James was the son of James Beard and Ruth Holbrook.
Captain James Beard was born and bred in Connecticut, and was there for a time engaged in seafaring pursuits, sailing as master of a vessel.
During the war of 1812 he was located in Buffalo, and his house was burned by the British. He died at his home in Painesville, Ohio, in 1824, of consumption. Captain Beard first visited Ohio in 1796, coming here with the surveying party that surveyed the Western Reserve. The captain married Harriet Wolcott, who was born in Connecticut. James a shipmaster on the lakes, commanded the first brig that sailed on Lake Erie.
He married Harriet Wolcott in 10 February 1811.
Taken from an excerpt of:
Early Days On The Lakes, With An Account Of The Cholera Visitation Of 1832.
Index From Manuscript Records Of
Captain Augustus Walker.
The brig Union was owned by Jonathan Sidway and commanded by Captain James Beard. As this was the first vessel that I embarked on as a sailor I may be permitted to dwell on some of her peculiarities. She was modeled, built, owned and commanded by a man named Martin, who had been a house carpenter. She was partially built on Put-in-Bay Island, launched and towed to the mouth of Grand River, Ohio, in 1813. It is difficult to give any adequate idea of her construction. Her proportions were unlike those of any other craft then or since on the lakes. She had some good points, one of them her great breadth of beam; that, together with her flat bottom, with but little dead-rise to her floor, enabled her to carry a much larger cargo than other vessels of her tonnage, and when light she could sail safely in all kinds of weather without ballast. The manner of her planking was peculiar. Her garboard-streak followed up the main stem, butting underneath the wales instead of ending against the stem of the ship. Each succeeding streak of plank was gradually tapered or beveled at the forward end, so that the last streak was brought to a wedge-like point terminating some 20 feet from her bows. She was originally schooner-rigged, with two old-fashioned slip-keels. Her lower masts were buttonwood; the bowsprit and jib-boom of the same timber, both made in one spar; her decks were of red cedar and but very little iron was used in her build, she being mostly fastened with wooden trunnels. She was employed at the close of the war by the United States Government as a transport. In 1815 she was sunk in Scajaquada Creek, but was subsequently raised by Stanard & Bidwell and rebuilt into a hermaphrodite brig--removing the slip-keels and substituting a standing one in their stead. By this general overhauling she was made to look much like a sea-going vessel, and when under way, with all her canvas, upper and lower studding sails set to the breeze, her appearance was really quite imposing. In 1816, '17 and '18 she was under the command of Capt. James Beard, the father of the artist, Wm. H. Beard, of this city.
take pleasure in speaking of Capt. James Beard, who was then a man about 55 years of age. In after years I knew him intimately. He was a fair specimen of an old-fashioned gentleman, kind and genial in his nature and from his extensive voyages upon the ocean, visiting many portions of the globe, had acquired a thorough knowledge of the geography of the world, although at the same time but poorly versed in the science of human nature. He, like many others, from the integrity of his own heart was slow to learn that mankind was not always to be trusted. He could hardly believe that most men talked and acted from motives of policy or interest. Capt. Beard was truly a gentleman, and in the broadest sense a true sailor. He was a resident of Black Rock when I came to the country, and remained there for some years, until he removed with his family to Ohio.
The majority of commanders, as well as seamen, when I came to the lakes, were from the seaboard. Most of them not only brought with them their peculiar ideas of rigid, arbitrary discipline practiced upon the ocean, but most of the masters adopted the same style and mode of living among their crews. To give some idea how men before the mast fared upon the lakes at that day, I will note that their food, as a general thing, was salt pork and beef, hard bread or sea-biscuit, potatoes, beans or peas; no tea, coffee, sugar, milk, butter or cheese were furnished by the owners. Each seaman and boy was allowed 12 shillings per month to buy such small stores. In addition to this all on board were, according to custom, allowed one half pint of whiskey, as rations, dealt out by the mate each day. As I happened to have a stronger appetite for sleep than for whiskey I could always find some one of the old tars that would stand my anchor-watch in port for the privilege of drinking my half pint of grog, added to his own. These and some other antiquated customs gradually gave way before the march of progress as the number of fresh-water masters and seamen multiplied upon the lakes.
And as Capt. Beard was my first captain, I may be allowed to give some account of the incidents connected with that pioneer voyage. We sailed from the port of Black Rock one of the last days of May, bound for Cleveland, Ohio, or rather we were towed up the rapids (by what the sailors called a "horn breeze"), having 12 yoke of oxen to enable her to ascend. The current opposite the ferry was some nine knots and continued some distance above and below that point. Previous to the erection of Black Rock pier the average current up as far as the main reef was about seven knots. The day previous to our sailing, the Captain's family and some friends came and took dinner on board, a common custom in those days before leaving on a voyage, and especially was this custom observed when a vessel cleared for a distant port like Detroit or Mackinaw.
Nothing worthy of note occurred on the passage up. The wind was light and fair most of the distance. We came to anchor the second day off the town, there being no harbor accessible at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River for any craft drawing over three feet of water. The yawl was soon lowered and sent on shore with the captain, a few passengers, and her owner, Mr. Sidway, who acted as a sort of supercargo. In the course of the afternoon a lighter came alongside, laden with some 30 barrels of pork, which were hoisted on board and stuck into the hold. The lighter returned to the shore. During the night the wind came on to blow from the eastward, and continued to increase until it blew a gale. We rode with both anchors ahead that night and the following day, in the meantime the mate taking the precaution to have her canvas reefed and in readiness to get under way in case the cables parted.
About 12 o'clock the second night, the best hawser cable parted and the other anchor began to drag on shore, leaving no other alternative but to bend a buoy to the cable, slip, make sail and stand out to sea, shaping our course to the islands. We came to in Put-in-Bay harbor, with a small kedge anchor bent to the hawser, which was sufficient to bring her up in that most natural land-locked haven so much frequented in former years. Previous to the construction of artificial harbors along the coast, most vessels sought this safe retreat in rough weather. After our arrival, in clearing up the decks, it was found that the old buttonwood mainmast was sprung in the partners, and by starting the wedges we discovered it was much decayed. This difficulty was obviated for the time being by substituting a longer set of wedges, extending some three feet above deck and passing down the mast about the same distance in the hold, and wrapping cordage tightly round. In that manner the mast was strongly fished, which enabled her to carry sail with safety. The next day the wind changed to the south'ard, and in the course of the day and night following, we came back to our old anchorage, got our anchors, by sweeping for the one attached to the parted cable, took on board a full cargo of pork, and with the last lighter load, Mr. Sidway came on board, having been left on shore with the captain during our trip to the island. When getting under way from Cleveland, it was generally supposed by the crew that we were bound directly to Black Rock, but we found our destination was Long Point, Canada West. We lay there, beating off and on from the main land, for nearly two weeks, much of the time at anchor, waiting a favorable opportunity to get the cargo on shore in small boats and scows that came alongside at night, whenever the brig stood in near the coast. At length the cargo, some 700 or 800 barrels, was all disposed of.
I do not wish to say that this landing cargo in the night was smuggling, as I am quite sure I never saw one barrel landed on the Canadian shore. It was enough that I knew the voyage to me was rather a rough one; a reality which began to make me think there was not quite as much novelty in sailing as I had been led to believe from all the flattering stories I had heard of the pleasure of sailing upon the Great Lakes. It was quite another thing from what I had found in earlier youth in the sport of sailing over the smooth surface of Oneida and Onondaga lakes.
We arrived off Buffalo, came to anchor outside, after having been absent nearly four weeks. The next day, the brig was to sail to Fort Erie for the purpose of taking on board a cargo of salt, an article bearing a much higher price than at the present day. I thought on the whole I had experienced about as much of lake life and forecastle fare as I cared to see; in addition I had suffered terribly from seasickness and was a little homesick withal. I asked for my wages, having shipped only for the trip, the same as the balance of the crew, except the officers, who were shipped for the season. I received the amount due, having been on board seven weeks, including the time of fitting out.
Small events sometimes change the whole tenor of a man's life..
Captain James Beard was born and bred in Connecticut, and was there for a time engaged in seafaring pursuits, sailing as master of a vessel.
During the war of 1812 he was located in Buffalo, and his house was burned by the British. He died at his home in Painesville, Ohio, in 1824, of consumption. Captain Beard first visited Ohio in 1796, coming here with the surveying party that surveyed the Western Reserve. The captain married Harriet Wolcott, who was born in Connecticut. James a shipmaster on the lakes, commanded the first brig that sailed on Lake Erie.
He married Harriet Wolcott in 10 February 1811.
Taken from an excerpt of:
Early Days On The Lakes, With An Account Of The Cholera Visitation Of 1832.
Index From Manuscript Records Of
Captain Augustus Walker.
The brig Union was owned by Jonathan Sidway and commanded by Captain James Beard. As this was the first vessel that I embarked on as a sailor I may be permitted to dwell on some of her peculiarities. She was modeled, built, owned and commanded by a man named Martin, who had been a house carpenter. She was partially built on Put-in-Bay Island, launched and towed to the mouth of Grand River, Ohio, in 1813. It is difficult to give any adequate idea of her construction. Her proportions were unlike those of any other craft then or since on the lakes. She had some good points, one of them her great breadth of beam; that, together with her flat bottom, with but little dead-rise to her floor, enabled her to carry a much larger cargo than other vessels of her tonnage, and when light she could sail safely in all kinds of weather without ballast. The manner of her planking was peculiar. Her garboard-streak followed up the main stem, butting underneath the wales instead of ending against the stem of the ship. Each succeeding streak of plank was gradually tapered or beveled at the forward end, so that the last streak was brought to a wedge-like point terminating some 20 feet from her bows. She was originally schooner-rigged, with two old-fashioned slip-keels. Her lower masts were buttonwood; the bowsprit and jib-boom of the same timber, both made in one spar; her decks were of red cedar and but very little iron was used in her build, she being mostly fastened with wooden trunnels. She was employed at the close of the war by the United States Government as a transport. In 1815 she was sunk in Scajaquada Creek, but was subsequently raised by Stanard & Bidwell and rebuilt into a hermaphrodite brig--removing the slip-keels and substituting a standing one in their stead. By this general overhauling she was made to look much like a sea-going vessel, and when under way, with all her canvas, upper and lower studding sails set to the breeze, her appearance was really quite imposing. In 1816, '17 and '18 she was under the command of Capt. James Beard, the father of the artist, Wm. H. Beard, of this city.
take pleasure in speaking of Capt. James Beard, who was then a man about 55 years of age. In after years I knew him intimately. He was a fair specimen of an old-fashioned gentleman, kind and genial in his nature and from his extensive voyages upon the ocean, visiting many portions of the globe, had acquired a thorough knowledge of the geography of the world, although at the same time but poorly versed in the science of human nature. He, like many others, from the integrity of his own heart was slow to learn that mankind was not always to be trusted. He could hardly believe that most men talked and acted from motives of policy or interest. Capt. Beard was truly a gentleman, and in the broadest sense a true sailor. He was a resident of Black Rock when I came to the country, and remained there for some years, until he removed with his family to Ohio.
The majority of commanders, as well as seamen, when I came to the lakes, were from the seaboard. Most of them not only brought with them their peculiar ideas of rigid, arbitrary discipline practiced upon the ocean, but most of the masters adopted the same style and mode of living among their crews. To give some idea how men before the mast fared upon the lakes at that day, I will note that their food, as a general thing, was salt pork and beef, hard bread or sea-biscuit, potatoes, beans or peas; no tea, coffee, sugar, milk, butter or cheese were furnished by the owners. Each seaman and boy was allowed 12 shillings per month to buy such small stores. In addition to this all on board were, according to custom, allowed one half pint of whiskey, as rations, dealt out by the mate each day. As I happened to have a stronger appetite for sleep than for whiskey I could always find some one of the old tars that would stand my anchor-watch in port for the privilege of drinking my half pint of grog, added to his own. These and some other antiquated customs gradually gave way before the march of progress as the number of fresh-water masters and seamen multiplied upon the lakes.
And as Capt. Beard was my first captain, I may be allowed to give some account of the incidents connected with that pioneer voyage. We sailed from the port of Black Rock one of the last days of May, bound for Cleveland, Ohio, or rather we were towed up the rapids (by what the sailors called a "horn breeze"), having 12 yoke of oxen to enable her to ascend. The current opposite the ferry was some nine knots and continued some distance above and below that point. Previous to the erection of Black Rock pier the average current up as far as the main reef was about seven knots. The day previous to our sailing, the Captain's family and some friends came and took dinner on board, a common custom in those days before leaving on a voyage, and especially was this custom observed when a vessel cleared for a distant port like Detroit or Mackinaw.
Nothing worthy of note occurred on the passage up. The wind was light and fair most of the distance. We came to anchor the second day off the town, there being no harbor accessible at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River for any craft drawing over three feet of water. The yawl was soon lowered and sent on shore with the captain, a few passengers, and her owner, Mr. Sidway, who acted as a sort of supercargo. In the course of the afternoon a lighter came alongside, laden with some 30 barrels of pork, which were hoisted on board and stuck into the hold. The lighter returned to the shore. During the night the wind came on to blow from the eastward, and continued to increase until it blew a gale. We rode with both anchors ahead that night and the following day, in the meantime the mate taking the precaution to have her canvas reefed and in readiness to get under way in case the cables parted.
About 12 o'clock the second night, the best hawser cable parted and the other anchor began to drag on shore, leaving no other alternative but to bend a buoy to the cable, slip, make sail and stand out to sea, shaping our course to the islands. We came to in Put-in-Bay harbor, with a small kedge anchor bent to the hawser, which was sufficient to bring her up in that most natural land-locked haven so much frequented in former years. Previous to the construction of artificial harbors along the coast, most vessels sought this safe retreat in rough weather. After our arrival, in clearing up the decks, it was found that the old buttonwood mainmast was sprung in the partners, and by starting the wedges we discovered it was much decayed. This difficulty was obviated for the time being by substituting a longer set of wedges, extending some three feet above deck and passing down the mast about the same distance in the hold, and wrapping cordage tightly round. In that manner the mast was strongly fished, which enabled her to carry sail with safety. The next day the wind changed to the south'ard, and in the course of the day and night following, we came back to our old anchorage, got our anchors, by sweeping for the one attached to the parted cable, took on board a full cargo of pork, and with the last lighter load, Mr. Sidway came on board, having been left on shore with the captain during our trip to the island. When getting under way from Cleveland, it was generally supposed by the crew that we were bound directly to Black Rock, but we found our destination was Long Point, Canada West. We lay there, beating off and on from the main land, for nearly two weeks, much of the time at anchor, waiting a favorable opportunity to get the cargo on shore in small boats and scows that came alongside at night, whenever the brig stood in near the coast. At length the cargo, some 700 or 800 barrels, was all disposed of.
I do not wish to say that this landing cargo in the night was smuggling, as I am quite sure I never saw one barrel landed on the Canadian shore. It was enough that I knew the voyage to me was rather a rough one; a reality which began to make me think there was not quite as much novelty in sailing as I had been led to believe from all the flattering stories I had heard of the pleasure of sailing upon the Great Lakes. It was quite another thing from what I had found in earlier youth in the sport of sailing over the smooth surface of Oneida and Onondaga lakes.
We arrived off Buffalo, came to anchor outside, after having been absent nearly four weeks. The next day, the brig was to sail to Fort Erie for the purpose of taking on board a cargo of salt, an article bearing a much higher price than at the present day. I thought on the whole I had experienced about as much of lake life and forecastle fare as I cared to see; in addition I had suffered terribly from seasickness and was a little homesick withal. I asked for my wages, having shipped only for the trip, the same as the balance of the crew, except the officers, who were shipped for the season. I received the amount due, having been on board seven weeks, including the time of fitting out.
Small events sometimes change the whole tenor of a man's life..
James was the son of James Beard and Ruth Holbrook.
Captain James Beard was born and bred in Connecticut, and was there for a time engaged in seafaring pursuits, sailing as master of a vessel.
During the war of 1812 he was located in Buffalo, and his house was burned by the British. He died at his home in Painesville, Ohio, in 1824, of consumption. Captain Beard first visited Ohio in 1796, coming here with the surveying party that surveyed the Western Reserve. The captain married Harriet Wolcott, who was born in Connecticut. James a shipmaster on the lakes, commanded the first brig that sailed on Lake Erie.
He married Harriet Wolcott in 10 February 1811.
Taken from an excerpt of:
Early Days On The Lakes, With An Account Of The Cholera Visitation Of 1832.
Index From Manuscript Records Of
Captain Augustus Walker.
The brig Union was owned by Jonathan Sidway and commanded by Captain James Beard. As this was the first vessel that I embarked on as a sailor I may be permitted to dwell on some of her peculiarities. She was modeled, built, owned and commanded by a man named Martin, who had been a house carpenter. She was partially built on Put-in-Bay Island, launched and towed to the mouth of Grand River, Ohio, in 1813. It is difficult to give any adequate idea of her construction. Her proportions were unlike those of any other craft then or since on the lakes. She had some good points, one of them her great breadth of beam; that, together with her flat bottom, with but little dead-rise to her floor, enabled her to carry a much larger cargo than other vessels of her tonnage, and when light she could sail safely in all kinds of weather without ballast. The manner of her planking was peculiar. Her garboard-streak followed up the main stem, butting underneath the wales instead of ending against the stem of the ship. Each succeeding streak of plank was gradually tapered or beveled at the forward end, so that the last streak was brought to a wedge-like point terminating some 20 feet from her bows. She was originally schooner-rigged, with two old-fashioned slip-keels. Her lower masts were buttonwood; the bowsprit and jib-boom of the same timber, both made in one spar; her decks were of red cedar and but very little iron was used in her build, she being mostly fastened with wooden trunnels. She was employed at the close of the war by the United States Government as a transport. In 1815 she was sunk in Scajaquada Creek, but was subsequently raised by Stanard & Bidwell and rebuilt into a hermaphrodite brig--removing the slip-keels and substituting a standing one in their stead. By this general overhauling she was made to look much like a sea-going vessel, and when under way, with all her canvas, upper and lower studding sails set to the breeze, her appearance was really quite imposing. In 1816, '17 and '18 she was under the command of Capt. James Beard, the father of the artist, Wm. H. Beard, of this city.
take pleasure in speaking of Capt. James Beard, who was then a man about 55 years of age. In after years I knew him intimately. He was a fair specimen of an old-fashioned gentleman, kind and genial in his nature and from his extensive voyages upon the ocean, visiting many portions of the globe, had acquired a thorough knowledge of the geography of the world, although at the same time but poorly versed in the science of human nature. He, like many others, from the integrity of his own heart was slow to learn that mankind was not always to be trusted. He could hardly believe that most men talked and acted from motives of policy or interest. Capt. Beard was truly a gentleman, and in the broadest sense a true sailor. He was a resident of Black Rock when I came to the country, and remained there for some years, until he removed with his family to Ohio.
The majority of commanders, as well as seamen, when I came to the lakes, were from the seaboard. Most of them not only brought with them their peculiar ideas of rigid, arbitrary discipline practiced upon the ocean, but most of the masters adopted the same style and mode of living among their crews. To give some idea how men before the mast fared upon the lakes at that day, I will note that their food, as a general thing, was salt pork and beef, hard bread or sea-biscuit, potatoes, beans or peas; no tea, coffee, sugar, milk, butter or cheese were furnished by the owners. Each seaman and boy was allowed 12 shillings per month to buy such small stores. In addition to this all on board were, according to custom, allowed one half pint of whiskey, as rations, dealt out by the mate each day. As I happened to have a stronger appetite for sleep than for whiskey I could always find some one of the old tars that would stand my anchor-watch in port for the privilege of drinking my half pint of grog, added to his own. These and some other antiquated customs gradually gave way before the march of progress as the number of fresh-water masters and seamen multiplied upon the lakes.
And as Capt. Beard was my first captain, I may be allowed to give some account of the incidents connected with that pioneer voyage. We sailed from the port of Black Rock one of the last days of May, bound for Cleveland, Ohio, or rather we were towed up the rapids (by what the sailors called a "horn breeze"), having 12 yoke of oxen to enable her to ascend. The current opposite the ferry was some nine knots and continued some distance above and below that point. Previous to the erection of Black Rock pier the average current up as far as the main reef was about seven knots. The day previous to our sailing, the Captain's family and some friends came and took dinner on board, a common custom in those days before leaving on a voyage, and especially was this custom observed when a vessel cleared for a distant port like Detroit or Mackinaw.
Nothing worthy of note occurred on the passage up. The wind was light and fair most of the distance. We came to anchor the second day off the town, there being no harbor accessible at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River for any craft drawing over three feet of water. The yawl was soon lowered and sent on shore with the captain, a few passengers, and her owner, Mr. Sidway, who acted as a sort of supercargo. In the course of the afternoon a lighter came alongside, laden with some 30 barrels of pork, which were hoisted on board and stuck into the hold. The lighter returned to the shore. During the night the wind came on to blow from the eastward, and continued to increase until it blew a gale. We rode with both anchors ahead that night and the following day, in the meantime the mate taking the precaution to have her canvas reefed and in readiness to get under way in case the cables parted.
About 12 o'clock the second night, the best hawser cable parted and the other anchor began to drag on shore, leaving no other alternative but to bend a buoy to the cable, slip, make sail and stand out to sea, shaping our course to the islands. We came to in Put-in-Bay harbor, with a small kedge anchor bent to the hawser, which was sufficient to bring her up in that most natural land-locked haven so much frequented in former years. Previous to the construction of artificial harbors along the coast, most vessels sought this safe retreat in rough weather. After our arrival, in clearing up the decks, it was found that the old buttonwood mainmast was sprung in the partners, and by starting the wedges we discovered it was much decayed. This difficulty was obviated for the time being by substituting a longer set of wedges, extending some three feet above deck and passing down the mast about the same distance in the hold, and wrapping cordage tightly round. In that manner the mast was strongly fished, which enabled her to carry sail with safety. The next day the wind changed to the south'ard, and in the course of the day and night following, we came back to our old anchorage, got our anchors, by sweeping for the one attached to the parted cable, took on board a full cargo of pork, and with the last lighter load, Mr. Sidway came on board, having been left on shore with the captain during our trip to the island. When getting under way from Cleveland, it was generally supposed by the crew that we were bound directly to Black Rock, but we found our destination was Long Point, Canada West. We lay there, beating off and on from the main land, for nearly two weeks, much of the time at anchor, waiting a favorable opportunity to get the cargo on shore in small boats and scows that came alongside at night, whenever the brig stood in near the coast. At length the cargo, some 700 or 800 barrels, was all disposed of.
I do not wish to say that this landing cargo in the night was smuggling, as I am quite sure I never saw one barrel landed on the Canadian shore. It was enough that I knew the voyage to me was rather a rough one; a reality which began to make me think there was not quite as much novelty in sailing as I had been led to believe from all the flattering stories I had heard of the pleasure of sailing upon the Great Lakes. It was quite another thing from what I had found in earlier youth in the sport of sailing over the smooth surface of Oneida and Onondaga lakes.
We arrived off Buffalo, came to anchor outside, after having been absent nearly four weeks. The next day, the brig was to sail to Fort Erie for the purpose of taking on board a cargo of salt, an article bearing a much higher price than at the present day. I thought on the whole I had experienced about as much of lake life and forecastle fare as I cared to see; in addition I had suffered terribly from seasickness and was a little homesick withal. I asked for my wages, having shipped only for the trip, the same as the balance of the crew, except the officers, who were shipped for the season. I received the amount due, having been on board seven weeks, including the time of fitting out.
Small events sometimes change the whole tenor of a man's life..
Captain James Beard was born and bred in Connecticut, and was there for a time engaged in seafaring pursuits, sailing as master of a vessel.
During the war of 1812 he was located in Buffalo, and his house was burned by the British. He died at his home in Painesville, Ohio, in 1824, of consumption. Captain Beard first visited Ohio in 1796, coming here with the surveying party that surveyed the Western Reserve. The captain married Harriet Wolcott, who was born in Connecticut. James a shipmaster on the lakes, commanded the first brig that sailed on Lake Erie.
He married Harriet Wolcott in 10 February 1811.
Taken from an excerpt of:
Early Days On The Lakes, With An Account Of The Cholera Visitation Of 1832.
Index From Manuscript Records Of
Captain Augustus Walker.
The brig Union was owned by Jonathan Sidway and commanded by Captain James Beard. As this was the first vessel that I embarked on as a sailor I may be permitted to dwell on some of her peculiarities. She was modeled, built, owned and commanded by a man named Martin, who had been a house carpenter. She was partially built on Put-in-Bay Island, launched and towed to the mouth of Grand River, Ohio, in 1813. It is difficult to give any adequate idea of her construction. Her proportions were unlike those of any other craft then or since on the lakes. She had some good points, one of them her great breadth of beam; that, together with her flat bottom, with but little dead-rise to her floor, enabled her to carry a much larger cargo than other vessels of her tonnage, and when light she could sail safely in all kinds of weather without ballast. The manner of her planking was peculiar. Her garboard-streak followed up the main stem, butting underneath the wales instead of ending against the stem of the ship. Each succeeding streak of plank was gradually tapered or beveled at the forward end, so that the last streak was brought to a wedge-like point terminating some 20 feet from her bows. She was originally schooner-rigged, with two old-fashioned slip-keels. Her lower masts were buttonwood; the bowsprit and jib-boom of the same timber, both made in one spar; her decks were of red cedar and but very little iron was used in her build, she being mostly fastened with wooden trunnels. She was employed at the close of the war by the United States Government as a transport. In 1815 she was sunk in Scajaquada Creek, but was subsequently raised by Stanard & Bidwell and rebuilt into a hermaphrodite brig--removing the slip-keels and substituting a standing one in their stead. By this general overhauling she was made to look much like a sea-going vessel, and when under way, with all her canvas, upper and lower studding sails set to the breeze, her appearance was really quite imposing. In 1816, '17 and '18 she was under the command of Capt. James Beard, the father of the artist, Wm. H. Beard, of this city.
take pleasure in speaking of Capt. James Beard, who was then a man about 55 years of age. In after years I knew him intimately. He was a fair specimen of an old-fashioned gentleman, kind and genial in his nature and from his extensive voyages upon the ocean, visiting many portions of the globe, had acquired a thorough knowledge of the geography of the world, although at the same time but poorly versed in the science of human nature. He, like many others, from the integrity of his own heart was slow to learn that mankind was not always to be trusted. He could hardly believe that most men talked and acted from motives of policy or interest. Capt. Beard was truly a gentleman, and in the broadest sense a true sailor. He was a resident of Black Rock when I came to the country, and remained there for some years, until he removed with his family to Ohio.
The majority of commanders, as well as seamen, when I came to the lakes, were from the seaboard. Most of them not only brought with them their peculiar ideas of rigid, arbitrary discipline practiced upon the ocean, but most of the masters adopted the same style and mode of living among their crews. To give some idea how men before the mast fared upon the lakes at that day, I will note that their food, as a general thing, was salt pork and beef, hard bread or sea-biscuit, potatoes, beans or peas; no tea, coffee, sugar, milk, butter or cheese were furnished by the owners. Each seaman and boy was allowed 12 shillings per month to buy such small stores. In addition to this all on board were, according to custom, allowed one half pint of whiskey, as rations, dealt out by the mate each day. As I happened to have a stronger appetite for sleep than for whiskey I could always find some one of the old tars that would stand my anchor-watch in port for the privilege of drinking my half pint of grog, added to his own. These and some other antiquated customs gradually gave way before the march of progress as the number of fresh-water masters and seamen multiplied upon the lakes.
And as Capt. Beard was my first captain, I may be allowed to give some account of the incidents connected with that pioneer voyage. We sailed from the port of Black Rock one of the last days of May, bound for Cleveland, Ohio, or rather we were towed up the rapids (by what the sailors called a "horn breeze"), having 12 yoke of oxen to enable her to ascend. The current opposite the ferry was some nine knots and continued some distance above and below that point. Previous to the erection of Black Rock pier the average current up as far as the main reef was about seven knots. The day previous to our sailing, the Captain's family and some friends came and took dinner on board, a common custom in those days before leaving on a voyage, and especially was this custom observed when a vessel cleared for a distant port like Detroit or Mackinaw.
Nothing worthy of note occurred on the passage up. The wind was light and fair most of the distance. We came to anchor the second day off the town, there being no harbor accessible at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River for any craft drawing over three feet of water. The yawl was soon lowered and sent on shore with the captain, a few passengers, and her owner, Mr. Sidway, who acted as a sort of supercargo. In the course of the afternoon a lighter came alongside, laden with some 30 barrels of pork, which were hoisted on board and stuck into the hold. The lighter returned to the shore. During the night the wind came on to blow from the eastward, and continued to increase until it blew a gale. We rode with both anchors ahead that night and the following day, in the meantime the mate taking the precaution to have her canvas reefed and in readiness to get under way in case the cables parted.
About 12 o'clock the second night, the best hawser cable parted and the other anchor began to drag on shore, leaving no other alternative but to bend a buoy to the cable, slip, make sail and stand out to sea, shaping our course to the islands. We came to in Put-in-Bay harbor, with a small kedge anchor bent to the hawser, which was sufficient to bring her up in that most natural land-locked haven so much frequented in former years. Previous to the construction of artificial harbors along the coast, most vessels sought this safe retreat in rough weather. After our arrival, in clearing up the decks, it was found that the old buttonwood mainmast was sprung in the partners, and by starting the wedges we discovered it was much decayed. This difficulty was obviated for the time being by substituting a longer set of wedges, extending some three feet above deck and passing down the mast about the same distance in the hold, and wrapping cordage tightly round. In that manner the mast was strongly fished, which enabled her to carry sail with safety. The next day the wind changed to the south'ard, and in the course of the day and night following, we came back to our old anchorage, got our anchors, by sweeping for the one attached to the parted cable, took on board a full cargo of pork, and with the last lighter load, Mr. Sidway came on board, having been left on shore with the captain during our trip to the island. When getting under way from Cleveland, it was generally supposed by the crew that we were bound directly to Black Rock, but we found our destination was Long Point, Canada West. We lay there, beating off and on from the main land, for nearly two weeks, much of the time at anchor, waiting a favorable opportunity to get the cargo on shore in small boats and scows that came alongside at night, whenever the brig stood in near the coast. At length the cargo, some 700 or 800 barrels, was all disposed of.
I do not wish to say that this landing cargo in the night was smuggling, as I am quite sure I never saw one barrel landed on the Canadian shore. It was enough that I knew the voyage to me was rather a rough one; a reality which began to make me think there was not quite as much novelty in sailing as I had been led to believe from all the flattering stories I had heard of the pleasure of sailing upon the Great Lakes. It was quite another thing from what I had found in earlier youth in the sport of sailing over the smooth surface of Oneida and Onondaga lakes.
We arrived off Buffalo, came to anchor outside, after having been absent nearly four weeks. The next day, the brig was to sail to Fort Erie for the purpose of taking on board a cargo of salt, an article bearing a much higher price than at the present day. I thought on the whole I had experienced about as much of lake life and forecastle fare as I cared to see; in addition I had suffered terribly from seasickness and was a little homesick withal. I asked for my wages, having shipped only for the trip, the same as the balance of the crew, except the officers, who were shipped for the season. I received the amount due, having been on board seven weeks, including the time of fitting out.
Small events sometimes change the whole tenor of a man's life..
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