Chapter IV (6)

Nearly a dozen steamship lines leave Colon for ports in the United States, Europe, the West Indies, and the neighboring coasts, and by one or two of them the traveller can run up to Greytown, where he will have an opportunity to see the Nicaraguan Canal. This canal, when completed, will make important changes in existing routes between the United States and Europe at one end of the line, and the west coast of the American Continent, China, Japan, and Australasia at the other. For instance, the route from London to Sydney is 12,500 miles, via the Suez Canal; by the Nicaraguan Canal the distance will be less than 12,000 miles. And if the lengths of the routes from the Atlantic seaboards to the Pacific seaboards, both east and west, be compared with those now followed, the great saving by the Nicaraguan gateway becomes still more apparent. Returning to Colon, the traveller boards the north-bound steamer, and lands in New York, 2,000 miles distant, in 8 days.

It may be, however, that the traveller decides upon proceeding by the second route, leading from Panama to New York. If so, he books on board a steamer belonging to the Pacific Steam Navigation Company of England, a powerful organization having the contract for carrying the mails, and controlling almost exclusively the Isthmian trade to and from South America. The ships of the Company run into all the ports of consequence on the west coast, and the lines extend from Valparaiso by way of Magellan Straits to the river Plate and Brazil ports, and thence to Lisbon and England. An important point for consideration in connection with this southern trip is the probability of there being a revolution in progress in some of the countries to be visited, which might interfere with going on shore.

At length the steamer leaves Panama, and the passenger for the United States begins his long journey. His companions are very few, South Americans, principally, bound for ports along the coast, so he is left to his own resources. He can read, and lounge, and make good friends with the officers of the ship, who are Englishmen. At night he can stretch out in his steamer chair and dream away the warm hours gazing at the “majestical roof fretted with golden fire.”

From Panama to Valparaiso, some 3,100 miles, 25 ports are touched at, which, Callao excepted, are of no special interest. Callao, the seaport of Peru, is in itself unattractive, the town and the people are dirty; the empty docks, the lazy inhabitants, the atmosphere of _laissez aller_, confirm the opinion that the place and all around it have had their day. From Callao the traveller should go to Lima, 7 miles distant by rail, and take the Oroya Railway to the top of the Andes, 15,000 feet above the sea-level: the wonderful engineering ability displayed in constructing this road will prove quite as impressive as the truly magnificent mountain scenery. Two days will suffice to make the excursion and bring him back to Lima, an old Spanish city with many interesting corners. The cathedral should be visited; in the crypt lie the bones of the great Pizarro. A dirty Cholo shows them. Reverently pulling aside a ragged curtain from before a dingy stone bench, he exclaims, “Behold the bones of Francisco Pizarro!” Their state of perfect preservation and symmetry of arrangement might incline one to doubt the truth of the statement.

Leaving Callao, en route for Valparaiso, the steamer makes several ports; some of them interesting because of the recent war operations, but otherwise they had better be viewed from the ship’s deck, for the same low adobe dwellings and squalid existence characterize them all. After 11 days of pleasant weather Valparaiso is reached. Valparaiso is built on several hill slopes running to the water from a high ridge back of the city. It is a place of great activity; the docks are piled high with freight, the people move about with spirit, the harbor is full of ships, and there is that general air which betokens financial soundness and commercial prosperity. The streets are noticeably clean, the buildings are of good architecture, the stores are inviting, and the frequently recurring signs in English, French, and German, and the people met, are indicative of the cosmopolitan nature of the inhabitants.

The Bay of Valparaiso is open to the northward, from which point the heavy gales blow, raising a long rolling sea that works considerable damage to shipping. Steamers weigh and stand out when these blows come on.

Valparaiso has connection, via Magellan Straits, with Montevideo, 2,750 miles distant, by means of four or five lines of good steamships. The P. S. N.—as the Pacific Steam Navigation Company is called—runs vessels over this route. So do the Cosmos and Hamburg Companies, German lines; there are besides French and Italian lines.

Since leaving Panama, 21 days ago, the weather along the Pacific highway has been uniformly pleasant—for northers are infrequent—the breezes have been light and warm from the southward, the sea long and smooth, and the ship seldom out of sight of the bare sandy hills running along the shore, or the towering Andes stretching away in the background. To the south from Valparaiso, however, this changes. It grows colder, the sea gets rougher, and by the time the Gulf of Peñas, the entrance to the inside passage, is reached, the chances are it will be thick and unsettled, with every prospect of a foul gale. When the storm breaks it is tremendous; in no other part of the world do winds blow harder or seas rise higher; lofty ships carry low sails hereabouts, and steamers frequently have to lie to.

The mad ocean is left astern when the ship enters the inside passage leading along the coast of Patagonia and the Straits of Magellan. Here the scene is one of unparalleled magnificence. High bare walls of stone, towering barren cliffs, lofty snow-capped peaks, weather-scarred mountains down whose furrowed sides extend steel-blue glaciers—all reveal nature in her most majestic and awe-inspiring form.

From Sandy Point, a small settlement midway in the strait, where coal can be obtained, to Cape Virgins, 150 miles beyond, the lay of the land is less varied and attractive. At the Cape the ship enters on the tempestuous Atlantic highway, and heads northward for Montevideo, 1,300 miles away. Five days later the anchor is let go about 3 miles off the city. The traveller must remember, when going on shore at Montevideo, that pamperos blow frequently, raising a nasty cross-sea which makes boating very uncertain. Several well-known lines of foreign vessels make Montevideo a port of call; among them the Messageries Maritimes; the North German Lloyds, the Austro-Hungarian Lloyds, and the Italian Mail. Of the many other lines, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Brazilian, to be seen in the harbor, none is of more importance than the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, of Southampton. In 1842 this steamship company was the first that carried mails to the West Indies from Europe. It began the Brazilian and River Plate (Rio de la Plata) mail service in 1850. To-day its routes include the West India Islands, Mexico, and Central and South America.

The regular liners to Montevideo, and the several local and coasting steamers, come to off Buenos Ayres, 100 miles to the southeastward. The extensive harbor works, for the purpose of making the city a deep-water port, at once excite admiration. Both Montevideo and Buenos Ayres are attractive cities of regular streets, many substantial houses, public buildings with Italian marble façades, Spanish cathedrals, and extensive suburbs of handsome residences surrounded by beautiful gardens. The mean temperature of the two places, 63°, corresponds with that of Palermo and Rome. The business of Montevideo is good, the imports of merchandise, machinery, and manufactured articles exceeding $22,000,000, and the exports of hides, horns, wool, and beef being valued at $15,000,000. The trade of Buenos Ayres is much larger, the imports being valued at $88,000,000, the exports at $65,000,000.

The traveller for Rio Janeiro can take a coasting line if he desires to visit southern Brazil; otherwise, any one of the big mail ships will make the run of 1,150 miles in 6 days. The port of Rio, large, deep, and the most beautiful in the world, is entered by a channel a mile and a half wide, defended by forts. Inside the bay is 17 miles long by 10 miles broad. The town is most attractive from the water. It is especially picturesque at night, when the arrangement of the innumerable gas-lights distinctly outlines the entire city, built on a gentle incline toward the bay. The streets are narrow, badly paved, and not over-clean. The traveller will find that he can get on well enough if he talk French, for there is a certain French air about the community. Many of the stores have French signs, nearly all the shopkeepers speak French, it is the language of the hotel clerks, the opera bouffe sings it, and the black-eyed señoritas murmur it.

Rio is connected with Europe by 12 regular lines of steamships, and with the United States by 3. New York being the traveller’s objective port, he should take passage on board one of the vessels of the United States & Brazil Mail Steamship Company, flying the American flag. Since leaving Panama, 40 odd days ago, the tourist has steamed over 7,000 miles of ocean highway, yet throughout all this time and distance, he has never once seen the stars-and-stripes. The ships of the United States & Brazil Mail Steamship Company are despatched monthly from Rio, making stops at Bahia, Pernambuco, Maranham, and Para in Brazil. At Para a most interesting route is offered by regular steamers running up the Amazon to Manaos, 1,000 miles away; thence, irregular vessels go 2,000 miles farther. From Para the United States & Brazil Company makes Barbadoes, of the Windward Isles, in 5 days—a healthy, delightful winter resort, where a mean daily temperature of 80° is tempered by the steady northeast trade-winds.

The weather along the Atlantic highway, from the river Plate to the Windward Islands, is for the most part fine, clear, and warm, with occasional rain-squalls when on the line, and possibly a stiff blow when rounding Cape St. Roque. Excepting the pleasure incident to being at sea, there is little to excite the traveller, for the passengers are few, Americans and South Americans, and are not addicted to much amusement. Lounging, reading, smoking, and walking the deck, conversation and cards pass the time.

At Barbadoes the traveller enters the waters of the West India Islands. These islands present a great contrast to South America, not only in physical features, but in weather and population. During the winter months the northeast trades blow at times with force enough to raise a rough sea. During the summer season hurricanes are to be feared. The differences of race characteristics are more noticeable than those of the weather. Instead of the lazy, polite, cruel South Americans, the traveller encounters the ubiquitous West Indian darky, celebrated for his insolence, chaff, and annoying persistence.

From Barbadoes the steamer shapes her course for the Island of St. Thomas, a day’s run of 300 miles. St. Thomas is a place of great shipping activity. It communicates with Europe by lines running to England, France, Germany, and Spain. It is the West India head-quarters of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, and the central point from which branch lines radiate that will take the traveller to any or all of the islands, as he desires.

Now that the West Indies, the Bahamas, and Cuba are growing in favor as winter resorts, the lines and routes of steamers from the West Indies are many and various. For instance, to reach New York the Clyde and Atlas lines sail from Hayti; the New York Cuba line from Cuba and the Bahamas; the New York & Porto Rico line from St. Johns; the Red D line from Curaçao and Colombian ports; the Quebec Steamship Company from St. Kitts and other Windward Islands and Bermuda; the Atlas, Honduras, & Central America and Wessels lines from Jamaica, and the Trinidad line from Port of Spain, Grenada, and Guiana. The Plant line from Jamaica lands the traveller in Tampa, Fla., a place in communication with Havana, as is New Orleans.

If, however, the traveller has taken none of these minor routes, but stayed by the United States & Brazil steamer at St. Thomas, he is landed in New York, 1,450 miles distant, in 6 days.

The whole voyage from San Francisco around the American continent to New York, along the ocean highways commonly navigated by the larger steamships, is 16,500 miles long. The time taken to make this distance is about 100 days. The cost of the journey for tickets, transfers, and unavoidable delays is $1,000; $2,000 will enable the passenger to do it comfortably.

The traveller from New York has been gone from start to finish, by the ocean highways to Europe, India, China, San Francisco, South America, and back to New York, nearly 200 days; has steamed over about 40,000 miles of water, and has spent $4,000. He has learned that there are other lands and other peoples than his own worthy his admiration and study. Let him take a year and $5,000 for this rounding the world, and he will be better satisfied and better informed, and appreciate more fully that “going to sea clears a man’s head of much nonsense of his wigwam.”

* * * * *

The fourth great ocean thoroughfare, the route around the Cape of Good Hope to Africa, Australia, and the East, is traversed by many fine steamers. The way lies from Europe via Madeira, Cape Verd, St. Helena, West Africa, and Cape Town, thence to East Africa via Mauritius to Australia, whence the Occident line leaves for New Zealand, Samoa, Sandwich Islands, and San Francisco. This long route covers 30,000 miles. To reach the Cape, 6,000 miles from England, the two well-known English mail lines, the Union Steamship Company and the Castle Mail Packets Company offer the most attractive routes; the steamer service of both is of the highest order. The time out is 18 days, the fare about $180.

Two English lines, the New Zealand Shipping Company and the Shaw, Savill & Albion Company deserve special mention, because the route they follow gives the longest possible stretch of ocean navigation, each vessel making a complete circuit of the world on the round voyage. The fleet of each company comprises 5 large, well-appointed steamships, despatched alternately every two weeks over the following route: From Plymouth to Teneriffe, 1,420 miles in 5 days, where a stay of 6 hours for coaling gives opportunity for a trip on shore. Then a run of 4,450 miles in 15 days brings the steamer to Cape Town, where an 8 or 10 hour stay is made. Passengers for African ports transfer here. From Cape Town a run of 5,400 miles in 17 days brings the steamer to Hobart, where Tasmanian and Australian passengers leave the vessel. After a few hours in this beautiful harbor a 4 days’ run of 1,270 miles lands the traveller in Wellington, New Zealand.

For the homeward voyage a course is shaped for Cape Horn, a 14 days’ run. Once around this point the ship makes Rio, 22 days and 6,820 miles distant from Wellington. The next port of call is Teneriffe, 3,360 miles and 12 days distant, whence a 5 days’ run is sufficient to cover the 1,420 miles that again lands the traveller in Plymouth, after having been gone 81 days and travelled over 25,150 miles. The price of a ticket over this longest of great sea routes is about $650.

Footnote:

[20] The table is from Lloyd’s Register, 1890-91.

INDEX.

Aaron Manby, the, first iron steamship, 14.

Accommodation, the, first steamboat on the St. Lawrence, 5.

Adelaide, the, a famous clipper ship, 225.

Aden, 270.

Agents, steamship, at home and abroad, 132.

Aller, the, 40.

America, the, as a freight carrier, 233.

American enterprise in first establishing long ocean routes, 253.

Anchor, heaving the, 156.

Anchor line, the, 243.

Arctic, the, loss of, 26.

Arizona, the, 36.
collision of, with an iceberg, 203.
speed of, 229.

Atlas line, the, 243.

Austro-Hungarian Lloyd Steam Navigation Company, 264.

Banana trade, the, 240, _et seq._
receipts of bananas in 1890, 243.

Barges, coaling, 248.

Bassorah, 273.

Bayonne, the, a tank steamer, record of, 245.

Bennett, James Gordon, Sr., a passenger on the Sirius’s first return
voyage, 217.

Bill of fare of a transatlantic liner, 137.
required by the British Government, 143.

Black Ball line. See _Marshall, C. H., & Co._

Black Star line. See _Grimshaw & Co._

Black Star line, old. See _Guion line_.

Boat drill on shipboard, 181.

Boilers, tubular, the first, 33.

Bombay, description of, 271.
steamship lines converging at, 272.

Bothnia, the, 35.

Bramah, Joseph, proposes the plan of a screw propeller, 17.

Bramwell, Sir Frederick, 36.
his comparison of an ancient galley to an Atlantic liner, 108.

Breadstuffs and provisions, value of export of, in 1890-91, 224.

Britannia, the first of the Cunard ships to sail for America, 21.
her dimensions, 22, 31, 73.
the pioneer of the Cunard line, 118.

Britannic, the, 35.
description of, 73.
average speed of, 77.

British India Steam Navigation Company, the, 263.

Brown, Wm. H., builder of the Collins vessels, 26.

Brunel, designer of the Great Western, 10.
and of the Great Britain, 19.
plans the Great Eastern, 30.

Buenos Ayres, 288.

Bulkheads and double bottoms in steamships, 206.

Bureau Veritas, exhibit of, at the Liverpool naval exhibition, 4.

Burns, Mr. George, 12.

Bushire, 272.

Calcutta, first steamship to arrive in, 255.

California, early sea travel to, 254.

Callao, 284.

Canton, 278.

Castle Mail Packets Company, 292.

Cattle ships, loading of, 248.
cost of shipping cattle, 251.

Caulking an iron ship, 102.

Charles W. Wetmore, the, the “whaleback,” description of, 234,
_et seq._

Checking of baggage, system of transatlantic, 131, 141.

China, the, 32.

Chinese passenger traffic to California, 281.

City of Berlin, the, 35.

City of Glasgow, the, 73, 124.

City of New York, the, 42.
highest average speed made by, 129.

City of Paris, the, 42.
description of, 74.
bulkhead system of, 206.
as a record breaker, 229.

City of Rome, the, rejected by the Inman Company, 93.

Clermont, the, speed of, 68.
description of, 70.

Clipper ships, famous, 225.
early American, 254.

Clyde, Firth of the, 95.

Coal, consumption of, on steamers, 39, 44, 67.
reduced by the employment of improved engines, 87.

Coaling ocean steamers, 248.

Coal-trimmers, feast of, 175.

Coastwise steamships, lines of, 223.

Collins, Mr. E. K., founder of the Collins line, 120.

Collins line, establishment of, 25, 121.
vessels of, 20, 31, 121.
rates of, 122.
bankruptcy of, 27, 122.

Colombo, 273.

Columba, the, 72.

Comet, the, model of, 3.
description of, 5, 70, 96.

Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, the, establishment of, 25, 43.
freight capacity of ships of, 218.

Condenser, surface, 32.

Conveniences and luxuries of transatlantic travel, 137, _et seq._

Cotton, value of export of, 224.

Cufic, the, tonnage of, 230.

Cunard, Mr. Samuel, 12, 118.

Cunard line, foundation of, 12.
first fleet of, 21, 118.
a monopoly at the start, 120.
freight capacity of their largest ships, 218.

Demologos the, Fulton’s war steamer, description of, 5.

Distances, prices, etc., from London to San Francisco eastward, table
of, 265.

Draught, forced, 88.

Dreadnaught, the, a famous clipper ship, 225.

Duchess of Hamilton, the, 71.

Eider, the, rapid freighting of, 247.

Elder, John, & Co., introduce the compound engine, 34, 40.

Elevators, floating capacity of, 239.

Engineer force on a large steamship, duties, 173.

Engine-room of a steamship, 170.

Engines, marine, of the Great Britain, 19, 33, 36.
triple expansion, 39, 46.
compound, 68, 87.

Enterprise, the, first steamship to arrive in India, 7, 255.

Ericsson, John, shows the practicability of the screw propeller, 14.

Esmeralda, the, wave-action in the case of, 48.

Etruria, the, best voyage of, 77.
timely arrival of, 252.

Evans, Oliver, advocates high pressures, 33, 35.

Export business in 1890 from the principal Atlantic ports, 224.

Fairfield, ship-yard, description of, 104.

“Fairing the ship,” 98.

Fastnet light, 194.

Ferry-boat, the New York, 3.

Fire-drill on a steamship, 154.

Firemen on the ocean steamships, 44.

Florio line, the, 243.

Fog at sea, dangers of, 186.
narrow escapes in, 189, _et seq._

Forbes, Mr. R. B., of Boston, builds screw steamers for transatlantic
trade, 24.

Freighters, as a class of ocean steamships, 226, 233.

Freights, ocean, rate of, 251.
volume of, 224.
how handled, 246.

Froude, Mr. W., investigations of, on the best forms for ships, 46,
63.

Fruit steamship, the, 239, _et seq._
description of, 240.

Fulton, the maker of the first successful steamboats, 2, 5.
first war steamer designed by, 5.

Germanic, the, 35, 74.

Gibraltar, description of, 260.

Glasgow & New York Steamship Co., 125.

Glasgow, the shipbuilders of, 96.

Grain-carrying, vessels designed for, 234, _et seq._

Great Britain, the, building of, 13.
details of, 19.
fate of, 20.

Great Eastern, the, 30.

Great Western, the, 72.
description of, 10.
her voyage to New York and return, 11, 113, 117.
her career and end, 12.
built of iron and with a screw, 14.

Great Western Steamship Company, formation of, 7.
Brunel the founder of, 9.

Grimshaw & Co.’s line, 113.

Guion line, establishment of, 25, 113.
steamers of, lost between Fastnet and Liverpool, 195.
the freight capacity of, 218.

Hamburg-American line, ships of, 43.
their freight capacity, 218.

Henderson, Thomas, self-cleaning fire-bars of, 89.

Henriette, Princesse, the, description of, 70.

Honduras & Central American line, the, 243.

Hong-Kong, 277.

Hoogly River, navigation of, 275.

Horse-power, 64.
increase of, not in proportion to increase in size of vessel, 67.

Howden, James, forced draught process of, 88.

Hulls, Jonathan, pamphlet of, on propelling boats by steam, 1.

Hydrographic Bureau, charts issued by, 199.

Ice at sea, perils of, 198, _et seq._

Icebergs, origin and dangers of, 200.

Immigrant passenger traffic, proportions of, 147.
how handled, 148.

Impérieuse, the, 63.

India, short route to, from Europe, 255.

Inman line, ships of, 42.
beginning of the, 122.
the first to use the screw propeller and to carry steerage
passengers, 124.

the freight capacity of the largest ships of, 218.

Iron vessels, the first, 13.
Thomas Wilson, the first builder of, 14.

Japanese steamship lines, 281.

John Randolph, the, first iron vessel in the United States, 13.

Kirk, Mr. A. C., triple expansion engines of, 39.

Kurrachee, 272.

Laird, Mr. J., 11.
builder of the first iron vessels on a large scale, 13.

Laird, Mr. McGregor, estimate of coal consumption in steam
navigation, 9.

Lardner, Dr., his declaration of the impossibility of steam
navigation, 7.

Lima, 284.

Liverpool, New York, & Philadelphia Steamship Co. See _Inman line_.

Log, patent, 213.

London, table of distances and prices from and to San Francisco, 265.

Madras, 275.

Mails, accommodations for, on ocean steamships, 230, _et seq._
sorting, on board ship, 231.
largest European, brought by the Servia, 231.

Majestic, the, fast trip of, 44.
description of, 74.
breaks the record, 229.

Marshall, C. H., & Co.’s line, 113, 120.

Marshall, Mr. F. C., paper of, 36.

Mary Whitredge, the, a famous clipper ship, 225.

Maudslay & Field, builders of marine engines, 11.

McIver, Mr. David, 12.

McKinley bill, influence of, on freight rates, 251.

Mediterranean fruit trade, the, 243.

Merchandise, value of export of, in 1890-1891, 244.

Messageries Maritimes, the fleet of, 264.

Miller, Patrick, 68.

Mirehouse, Captain John, 144.

Models of British boats, display of, 2, 4.

Molasses ship, the, 246.

Montevideo, 288.

National line, the establishment of, 25.
as a freight carrier, 233.

Naval Exhibition, at Liverpool, in 1886, 2.
models of Italian and French ships at, 4.
at London, 4.

Netherland-India Steamship Company, 276.

New York & Havre Steam Navigation Co., 120.

New Zealand Shipping Company, 292.

Nomadic, the, carried the largest amount of freight, 233.

Noon position of the ship, finding the, 179.

North German Lloyd, establishment of, 25.
ships of, 43.
freight capacity of the express steamships of, 218.
rapid handlers of freight, 247, 264.

Observations for latitude at sea, 176.

Ocean Steam Navigation Co., the, 120.

Oceanic Company. See _White Star line_.

Officers of a steamship, 152, _et seq._

Oil for calming troubled waters, use of, 213.

Oregon, the, sinking of, 51, 198.

Orient Steam Navigation Company, 266.

Ormuz, 272.

Pacific Mail Steamship Company, the, ships of, 29, 243, 280.

Pacific Steam Navigation Company of England, 23, 283.

Packet lines, the Liverpool, 255.
to Australia, 254.

Paddle-steamer, high-water mark of, 31.

Paddle-wheel compared with screw, 79.
when necessary, 80.

Panama, 283.

Parker, Mr., his comparison of triple expansion engines with ordinary
ones, 39.

Passenger capacity of the early steamships, 114.
accommodations then, 119.
and now, 127.

Passenger lists, 131.

Passengers, cabin, statistics of, 133.

Pearce, Sir William, of the Fairfield ship-yard, 110.

Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, the, 23, 260.
an imaginary trip by, 260.

Persia, the, description of, 31.

Plimsoll, Samuel, 251.

Polyphemus, H.B.M.S., 59.

Princeton, the, description of, 23.

Propellers, failure of, internal, 83.
material of, 214.

Puritan, the, 71.

Quarantine regulations, 142.

Quartermasters, duties of, 164.

Randolph Elder & Co. See _Elder, John, & Co._

Red Sea, the passage through, 269.

Refrigerators on steamships, 232.

Rio Janeiro, 288.

Ruthven’s hydraulic propeller, 83.

Saale, the, 40.

Said, Port, harbor of, 263, 266.
traffic of, 269.

Sailors, on a steamship, 165, _et seq._
messes of, 174.

Savannah, the first steamship to cross the ocean, 8.

Scotia, the, 31, 32, 73.

Screw propeller, used by Ericsson, 16.
invented or proposed by others, 17, _et seq._
early prejudice against, 79.
compared with paddle-wheel, 79.
twin screws, 43, 80, 209, 212.
triple screws, 80.
form and nature of, 84.
instances of change of form, 85.

Scythia, the, 35.

Servia, the, largest mail brought by her, 231.

Shaft, breaking of a steamer’s, 210.

Shanghai, 280.

Shaw, Savill & Albion Company, the, 292.

Ship, investigations into the resistance of a, in motion, 46, 63.

Ships, forms of, how judged of, 62.
life of, 55.
speed of, visionary schemes to increase, 58.
the speed of, primary conditions for, 61.

Singapore, 276.

Sirius, the, first steamer to cross from Europe to New York, 11, 112.

Skin of ship, frictional resistance of, 46, 86.

Smith, Thomas Pettit, invents a screw propeller, 17, 18.

Sorting mails on shipboard, 231.

South Stack lighthouse, 194.

Sovereign of the Seas, the, quick run of, 254.

Specie-room on a steamship, 231.

Speed of ship, schemes to increase, 58.
conditions for, 61.
increases safety, 204.

Standard Oil Co., the, tank steamers of, 245.
“Steam lanes,” 215.

Steamboat had at first the greatest use in America, 4, 28.

Steamship, a first-class, cost of, 92.
construction of, first stages, 97, _et seq._
variability of results in its construction, 93.
lines, number and statistics of, 135, _et seq._
records of fast trips of, 130.
passenger, table fare of, 136.
incoming, how signalled, 142.
hauling out a, 149.
expert seamanship required to manage a, 150.
officers, junior, 163.
fire drill on, 154.
care of, at sea, 159.
crew of, 165.
inspection of, 170.
travel, perils of, 186, _et seq._
wrecked, list of, 195, _et seq._
burned at sea, 197.
speed of increases safety, 204.
safety of, 205, _et seq._
freight and passenger, 217.

Steamships, the fastest, cost of, 218.
list of transatlantic, 219.
routes long, first established by Boston merchants, 253;
to India, China, and Australia, list of, 266;
traffic main of, 256.
number and nationality of, 256.
lines of transatlantic, 259.
between Europe and the East, 260.

Steel, use of, in naval construction, 54.
industry in the United States, 56, 86.

Steerage passengers, fare of, 143.
inspection of, 144.

Steering gear, steam, 164.

Stevens, Mr., of Hoboken, experiments of, with the screw
propeller, 18.
return tubular boilers built by, 33.

Stockton, Commodore Robert F., orders screw boats of Ericsson, 17.

Stoke-hole of a steamship, 171.

Stokers, at work, 172.
their quarters, 175.

Suez Canal, passage of, 269.

Sunday on steamship, 142.

Tank steamers, 243, _et seq._

Tapscott’s line, 213.

Teutonic, breaks the record, 44, 129, 229.
tonnage of, 230.

Thomas Powell, the, 34.

Tonnage of the United States in 1829 and subsequently, 7.
of London and Liverpool, 8.
of foreign and domestic ships in 1890, 223.
steam, in the United States and Great Britain, 53.

Tow-boats, statistics of, 223.

Tramp steamships, tonnage of, in 1890-91, 223.
description of, 234.

Trave, the, 40.
largest mail carried by her, 230.

Travel, transatlantic, increasing, 134.

Trevithick opposed by Watt, 77.

Triple-expansion engines, the first, 39.

Tripoli, Cunard steamer, loss of, 195.

Twin screws, 43.
safety secured by the system of, 209.
steamers having, 212.

Unicorn, the, first steamship to enter Boston from Europe, 118.

Union Steamship Company, the, 292.

United States and Brazil Mail Steamship Company, 289.

Valparaiso, 284.

Vanderbilt, Commodore, starts a line of transatlantic steamers, 124.

Ville du Havre, loss of, 197.

Water, resistance of, to a moving vessel, 46, 48, 63.

Waterwitch, the, experiments with, 83.

Watt, proposes a spiral oar, 17.
his prejudice against steam applied to marine propulsion, 77.

Wave-action in the case of ships at full speed, 46, _et seq._

Waves produced by a ship in motion, 47, 61.

West Indies, steamship lines touching at, 290.

“Whaleback” steamer, description of, 234.

Wheelwright, William, the instigator of Pacific Steam
Navigation Co., 23.

White Star line, establishment of, 25.
build a new type of ship, 35.
conveniences for passengers in, 126.
the freight capacity of the largest ships of, 218.
influence of, on ocean navigation, 230.

Williams & Guion. See _Guion line_.

Wilson line, the, as freight carriers, 219.

Wilson, Thomas, builds the first iron vessel, 14.

World, a trip round the, 256, _et seq._

Wrecked steamships, list of, 195, _et seq._

Wyckoff, Chevalier, a passenger on the Sirius’s return voyage, 117.

“_A reference to the several titles will convince any one at all
familiar with the general subject that the particular topic is
treated in every instance by an expert, entitled as such to speak
with authority._”—JUDGE THOMAS M. COOLEY.

THE AMERICAN RAILWAY

_ITS CONSTRUCTION, DEVELOPMENT, MANAGEMENT, AND APPLIANCES._

WRITTEN BY THE MOST EMINENT AUTHORITIES IN ALL BRANCHES OF RAILWAY WORK.

The book is divided into the following chapters, each being complete and full in the treatment of its subject.

AN INTRODUCTION BY JUDGE THOMAS M. COOLEY,

_Chairman of the Inter-state Commerce Commission_.

THE BUILDING OF A RAILWAY.

BY THOMAS CURTIS CLARKE,

_Civil Engineer_.

FEATS OF RAILWAY ENGINEERING.

BY JOHN BOGART,

_State Engineer of New York_.

AMERICAN LOCOMOTIVES & CARS.

BY M. N. FORNEY,

_Author of the “Catechism of the Locomotive,” Editor “Railroad and
Engineering Journals,” etc._

RAILWAY MANAGEMENT.

BY GEN. E. P. ALEXANDER,

_President Georgia Central R. R._

SAFETY IN RAILROAD TRAVEL.

BY H. G. PROUT,

_Editor “The Railroad Gazette.”_

RAILWAY PASSENGER TRAVEL.

BY GEN. HORACE PORTER,

_Vice-Pres. Pullman Palace Car Co._

THE FREIGHT CAR SERVICE.

BY THEODORE VOORHEES,

_Asst. Supt. N. Y. Central R. R._

THE PREVENTION OF RAILWAY STRIKES.

BY CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS,

_President Union Pacific R. R._

HOW TO FEED A RAILWAY.

BY BENJAMIN NORTON,

_Second Vice-Pres. L. I. R. R._

THE RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE.

BY THOMAS L. JAMES,

_Ex-Postmaster-General_.

THE RAILWAY IN ITS BUSINESS RELATIONS.

BY ARTHUR T. HADLEY,

_Professor Yale College; Author of “Railroad Transportation_.”

EVERY-DAY LIFE OF RAILROAD MEN.

BY B. B. ADAMS, JR.,

_Associate Editor “The Railroad Gazette.”_

STATISTICAL RAILWAY STUDIES.

BY FLETCHER W. HEWES,

_Author of “Scribner’s Statistical Atlas.”_

_With 225 Illustrations, 13 Maps, and 19 Charts, many being Colored. A Full Index adds much to the Value of the Volume as a Book of Reference._

Substantially bound in Half Leather, Octavo, $6.00, net.

For the first time there is presented in this book an adequate account of the American Railway, an industry representing over nine thousand million dollars in its one hundred and fifty thousand miles of road. The above enumeration of the subjects, which are treated in the volume, is sufficient to show its value and importance, and in preparing it nothing has been left undone which might add to the lasting value and interest of the work.

“_A large and handsome volume. The various chapters are all by
specialists well known as authorities, each in his own field, and the
information given, while attractive in form, may be depended upon as
entirely trustworthy._”—BOSTON BEACON.

ELECTRICITY IN DAILY LIFE

A POPULAR ACCOUNT OF THE APPLICATIONS OF ELECTRICITY TO EVERY DAY USES

In this work, the plan of which is similar to “The American Railway” published a year ago, are to be found elaborately illustrated papers by ten writers who were selected for their expert acquaintance with every phase of this important subject. Acknowledged authorities in their respective fields, these writers have described both the theoretical and practical aspects of the different branches of electrical science in a singularly entertaining and instructive manner. The scope and importance of the work are shown by the following list of topics and eminent authors:

ELECTRICITY IN THE SERVICE OF MAN.

BY C. F. BRACKETT,

Henry Professor of Physics in Princeton College.

THE ELECTRIC MOTOR AND ITS APPLICATIONS.

BY FRANKLIN L. POPE,

Past President of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers.

THE ELECTRIC RAILWAY OF TO-DAY.

BY JOSEPH WETZLER,

Editor of the “Electrical Engineer,” New York.

ELECTRICITY IN LIGHTING.

BY HENRY MORTON,

President of the Stevens Institute of Technology.

THE TELEGRAPH OF TO-DAY.

BY CHARLES L. BUCKINGHAM,

Patent Attorney and Counsel for the Western Union Telegraph Co.

THE MAKING AND LAYING OF A CABLE.

BY HERBERT L. WEBB,

Assistant Electrician, Metropolitan Telephone Co., New York.

ELECTRICITY IN NAVAL WARFARE.

BY WALTER S. HUGHES,

Lieutenant U.S.N.

ELECTRICITY IN LAND WARFARE.

BY JOHN MILLIS,

First Lieutenant, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A.

ELECTRICITY IN THE HOUSEHOLD.

BY A. E. KENNELLY,

Electrician of Mr. T. A. Edison’s Laboratory.

ELECTRICITY IN RELATION TO THE HUMAN BODY.

BY M. ALLEN STARR, M.D.,

Professor of Nervous Diseases, College of Physicians and Surgeons,
New York.

With 125 illustrations, Square 8vo, $3.00.

CHARLES SCRIBNER’s SONS, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK.

BRIEF LIST OF BOOKS ON TRAVEL, EXPLORATION AND ADVENTURE, PUBLISHED
BY CHARLES SCRIBNER’s SONS, 743 & 745 BROADWAY, NEW YORK CITY.

_Rev. James Bassett._

PERSIA; The Land of the Imams (With Map. 12mo, $1.50.)

“Scarcely inferior, in general interest, to O’Donovan’s “Merv,” or
Stech’s two volumes on Persia, and superior to either in interest for
a reader concerned in the evangelization of the country. His pages
are crowded with facts and replete with indications of intelligent
observations and natural interpretations. We have not found a dull
page in it. It is a small book with much in it, and that much
good.”—_New York Independent._

_Capt. John G. Bourke._

THE SNAKE DANCE OF THE MOQUIS OF ARIZONA. With a Description of the
Manners and Customs of this Peculiar People (With Colored Plates.
8vo, $5.00.)

“A valuable contribution to the study of native American ethnology,
while its vivid descriptions of weird scenes, stirring incidents
of travel, and characteristic anecdotes, make it very agreeable
reading.”—_London Academy._

_William T. Brigham._

GUATEMALA; The Land of the Quetzal (With 26 full-page Illustrations.
8vo, $5.00.)

“Mr. Brigham made a very extensive trip through Guatemala, and he
brought to all that met his eye a trained intelligence which detected
everything, revealed and promised. He discerned and comprehended
much more than any of the natives have divined or hoped for, and his
book is the only one extant in any language which discloses what the
Guatemalan Republic is or might be.”—_New York Sun._

_Henry W. Elliott._

OUR ARCTIC PROVINCE, ALASKA AND THE SEAL ISLANDS (Illust. 8vo, $4.50.)

“Nothing so complete and satisfactory has ever before appeared in
print in this country as this absorbingly interesting and minutely
accurate account of the great Alaskan Seal Islands, and the book
must now be regarded as the standard authority on ‘Our Arctic
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_Rev. Henry M. Field, D.D._

FROM THE LAKES OF KILLARNEY TO THE GOLDEN HORN (8vo, $2.00). FROM
EGYPT TO JAPAN (8vo, $2.00). ON THE DESERT (8vo, $2.00). AMONG THE
HOLY HILLS (With a Map. 8vo, $1.50). THE GREEK ISLANDS, and Turkey
after the War (With Illustrations and Maps. 8vo, $1.50). OLD SPAIN
AND NEW SPAIN (With Map. 8vo, $1.50). BRIGHT SKIES AND DARK SHADOWS
(With Maps. 8vo, $1.50). GIBRALTAR (Illustrated. 4to, $2.00).

“Dr. Field has an eye that sees very clearly. He knows also how
to describe just those things in the different places visited by
him which an intelligent man wants to know about. He has, besides,
a singularly clear and pleasing style, so that the attention of
his reader is never for a moment detained over any obscurity or
infelicity of expression, but is at once rewarded by the clear
perception of his meaning.”—_Dr. Wm. M. Taylor._

_Henry T. Finck._

THE PACIFIC COAST SCENIC TOUR (With 20 full-page Illustrations. 8vo,
$2.50). SPAIN AND MOROCCO; Studies in Local Color (12mo, $1.25.)

“The writer combines very happily the faculty of close observation
and minute description with real literary skill. Thus while his book
contains details which make it eminently useful and a source of exact
information, it is also a pleasurable work for the reader.”—_The
Christian Union._

_James Anthony Froude._

THE ENGLISH IN THE WEST INDIES (Illustrated. 8vo, $1.75). OCEANA:
England and Her Colonies (Illustrated. 8vo, $1.75.)

“Mr. Froude is the master of an exquisite prose style, and if not a
foremost master he is very near to that rank among living Englishmen.
Not since ‘Eothen’ captivated all its readers, not since Waterton
narrated the story of his wanderings, has the romance of travel been
treated with happier, abler, or more entertaining hands.”—_New York
Times._

_William H. Gilder._

SCHWATKA’s SEARCH (Illustrated. 8vo, $3.00). ICEPACK AND TUNDRA
(Illustrated. 8vo, $4.00.)

“No recent book gives so vivid an idea of the perils and hardships
which necessarily accompany all attempts at arctic exploration, as
this of Mr. Gilder’s. The accounts of the people of the various
places visited, and their peculiar customs, show keen powers of
observation as well as skill of description.”—_Boston Transcript._

_Gen. A. W. Greely._

THREE YEARS OF ARCTIC SERVICE. An Account of the Lady Franklin Bay
Expedition of 1881-1884 (With over 100 Illustrations, Maps, and
Charts. 2 vols., 8vo). _Sold only by subscription._

“In every respect—the interest of the narrative, the fullness and
accuracy of the departments of ethnology, of natural history, of
meteorology, geology, auroral displays, of all matters of scientific
interest—this work is incomparably the most valuable one on the
subject ever published.”—_Chicago Interior._

_William Elliot Griffis._

COREA; THE HERMIT NATION (With Maps and Illustrations. 8vo, $2.50.)

“The work bears witness to a vast amount of well directed labor; and
while it is clothed with a rare charm for the general reader, whose
curiosity regarding a long isolated nation will for the first time
be satisfied, it is also sure of a respectful and grateful reception
from the student of history, ethnology, and philology.”—_New York
Sun._

_William T. Hornaday._

TWO YEARS IN A JUNGLE (New Edition. 8vo, $3.00.) TAXIDERMY AND
ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTING (Illustrated. 8vo, $2.50 net.)

“He describes with skill and fidelity. Here we have the hunter’s
sport, the naturalist’s descriptions, and the traveler’s
observations. We need not say that the combination is rare and very
inviting.”—_Chicago Interior._

_A. J. Mounteney-Jephson._

EMIN PASHA AND THE REBELLION AT THE EQUATOR (8vo). _Sold only by
subscription._

“You have commenced your story where a great gap occurred in my own
narrative, a gap which you alone could fill up. There is within the
covers of your volume much matter that is quite new to me, much that
is extremely thrilling and exciting, and the whole is related with
very enviable literary tact and skill. With all my heart I commend
to American and English readers this true tale of work manfully and
nobly done and so modestly told.”—_Henry M. Stanley._

Carl Lumholtz.

AMONG CANNIBALS (Fully Illustrated. 8vo, $5.00.)

“We have all read the book with immense interest. It is a work which will have a _very long_ life, for it is full of wisdom and useful knowledge; besides, it represents everything so lively before the reader’s eyes that he forgets he is reading a mere description, and thinks he is at the author’s side, and shares with him the hardships, dangers, and joys of a life among cannibals in the wilderness of Australia. The whole civilized world must be grateful to you for this really wonderful work.”—_Dr. Henry Schliemann._

_Selah Merrill._

EAST OF THE JORDAN (With Illustrations and Map. New Edition, 8vo,
$2.50.)

No other American is so much at home in the East Jordan country as
Mr. Merrill, and there does not exist in any other language so much
fresh and valuable information respecting it. The illustrations
which embellish the book are fresh and original, and the style of
the narrative is graphic and entertaining. The work is exceedingly
interesting as an account of exploration in this field, rich in
historic associations.

_William Agnew Paton._

DOWN THE ISLANDS (Illustrated. Square 8vo, $2.50.)

“An exceedingly entertaining book of travels, containing nearly
seventy illustrations, including sixteen full-page plates. Mr. Paton
relates what he has seen in the Windward Islands, from St. Kitt’s to
Trinidad, and with this he interweaves a vast amount of official and
historical information, yet without making the book a formal affair.
The story is highly romantic and makes good reading.”—_Boston Beacon._

_W. S. Schley and Prof. J. R. Soley._

THE RESCUE OF GREELY (With Maps and Illustrations. 8vo, $2.00.)

“The work has been singularly well done. The whole story is told in
plain facts, plainly and intellectually stated, and the adjectives
are few. Rarely is a great story narrated so simply and yet so
effectively.”—_N. Y. Times._

_Dr. Henry Schliemann._

ANCIENT MYCENÆ (Illustrated. 4to, cloth extra, $7.50). TIRYNS
(Illustrated. Royal 8vo, $10.00).

“Dr. Schliemann has made the most important contribution of the
present century to Greek archæology.”—_The Nation._ “The interest
of the work is not confined to either England or America. Every
enlightened nation will welcome it, for it opens up a new world
to the modern generation. No work of the time has attracted wider
attention.”—_Boston Post._

_Eugene Schuyler._

TURKISTAN (New Edition. 2 vols., 8vo, $5.00.)

“One of the most valuable and fascinating of publications. The author
has the eye and pen of a journalist, and sees at once what is worth
seeing, and recites his impressions in the most graphic manner.”—_N.
Y. World._

_Herbert H. Smith._

BRAZIL; THE AMAZONS AND THE COAST (Illustrated. 8vo, $5.00.)

“Mr. Smith, an American who has lived and traveled for the greater
part of eight years in Brazil, gives so excellent an account of that
country that we cannot regret this addition to the already extensive
literature of the subject. The book is a very successful attempt to
present a comprehensive picture, drawn both from the experience of
the author and from that of previous Brazilian and foreign writers,
of the present state of Brazil.”—_London Academy._

_Henry M. Stanley._

IN DARKEST AFRICA (With Maps and Illustrations. 2 vols., 8vo, $7.50.)
_Sold only by subscription._ HOW I FOUND LIVINGSTONE. (With Maps and
Illustrations. 8vo, $3.50.)

“This is the noblest record of the achievements of a man of action
which this generation has known. Mr. Stanley writes his book very
much as he marches through Africa—with the irresistible energy of an
imperious will. These volumes have descriptive passages of singular
excellence; the style is trenchant, vigorous and clear; and the
literary workmanship is markedly superior to that of any of his
previous work.”—_New York Tribune._

_Thomas Stevens._

AROUND THE WORLD ON A BICYCLE (200 Illustrations. 2 vols., 8vo,
$8.00.)

“This book will be found very interesting. All wheelmen will want to
have the history of the greatest bicycle journey ever accomplished;
the lover of adventure will find it richly to his taste; and the
general reader will find in the descriptions of persons, places and
customs in far-off lands, much to please and interest.”—_The Boston
Times._

_Bayard Taylor._

ILLUSTRATED LIBRARY OF TRAVEL—TRAVELS IN JAPAN, ARABIA, SOUTH AFRICA,
CENTRAL ASIA, CENTRAL AFRICA, SIAM (Six volumes, each Illustrated.
12mo, $1.25.)

“Authenticated accounts of countries, peoples, modes of living and
being, curiosities in natural history, and personal adventure in
travels and explorations, suggest a rich fund of solid instruction
combined with delightful entertainment. The editorship, by one of the
most observant and well-traveled men of modern times, at once secures
the high character of the ‘Library’ in every particular.”—_The Sunday
School Times._

_Edward L. Wilson._

IN SCRIPTURE LANDS (With 150 Illustrations from photographs. Large
8vo, $3.50.)

“Here we have a man with the courageous spirit of an explorer, a
good pair of eyes, a good camera, and a good literary style. We have
seen no work of exploration and travel in those lands which gives
so clear an idea of them and of the historic remains and scenes as
this.”—_Chicago Interior._