[10] Forbes’s rig was invented by Captain R. B. Forbes, and was first put on the topsail schooner Midas in 1841, afterwards on the auxiliaries Edith, Massachusetts, and Meteor; ships, R. B. Forbes, Lintin, Flying Childers, Aurora, Cornelius Grinnell, and probably others. In this rig the topmast was fidded abaft the lowermast head, and the lower topsail yard hoisted on the lowermast head from the eyes of the lower rigging to the cap. The lower topsail had two reefs with reef-tackles, buntlines, and clew-lines, as in the single topsail rig. The upper topsail hoisted on the topmast and had the same gear as the lower topsail. Sometimes the topmast was fidded before the lower masthead, and then the lower topsail yard hoisted on the doubling of the topmast. This rig was an improvement upon the single topsail rig, but was eventually superseded by Howes’s rig, which was invented by Captain Frederic Howes, of Brewster, Massachusetts, who in 1853 first put it on the ship Climax, of Boston, which he commanded. Captain Howes took out a United States patent for his rig in 1854. In this rig, the lower topsail yard is slung by a truss at the lower mast cap; indeed, Howes’s rig is the double topsail rig of the present day, though one does not often hear the name of Captain Howes in connection with it.
[11] Mr. Everett is reported to have said “eighty-two,� but if he did so, it was a mistake, for forty-two is the true number.
[12] These slabs were subsequently removed, one side being washed away.
[13] The following are some of these house flags: The crimson field and black ball, of Charles H. Marshall; the red, white, and blue swallowtail, of Grinnell, Minturn & Co.; the yellow, red, and yellow horizontal bars with white “L� in centre, of A. A. Low & Brother; the thirteen blue and twelve white squares, of N. L. & G. Griswold; the crimson field and yellow beehive, of Sutton & Co.; the crimson field, white border, and white “D� in centre, of George Daniels; the red, white, and red vertical stripes with red “B� in centre, of Vernon H. Brown; the blue and white half-diamonds, of Russell & Co.; the crimson field and white diamond, of Augustine Heard & Co.; the white above blue and red ball in the centre, of Sampson & Tappan; the white above yellow and red star in centre, of Glidden & Williams; the narrow blue and white horizontal stripes with red ball in the centre, of Napier, Johnson & Co.; the white field and blue cross, of George B. Upton; the crimson swallowtail and blue cross, of Charles R. Green; the white swallowtail, red cross with white diamond in the centre, of R. W. Cameron; the crimson swallowtail, blue cross, and white ball in the centre, of Wells & Emanuel; the blue above white, white ball in blue and red ball in white, of D. & A. Kingsland; the white field and red cross in the centre of D. G. & W. B. Bacon; the white swallowtail and black S. & B., of Snow & Burgess; the white field and black horse, of William F. Weld & Co. The flag of Howland & Aspinwall had a blue square in the upper corner of the luff and lower corner of the fly; the rest of the flag was white with narrow blue lines in the lower corner of the luff and upper corner of the fly, which formed squares, and also formed a white cross extending the full hoist and length of the flag. David Ogden’s flag was a white field and red cross; Crocker & Warren’s, blue above yellow with a yellow “C� in the blue and blue “W� in the yellow. Then there was the red swallowtail with white cross and black star in the centre, of Samuel Thompson & Nephew; the blue field, white diamond, and black star, of Williams & Guion; the crimson field and black “X� of John Griswold. These were the private signals of most of the leading New York and Boston ship-owners, which, half a century ago, enlivened the water front of New York, though there were some others which have now faded from memory.
[14] Walter Savage Landor.
[15] Democracy in America (1835); Second American edition, p. 408.
[16] See Appendix IV.
[17] A lorcher is a fast Chinese vessel, used a good deal by fishermen, and in former times by the Chinese pirates and smugglers.
[18] The Thermopylæ repeated this remarkable passage of sixty-three days from London to Melbourne during the following year.
| Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: |
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their chests, mess-kids=> their chests, mess-kits {pg 28} A seires of voyages=> A series of voyages {pg 75} upon the the transom=> upon the transom {pg 188} a ship-bulding yard=> a ship-building yard {pg 271} receiving letters and newspapars=> receiving letters and newspapers {pg 319} David Crocket=> David Crockett {pg 369} McKensie, Capt., Houqua, 63, 145, 341=> McKenzie, Capt., Houqua, 63, 145, 341 {pg 391 index} |