. Recollections of a sea wanderer's life; an autobiography of an old-time seaman who has sailed in almost every capacity before and abaft the mast, in nearly every quarter of the globe, and under the flags of four of the principal maritime nations. e ship Niantic, Captain Griswold. They were fine jovial fellows, and gave us every en-couragement to join the crew, being quite enthusiastic inpraise of the ship and her officers. After conferring together, we went down to the shippingoffice and signed articles. The few days which remained before the Niantic wouldbe ready to haul out in the East Riv
. Recollections of a sea wanderer's life; an autobiography of an old-time seaman who has sailed in almost every capacity before and abaft the mast, in nearly every quarter of the globe, and under the flags of four of the principal maritime nations. e ship Niantic, Captain Griswold. They were fine jovial fellows, and gave us every en-couragement to join the crew, being quite enthusiastic inpraise of the ship and her officers. After conferring together, we went down to the shippingoffice and signed articles. The few days which remained before the Niantic wouldbe ready to haul out in the East River were spent by us invisiting some of Chapmans friends in the city. New York has changed in its upper parts, beyond Canalstreet, and around the Central Park, since the times of whichI write, before the war, but the docks remain very much IMPROVEMENTS SINCE MY DAY. 125 as they were, except that the various kinds and sizes ofcraft have improved in size and quality since I was a sailorboy. Then steam was the exception in sea-going vessels,now it is the rule for long voyages, although sailing-shipsare still known, and very fine in model and construction arethey. It is a delight to go over their fine lines and note theimprovements since my m ^ SIGNING ARTICLES. Changes in New York within the past three decades havebeen slow in some places, rapid in others, enduring in all ;and the river fronts mark the transition with unerringcertainty. The North River, formerly denominated theSeamboat District, maintains its prestige. The big boatsround the Battery on their way up the Sound, and the high-way of the Hudson claims its quota of steamboats and 126 IMPROVEMENTS SINCE MY DAY. barges, which even the railroads cannot crowd out of aprofitable existence. The East Side, with some steamboatlines left, has changed its front materially. Whitehall andCoenties Slip still harbor their canal boats, and the FlourDistrict maintains its pasty identity on wet days. TowardWall street, however, thi
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectseafari, bookyear1887
