January 2017 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 23. Continued from Page 22.
HISTORY FROM THE PAST - Bangor Daily Commercial - Early 1900s “I heard afterwards that the offi cers
Before the war closed Capt. Brown met
with another experience with Confederates, though the voyage ended happily. In New York three strangers had shipped with im as seamen on the run to Nassau. Off that port the vessel was overtaken by a gale and at one time Capt. Brown expected that his vessel would be lost. He told his crew that he feared disaster. At this crisis one of the sailors came
9702
to him and off ered to take the vessel into Nassau if he wold give him temporary command. “You have on board one of the best pilots of the south,” said the stranger. “I feared capture by the rebels and
surmised that these men might have designs on my brig, but under the circumstances I yielded to them, and they took my vessel safely into port.” “At Nassau rebel sympathizers came
aboard and attempted to haul down the American fl ag, but my three sailors promptly intervened, threatening to shoot any man who molested me or my vessel. I don’t know to this day who the men were, but that they were men high in the Confederacy I have no reason to doubt. When they bade me good-bye they informed me that I should be allowed to fl y the American fl ag during my stay at Nassau, and that my brig would be immune from capture during the war.” Capt. Brown belongs to a family of
well-known skippers and has navigated ships to diff erent parts of the world. He retired from the sea about 20 years ago, and is now living on the interest of a comfortable fortune made when freights were high, and sailing vessels were in demand. * * * * *
The only man in the world who ever
took a vessel through the Dardanelles without the consent or knowledge of the Turkish government hails from Washington County; but as he is a very modest man with an eversion to newspaper publicity we withhold his name. This remarkable adventure occurred
in December, 1877; and that this intrepid downeast skipper is now living to tell the tale is one of the “runs of luck” which come to a few men. It was a thrilling adventure and a hairbreadth escape for those engaged in it. A Maine brig running th gauntlet and putting to defiance the Turkish law governing
commerce on the Dardanelles, might have been a beautiful sight to Americans had any been there to witness it. “We often do things through an error
or ignorance which we would not dare to do under other circumstances,” said this well known sea captain when telling the story to a circle of friends. “I was supposed to know the law and did; but wind and weather prevented me from observing the regulations when I ran my brig through the Dardanelles.” “I was carrying a cargo of arms to Constantinople, Turkey, being about to go to war with her neighbor, Russia. The law of the Dardanelles required that I should stop at Ohanak at the entrance of the straits and he admitted to Pratik. No merchant vessel is allowed to go through the strait in the night, nor can any pass without permit, from the Turkish authorities. When a vessel arrives at Chanak she is reported to the offi cers of the forts on the Dardanelles, who, in turn, notify the offi cials at Constantinople. “I arrived off Chanak about dark and a
gale of wind prevented me from stopping for Pratik. I did a very foolhardy thing, but being forced into the strait by a stiff gale and thick weather, I determined to attempt a passage without discovery by those in the forts. Had my vessel been seen it would have been impossible for me to heave to, and the Turkish guns would have sunk us in the channel. The night was pitch dark and it was snowing; and the Turks having no knowledge of our coming, did not see us. We went through safely and arrived at Constantinople next day.” “Our unexpected arrival gave the
offi cials of Constantinople quite a surprise. Nobody came near us until the next day when the customs offi cer came off , and received my papers with a pair of tongs. You see I had no Pratik of bill of health and he treated my brig as though she might be diseased. I had defi ed the Turkish law and soon found that I was in trouble. If I had not had a cargo of arms for the government they would have sent me back to Chanak. But as my cargo was no ordinary one I was allowed to remain. “I was taken up to the palace to consult
with the Sultan by our minister, the late Gen. Longstreet. The sultan let me off with a fi ne of $50 (ten pounds) but promising to return the money when I should arrive at Liverpool. But the promise wasn’t kept.
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in the forts lost their jobs because they had allowed a Yankee ship to escape their notice. I was mighty sorry to have caused the poor fellows such trouble, but I am sure that my passage of the Dardanelles was due to circumstances over which I had no control.” George E. Googins.
24 May 1907 Bangor Schooner Struck by Squall The ABEL C. BUCKLEY Put into Portland Friday Badly Damaged – Will be Repaired There.
Portland, May 24. The two masted schooner ABLE C.
BUCKLEY of Bangor, bound from Franklin to New York with paving stone, arrived here Friday in a badly damaged condition.
In a thrilling experience in a squall off
Cape Ann Tuesday afternoon the greater number of her sails were carried away, her foremast was broken off and other damage was done. None of the crew was injured but all had remarkable escapes.
After drifting to sea for 24 hours at the
mercy of the wind and sea, a jury rig was arranged and the schooner was worked into this port. The damage, amounting to $700, will be repaired here. The BUCKLEY is owned by a
number of Bangor people, of whom Pierre McConville is the agent.
28 May 1907
Bucksport Schooner Escaped from the Ice
Continued on Page 24.
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