CAPTAIN JOHN GRAHAM.
Of the subsequent captains of this line I can only mention the names of those with whom I remember having sailed and made their acquaintance. None of them left a more lasting impression on my memory than John Graham, the genial captain of the second Canadian, and of the Sarmatian when he retired from the service and the sea in 1885. It was he who so often and so strenuously discussed the desirability of throwing a dam across the Straits of Belle Isle that he actually came to believe in it himself as a possibility in the near future, by which in his estimation the climate of Canada was to be assimilated to that of the south of France. That was his fad. But take him all in all, he was as fine a man as one could desire to meet. He was a grand sailor. When his examination before the Nautical Board was concluded in re the loss of the Canadian, his certificate was handed back to him with the remark, “Sir, you did your duty like a noble British seaman.” The dangers incident to a seafaring life never disturbed his equanimity, for he had long been ready to “go aloft” at a moment’s notice.
CAPTAIN JAMES WYLIE.
James and Hugh Wylie were both quiet, unassuming men who understood their business thoroughly. The former rose to be the commodore of the fleet. On retiring from the command of the Parisian, the citizens of Montreal honoured him with a banquet and an address, congratulating him on his remarkably successful career. Hugh retired from the command of the Polynesian shortly after a serious accident that befell his ship on the river, through the carelessness of his pilot. James was noted for his caution, of which a somewhat humorous illustration was given one dark night when the Parisian was speeding down the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Some of us were still pacing the deck, though it was near midnight, when suddenly the engine stopped. To the uninitiated there is nothing more alarming than that; but at this hour most of the passengers were fast asleep. There followed a few minutes of profound silence. The sea, until now as black as ink, had all at once become white and glistering. Had we run into a field of ice? To the captain, who was at his post on the bridge, and to the double lookout on the forecastle it must have had that appearance; but it proved to be only schools of herring or mackerel disporting themselves on the surface of the water, causing a brilliant phosphorescent illumination of the sea. It spread over a large surface and had all the appearance of field ice, precisely where such danger is to be apprehended. The ship sailed on: but none of us dared to ask then, nor next morning, why she had stopped.
Frederick Archer, Lieut. R.N.R., successively in command of the St. Andrew, the Manitoban, and the Moravian, was made of sterner stuff than the average sea-captain. It required more than one voyage to become acquainted with him, but once in his good graces the passenger was all right. He was the strictest disciplinarian of the whole staff. Regularly as on a man-of-war, his sailors marched into the saloon on Sunday mornings in their best rigs to attend divine service. In the absence of a clergyman none could use the Book of Prayer more effectively than Capt. Archer. He died at sea in the prime of life.
William H. Smith, Lieut. R.N.R., son of late Commander John S. Smith, R.N.—one of the last surviving officers of the battle of Trafalgar—was born at Prospect House, Broadstairs, Kent, England, in 1838. He served as midshipman on board the Calcutta in the Australian trade: entered the Allan service during the progress of the Crimean war, and was present at several of the engagements between the Russians and the allied forces: went to Odessa with the allied fleets, and was serving on board the Indian when she received sealed orders to proceed to Kinburn and lay buoys for the ironclads which bombarded and destroyed the forts. Captain Smith’s first command in the Allan service was the steamer St. George; subsequently he was master of the Hibernian, Circassian, Peruvian, Sardinian and the Parisian. He succeeded Captain James Wylie as Commodore of the fleet, and held that position for several years, until he resigned to accept the office of Chairman of the Board of Examiners of Masters and Mates, Commissioner for enquiring into wrecks, and one of the nautical advisers of the Government. This office he still holds with headquarters in Halifax, N. S. Capt. Smith was always very popular with the travelling community. On leaving the service he was presented with a valuable set of plate.
