Page 24. MAINE COASTAL NEWS August 2016


19 October 1903 POST BOY Lost


HISTORY FROM THE PAST - Bangor Daily Commercial - Early 1900s work required.


Bucksport Schooner and MAUD SNARE Both Broken Up News of the Shipping Capt. Nickerson and Crew Saved – Arrivals and Departures in Port of Bangor


The well-known two-masted schooner


POST BOY, Capt. D. S. Nickerson, proved to be the unknown vessel which was reported wrecked on the southwesterly side of Burnt Island Sunday night. The POST BOY was bound from Port Johnson to Bangor with hard coal. The vessel swung around so that the entire crew consisting of fi ve men and the captain escaped to shore over the main boom before they were reached by the life- saving crew. The POST BOY broke up within an


hour. She was well-known here having been built in Bucksport in 1872. She was 171 gross tons, 103 feet long, 27 broad and eight deep. She hailed from Bucksport. The Bangor schooner MAUD SNARE


which was wrecked on Hart Island off Port Clyde is breaking up. The woman who was reported as having escaped was the mate’s wife. The SNARE was built in Bangor in 1883. She was of 279 gross tons, 127 feet long, 31 broad and nine deep. Late arrivals include the steam tug


STANDARD from New York with the Standard Oil barge, 57, with 1,500 barrels of kerosene for Henry McLaughlin & Co.; barges SANTIAGO, Philadelphia with 3,672 tons coal for the Maine Central railroad and JULIA ROLLINS, Newport News with 870 probably for the same; schooners HENRY R. TILTON, Gloucester; JULIA BAKER, Boston; MAUD S., Northeast Harbor; steamer G. W. BUTMAN, Rockland and schooner JOHN B. MANNING, Newport News with 1,702 tons for the Eastern Mfg. Co.


Clearances include tug STANDARD


with barge 57, Standard Oil Co., New York; schooners ANDREW ADAMS, Fernandina, light; SARAH C. SMITH, Wickford, Ashland Mfg. Co.; JOHN CADWALLADER, New York, Eastern Mfg. Co.; steamer W. G. BUTMAN, Rockland; schooners E. A. WHITMORE, Bar Harbor, F. H. Strickland; S. SAWYER, Provincetown, Morse & Co.; E. M. SAWYER, Boston, James Walker & Co.; SUSIE P. OLIVER, New York, Ashland Mfg. Co.; IONA TUNNELL, Brunswick, Georgia, light; Italian bark VESUVIO, shooks by the T. J. Stewart Co. to Castellamare di Spabia.


20 October 1903 Modern Sailors


The Up-to-Date Jack is Well Cared For – The Wages


Few Hardships Now Comfortable Quarters on Modern


Vessels for the Crew – Steam to Do the Hardest Work.


If some of the old barnacles who


sailed the ocean blue generations ago could see how their shipmates of the present generation fare, they might think that a sailor’s life now has too much ease and luxury about it and that the charms of a sea life have disappeared. The days when sailors were ill fed,


slept in wet, cold forecastles on the soft side of a plank, worked like slaves when at sea and were shiftless and spendthrift when on shore, are fast passing away. Now those who go to sea have three good square meals a day and sleep in a forecastle, that is heated by steam, well ventilated and lighted by electricity. There are all sorts of modern appliances on board modern vessels that help to make


the work of a sailor light and easy, and those who are fortunate enough to ship on a modern sailing craft are often more comfortable than the man who has to work on shore ten or twelve hours a day to earn $1.25.


It was not so very long ago that sailors


were ill used and beaten when on board the ship. The food that was prepared for them was often unfi t to eat. The quarters they occupied on the ship were in the forward part, and in rough weather would get wet and remain wet for days and weeks at a time. For this sort of work they were ill paid,


rarely getting more than $15 a month, and those who sailed on long voyages, such as from this port to San Francisco, would often on being paid off receive a few dollars for a voyage that had lasted many months. The rest had gone for drafts on the slop chest. There are sailing craft now under the


American fl ag that are fl oating palaces compared with the old style vessels. Some have pianos on board, and when off duty and the vessel is sailing easily the men can enjoy some music, for there is usually one among their number who can pick out a few tunes, and there are always some who can sing. Pianos are not found on sailing craft though, as often as organs are. The piano is injured by the dampness of the sea air, while the organ will keep in shape much better, rarely gets out of tune. There is not a sailing craft of over 500


tonnage built nowadays that does not have a donkey engine. There is too, a steam windlass to get up the anchor and hoist the sails.


The cargo is hoisted from the lighters


or piers and lowered into the hold by steam derricks. There are steam pumps. The vessel is washed down by steam. It is hauled into the docks and alongside the piers by steam. Not many years ago all this work had to be done by hand. What does all this mean to the sailor?


Formerly, when there was from 40 to 60 fathoms of cable out and a big anchor at the end of it, to get the anchor up meant an hour or two of the hardest kind of toil. The capstan was manned, and round


and round the sailors would walk, turning it and bringing up the cable link by link, while others were carefully stowing the chain below. While this was being done the master would be fuming and swearing at his men for not working harder. Now that magic power steam turns a


windlass. The cable is brought up in a short time, and the men who are detailed to the work have simply to watch and see that all goes well and cathead the anchor when it comes above the water. The sails are to be hoisted. These great


pieces of canvas are heavy and unwieldy. The sailors east off the gaskets, the halliards are attached to capstans worked by steams, and soon the sails are set, and all the men have to do is make fast the halliards and see that the sails are trimmed right. This used to be done by hand, and it was a long job to get all the sails up and drawing. This use of steam power is, of course,


a great benefi t to the owner of the vessel, as well as to the sailor. There is a great saving of time. Anchors are got up much quicker than in the old way, and sails are set and drawing in the time that it used to take to get up one piece of canvas. The steam pump is a handy thing, too, in


time of storms. When a vessel is leaking and there is a gale blowing the steam pumps are started, and the sailors can give their whole attention to the navigation of the vessel and to the sails.


Many a vessel had been lost and all on board drowned because the leak has been


more than the hand pumps could overcome, and the men, tired out with long work and pumping, could not save the vessel. While they have manned the pumps and worked for dear life, spars, sails and rigging have gone by the board and the vessel has been left a wreck; only to founder later in the storm. The change has worked well for the owner as well as for the sailor. Several of the more modern vessels are


steam heated. Steam pipes are arranged in all parts of the boat where the living quarters are. The master has a cozy, warm cabin. The offi cers are comfortable, and the men’s quarters are just as cozy as those that are aft. After doing a trick on the watch on a


cold, wet night, the men can turn in and sleep on a warm, dry bed in a warm room and forget that they are far out at sea buff eting the winds and the waves. Just think of telephones on board a


sailing craft. There are several of the larger and more modern vessels that are fi tted with this convenience. The telephone runs from the captain’s


quarters, aft, to those of his men forward; and if he wants a sailor, or if he has any order to give, it is done over the telephone. This is a luxury that was never dreamed of a few years ago. In the last ten years sailors’ wages have


been raised 100 percent. Sailors who used to get from $15 to $18 a month now get from $30 to $35 a month. Mates who were paid from $30 to $40 a month now earn from $55 to $75 for the same period; and masters, too, get more money. Many of these have interests in the vessels they command, and it is to their benefi t to make the ship earn as much as possible, to make quick passages and have everything run smoothly. Much of this improvement in the


condition of the sailors has been brought about by the sailors’ union. This union is well organized, and has branches in every port in the United States. The headquarters are in Boston. This union has been instrumental


in having many laws passed that have improved the conditions of the sailor. Sometimes it goes a little too far, in the opinion of the owners, and the two interests clash.


Largely through the efforts of this


union a law was passed a few years ago which described what kind of food should be served to the men at sea. Some owners think that the men are fed too well and that the law should be modifi ed. The law says that the men are to have a certain amount of fresh meat, so much salt meat, certain vegetables (6 kinds), fresh bread, pickles, fruits, tea, coff ee, proper condiments, sugar, molasses and cereals. After the men go off watch during the


night the cook serves them with coff ee. Breakfast is served between 6:30 and 7:00 o’clock, during the dog watch. This is a good, substantial meal. Dinner comes at noon. It usually


consists of soup, meats, vegetables and pie or pudding. Sometime fi sh is served, often two kinds of meat, two or three vegetables, salads, if possible, and coff ee or tea. Supper is ready at 6 o’clock, and for this


meal the men have hash or stews, cold meat, bread, butter, cake and fruit. Of course, the way the food is served will depend largely on the ability of the cook, but usually the cook knows his business. He is paid $60 a month; and on a large vessel, where there are many men in the crew, he had an assistant. The sailors get the same fare as the master, and they live well. A sailor to follow his calling does not


need to have any expert knowledge. All that is wanted of him is to be strong and do the


Longshoremen and laborers could do


his work in those times, and a longshoreman can only earn about a dollar and a half a day on shore. He has to put in a long day’s work, too, and has also to provide his own food. When it is considered that the laborer on shore has to care for himself, it is seen that the modern sailor is much better off than the landsman. There is no music for the landsman


when he has fi nished his day’s work, no library from which he can get a book to read if he is so disposed. Many vessels to buy have libraries for the sailors. The sailor is separated from his family


for long periods, but when he gets back to port he has long shore leave until his vessel is ready to sail again, and then when he signs for the next voyage after he is paid a month’s wages in advance. The laws regulating the engaging of


crews are very strict, and are much in favor of the sailor. If on reaching the port for which the vessel is bound the master wishes to discharge a sailor, he must pay him a month’s wages; but if the sailor wishes for any reason to leave the ship he can pack his bag and walk ashore, and there is nothing to stop him. The owner suff ers in this case because


he may have some diffi culty in getting another man to take the place of the one who leaves, and the vessel is forced to remain in port, until another hand or a full crew can be obtained.


22 October 1903 Warns Ships


The Latest Marine Invention – The Submarine Bell


A Boston Invention


Device Enables Navigators to Determine from Which Side a Sound Comes Practical tests made by a submarine


signal company of Boston seem to show that a successful system has been invented. Sounds under water have been heard for eight or nine miles with the aid of this apparatus. The idea of making use of the water


as a means of transmitting sound signals fi rst occurred to A. J. Mundy during the summer of the Spanish War. He enlisted the assistance of Prof. Elisha Gray. They were pioneers in this research, having no records of previous investigators to which they could refer. Careful search in the best reference libraries failed to produce any evidence of investigation into the question of transmitting sound in the water. Leading professors of acoustics were consulted without result. Prof. Gray died about two years ago,


and the work of carrying on the invention devolved upon Mr. Mundy. As a result of constant application Mr. Mundy’s health gave out in January last, and he was obliged to take complete rest, leaving the apparatus as it stood, to be completed by the general manager of the newly organized Submarine Signal company, J. B. Millet. The principles of the invention had


been established largely by experiments, but the method had not been made practical. Mr. Millet undertook to make it so and has apparently succeeded. The invention has been installed on


steamers of the Metropolitan Steamship company, and for four or fi ve weeks these vessels have been using the apparatus constantly for the purpose of testing its accuracy under all conditions. The captains of the steamers have


reported to the offi cers of their company that they have been able, invariable, to locate, at three miles distance, the Boston lightship, upon which a submerged bell was being


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