The Project Gutenberg eBook ofOcean Steamships

The Project Gutenberg eBook ofOcean SteamshipsThis ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.Title: Ocean SteamshipsAuthor: French Ensor ChadwickJohn H. GouldRidgely HuntJ. D. Jerrold KelleyWilliam H. RideingA. E. SeatonRelease date: February 8, 2017 [eBook #54136]Most recently updated: October 23, 2024Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Chris Curnow, Brian Wilcox and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive)*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OCEAN STEAMSHIPS ***

This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Ocean SteamshipsAuthor: French Ensor ChadwickJohn H. GouldRidgely HuntJ. D. Jerrold KelleyWilliam H. RideingA. E. SeatonRelease date: February 8, 2017 [eBook #54136]Most recently updated: October 23, 2024Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Chris Curnow, Brian Wilcox and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive)

Title: Ocean Steamships

Author: French Ensor ChadwickJohn H. GouldRidgely HuntJ. D. Jerrold KelleyWilliam H. RideingA. E. Seaton

Author: French Ensor Chadwick

John H. Gould

Ridgely Hunt

J. D. Jerrold Kelley

William H. Rideing

A. E. Seaton

Release date: February 8, 2017 [eBook #54136]Most recently updated: October 23, 2024

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Chris Curnow, Brian Wilcox and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OCEAN STEAMSHIPS ***

OCEAN STEAMSHIPS

A DRAMA OF THE SEA.Larger image(208 kB)

A DRAMA OF THE SEA.

Larger image(208 kB)

TROW DIRECTORYPRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANYNEW YORK

PAGETHE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STEAMSHIP1BY COMMANDER F. E. CHADWICK, U. S. NAVY.Slow Growth of the Idea of Steam Propulsion—Models Shown at the Liverpool Exhibition in 1886—Claims of Precedence in the Invention of Steamboats—What Fulton Accomplished—The Clermont—The Voyage of the Savannah in 1819—The First War Steamer—The Atlantic Crossed by the Sirius and Great Western in 1838—Founding of the Cunard Company—Invention of the Screw Propeller—Its Application to the Archimedes and the Great Britain—Early Fleet of the Cunard Company—American Enterprises—The Screw Steamer Princeton—Establishment of the Pacific Mail—The Collins Line—Its Success and Ultimate Failure—The Great Eastern—Beginning of Great Rivalry in Speed—Triple Expansion Engines—Important Changes in Design.SPEED IN OCEAN STEAMERS57BY A. E. SEATON.The Viking’s Craft and the Modern “Greyhound”—Problems of Inertia and Resistance—Primary Condition for High Speed—What is Meant by “Coefficient of Fineness” and “Indicated Horse-Power”—Advance in Economical Engines—What the Compound Engine Effected—A Comparison of Fast Steamers from 1836 to 1890—Prejudice Against Propellers and High Pressures—Advantages of more than One Screw Propeller—Attempts at Propulsion by TurbineWheels, Ejections, and Pumps—The Introduction of Siemens-Martin Steel in 1875 the Chief Factor in the Success of Modern Fast Steamers—Decrease in Coal Consumption—Importance of Forced Draughts—The Problem of Mechanical Stoking—Possibilities of Liquid Fuel—Is the Present Speed Likely to be Increased?THE BUILDING OF AN “OCEAN GREYHOUND”91BY WILLIAM H. RIDEING.The Cost of an Ocean Racer—Intricate “Financing” of Such an Undertaking—The Contract with the Ship-builders—The Uncertain Element in Designing—Great Ship Yards along the Clyde—The Plans of a Steamer on Paper—Enlargement of Plans in the “Mould Loft”—What is Meant by “Fairing the Ship”—The “Scrive Board”—Laying down the Keel—Making the Huge Ribs—When a Ship is “in Frame”—Shaping and Trimming the Plates—Riveting and Caulking—Ready for Launching—The Great “Plant” which is Necessary for the Building of a Ship—Description of a Typical Yard—Works Covering Seventy-four Acres—Where the Shaft is Forged—The Lathes at Work—The Adjustment of Parts—Seven Thousand Workmen.OCEAN PASSENGER TRAVEL112BY JOHN H. GOULD.The First Ocean Race—Passenger Traffic in the Old Clipper Days—State-rooms and Table Fare in Early Days—The First Ocean Mail Contract—Discomforts Fifty Years Ago—American Transatlantic Lines—Government Subsidies—Novelties on the Collins Line—When Steerage Passengers were Allowed on Ocean Steamships—Important Changes in the Comfort of Passengers Wrought by the Oceanic in 1870—The Present Era of Twin-screw Ships—Their Advantages—The Fastest Voyages East and West—Records of the Great Racers—Modern Conveniences and Luxuries—The Increase in the Number of Cabin Passengers from 1881 to 1890—How theLarder is Supplied—Electric Lights, Libraries, and Music-rooms—Customs Peculiar to the French, German, and British Lines—Life in the Steerage—Immigration Statistics—Government Regulations.THE SHIP’S COMPANY149BY LIEUTENANT J. D. JERROLD KELLEY, U. S. NAVY.Has Steam Ruined the Genuine Sailors of Story and Song?—Hauling a Liner out of the Liverpool Docks—The Traits of Master-mariners—Education of Junior Officers—A Fire Drill—Stowing the Cargo—Down the Channel in a Fog—The Routine Life at Sea—The Trials of Keeping Watch—A Bo’s’n’s Right to Bluster—Steering by Steam—Scrubbing the Decks in the Middle Watches—Formalities of Inspection—The Magic Domain of the Engine-room—Picturesqueness of the Stoke-hole—Messes of the Crew—The Noon Observation—Life among the Cabin Passengers—Boat Drill—Pleasures toward the End of the Voyage—The Concert—Scenes in the Smoking-room—Wagers on the Pilot-boat Number—Fire Island Light, and the End of the Voyage.SAFETY ON THE ATLANTIC185BY WILLIAM H. RIDEING.The Dangers of the Sea—Precautions in a Fog—Anxieties of the Captain—Creeping up the Channel—“Ashore at South Stack”—Narrow Escape of the Baltic—Some Notable Shipwrecks—Statistics since 1838—The Region of Icebergs—When They Are most Frequent—Calamities from Ice—Safety Promoted by Speed—Modern Protection from Incoming Seas—Bulkheads and Double Bottoms—Water tight Compartments—The Special Advantage of the Longitudinal Bulkhead—The Value of Twin Screws—Dangers from a Broken Shaft—Improvements in the Mariner’s Compass, the Patent Log, and Sounding Machine—Manganese Bronze for Propellers—Lights, Buoys, and Fog Signals—The Remarkable Record of 1890.THE OCEAN STEAMSHIP AS A FREIGHT CARRIER217BY JOHN H. GOULD.Revenue of the Ship’s Cargo—Amount of Freight Carried by Express Steamships—Gross Tonnage of Important Lines Running from New York—The Merchant Marine of the United States—The “Atlantic Limited”—The Sea Post-office—In the Specie Room—Enormous Refrigerators—The New Class of “Freighters”—Large Cargoes and Small Coal Consumption—The Ocean “Tramp”—Advantages of the “Whaleback”—Vessels for Carrying Grain—Floating Elevators—The Fruit Steamship—Tank Steamships for Carrying Oil—Peculiarities of their Construction—The Molasses Ship—Scenes on the Piers when Steamships are Loading—Steam Hoisting Apparatus—How the Freight is Stowed—Coaling—The Loading of Cattle Ships—“Cowboys of the Sea”—Ocean Traffic the Index of a Nation’s Prosperity.STEAMSHIP LINES OF THE WORLD253BY LIEUTENANT RIDGELY HUNT, U. S. NAVY.Important Part Taken by the United States in Establishing Ocean Routes—Rivalry in Sailing Vessels with England—Effect of the Discovery of Gold in California—The Cape Horn Route—Australian Packet Lines—The Problem of a Short Route to India—Four Main Routes of Steamship Traffic—Characteristics of the Regular Service between Europe and the East—Port Said and the Suez Canal—Scenes at Aden and at Bombay—The Run to Colombo, Ceylon—Some of the By-ways of Travel from Singapore—The Pacific Mail—From Yokohama to San Francisco—Two Routes from Panama to New York—South American Ports—Magnificent Scenery of the Magellan Straits—Beauties of the Port of Rio—The Great Ocean Route from London to Australia.

Slow Growth of the Idea of Steam Propulsion—Models Shown at the Liverpool Exhibition in 1886—Claims of Precedence in the Invention of Steamboats—What Fulton Accomplished—The Clermont—The Voyage of the Savannah in 1819—The First War Steamer—The Atlantic Crossed by the Sirius and Great Western in 1838—Founding of the Cunard Company—Invention of the Screw Propeller—Its Application to the Archimedes and the Great Britain—Early Fleet of the Cunard Company—American Enterprises—The Screw Steamer Princeton—Establishment of the Pacific Mail—The Collins Line—Its Success and Ultimate Failure—The Great Eastern—Beginning of Great Rivalry in Speed—Triple Expansion Engines—Important Changes in Design.

The Viking’s Craft and the Modern “Greyhound”—Problems of Inertia and Resistance—Primary Condition for High Speed—What is Meant by “Coefficient of Fineness” and “Indicated Horse-Power”—Advance in Economical Engines—What the Compound Engine Effected—A Comparison of Fast Steamers from 1836 to 1890—Prejudice Against Propellers and High Pressures—Advantages of more than One Screw Propeller—Attempts at Propulsion by TurbineWheels, Ejections, and Pumps—The Introduction of Siemens-Martin Steel in 1875 the Chief Factor in the Success of Modern Fast Steamers—Decrease in Coal Consumption—Importance of Forced Draughts—The Problem of Mechanical Stoking—Possibilities of Liquid Fuel—Is the Present Speed Likely to be Increased?

The Cost of an Ocean Racer—Intricate “Financing” of Such an Undertaking—The Contract with the Ship-builders—The Uncertain Element in Designing—Great Ship Yards along the Clyde—The Plans of a Steamer on Paper—Enlargement of Plans in the “Mould Loft”—What is Meant by “Fairing the Ship”—The “Scrive Board”—Laying down the Keel—Making the Huge Ribs—When a Ship is “in Frame”—Shaping and Trimming the Plates—Riveting and Caulking—Ready for Launching—The Great “Plant” which is Necessary for the Building of a Ship—Description of a Typical Yard—Works Covering Seventy-four Acres—Where the Shaft is Forged—The Lathes at Work—The Adjustment of Parts—Seven Thousand Workmen.

The First Ocean Race—Passenger Traffic in the Old Clipper Days—State-rooms and Table Fare in Early Days—The First Ocean Mail Contract—Discomforts Fifty Years Ago—American Transatlantic Lines—Government Subsidies—Novelties on the Collins Line—When Steerage Passengers were Allowed on Ocean Steamships—Important Changes in the Comfort of Passengers Wrought by the Oceanic in 1870—The Present Era of Twin-screw Ships—Their Advantages—The Fastest Voyages East and West—Records of the Great Racers—Modern Conveniences and Luxuries—The Increase in the Number of Cabin Passengers from 1881 to 1890—How theLarder is Supplied—Electric Lights, Libraries, and Music-rooms—Customs Peculiar to the French, German, and British Lines—Life in the Steerage—Immigration Statistics—Government Regulations.

Has Steam Ruined the Genuine Sailors of Story and Song?—Hauling a Liner out of the Liverpool Docks—The Traits of Master-mariners—Education of Junior Officers—A Fire Drill—Stowing the Cargo—Down the Channel in a Fog—The Routine Life at Sea—The Trials of Keeping Watch—A Bo’s’n’s Right to Bluster—Steering by Steam—Scrubbing the Decks in the Middle Watches—Formalities of Inspection—The Magic Domain of the Engine-room—Picturesqueness of the Stoke-hole—Messes of the Crew—The Noon Observation—Life among the Cabin Passengers—Boat Drill—Pleasures toward the End of the Voyage—The Concert—Scenes in the Smoking-room—Wagers on the Pilot-boat Number—Fire Island Light, and the End of the Voyage.

The Dangers of the Sea—Precautions in a Fog—Anxieties of the Captain—Creeping up the Channel—“Ashore at South Stack”—Narrow Escape of the Baltic—Some Notable Shipwrecks—Statistics since 1838—The Region of Icebergs—When They Are most Frequent—Calamities from Ice—Safety Promoted by Speed—Modern Protection from Incoming Seas—Bulkheads and Double Bottoms—Water tight Compartments—The Special Advantage of the Longitudinal Bulkhead—The Value of Twin Screws—Dangers from a Broken Shaft—Improvements in the Mariner’s Compass, the Patent Log, and Sounding Machine—Manganese Bronze for Propellers—Lights, Buoys, and Fog Signals—The Remarkable Record of 1890.

Revenue of the Ship’s Cargo—Amount of Freight Carried by Express Steamships—Gross Tonnage of Important Lines Running from New York—The Merchant Marine of the United States—The “Atlantic Limited”—The Sea Post-office—In the Specie Room—Enormous Refrigerators—The New Class of “Freighters”—Large Cargoes and Small Coal Consumption—The Ocean “Tramp”—Advantages of the “Whaleback”—Vessels for Carrying Grain—Floating Elevators—The Fruit Steamship—Tank Steamships for Carrying Oil—Peculiarities of their Construction—The Molasses Ship—Scenes on the Piers when Steamships are Loading—Steam Hoisting Apparatus—How the Freight is Stowed—Coaling—The Loading of Cattle Ships—“Cowboys of the Sea”—Ocean Traffic the Index of a Nation’s Prosperity.

Important Part Taken by the United States in Establishing Ocean Routes—Rivalry in Sailing Vessels with England—Effect of the Discovery of Gold in California—The Cape Horn Route—Australian Packet Lines—The Problem of a Short Route to India—Four Main Routes of Steamship Traffic—Characteristics of the Regular Service between Europe and the East—Port Said and the Suez Canal—Scenes at Aden and at Bombay—The Run to Colombo, Ceylon—Some of the By-ways of Travel from Singapore—The Pacific Mail—From Yokohama to San Francisco—Two Routes from Panama to New York—South American Ports—Magnificent Scenery of the Magellan Straits—Beauties of the Port of Rio—The Great Ocean Route from London to Australia.

FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.PAGEA Drama of the Sea,FrontispieceSpecifications of Early Patents taken out in England,15The Etruria,37Triple-expansion Engine of the Aller, Trave, and Saale,41The Giovanni Bausan, of the Italian Navy,49The North German Lloyd Steamer Kaiser Wilhelm II.,65The White Star Steamer Majestic,75The Inman Line Steamer City of Paris,81General View of the Frames of the City of New York—June 25, 1887,99In the Grand Saloon of an Inman Steamer,115The End of the Voyage,139In the Steerage,145On the Bridge in a Gale,161“Muster, all Hands,”167Night Signalling,177Out of Reckoning.—A Narrow Escape,187Landing Stages at Liverpool,191At Close Quarters, Among the Icebergs,201The Deep-sea Sounding Machine at Work,207Loading Grain from a Floating Elevator,221Unloading and Loading a Coastwise Steamer by Electric Light,227The “Whaleback” Steamship for Grain and other Freight,235Unloading a Banana Steamship,241A Cattle Steamship at Sea,249Chart of the World, Showing the Principal Steamship Routes,257Deck Quoits on a P. and O. Liner,261Entrance to the Suez Canal at Port Said,267The Port of Valparaiso in a Norther,285ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT.The Great Western, from an Old Painting,10Cross-Section of the Great Western,11The Great Britain,13Plan of the Hibernia and Cambria,22Model of the Persia and Scotia,31Longitudinal Section of the Warship Duilio,33The Britannic,34Cross-section of the Oregon,40Cross-section of the Servia,40Longitudinal Section of the Champagne,42The Chilian Cruiser Esmeralda,47The Belted Cruiser Orlando, with Twin Screws,51The City of Rome,54H. B. M. S. Polyphemus at Full Speed—185⁄8Knots,59The Impérieuse going at Full Speed,64Passenger Steamer Princesse Henriette at Full Speed—241⁄2Miles per Hour,69Engines of the Comet,70Passenger Steamer Duchess of Hamilton at Full Speed—21 Miles per Hour,71Passenger Steamer Columba at Full Speed—21 Miles per Hour,72The Twin Screws of the City of New York,84The Propeller of the North German Lloyd Steamer Havel,85Recent Naval Engine,87Italian Cruiser Piemonte at Full Speed—22.3 Knots = 253⁄4Miles per Hour,89The Umbria just before Launching,94Frames of the City of New York, looking aft—July 19, 1887,102Frames of the City of New York, looking forward—July 19, 1887,103The Manganese Bronze Propeller-Blade of the Wrecked Steamer Mosel, after it had Beaten upon a Reef,106A Stern View, Showing Twin Screws,108The City of New York ready for Launching,109Model of a Steamer Designed to Cross the Atlantic in Five Days,110The Steamer’s Barber-shop,121More Comfortable on Deck,123A Quiet Flirtation,125Smoking-room of a French Liner,127The Gang Plank—Just before Sailing,132The Saloon of a Hamburg Steamer,134The Pilot Boarding,135Revenue Officer Boarding, New York Bay,142Down the Channel in a Fog—A Narrow Escape,157The Skipper,158The Deck Lookout—“Danger Ahead,”160The Boatswain’s Whistle,164The Cook,165Washing Down the Decks,169The Stoke Hole,172In the Fo’castle,174Watching for the Sun on a Cloudy Day,176The Deck Steward,180Captain’s Breakfast,181The Night Signal of a Disabled Steamer,183Eddystone Lighthouse, English Channel,194A Whistling Buoy,195Lighthouse, Atlantic City, N. J.,197A Bell Buoy,199Lighthouse, Sanibel Island, Fla.,205Off Fire Island, New York,210Gedney’s Channel, outside New York Harbor, at Night,211The Lightship, off Sandy Hook,213Broken Bow of La Champagne, after her Collision outside New York Harbor, December, 1890,214A Sunken Schooner,215The Specie-room of a Passenger Steamship,232Cross-section of a Tank Steamship, showing the Expansion Tank,244Loading a Tank Steamship with Oil, by Force Pumps,245The Port of Aden, Arabia,270A Deck-bath in the Tropics,271Promenade Deck of an Orient Liner,274Landing Passengers at Natal, South Africa,279Steamer at Anchor, Simon’s Bay, Cape of Good Hope,291

A Drama of the Sea,

Specifications of Early Patents taken out in England,

The Etruria,

Triple-expansion Engine of the Aller, Trave, and Saale,

The Giovanni Bausan, of the Italian Navy,

The North German Lloyd Steamer Kaiser Wilhelm II.,

The White Star Steamer Majestic,

The Inman Line Steamer City of Paris,

General View of the Frames of the City of New York—June 25, 1887,

In the Grand Saloon of an Inman Steamer,

The End of the Voyage,

In the Steerage,

On the Bridge in a Gale,

“Muster, all Hands,”

Night Signalling,

Out of Reckoning.—A Narrow Escape,

Landing Stages at Liverpool,

At Close Quarters, Among the Icebergs,

The Deep-sea Sounding Machine at Work,

Loading Grain from a Floating Elevator,

Unloading and Loading a Coastwise Steamer by Electric Light,

The “Whaleback” Steamship for Grain and other Freight,

Unloading a Banana Steamship,

A Cattle Steamship at Sea,

Chart of the World, Showing the Principal Steamship Routes,

Deck Quoits on a P. and O. Liner,

Entrance to the Suez Canal at Port Said,

The Port of Valparaiso in a Norther,

The Great Western, from an Old Painting,

Cross-Section of the Great Western,

The Great Britain,

Plan of the Hibernia and Cambria,

Model of the Persia and Scotia,

Longitudinal Section of the Warship Duilio,

The Britannic,

Cross-section of the Oregon,

Cross-section of the Servia,

Longitudinal Section of the Champagne,

The Chilian Cruiser Esmeralda,

The Belted Cruiser Orlando, with Twin Screws,

The City of Rome,

H. B. M. S. Polyphemus at Full Speed—185⁄8Knots,

The Impérieuse going at Full Speed,

Passenger Steamer Princesse Henriette at Full Speed—241⁄2Miles per Hour,

Engines of the Comet,

Passenger Steamer Duchess of Hamilton at Full Speed—21 Miles per Hour,

Passenger Steamer Columba at Full Speed—21 Miles per Hour,

The Twin Screws of the City of New York,

The Propeller of the North German Lloyd Steamer Havel,

Recent Naval Engine,

Italian Cruiser Piemonte at Full Speed—22.3 Knots = 253⁄4Miles per Hour,

The Umbria just before Launching,

Frames of the City of New York, looking aft—July 19, 1887,

Frames of the City of New York, looking forward—July 19, 1887,

The Manganese Bronze Propeller-Blade of the Wrecked Steamer Mosel, after it had Beaten upon a Reef,

A Stern View, Showing Twin Screws,

The City of New York ready for Launching,

Model of a Steamer Designed to Cross the Atlantic in Five Days,

The Steamer’s Barber-shop,

More Comfortable on Deck,

A Quiet Flirtation,

Smoking-room of a French Liner,

The Gang Plank—Just before Sailing,

The Saloon of a Hamburg Steamer,

The Pilot Boarding,

Revenue Officer Boarding, New York Bay,

Down the Channel in a Fog—A Narrow Escape,

The Skipper,

The Deck Lookout—“Danger Ahead,”

The Boatswain’s Whistle,

The Cook,

Washing Down the Decks,

The Stoke Hole,

In the Fo’castle,

Watching for the Sun on a Cloudy Day,

The Deck Steward,

Captain’s Breakfast,

The Night Signal of a Disabled Steamer,

Eddystone Lighthouse, English Channel,

A Whistling Buoy,

Lighthouse, Atlantic City, N. J.,

A Bell Buoy,

Lighthouse, Sanibel Island, Fla.,

Off Fire Island, New York,

Gedney’s Channel, outside New York Harbor, at Night,

The Lightship, off Sandy Hook,

Broken Bow of La Champagne, after her Collision outside New York Harbor, December, 1890,

A Sunken Schooner,

The Specie-room of a Passenger Steamship,

Cross-section of a Tank Steamship, showing the Expansion Tank,

Loading a Tank Steamship with Oil, by Force Pumps,

The Port of Aden, Arabia,

A Deck-bath in the Tropics,

Promenade Deck of an Orient Liner,

Landing Passengers at Natal, South Africa,

Steamer at Anchor, Simon’s Bay, Cape of Good Hope,

IT is a wonderful fact in the swift expansion of mechanical knowledge and appliances of the last hundred years that while for unknown ages the wind was the only propelling force used for purposes of navigation, apart from the rude application of power through oars worked by men, the whole scheme of steam transport has grown, practically, to its present wonderful perfection within the lifetime of men yet living.

Of course, the idea, as is that of all great inventions, was one of slow growth. It cropped up at various stages through the eighteenth century, and there are faint evidences of gropings in this direction in the latter part of the seventeenth; but these latter were not much more definite than the embodiment of the idea of the telegraph in Puck’s girdle round the earth, and the evidence that men really thought of propelling boats by steam is very meagre until we come to the pamphlet written by Jonathan Hulls, in 1737, in which he gave utterance to a very clear and distinct idea in the matter. It struggledthrough a very backward infancy of fifty years and more, certain memorable names appearing now and then to help it along, as that of Watt (without whose improvements in the steam-engine it must still have remained in swaddling-clothes), Fitch, De Jouffroy, Rumsey, Symington, and finally Fulton, who, however much he may have learned from his predecessors, has unquestionably the credit of putting afloat the first commercially successful steamboat. He is thus worthy of all the honor accorded him; much of it came too late, as he died at the comparatively early age of fifty, after passing through the harassments which seem naturally to lie in the path of the innovator.

A graphic history of the wonderful changes wrought in this great factor of the world’s progress was set forth during the summer of 1886, at the International Exhibition at Liverpool, where, by model and drawing, the various steps were made more completely visible and tangible than, perhaps, ever before. True, the relics of the earlier phases of the steamship age, when its believers were but few and generally of small account, were sparse, but the exhibits of later models, from the date of the inception of transatlantic traffic, preparations for which were begun in earnest by laying down the steamship Great Western in 1836, were frequent enough, and the whole of the steps in the development of the means of ocean traffic from then till now were sufficiently well shown.

The exhibition, of course, did not confine itself to the steam era alone. It even had a model of an Egyptian vessel, which was exhibited by the Liverpool Library Society, as taken from Thebes, and estimated to date about 1,500 yearsB.C., and which Moses himself might thus have seen. It was a long stretch, however, to the next in date, as no others antedated 1700A.D.There were many of the handsome and dignified eighteenth-century men-of-war, built at a time when men began to preserve a record of their work in the miniature ships which are now esteemed an essential addition to almost every vessel of importance put afloat. Firms now exist whose onlybusiness it is to make the various minute fittings—the ports, chains, anchors, blocks, etc.—of the Liliputian craft, so that every detail of the original is given with an exact verisimilitude in very often most beautiful and elaborate work.

It would have been very interesting had the early struggles of the steamboat been thus illustratedin extenso, but there is nothing of its concrete history earlier than a small model of the original Comet, built by Henry Bell, at Glasgow, in 1812, and so named because of the extraordinary comet of that year, and the engines of her successor, built in 1820. These recall, however, the vessel which was the first steamer engaged in passenger traffic in Europe, and are thus worthy of honor.

In looking over the beautiful array of models then exhibited, which thus represented almost every stage of progress in British steamship building, from the Comet onward, one could not help regretting that an effort had not been made by our government to bring together models, of which there must have been some, at least, available, illustrative of our earlier practice, particularly as there is much in it peculiar to us, and which would have been most interesting to the great public which visited the exhibition. Models of the Clermont; of the Stevens experimental screw boat; a later Mississippi steamer; the Savannah—the first vessel using steam which ever crossed the Atlantic; the Washington, the pioneer of regular transatlantic steam traffic under our flag; the Adriatic; the Hudson River and great Sound steamers of to-day, would, apart from any war-ship models of interest which could have been sent, have made a most interesting and attractive collection. The only things, however, which were visible were the drawings of a New York ferry-boat (the type of which, by the way, we owe to Fulton), so placed as to be scarcely discoverable. These boats are so typical, so different from anything found in Europe, and so interesting to any student of steam ferriage as a thorough adaptation of means to an end, that a complete model of the boat and its ferry slip would have been a most satisfactory addition.

It must be remembered that the steamboat had in its earlier daysa much greater extension in America than elsewhere. Our great rivers were an especially attractive field for its use. The Mississippi had but lately come under our control, and the beginning of the great tide of Western emigration and exploration was almost coincident with the steamboat’s advent, so that through these favoring conditions it had a much more rapid growth among us than elsewhere.

The display, however, of British models was as complete as it could well be made. Private owners and builders, the Admiralty, and Lloyds’ Registry, united to make the collection a very complete and perfect one. Of continental European exhibits, that of the Italian Government, which sent a very splendid collection of models of its great war-ships, was the most important. Associated with it was the exhibit of the Fratelli Orlando of Leghorn, who have done much of both the public and private building of Italy. The only French exhibit was that of the Bureau Veritas, which followed the example of its English rival, Lloyds, in making a very striking and instructive show.

The only exhibits of modern war-ships were those of England and Italy, unless we except the numerous vessels built for foreign powers by English builders. The remainder of the display was chiefly connected with the strife of commerce, and in this it is likely to remain as complete and comprehensive as can be made in some time to come. It was one also in which Britain might well take pride, as, however great the United States were as pioneers or as more than equals in the beginning of the race, we have long since been distanced by our kinsmen, and we must refer, for some years at least, to Great Britain to study the principal changes in hull and machinery of the last half-century, though the great strides of the last six years, accomplished through our war-ship construction, bid fair to once more put us in our old and honorable place.

The Liverpool exhibition was the forerunner of a number of others of like character, which have culminated in the “Naval Exhibition” of 1891 in London, which, however, is more concerned with war than was its predecessor, and does not enter so fully into the details of early practice.

It is useless to draw comparisons between the value of claims of precedence in the history of steam navigation. The fact that Fulton’s efforts finally started the world to building steamboats for actual service is indisputable. All preceding cases were simply sporadic, and had none of the contagious power possessed by the experiments on the Hudson. Fulton himself had already built six steamboats before one was built elsewhere than in America. His boats, from the beginning, were of practical value, and not small experiments, the Clermont herself being 136 feet long, 18 feet broad, 7 feet deep, of 160 tons; and the diameter of her wheels was 15 feet.

In 1809 the first steamboat, the Accommodation, was seen on the St. Lawrence, and in 1811 the first (built at Pittsburgh) appeared on the Mississippi. A year after this the Comet, already alluded to, was put upon the Clyde by Henry Bell. She was only 40 feet long on the keel, and 101⁄2broad, with two small paddle-wheels on each side, driven by a gearing which geared into a wheel on the axle of each set of paddle-wheels. Her original engines are still in existence, and are deposited in the Museum at South Kensington, where they were set up by the same engineer (Mr. John Robertson) who placed them in the Comet.

Fulton also has the honor of being the first to design and build a war steamer, which for her time was a most remarkable production, and by far the largest steam vessel built before 1838. She was a fitting monument to the genius of the man who unfortunately did not live to see her completion and successful trials.

The Demologos, or Fulton the First, was laid down June 20, 1814, and launched October 29th of the same year. “Her dimensions were: length, 150 feet; breadth, 56 feet; depth, 20 feet; water-wheel, 16 feet diameter, length of bucket 14 feet, dip 4 feet; engine, 48-inch cylinder, 5 feet stroke; boiler length 22 feet, breadth 12 feet, and depth 8 feet; tonnage, 2,475.”

The commissioners appointed to examine her say in their report:

“She is a structure resting upon two boats, keels separated from end to end by a canal 15 feet wide and 66 feet long. One boat containsthe caldrons of copper to prepare her steam. The vast cylinder of iron, with its piston, levers, and wheels, occupies a part of its fellow: the great water-wheel revolves in the space between them: the main or gun deck supporting her armament is protected by a bulwarkfour feetten inches thick of solid timber. This is pierced by 30 port-holes, to enable as many 32-pounders to fire red-hot balls.

… She is rigged with 2 short masts, each of which supports a large lateen yard and sails. She has 2 bowsprits and jibs, and 4 rudders, 2 at each extremity of the boat, so that she can be steered with either end foremost. Her machinery is calculated for the addition of an engine which will discharge an immense column of water, which is intended to throw upon the decks and through the ports of an enemy.” She was also intended to carry four 100-pounders.

She made her first trial on June 1, 1815, and on the Fourth of July she steamed outside of Sandy Hook and back, a distance of 53 miles, in 8 hours and 20 minutes. She was then supposably light, as it is stated that she was again tried September 11, 1815, with 26 of her guns on board, and ammunition and stores to bring her down to nearly 11 feet draught. She steamed from 41⁄2to 5 miles an hour, Fulton having only promised 3, and may certainly be considered to have been a success. She was never commissioned, but was used as a receiving ship at New York until June 4, 1829, when she accidentally blew up.

The general slowness with which men in the early part of the century received the idea of the mighty changes impending may be recognized when we look over the few publications connected with navigation then published. Mind seemed to move more slowly in those days; communication was tedious and difficult. Edinburgh was as far from London in length of time taken for the journey as is now New York from New Orleans; few papers were published; there were no scientific journals of value; no great associations of men given to meeting and discussing scientific questions excepting the few ponderous societies which dealt more in abstract questions than in the daily advances of the mechanical world. It was thus that thesteam vessel came slowly to the front, and that it took more than a third of the whole time which has elapsed since Fulton’s successful effort to convince men that it might be possible to carry on traffic by steam across the Atlantic. Dr. Lardner is almost chiefly remembered by his famous unwillingness to grant the possibility of steaming directly from Liverpool to New York; and by his remark, “As to the project, however, which was announced in the newspapers, of making the voyage directly from New York to Liverpool, it was, he had no hesitation in saying, perfectly chimerical, and that they might as well talk of making a voyage from New York or Liverpool to the moon.”1He strongly urged dividing the transit by using Ireland as one of the intermediate steps, and going thence to Newfoundland. He curiously limited the size of ships which might be used, and their coal-carrying powers. Though a philosopher, he did not seem to grasp that if the steamship had grown to what it was in 1835 from the small beginnings of 1807 it might grow even more, and its machinery be subject to development in later times as it had been in the earlier. Lardner seems to have typified the general state of mind when in 1836 the Great Western Steamship Company was formed, from which really dates transatlantic traffic.

A slight retrospect is necessary to enable us to understand the status of steam at the time. Little really had been done beyond the establishment of coast, river, and lake navigation in the United States and coastwise traffic in Great Britain; a few small vessels had been built for the British navy. In 1825 the Enterprise (122 feet length of keel and 27 feet beam) had gone to Calcutta from London in 113 days, 10 of which had been spent in stoppages; and steam mail communication with India was about being definitely established when the keel of the Great Western was laid.

Up to this time America had undergone much the greater development, both in number of steam vessels and tonnage.

In 1829 our enrolled tonnage was 54,037 tons, or rather more thantwice that of the United Kingdom. Charleston and Savannah had regular steam communication with our northern ports. A few years later, in 1838, returns show that the former had 14 steamers, the largest being of 466 tons; Philadelphia had 11, the largest being of 563 tons; New York had 77, of which 39 were of a large class, exceeding generally 300 tons—the largest was the President, of 615 tons, built in 1829. Liverpool had at this date 41 steamers; the largest was of 559 tons, 4 others exceeded 200 tons, and all the others were much smaller. London had 169, of which the largest was the British Queen, just built, of 1,053 tons; the next largest was of 497 tons. Glasgow and Belfast had been in regular steam communication since 1818; Glasgow and Liverpool, London and Leith, since 1822. The first ferry-boat on the Mersey, it may be noted, the Etna, 63 feet long, with a paddle-wheel in the centre, began her trips in 1816.

In 1819 the Atlantic was first crossed by a ship using steam. This was the Savannah, of 380 tons, launched at Corlear’s Hook, New York, August 22, 1818.2

She was built to ply between New York and Savannah as a sailing-packet. She was, however, purchased by Savannah merchants and fitted with steam machinery, the paddle-wheels being constructed to fold up and be laid upon the deck when not in use, her shaft also having a joint for that purpose. She left Savannah on the 26th of May, and reached Liverpool in 25 days, using steam 18 days. The log-book, still preserved, notes several times taking the wheels in on deck in thirty minutes.

In August she left Liverpool for Cronstadt. An effort was made to sell her to Russia, which failed. She sailed for Savannah, touching at Copenhagen and Arendal, and arrived in 53 days. Her machinery later was taken out, and she resumed her original character as a sailing-packet, and ended her days by being wrecked on the south coast of Long Island.

But steam-power had by 1830 grown large enough to strike out more boldly. The Savannah’s effort was an attempt in which steam was only an auxiliary, and one, too, of a not very powerful kind. Our coastwise steamers, as well as those employed in Great Britain, as also the voyage of the Enterprise to Calcutta in 1825 (though she took 113 days in doing it), had settled the possibility of the use of steam at sea, and the question had now become whether a ship could be built to cross the Atlantic depending entirely on her steam power. It had become wholly a question of fuel consumption. The Savannah, it may be said, used pitch-pine on her outward voyage, and wood was for a very long time the chief fuel for steaming purposes in America. How very important this question was will be understood when it is known that Mr. McGregor Laird, the founder of the Birkenhead firm, in 1834, laid before the Committee of the House of Commons on Steam Navigation to India the following estimate of coal consumption:

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