In the Mediterranean, however, great activity prevailed. The Crusades gave a tremendous impetus to the shipping of the Middle Sea. Christians and Saracens vied with each other in the production of ships of war. The larger “busses” sent to the Levant in the fleet of Richard Cœur de Lion carried, according to Richard of Devizes, a captain and fifteen seamen, and forty knights with their horses, forty footmen, fourteen servants, and twelve months’ provision for all. Some vessels are said to have carried double this complement and cargo. A Saracen ship, of which little is known, was encountered off the Syrian coast, of so great a size that it could not be subdued until the Christian galleys charged in line abreast and smashed in her side so that she went down with nearly all of her one thousand five hundred men.
A GALLEY OF THE KNIGHTS OF MALTA.
From the Model in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
MEDITERRANEAN GALLEY.
From a Model in the Museum of the Royal United Service Institution.
CHAPTER II
WAR CRAFT OF THE FAR WEST, CENTRAL AFRICA, THE FAR SOUTH,
THE PACIFIC, AND THE FAR EAST
Notwithstanding the enormous strides made in ship construction, it is still possible to find in active use vessels but little removed from the earliest types known. It is, of course, in the “Mysterious East,” where anything that served its purpose very well centuries ago seems to have been expected to retain its efficiency for ever, that one finds those survivals from bygone ages. The earliest vessels known were hollowed logs, or dug-outs; such are in use still. Planks were stitched or lashed on above the bulwarks to raise the freeboard and keep out the sea; the same contrivance is applied to this day. A few strips of bamboo or other light material tied together formed rafts; their exact counterparts are in existence in many parts of the world. It was found possible to sail them by means of a sail of matting attached to a yard which was supported by a stout mast destitute of stays or standing rigging; a centre-board or drop keel which could be lowered through the middle of the raft into the water prevented leeway, and steering was effected by means of a pole with a blade attached, usually tied on, this long paddle being sometimes used near the middle of the after end of the raft and sometimes at either of the after corners, the necessary leverage being obtained by the provision of a stump for the purpose. The origin of such rafts is lost in antiquity, yet they continue to be found in active service.