold 22.9. She is of 2374 gross tons. The CURTIS has fi ve masts of Oregon pine, 118 feet long and topmasts 54 feet long. She will carry about 10,000 yards of sails.


11 February 1901 News of Shipping.


The Pendletons Buy Another Schooner. Capt. Fields Pendleton and His Skill as a Yachtsman.


Capt. Gould Still in the Hospital – Other News of Vessels.


“Capt. Fields Pendleton is at it again,” said the sea captain who is spending the winter ashore to a Commercial reporter on Monday, “he’s been buying and building vessels pretty regularly lately and now, I see, he’s bought the controlling interest of the Bath schooner JOSEPH W. HAWTHORNE and he’s going to change the hailing port to New York.


“Capt. Fields, you know, is one of the famous Pendleton brothers of Islesboro. They own practically all the island and every other person you meet is Pendleton. I’ve forgot how many brothers there are; everyone of them is an A 1 business man and according to reports they’re all so well fi xed that they could retire, live well all their lives and still have snug fortunes to hand down. “Capt. Fields besides being a good sea captain, is one of the most expert yachtsman on the coast. He always has a good sloop or two built after his own direction and you just bet there always hummers. He’s a busy man but he fi nds time to take a couple of his boys and start off for a course around the island or to Castine and back. “He’s tackled some of the best crafts


down the bay, boats that belong to summer people at the resorts but it takes a last one to give him the slip for besides having a speedy boat he has the skill to send her. “If the Pendletons keep on buying vessels, they’ll have a good sized fl eet and when they buy a schooner you know she’s a good one for no man can give a Pendleton points on buying a craft.”


21 February 1901 Schooners Moved


The POSTBOY and WILLIAMS in the Ice.


They Have Come in Shore 20 Feet and Are Still Going.


Greater Warmth of Sun on West Shore Caused Ice to Crowd Over. Last December the schooners JOHN


T. WILLIAMS, POSTBOY and the little pinkey MAINE which were caught in port by the closing of the river were cut down from their berths at the coal wharves above the Maine Central discharging stages and left in the ice opposite the jog in the wharf below the old Dole & Fogg property. The schooners were frozen in there some distance from the wharves and left to winter in the ice. It is a curious thing that all three of these vessels have moved in shore some 20 feet, and if the movement continues


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