THE earliest formidable rival to the Cunard Line was the famous Collins Line, founded in New York in 1848, and which derived its name from Mr. E. K. Collins, its chief promoter, who had previously been largely interested in sailing ships, and more particularly in the splendid line of New York and Liverpool packets, popularly known as the Dramatic Line. The Collins Line started with a fair wind, so to speak. It was launched by a wealthy company, amid an outburst of national applause, and was liberally backed by the Federal Government, with an ill-concealed determination to drive the Cunarders from the seas. But the illusion was destined to be soon dispelled, for, as Charles MacIver put it in writing to Mr. Cunard, “The Collins Line are beginning to find that breaking our windows with sovereigns, though very fine fun, is too costly to keep up.” Disasters ensued. In ten years the losses had become stupendous, and the enterprise culminated in a total collapse.
The Line began with a fleet of four magnificent wooden paddle-wheel steamships, the Atlantic, Arctic, Baltic and Pacific, each 282 feet in length, and of 2,680 tons burthen. They were built by W. H. Brown, of New York, and combined in their construction and machinery the then latest improvements. The passenger accommodation was far superior to that of the Cunard steamers of the period. Each of them cost $700,000, an amount so far exceeding the original estimate that the Government had to make the company an advance. The credit of the country being in a sense at stake, provision was made for a liberal subsidy. $19,250 per annum had been the original sum specified for a service of twenty round voyages, but that was found to be totally inadequate, and the Government eventually agreed to increase the subsidy to $33,000 per voyage, or $858,000 per annum for only twenty-six voyages, which was more than double what had been paid to the Cunard Company for a like service. The Collins Line, however, promised greater speed than their rivals, and that counts for much in popular estimation.
The Line soon came into favour, and its success seemed to be assured. The first voyage was commenced from New York by the Atlantic, April 27th, 1849. The Arctic followed, making the eastward voyage in 9 days, 13 hours and 30 minutes; and the westward, in 9 days and 13 hours from Liverpool. Thus they had broken all previous records for speed which, added to their luxurious appointments, caused them to be loyally patronized by the Americans. For a time they carried 50 per cent. more passengers from Liverpool to New York than their opponents. The last addition to the fleet was the Adriatic, in 1857, by far the finest and fastest vessel afloat at that time. She was built by Steers, at New York: was 355 feet long, and 50 feet broad; her gross tonnage being 3,670. Her machinery, which was constructed at the Novelty Iron-Works, New York, consisted of two oscillating cylinders, each 100 inches in diameter, working up to 3,600 indicated horse-power, with a steam pressure of 20 lbs. to the square inch. Her paddles were 40 feet in diameter, and, at seventeen revolutions per minute, gave her a speed of thirteen knots on a daily consumption of eighty-five to ninety tons of coal.
Owing to financial embarrassments, resulting from losses by shipwreck, the company soon after broke up, and the richly-endowed fast line, that was to drive the Cunarders off the ocean, itself came to grief. The Adriatic was laid up after making a few fine voyages, and finally came to an ignominious end as a coal-hulk in West Africa. In September, 1854, the Arctic collided with a small steamer, the Vesta, off Cape Race, in a dense fog, and sank, with the loss of 323 lives. Captain Luce went down with his ship, but rose again to the surface, was picked up by one of the boats and landed in safety. Among those who were drowned were the wife, the only son, and a daughter of Mr. Collins, and many other prominent Americans. The loss of the Pacific, which followed two years later, proved the death-knell of the Collins Line. She sailed from Liverpool on June 26th, 1856, in command of Captain Eldridge, with forty-five passengers and a crew of 141, and was never afterwards heard of. The Atlantic and Baltic were sold and converted into sailing ships.
Mr. E. K. Collins was a native of Massachusetts, where he was born in 1802. When a youth he went to sea as supercargo. Some years later he joined his father in the general shipping business, and eventually became head of the New York firm, celebrated for its magnificent line of sailing packets. He died in 1878.
This famous Line took its name from William Inman, a partner in the firm of Richardson Bros., Liverpool, in connection with whom he founded this steamship service in 1850, under the title of the Liverpool, New York and Philadelphia Steamship Company. The line began with only two steamers—the City of Glasgow and City of Manchester—both screw steamships, built by Messrs. Tod and McGregor, of Glasgow. These boats having proved successful and profitable, and especially popular with emigrants, their shipping port was changed from Philadelphia to New York in 1857. In the meantime a number of high-class steamers had been added to the fleet, each improving upon its predecessor, until the line became famous for speed and comfort. The City of Brussels, launched in 1869, was the first on the Atlantic to reduce the voyage to less than eight days. This fine ship came to grief through collision with another vessel off the mouth of the Mersey during a dense fog, January 7th, 1883. The Inman Line met with a number of other heavy losses. The City of Glasgow, with 480 persons on board, and the City of Boston both disappeared mysteriously in mid-ocean; the City of Montreal was burned at sea, but all hands were saved; the City of Washington and City of Philadelphia were wrecked on the coast of Nova Scotia; the first City of New York and the City of Chicago became total wrecks on the Irish coast, the one on Daunt’s Rock near Queenstown, the other on the Old Head of Kinsale in the same neighbourhood.
The City of Berlin, which came out in 1875, proved a great success, but later additions, culminating in the new City of New York and City of Paris, gained this line for a time undisputed supremacy. These twin-screw ships, built by J. & G. Thomson, of Glasgow, are over 500 feet in length, rated at 10,500 tons, and 18,000 indicated horse-power, and have developed a high rate of speed. The Paris, as she is now called, made her maiden trip in May, 1889, in 5 days, 22 hours, 50 minutes. Her fastest westward trip was made in October, 1892, viz., 5 days, 14 hours, 24 minutes—the fastest ever made up to that time. The New York for some time held the record for the fastest voyage from Southampton to Sandy Hook, made in September, 1894—6 days, 7 hours, 14 minutes. Both ships have met with mishaps: the New York, going east, had one of her engines disabled, but completed the voyage with the other, actually running 382 knots in one day with only one engine at work. The Paris had a much more alarming accident. The breaking of one of her main shafts set the engine a-racing, and before it could be stopped a rent was made in the ship’s hull, the longitudinal bulkhead separating the engine-rooms was broken and both engine-rooms were flooded. The other bulkheads, however, did their duty and kept her afloat until a passing steamer towed her into Queenstown, where the water was pumped out and she proceeded to Liverpool unassisted. Her escape from destruction was marvellous: as it was, the damage to the ship and machinery was enormous. On another occasion the same ship’s rudder became disabled in mid-ocean, but by means of her twin screws she was kept on her course and brought safely to port. Since then she has limped across the Atlantic with one engine, owing to a broken shaft.
The Inman Line was the first to introduce the twin-screw in the Atlantic service. It was also the first to place the comforts and conveniences of steam navigation within the reach of emigrant steerage passengers, and by so doing made a distinct advance in the cause of humanity. In 1856-57 they carried no less than 85,000 emigrants.
The Inman Line passed from its founders in 1875, and became a private limited company, which, in 1886, entered into negotiations with the American International Navigation Company, better known as the Red Star Line. At that time the fleet consisted of the City of Berlin, City of Chester, City of Chicago, City of Richmond and City of Montreal. The New York and Paris hoisted the American flag in 1893, but the change consequent on their new registration and their re-christening made no change in the name of the company.
In 1892 the company secured a contract for carrying the United States mails, weekly, from New York to Southampton, in consideration of a subsidy, amounting to about $750,000 a year. Southampton was preferred to Liverpool as being much nearer London and as having exceptionally good harbour facilities. The sea voyage, however, is about 200 miles longer than from New York to Queenstown. In terms of their contract, two magnificent twin-screw steamers have recently been added to the fleet,—the St. Louis and St. Paul, built on the Delaware by Messrs. Cramp and Sons, of Philadelphia. They are claimed to be the embodiment of the finest American skill and workmanship. Over 6,000 tons of steel were used in the construction of the hull of each ship; their length over all is 554 feet, breadth 63 feet, depth 42 feet; their gross tonnage is 11,000 tons and their engines are of 20,000 horse-power. They are designed to carry 320 first-class, 200 second, and 800 steerage passengers, and the arrangements for each class are unsurpassed. The main saloon is 110 feet long by 50 feet wide, with seats for all her cabin passengers at one sitting. It is handsomely decorated and finished in white mahogany, and is well lighted from the sides and a lofty dome overhead. The drawing-room is in white and gold and luxuriously furnished. The staterooms are roomy, well ventilated and fitted up with every convenience necessary to comfort; there are also suites of rooms, comprising bedroom, bath-room and sitting-room, all elegantly furnished. These ships can carry enough coal, cargo being excluded, to cross the Atlantic and return at their highest speed; and at the ordinary cruiser’s speed of 10 to 12 knots, they can steam for 66 days without recoaling a distance of 19,000 knots.
Although these fine ships have already suffered several vexatious accidents, none of them have been attended with serious results. They have not yet taken the laurels from the Campania and Lucania, and are not likely to do so, but they have made very good time on the Atlantic. The St. Louis made the voyage from New York to Southampton in August, 1895, in 6 days, 13 hours, 12 minutes. The St. Paul[17] made the run from Southampton to Sandy Hook, in August, 1896, in 6 days, 57 minutes. Their estimated speed in ordinary weather is 21 knots an hour.
The entire Inman fleet consists of twenty-two ships—all of a high class. They retained the graceful overhanging bow and ship-shape bowsprit with its belongings to the last, but the new steamers of the American Line conform in this respect to the prevailing fashion of the straight stem, first introduced by the Collins Line as being economical of space and every way handier in port. The use of sails in full-powered steamships has been gradually declining for years, and they will soon be a thing of the past. Heavy masts and yard-arms seriously interfere with the motion of a twenty knot steamship, and except in the case of a breakdown of machinery are seldom of any use, and that contingency has been reduced to a minimum by the introduction of the twin-screw.
originally owned by a Belgian company, is now incorporated with the American and International Navigation Company, and maintains a weekly service between New York and Antwerp and a fortnightly line from Philadelphia to Antwerp. The fleet consists of nine steamships of from 3,000 to 7,000 tons each—the largest being the Friesland, built by Thomsons, Glasgow, and rated at fifteen knots’ speed.
This was the first successful line of steamers running from Glasgow to New York, established by Messrs. Handyside and Henderson, of Glasgow, in 1856, though it was not until 1863 that this branch of their business assumed much importance. Since then the trade has developed rapidly, giving employment to a weekly line of steamers, and in summer twice a week. The ships have large carrying capacity, from 3,000 to 5,000 tons and upwards, with good accommodation for passengers at very moderate rates. Among these are the Furnessia and Belgravia, of over five thousand tons; the Devonia, Anchoria, Bolivia and Circassia, upwards of four thousand tons each, not to speak of the City of Rome, a host in herself. This is one of the handsomest ships afloat, and of large dimensions, being 546 feet long between perpendiculars, and 600 feet over all; her width is 52 feet 4 inches, and her displacement at 25 feet draft of water, 13,500 tons. She is driven by three sets of inverted tandem engines of 10,000 horse-power; her single screw is 24 feet diameter, and the screw shaft 25 inches. She has ample accommodation for 270 cabin passengers and 1,500 steerage: was built in 1881 for the Inman Line at Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire, where all the above-named ships were also built, but as she did not come up to the requisite speed she was left in the builders’ hands, and was taken over by the Anchor Line. She is not a slow ship, having made 18½ knots on her trial trip, and has crossed the Atlantic in 6 days, 20 hours, 35 minutes. From whatever cause, outsiders look upon her as a sort of “white elephant,” unable to compete successfully with the more thorough-paced ocean greyhounds. The entire Anchor Line fleet consists of some thirty-five steamers. The company has had its own share of losses by shipwreck, and more than its share of lives lost. One of the most appalling marine disasters was the sinking of the Eutopia of this line in the Bay of Gibraltar, in 1891, from collision with a man-of-war lying at anchor, resulting in the loss of 526 lives.
Although the National Line has not entered into competition with the “greyhounds,” it is deserving of notice. It has been in existence since 1863, and has owned some fine ships, and at least one of high speed—the America, built on the Clyde in 1883—a ship of 5,500 tons and 7,350 horse-power. She broke the record in June, 1884, making the run home from New York in 6 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes.[18] She was soon after sold to the Italian Government for a transport. The ships of this line were among the first to have compound engines, and the first to have refrigerators for the reception of dead meat, and among the first to carry large shipments of live cattle. Years ago they brought out more emigrants than any other line, but they seem to have gone out of that business now, and the ships are run as freighters to London. Four of the company’s ships have been lost—one lies submerged near Sandy Hook, one foundered off Cape Finisterre, one was burned at sea, and the fourth, the Erin, disappeared without anything having been heard of her. The present fleet consists of eight ships, ranging from 3,750 to 5,300 tons.
As when a meteor shoots athwart the skies, emitting a blaze of light, and quickly disappears, so was it with the Guion Line at the zenith of its brief and brilliant career. It began in a modest way in 1866, its promoters being Messrs. Williams and Guion, of New York—with a branch firm in Liverpool—these being the owners of the famous Black Ball Line of ships, built especially for carrying emigrants. They had steamers built for themselves with marvellous rapidity, beginning with the Manhattan of 3,000 tons—an iron screw steamer built on the Tyne. In 1872 there was added to the then existing fleet of eight powerful ships, each having accommodation for 1,000 steerage passengers, a pair of larger vessels, the Montana and Dakota. Neither of them, however, proved to be “record-breakers,” and both of them were eventually wrecked on the Welsh coast, near the same place, in 1877 and 1880 respectively. The next additions to the fleet were the celebrated Arizona and Alaska, that for a time took the shine out of everything else afloat. These marvellous ships were built by John Elder & Co., of Glasgow. The former was over 5,000 tons and the latter nearly 7,000. Their engines, respectively 6,000 and 10,000 horse-power, are said to have been the finest ever constructed up to that time; their speed was then accounted quite phenomenal—seventeen and eighteen knots an hour—reducing the time from Queenstown to New York to 6 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes. That was in 1883. The last ship built for the Guion Line was still larger and faster than these. The Oregon was 500 feet long, of 7,375 tons, and 13,300 horse-power. In 1883 she still further reduced the record to 6 days, 10 hours, 10 minutes. Soon after this the company became involved in financial difficulties. “Record-breaking” had not proved to be a paying business. The Oregon passed into the hands of the Cunard Company, and went to the bottom of the sea as already stated; the Alaska and Arizona have lain rusting at their moorings in the Gareloch for years past.
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, Limited—better known as the White Star Line—commenced in 1869, and now occupies a position in the front rank of the great steamship enterprises of the world. It originated with Mr. Thomas Henry Ismay, of Liverpool, who had previously been manager of the White Star Line of sailing clipper ships in the Australian trade. In 1870 Mr. William Imrie, of the late firm of Imrie, Tomlinson & Co., became associated with Mr. Ismay in the management, when the firm took its present name, Ismay, Imrie & Co. Mr. Ismay retired from the firm in 1891, after forty years of active business life, but is still chairman of the White Star Line. Having the financial support of a number of influential shipping men, plans that had been long maturing took effect in 1869, when negotiations were entered into with Messrs. Harland and Wolff, of Belfast, to build a fleet of steamships which should combine the latest improvements, the best possible accommodation for passengers, with a speed that would assure fast and regular voyages. How well those conditions have been secured all who have travelled by the White Star Line can testify.
The first ship of this line to appear in the Mersey was the Oceanic, in February, 1871. It was at once seen by her graceful lines that she was “a clipper.” Her machinery was the best known up to that time. A new feature was that the main saloon and passengers’ berths were placed as near midships as possible, and separate revolving chairs were introduced in the dining-room (a great boon to passengers); a number of other innovations served to attract the notice of the travelling community, while admirable management on shipboard and ashore inspired confidence in the line.
The original fleet consisted of six ships—the Oceanic, Baltic, Atlantic, Republic, Celtic and Adriatic—all about the same size, close upon 4,000 tons each. In 1874 and 1875, two remarkable vessels, as then accounted, were added to the fleet—the Britannic and Germanic—by the same builders, with engines from Maudslay, Son & Field. These boats are 468 feet long, of 5,000 tons and 5,000 horse-power. They easily made sixteen knots an hour, burning only 110 tons of coal per day, and were in every way so satisfactory they became very popular. No higher compliment can be paid them than the statement made in 1894 that “they had now been running regularly for twenty years, giving complete satisfaction to the owners and to the public, having still the same engines and boilers with which they started.”[19] In those twenty years these two ships carried 100,000 cabin and 260,000 steerage passengers.
In the meantime the new Cunard steamers, Umbria and Etruria, had outrun the White Star clippers. Again an order was given to Harland & Wolff for a pair of larger, finer and faster boats than they had yet built. The magnificent twin screw steel ships, Teutonic and Majestic, filled the bill. The Teutonic was launched in January, 1889. On the 7th of August she left Liverpool on her maiden voyage to New York, having in the meantime taken part in the naval review at Spithead, where she was inspected and admired by the German Emperor and H. R. H. the Prince of Wales. She crossed from Queenstown to Sandy Hook in 6 days, 14 hours, 20 minutes, then the quickest maiden passage on record. The Majestic was launched in June, 1889, and made her first voyage to New York in April following, lowering the record to 6 days, 10 hours, 30 minutes.
These fine ships are each 582 feet in length over all, 57 feet 8 inches in width, and 39 feet moulded depth. Their gross tonnage is 10,000 tons, all to a fraction. They are twin-screw ships, each having two sets of triple cylinders, 43 inches, 68 inches, and 110 inches diameter, respectively, together working up to 18,000 horse-power. The screw-propellers are 19 feet 6 inches diameter, and so fitted that they overlap 5 feet 6 inches, the starboard propeller being six feet astern of the other. They have each twelve double-ended and four single-ended boilers, containing in all seventy-six furnaces. The steam pressure is 180 pounds to the square inch. The piston stroke is five feet, and the average revolutions seventy-eight per minute. About four thousand tons of coal are consumed on the round voyage. Not only do these ships combine in their construction and equipment all that is best in modern improvements, but some of the most valuable of these improvements originated with their builders, and have been largely imitated by others.
The whole service, food and attendance included, is unexceptionable. There is ample accommodation for about 300 saloon, 170 intermediate and 1,000 steerage passengers. As to speed, they “must have swift steeds that follow” them. The Teutonic has made the western voyage in 5 days, 16 hours, 31 minutes. The Majestic has done it in 5 days, 17 hours, 56 minutes. In ordinary circumstances the passenger who embarks at Queenstown may safely calculate that six days will land him in New York by either of these ships. They are not quite so fast as the Lucania, but to gain the difference, say, of ten hours in crossing the Atlantic, the Cunarder requires an enormous increase of driving power—no less than 12,000 horse-power over and above that of the other. The Teutonic and Majestic are under contract with the British Government to be used as armed cruisers whenever their services may be required, the company receiving an annual sum of £14,659 10s. as a retainer.[20] Each of these steamers has accommodation for one thousand cavalry and their horses, or for 2,000 infantry. They could easily reach Halifax from Queenstown in five days, Cape Town in twelve and a half, and Bombay, via the canal, in fourteen days from Portsmouth. They could even steam to Bombay, via the Cape, 10,733 knots, in twenty-three days without stopping to coal.
The White Star fleet at present consists of nineteen ocean steamers, ranging in size from 3,807 to 10,000 tons and upwards. Five of these steamers are employed in the Atlantic weekly mail service, three keep up a monthly line to New Zealand, four ply monthly from San Francisco to Japan and China, the remainder are cargo boats of large carrying capacity. A number of vessels built for this company have been sold to other lines and are still running. The Oceanic, pioneer ship of the line, after a few years in the Atlantic service, was transferred to the company’s trans-Pacific line. On her sixty-second voyage in October, 1889, she crossed from Yokohama to San Francisco in 13 days, 14 hours, 4 minutes, the fastest voyage then on record across the Pacific. Having completed twenty-five years of successful work she was sold and broken up in 1896. But the name is to be perpetuated by the magnificent new steamer now building at Belfast, which in point of size and speed is designed to surpass any vessel at present afloat. The new Oceanic is longer than the Great Eastern.
Only two ships of this line have been lost. The Atlantic was wrecked on the coast of Nova Scotia, April 1st, 1873. She had left the Mersey on March 20th, with 32 saloon, 615 steerage passengers, and a crew of 143—790 in all—of whom about 560 perished, including all the women and children. What made the disaster even more deplorable, it was not satisfactorily accounted for. The morning was dark and boisterous, but not particularly foggy. Captain Williams had mistaken his reckoning, and was rushing his ship incautiously too near the land.[21] The Naronic was a fine new cargo ship of 6,594 tons. She left Liverpool, February 11th, 1893, bound for New York; but she never arrived there. Two of her boats were picked up on March 4th, but no clue was ever found to the mysterious disappearance of the ship.
Thomas H. Ismay, recently retired from business, has all along been recognized as the manager-in-chief and moving spirit of the White Star Line, and a man of exceptional gifts and graces. Conspicuous alike by his enterprise and culture, Mr. Ismay has given proof of true greatness in declining honours that were easily within his reach. He might have been chairman of the London and North Western Railway Company—the greatest railway company in the world—but he would not. Several times he might have been returned to Parliament, but he declined. His name was confidently mentioned in connection with the Diamond Jubilee honours. Sir Thomas Ismay would have sounded well, but he begged to be excused, choosing to remain plain Thomas Ismay, of Liverpool, where his beneficent character is known and appreciated at its full value. The same may be said of the genial ex-captain of the Majestic, and commodore of the fleet, Captain Parsell, in whose personality were combined the culture of a gentleman and all the qualifications of a good sailor. Captain Cameron, of the Teutonic, has been in the service of the White Star Company nearly thirty years, having commenced his career in the sailing ships. He is one of the most popular commanders on the route.
Messrs. Harland and Wolff, of Belfast, the builders of all the steamers of the White Star Line, are one of the largest ship-building firms in the world. They employ between seven thousand and eight thousand men in their establishment. Sir Edward J. Harland, late head of the firm, was a Yorkshireman by birth. He served an apprenticeship to engineering at Newcastle, and studied the art of ship-building in the drawing office of Messrs. J. & G. Thomson, Glasgow. He was a man of noble presence, fine ability, and great enterprise. He had been Chairman of the Harbour Board, Mayor of Belfast, High Sheriff of County Down, a Justice of the Peace, and a member of Parliament. He was made a Baronet by the Queen, in 1885, on the occasion of the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to Belfast. Sir Edward died at his home, Glenfarne Hall, County Leitrim, December 23rd, 1895, aged sixty-four years.
The rates of passage by the Cunard, the White Star and the American Line are nearly identical, and, all things considered, they are not unreasonable. They are cheaper than the fares by the sailing packets of sixty years ago. The ordinary rates for first-class passengers, in summer, vary from $75 to $150, according to the location of the stateroom, and the number of berths in it; from $40 to $50 for the second-class cabin, and from $20 to $27 in the steerage. The winter rates are somewhat less, say, from $75 to $150 in the steamers Lucania and Campania, and from $60 to $150 in other fast boats. When the rush of travel is in full swing, say, from May to October, rooms must be secured months in advance. Tickets may then be held at a fictitious value, and those who will have special accommodation (suites of rooms, etc., etc.) must pay for it. A fellow-passenger with me, in one of the New York liners, not long since paid—so, at least, I was credibly informed—$3,000 for the single voyage for himself, his wife, two daughters, and two servants. The difference between an outside and an inside stateroom, in the busy season, may be $135 and upwards. At such times a room to yourself is a luxury that means money.
What about ocean steamers racing? The question was raised in the British House of Commons a few years ago, and elicited the answer that there is no law in the statute book forbidding it. Are not these ocean greyhounds built and subsidized with a special view to speed? Other things being equal, the fastest boat draws most passengers. A competing ship may be in sight or out of sight; it makes little difference. There is a race going on all the same, and the palm is awarded to the one that lands the mails in London or New York, as the case may be, in the fewest number of hours and minutes. Probably ninety-nine out of every hundred passengers on board the Majestic on a certain day in May, 1894, if placed in the witness-box, would swear that on that day an exciting race took place on the high seas, which ended in the SS. Paris outrunning the Majestic, and dashing across her bows in dangerous proximity! It was an optical delusion. Both ships, no doubt, were doing their level best, and had they continued their respective courses much longer, there is no saying what might have happened, but, at the proper time, Captain Parsell blew off steam, slowed his ship, put his helm down, and crossed the stern of the Paris. It was beautifully done.
And how about these so-called lifeboats, hanging in the davits, so prettily painted, so neatly encased in canvas, and so firmly secured in their places? That they are useful sometimes, the writer knows from personal observation. On a recent voyage from Liverpool to New York we ran into a dense fog off the Banks of Newfoundland. The steam whistle gave forth its dolorous sounds all hours of the night, but the ship rushed on at her accustomed pace. At 4.20 a.m. most of us were awakened out of our slumbers by a violent shaking of the vessel. Had we been near land we might have fancied that the ship was grating along a pebbly bottom, but that could not be. Presently the engine stopped, and a loud roar of steam from the funnels brought most of the passengers on deck. It was a raw, damp morning, about daybreak, with fog as thick as burgoo all around. You couldn’t see half the length of the ship. Everything on deck appeared to be at sixes and sevens. Where the after-boats had been ropes and tackles were swinging to the roll of the ship; orders were being given from the bridge in peremptory tones, a few sailors were hurrying here and there, yelling out their ready “Aye, aye, sir!” Down goes another boat. Three or four had already left the ship and disappeared in the mist. What is it all about? “Oh! we have run down a fishing schooner and smashed it to smithereens.” Listen! voices of men in distress are heard; they shout louder and louder, and are answered, call for call, by the steam whistle. The ship had overshot the scene of the disaster, but was brought back to the spot by the instant reversal of her twin-screws—it was that that shook the ship as if it would have shaken her to pieces. The boats came in sight one by one, each to be greeted with a hearty cheer. Seven of the eight fishermen have been rescued! One had left the spar to which he had been clinging, thinking to swim for the ship, but he quickly went under and was seen no more. The longboat came first with two of the survivors; the life-boat came last, strange to say, full of water. She had struck a piece of wreckage and stove in her bow, but the men sat up to their waists in water—every sea washing over them—and plied their oars as merrily as though nothing had happened. They brought two of the fishermen, one of whom was too weak to grasp the rope ladder hanging over the ship’s side, and was hoisted up by a cord passed round his body, a pitiful object. Reaching the deck they took him up tenderly and carried him below—to die in a few minutes. The remaining six, some of them badly bruised, were well cared for. A subscription on their behalf, added to the proceeds of a concert in the second cabin, realized about £380 sterling, which would cover the loss of their vessel and its cargo. The whole time occupied in the rescue was one hour and three-quarters. It was cleverly done: and the ship sailed on.
A fine instance of coolness and sound judgment in a sudden emergency has been related of Captain E. R. McKinstry, Lieut. R.N.R., of the SS. Germanic, which collided with the steamer Cambrae entering the Mersey in a dense fog. The Germanic had cut deeply into the broadside of the other ship, and filled the opening she had made like a wedge. Had the order been given to reverse the engine the result would have been disastrous, for the damaged ship must have filled and sank immediately, but with rare presence of mind the engines of the Germanic were kept moving slowly ahead, effectually preventing the rush of water until every soul on board was rescued. Captain McKinstry is a young man to have reached the top of his profession, and has already given many proofs of his gallantry and pluck. On several occasions he has risked his life to save that of others, notably during the naval review at Spithead, in 1887, when he jumped from the deck of the Teutonic to rescue a drowning sailor. Another instance of fine seamanship occurred recently on board the City of Rome, Atlantic liner, which had a narrow escape from destruction by fire on her voyage to New York with a large number of passengers on board. The coolness and skill of Captain Young on that occasion merited the highest praise. Mr. Wonham, of Montreal, one of the passengers, after describing the steps taken to subdue the flames, and to provide for the safety of the passengers and crew, concluded his narrative by saying, “I’m like the American who came to Montreal to enjoy a toboggan slide. He would not have missed the experience for a thousand dollars, but he wouldn’t go through it again for ten thousand.”
Leaving out of the count innumerable “tramps,” there are many lines of steamships besides those already mentioned, keeping up regular sailings between Britain and United States ports. The Wilson Line, of Hull, has a fleet of about eighty steamers trading to all parts of the world, with weekly services from Hull and London to New York, and fortnightly from Newcastle and Antwerp. They also have a fortnightly service from Hull to Boston. The State Line, now incorporated with the Allan Line, has a weekly service from Glasgow to New York. The State of Nebraska and State of California are large and fine ships with excellent accommodation for passengers at low rates. The Atlantic Transport Line, with its fine fleet of twin-screw steamers, connects New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore with London every week. The North American Transport Company has also a numerous fleet plying between Norfolk, Va., and New York to Liverpool, Glasgow, Leith, Rotterdam and Hamburg. The Arrow Line runs from New York to Leith; the Manhanset Line, to Bristol and Swansea from New York. The Hill Line plies between London and New York, and the Lord Line between Baltimore and Belfast. The Chesapeake and Ohio Steamship Company sail their ships from Newport News and New York to London and Liverpool. The Blue Flag Line has regular communication with Baltimore and Glasgow, Liverpool, Dublin, Belfast and Rotterdam. The Lamport and Holt Line plies between New York, Liverpool and Manchester; the Bristol City Line weekly between New York and Bristol, while another line makes its terminus at Avonmouth. Barber & Co.’s steamers run regularly from New York to Leith, and from Norfolk, Va., and Newport News to Liverpool and Antwerp. The United States Shipping Company send their ships from Norfolk to Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Leith and Hamburg.
Besides these there are many lines of steamships leaving New York at regular intervals for Bermuda, West Indies, Trinidad, New Orleans, South American ports, Mexico, Central America and San Francisco, via the Isthmus of Panama.
The great volume of emigration from the continent of Europe, and especially from Germany, has developed a correspondingly large steamship passenger traffic. France and Germany have, for many years, vied with each other as well as with the British shipping companies, in providing accommodation suitable to the demand. The result is several fleets of magnificent steamships little inferior in speed and luxurious appointments to the British and American lines.
established in 1847, is the oldest of the German lines, and has now attained large dimensions. It began with a small capital and a fleet of three sailing ships. The average of their westward voyages from Hamburg to New York was about forty days, and eastward about thirty days; and they were accounted among the fast ships of their day. In 1867 the company owned a fleet of ten large transatlantic steamers, several smaller craft, a considerable amount of real estate and a commodious dry-dock. In 1872 the fleet had increased to twenty-five steamers, and a regular weekly service was maintained between Hamburg and New York. The operations of the company at this time also extended to the West Indies, South America and Mexico: but 1888 was the annus mirabilis in the company’s history, for it was then that a new departure was made, by the construction of twin-screw steamers destined to rival in speed and elegance the finest steamships afloat. In 1895 the company owned a fleet of seventy ocean steamers and fifty-one river steamers, having a combined tonnage of 339,161 tons. Among its steamers there are no less than eighteen twin-screw passenger ships, all employed in the New York service. The four express boats of the line at present are the Fürst Bismarck, Normannia, Augusta Victoria and Columbia, all twin-screw ships of from 7,578 tons and 13,000 horse-power, to 8,874 tons and 16,000 horse-power.[22] Two of these were built at Stettin, Prussia, one at Birkenhead, and one, the Normannia, by John Elder & Co., on the Clyde. They have also a fleet of five large twin-screw steamers, especially adapted for live stock and fresh meat. In ten years, from 1881 to 1891, the Hamburg-American Line conveyed 525,900 passengers to New York, which was 50 per cent. more than either the Cunard or White Star Lines during the same period. The capital of the company is about $7,000,000, and its affairs are said to be exceedingly well managed. It has paddled its own canoe without State aid from the commencement, the only addition to its freight and passenger revenues being a moderate compensation from the American Government for carrying the mails from New York to Hamburg. The amount received for that service in 1896 was $30,030.75. being at the rate of about 44 cents per pound for letters and post cards, and 4½ cents per pound for other postal matter.[23] The company is said to have in its employment a permanent staff of six thousand employees.
The Augusta Victoria, on her first voyage, made the fastest maiden trip then on record between Southampton and New York—7 days, 2 hours, 30 minutes. She has since made the run in 6 days, 19 hours, 19 minutes. The Normannia has done it in 6 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes, and the Fürst Bismarck in a few minutes’ less time. The Normannia, built in 1890, was at that time claimed to be one of the finest steamships afloat. She is 520 feet long and 59 feet wide. On her trial trip she showed a speed of twenty-one knots. In addition to her main triple expansion engines, she makes use of fifty-six auxiliary ones, and is provided with a deck boiler, by which steam is secured for her pumps in case of the main boilers being rendered useless by such an accident as befell the Paris a few years ago. Her passenger accommodation is unsurpassed. The music room is described as a “marvel of elegance.” The decorations throughout are by the best European artists.
The line has not been exempt from marine disasters and loss of lives. The Austria was burned in 1858, when only sixty-seven were saved of the whole ship’s company of 538. By the wreck of the Schiller on the Scilly Islands, in 1875, 331 persons perished. In 1883 the Cimbria was sunk off the coast of Holland, with the loss of 389 persons. The Normannia, on a recent trip, narrowly escaped collision with a huge iceberg, but thanks to her good “lookout” and her twin screws, she sheered off from the towering monarch just in time.
This company has recently added to its fleet one of the largest freight-carrying steamers afloat. The Pennsylvania, built and engined by Harland & Wolff, Belfast, has a carrying capacity of 21,762 tons, with accommodation for 200 first-class and 1,500 steerage passengers. Her length is 585 feet; breadth, 62 feet; draught of water when fully loaded, 30 feet. She has two balanced quadruple expansion engines, with five boilers, and carries a working pressure of 210 pounds of steam. Her three-bladed twin screws, each weighing 9½ tons, make 76 revolutions per minute, developing a speed of fifteen knots an hour. The Pennsylvania left New York on her first voyage with a cargo of 18,500 tons measurement, said to be the largest cargo ever taken out of New York in one ship, if not the greatest that any ship in any part of the world has ever carried.
This company, founded in 1857, has its headquarters at Bremen, and is also a very large concern, owning a fleet of eighty steamships, with a total tonnage of over 225,000 and 200,000 indicated horse-power. Among these are a number of very fine express steamers, mostly Clyde-built and fitted up with all the latest improvements in machinery and decoration. The Kaiser Wilhelm II., the Havel, Spree, Lahn, Trave and Fulda are all well-known and favourite ships on the Atlantic route. Besides maintaining a weekly service between Southampton and New York, this company has a regular line running direct from New York to Genoa, Naples, Alexandria and other Mediterranean ports, and also lines running to India, China, Japan and Australia. A sad disaster was that which overtook the Elbe of this line in January, 1895, when she was struck amidships by a trading steamer, the Crathie, and sank in a few minutes, with the loss of 332 lives, only twenty-seven of the whole ship’s company being saved. In December, 1896, the Salier, of this line, while on her voyage from Bremen to Buenos Ayres, foundered off the coast of Spain, when every soul on board perished, numbering about three hundred persons.