Marshall and others, and a dozen other ships added, from 300 to 500 tons burden. They were placed in the Liverpool trade and sailed once a month at first and during the first nine years the average time in voyages to Liverpool was 23 days and for returning home 40 days, but one of the later ships, the Canada, the fastest of them all, once made the outward voyage in 15 days and 18 hours and held for a long time the average record of 19 days outward and 36 days homeward trips. A London line followed the Black Ball line and then a Havre line was started. In 1821 a second Liverpool line was established from New York by Byrnes, Trimble and Company, known as the Red Star line, consisting of the Manhattan, Hercules, Panther and Meteor, sailing once a month, and soon after Fish, Grinnell and Company, afterward Grinnell, Minturn and Company, founded the Swallow Tail line with four packets, making from New York at this time, one sailing for Liverpool each week. In 1830 the passenger fare in the cabin from Liverpool was $180, including beds, bedding, wines and stores of every description. The London packets now sailed twice a month and the Havre line had three sailings a month. There were also at this time sailing packets to South America and Mexican ports. In 1830 there were 1,510 arrivals at New York from foreign ports, of which 382 were ships, 28 barks, 714 brigs, 376 schooners, 8 sloops, 1 ketch and 1 felucca. Of these, 1,366 were American, 92 British, 7 Spanish, 12 Swedish, 2 Hamburg, 5 French, 8 Bremen, 6 Haitian, 9 Danish, 2 Brazilian, 2 Dutch and 1 Portuguese. The number of arrivals in 1829 was 1,310, and passengers, 16,064. In 1823 John Griswold established a London line of four vessels, that had been increased by 1837 to 12 vessels. These vessels down to 1845 were oneor two-decked vessels, and had increased in size from 900 to 1,000 tons. The between deck space, aft, was divided into cabins for the passengers, the middle portion was fitted up with kitchens, pantries, etc. The steerage passengers and crew were placed forward. After 1830 there were frequent sailings of rival packets, transient, but all American, from Boston, New York, and Philadelphia to Great Britain and other parts of Europe. All the ships sailed with great speed and made the run across the Atlantic in excellent time. The Red Jacket once ran from New York to Liverpool in 13 days 111⁄2 hours. The Mary Whiteridge made the voyage from Baltimore in 13 days 7 hours; but the usual time was 19, 20 or 21 days to Liverpool and from 30 to 35 days homeward. English steamers were sent out in 1838 and 1840 to compete with these packet lines; but the steamers did not at first make much better average time on a voyage than the packets, but in the course of a few years the increase in speed and their additional carrying capacity gave them an advantage and the packets could no longer successfully compete with them.

Clipper Ships.-After the packets came the clipper ships, vessels intended primarily for freighting, and built to secure the highest possible speed when laden with cargo. The packets were the fast sailers from 1816 to 1845, but after the latter date there grew up various branches of trade in which a quick delivery was as important for commercial purposes as it was

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for the passenger trade. For instance, there was the tea trade from China to the United States, in which speed has always been considered essential. The cargoes consisted of teas. spices, coffee, dried fruits, etc., which were liable to deteriorate in a long voyage of four months to the home port, and to shorten the voyage as much as possible was desirable for many reasons. There were no telegraph lines and ocean cables in those days and the uncertainty of the markets made fast trips home from the East Indies very important. Merchants had repeatedly suffered heavy loss, sometimes business ruin by the decline in eastern goods brought home by ships during their absence on the voyage out and back, and good ships were, therefore, always required in that trade. The first clipper, the Scottish Maid, was built in 1839 in Great Britain. She was a schooner of 150 tons and proved very fast and continued in service for 50 years. The first American clippers were built at Boston and Medford. These were small schooners, the Angola of 90 tons and the Zephyr of 150 tons. They were used in the opium trade. pioneer of the large clippers was the Helena, of 650 tons, whose dimensions were 135 feet length on deck, 30 feet 6 inch beam and 20 feet depth of hold, built by William H. Webb. She came out in 1841 and was constructed for A. and N. Griswold for the China trade. was a good sea boat and a very fast sailer for her day, making many fast voyages between China and other East Indian countries and New York. Following the Helena came the Rainbow of 750 tons, built by Smith and Dimon in 1843 for Howland and Aspinwall. She was the first of the extremely sharp type and at the time was claimed by her captain to be the fastest ship in the world. Very few sailing ships since have equaled her records. This vessel made the voyage to Canton and return home in six months and 14 days, having spent three weeks of the time in loading and discharging cargo. The Helena and the Rainbow brought about a great change in this type of vessel. They commanded better prices for freights than sloop ships, and in every way proved desirable. Then in 1844 followed the Montauk of 540 tons for William S. Wetmore, built by William H. Webb. Then A. A. Low and Company had Brown and Bell construct for them the Howqua of 706 tons, a very fast and fine vessel, which made a voyage from Shanghai to New York in 84 days. The owners of the Rainbow then had the noted clipper Sea Witch of 907 tons, built by Smith and Dimon, with the intention to have the fastest vessel of the type afloat. This vessel had finer under water lines than her predecessors, and may be said to have been the first of that advanced type of fast clipper ships. She made one voyage to California in 97 days; to Hongkong in 104 days; to Valparaiso in 69 days; and returned from Canton to New York in 85 days. Her best 24 hours run was 358 miles, a speed greatly exceeding any steam vessel then existing. The era of fast clipper ships was now fairly inaugurated, and many of this class were now built not only at New York, but at Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Nearly all the early ones did not exceed 1,000 tons register, or about 165 feet long, but competition led to

a great increase in size, and every year saw vessels launched that spread more and more canvas, longer, larger and faster than ever, and expressly intended to excel everything that had preceded them in the merchant shipping of the world. In 10 years after the first clipper ship the size of 2,400 tons was reached and there were many built 2,000 tons each.

British Rivalry.— Foreign_merchants were by no means idle spectators of what was going on in this country, and in 1846 England began to awake to the new and dangerous rivalry from America. The arrival of the Oriental, 1,003 tons, in London in 1850, 97 days from Hongkong, with 1,600 tons of tea, on which she collected $48,000 freight, created a furore. Not a single British ship was her equal in speed or elegance of line and construction. The British Admiralty sought and were given permission to draught her underwater lines in drydock; and a great impetus in the building of fast ships resulted. Alex. Hall and Company of Aberdeen made a specialty of clipper ships, and there were launched from their yard many superior and famous vessels. But the Americans, though hard pressed, were able to maintain the lead, and entitled to the best record ever made by ships sailing under canvas. There were several famous races home from China. Once the British clippers Chrysolite and Stornaway and the American clippers Race Horse, Surprise and Challenge engaged in a race from Canton to Liverpool and Deal and arrived at the home ports as follows: At Liverpool, Chrysolite in 106 days; at Deal, Stornaway in 109 days; Challenge in 105 days; Surprise in 106 days. The British ship Challenge ran from Shanghai to Deal in 113 days, and the American clipper Nightingale in 110 days. These races were claimed by both parties; but the Americans kept the reputation of superiority, and several ships were ordered at our shipyards for foreign account. Then shortly after the gold fever broke out in California, and the John Bertram of 1,100 tons was built at Boston, Mass., and sent to the Pacific Coast in 1850 by Boston parties. This was the first clipper ship built for the California trade. The Witch of the Wave and four others of 1,500 tons each were immediately after built for the same parties. The Witch of the Wave made the trip from Canton to Deal in 90 days — 15 days faster than the best previous record, that of the Challenge.

Sailing Speed. The speed of the clippers was remarkable. Six miles an hour was a good average rate of speed for long voyages and nine miles an hour excellent time, especially for a ship loaded with a full cargo of merchandise. Clippers ran across the Atlantic to Liverpool at an average speed of nine miles an hour, spurting at the rate of from 10 to 13 miles with a favorable wind, and on voyages that gave them the advantage of the trade winds they ran for days and weeks in succession at an average speed of from 12 to 15 miles an hour. To sail 300 miles a day was not exceptional. The largest of them all was the fourmaster Great Republic, of 4,555 tons, built_by Donald McKay in 1853 at East Boston. The length on load line was 314 feet, beam molded 494 feet, molded depth 32 feet.

She was

burned at her dock before sailing. The hull was afterward rebuilt at Greenpoint, L. I., and

117

was launched at 3,357 tons, being still the largest ship afloat. One of the noted clippers of the day was the Dreadnought built in 1853 at Newburyport, Mass. In 1859 she made the voyage from Sandy Hook to Liverpool in 13 days, 8 hours. Fast as the Dreadnought was she failed to surpass the records of the Red Jacket, a Maine-built clipper of 2,006 tons, of 13 days, 1 hour from Sandy Hook to the Rock Light, Liverpool (1854), and of the Andrew Jackson, built at Mystic, Conn., of 1,679 tons, holding the record for the westbound voyage, 15 days from Rock Light to Sandy Hook (1860).

Other record passages of those days which have never since been beaten are the following:

James Baines, 2,515 tons, launched at East Boston in 1854; 12 days, 6 hours, Boston to Liverpool. From Liverpool to Melbourne in the then record time of 63 days; and thence home to Boston in 69 days; making the circuit of the globe in the unequaled time of 132 days.

Lightning, American-built ship of 2,090 tons, Melbourne to Liverpool, 63 days (1853); Portsmouth to Calcutta, 87 days (1857).

North Wind, American built, 1,041 tons, London to Sidney, New South Wales, 67 days. · Mandarin, 776 tons, New York to Melbourne, 71 days.

Mary Whitridge, American built, 987 tons, Liverpool to Baltimore, 14 days, 9 hours (1855).

Marco Polo, American built, 1,512 tons, Liverpool to Melbourne, 61. days (1861).

Thermopylae, British built, 927 tons, London to Melbourne, 60 days (1869).

The record voyages of American sailing ships in the coastwise trade, known as the "California clippers," were:

Flying Cloud, 1,793 tons, New York to San Francisco, 89 days (1851). The same feat was accomplished in 1854 by the same vessel and repeated in 1860 by the Andrew Jackson.

Northern Light, 1,021 tons, San Francisco to Boston Light, 76 days, 5 hours (1853).

Comet, 1,836 tons, San Francisco to New York, 76 days (1854).

The best day's run ever made by a sailing ship was 436 nautical miles, recorded by the Lightning on her maiden voyage from Boston to Liverpool in 1854. The highest speed ever recorded by a sailing ship was 21 nautical miles per hour, made by the James Baines on 17 June 1856.

After 1860 there was no longer any necessity for great size and speed in this type of vessel. Too many ships had been built and a reaction set in that lasted for many years. By 1857 there were from 80 to 100 large ships in the California trade and the rates of freight fell off one-half, and the ships were thrown into the general trade of the world. In the next place, steam vessels, about 1852, had been built to run on all the principal ocean routes and there was no longer any need for sailing vessels to be fitted out with large cabins and roomy passenger accommodations. This ended the career of those fast clipper ships that had such a world-wide reputation from 1850 to 1860. Then the Civil War came on and our foreign trade was cut off for four years. After 1865 the grain trade attracted the larger sailing vessels from all over the world. This type of vessel was no longer an extreme clipper of the former

period, but a handsome, medium clipper of from 1,400 tons for the British ships to 1,600 and up to 2,000 tons register, for the American; capable of carrying a large cargo at a fair rate of speed. The Maine shipyards at this time turned out a large number of strong wooden sailing ships of from 1,600 to 2,400 tons. These vessels continued in the Atlantic-Pacific trade until the American Hawaiian Steamship Line commenced operations in 1900.

Modern Schooners.- The schooner, as previously mentioned, was a distinctively American product of a comparatively early date (1713). It was largely used in the coastwise trade, to the West Indies, to South America and later to Africa, and it may be said has not fallen from favor even to this day. The early vessels were not over on an average 75 tons. When it became necessary to increase the tonnage of the vessel it was thought to be advantageous to increase the power, so three masts were adopted. The earliest date of the building of a three-masted schooner in this country is thought to be about 1831. There were a few more built about 1845, and in 1847 the Midas was converted into a three-masted schooner, the Zachary Taylor was built at Philadelphia in 1849 and the Spray at Wilmington, Del., the same year. The period when this type of sailing vessel had passed the experimental stage appears to have been in 1853 when there were built the Gardner Pike, the James H. Chadbourne, the Kate Brigham and the E. R. Bennett; and in 1855 the Eckford Webb and the William L. Burroughs; and in 1856 the Hartstein and the Cordelia. The two latter were two-decked vessels and were the largest of the type built for some years. These vessels were used mainly in our coasting trade, as far south as the Gulf of Mexico ports. There were a few more built prior to 1860; the Civil War came on when but few, if any, were built. It was 1868 before three-masted schooners were again constructed, and by 1873 they were the most popular type of our coastwise sailing vessels. The first four-masted schooner was the William L. White, built at Bath, Me., and completed in June 1880. The Northern lakes also had four-masters immediately after the William L. White. Then it was some years before the pioneer five-master was constructed in 1888 at Waldoboro, Me., as the Governor Ames. The latter was the largest schooner for 12 years, until the George W. Wells was built in 1900 as a six-masted schooner. The largest of them all was the Thomas W. Lawson, built of steel in 1902, as a seven-masted schooner. This superb vessel foundered off the Scilly Islands in 1907.

Iron Hull Ships.-Although iron had been used in Great Britain for building hulls as far back as 1829 and came into common use in the early 40's, the first iron hull sailing vessel constructed in the United States was the schooner Mahlon Betts of 275 tons, built in 1854 at Wilmington, Del. Then there were none but wooden sailing vessels until the brig Novelty was built at Boston, Mass., in 1868, and the bark Iron Age constructed in 1869 for Tupper and Beattie of New York. The sloop yacht Vindex was then built in 1871 at Chester, Pa., by Reanie Son and Archibold; and in 1879 the yacht Mischief was built at Wilmington, Del.

The three-masted schooner Josephine followed in 1880, being built by William Cramp and Sons Company. Then there came much larger vessels in the Tillie E. Starbuck, built in 1883 by John Roach and Son at Chester, Pa.; and in the same year by Gorringe and Company, as the American Shipbuilding Company, the T. F. Oakes. These vessels were about 2,000 tons register each.

The world's recorded tonnage of merchant sailing vessels in 1850 totaled 7,701,885; of which 3,396,650 tons were British; 3,009,507 tons American; 674,228 tons French; 298,315 tons Norwegian; 289,870 Dutch, and 33,315 Belgian.

In 1900, with more complete records, the total was 9,167,620, distributed thus: United States, 2,507,042 tons; United Kingdom, 2,096,408 tons; Norway, 1,002,675 tons; France, 636,081 tons; Germany, 593,770 tons; Italy, 568,164 tons; Japan, 320,572 tons; Sweden, 288,687 tons; Finland, 287,154 tons; Russia, 269,460 tons; Greece, 175,867 tons; Denmark, 158,303 tons; Spain, 95,187 tons; Holland, 78,493 tons: Portugal, 43,874 tons; Austria-Hungary, 25,342 tons; China, 20,541 tons.

In 1911, the latest year for which complete figures are available, the total of the merchant sailing marine was 7,454,189 tons, distributed as follows: United States, 2,564,721 tons; United Kingdom, 962,718 tons; Norway, 738,197 tons; France, 624,521 tons; Germany, 510,059 tons; Japan, 451,529 tons; Italy, 410,791 tons; Finland, 327,625 tons; Russia, 254,330 tons; Sweden, 154,968 tons; Greece (1910), 145,284 tons; Denmark, 124,510 tons; Spain, 44,325 tons; Portugal, 43,844 tons; Holland, 42,312 tons; Austria-Hungary, 32,871 tons; China, 15,679 tons.

A comparison of decades shows that the zenith figures of the sailing fleets of the several maritime nations were as follows: United States, 1861, 4,662,669 tons; United Kingdom, 1870, 4,577,855 tons; Norway, 1890, 1,502,594 tons; Italy, 1870, 980,054 tons; Germany, 1880, 965,767 tons; France, 1860, 928,000 tons; Sweden, 1880, 461,593 tons; Holland, 1860, 423,790 tons; Greece, 1870, 398,703 tons; Russia, 1880, 378,894 tons; Finland, 1911, 327,625 tons; Spain 1880, 326,438 tons; Austria-Hungary, 1870, 279,400 tons; Denmark, 1880, 197,509 tons; Portugal, 1900, 57,925 tons; Belgium, 1850, 33,315 tons.

A comparison of these figures will give a measurably accurate view of the rise and fall of the sailing vessel in the principal maritime countries.

In the United States the zenith of the building of sailing ships was reached in 1855, when 1,781 vessels, aggregating 510,690 tons, were launched. Of these, 381 were ships, 126 were brigs, 605 were schooners and 669 were sloops.

On 30 June 1917 there were on the register of the United States 134 square-rigged vessels; 82 of these being American built and 52 built abroad. These were 38 ships totaling 77,863 tons; 55 barks, totaling 68,993 tons; 38 barkentines, totaling 37,987 tons, and 3 brigs and brigantines, totaling 940 tons. The materials of which these vessels were built were: Of wood, 81; of iron, 28; of steel, 25.

The sailing vessels of the world, of 100 tons and upward in the year ended 30 June 1922,

Length, 395 feet; Beam, 50 feet; Molded Depth, 34 feet 5 inches; Displacement, 10,000 tons; Cargo capacity, 7,500 tons; Total sail area, 40,617 square feet