signs already mentioned, which precede the most dreadful hurricanes,
several days before their arrival, if duly attended to in time, may
enable the master not only to foretell the storm, but to ward off the
impending danger. Convinced of this by long observation, that
experienced seaman Captain Langford recommends the following
precautions: “To keep the ship sailable with store of ballast—ports well
barred and caulked—top-masts down—yards a-part laced—doors and windows
well secured. Let all ships at anchor quit the road, or they will be
driven a-shore. As the storm always begins at North and North-West, till
it comes to South-East, when its fury subsides; let them run to the
South for ample sea-room, and for drift of _the_ South West, and there
wait the event.” Observing these cautions, he providentially weathered
out five dreadful hurricanes without the loss of sail, yard, or mast.
Other commanders, he adds, who listened to his predictions and followed
his advice, likewise escaped damage, and returned safe[9].
Footnote 9:
Phil. Trans. Abr. Vol. II. p. 105.
7. Where the violence of the tempest baffles all human forecast, and the
shattered vessel ready to sink becomes totally unmanageable, when
signals of distress have been repeated in vain; and when terror and
dismay hang on every countenance, it requires no common share of
fortitude in the Commander to act with that coolness, prudence, and
promptitude, which the exigency of the case so evidently demands.
Shipwreck being inevitable, it behoves him to exert himself to save as
many lives as he possibly can, by a spirited and impartial conduct, and
by a proper distribution of the cork waistcoats, ropes, implements, and
whatever may seem useful; to guard against the boats being suddenly
over-crowded, and also to be watchful on such critical occasions, that
men apparently dead from drowning, or other accidents, be not hastily
thrown overboard, until suitable means of recovery have failed, or life
be totally extinguished[10].
Footnote 10:
The mode of treatment has been already fully discussed. See New
Inquiry on Vital Suspension, Edit. 3. and Preservative Plan annexed,
page 40. on premature burial.
The Captain having thus discharged his duty, and exerted every effort to
extricate his comrades from their calamity, though without the smallest
prospect of success, nothing now remains but that he, as becomes a
helpless mortal, commit himself and crew to the protection of Him “who
rides in the whirlwind, and directs the storm”—who can say to the raging
sea, “Hitherto shalt thou go, and no farther; and here shall thy proud
waves be stayed.” Impressed with sentiments of this nature, so congenial
to the mind of a dependent being, particularly in the hour of distress,
Captain Falconer, in the true spirit of devotion, bursts forth into the
following beautiful apostrophe:
“O! SOURCE OF LIFE, our Refuge and our Stay!
Whose voice the warring elements obey;
On THY SUPREME assistance we rely,
Thy mercy supplicate,—if doom’d to die:
Perhaps this storm is sent, with healing breath,
From neighb’ring shores—to scourge disease and death.”
_Shipwreck._
8. When a vessel is cast away, within a small distance of shore (as in
the late melancholy accidents, which gave rise to these reflections),
the country people hasten in crowds to view the affecting spectacle;
some with an eager desire to assist the wretched sufferers; others,
(horrible to relate!) for the sole purpose of plunder! In order to
prevent the cruel depredations of those inhuman barbarians, a
peace-officer ought always to be present, attended by the principal
inhabitants; and assisted, if required, by a military force[11]. He
should be empowered to offer premiums for the preservation of life and
property, and to encourage watermen to face the boisterous sea in
life-boats kept ready for the purpose. But on these mournful occasions,
the minds of the more humane and civilized spectators are generally too
much agitated to supply the aid that is so much wanted, or to suggest
any means of succour, but such as are totally inadequate. Nor is this to
be wondered at: the moment of danger is not the moment of reflection,
nor can new resources be struck out without the rare and happy talent of
invention, and the cool reasoning of a mind at ease. From want of a
life-boat, and other necessary expedients, how often are ships and their
cargoes irretrievably lost, which otherwise might have been saved!
Footnote 11:
According to the ancient law, goods cast on shore by the waves
belonged to the King: but the rigour of this law has since been wisely
mitigated in favour of the distressed proprietors: and it is now held,
that, not only if any living animal escape, but if proof can be made
of the property of any of the goods cast on shore, within a year and a
day, they shall not be forfeited as a legal wreck, but kept in the
custody of the Sheriff, during that period, unless previously claimed
by the proprietor. If the goods be of a perishable nature, the Sheriff
may sell them, and the purchase-money shall be liable in their stead.
2. Whoever shall secret any goods from a wreck shall forfeit treble
their value. To steal even a plank from a ship in distress, says Judge
Blackstone, renders the party liable to answer for the whole vessel
and cargo.
3. Whoever perpetrates any wilful act, by which the ship is lost, or
plunders the vessel in distress, or prevents the escape of any of the
sufferers, or hangs out false lights, to decoy a vessel into danger,
is declared by the law to be guilty of a capital felony, without
benefit of clergy.
4. It is also enacted, that all head officers on the coast shall, on
application being made to them, instantly summon as many persons as
are necessary to the relief of any ship in distress, on forfeiture of
one hundred pounds. And, in case of due assistance given, salvage
shall be paid by the owners, to be assessed by the neighbouring
justices.
5. The income of wrecks being generally granted by the King to the
Lord of the Manor, as a royal franchise, is seldom, it is hoped,
rigorously claimed, but rather given up to the distressed sufferers.
Such claims, however, might be easily compromised, as the right owner,
if discovered any time within a full twelvemonth, can supersede the
Lord of the Manor, or any other claimant, and by virtue of this law
recover his property.
_Hints for conveying Assistance to a Ship in distress, by forming a line
of communication with the shore._
With what ease a large log of timber, or other heavy body, may be
floated along the surface of water, by only a moderate-sized cord
attached to it, is well known.
Could means once be contrived of conveying such a cord to or from a ship
in distress, to form a line of communication between the mast and a
fixed point on shore, one grand difficulty would be surmounted. For to
this line of communication might be fixed collateral cords, which being
conveyed to the sufferers, grasping the broken planks, or struggling in
the waves, many lives might probably be saved.
Now, were the line sufficiently strong, and made to pass through a
metallic cylinder, in form of a sliding hoop, the ship’s crew might, one
by one, if placed thereon, slide along the rope from the mast to the
shore, as on an inclined plane. The ship’s stores, buckled to the
sliding hoop, might be conveyed in the same manner; nay, even the ship
itself, drifted on a neighbouring sand bank, or ledge of rocks, might,
by men properly stationed on the beach, be thus towed safely to shore.
That this might be safely accomplished during a calm, can scarcely be
doubted: but how to convey a line to or from the ship when all
communication is cut off by a boisterous sea, and “when not even a boat
dare venture out,” must give us pause, and at first view appear
impracticable.—Dangerous as such an enterprize may seem, yet we now
know, that a life-boat built on scientific principles, and manned with a
few resolute tars, is fully adequate to the task; such a boat, however,
being yet little known, and no where to be met with, except at Shields,
recourse must be had to other measures. Those who have duly considered
the theory of projectiles, will be best qualified to judge how far the
following conjectures, when matured by experience, may bring to light
new modes of deliverance.
1st, Suppose the distance not to exceed two hundred yards, might not a
small cord of that length be transmitted from the ship to the shore by a
powerful sky-rocket properly directed?
2d, By an arrow shot from a large bow of superior force?
3d, By a cord fixed to a perforated bullet, and discharged from a musket
or small piece of ordnance, taking care to first wet the cord to prevent
its being fired by the explosion? To the end of the small cord thus
conveyed to the shore, might be fixed a larger one, or even a rope,
which, by means of the small cord, might be drawn on board the ship.
4. Might not the conveyance of one or more cords be accomplished, with
still more certainty, from the people on shore to the distressed ship,
by means of a stout water-spaniel, or rather by a well-trained
Newfoundland-dog? These sagacious animals are known to delight in
enterprize, and in rescuing persons in the act of drowning. Were they
once brought to encounter a rough sea, and, with cords fastened to their
collars, taught to plunge-in at the word of command, making regular
excursions to and from the wreck, many valuable lives might probably
thus be preserved.
5. In such disasters, not only the sufferers, but spectators, are apt to
lose all presence of mind; otherwise expedients might often be contrived
for rescuing helpless mariners in their distress.
6. Might not Dr. Franklin’s experiment, with a large paper-kite, deserve
a trial, especially in the direction of a fair wind and lee-shore?
7. Might not a courageous rider, mounted on a steady well-trained horse,
sometimes be very useful on these trying occasions? The horse, it ought
to be remembered, swims with his nose and eyes just above water; but, if
imprudently checked by the bridle, it proves fatal both to him and the
rider. The heroic conduct of Cornelius Voltimed, a Dutchman, at the Cape
of Good Hope, can never be sufficiently admired, nor his unhappy fate
too sincerely deplored. In order to assist fourteen persons belonging to
a vessel stranded near the coast, his intrepid philanthropy impelled him
to ride his horse repeatedly into the sea; having at length happily
succeeded in saving all but one, his strength failed, and in his last
generous attempt to rescue that one unfortunately lost his own life!
The Dutch, in order to prevent plunder, ordain that no person shall
approach the ship on pain of death; but this excessive zeal for the
protection of property, so truly characteristic of the nation, generally
damps every zealous effort for rescuing the forlorn sufferers. Had,
therefore, the virtuous, the humane Voltimed even escaped the perils of
the sea, he would, nevertheless, have been tried for his life by his
unfeeling countrymen!
8. Vessels being most frequently cast away on a lee-shore, the
difficulty of sending out assistance is greatly increased by that
circumstance; but, were the sailors to fix a line to an empty cask, or
buoy, the direction of the wind and tide, being favourable, would
forcibly impel it from the wreck towards the beach, where assistance
would be ready to fasten the line to some neighbouring tree or post.
9. But what seems to bid fairest for establishing a line of
communication with the shore, is a late contrivance invented by Mr.
Bell, of the Royal Artillery, which, on reading the account, I am glad
to find, coincides with my own proposal, respecting the transmission of
a cord with a bullet by gun-shot. Concerning the result of the
Experiment, the Society of Arts have published the following favourable
report:
“To ascertain the merit of Mr. Bell’s invention, his Grace the Duke of
Richmond having given directions, proper trials were accordingly made,
by throwing a loaded shell[12] on shore from a small mortar fixed in a
boat, moored in the river Thames, above two hundred yards from the
shore. To the shell was attached a rope, one end of which remained on
board the boat. The shell, falling about a hundred yards within land,
buried itself full eighteen inches in the gravel; when Mr. Bell and
another person, on a raft floated by casks properly ballasted, hauled
themselves on shore in a few minutes, by means of the rope above
mentioned.
Footnote 12:
By which is meant a shell filled with lead, to which, a staple or ring
being fixed, the rope is to be made fast. The shell thus loaded
weighed about seventy pounds, being eight inches in diameter.
“These trials, having been repeated three times successively with the
desired success, and it appearing that the method, proposed by Mr. Bell,
of throwing a line on shore from a ship in distress, either stranded, or
in danger of being so, promises to be of very important advantage to the
maritime world; as by means thereof such vessel may obtain relief, any
person, when landed, being enabled to secure ropes from the ship; or
additional hands may thereby be conveyed from the shore to assist those
on board. In cases of imminent danger, moreover, where all hopes of
saving the vessel may be lost, Mr. Bell’s method offers the most
probable means of saving the crew.
“The Society therefore voted to Mr. Bell a bounty of fifty guineas, on
his leaving with the Society a complete model of his contrivance; which
model is reserved in their Repository, for the inspection and use of the
Public[13].”
Footnote 13:
Transactions of the Society of Arts, &c. Vol. X. p. 203. See also
Raccolta di salvar, l’equipaggio d’un Bastimento, &c. by Count
Berchtold, with an elegant engraving, descriptive of the entire
apparatus.
That this, or other similar inventions may prove useful in time of need,
the apparatus must be provided beforehand; and ought to constitute a
part of the ship’s equipment previous to the voyage.
_New Plan for the Prevention of a Ship’s sinking._
A Philosophical Correspondent has favoured me with the following
communication, which displays much ingenuity, and seems worthy of
further inquiry.
“As you wish, my dear Sir, for further intelligence, respecting the
means I should propose for preventing ships from sinking, I will
endeavour to give you some idea of the power of the apparatus. Its
constituent parts are these:
“A pair of cylindrical flexible vessels, rendered impervious both to air
and water by means of elastic resin, and a four-barrelled pump for
inflating them. As the contents of cylinders increase in proportion to
the squares of their diameters, such may be enlarged or diminished to
equal the power in request; consequently both the pumps and air-vessels
may be readily apportioned to the duty they have to perform. From the
diameter of the cylinders of the pump, to judge of their discharge, we
must consider the length of the stroke within the reach of middle-sized
men, and the number of discharges which may be made in a given time.
With the aid of simple mechanism, I have accomplished a perpendicular
stroke of two feet, capable of being repeated from sixty to seventy
times with ease, and from eighty to an hundred, if requested, in a
minute.
“Air is a fluid of so volatile a nature, that the slightest pressure
impels it forward; four men, therefore, can pump in more air than four
hundred men can pump out water.
“That vessels of canvas may be made, at the same time, both flexible and
air-tight, hath been demonstratively proved already. Such vessels, in
their flaccid state, occupy little more space than a folded sail, and
consequently are stowable in a narrow compass, till wanted. When
immersed and inflated, they remove a quantity of water adequate to the
air which they contain, and, if fixed to a ponderous body, give it a
degree of buoyancy proportionate to the water they displace. If this be
equal to the difference in weight between that body and an equal bulk of
the fluid which surrounds it, the whole will rest suspended even with or
near the surface of the fluid. Enlarge their contents, and turn the
balance in favour of the sinking body, it will rise and float. Fix
sufficient buoyant powers, therefore, to the sides of a ship, in such
manner that they cannot break loose; though a plank should start in her
bottom, she still would float.
“One method, then, of preventing a ship from sinking may be by a brace
of air-vessels occasionally lashed to her sides. Another is, that of
inflating a brace within her. To bring the former to effect requires a
more perfect knowledge of the strength of cordage than the most
experienced rope-maker can boast. Our best calculators egregiously err
in this particular; for, instead of its increasing in proportion to the
square[14] of the diameter of the cordage, it comes far nearer to the
proportion of the simple diameter only, as numerous experiments with the
best new town-made ropes of various sizes have convinced me. In the
first mode, therefore, several difficulties remain to be overcome. The
other is easy, consisting only in the simple operation of inflating
air-vessels within her. Let such be placed in confinement either in the
hold, between the decks, or under lashings in small open sloops (to
which your attention, Sir, seems chiefly paid), and they will operate
with the most certain and powerful effect. For, though water, through
its density, will expel air when at liberty, it can never incroach upon
it when properly confined. Secure, then, but a due portion of the
lighter fluid in eligible situations, and the ingress of the grosser
will be prevented. Consequently, though the sea run mountains high, and
break over the sloop with the most tremendous surge, if the crew can
secure themselves by lashing to the mast or rigging, and can at times
have opportunity to supply the loss of air (which, through the
inaccuracy of valves, air-cocks, &c. will sometimes happen), by a few
additional strokes at the pumps, she will continue buoyant, in spight of
elements, and be safe from the danger of sinking. Small vessels, under
such circumstances, are liable, however, to be driven on shore; but, as
they draw little water, their crews would probably be preserved.
Footnote 14:
See Falconer’s Marine Dictionary, article CABLE.
“As yours, Sir, is the cause of humanity, I have troubled you with these
particulars; and hope, that, as a possibility of relief appears, some
Philanthropic Society or other will be induced to exert their endeavours
for the preservation of the glorious tars of Britain.”
As the preceding scheme is supported, by its ingenious author, on true
philosophical principles, and seems well calculated to keep a packet
boat, or vessel of small size, buoyant, as some successful trials on the
model seem to evince; yet, as the apparatus rests on the instable basis
of air and water, might not some difficulty arise, during a sea storm,
particularly in securing the air-cylinders, when destined to act
externally on a large scale? It ought, therefore, to be subjected to the
test of further experiment, both internally and externally, on vessels
of different rates, as the invention certainly merits the attention of
those who preside over maritime affairs. For, what keeps afloat a
first-rate ship of war, with its immense freight of guns, stores,
ammunition, and men, but the difference of specific gravity between air
and water? What causes the ship to founder, but the accidental ingress
of water, with a proportionate egress of air? Impervious air-vessels,
therefore, properly placed, and inflated within the ship, would prevent
the spaces thus occupied from being filled with water, and consequently
bid fair to keep her buoyant, even though her upper deck became level
with the surface of the sea. It was thus that the ship Guardian was
prevented from foundering, whose packages and stores containing lighter
fluids, such as spirits and air, which the water being unable to expel,
alone kept the vessel afloat. Hence appears the utility even of empty
casks if rendered impervious and immoveably fixed between the decks of a
ship in distress.
_The importance of the Art of Swimming and Diving._
According to the observations of a late able writer, we are assured
that, on board the King’s ships, not half, scarcely a third part, of the
crew can swim; and that, for want of this, several, in the course of a
voyage, have been drowned[15].
Footnote 15:
See Mr. Jeremy Bentham’s Inquiry on Pauper Management, in Young’s
Annals, for 1798, N^o 174.
Hence perhaps may be explained why so many sea-faring persons annually
perish from shipwreck almost close to the shore. If but few escape, even
by swimming, it is because few British mariners are expert swimmers; a
proof that an art so necessary to all ranks of men is too much
neglected, since even those who are destined to a seafaring-life, and to
man our fleets, are often wholly ignorant of it; at a period too when
the life of every brave soldier or sailor is peculiarly valuable. Should
it be asked, What can the art of swimming avail when contending armies
rush to battle with the desperate purpose to slaughter or be
slaughtered? Or, in naval conflicts, when ships and men are at once
blown into the air, or ingulphed in the bosom of the ocean? What can it
profit when Death, thus in various shapes, sweeps away by shoals
unfortunate human beings? Is it not thus that blossoms come forth only
to be blighted? That infants peep into existence, suffer, and die? That
men, like moths, play around the burning taper, and sink into the flame?
In short, does not all this waste of germinating life demonstrate that
it is not individuals, but the human species, that it is not men, but
man, whose preservation is so necessary to the completion of the grand
plan of the universe?
But allowing this argument its full force, it still affords no solid
objection, since it cannot be denied that many individuals have been
preserved by swimming, who otherwise must have perished. But of what do
our fleets and armies, nay, the whole human species consist, but of
individuals? To preserve, therefore, individuals, is virtually to
preserve and perpetuate the species, and consequently to obey the
dictates of nature, in completing the grand system of the creation.
In order, then, to preserve as many individuals as possible, the art of
swimming and diving ought to be established as an essential branch of
national education; and, that our British youth may enjoy the same
advantages which it procured to the ancient Greeks and Romans, it would
be necessary in all sea-ports and towns bordering on large rivers to
institute schools with experienced masters for teaching systematically
the art of swimming and diving. To execute this scheme in the most
speedy and effective manner, the illustrious Count Berchtold recommends
the establishing a law for prohibiting Captains of vessels from engaging
sailors ignorant of swimming; and for nominating commissioners, before
whom, national seamen should be obliged to exhibit proofs of their
progress in this art, previous to their embarkation.
Formed by nature for the watery element, fishes can with wonderful
facility preserve their equilibrium at different depths merely by
contracting or dilating their air-bladders, a curious faculty, which, by
the way, affords a beautiful illustration of the efficacy of impervious
air-vessels.
The young of other Animals also swim spontaneously; and though man, in
consequence of his peculiar structure, cannot swim naturally, yet by
practice he easily acquires the art, and when once learnt, it can never
be forgotten.