CALIFORNIA CLIPPERS OF 1850 AND THEIR COMMANDERS--MAURY’S WIND AND
CURRENT CHARTS
At the time of the discovery of gold in California, American
ship-builders were well prepared for the work that lay before them. The
clippers already built furnished valuable experience, for they had
attracted much attention, and their models and construction were almost
as well known to ship-builders throughout the country as to those from
whose yards they had been launched. It was found that the clippers were
much easier in a sea-way than the old type of vessel; they labored and
strained less, and in consequence delivered their cargoes in better
condition. When driven into a heavy head sea, they would bury their
long, sharp bows in a smother of foam and drench the decks fore and aft
with flying spray; but at a speed that would have swamped the
full-bodied, wall-sided ships and made them groan in every knee, timber,
and beam.
The superiority of the clippers in speed was even more marked in the
average length and regularity of their voyages than in their record
passages; they could be depended on not to make long passages; with
their sharp lines and lofty canvas they were able to cross belts of
calm and light winds much more quickly than the low rigged, full-bodied
ships, while in strong head winds there was no comparison, as the
sharper ships would work out to windward in weather that held the old
type of vessels like a barrier, until the wind hauled fair or moderated.
In a word, the clippers could go and find strong or favorable winds
while the full-bodied ships were compelled to wait for them.
It must be admitted that some remarkably fast passages were made by the
old full-built American vessels. We have seen Captain Waterman’s record
with the _Natchez_, and other cases of this kind might be cited; but
they prove nothing beyond the fact that with a fair wind and enough of
it, other things being equal, a well-handled, full-modelled ship is
about as fast as a clipper; also that single passages except as between
vessels sailing together, are not the most reliable tests of speed. A
number of passages by the same vessel, or a record of best days’ runs,
afford a more accurate means of arriving at a just estimate of speed.
The first California clippers, thirteen in number, were launched during
the year 1850, the _Celestial_, 860 tons, built by William H. Webb and
owned by Bucklin & Crane, of New York, being the first to leave the
ways. She was soon followed by the _Mandarin_, 776 tons, built by Smith
& Dimon for Goodhue & Co., of New York, and the _Surprise_, 1361 tons,
owned by A. A. Low & Brother; _Game-Cock_, 1392 tons, owned by Daniel C.
Bacon, Boston, and the barque _Race Horse_, 512 tons, owned by Goddard &
Co., Boston, all built by Samuel Hall at East Boston. The _Witchcraft_,
1310 tons, was built at Chelsea by Paul Curtis, for S. Rogers & W. D.
Pickman, of Salem; the _John Bertram_, 1080 tons, by R. E. Jackson at
East Boston, for Glidden & Williams, of Boston; the _Governor Morton_,
1318 tons, by James M. Hood at Somerset, for Handy & Everett, of New
York; the _Sea Serpent_, 1337 tons, by George Raynes at Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, for Grinnell, Minturn & Co., of New York; the _Eclipse_, 1223
tons, by J. Williams & Son at Williamsburg, for T. Wardle & Co., of New
York; the _Seaman_, 546 tons, by Bell & Co., at Baltimore, for Funck &
Meincke, of New York; the _White Squall_, 1118 tons, by Jacob Bell, for
W. Platt & Son, of Philadelphia, and the _Stag-Hound_, 1535 tons, by
Donald McKay at East Boston, for Sampson & Tappan and George B. Upton,
of Boston.
The _Celestial_ was a remarkably good-looking ship and much sharper than
any vessel built by Mr. Webb up to that time. She carried long, slender
spars, with plenty of canvas, and proved a very fast and able ship.
The _Mandarin_, also a fine-looking ship, was intended by her builders
to be an improved _Sea Witch_, and although she made some excellent
passages, she never came up to the older vessel in point of speed; the
_Sea Witch_ was her builders’ masterpiece, and they, like many others,
found her a difficult ship to improve upon.
The _Surprise_ was one of the most successful clipper ships ever
constructed, and proved a mine of wealth for her owners. She was fully
rigged on the stocks, with all her gear rove off, and was
[Illustration: The “Surprise”]
launched with her three skysail yards across and colors flying, which
attracted a multitude of people. They rather expected to see her
capsize, and were no doubt highly delighted to find that nothing unusual
happened as she glided swiftly down the ways, or at that critical
instant when her hull was still partly supported on the land and partly
on the waves, or when she swung to her anchors on even keel, with the
beautiful skyline of Boston of half a century ago outlined in the
distance.
Mr. Hall was a master ship-builder and had figured the weights,
displacement, and stability of his ship with the same exactness with
which an astronomer foretells the transit of a planet; yet with all the
anxiety incident to experiments of this kind, he had found time for
plans of a less serious nature. He had a pavilion erected in order that
the mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters of the men who had built this
beautiful ship might look with comfort upon the crowning scene of their
kinsmen’s labors, and after the ship was safely afloat, all were invited
to a luxurious lunch served upon long tables in the mould loft, which
was gaily decorated with flags. There the master foreman of the yard
presided, while Mr. Hall entertained personal friends, whom he had asked
to see the launch, at his own hospitable home.
The _Surprise_ measured: length 190 feet, breadth 39 feet, depth 22 feet
with 30 inches dead-rise at half floor. Her main-yard was 78 feet long
from boom-iron to boom-iron, and her mainmast was 84 feet from heel to
cap, with other spars in proportion. She was beautifully fitted
throughout, was painted black from the water-line up, and carried a
finely carved and gilded flying eagle for a figurehead, while her stern
was ornamented with the arms of New York. She was manned by a crew of 30
able seamen, 6 ordinary seamen, 4 boys, 2 boatswains, a carpenter, a
sailmaker, 2 cooks, a steward, and 4 mates, and was commanded by Captain
Philip Dumaresq, who had gained a high reputation while in command of
the _Antelope_, _Akbar_, and _Great Britain_.
Captain Dumaresq was born at Swan Island, near Richmond, on the Kennebec
River. His father had settled there on an estate which came to him
through his mother, who before her marriage was the beautiful Rebecca
Gardiner, of Gardiner, Maine, and a daughter of the Rev. John Sylvester
Gardiner, the first rector of Trinity Church, Boston. Unlike most
American boys, who used to go to sea, young Dumaresq had no special
desire for a life upon the ocean, but was sent on a voyage to China by
his parents, under the advice of a physician, on account of his delicate
health. He soon grew robust, and at the age of twenty-two took command
of a vessel, afterwards becoming one of the most celebrated and widely
known of all the American clipper ship captains.
When the _Surprise_ arrived at New York to load for San Francisco, the
New York _Herald_ declared that she was the handsomest ship ever seen in
the port, and a large number of persons gathered to see her placed at
her loading berth by the steamer _R. B. Forbes_, which had towed her
round from Boston.
The _R. B. Forbes_ at that time, so to speak, was a well-known character
about Massachusetts Bay, and no marine function seemed quite complete
without her presence. She was generally on hand at launches, regattas,
and Fourth of July celebrations, with a jolly party of Boston
underwriters and their friends on board, accompanied by a band of music
and well-filled hampers of refreshments. Her hull was painted a
brilliant red up to the bulwarks, which were black, while the deck
fittings, houses, and the inside of the bulwarks were a bright green.
Altogether, with a rainbow of bunting over her mastheads, the brass band
in full blast, and champagne corks flying about her deck, she
contributed liberally to the gayety of many festive occasions. She was
also usually the first to introduce a new-born ship to the end of a
manila hawser, and for several years she towed most of the eastern-built
clippers to their loading berths at Boston or New York.
But these were only the odd jobs at which she put in her time when not
engaged in her more serious work of salvage operations, for she was the
best equipped and most powerful wrecking steamer on the Atlantic coast,
and saved much valuable property abandoned to the Boston Underwriters,
for whom she was built by Otis Tafts at East Boston in 1845. She was 300
tons register, and was one of the few vessels at that date constructed
of iron and fitted with a screw propeller, her engines and boilers being
designed by the renowned Ericsson. Her commander, Captain Morris, not
only was a very able wreck master, but did a great deal by experiment
and observation to solve the intricate problems relating to the
deviation of the magnetic needle on board of iron vessels, and was one
of the few reliable authorities of his day upon this important subject.
At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, the _R. B. Forbes_ was
purchased by the United States Government, but before the end of the war
she was wrecked and became a total loss near Hatteras Inlet. It is
hardly necessary to mention that this vessel was named in honor of that
noble seaman, Captain Robert Bennett Forbes, whose acts of kindness and
humanity were so many that a book might well be devoted to a record of
them.
The _Witchcraft_ was a very beautiful ship, and was commanded by Captain
William C. Rogers, a son of one of the owners, for whom she was built.
Captain Rogers was born at Salem in 1823 and had made several voyages as
supercargo on board of different ships to Calcutta and Canton. He was a
man of unusual ability, and although he never sailed before the mast, or
as officer of a ship, he had acquired a knowledge of seamanship and
navigation which enabled him to become one of the most famous among the
younger clipper ship captains. He was a rare example of a gentleman who
went to sea for the pure love of it, who enjoyed dealing with the useful
realities of life, and liked a real ship with real sailors on board of
her, and a real voyage of commerce profitable to mankind, in preference
to an aimless life of luxury and pleasure.
During the Civil War Captain Rogers was one of the twelve naval
commanders appointed by Act of Congress, and he commanded the U. S.
clipper barque _William G. Anderson_, which mounted six thirty-two
pounders and a long rifled gun amidships, and carried a crew of one
hundred and ten men. While in command of this vessel, Captain Rogers
captured the Confederate privateer _Beauregard_, Captain Gilbert Hays,
one hundred miles east-northeast of Abaco in the Bahamas, November 12,
1861. He also commanded the U. S. gunboat _Iuka_, and in her rendered
valuable service to his country during the remainder of the war. He
subsequently married a granddaughter of Nathaniel Bowditch, the
illustrious navigator.
The _John Bertram_ was an extremely sharp ship, and was the pioneer of
Glidden & Williams’s line of San Francisco clippers. She was named for
Captain Bertram, one of Salem’s most famous seamen and merchants, and
was for several years commanded by Captain Landholm.
The _Sea Serpent_ was the first clipper ship built by Mr. Raynes, and
was a slender, rakish, handsome-looking craft, comparing favorably with
the New York and Boston clippers of that year. She was commanded by
Captain Williams Howland, a seaman of experience and ability, who was
born at New Bedford in 1804. In 1833 he took command of the _Horatio_,
then a new ship and afterwards famous, on her first voyage from New York
to China, and remained in her for about ten years. He subsequently
commanded the packet ships _Ashburton_, _Henry Clay_, _Cornelius
Grinnell_, and the _Constantine_. Captain Howland was a gentleman of
much dignity, who usually wore kid gloves when he came on deck and
seldom gave his orders to any one but the officer of the watch. He had
the reputation of being an A 1 seaman and navigator.
The _White Squall_ was another handsome clipper, very similar in
construction and design to the _Samuel Russell_ and _Oriental_ from the
same yard. Although but little more than eleven hundred tons register,
this ship cost when ready for sea with one year’s stores and provisions
on board the sum of $90,000, and her freight from New York to San
Francisco on her first voyage amounted to $70,000. She was commanded by
Captain Lockwood, and her measurements were: length 190 feet, breadth 35
feet 6 inches, and depth 21 feet.
The _Stag-Hound_, at the time of her launch was the largest merchant
ship ever built, though during the nine years that the Cunard Company
had been running mail steamers across the Atlantic, the tonnage of
American packet ships had steadily increased. In 1846, as we have seen,
Donald McKay had built the _New World_ of 1404 tons, and in 1849 William
H. Webb launched the _Albert Gallatin_ of 1435 tons, so that the
_Stag-Hound_, 1535 tons, was not a very much larger vessel; but she was
of a decidedly different design, having less beam and seventeen feet
more length than either of these packets. She attracted much attention
and many persons came to see her while she was building. A throng
estimated at from twelve to fifteen thousand gathered about the shipyard
at noon on December 7, 1850, to witness her launch. The weather was
bitterly cold, with drift ice in the harbor and snow
[Illustration: The “Stag-Hound”]
lying deep on the ground. It was feared that the launch might have to be
postponed on account of the tallow freezing on the ways, but when she
had settled in her cradle and everything was ready, a gang of men came
from the forge bearing cans filled with boiling whale oil, which they
poured upon the ways. When the word was given to knock away the dog
shores, the vessel moved rapidly down the smoking ways and plunged into
the gray, icy waters of the harbor, amid shouts and cheers from a
shivering crowd, while the bells of Boston rang out mellow and clear, on
the calm, frosty air, in welcome to the largest merchant ship afloat.
Launches were not then regarded as social functions, although some of
the most prominent families in New York and Boston, who were interested
in shipping, attended them, and a pavilion was usually erected where
they might picnic comfortably and enjoy themselves. It was also not
customary in those days for women to name ships, but the ceremony, which
was simple and effective, was usually performed by the foreman of the
yard from which the ship was launched. On this occasion, when the
_Stag-Hound_ began to move along the ways, the foreman had a black
bottle of Medford rum somewhere about, which he seized by the neck and
smashed across her forefoot, at the same time, in the excitement of the
moment, shouting out, “_Stag-Hound_, your name’s _Stag-Hound_!” and thus
brought the ceremony to a close. This vessel measured: length 215 feet,
breadth 40 feet, depth 21 feet, with 40 inches dead-rise at half floor.
Her mainyard was 86 feet and her mainmast 88 feet in length. She was
commanded on her first voyage by Captain Josiah Richardson, and carried
a crew of 36 able seamen, 6 ordinary seamen, and 4 boys. When she
arrived at New York in tow of the _R. B. Forbes_, to load for San
Francisco, the ship fanciers of South Street were for once in their
lives of one mind, and their opinion seems to have been that the
_Stag-Hound_ came pretty near being the perfection of the clipper ship
type.
Each one of the clippers of 1850 proved a credit to the yard from which
she was launched, and nearly all of them made the passage from New York
or Boston to San Francisco in less than one hundred and ten days. This
is an exceedingly good record, although the passage from New York has
been made by two vessels, the _Flying Cloud_ and the _Andrew Jackson_,
in a few hours less than ninety days. In Appendix II. will be found the
names of ships that made this passage in one hundred and ten days or
less, with the dates of their arrivals at San Francisco, for the years
1850-1860. While this list includes almost all of the extreme clippers,
still there were a number of ships that gave proof by their other
records of being fast and ably commanded, and yet failed to come within
the limit of one hundred and ten days.
As most persons are aware, foreign vessels have never been allowed to
engage in the United States coasting trade, also that the voyage between
Atlantic and Pacific ports of the United States has always been regarded
as a coasting voyage. The California clippers therefore had no foreign
competitors to sail against, but the racing among themselves was
sufficiently keen to satisfy the most enthusiastic lover of sport, while
China and Australia voyages afforded opportunities for international
rivalry.
The only clipper ship to make the voyage to San Francisco prior to 1850
was the _Memnon_, under Captain George Gordon, which arrived there July
28, 1849, after a record passage of one hundred and twenty days from New
York. The first contest of clippers round Cape Horn took place in 1850,
between the _Houqua_, _Sea Witch_, _Samuel Russell_, and _Memnon_, old
rivals on China voyages, and the new clippers _Celestial_, _Mandarin_,
and _Race Horse_. All of these vessels had their friends, and large sums
of money were wagered on the result, the four older ships, especially
the _Sea Witch_, having established high reputations for speed. The
_Samuel Russell_ was commanded by Captain Charles Low, previously of the
_Houqua_, while the _Houqua_ was now commanded by Captain McKenzie;
Captain Gordon was again in the _Memnon_, and Captain George Fraser, who
had sailed with Captain Waterman as chief mate, commanded the _Sea
Witch_.
The _Samuel Russell_ arrived at San Francisco May 6, 1850, after a
passage of 109 days from New York, thus knocking 11 days off the record,
and her friends and backers felt confident that this passage could not
be surpassed, at all events not by any of the clippers of that year.
This opinion was in a measure confirmed when the _Houqua_ arrived on
July 23d, 120 days from New York, but on the following day the _Sea
Witch_ came romping up the bay, 97 days from Sandy Hook, reducing the
record by another 12 days. This passage astonished every one, even her
warmest admirers, and well it might, for it has never been equalled by a
ship of her tonnage and not often excelled even by larger vessels. This
performance of the _Sea Witch_ was the more remarkable as she had
rounded Cape Horn during the Antarctic midwinter.
The remainder of the fleet arrived in the following order: _Memnon_,
September 27th, 123 days; _Celestial_, November 1st, 104 days; _Race
Horse_, from Boston, November 24th, 109 days; and the _Mandarin_,
November 29th, 126 days from New York. These were all fine passages,
especially when we consider that none of the vessels was over 1100 tons
register. The records show that from June 26 to July 28, 1850, seventeen
vessels from New York and sixteen from Boston arrived at San Francisco,
whose average passages were 159 days, so that even the _Mandarin’s_
passage of 126 days was very fast by comparison. We must remember also
that none of these vessels had the advantage of using Maury’s Wind and
Current Charts, as at that time sufficient material had not been
collected to perfect them.
Navigators of all nationalities are deeply indebted to Lieutenant
Matthew Fontaine Maury, U. S. N., for it was his mind that first
conceived the idea of exploring the winds and currents of the ocean.
Lieutenant Maury was a Virginian by birth, and in 1825 at the age of
nineteen, entered the United State Navy as a midshipman on board the
frigate _Brandywine_. In 1830 he was appointed sailing master of the
sloop of war _Falmouth_, and ordered to the Pacific station. At this
time, being anxious to make a rapid passage round Cape Horn, he
searched in vain for information relating to the winds and currents. His
attention was thus directed to this subject, and it was upon this voyage
that he conceived the design of his celebrated Wind and Current Charts.
He also began at this time to write papers for the _American Journal of
Science_ which attracted much attention, and on his return he published
a _Treatise on Navigation_ which was made a text-book for the pupils of
the Naval Academy at Annapolis.
In 1842 Lieutenant Maury was placed in charge of the Depot of Charts and
Instruments at Washington, which afterwards became the National
Observatory and Hydrographic Office. Here he devoted his attention to
collecting and converting into systematic tables the valuable data
contained in the old log-books of the United States warships, which he
found stowed away as so much rubbish, and which had narrowly escaped
being sold for junk. At the same time he presented a paper to the
National Institute, recommending that all merchant ships be provided
with charts of sailing directions, “on which should be daily registered
all observable facts relating to the winds, currents, and other
phenomena of importance and interest, for the foundation of a true
theory of the winds.”
A general use of these charts would have constituted one of the greatest
exploring expeditions ever devised, but for a time it met with much
opposition. Lieutenant Maury’s first convert was Captain Jackson of the
Baltimore ship _D. C. Wright_, trading to Rio Janeiro, who made rapid
voyages with the aid of the Wind and Current Charts furnished by
Lieutenant Maury. Soon there were many followers among American
sea-captains, who gave their earnest co-operation and received great
benefits in return, since all who kept Maury’s Log, as it was called,
were entitled to a copy of the Sailing Directions.
In 1856 the captains and officers of a fleet of no less than a thousand
merchant ships, sailing under the United States flag upon every sea and
ocean, were recording daily and almost hourly observations of the winds
and currents. Under the British flag were to be counted the whole Navy
of Great Britain and over one hundred merchantmen; under the flag of
Holland, two hundred and twenty-five merchant ships and those of the
Royal Navy. Besides these there were the ships of France, Spain,
Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Russia,
Chili, Bremen, and Hamburg, all co-operating and assisting this great
scientist in his noble work.
Maury’s _Physical Geography of the Sea_ (1853), the first work of the
kind which appeared, ran through twenty editions and was translated into
French, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish, and Italian. This book treats of the
clouds, winds, and currents of the ocean in a scientific yet attractive
manner, dispelling the last of the sea myths which for ages had been the
delight of poets and the terror of sailors, and in their stead relating
a story of scientific discovery of greater wonder and beauty than any
fable.
Maury’s researches had, however, a very practical side to them. Hunt’s
_Merchants’ Magazine_ for
[Illustration: Matthew Fontaine Maury]
May, 1854, states that on the outward passages alone from New York to
California, Australia, and Rio Janeiro, American ships, through the use
of Maury’s Sailing Directions, were saving in time the sum of $2,250,000
per annum, and it is probable that could an estimate have been made of
the saving in time to all of the ships using the Sailing Directions, the
total amount must have considerably exceeded $10,000,000 per annum.
It should be remembered that this result had been accomplished without
expenditure of money, beyond the moderate salaries of Maury and his
staff of assistants, and the insignificant cost of printing the blank
log-books, charts, and sailing directions.
Sea-captains of all nations regarded Lieutenant Maury as a wise
counsellor and faithful friend, while France, Holland, Sweden, Spain,
Italy, Russia, Prussia, Austria, Portugal, and Sardinia, all either
conferred upon him orders of knighthood or struck medals in his honor.
In 1861, Lieutenant Maury resigned the office of Chief Superintendent of
the National Observatory and Hydrographic Office, deeming it his duty as
a Virginian to take the side of his State at the outbreak of the Civil
War. Upon this occasion he received letters of invitation from the Grand
Duke Constantine offering him residence in Russia and every facility for
continuing his scientific researches. A similar offer was made by Prince
Napoleon on behalf of France, and also by the Archduke Maximilian of
Austria. In 1866 a pecuniary testimonial was presented to Lieutenant
Maury at Willis’s Rooms, London, where he was entertained by English
naval officers and scientific men of the highest distinction, Sir John
Parkington being chairman. England, France, Russia, and Holland
contributed 3000 guineas, a substantial token of their esteem and
gratitude for his labors in the service of mankind.
On one occasion Secretary of the Navy, Graham, wrote to Lieutenant Maury
as follows:
“Indeed, I doubt whether the triumphs of navigation and the knowledge of
the sea, achieved under your superintendence of the Observatory, will
not contribute as much to an effective Naval Service and to the national
fame as the brilliant trophies of our arms.”
Maury died in 1873, in his sixty-seventh year, an American scientist
whose life was devoted to discovering the secrets of the sea, and to the
welfare of seamen, irrespective of rank or nationality. In lamenting his
death, the Senate of Virginia closed its resolutions with this eulogy:
“An honor to Virginia, an honor to America, and an honor to
civilization, and in gratefully recognizing this we do but honor
ourselves.”