Donald McKay
Donald McKay
Donald McKay
to do justice to the name that is honored and respected in every part of the civilized world. My speech is rude and uncultivated, but my feelings, I trust, are warm and true, and could I express those feelings, I would tell you how much I honor the memory of Abbott Lawrence. I know you all honor it, for you all knew him, and to know him was to love him. Love begets love. He loved our common country as a statesman of enlarged and liberal views, and our state and city as the scene of his personal labors. In Massachusetts he commenced his career; here he toiled and triumphed, here he has bequeathed the richest tokens of his love, and here all of him that can die mingles with the soil. He was not only a great man, but a good man. In every relation of life, he was a model for imitation. Ever be his memory green in the hearts of his countrymen. When the ship which bears his name shall have been worn out by the storms and the vicissitudes of the sea, may another, and another, and so on, till the end of time, perpetuate it upon the ocean, for he was the patron and friend of commerce as well as of the other great interests of the state. In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, I again give you the memory of Abbott Lawrence. May his name and noble example never be forgotten.�
This speech seems to me to be most interesting, as showing the natural refinement of a mind destitute of the culture of even a common-school education, or perhaps it would be nearer the truth to say, a mind that had escaped the restraining influence of the pedagogue.
“Yet is remembrance sweet,Though well I knowThe days of childhoodAre but days of woe;Some rude restraint,Some petty tyrant soursWhat else should beOur sweetest blithest hours.�
“Yet is remembrance sweet,Though well I knowThe days of childhoodAre but days of woe;Some rude restraint,Some petty tyrant soursWhat else should beOur sweetest blithest hours.�
“Yet is remembrance sweet,Though well I knowThe days of childhoodAre but days of woe;Some rude restraint,Some petty tyrant soursWhat else should beOur sweetest blithest hours.�
These lugubrious lines found no echo in the early life of Donald McKay, for his boyhood was passed in earnest, healthy toil, and filled with a keen desire for knowledge, while his manhood had known the joy of well-earned success.
After theAbbott Lawrence, Mr. McKay built the medium clippersMinnehaha,Baltic,Adriatic,Mastiff, and barqueHenry Hill, all in 1856; theAlhambra, 1857; theHelen Morris, and secondSovereign of the Seas, 1868, and theGlory of the Seas, 1869. During the Civil War, he built for the United States Government, the iron gunboatAshuelot, the ironclad monitorNausett, the wooden gunboatsTrefoilandYucca, and the sloop of warAdams. In 1877 he retired to his farm at Hamilton, Massachusetts, and there he died, September 20, 1880, in the seventy-first year of his age.
Donald McKay was a man of untiring energy and industry. He was a rapid and skilful draughtsman and designed and superintended the construction of every vessel that he built. This may also be said of almost every ship-builder of that period, but Mr. McKay’s skill, the result of an intuitive perception ripened by experience, gave him a peculiar insightnot only into how to create, but into what to create, and it was this genius that made him pre-eminent as a builder of clipper ships. He was a born artist and his ships were the finest expression of mechanical art. They are entitled to a place in the realm of fine arts far more than much of the merchandise that claims that distinction.
Mr. McKay was of a generous nature, and liberally rewarded the men who assisted him, and he was ever ready to lend a helping hand to those less fortunate than himself. So soon as he began to prosper he sent for his parents and made a new home for them at East Boston, and their comfort and happiness were always his care and greatest pleasure. In his later years he endured misfortune and ingratitude with the same sturdy sweetness and equanimity that he had shown in the days when fortune smiled.
THE years between 1849 and 1856 were perhaps the most prosperous that ship-owners and ship-builders have ever known. The discovery of gold in Australia in 1851 had much the same effect as that in California in 1848, and people flocked to Melbourne from all parts of the world. There was this difference, however, that whereas passengers went to California, after the first rush, by steamers via Panama, and the mails and gold were always transported by this route, all the Australian passengers, mails, and gold were for a considerable period carried by sailing vessels. The extent of this traffic may be judged from the fact that the yield of the gold fields up to December 30, 1852, a little more than a year after their discovery, was estimated at £16,000,000 sterling, or $80,000,000. Prior to 1851 the emigration to the Australian colonies had been about 100,000 persons per annum, while the average between 1851 and 1854 was 340,000 annually. The transportation of these passengers alone required an enormous amount of tonnage, so that the discovery of gold in Australia gave an additional impulse to clipper ship building.
At this time the proper route to ports on thatpart of the globe had only just become known, although British ships had been sailing to and from Australia and New Zealand for many years, taking out emigrants and bringing back wool. They usually called at the Cape of Good Hope both outward and homeward bound, this being the route recommended by the Admiralty. One of the most important services rendered by Lieutenant Maury was his careful research in this matter, which resulted in an entire revolution of both outward and homeward tracks. Instead of sailing near the Cape of Good Hope outward bound, he discovered that a ship would find stronger and more favorable winds from 600 to 800 miles to the westward, then continuing her course southward to 48°, she would fall in with the prevailing westerly gales and long rolling seas in which to run her easting down. It was in this region that the Australian clippers made their largest day’s runs.
The homeward bound Admiralty track was entirely abandoned by Lieutenant Maury in favor of continuing in the brave west winds, as he called them, round Cape Horn, so that a voyage to Melbourne out and home encircled the globe. By the old routes, vessels were usually about 120 days each way, though sometimes considerably longer. By the tracks which Lieutenant Maury introduced, the outward and homeward voyages were made in about the same time that had formerly been consumed in a single passage, though of course the increased speed of the clipper ships contributed to this result.
The misery and suffering of passengers on board the old Australian emigrant ships before the daysof the clippers are difficult to realize at the present time, but there is an account compiled from the report of the Parliamentary Committee appointed in 1844 to investigate the matter, which reads as follows:
“It was scarcely possible to induce the passengers to sweep the decks after their meals, or to be decent in respect to the common wants of nature; in many cases, in bad weather they would not go on deck, their health suffered so much that their strength was gone, and they had not the power to help themselves. Hence the between-decks was like a loathsome dungeon. When hatchways were opened under which the people were stowed, the steam rose and the stench was like that from a pen of pigs. The few beds they had were in a dreadful state, for the straw, once wet with sea-water, soon rotted, beside which they used the between-decks for all sorts of filthy purposes. Whenever vessels put back from distress all these miseries and sufferings were exhibited in the most aggravated form. In one case it appeared that, the vessel having experienced rough weather, the people were unable to go on deck and cook their provisions; the strongest maintained the upper hand over the weakest, and it was even said that there were women who died of starvation. At that time the passengers were expected to cook for themselves, and from their being unable to do this the greatest suffering arose. It was naturally at the commencement of the voyage that this system produced its worst effects, for the first days were those in which the people suffered most from sea-sickness, and under the prostrationof body thereby induced, were wholly incapacitated from cooking. Thus though provisions might be abundant enough, the passengers would be half-starved.�
In an interesting book entitledReminiscences of Early Australian Life, a vivid description is given of maritime affairs in 1853. The writer, who had arrived at Melbourne in 1840, says that: “Since that time the town of Melbourne had developed from a few scattered and straggling wooden buildings, with muddy thoroughfares interspersed with stumps of gum trees, into a well-built and formed city, with wide, and well-made streets, symmetrically laid out, good hotels, club houses, and Government buildings. Port Phillip Bay, in which two or three vessels used to repose at anchor for months together, was now the anchorage ground of some of the finest and fastest clippers afloat.�
At this time (1853) upwards of two hundred full-rigged ships from all parts of the world were lying in the Bay. This writer continues: “After landing their living freight of thousands that were rushing out to the gold fields to seek for gold, and fearing that they might be too late to participate in their reputed wealth, ships now waited for return cargoes, or more probably for crews to take them home, as in many cases all the hands had deserted for the gold fields. On ascertaining that there were two good ships sailing for London, with cargoes of wool and gold-dust, about the same time, or as soon as they could ship crews—one theMadagascar, of Messrs. Green & Co.’s line, and the other theMedwayof Messrs. Tindall & Co.’s line—I proceeded tothe office and booked a passage by theMadagascar—the passage in those days for a first-class cabin being £80. After paying the usual deposit and leaving the office, I met a friend, who was also homeward bound, and on my informing him that I had booked by theMadagascar, he persuaded me to change my ship and go home with himself and others whom I knew in theMedway, and upon returning to the office of Green’s ship, and stating my reasons for wishing to change to Tindall’s ship, they were very obliging, and returned my deposit, stating that they could easily fill up my berth. It was well for me at the time that I changed ships, as theMadagascarsailed the same day from Port Phillip Head as we did, with four tons of gold-dust on board; and to this day nothing has ever been heard of her. She either foundered at sea, or, as was generally supposed, was seized by the crew and scuttled and the gold taken off in boats. All must have perished, both passengers and crew, as no tidings of that ill-fated ship ever reached the owners.
“On board theMedwaythere were four tons’ weight of gold-dust, packed in well-secured boxes of two hundred pounds each, five of these boxes being stowed under each of the berths of the saloon passengers. Each cabin was provided with cutlasses and pistols, to be kept in order and ready for use, and a brass carronade gun loaded with grape shot was fixed in the after part of the ship, in front of the saloon and pointed to the forecastle—not a man, with the exception of the ship’s officers and stewards, being allowed to come aft.
“The character of the crew shipped necessitatedthe precautions; for the day previous to the ship’s sailing men had to be searched for and found in the lowest haunts and were brought on board drugged and under the influence of liquor, and placed below the hatches. We, the passengers, heaved up the anchor and worked the ship generally until outside of Port Phillip Head, when the men confined below, who were to compose the crew, were brought on deck, looking dazed and confused, any resistance or remonstrance on their part being futile. But those amongst them that were able-bodied seamen were paid in gold, forty sovereigns down, on signing the ship’s articles for the homeward voyage.
“Amongst them were useless hands and some of a very indifferent character. Some, no doubt, were escaped convicts, or men who had secreted themselves to evade the police and law; others deserters from ships then laying in the Bay—about forty in all, and in general appearance a very unprepossessing lot. However, there being no help for it, we had but to keep guarded and prepared against the worst; the ship’s passengers together with the officers numbering about twenty hands. The captain was an old and well-known sailor of high reputation and long experience; and the ship was well found and provisioned, in anticipation of a long voyage—which it proved to be, extending over four months from the time we left Port Phillip Head until she reached the English coast.â€�
The first clipper ship constructed for the Australian trade was theMarco Polo, of 1622 tons; length 185 feet, breadth 38 feet, depth 30 feet. She wasbuilt in 1851 by Smith & Co., at St. John, N. B., for James Baines & Co., Liverpool, and was the pioneer clipper of the famous Australian Black Ball Line. TheMarco Polowas constructed with three decks, and was a very handsome, powerful-looking ship. Above her water-line, she resembled the New York packet ships, having painted ports, and a full-length figurehead of the renowned explorer whose name she bore. Below water she was cut away and had long, sharp, concave ends. Her accommodations for saloon and steerage passengers were a vast improvement upon anything before attempted in the Australian trade.
She sailed from Liverpool for Melbourne, July 4, 1851, commanded by Captain James Nicol Forbes, carrying the mails and crowded with passengers. She made the run out in the then record time of 68 days, and home in 74 days, which, including her detention at Melbourne, was less than a six months’ voyage round the globe. Running her easting down to the southward of the Cape of Good Hope, she made in four successive days 1344 miles, her best day’s run being 364 miles. Her second voyage to Melbourne was also made in six months out and home, so that she actually sailed twice around the globe within twelve months. To theMarco Poloand her skilful commander belongs the credit of setting the pace over this great ocean race-course round the globe.
Her success led to the building of a number of vessels at St. John for British owners engaged in the Australian trade. Among these the most famous were theHibernia, 1065 tons,Ben Nevis, 1420tons, andGuiding Star, 2012 tons. In Great Britain also a large number of ships were built for the Australian trade between the years 1851 and 1854. Many of these were constructed of iron, the finest being theTayleur, 2500 tons, which was built at Liverpool in 1853 and was at that time the largest merchant ship that had been built in England. She was a very handsome iron vessel, with three decks and large accommodation for cabin and steerage passengers. This vessel was wrecked off the coast of Ireland on her first voyage to Melbourne when only two days out from Liverpool, and became a total loss; of her 652 passengers, only 282 were saved. Among the many other vessels built in Great Britain during this period were theLord of the Isles, already mentioned in Chapter XII;Vimiera, 1037 tons, built at Sunderland; theContest, 1119 tons, built at Ardrossan on the Firth of Clyde; and theGauntlet(iron), 784 tons, andKate Carnie, 547 tons, both built at Greenock. All of these vessels were a decided improvement upon any ships hitherto built in Great Britain, and they made some fine passages, among them that of theLord of the Isles, from the Clyde to Sydney, N. S. W., in 70 days in 1853, but the 68-day record of theMarco Polofrom Liverpool to Melbourne remained unbroken.
TheMarco Polowas still a favorite vessel with passengers, which goes to show what a good ship she must have been, in view of the rivalry of newer and larger clippers. She sailed from Liverpool in November, 1853, commanded by Captain Charles McDonnell, who had been her chief officer underCaptain Forbes. The passengers on this voyage, on their arrival at Melbourne, subscribed for a splendid service of silver, to be presented to Captain McDonnell upon his return to England, which bore the following inscription: “Presented to Captain McDonnell, of the shipMarco Polo, as a testimonial of respect from his passengers, six hundred and sixty-six in number, for his uniform kindness and attention during his first voyage, when his ship ran from Liverpool to Port Phillip Head in seventy-two days, twelve hours, and from land to land in sixty-nine days.â€� TheMarco Polocame home in 78 days, but these were the last of her famous passages, as she drifted into the hands of captains who lacked either the ability or the energy, or perhaps both, to develop her best speed—the unfortunate fate of many a good ship.
There were at that time a number of lines and private firms engaged in the Australian trade, the best known being the White Star Line, later managed by Ismay, Imrie & Co., and James Baines & Co.’s Black Ball Line, both of Liverpool. There was keen rivalry between the two, and theBen NevisandGuiding Starhad both been built by the White Star in hopes of lowering the record of theMarco Polo. By degrees, however, it became apparent that she was an exceptional ship, not likely to be duplicated at St. John, and also that much of her speed was due to her able commanders, while the ships built in Great Britain, though fine vessels, had not come up to the mark in point of speed or passenger accommodations. It was under these circumstances that British merchants andship-owners began to buy and build ships for the Australian trade in the United States.
TheSovereign of the Seashad attracted much attention upon her arrival at Liverpool in 1853, and was almost immediately chartered to load for Australia in the Black Ball Line. It is to be regretted that for some reason Captain McKay gave up charge of the ship and returned to the United States, the command being given to Captain Warner, who had no previous experience in handling American clipper ships, although he proved an extremely competent commander. TheSovereign of the Seassailed from Liverpool September 7, 1853, and arrived at Melbourne after a passage of 77 days. In a letter from Melbourne Captain Warner gives the following account of this passage:
“I arrived here after a long and tedious passage of 77 days, having experienced only light and contrary winds the greater part of the passage—I have had but two chances. The ship ran in four consecutive days 1275 miles; and the next run was 3375 miles in twelve days. These were but moderate chances. I was 31 days to the Equator, and carried skysails 65 days; set them on leaving Liverpool, and never shortened them for 35 days. Crossed the equator in 26° 30′, and went to 53° 30′ south, but found no strong winds. Think if I had gone to 58° south, I would have had wind enough; but the crew were insufficiently clothed, and about one half disabled, together with the first mate. At any rate, we have beaten all and every one of the ships that sailed with us, and also the famous English clipperGauntletten days on, thepassage, although theSovereign of the Seaswas loaded down to twenty-three and one half feet.â€� On the homeward voyage she brought the mails and over four tons of gold-dust, and made the passage in 68 days. On this voyage there was a mutiny among the crew, who intended to seize the ship and capture the treasure. Captain Warner acted with great firmness and tact in suppressing the mutineers and placing them in irons without loss of life, for which he received much credit.
The White Star Line, not to be outdone by rivals, followed the example of the Black Ball and in 1854 chartered theChariot of Fame,Red Jacket, andBlue Jacket. These ships, of which the first was a medium clipper and the other two extreme clippers, were built in New England. TheChariot of Famewas a sister ship to theStar of Empire, 2050 tons, built by Donald McKay in 1853, for Enoch Train’s Boston and Liverpool packet line. TheChariot of Famemade a number of fast voyages between England and Australia, her best passage being 66 days from Liverpool to Melbourne. TheBlue Jacketwas a handsome ship of 1790 tons, built by R. E. Jackson at East Boston in 1854, and was owned by Charles R. Green, of New York. Her best passages were 67 days from Liverpool to Melbourne and home in 69 days.
TheRed Jacket, the most famous of this trio, was built by George Thomas at Rockland, Maine, in 1853-1854, and was owned by Seacomb & Taylor, of Boston. She registered 2006 tons; length 260 feet, breadth 44 feet, depth 26 feet; and was designed by Samuel A. Pook, of Boston, who haddesigned a number of other clipper ships, including theChallenger—not the English ship of that name,—theGame-Cock,Surprise,Northern Light,Ocean Chief,Fearless,Ocean Telegraph, andHerald of the Morning. He also designed several freighting vessels and yachts. It was the custom at that period for vessels to be designed in the yards where they were constructed, and Mr. Pook was the first naval architect in the United States who was not connected with a ship-building yard. On her first voyage theRed Jacketsailed from New York for Liverpool, February 19, 1854, commanded by Captain Asa Eldridge, and made the passage in 13 days 1 hour from Sandy Hook to the Rock Light, Liverpool, with the wind strong from southeast to west-southwest, and either rain, snow, or hail during the entire run. During the first seven days she averaged only 182 miles per twenty-four hours, but during the last six days she made 219, 413, 374, 343, 300, and 371 miles, an average of a fraction over 353 miles per twenty-four hours.
Captain Eldridge was well known in Liverpool, having, together with his brothers, John and Oliver, commanded some of the finest New York and Liverpool packet ships of their day; he had also commanded Commodore Vanderbilt’s steam yachtNorth Starduring her cruise in European waters in 1853. He was afterwards lost in command of the steamshipPacificof the Collins Line.
TheRed Jacketattracted a great deal of attention at Liverpool, being an extremely handsome ship—quite as good-looking as any of the clippers built at New York or Boston. For a figurehead she carried a full-length representation of the Indian chief for whom she was named. She made her first voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne in 1854 under command of Captain Samuel Reed in 69 days, and as she received very quick despatch, being in port only 12 days, and made the passage to Liverpool in 73 days, the voyage round the globe, including detention in port, was made in five months and four days. On the homeward passage, bringing home 45,000 ounces of gold, she beat the celebratedGuiding Starby 9 days, though she lost considerable time through being among the bergs and field ice off Cape Horn. Upon her arrival at Liverpool theRed Jacketwas sold to Pilklington & Wilson, of that port, then agents of the White Star Line, for £30,000, and continued in the Australian trade for several years, becoming one of the most famous of the American-built clippers.
The competition of the Black Ball and White Star lines proved of great benefit to both cabin and steerage passengers, as their comfort and convenience became subjects of consideration in a manner unthought of in the old days before the discovery of gold at Bendigo and Ballarat.
The “Red Jacket�
The “Red Jacket�
The “Red Jacket�
IN view of the keen rivalry at this period, James Baines & Co. determined to own the finest and fastest ships that could be constructed, and accordingly placed an order with Donald McKay to build four clipper ships for their Australian line. These vessels were theLightning, 2084 tons; theChampion of the Seas, 2448 tons;James Baines, 2515 tons; andDonald McKay, 2598 tons, all launched in 1854, with the exception of theDonald McKay, which was not completed until January, 1855. This firm also bought from Mr. McKay the sister shipsJapanandCommodore Perry, 1964 tons each, while they were on the stocks in course of construction.
These ships designed for the Australian trade were very similar to the later California clipper ships built by Mr. McKay, though with less dead-rise and sharper ends; they were fitted with large accommodation for cabin and steerage passengers; while theJapanandCommodore Perrywere somewhat fuller ships than the others, and were designed with a view to carry large cargoes rather than to attain high speed.
TheLightningmeasured: length 244 feet, breadth 44 feet, depth 23 feet, with 20 inches dead-rise athalf floor. She had long, concave water-lines, and at her load-displacement line a chord from her cut-water to just abaft the fore rigging showed a concavity of 16 inches. Her stem raked boldly forward, the lines of the bow gradually becoming convex and blending with sheer line and cutwater, while the only ornament was a beautiful full-length figure of a young woman holding a golden thunder-bolt in her outstretched hand, the flowing white drapery of her graceful form and her streaming hair completing the fair and noble outline of the bow. The after body was long and clean, though fuller than the bow, while the stern was semi-elliptical in form, with the plank-sheer moulding for its base, and was ornamented with gilded carved work, though this really added nothing to the beauty of the strong, sweeping outline of her hull.
Aloft theLightningwas heavily and strongly rigged. Her main yard was 95 feet in length, and the total height from the deck to the mainskysail truck was 164 feet; her lower studdingsail booms were 65 feet in length; her topsails and topgallantsails were diagonally roped from clews to earings, and her fore and main stays, lower rigging, and topmast stays and backstays were of 11½ inch Russian hemp, with the rest of the standing rigging in proportion. Indeed, her masts and spars were as strongly secured as skill and labor could make them. Evidently, Mr. McKay had grown weary of having his ships go to pieces aloft.
The quarter-deck was 90 feet long, flush with the top of the bulwarks, and protected by a mahogany rail on turned stanchions of the same wood. Shehad also two large deck-houses, which, together with the between-decks, gave ample passenger accommodation. The quarters for the steerage passengers were comfortably fitted and well ventilated, while the saloons, staterooms, bathrooms, and smoking-room for the cabin passengers were superbly decorated and furnished.
Captain Forbes, late of theMarco Polo, was appointed to command theLightning, and came to Boston by one of the Cunard steamers to superintend the outfit of his ship. He brought good letters of introduction, and was well received; indeed, he hardly needed any introduction, as the high reputation he had gained while in command of theMarco Polohad preceded him. He made many friends in Boston, especially among the clergy, as he was an enthusiastic churchman, and he found a congenial spirit in Captain Lauchlan McKay, who likewise took a great interest in ecclesiastical affairs. These two mariners became such close friends that Captain McKay consented to accompany Captain Forbes to Liverpool as his companion and adviser, and as we shall presently see, theLightningdeveloped her finest speed in the hands of these experienced and skilful seamen.
TheLightningloaded in Train’s Line at Constitution Wharf, and sailed for Liverpool, February 18, 1854. The BostonDaily Atlasof that date published the following account of her departure:
“At 2 o’clock theLightninghove her anchor up, and at 3 o’clock discharged her pilot off Boston Light. She went down in tow of the steamerRescue, Captain Hennessy, and was piloted by Mr.E. G. Martin. Before the steamer left her, she set her head sails, fore-and mizentopsails, and had a moderate breeze from west to southwest. She appeared to go at the rate of 6 knots under this canvas, though she draws 22 feet of water, and has only 23 feet depth of hold. We have seen many vessels pass through the water, but never saw one which disturbed it less. Not a ripple curled before her cutwater, nor did the water break at a single place along her sides. She left a wake as straight as an arrow and this was the only mark of her progress. There was a slight swell and as she rose we could see the arc of her forefoot rise gently over the seas as she increased her speed. At 5P.M., two hours after the pilot left her, the outer telegraph station reported her thirty miles east of Boston Light, with all drawing sails set, and going along like a steamboat. We think her talented designer and builder, Mr. McKay, cannot improve upon her model. Her commander, being a pious man, was attended down the harbor by a select party of brethren and sisters of the church, who at parting gave him their blessing. This is much better than the dram-drinking and vociferous cheering which usually make up the parting scenes of the unregenerated.�
The voyage so auspiciously begun proved one of the most remarkable ever made by a ship on the ocean; for before theLightningset her pilot signal off Point Lynas, she had left more miles of salt water astern in twenty-four hours than any vessel that has ever sailed the seas propelled by winds and canvas. From the abstract log, published in theLiverpoolAlbionsoon after her arrival, it appears that she went round the north of Ireland, making the run to Eagle Island in 10 days, and to the Calf of Man, within 80 miles of Liverpool, in 12 days, thence to Liverpool in 13 days 19½ hours from Boston Light. Her day’s runs were as follows:
[The position at noon on this day was latitude 52° 38′ N., longitude 22° 45′ W., and here began the greatest day’s run ever made by a ship under canvas.]
[The position at noon on this day was latitude 52° 38′ N., longitude 22° 45′ W., and here began the greatest day’s run ever made by a ship under canvas.]
This was a remarkable passage considering the percentage of easterly winds, though its memorable incident is, of course, the phenomenal run of 436 miles in twenty-four hours, an average of 18½ knots, which entitles theLightningto the proud distinction of being the swiftest ship that ever sailed the seas. There was no ocean steamship of her day that approached her record by less than 100 miles, and another five-and-twenty years passed away before the Atlantic greyhound, theArizona, made 18 knots for a single hour, on her trial trip. Even at the present time, according to Lloyd’s Register, there are not more than thirty ocean-going mail steamships afloat, that are able to steam over 18 knots. It must have been blowing hard enough when theLightning’sjib and foretopsail carried away, for these were not old, worn-out sails, put on board to attract the favorable consideration of underwriters, but were of new canvas, made unusually strong, and had not been out of the sail loft more than a couple of weeks.
Strange as it may seem, the “wood butchers of Liverpool,� as Donald McKay used to call them, were allowed to fill in the concave lines of theLightning’sbow with slabs of oak sheathing, and while she continued to be a fast ship, she doubtless would have proved still faster had her original design not been tampered with.[12]
The second of these ships, theChampion of the Seas, measured: length 269 feet, breadth 45 feet, depth 29 feet, dead-rise at half floor 18 inches;length of mainyard 95 feet. The concavity of her water-line forward was 2½ inches, from which it will be seen that she was a differently designed ship from theLightning. She was considered by many to be even a handsomer vessel. Her stern was ornamented with the arms of Australia, while at her bow she carried a full-length figurehead of a handsome sailorman rigged out in all his best go-ashore togs. She was commanded by Captain Alexander Newlands, who came from Liverpool to superintend her construction and equipment, the whole inside arrangements of the ship, including the complicated plan for light and ventilation and the details of the cabin, being made according to his designs. After fitting out at Grand Junction Wharf, East Boston, she was towed to New York by theR. B. Forbes, where she loaded for Liverpool, and made the passage to that port during the month of June, 1854, in 16 days.
TheJames Bainesmeasured: length 266 feet, breadth 46 feet 8 inches, depth 31 feet, with 18 inches dead-rise at half floor. Her mainyard was 100 feet in length, and a single suit of sails contained 13,000 running yards of canvas 18 inches wide. Originally she carried a main skysail only, but later she was fitted with three skysails, main moonsail, and skysail studdingsails, and so far as I know, she was the only clipper ship so rigged. There was only a very slight difference between the lines of theChampion of the Seasand those of theJames Baines, the latter ship having a somewhat more raking stem, which brought her lines out forward a little longer and sharper above thewater-line. Her bow was ornamented with a finely executed bust of her namesake, which was carved in England and was said to be an excellent likeness. Across her stern she carried a carved medallion of the globe, supported by the arms of Great Britain and the United States. She was commanded by Captain McDonnell, late of theMarco Polo, who sailed from Liverpool for Boston soon after his return from Melbourne.
TheJames Bainessailed from Boston, September 12, 1854, and made the run from Boston Light to the Rock Light, Liverpool, in the record time of 12 days 6 hours. An English correspondent of one of the Boston papers remarked: “You wish to know what professional men say about the shipJames Baines. Her unrivalled passage, of course, brought her prominently before the public, and she has already been visited by many of the most eminent mechanics in the country. She is so strongly built, so finely finished, and is of so beautiful a model, that even envy cannot prompt a fault against her. On all hands she has been praised as the most perfect sailing ship that ever entered the river Mersey.�
The last of this quartette, theDonald McKay, measured: length 269 feet, breadth 47 feet, depth 29 feet, with 18 inches dead-rise at half floor, and her mainyard was 100 feet long. While her water-lines were fuller than those of theJames Baines, she was still an extremely sharp vessel, and with the single exception of theGreat Republicwas the largest merchant ship afloat. She sailed from Boston, February 21, 1855, under the command ofCaptain Warner, late of theSovereign of the Seas, and made the run to Cape Clear in 12 days, and thence to Liverpool in 5 days. On February 27th, she ran 421 miles in twenty-four hours, and on that date her log records: “First part, strong gales from northwest; middle blowing a hurricane from west-northwest, ship scudding under topsails and foresail at the rate of 18 knots; latter part, still blowing from west-northwest with heavy hail squalls; very high sea running.�
TheLightningsailed from Liverpool on her first voyage to Melbourne, May 14, 1854. She encountered light winds and calms to the equator, which she crossed in 25 days from the Mersey; such was the nature of the winds that the topgallantsails were not taken in during the passage, and her best day’s runs were only 332, 348, 300, 311, and 329 miles on various dates. She arrived out in 77 days, but the passage home to Liverpool was made in the record time of 63 days. In ten consecutive days of twenty-four hours each, she sailed no less than 3722 miles, her best day’s run being 412 miles. On this voyage she brought home gold and dust to the value of £1,000,000 sterling.
TheJames Bainessailed from Liverpool for Melbourne December 9, 1854, and made the passage out in the record time of 63 days, her best twenty-four hours’ run being 420 miles. She made the passage home in 69 days, thus sailing around the globe in the record time of 132 days. On a subsequent voyage in 1856 her log records, “June 16th. At noon sighted a ship in the distance ahead; at 1P.M.alongside of her; at 2P.M., out of sight astern.TheJames Baineswas going 17 knots with main skysail set; theLibertas, for such was her name, was under double-reefed topsails.� “June 17th. Latitude 44° S., longitude 106° E., ship going 21 knots with main skysail set.� This appears to be the highest rate of speed ever made by a sailing vessel of which any reliable record has been preserved.
TheChampion of the Seasmade the passage out in 71 days and home in 84 days, and theDonald McKaymade the voyage in about the same time, but theLightningandJames Bainesproved the most famous of these ships. So well pleased was Mr. Baines that he wrote to Mr. McKay, saying, In these ships you have given us all and more than we expected.� These were the last extreme clipper ships built by Donald McKay.
During the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857 a large number of British and American merchant ships were chartered by the British Government to carry troops to India, and among others theJames Baines,Champion of the Seas, andLightning. TheJames Bainessailed from Portsmouth for Calcutta on August 8th, with the Ninety-seventh Regiment on board, and theIllustrated London News, in a notice of her departure, remarked: “Previous to her starting she was honored by a visit of Her Majesty, who highly eulogized the vessel and is said to have declared that she was not aware that so splendid a merchant ship belonged to her dominions.�
TheChampion of the Seassailed from Portsmouth on the same day, also bound for Calcutta with troops, and the race between these clippers was close and exciting. Nine days out they fell in
The “James Baines�
The “James Baines�
The “James Baines�
with the steamshipOneidahomeward bound, and theIllustrated London News, again mentioning theJames Baines, said: “When met by theOneida, on the 17th of August, on her way to Calcutta with troops, she presented a most magnificent appearance, having in addition to her ordinary canvas, studdingsails, skysails, and moonsail, set and drawing, in all thirty-four sails, a perfect cloud of canvas: the troops all well, and cheering lustily as the vessels passed each other. The sister ship, theChampion of the Seas, was not far astern, both vessels making great headway.�
These two ships arrived off the mouth of the Hooghly together, each 101 days from Portsmouth, and the finish of this race was talked about by the Calcutta pilots for a good many years: how these splendid clippers raced in from sea almost side by side, with a fresh three-skysail, scupper breeze, the regimental bands on board of both ships playing national airs, while the soldiers were cheering and wild with the joy and excitement of seeing land once more.
TheLightningsailed at a more favorable season, and made the passage from Portsmouth to the Hooghly in 87 days, beating the entire fleet of sailing transports, including those fitted with auxiliary screw propellers.
Of the large number of ships bought or chartered in the United States for the Australian trade by British ship-owners at this period, those mentioned, with theRed Rover,Comet,Tornado,Sierra Nevada, andInvincible, each with a record of less than 75 days from Liverpool or London to Melbourne, theBelle of the Sea, 64 days from London to Melbourne, andNorth Wind, 67 days from London to Sydney, N. S. W., were the most celebrated.
There were also many American ships that made the voyage from New York to Melbourne, and among the fast passages may be mentioned those of: theMandarin, in 71 days;Flying ScudandNightingale, 75 days;Whirlwind, 80 days;Flying DutchmanandPanama, 81 days;Snow Squall, 79 days, andRingleader, 78 days. Most if not all these ships loaded in R. W. Cameron’s line, and it is worth noting that, of all the great shipping firms that flourished in New York half a century ago, this is the only one which now survives.
It was only natural that ship-owners of Great Britain should feel keenly the invasion of their trade by the American clippers, and in 1855, James Baines & Co. placed an order with Alexander Hall & Co., of Aberdeen, then the leading clipper ship-builders in Great Britain, for a large clipper ship for the Australian trade, to “outdo the Americans.� This vessel was theSchomberg, 2600 tons; length 262 feet, breadth 45 feet, depth 29 feet. She was very sharp forward and had a long, clean run, with considerable dead-rise at her midship section. She was built of wood and heavily sparred, with single topsail yards and three skysails.
When this ship came around from Aberdeen to load at Liverpool for Melbourne, she was greatly admired and it was generally believed that she would prove faster than her American rivals, especially as Captain Forbes, late of theMarco PoloandLightning, had been appointed to command her. She sailed from Liverpool on October 6, 1855. Captain Forbes was a proud man that day, for the pierheads of the port were thronged with a patriotic, cheering crowd to see theSchombergoff, and as she towed down the Mersey, the signals reading, “Sixty days to Melbourne,� fluttered gayly from her mizen truck.
She had moderate winds to the equator, which she crossed 28 days from the Mersey, and then drifted into calms and light airs which continued for ten days and from which she did not possess the nimble speed to extricate herself. Her best day’s work, while running her easting down, was 368 miles. When 81 days out she was wrecked and became a total loss on an uncharted reef about 150 miles to the westward of Melbourne, the passengers, crew, and mails being saved. This was by no means a record passage, and it is to be regretted that her career was so short, as it would be interesting to know what she might have done under more favorable conditions. She certainly possessed the qualities of a fast ship, and was ably commanded.
There were also many fine ships of English build sailing out of London in the Australian trade; theNorfolkandLincolnshire, built and owned by Money, Wigram & Sons; theKent,Trafalgar, andRenown, built and owned by R. & H. Green; and many others. These ships were built of teak, oak, and elm; were copper-fastened and sheathed with red copper. They resembled smart frigates more than merchantmen, and were about the perfectionof that type—splendid ships to be at sea in, though not so fast as the sharper American clippers. None of these vessels was over 1500 tons, and it was thought by shipping men in London and Liverpool that much of the speed of the American ships was due to their greater tonnage. There may have been some truth in this, but it should be remembered that with these large wooden vessels an increase in size made the difficulties in building greater, as well as in getting their wooden masts to stand with hemp rigging, to say nothing of handling their enormous single topsails in heavy weather.
Meanwhile attempts were being made by various companies to introduce steam in place of the clipper ships that had carried the passengers, mails, and specie after the discovery of gold in Australia, but these efforts were beset with many difficulties and heavy financial losses.
TheAustralian, an iron screw steamer of 2000 tons, was the first steamship to carry the mails from England to Melbourne. She sailed from Plymouth, June 5, 1852, and called at St. Vincent, St. Helena, Table Bay, and St. George’s Sound for coal, which had been sent out by ship from England to meet her. She arrived at Melbourne in 89 days from Plymouth, and returned by the Cape of Good Hope in 76 days. She arrived at London, January 11, 1853, having been 7 months and 6 days upon the voyage, a creditable but not a very brilliant performance. TheAustralianwas soon followed by theGreat Britain,Adelaide,Queen of the South,Sydney,Cleopatra,Antelope, and other iron screw steamers; but these vessels nearly ruined