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Show Sue oil itt AtlmitU- Stekiuen. : The first steamer thai ever crossed The Atlantic was t lie Savannah, which sailed rom the southern city whose name she bore, and reached Liverpool twenty-five davs later. This was in 1819. She depended de-pended on her sails more than on her engines, en-gines, however, and when the wiud was favorable and all her canvas oould be spread her paddle wheels were hauled on deck und folded up like an umbrella. It can be imagined that she- was very little like an ocean steamer of the presentday, and her success was so questionable that when she returned to tho United Suites her engines wt-re taken out of her and she was converted into a sailing ship. Nineteen years later, niter otuer experiments, ex-periments, it hud been demonstrated that steam navigation was a practicable thing, and a regular line of steamers was established between England and America Amer-ica Ono of these steamers was the Ureal Western, which mado seventy vovages across tho ocean. The quickest of these voyages was accomplished in twelve days and seven hours. From that time to this there has been a constant ellort. stimulated by competition competi-tion and hv improvements in machinery, to lessen the duration of the voyage. The old side wheel, or paddle. 8t camera were abandoned about fourteen years ago, and the modern type of vessel is tho screw propeller The most recent steamers are "twin Borovvn" iluH is to say. instead of having one propeller, each steamer has two, and I in this wav It is expected that a higher ! power can" he utilized. The twin screws I are also an element of safety, since each Bcrew is worked by a .separate engine, and should one engine be disabled tho other would have power enough to propel pro-pel the ship into port Thedistance from New York toQueens-town toQueens-town is about 2.800 miles, and up to 1880 the fastest passage was a little over seven days, which was made by the Arizona. Since then it baa been successively reduced re-duced by the Alaska, the City of iiome, theServia. the Oregon, the Umbria, the Etruria and the City of Paris. Youth's Companion. |
