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Add your questions and comments to this topic.
If you need help transcribing see:
Thetis -- Reference: Transcription Example and Log Description (http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3256.0)
Guides for US logs: drawing entry boxes, transcribing and editing (http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3078.0)
Getting Your Sea Legs (http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?board=4.0)
The Logs and FAQ (http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?board=7.0)
Handwriting Help (http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?board=8.0)
Technical Support (http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?board=14.0)
If you are interested in the names of crew members see:
Thetis -- Crew Lists (http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3410.0)
Example of what a weather page might look like when transcribing the last line of data:
Page link (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol004of024/vol004_103_0.jpg)
(http://imageshack.us/a/img822/8673/zg7j.jpg)
Example of what an events page might look like after the data has been transcribed:
Page link (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol004of024/vol004_103_1.jpg)
(http://imageshack.us/a/img14/1985/wi58.jpg)
The date is required.
You may transcribe more information than is shown here.
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USRC
Thetis must be the first vessel the system presents for trancription
after completing the new tutorial. That is a possible explanation for
her quite large crew, when compared to other vessels' crews.
I think I
have completed my voyage on Thetis as I am getting the message
that "something went wrong" (Maybe a substitute for the well known
message 'your voyage is now complete')
USRC Thetis is a very
interesting vessel to transcribe. The pages available for transcription
cover the period of the Greely Expedition Relief from April 1884 to
October 1884.
At the beginng and the the end of the logs there are blank pages with just Date, Port Name and some remarks.
The
Greely Expedition, better known as Lady Franklyn Bay expedition, was a
scientific travel promoted by the United States Army Signal Corps in
1881 and led by Adolphus Greely to collect scientific data into the
Canadian Arctic.
Three years later only 7 men out of 25 taking part
to the expedition survived. One of them, Wrd Serg Ellison, died on July
8th 1884 on board of USRC Bear, during the journey back home.
USRC Thetis, along with USRC Bear, HMS Alert and HMS Loch Garry, found them June 22nd, 1884.
USRC
Thetis carried back 6 dead bodies of the Greely party preserving them
in alcohol (procedure described in the logs record of events, June 24th,
1884).
This site reports the Greely expedition timeline
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/greely/
Winfield S Schley USN, was the Captain of USRC Thetis and of the Greely Relif Expedition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Greely_relief_expedition_-_labelled.jpg
Silvia - Please excuse me for moving your post, but I needed an empty first post.
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I made a change to the Thetis in the dockyard, adding the midnight
lat/long information as well as the reason for which the position should
be "Observed". Please see if you agree with the way I have done it.
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I think that maybe
Lat - by moon at horizon at midnight 75 o 32
Longitude Bearings of ~ Hill at midnight 62 o 15 W
should be in the Notes for transcribers.
Unfortunately, the weather and events pages have somewhat conflicting logic - though there is a logical reason for this :P.
The weather page quote shows what should be transcribed, and
the events page quote is a complete transcription of the page.
"The position of the hill is presumably known." can probably be left out.
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I found some cool pictures in the library of University of Alaska -
Fairbanks. "Governor Swineford collected the photographs during
the 1887 voyage he and his wife, Minnie Swineford, took aboard the
Thetis. Included are views of the Thetis and its crew,Alaska Natives
from various regions of the State of Alaska, seal harvesters, bidarkas,
the Jane Grey, Orthodox Eastern Churches in Alaska, King Island, St.
Paul Island, and scenes and activities of other Alaskan villages."
Some of the pictures in the album
(http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm/search/field/collec/searchterm/Shattuck,%20Mrs.%20Allen%20(Agnes%20Swineford),%20A%20summer%20on%20the%20Thetis,%201888.%20ASL-PCA-27/mode/exact)
To download: http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/cdmg21/id/13352/rec/1
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Janet I just had to put up one of those photos - the houses on King Island are just astonishing... :o 8) :D
(http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/7174/kingisland.png)
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They sure are!
They may be still there...
http://mapcarta.com/24099966
http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/usaname.php?uni=1404734&fid=usageo_1305
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Not a very promising site for a Club Med. ;D
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That is THE maddest place to live- check out those boulders perched
on the bank....insane! Forget a hard hat - you'd have your head
stoved in anyway if one of those rocks went walk-about.
Definitely not on the acquisition list for Club med, Craig ;D
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On such a tiny island, they may not have had a choice. But why
want to build there in the first place? It's crazy! The
modern photo in mapcarta.com identifies it as abandoned - someone got
smart.
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Kevin found this, in discussion about the Rodgers. But it comes from the Thetis. :)
Report of ice and ice movements in Bering Sea and Arctic Basin (1890) (http://archive.org/details/reporticeandice00simpgoog)
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King Island community:
http://www.kawerak.org/tribalHomePages/kingIsland/index.html
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So those precarious buildings are surviving all these years because
they are actively maintained as summer homes! Really cool.
Thanks. :)
(http://www.kawerak.org/tribalHomePages/kingIsland/images/kingis.jpg)
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I'm glad to know that too!
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So I wasn't that far off with the Club Med allusion :D
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I just came across this:
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol004of024/vol004_116_1.jpg
Somebody on Thetis cut away one page from the log book. No data went lost and everything is in perfect chronological order.
Possibly
something went wrong while recording events and the Navigating Officer
preferred to cut the page away and re-write a nice clear record :)
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That's a first. We've had plenty of crossed out page, but
never before cut out. I suppose it makes sense in a 2-page
logbook, if it's the second page of the day; you don't have to rewrite
all the weather data.
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Cutting a page would be illegal nowadays - some logs even have an
included string that would supposedly show if that happened. Maybe
that's the page that described the alien encounter we've been covering
up for so long?
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Ahh, the sea-borne Roswell Event. ;D
(http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/userpics/12962/ufo.gif)
(http://www.animatedgif.net/nauticalboats/sailboat_e0.gif)
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;D ;D
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;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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;D :P
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15 January 1887
Armament
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol004of024/vol004_007_0.jpg
Tables of deviation of standard compass
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol004of024/vol004_007_1.jpg
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Complement of Petty Officers, Seamen, Ordinary Seamen, Landsmen, Boys, and Marines
[Rates and number of people - should help for deciphering ratings.]
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol004of024/vol004_006_0.jpg
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Received
on board the following articles for cabin 1 set (complete No 22)
china, glass and plated ware. 2 mattresses, 2 pillows. 2 toilet sets. 1
set cooking utensils, 1 set linen (table and bed.)
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2 beds, but one set linen for table and one for bed? Hmmmmm...weird! ::)
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I wondered about that too ;D
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I would imagine that a full set of linen would include sheets, etc., for both beds. ;)
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I have been looking up a lot of things. I have added some to OWpedia and Sail and Wind Powered Sailing Terms,
but some seemed either too specialized or not important enough so I
created Terms found in US log books
(http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3715.0) and put them there.
Feel free to add your own finds, from log books for Thetis or other
ships, to the topic.
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USRS Thetis is providing not only weather reports, but something that might interest an etomologist as well:
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol005of024/vol005_132_0.jpg
Thetis, November 26th, 1887. She at anchor in Departure Bay, Vancouver Island.
:)
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;D
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USRS Thetis is providing not only weather reports, but something that might interest an etomologist as well:
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol005of024/vol005_132_0.jpg
Thetis, November 26th, 1887. She at anchor in Departure Bay, Vancouver Island.
:)
They used the logbook to whack a mosquito!!!
One down, 10 million to go. ;D
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Perfect specimen! :D :D :D
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Ahoy Thetsians (is that correct?) ???
The Crew of the
Patterson greets you from far in the future (November 17, 1913
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USCS%20Patterson/Book%2014/IMG_6412_1.jpg)
to be exact). And brings you a shoe for your gig that the
Commanding Officer of the Bering Sea fleet wanted you to have.
Keep an eye out for us in your logs
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lollia paolina passes the 20000 mark!
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DavidErskine passes the 500 mark!
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lollia paolina passes the 25,000 mark!
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Hello from Bear!
After
thinking that it would be great to see a photo of them hoisting the
reindeer on board, a bit of searching led to 'The arctic adventures of
Thetis (http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic30-1-2.pdf)' which
actually mentions Bear quite a lot as well. And does indeed include a
photo of a dangling reindeer (page 9) - it's not a great photo but
still.
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Thanks jil!
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Greetings from sunny Rio de Janeiro (http://mapcarta.com/Rio_de_Janeiro)!
http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~30528~1140055:Map-of-Brazil,-Bolivia,-Paraguay,-a?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=w4s:/when/1880;q:brazil;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=0&trs=1
http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~37681~1210683:South-America--southern-sheet----wi?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=w4s:/where/Rio%20de%20Janeiro%20%28Brazil%29;q:rio%2Bjaneiro;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=4&trs=10
http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~209804~5003677:Colton-s-Brazil-and-Guayana---inset?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=w4s:/when/1886;q:brazil;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=1&trs=3
http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~20715~560001:Rand,-McNally-&-Co--s-indexed-atlas?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=w4s:/when/1897;q:brazil;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=0&trs=1
http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/brse.htm
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Off to Montevideo (http://mapcarta.com/Montevideo)...
Merid.
to 4 P.M. Clear + pleasant. calm to light airs from
NE. Barometer steady. At 1.15 spread fires. At 1.45 made Gen. Sig. 4890,
Flagship answered 904.At 1.50 hove up port anchor. At 2.00 let go
starboard anchor, engine not turning over on account of hot condenser.
At 2.50 hove up starboard anchor + got under way. Stood out of harbor
Navigator in charge. At 3.00 Flagship signalled International Code
B.Q.R. answered R.S.J. Unbent starboard chain + got both anchors on the
bow. U.S. Consul visited the ship. Swinging ship for compass deviation.
Ship's draft 13.6 forward 15.6 aft.
http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~3689~340031:General-chart-of-the-coasts-of-Bras?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:monte%2Bvideo;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=1&trs=2
Note that main map is rotated so that north is, roughly, to the right.
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M.
Scanlan (Sea) was confined in double irons by order of Commanding
Officer to await trial by Court Martial. M. Scanlan (Sea) + James M.
Cunningham (Sea) were furnished with copies of specifications against
them.
The
following Officers detailed by the Commanding Officer met at 10 A.M.
for the trial by Summary Court Martial of James M. Cunningham (Sea) +
Michael Scanlan (Sea) :- R. F. Lopez, Ensign, USN, Senior Member,
Ensigns M. C. Gorgas + T. G. Dewey, Members + Asst Paymaster J. Q.
Lovell, Recorder At 11.55 the Court adjourned till 1 P.M.
At
9.30 inspected crew at quarters + called "all hands to muster." Read
sentence of Summary Court Martial in the case of James M. Cunningham
(Sea) + M. Scanlan (Sea) which convened on board this vessel on the 1'st
inst. Sentence in the case of J. Cunningham :- To be confined in
double irons for 30 days on bread + water except full rations every
fifth day, + , subject to the approval of the Honorable Secretary of the
Navy, to lose all pay that may become due him during this time
amounting to $25 dollars. Sentence in the case of M. Scanlan (Sea) :- To
be confined in double irons for 30 days. Placed James M. Cunningham
(Sea) + M. Scanlan (Sea) in confinement in double irons in obedience to
sentence of Summary Court Martial.
Double Irons (http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3936.msg82521#msg82521)
Summary Court-Martial (http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3209.msg52129#msg52129)
1'st inst = first of the present month (in this case 1 July)
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http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol004of024/vol004_177_1.jpg
Vessel pitching deeply to rough head sea.
Vessel pitching deeply at times. The Dinghy was somewhat damaged by being knocked by the sea, as the stern of the ship dipped.
At 11.00 - 20 inches in well. Pumped her out.
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At 5.30 released prisoners for 45 minutes for exercise on deck.
First ship I have seen this on, but here they seem to do it several times a week.
I don't know what kind of prisoners these are.
and
Released prisoners for half an hour to scrub clothes.
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The current log keeper/copier has a "p" that sometimes looks very much like a b :P
See http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol004of024/vol004_181_1.jpg
8 A.M. to Merid. - Cloudy but pleasant
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Ships "met"
- Italian Corvette Amerigo Vespucci
http://www.navypedia.org/ships/italy/it_cr_amerigo_vespucci.htm - American barque Augustine Kobbe
http://nmdl.org/aowv/whvoyage.cfm?VesselNumber=934
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F70817F6395F15738DDDAC0894DF405B8384F0D3
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/3131990
https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F/0037/0037.f.0696.pdf - Argentine Gunboat Chacabuco
http://books.google.fr/books?id=77v2AX6IxUoC&pg=RA1-PA1837&lpg=RA1-PA1837&dq=Argentine+gunboat+Chacabuco&source=bl&ots=nH7eiYjEHO&sig=U3JioHsI3Uwm0xAK-IY2OWXaIo4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GQAJU5vdKaio0AWh5oCAAw&ved=0CFEQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=Argentine%20gunboat%20Chacabuco&f=false - American whaler Palmetto
http://www.nmdl.org/aowv/whvoyage.cfm?VesselNumber=553 - Uruguayan Gun-boat Rivera
http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10063
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Navy_of_Uruguay#Early_Republic
http://navyleague.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/The-Navy-Vol_35_Part2-1973-Aug-Sep-Oct-Nov-Dec1973-Jan-1974.pdf
(page 10 of 67 and 12 of 67) - Italian flagship San Sebastianero
Only one I found was a San Sebastiano built around 1696 - Brazilian Man-of-War Trajano
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_de_Janeiro_Affair
http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/brazilian_navy.htm
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Log date: 8 July 1887
Officer
from "Chacabuco" called + notified the Commanding Officer that they
will dress ship + fire a salute at noon to-morrow in celebration of
their Independence Day.
"Chacabuco" is an Argentine Gunboat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_Declaration_of_Independence
Log date: 9 July 1887
At 8 dressed ship rainbow fashion, Argentine Republic Flag at main in honor of their Independence Day.
Dressing and full-dressing ship - rainbow (http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3209.msg52129#msg52129)
Log date: 12 July 1887
Boarding officer from the Argentine Confederation Gun-boat "Chacabuco" called to return thanks for dressing ship for July 9'th
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10 July 1887
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol004of024/vol004_185_1.jpg
Mid.
to 8 A.M. Overcast + squalls; stiff to very fresh
breeze from SEbyE. Rough sea. At 6.40 let go port anchor + veered to 15
fathoms on port chain + 60 fathoms on starboard chain. Got swinging
booms alongside + counter braced yards. Barometer falling slightly till
seven when it began to rise.
Merid.
to 4 P.M. Overcast + rainy weather. Blowing moderate
to heavy gale from SE. Ship making fair anchorage. At 2.00 veered to 75
fathoms on starboard chain + 30 fathoms on port chain. Bent buoy rope
to "Bear". Sea long and heavy from SE. Hawse open + clear. Bearings of
anchorage (mag) Ship's head, SE Rat Island, N 7/8 W Lobos
Point W 3/4 S.
4
P.M. to 6 P.M. Overcast rainy + squally. Blowing a
gale from SEbyE. Ship riding easily with equal strain on both cables, to
heavy sea from SE.
8
P.M. to Mid. Weather overcast + rainy. A strong gale
from SE to SEbyE with heavy squalls. Vessel riding well to her chain.
Ship heading to wind Heavy sea from SE. Barometer fell .02
At 11.50 the steam whaleboat the "Bear" which had been riding astern
easily, without shipping any water as far as could be seen, foundered at
her moorings. She was buoyed in previously as a precautionary measure.
11 July 1887
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol004of024/vol004_186_1.jpg
4
A.M. to 8 A.M. Gale from SE with rain. Heavy sea
running. At 5.30 streamed the buoy to "Bear". 6.50 ordered steam on main
boiler. Ship showed by ranges to have dragged slightly during the
night. Chains taut, but motion easy. Hawse open + clear to SE. Barometer
rising 30.18 to 30.20.
8
A.M. to Merid. Overcast rainy + squally. Blowing a
gale from SE with heavy sea from same direction. At 9.15 started fires
under main boiler, + at 9.45 sent down topgallant yards + housed
topgallant masts. Barometer falling slowly. Hawse open + clear to SE +
taut; ship riding easily.
Merid.
to 8 P.M. Overcast with rain. Strong gale to fresh
breeze from SE. Barometer rising. At 3.00 o'clock commenced to make
preparations to allow an American whaler, which was drifting rapidly
upon us, to pass our port side, - rigged in all our port boats on deck,
unshipped port awning stanchions, + everything that was liable to be
damaged by colliding with whaler, on port side. The whaler had
previously cleared her starboard side of boats etc, set her spanker, +
hauled aft starboard sheet. At 3.30 went ahead spoke Captain of bark,
told him to set necessary sail to drift to port. The Captain of whaler
set foresail, but braced wrong way. Bark continued dragging across our
hawse, finally fouled on port bow, veered to bitter end on starboard
chain, backed engines + when clear, went ahead with starboard helm, set
jib with starboard sheet aft to clear bark. When she was broad off
starboard bow, ships again swung together jibs were hauled down, spanker
set, engines stopped Bark set jib + kept apart about twenty feet.
Got up + passed nine inch manila hawser to bark, as soon as fast went
ahead full speed, starboard helm, heaving in both chains at same time,
tripping the bark's anchors with our chains. Bark then went astern +
held on by our hawser, where she continued during night. Secured chains
with 60 fathoms starboard anchor, 15 fathoms port anchor; kept fires.
When vessels fouled each other, our dolphin striker was knocked out of
place, starboard outrigger for jib guy was bent, starboard ~ chain
carried away. As far as could be seen the bark lost spanker, after
quarter davits, + two boats were smashed Vessels fouled each other
about 3.30 + were clear of each other about 7 o'clock
12 July 1887
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol004of024/vol004_187_1.jpg
At 2.00 black buoy to "Bear" went adrift, the line parting.
American whaler riding easily to hawser at starboard quarter.
At 5.10 got underway, + towed American whaler "Palmetto" out to a clear anchorage.
BITTER-END.
That part of the cable which is abaft the bitts, and therefore within
board when the ship rides at anchor. They say, "Bend to the bitter-end"
when they would have that end bent to the anchor, and when a chain or
rope is paid out to the bitter-end, no more remains to be let go. The
bitter-end is the clinching end?sometimes that end is bent to the
anchor, because it has never been used, and is more trustworthy. The
first 40 fathoms of a cable of 115 fathoms is generally worn out when
the inner end is comparatively new.
HAWSE. This
is a term of great meaning. Strictly, it is that part of a vessel's bow
where holes are cut for her cables to pass through. It is also generally
understood to imply the situation of the cables before the ship's stem,
when she is moored with two anchors out from forward, one on the
starboard, and the other on the port bow. It also denotes any small
distance between her head and the anchors employed to ride her, as "he
has anchored in our hawse," "the brig fell athwart our hawse," &c.
Also, said of a vessel a little in advance of the stem; as, she sails
athwart[373] hawse, or has anchored in the hawse. If a vessel drives at
her anchors into the hawse of another she is said to "foul the hawse" of
the vessel riding there; hence the threat of a man-of-war's-man, "If
you foul my hawse, I'll cut your cable," no merchant vessel being
allowed to approach a ship-of-war within certain limits, and never to
make fast to the government buoys. ...
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lollia paolina passes the 30,000 mark!
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I was wondering why I was gaining on her on the Bear :D
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She was waiting for duplicate pages to be removed ;D
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That sounds painful :o
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It's now done - everyone can go back to Bear. :)
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DavidErskine
Welcome back !
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eikwar
Welcome back !
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Jim Hughes
Welcome to the top 12 !
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Jim Hughes passes the 250 mark!
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lollia paolina passes the 40,000 mark!
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Lekiam (Maikel) passes the 4000 mark!
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gastcra (Craig)
Welcome to the top 12 !
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gastcra (Craig) passes the 500 mark!
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Just stopping by for a quick look ;D
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;D
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Hi Everyone!
I just joined the crew of the Thetis.
Right now I am in Mare Island Navy Yard so not much exciting happening
so far, even the weather is mostly unvaried! I'll be back with
questions I am sure :)
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Hi there!
Welcome to OW and to the forum family!
Everyone is happy to help with questions ;)
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Hi there,
Could someone help me decipher the name of the crew member in the second paragraph(8 AM to Merid, last 3 lines)?
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_053_1.jpg
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_053_1.jpg)
I've looked at the crew list, but couldn't find any names that looked similar.
I
have something like "F. Eu~e~ek (Sea) absent without leave. By order of
Commanding Officer W.A. Cook(O.S.) + G. Anderson (O.S.) men declared
deserter from the Navy from duty."
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Not sure, but last letter seems to be a t.
Here is another example (8 am to mid) : http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_054_1.jpg
and here: http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_049_1.jpg
You
might find this helpful to search for other occurrences of the name:
http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3489.msg62863#msg62863
(that's what I did above ;))
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KookyBird
Welcome to the top 12 !
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Hi there,
Could someone help me decipher the name of the crew member in the second paragraph(8 AM to Merid, last 3 lines)?
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_053_1.jpg
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_053_1.jpg)
I've looked at the crew list, but couldn't find any names that looked similar.
I
have something like "F. Eu~e~ek (Sea) absent without leave. By order of
Commanding Officer W.A. Cook(O.S.) + G. Anderson (O.S.) men declared
deserter from the Navy from duty."
I've had problems with the name too.
Thus far I've transcribed him as J. Emmet (Sea).
-
Sounds good to me.
Everyone understands that we have to make
our best guess on some names and that sometimes we will guess wrong - or
the log keeper will be wrong (I have seem multiple spellings of some
officers' names ;)).
-
At 12:30 missed
dinghy from her moorings. At 12:45 dinghy returned with J. E
Cannon (oiler) & J. White (CH) & two ~ in her.
(http://kookabura.smugmug.com/photos/i-XS42xNS/0/O/i-XS42xNS.jpg)
My curiosity is in overdrive - what did they bring back?
In the next watch the two were in double irons awaiting court martial, so I know it was not good.
4 April 1888
-
Hi Kookaburra,
It seems "& two men in her" to me :)
-
I think you are right. Not nearly exciting enough though. I wonder why the other men were not named.
-
Hi Kookaburra,
It's good to see you in the forum!
When
you have a question it frequently helps if you post a link to the page:
Posting Links and Images (A Guide)
(http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=536.0).
That allows us to look at the context and at other pages.
By the way, are you transcribing as KookyBird?
-
Yes I am KookyBird; unfortunately Kookaburra was claimed on Zooinverse.
Thank you for the instructions on linking a page - I knew there were page addresses but I did not know how to get them.
-
Lekiam (Maikel) passes the 5000 mark!
-
crissiepatient
Welcome to the top 12 !
-
KookyBird (Kookaburra) passes the 500 mark!
-
Miepie88
Welcome to the top 12 !
;D
-
Goodbye Randi,
you're no longer in the top 12!
:(
-
As long as progress is being made...
;D
-
Lekiam (Maikel) passes the 6000 mark!
-
Miepie88 passes the 500 mark!
-
Meteorological data forms of the U.S.S. Tallapoosa have ended up in Thetis' log book. ???
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_133_1.jpg
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_133_1.jpg)
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_134_1.jpg
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_134_1.jpg)
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_135_1.jpg
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_135_1.jpg)
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_136_1.jpg
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_136_1.jpg)
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_137_1.jpg
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_137_1.jpg)
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_138_1.jpg
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_138_1.jpg)
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_139_1.jpg
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_139_1.jpg)
-
I've never worked out what's up with inserts - half the time I find
them in exactly the right place, and the rest of the time I'm sat there
wondering who decided to shuffle them like a deck of cards and replace
them randomly!
-
I will notify the PTB.
-
Danny, researchers used ship logs to create all the US Pilot Books,
taking the shore descriptions directly from comments. Also there
have been men doing weather research with them long before any of their
work could be digitized for us to use. All it takes is a careless
researcher removing inserts to read the logs, and at the end discovering
he had forgotten to restore them to the proper page. So, just
open the book and insert them anywhere. In this case, they opened
the wrong book.
Clearly none of them were
archivists. It's another case of needing a Tardis to go back and
instruct them on 21st century requirements. :)
-
I had a fun one today! 4 June 1888 at anchor Kodiak Island
I
found a reference to what looked like Governor Swinford but thought I
would double check Google. And this is what I found - my ship!
(http://kookabura.smugmug.com/photos/i-DLh2QfJ/0/O/i-DLh2QfJ.jpg)
This
is from thePacific Educational Journal, volumes 5-6 in Google Books
-published in 1889 for the California Department of Public
Instruction. This appears to be publication for use by teachers,
although there are many amusing adverts included.
There are other fine articles included in this publication, such as Should Young Girls Read Daily Newspapers?, Why Should I Spell Correctly, and Experiments that may be used in Connection with Teaching Scientific Temperance.
The last notes that districts will lose their funding if they do not
instruct on "the manners and morals . . of alcoholic drinks and
narcotics."
http://books.google.com/books?id=3OQhAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=GOVERNOR+SWINFORD&source=bl&ots=T9kFq4jpBE&sig=RZMDWPydoH95q2hpm4f8SqvbftA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=R08PVMPqGYKKyAT9_YKwCg&ved=0CGEQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=GOVERNOR%20SWINFORD&f=false
(http://books.google.com/books?id=3OQhAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=GOVERNOR+SWINFORD&source=bl&ots=T9kFq4jpBE&sig=RZMDWPydoH95q2hpm4f8SqvbftA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=R08PVMPqGYKKyAT9_YKwCg&ved=0CGEQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=GOVERNOR%20SWINFORD&f=false)
-
;D
-
And here is the photo album the governor collected that
summer. Finding background material is much easier when your ship
is chauffeuring a VIP. :)
A Summer on the Thetis, 1888 (http://library.alaska.gov/hist/hist_img/albums/asl_p027_album.pdf)
-
Oh, thank you so much Janet! It is wonderful to see the rather
scruffy crew and the places they visit. I am at St Paul right
now, so finding the Russian church photo from that spot was especially
fun. The album really adds another dimension.
-
;D
-
On 8 June 1888 Thetis arrived at Kenai, Alaska, or at least, she hopes so. :)
At 3.05 came to in 12 fms. off Kenai + veered to 45 fms. on starboard chain.
Impossible to get bearings of anchorage on account of apparent inconsistencies of chart.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_147_1.jpg
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_147_1.jpg)
-
9 June she was at anchor "off Kenai" before steaming up Cook's Inlet
to Coal Bay, so they must have given up on the idea of making it to
Kenai itself. :o
-
As with most Alaskan locations, it's probably debatable as to
whether there were any suitable (public) dock facilities at Kenai to
actually tie onto. On the Albatross, I'm not sure we've actually come
adjacent to dock anywhere North of Vancouver Island, always "Lying off
x" and sending in the smaller boats as needed.
Additionally, if
it was only a stop for the night, there was probably little use in
docking up! I've certainly noticed that ships are very reluctant to sail
past sunset in coastal waters, often choosing the nearest town or
sheltered harbour to spend the night but not actually doing much whilst
there.
-
KookyBird (Kookaburra) passes the 750 mark!
-
Lekiam (Maikel) passes the 7000 mark!
-
KookyBird (Kookaburra) passes the 1000 mark!
-
27 July 1888, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Thetis arrives off St. Michael's, Alaska.
Finally at home. ;D 8)
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_196_1.jpg
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol006of024/vol006_196_1.jpg)
For those not quite understanding this silly announcement, Michael is the English spelling of Maikel. :P
-
Genius, Yes - Saint, :-\
-
From the log-book starting 31-07-1888
Instruments:
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_004_1.jpg
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_004_1.jpg)
Armament:
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_005_0.jpg
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_005_0.jpg)
-
KookyBird (Kookaburra) passes the 1500 mark!
-
Aleut bidara (a skin covered boat) design plan, Alaska Peninsula,
Alaska, in engraving made 1807
(http://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/cdm/ref/collection/loc/id/2247)
More photos:
http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm/search/searchterm/Bidara
-
You are amazing Randi - I am at this minute transcribing a page with
bidaras. I had never heard of them and was unsure of the
word. I was at this thread to double check the name of the place
where they went ashore.
Distilling until 11.00 when stopped on account of native bidaras alongside.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_010_1.jpg
This is matching well with the photo album (there are bidaras in the album too):
About 25 natives on board.
-
;D
Hotham Inlet: http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/usaname.php?uni=1413151&fid=usageo_1313
-
OK, now I KNOW you are spying on me :) ;D ::)
-
This time - yes:
I was at this thread to double check the name of the place where they went ashore.
Last time - no - someone PM'd me a question and I thought it would be helpful to post the response here as well ;D
-
9 August 1888
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_015_1.jpg
At 6.50 let go starboard anchor & 15 fm. chain buoyed so that it could be recovered by the steamer "Bear."
Send
to "Bear" for use of crew of wrecked whaler the following articles of
clothing: 25 undershirts, 25 ~ trousers, 25 drawers, 25 pr. shoes, 100
water caps, 25 fur socks.
10 August
Issued to "Bear" for
use of shipwrecked crew, the following articles - 20 hammocks, 10 lb ~,
10 lb cod line, 1/2 lb cotton twine.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_016_1.jpg
Alas,
as of the 10th, the search for the wrecked ship "Jane Gray" by both the
"Bear" and the "Thetis" had not met with success. I do know,
however, that the ship survived, as TG Dewey gets transferred to her
sometime during this log book!
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_003_1.jpg
-
I do hope they meant 25 pairs socks or every shipwrecked sailor is going to have frost bite and blisters on one foot. ;)
I can't read what kind of "~~~line" they got 10 pounds of tho.
Looks like lots of lives saved, even if they couldn't find the ship.
-
I think it is marline - http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3715.msg65483#msg65483
-
Hmmm . . I think fur socks would be more fun :) and
maybe this whaler was crewed with peg-legs! (I changed the
transcription because, of course, you must have the right idea about
socks)
And "marline" it is! My first read was "sardines" but that made no sense whatever considering where they are.
This is my first real adventure here - and nothing compared to what those poor seamen on the "Jane Gray" were going through.
Added later:
And
clearly more adventures to come, including transporting the body of a
murdered Archbishop (well, at least killed). Thanks for the links!
-
Aug 13'th Thetis raises Jane Gray - http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DAC18881003.2.30
(towards the end of the article)
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_019_1.jpg
and especially: http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DAC18881126.2.58
-
More deciphering help please: ;) Quite a few guesses in my transcription. as well as too many ~s
12 August 1888
merid to 4pm
At
3.10 sighted wreck of schooner "Jane Gray" & stopped ship &
sent boat to examine her. She was lying on her port side, mast
resting on an ice floe. Starboard side had wooden ~ over stove
parts. Sent line to her & hauled alongside.
4pm to 6pm
At
4.15 started ahead with engines & towed schooner into open
water. Came to anchor at 4.20 in 20 fms & veered to 60 from on
starboard chain. Sent carpenter's mate & sail crew aboard
over holes in schooner's side. Hooked ~ falls at topmast head
& to ship around the bowsail head of schooner mast preparatory to
righting her.
6pm to 8pm
Crew engaged in righting schooner "Jane Gray" & at end of watch she went upright, her deck below water.
8pm to mid
Righted
schooner ~ her rail awash & battening down hatches. Main
hatch & ~ wood hatch open at end of watch. Anchored twice
during watch but got underway both times on account of field ice
drifting down on us. At end of watch vessel drifting.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_018_1.jpg
This
is harrowing even sitting in my safe home with a cup of hot
coffee. Also first time I have seen "battening down the hatches"
used in the literal sense.
-
BATTENING THE HATCHES. Securing the tarpaulins over them. (See Battens of the Hatches.)
BATTENS
of the Hatches. Long narrow laths, or straightened hoops of casks,
serving by the help of nailing to confine the edges of the tarpaulins,
and keep them close down to the sides of the hatchways, in bad weather.
Also, thin strips of wood put upon rigging, to keep it from chafing, by
those who dislike mats: when large these are designated Scotchmen.
FALL. ... the loose end of a tackle, or that part to which the power is applied in hoisting, and on which the people pull.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26000/26000-h/26000-h.htm#F
You do much better with that writing than I do!
Maybe:
At 3.10 sighted wreck of schooner "Jane Gray" & stopped ship to send boat to examine her. She was lying on her port side, mast resting on an ice floe. Starboard side had wooden patches over stove parts. Sent line to her & hauled alongside.
-
More deciphering help please: ;) Quite a few guesses in my transcription. as well as too many ~s
12 August 1888
merid to 4pm
At
3.10 sighted wreck of schooner "Jane Gray" & stopped ship &
sent boat to examine her. She was lying on her port side, mast
resting on an ice floe. Starboard side had wooden ~ over stove
parts. Sent line to her & hauled alongside.
Starboard side had wooden patches over stove parts.
4pm to 6pm
At
4.15 started ahead with engines & towed schooner into open
water. Came to anchor at 4.20 in 20 fms & veered to 60 from on
starboard chain. Sent carpenter's mate & sail crew aboard
over holes in schooner's side. Hooked ~ falls at topmast head
& to ship around the bowsail head of schooner mast preparatory to
righting her.
Hooked ~ falls at topmast head & to ship around the lowermast head of schooner mast preparatory to righting her. (part of the mast, a whole tree trunk the head of which is lashed to the bottom of the topmast.)
This
is harrowing even sitting in my safe home with a cup of hot
coffee. Also first time I have seen "battening down the hatches"
used in the literal sense.
Definitely! Sorry I can't help with the rest.
-
8pm to mid
Righted
schooner ~ her rail awash & battening down hatches. Main
hatch & ~ wood hatch open at end of watch. Anchored twice
during watch but got underway both times on account of field ice
drifting down on us. At end of watch vessel drifting.
Righted schooner, raised her rail awash...
Main hatch & cord (?) wood hatch...
-
raised and cord look good to me.
"Hooked ~ falls at topmast head & to ship around the lowermast head of schooner mast preparatory to righting her."
I wonder if it is straps rather than ship:
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433008209128;view=1up;seq=59
(for more on fall: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433008209128;view=1up;seq=60)
-
I concur - "straps" with the dash for the "t" having migrated halfway across the word!
-
Thank you all! I have updated the transcriptions with your
suggestions - which coincidentally make sense in context! :D
I am giving the log keeper full pardon on the scrabble considering the circumstances.
-
;D
-
Picking up on the latest location in the AK Names Thread:
Cape Sabine
http://www.geographic.org/nautical_charts/36_alaska/16104_1_cape_sabine.html
68.55.00N
164.36.00W
Mentioned in Thesis log of 19 August 1888
At sea, bound from Point Barrow to Coal Mine near Cape Sabine, Alaska
This
location was apparently later named "Thetis Mine" in honour of this
visit! This USGS report (http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/0278/report.pdf) also
includes a photo of the Thetis in the area, presumably on a later visit
in 1904, which was the voyage the report was based on.
-
Oh what a wonderful find! I see Thetis Mine on the map - and
even a Thetis Cr. If anyone else is looking, the map is on page 7
and the photo of the ship on page 10 of the document. The
surrounding article is all about the 1904 trip. What an intrepid
ship we have here!
-
I was curious about what these hard working sailors were fed and I
got a good idea when the "Thetis" transferred provisions to the "Jane
Gray." Lots of meat and biscuit.
Transferred to schooner
"Jane Gray" the following articles: . . . . Also following
provisions - 798 lb biscuit; 45 lb cornmeal, 25 lb oatmeal, 50 lb
hominy, 294 lb wheat flour: 400 lb salt pork; 33 1/2 gallons beans; 15
gall ~ ~; 300 lb salt beef; 133 lb rice; 25 lb dried apples; 72 lb
butter; 72 lb tomatoes; 48 lb roast beef; 48 lb corned beef; 70 lb ham;
71 lb bacon; 48 lb sausage meat; 48 lb salmon; 100 lb coffee; 20 lb tea;
20 lb cocoa; 70 lbs pickles, 1 gall molasses, 1 gall vinegar; 240 lb
vegetables; 260 lb sugar; 90 lb candles.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_027_1.jpg
-
That would be 15 gallons split pease, I believe. :)
Have
you seen the inventories they packed onto the Jeannette when they were
planning on leaving all civilization for 2 years, with only hunting to
supplement their supplies?
http://naval-history.net/OW-US/Jeannette/USS_Jeannette.htm
-
Nice list! It also solved 3 of my mysteries in navigation, and equipment stores that were transferred.
-
:)
-
KookyBird (Kookaburra) passes the 2000 mark!
-
Mysteriously precise:
Received in all 19 2180/2240 tons of coal during day
The ship's crew has been coaling themselves, but all other entries are to the nearest quarter ton.
They were also generous with the locals:
Expended 30 lb of hard tack for services rendered by Indians on shore.
29 August 1888
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_035_1.jpg
-
Mysteriously precise:
Received in all 19 2180/2240 tons of coal during day
Weird!
-
Look what I just found by pure chance!
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USRC%20Bear/vol72/vol072_243_1.jpg
Note that 742 + 2240 - 882 = 2100.
Ton ... A unit of weight equal to 2,240 pounds (1.016 metric tons or 1,016.05 kilograms). Also called long ton.
;D ;D ;D
-
Now Kookaburra's very precise fraction makes sense!!!
Will
someone please explain to me why the navy has to ignore both the US ton
(2000 lbs) and the Metric ton (1000 kg or 2204.8 lbs) and come up with a
different "Long ton"? English and US weight systems are bad
enough already!!!
-
I think sailors prefer to have their own obscure jargon so they can
immediately spot us landlubbers in their midst and shun us
appropriately. :)
At least this explains the fraction - and
maybe my log-keeper was influenced briefly by the Bear
log-keeper. Not sure it explains why the measurement was so
precise. It is only 60 lbs shy of a full (nautical) long
ton. I can not imagine their weighing devices were calibrated to
that degree.
I learned something new today and that makes it a good day!
From the ever-reliable Wikipedia:
Long
ton, also known as the imperial ton or weight ton, is the name for the
unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois or Imperial system of
measurements that was used in the United Kingdom and several other
Commonwealth countries before metrication. One long ton is equal to
2,240 pounds (1,016 kg), 12% larger than a short ton and 1.6% larger
than the 1,000-kilogram (2,205 lb) tonne, or 35 cubic feet (0.9911 m3)
of salt water with a density of 64 lb/cu ft (1.025 g/ml). It has
some limited use in the United States, most commonly in measuring the
displacement of ships, and was the unit prescribed for warships by the
Washington Naval Treaty 1922?for example battleships were limited to a
mass of 35,000 long tons (36,000 t; 39,000 short tons).
The Imperial ton was explicitly excluded from use for trade in the United Kingdom by the Weights and Measures Act of 1985
-
Well, Janet, if the Americans hadn't gone and decided to create that silly "Short Ton", we'd have been just fine!
The
Albatross similarly measured coal in long tons and pounds, so it's a
fairly long term habit of the Navy. Perhaps it was because the Long Ton
was used internationally, and so there was a chance that if coaling in
non-US locations, the logkeeper might confuse his units and mess up the
conversion from the dock's report of long tons to short tons in the book
- or even worse, forget to do so at all!
-
Don't you dare blame us for what our colonial masters forced on
us!!! We were the ones smart enough to keep "ounces" and "pounds"
but discard "stones" and "Drams" (avoirdupois and troy) and "grains" and
"Hundredweights" and "Pennyweights" and "Quarters". We simplified what
we were saddled with. If the English had lost a war and turned us
colonials over to the French, we'd have gone metric in the 1790s.
8)
-
If the English had lost a war and turned us colonials over to the French, we'd have gone metric in the 1790s. 8)
I'm not sure you can really blame us for your non-metrification - you've had two centuries to do it :P
-
I'm not blaming our stubborness on anyone but us. I'm refusing to take credit for inventing it all.
-
lollia paolina passes the 50,000 mark!
-
eikwar passes the 500 mark!
-
KookyBird (Kookaburra) passes the 2500 mark!
-
:) ^
For the record, I am noting here that I am changing the
columns for data on the MORNING only of 14 September, 1888.
The previous day (the 13th) they broke the barometer and there are
no Bar Height or Ther Attached entries, but there are entries for Dry,
Wet and Water after that time.
The morning of 14 September, 1888
there are Ther Attached, Dry and Wet entries but no Water. In the
afternoon it reverts to the same format as yesterday afternoon (no
barometer entries).
14 13th
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_050_0.jpg
15 14th
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_051_0.jpg
-
Your link for the 14'th seems to go to the 13'th, and your link for the 15'th seems to go to the 14'th.
If I have understood correctly, you have put the data for the morning of the 14'th in the correct columns?
-
Yes, I moved the data for the 14th to the right colums.
Sorry,
I had the wrong dates and corrected them in the text, but forgot to in
the links :( - will do so now. The actual 15th follows the pattern
of two barometer columns blank and Dry, Wet and Water columns
completed.
-
;D
-
KookyBird (Kookaburra) passes the 3000 mark!
-
All kinds of tasks for this crew: hauling around Governors and dead
archbishops, rescuing wrecked ships & their crews, transporting
hungry miners to a safer place for the winter. But I would
guess this is one of the primary duties of a Revenue Cutter:
At
11.00 a small boat come into the harbor from the southward & hauled
up on the beach. At 3.30 sent Ensign M.C. Gorgas with an armed
boat's crew to investigate the boat & the crew, suspecting them to
be liquor smugglers.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_103_1.jpg
-
I guess the Thetis didn't get into the reindeer transport business,
like the Bear? The latter shipped hundreds (or probably 1000s) of them
from Siberia to Alaska over a number of years.
-
I
guess the Thetis didn't get into the reindeer transport business, like
the Bear? The latter shipped hundreds (or probably 1000s) of them from
Siberia to Alaska over a number of years.
Oh,
this is coming up. I am quite looking forward to it!
I think I have 6 months until the reindeer come aboard :)
-
curiosity again haunts me.
Between mid and 4am I found this post:
(http://kookabura.smugmug.com/photos/i-wVkkpRq/0/O/i-wVkkpRq.jpg)
Many smeltons during the watch, - one very brilliant one to the southward. Obviously not "smeltons"
They
are near Victoria BC (to hand over that pesky archbishop's body) so I
do not think it is anything to do with northern lights. It is not a
storm since the whole period is B, none and 0. Any ideas?
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_112_1.jpg
-
How about meteors? That's what it looks like to me, and it would also explain the "very brilliant one to the southward".
-
I agree with Hanibal94.
-
How about meteors? That's what it looks like to me, and it would also explain the "very brilliant one to the southward".
Oh that makes perfect sense! Thank you.
-
Thetis -- Discussion: Questions and Comments is the place to ask ;D
-
KookyBird (Kookaburra) passes the 4000 mark!
(http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_3266.gif)
-
Way to go, KookyBird 8)
I have just done 1 month
(November 1888) for the Thetis and I notice the barometer readings have
been consistently in the mid to high 30s and now 31.06 on Nov. 30. I
suspect the barometer is not properly calibrated. I think it was high in
the Victoria region just as it has been all the way down the coast to
San Francisco.
-
gastcra (Craig) passes the 1000 mark!
-
I
have just done 1 month (November 1888) for the Thetis and I notice the
barometer readings have been consistently in the mid to high 30s and now
31.06 on Nov. 30. I suspect the barometer is not properly calibrated. I
think it was high in the Victoria region just as it has been all the
way down the coast to San Francisco.
Well they did break it back on 13 September! (8am to merid)
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_050_1.jpg
In
general they have become quite haphazard the last couple of
months. There have been MANY readings where the wet bulb is higher
than the dry. They almost never record the lat/log even when at
sea (never at anchor). They have consistently recorded only two
temps (wet and dry) while in the past they consistently recorded all
4. Log is signed by the same Ensigns and it all started when the
barometer broke. Very odd.
-
Weird - sounds like a case of broken windows theory (broken barometer theory?) to me.
-
2 December 1888 San Francisco
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_130_1.jpg
At
10.15 called "all hands to muster" Published letters from the
Navy Department and Chamber of Commerce in regard to the raising of the
"Jane Grey"
Nice to know they got a little recognition for all that hard work!
-
krigby
Welcome to the top 12 !
-
Hi krigby - welcome to a very interesting ship! Even if you
are in boring San Francisco right now, in a few months you will travel
back to the arctic and help transport live reindeer from Russia to
Alaska!
-
Another odd little tidbit. Today (10 Dec 1888) we moved into
Mare Island and tied up alongside a ship with a somewhat indecipherable
name. At first I though "Dreadnaught" but immediately discarded
that for several reasons, and it looks clearly like a "noch" at the end.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_138_1.jpg
(http://kookabura.smugmug.com/photos/i-3XBxFPx/0/O/i-3XBxFPx.jpg)
So
I went searching among the many lists of navy vessels. Soon I
discovered the solution (I believe) - the Monadnock. I know the
name from the early "skyscraper" in Chicago with 6 foot thick walls at
the base (an interesting story on its own
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monadnock_Building
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monadnock_Building))
The Monadnock has quite a story as a ship also. It was built over 22 years
before commissioning in 1896 and resided during most of that time at
the Mare Island yard. I found photos over several years with it at
the wharf of Mare Island.
http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/monadnock.htm
The ship and the building were under construction at the same time.
-
8)
-
Once again, deciphering help requested:
(http://kookabura.smugmug.com/photos/i-pNfGjpV/0/O/i-pNfGjpV.jpg)
What is the ship's name?
I
think it ends with "ican" or "icam." I looked through the lists
of ships for those ending with that segment but nothing looks right.
This ship sent over a few men to the Thetis on 13 Dec 1888
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_141_1.jpg
-
Mohican ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Mohican_%281883%29
-
Oh yes, I believe it is ;D :D :) ;) ;D
And she was most certainly at Mare Island on the date in question.
I am most impressed - I spent a good 45 minutes looking for it and you found it in 3 minutes or less.
-
Mohican is also on our history site Naval-History.Net as a possible
future (not near future :( ) ship to transcribe. :)
http://naval-history.net/OW-US/Mohican/USS_Mohican.htm
-
KookyBird (Kookaburra) passes the 5000 mark!
(http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_2593.gif)
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12 January 1889
Brig Gen Miles, US Army, paid an official visit
to the Commodore of the Yard - a salute of eleven guns being fired in
his honor upon departure.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_171_1.jpg
Nelson Appleton Miles was a very interesting character:
-
Distinguished himself in the Civil War (1861-65) and The Indian Wars
(1874-77) and commanded the Army during the Spanish-American War (1898).
- He was the last Commanding General in the Army's history as the position was eliminated when he retired.
- Married the niece of Gen. William T Sherman and used his political connections to further his career.
-
Lead the forces who suppressed the Pullman Strike (1894) - often
considered a shameful interference by the Army in a labor dispute.
- In 1888 -1890 he commanded the Department of the Pacific at San Francisco.
-
He left San Francisco in 1890 to direct the Army's efforts to suppress
the Ghost Dance "uprising" on the Lakota reservations. This lead
directly to the massacre at Wounded Knee.
Definitely a man of
his time: honored in the 19th century but something of an embarrassment
today. He was directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of
3 great American Indian leaders: Sitting Bull, Geronimo, and Chief
Joseph.
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/namiles.htm
(http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/namiles-moh-1891-01.jpg)
-
(http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Respect/respect-060.gif) lollia paolina passes the 60,000 mark! (http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Respect/respect-061.gif)
-
krigby passes the 500 mark!
-
Way to go, Silvia! That makes you the only person to have passed
that mark three times - yet another first for your collection!
-
Good work, Silvia ! 8)
-
lollia paolina passes the 60,000 mark!
I am awestruck.
-
20 January 1889 sighted the USS Vandalia sailing out to Samoa. Well that ol' curiosity got me again. The Vandalia had a sad end to the Samoa trip, less than two months after her sighting by Thetis.
In
early 1889, Vandalia was sent to Samoa to help counter German political
and military activities in that island kingdom. While anchored in Apia
Harbor, Samoa, on 15-16 March 1889, Vandalia was driven ashore by a
violent hurricane. The ship was utterly wrecked, and suffered the loss
of 43 of her officers and men, including her Commanding Officer, Captain
Cornelius M. Schoonmaker. After recovery of fittings and armament, her
wreck was donated to the Samoans for its salvage value and broken up.
(http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h02000/h02149.jpg)
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-v/vandl2-k.htm
-
What a violent end - I'm sorry the officers and crew didn't get off in time, that makes it a much worse tragedy.
-
From the log-book starting 3-February-18898
Instruments:
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol008of024/vol008_004_1.jpg
Armament:
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol008of024/vol008_005_0.jpg
Deviation of the Standard Compass No 13859 on board
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol008of024/vol008_005_1.jpg
-
Pages cut out between the first and second pages of observations in
the new log book. Obviously done at the time as there is no gap in
the recording.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol008of024/vol008_006_1.jpg
(http://kookabura.smugmug.com/photos/i-D6JJqCJ/0/M/i-D6JJqCJ-M.jpg)
edit to add:
on
24 March 1889 in the same log book, more complete pages have been cut
out. On one side is the 24th WRs and on the other, the 24th comments, so
again, cut out at the time the log was done.
-
I believe that is a gross disobedience of standing orders regarding
log books. I really do wonder what happened that they didn't want
the Admirals to read.
http://seabeemagazine.navylive.dodlive.mil/files/2014/02/Chapter-3.pdf
A
ship's deck log has both historical importance and legal standing. At
times, it may be used in naval, admiralty, and civil courts. ...
Entries
in the ship's deck log are handwritten using a black, ball-point pen.
Entries must be neat and legible. Use only standard Navy phraseology.
Because the log may be used as evidence in legal proceedings, do not
erase an entry. If you make a mistake, draw a single line through the
original entry (so that it remains legible), insert the correct entry,
and place your initials in the margin
I wonder at their definition of "neat and legible". ::)
-
KookyBird (Kookaburra) passes the 6000 mark!
-
22 February 1889
At 6.55 dressed ship rainbow fashion.
At
11.20 1st 2nd & 3rd whaleboats & gig left the ship to sail a
race around buoy No 5. At noon saluting battery at the Yard fired
21 guns salute in honor of the day.
Ship's boats returned from race, 1st cutter first.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol008of024/vol008_025_1.jpg
Not
sure what day they were honoring, otherwise business proceeded as
usual: many of the officers left the ship for Board of Inquiry
duty, "usual routines" were performed, decks were pumped out.
edit
to add: HA HA, this was George Washington's actual
birthday! How quickly political needs fog the original reason for a
holiday. I will add this to the holiday post.
-
For dressed ship rainbow fashion, see: http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3966.msg82703#msg82703
-
And this is what "dressed rainbow fashion" looks like - it's the old
sloop HMS Torch, like Thetis she was built in the same era.
(Unlike Thetis, she was built as a war ship and never sold to the US.)
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Xi87EeczKRc/VCsKpECdK2I/AAAAAAAAA4E/vckPQxKURx0/w627-h470-no/HMS%2BTorch%2Bsloop%2Bdressed%2Boverall.jpeg)
-
I think the ships should be rainbow dressed daily - it looks so festive and well-maintained!
-
KookyBird (Kookaburra) passes the 7000 mark!
-
;D (http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_1017.gif)
-
Thank you AvastMH. I am really enjoying my travels on Thetis :D
-
It is a grand ship with a fine pedigree of journeys. :D
(BTW - please feel welcome to use my real name, Joan, if you wish. :) )
-
There are a few pictures of the Thetis and crew here: http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/arctic/rediscover/gallery_display.php
-
That link doesn't have any specific ship built in - go view the
gallery first and then choose the Thetis from the list to display.
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/arctic/rediscover/gallery_view.php
-
Just posted in Unalga1 discussion that many of the Thetis photos
include washing out to dry on the line to the bowsprit. Makes me laugh
and laugh. They must have been the cleanest crew on the ocean waves,
surely. ;D
-
I have quite a few years to catch up with those photos - I am only
in 1889! But I do not think much will change - the laundry and the
fresh water process are probably timeless. She is certainly a
handsome ship but I am struggling with how fragile she looks amongst the
ice. Looks like a few other OW ships are in the index too - Bear,
Perry, Unalga at least.
-
The strength (or lack there of) in arctic ships is all out of sight
in the hull. They must be reinforced and/or made as double hulls
to survive ice, but their masts and sails remain structured to use and
deal with light winds, same as warm water ships.
http://naval-history.net/OW-US/Thetis/USRC_Thetis.htm
(Thetis, Greek sea-nymph of mythology)
Type and Characteristics: Barque/Bark-rigged steam cutter, built by Alexander Stephen & Son, Dundee, Scotland as sealer and whaler, hull reinforced for light ice operations,
launched 1881, 1,250 tons displacement, 188ft 6in long x 29ft beam x
17ft 10in draft, compound-expansion steam engine, one propeller.
Commissioned in Revenue Cutter Service 3 March 1899, armed with 3-3pdr
rapid fire guns, complement not known.
Meaning
she could not be sent out in deep winter as a heavy ice-breaker without
getting broken herself, but she did survive lighter ice and act as an
ice-breaker to get out frailer ships who got caught in new ice when they
didn't leave soon enough in the autumn.
-
I recall that we discovered the strengthening of the hull on the
Jeannette ready for her polar expedition, given it took well over a year
for her to finally succumb to the artic pack ice (and allowing for
those occasional leaks)- it was an impressive hull.
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-j/jeanette.htm :
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/537/cScDqL.jpg)
-
Compare with the cross-section of the Fram here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fram#mediaviewer/File:Fram_1893-1896_engineering_drawing.jpg
-
Oh yes, those cross braces must add quite a bit of strength relative to the Fram.
I
assume the coal bunkers on all the ships are below the water line - do
they fill them with salt water as the coal is burned?
Also,
I am wondering about wood as the primary structural material.
Obviously, it was the material at hand initially and relatively easy to
work, but putting aside the clear shortcomings (worms and rot), is wood a
good material because of its flexibility under stress?
-
Since virtually all war and civilian ships today are built of steel, I'd have to say that is the superior material.
I'm guessing here completely, but these wood ships were all built in the 19th century, and the mere idea of steel clad ships
was brand new in the 1860s with the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia.
Wiki says the first war ship built
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironclad_warship#Armor_and_construction)
with primarily steel construction was 1876. Thesis was launched in
1881.
There are 2 parts to greatly changing ideas of building
anything. The first is finding a brilliant engineer with the
idea. The second is convincing lots of sober conservative bankers
to fund major use of the inventive idea. Logically speaking from a
landlubber's POV, believing steel can float might have taken quite a
bit of work to convince them. :)
-
Compare with the cross-section of the Fram here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fram#mediaviewer/File:Fram_1893-1896_engineering_drawing.jpg
Well
those are two very different approaches. I think I prefer the
Fram...the layout reminds me of the strength inherent in egg
shells...looks to spread pressures evenly around the system, whereas the
Jeannette could transfer pressures through to a limited number of
points. :-\
-
The key to the Fram's design is that the sea ice would slip under
the steep curve of the bilge and lift the ship up rather than attempt to
resist the crush with main strength like the Jeannette and all other
ships up to then (and some after - the Endurance for example). The Maud
was similar to the Fram but bigger and not as famous.
-
Thanks, Kevin!
That sounds like a more logical approach ;)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fram
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maud_%28ship%29
-
Whew - the problem I am having is rabbit holes that are opening up
all around me. So many hints of interesting things I do not know -
I want to explore each of them further - here we add ship design and
the Fram. But I need to go back to listening to my audio book
about Jeanette and googling the history of two more senior
officers mentioned in my ship's logs. Oh, I want to know more
about the Mare Island shipyard too - that is the part of the country
where I grew up. I hope I do not have to give up transcribing in
order to do all this other investigation! :P ;D
-
Welcome to the history-loving end of OW. :)
-
The
key to the Fram's design is that the sea ice would slip under the steep
curve of the bilge and lift the ship up rather than attempt to resist
the crush with main strength like the Jeannette and all other ships up
to then (and some after - the Endurance for example). The Maud was
similar to the Fram but bigger and not as famous.
Thanks, Kevin!
That sounds like a more logical approach ;)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fram
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maud_%28ship%29
Oh
I see - I hadn't spotted that difference Kevin. Golly gosh - I'm
learning sooo much- and those two articles from wiki about the Fram and
Maud were good too - thanks Randi. :D
-
Whew
- the problem I am having is rabbit holes that are opening up all
around me. So many hints of interesting things I do not know - I
want to explore each of them further - here we add ship design and the
Fram. But I need to go back to listening to my audio book about Jeanette
and googling the history of two more senior officers mentioned in my
ship's logs. Oh, I want to know more about the Mare Island
shipyard too - that is the part of the country where I grew up. I
hope I do not have to give up transcribing in order to do all this other
investigation! :P ;D
Oh
I do know what you mean Kookaburra! So much. I spent two weeks
researching the Jeannette..and cried through most of it. But at the end
of that I found William Melville's prophetic words - that reverberate to
us across the many years...
'The scientific value of the work
accomplished by these men, living and dead, can only be estimated after
their observations have been compiled and computed, compared and applied
- all of which will involve years of patient toil.'
Don't you just love this project? ;) :D
(PS
- William Melville became Chief Engineer in the US Navy and instigated
the use of the triple screw propeller as a standard for all ships.
Enough history I say - enough :) )
-
Don't you just love this project? ;) :D
(PS
- William Melville became Chief Engineer in the US Navy and instigated
the use of the triple screw propeller as a standard for all ships.
Enough history I say - enough :) )
You did it to me again! Now I need to find out about Mr. Melville and the fancy propeller!
Yes, I do love learning all this new stuff. :D
-
You are an OWaholic ;D
-
;D ;D ;D
-
A true OWaholic for sure. And it is George Melville you need to look for. ;)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Melville
-
Doh! Whoopsie - apologies to all Melvilles ::) ::) ::)
-
And it is George Melville you need to look for. ;)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Melville
Oh,
I will be hearing more about him in my Jeannette book then. It
amazes me how small a world the navy was in those day - the characters
show themselves over and over again in different contexts.
-
For the third time in the same log book I have found cut pages - and
I am only half way through the book! In this case, you can
clearly see that the pages cut were already written upon:
(http://kookabura.smugmug.com/photos/i-W6Fjckv/0/M/i-W6Fjckv-M.jpg)
30 April 1889
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol008of024/vol008_092_1.jpg
-
KookyBird (Kookaburra) passes the 8000 mark!
-
January 7th 1889 - http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_166_1.jpg
Commenced reading Holosteric Barometer at 1pm.
That
explains the sudden change in the pressure on the previous page. -
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol007of024/vol007_166_0.jpg
-
Holosteric??!! Oh, thank goodness its the same as an aneroid.
http://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Holosteric_barometer
-
Oh good, it wasn't just me that hadn't heard of it!
-
jil
Welcome to the top 12 !
-
jil passes the 1000 mark!
-
25% done! Thetis is on her way to the finish line :)
-
8)
-
8) Well done!
-
KookyBird (Kookaburra) passes the 9000 mark!
-
jil passes the 1500 mark!
-
jil passes the 2000 mark!
-
5 July 1889 off Point Hope, Alaska
At 12.44 stopped the ship and lowered dinghy to bring off a polar bear shot by the officers.
:( >:( :( :o :( :'(
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol008of024/vol008_158_1.jpg
-
Times have changed.
Think of all the birds Audubon killed :-\
-
Oh, I know. Think of all of the samples of extinct birds
stocked in drawers in natural history museums the world over.
My
uncle had a polar bear rug that he claimed he shot himself while in
Alaska in the Coast Guard. He was a big story teller though, so he
may have just purchased it. That would have been in the mid
1960s. As a youngster I had mixed feelings of fear and attraction
to the claws and teeth!
-
27th April 1889 - http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol008of024/vol008_089_1.jpg
Commenced reading Mercurial Barometer
Presumably between 6 and 7am when the pressure goes from 30.95 to 29.95!
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol008of024/vol008_089_0.jpg
-
Yes, they are definitely having consistency problems this voyage.
Between
weird and skipped readings, 7s and 9s that encompass a complete range
from a straight line across the top to a full loop and the long and
tedious events recordings, this trip is not quite as much fun as last
summer. Not sure what is due to the change in command and what to
the change in log keeper.
-
I'm definitely using a lot of guesswork with the 7s and 9s!
-
KookyBird (Kookaburra) passes the 10,000 mark!
-
jil passes the 3000 mark!
-
8)
Way to go, Jil.
-
Thanks, Craig
-
New log book 30 July 1889
Instruments used for Meteorological Observations
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_005_1.jpg
Armament
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_006_0.jpgD
Deviations of standard compass
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_006_1.jpg
-
Congratulations on your 10000 Kookaburra! 8) 8) 8)
-
Thank you Craig - it feels like a real milestone.
Now, Jil and I want cake ;D ;)
-
I had a lot of trouble baking this one ;D
-
Good job, Craig! ;D
-
I never knew you were a master baker, Craig. Cool ship. :)
-
It is PERFECT! thank you Craig. ;D
-
I have a cousin in California who is called "The Cake Doctor". I got a few tips from him ;D
-
You did that yourself? WOW!
I am very impressed!
-
Great cake!
-
You did that yourself? WOW!
I am very impressed!
Just joking. I wish I could bake one like that.
-
Interesting story, complete with reverberations of the 1888 adventure in rescuing the wrecked whaler crews.
29 July 1889
At
9.00 sent starboard watch in charge of Ensign Gorgas in 1st steam
launch and 1st whaleboat to assist USRS "Bear" to get material for life
saving station ashore. Party returned to ship at noon after
landing part of lumber for houses. . .
At 1.00 sent port watch on shore to assist in landing lumber from USRS "Bear"
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol008of024/vol008_182_1.jpg
30 July 1889
At 6.00 sent working party ashore . . .
Working party on shore and on USRS "Bear" discharging coal and provisions for Refuge Station. . .
Carpenter and blacksmith assisting erecting House of Refuge. . .
Port
watch working ashore in charge of Ensign Gorgas unloading provisions
and materials for Relief Station from the USRS Cutter "Bear"
transportation done by boats from "Wanderer" to shore towed by 1st steam
launch.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_007_1.jpg
31 July 1889
At 6.00 sent starboard watch to assist in landing stores from USRS "Bear" . . .
Working party ashore working on Refuge Station . . .
Sent carpenters party ashore to assist in erecting House of Refuge
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_008_1.jpg
01 August 1889
At
2.00 steamer "Thrasher" came in from southward and anchored inshore of
this vessel and commenced discharging cord wood for the Refuge Station
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_009_1.jpg
and so on. But what is this "House of Refuge"? Google to the rescue :)
The
oldest wood-framed building standing along Alaska's Arctic coast, the
Point Barrow Refuge Station was a manned refuge station for shipwrecked
whalers. After 1854, American whalers began hunting east of Point
Barrow, with frequent losses of ships and men. On 2 August 1888, thirty
whale ships anchored off Point Barrow were waiting for the ice pack to
open so they could enter the Beaufort Sea. A gale blew up, sending ships
crashing into one another and breaking up in the heavy seas. Great loss
of life was avoided only because the U.S. revenue cutter Bear and the U.S.S. Thetis
were nearby and rescued sailors; the value of the lost ships exceeded
$100,000. That tragedy resulted in the construction of this station.
. . .
the building originally was 30 feet by 48 feet with a large central room with bunks for fifty men.
. . .
During
the seven years that it functioned as a refuge station, there were no
major shipwrecks to require its services. The shady business dealings of
the station's first superintendent probably also contributed to the
closing of the station in 1896. The next year, more than one hundred men
sought shelter for eleven months at Point Barrow when four ships were
crushed by ice and four others were icebound for the winter. The Pacific
Steam Whaling Company, which had bought the station, had rented it to a
naturalist, Edward Avery McIlhenny, for the winter; he helped shelter
the shipwrecked sailors.
http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/AK-01-NO001
Oh, how I love learning new things!
-
8) 8) 8)
I hope he got his rent refunded ::)
That would be good for "Could use some Daily Zooniverse suggestions..." ;)
-
Great story! Really enjoyed that :D
-
8)
-
How very interesting - disasters were fortunately widely spaced and
unpredictable, but rented or not that house was a life saver. :)
-
09 August 1889
A very distinct and clear sun dog with two
eccentric semi-circles of light one true sun and one false sun on each
side of the true sun, visible from 10.00 to meridian
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_017_1.jpg
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/AlcanSunbow.jpg)
Sun dogs:
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/%28Gh%29/guides/mtr/opt/ice/sd.rxml
-
Beautiful and unusual - I have never seen one of those.
-
Me either! I had never even heard of them :) I am
getting itchy feet to go visit the arctic from this. It must
have been quite a beautiful day on the Thetis - they also had mirages and lots of ice (floes and drifting) to look at!
Thank
you for posting in Natural Phenomena - I was not sure if this
should go somewhere as it is completely due to the ice suspended in the
air.
-
That's a cracker! Beautiful! :D
-
Every unusual event in nature fits in Natural Phenomenon. Just
because we don't have a scientist chasing it doesn't make it any less
beautiful or awesome. 8)
-
15 August 1889, Herschel Island, Yukon Territory, near a native village
Executive Officer went ashore and put up a board with "USS Thetis" August 15th 1889 in brass letters on it.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_023_1.jpg
This is the first time I have had anything like this at all. Were they trying to claim the area for the US?
I did discover that 1889 was the first year of commercial whaling at Herschel Island.
-
Intriguing.
Did they just happen to have a selection of brass letters on board ready for whatever this eventuality was?
-
What was interesting, since they had to either have a set of brass
letters or had spent a lot of time cutting them out, is that there is
nothing there that included a flag or claim of ownership. Simply a
"Thetis was here" high-end graffiti. Maybe they didn't know who
the island belonged to, and were simply establishing a date of arrival
that could be compared with Canada's claim of arrival. Kind of
neighbors surveying to find the property line.
-
Found this - Toponomy of Hershal Island (http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic64-4-459.pdf)
ABSTRACT.
The official names for several of the features on Herschel Island are
derived from the visit to the island by USS Thetis
, Lt. Cdr. Charles Stockton commanding, on 15?16 August 1889. In 24 hours, Stockton and his crew surveyed the coast
sufficiently to compile and publish a map, which included the bathymetry of Pauline Cove and the strait between the island
and the mainland, now called Workboat Passage. Stockton named features after two whaling ships that were in the vicinity
when he arrived (Orca and Thrasher), his own Thetis, his wife (Pauline Lethilhon King), three ensigns to whom he assigned
bathymetric surveys (Robert Lopez, Edward Simpson, and Rogers Wells, Jr.), two of his other officers (Lt. Arthur Osborn
and Ensign John Bell), and an officer of the Royal Navy (Capt. Sir Richard Collinson). Only one feature, Avadlek Spit, has an
Inuvialuktun official name.
And
futher down the document it mentions that Thetis 'planted a marker' and
there's the map they produced and more details of the names used.
-
Oh jil! That is so wonderful! I know all of those
officers so well by now - and I just transcribed the ensigns heading out
in the whaleboats and launches to report on the passages around the
island.
You made my day! ! ! ! ;D
ETA:
I am highly amused by the notation in the article about the spelling of Ensign Roger Wells - it is both Wells and Welles in the Thetis logs and lists of officers :)
-
Great find, jil!
-
Ooops! The Thetis is spending huge amounts of time
ramming ice and trying to open paths. I assume the "native boats"
have much smaller draught and can get through iced over areas.
Natives visiting ship. After their boat had left, one of their number was found on board.
The crew was busy elsewhere
From
8 until 11.30 attempted to work ship out of a hole into a clear lead
about 100 yards ahead. Did not succeed and at 11.30 moored ship
with two quarter lines to ice anchor.
23 August 1889
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_031_1.jpg
Hopefully he will make it home tomorrow!
-
Unless your stowaway wants to join the Thetis' crew. ;)
Native boats could be dragged over ice like a sledge, with all the gear and trade goods still packed inside.
http://www.adn.com/article/20090215/alaska-natives-thrived-coming-white-man
Homo
sapiens have lived and prospered in Alaska for at least 10,000 years.
Very resourceful people had advanced cultures and economies here when
Europeans were huddling in caves drawing on the walls with burnt sticks.
...
Great boats:
In the north, Alaska's Native people developed boats that met three
criteria. The boat's frame could be built from local trees, bushes and
driftwood. The covering was from animal skins. And the completed boat
was man-portable and could be dragged across the land or ice.
Now,
thousands of years later, no one has improved upon the design and shape
of the kayak. There is simply no other vessel in history or in the
world that is so capable of taking one to three people safely out to
sea. And these boats are fast and easily driven.
The larger, open
skin boats, often called umiaks, could carry a dozen or more people,
plus cargo, and still be moved across the ice or up onto shore. The
kayaks and umiaks were designed to flex in a seaway and thus avoid the
frame-breaking stress that plagues any boat longer than the space
between waves. In timber country, huge tree trunks were hollowed out,
steamed and spread to make magnificent ocean capable boats that made
ocean voyages of more than a thousand miles. In these great boats, early
Alaskans raided and traded down the coast perhaps as far as San
Francisco Bay. They were this continent's equivalent of the Vikings of
Europe.
-
jil passes the 4000 mark!
-
07 Sept 1889
At 7.15 stopped and spoke schooner "Jane Gray"
Captain Kelly. The schooner crew cheered the "Thetis" whereupon we
manned fore rigging & cheered the "Jane Gray"
A very heartwarming reunion :)
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_046_1.jpg
-
Great!
(I bet you were cheering too ;))
-
That's a great way to say 'Hi' to old friends!
-
Yes, it did bring a small tear to my eye and a big smile to my face.
-
16 September 1889
Transferred the following stores to the
whaling station at this place, viz: - 440 lbs bread, 96 lbs beer, 48 lbs
roast beef, 17 gals beans, 1/2 bbl flour, 1 bbl rice, 25 lbs dried
fruits, 40 lbs cocoa, 50 lbs tomatoes, 1/2 bbl salt pork, 1 ~ pickles,
64 lbs vegetables, 25 lbs coffee, 69 lbs bacon, 27 lbs butter and 1 bbl
sugar. These stores are intended for the men of two shipwrecked
whalers who are in this vicinity - but out of reach of this ship, and
who have announced their intention of wintering here, there being
insufficient stores at the station for their subsistence.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_055_1.jpg
I am imagining a winter at the whaling station pictured here:
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/540/drswhB.jpg)
-
eikwar passes the 750 mark!
-
Message in a tin case - 16th August 1889 -
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_024_1.jpg
At
3.30 threw over board a block of hard wood (2ft x 9in x 4in) marked *
THETIS AUGUST 16 FOR DRIFT 1889 containing in a tin case a letter to be
forwarded to the Navy Department nearest Hydrographic Office, or the
Commanding Officer of the Thetis by the finder. Ship's position at the
time:- SE Bluff of Herschel Island bearing S 7/8 W (mag) NW Bluff
Herschel Island SW 1/2 S (mag) and sounded in 80 fathoms water.
I wonder if it was ever found?
-
It doesn't mention finding them but requests to look out for the floats!
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1762201?seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/26005/page/7473/data.pdf
-
You will be seeing several of those dropped in the water over the
next few days Jil. I too wonder how many of them were returned for
reporting. The invention of GPs allows for much more
reliable tracking, but the romance of a marker tossed over the side,
with high hopes, is lost.
-
(http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Respect/respect-060.gif) lollia paolina passes the 70,000 mark! (http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Respect/respect-061.gif)
-
jil passes the 5000 mark!
-
WOOT WOOT ::) Congrats to both of you.
What date have you reached lollia paolina? I know there are many years of logs for this ship.
-
Well done Captain!
-
17 Oct 1889, Sitka, Alaska; off for a spa weekend
At 12.45
the 1st launch Lieut Osborn in charge; Paymaster JQ LOvell and Asst
Surgeon GB Wilson passengers, left the ship for the hot springs to be
absent two days.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_086_1.jpg
-
:D Hope they got suitably pampered!
-
21 Oct 1889, Sitka, Alaska
And some crew did not take as well to the environs of Sitka:
A
US Deputy Marshal came onboard with warrants from the US Commissioner
on shore for the arrest of WM Plummer (OS) and WC Morgan (OS) charging
them with disturbing the peace and destruction of private property, and D
Berger (QM) charged with assault and battery. Sent Plummer &
Berger ashore to appear before the Commissioner, Morgan absent without
leave. D Berger (QM) returned onboard and reported that he had
been found "not guilty" and had been discharged.
. . .
At
3.50 the US Marshall delivered on board WM Plummer (OS) and WC Morgan
(OS) who had been tried by the US Commissioner on charged as above
mentioned and found guilty and fined. By order of the Commanding
Officer paid the US Marshall $17.72 the amount of WM Plummer's fine to
be charged to his account.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_090_1.jpg
-
:o
-
They really could have done with some chill out time at the hot springs!
-
jil hits the 6000 mark!
-
Good aim, Jil 8)
-
Thanks Craig, but it's very easy when they always have 24 WR per day (even for several months at the Mare Island Navy Yard).
Unfortunately, it does make me stop transcribing for a little while as I don't want to spoil the nice round number ::)
-
jil passes the 7000 mark!
-
I see a trend here - Jil must be good at math! Congrats to a fellow crew member ;D
-
Thanks!
-
23rd Dec 1889 Navy Yard Mare Island - http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_153_1.jpg
At
7.10 a small boat containing 9 men from the USFC Steamer Albatross
swamped ahead of this ship, five men were rescued by our 3rd whale-boat
as they drifted by. The 4th whale-boat was lowered and sent to assist,
but failed to find any men, the tide was running very strong ebb and the
men drifted astern very rapidly.
-
That really brings home the danger in a sailor's life.
-
I don't think Albatross has worked up to 1889 yet. They have a terrible day waiting for them there.
-
I was hoping they might have been picked up by someone else but ....
Four men drowned (http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DAC18891225.2.59.3) from Daily Alta California
-
Very sad, especially at Christmas.
Here is the
Albatross 23 Dec 1889
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/Albatross/vol020of055/vol020of055_181_1.jpg)
page.
Searching for the bodies:
Albatross 24 Dec 1889
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/Albatross/vol020of055/vol020of055_182_1.jpg),
Albatross 25 Dec 1889
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/Albatross/vol020of055/vol020of055_183_1.jpg),
Albatross 26 Dec 1889
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/Albatross/vol020of055/vol020of055_184_1.jpg),
Albatross 27 Dec 1889
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/Albatross/vol020of055/vol020of055_185_1.jpg)
...
they continued to search in January, but not every day:
Albatross 9 Jan 1890 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/Albatross/vol021of055/vol021of055_014_1.jpg)
-
For some time now (I can't remember when it started) J. Gardiner
(Sea) has been 'confined for safe-keeping' overnight. Did anyone spot
what he'd done to deserve/require this?
One example, 29th Dec 1889 - http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_159_1.jpg
-
He hasn't been mentioned in the forum before this, but it has happened on Thetis before:
http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3410.msg65233#msg65233
Speer,
Richard Ordinary Seaman escaped from
the brig where he had been placed for safe keeping. 17 Mar 1887
http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3410.msg97237#msg97237
C Briggs (Lds) Confined for safe-keeping. 20 Dec 1888
http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3410.msg100161#msg100161
JM
Cummingham sea Placed n confinement
for safe keeping by order of Commanding Officer 04 June 1889
http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3410.msg102388#msg102388
1 Sept 1889, Point Barrow, Alaska
At
9.45 Eugene Dunken (2nd C F) attempted suicide by cutting his throat
with a knife while confined in brig for safekeeping; during the
remainder of watch he remained in the pilot-house carefully guarded.
-
Seems to have started or resumed when they docked at Mare Island:
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_143_1.jpg,
but I didn't see any explanation.
-
He may be in danger to himself only when in port - but will not do
whatever on duty during the day. Which indicates to me he isn't in
danger of running off and never coming back. Maybe a chronic
binge drinker who doesn't much mind being saved from himself?
Just guessing
-
Force 9
Welcome to the top 12 !
-
Force 9 passes the 750 mark!
-
Congratulations!
-
Update on Mr. Gardiner - now confined in 'single irons to await
trial by Court Martial'. So perhaps they were worried he'd do a runner
to avoid trial.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_166_1.jpg
-
There must be many reasons for confining for "safe keeping".
Makes me want to know the back stories of all the men Thetis listed as
doing this to. Very interesting stuff.
-
Went back as far as http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_133_1.jpg.
This seems to be the start: http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_137_1.jpg
7 Dec 1889
Placed
J. Gardiner (Sea) and J.Murphy (C.F.C) in confinement by order of
Commanding Officer, to await further action, for being under the
infulence of liquor and fighting.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_139_1.jpg
-
I got that link. But why the court martial, that they let him
go on duty during the day? What did he do and what were the
consequences?
Curiosity is raging. :)
-
I wondered about daytime too. Maybe there were enough people around to keep an eye on him :-\
-
At 10.20 sent J. Gardiner (Sea) in charge of Master-at-Arms to
appear for trial before General Court Martial in session in Navy Yard.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_169_1.jpg
Still don't know why.
-
See my post above ;)
http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3017.msg104825#msg104825
-
Sorry Randi, not paying attention there :-[
-
jil passes the 8000 mark!
-
That's why you weren't paying attention, jil. Too busy transcribing! 8)
-
Good excuse Craig, I should have thought of that. ;)
-
;D
-
Hi - many thanks for the congrats on 750... amazed at how quickly it
happened and I certainly didn't seem to be doing very much. Not
quite sure what the top 12 is but it sounds nice. Re the queries
about J Gardiner, I did transcribe the log on 7 December 1889 when he
and the infamous J Murphy (always in trouble) were confined for being
under the influence of liquor and fighting and then more logs recording
his ongoing confinement each night at 6pm, then release the following
day around 7am as a 'prisoner at large' pending his court martial- but
because I seem to be third transcriber, I assumed it would have been
recorded in the Forum. Will check in future. Gale
-
Thanks, Gale.
The "top 12" are the only transcribers of each ship whose usernames and WR counts we can see on the ship pages.
http://www.oldweather.org/ships/500dc361cd0db40002000025
The
"and 191 more..." on the bottom are all carefully recorded and credited
in the main database, but we can never see them. That you are
there means you decided to stick with Thetis long enough to be among her
12 most productive transcribers. It is worthy of congratulations,
or at least the other transcribers think so. :)
-
4 January 1890
At 10.30am the charges and specifications
preferred by the Hon. Sec of Navy against Jas Gardiner (Sea) were
delivered by the Judge Advocate of the Court.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_165_1.jpg
-
Things are heating up!
-
Force 9 passes the 1000 mark!
-
Well done Gale! For the 1000 and spotting the Judge Advocate entry (I'd missed that one).
-
He seems very compliant, being locked up and released each
day. The ship is in dry dock and crew are going AWOL and
overstaying leave every day but Seaman Gardiner is seemingly behaving
himself. Hopefully we finally find out what he did to be charged...
great incentive to keep transcribing :)
-
;D
-
5 January 1890
Confined J. Gardiner (Sea) in single irons to await trial by Court Martial.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_166_1.jpg
-
11 January 1890
Transferred Jas Gardiner (Sea) ? a Court Martial prisoner to the US R.S ?Independence?
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_172_1.jpg
-
The Thetis is still in dry dock but hopefully the new stores received might mean she is leaving soon.
28 January 1890
Transferred
to the General Storekeeper for storage the following articles in
Paymaster Department, ~ - 64 boxes vegetables; 13 boxes Ham; 1 box
sausage; 4 boxes corn beef; 18 boxes roast beef; 23 boxes coffee; 1 box
cocoa; 6 " Dried Fruit; 1 box butter; 15 boxes tomatoes; 4 chests tea;
13 boxes Hominy; 13 boxes corn meal and 10 boxes oatmeal
-
Just a note that the last four columns have been left blank
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol009of024/vol009_193_0.jpg
-
At least the dock crew got the instrument readings.
When a
ship is in dry dock, it is common to give the crew leave and the dock
crew has men on board to stand watch and record the weather. So
skips and missed columns like this are more common.
-
Not sure, but it sounds like those stores were removed from the ship rather than received by the ship :-\
-
Oh my... of course the stores were going the other way. I
think my excitement about setting off north clouded my senses :)
-
Hi - these pages seem to be some sort of scanning log (half a page
each). I wasn't sure if anything was required but hit "I've
finished with this page" in order to move on.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol010of024/vol010_001_0.jpg
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol010of024/vol010_001_1.jpg
-
This is the front page of a new log book. Apart from admiring
it ::) - especially the fancy handwriting - does anything need to
be done ?
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol010of024/vol010_003_1.jpg
-
Nope ;D
-
Force 9 passes the 1500 mark!
-
Excellent work!
-
Hello from the USS Patterson (about 15 years on from your 'now' admittedly!) :D
'An
Officer of the RC Thetis paid an official visit to the commanding
officer. Returned to the RC Thetis shoe for their gig received
from commanding officer of Bering Sea Fleet.'
USS Patterson 17/11/1913
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USCS%20Patterson/Book%2014/IMG_6412_1.jpg
Anyone know what a shoe for a gig is please? :-\ :)
-
Well a gig is some kind of small boat, so I wonder whether a shoe is
a fixing of some sort, which enables the gig to be kept safely (and not
end up overboard .....)
-
I shouldn't make a joke about walking on water using your gig shoes should I? :-[ ;)
-
Well, whatever it is, a big (and advanced) thank you from the Thetis!
-
the
shoe for the gig probably refers to a keel shoe - a sacrificial plate
on the bottom of the keel sometimes called a worm shoe or mud shoe; can
be wood, iron, or brass. - Kevin
-
Wow - that's fascinating - and makes perfect sense - thanks Randi and Kevin :)
-
30% complete - woooo hooooo!
-
jil passes the 9000 mark!
-
Wow jil! Great going! ;D
-
Hi there Thetis - from the Patterson! ;D
1st April 1914. 101 Years ago today:
U.S.C.R. Thetis moored to Naval Wharf No1 between 8 and 9
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USCS%20Patterson/Book%2015%20-%20April%201%20-%20June%2030,%201914/IMG_6469_1.jpg
-
Hello again! :)
-
jil passes the 10,000 mark!
-
Hi jil - I go away for a fortnight and your fingers have been flying. Congratulations on reaching 10,000!! Gale
-
Way to go, JIL. 8) 8) 8)
-
Great job, Jil! You're doing great.
-
Thanks all!
-
Woohoo! - five figure fingers jil - 'way to go' as they say across the Pond ;) :D!
-
Ah.. some action on the Thetis besides maintenance :)
By
order of Commanding Officer confined M. McCarthy (Mach) in the cell on
bread and water for two (2) days for leaving ship without permission.
At
7.10p.m F. O'Neil (B.Smith) fell overboard from the forecastle and had
to be rescued. He was under the influence of liquor. By
order of Commanding Officer confined F. O'Neil (B. Smith) for safe
keeping.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol010of024/vol010_038_1.jpg
-
"Confined for safe keeping" certainly applies here in the literal sense! ;D
-
I have to admit, I had a bit of a chuckle imaging him 'yahooing' and carrying on, on the forecastle.
-
And now a drunken bugler... and whilst on duty - does this mean blowing away on the bugle? What a hoot :)
By
order of Commanding Officer confined J. Dundas (Bugler) in solitary
confinement on bread and water for five days for drunkenness on duty.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol010of024/vol010_041_1.jpg
-
Force 9 passes the 2000 mark!
-
Congratulations!
-
Thank you jil. Slow but steady !! I was away from home
and working off my little laptop, using the mobile phone hotspot to
connect in an area that has very poor internet. I was so hoping if
I kept plugging along the ship might leave the Navy Yard but between my
internet connection and the ship maintenance, very little
happened. How far ahead are you and have you sailed?
-
That's very dedicated struggling with poor internet! I'm also away
now but at the moment wifi running well :) so I might manage some
transcribing.
I'm afraid they are still in the Navy Yard and I've got up to 29th May.
-
Oh dear... I am mid April so many many more WR's to go in the Navy
Yard...but I think someone else must be 3rd transcribing as well because
it jumps ahead several days sometimes. Can you let us know when
you do leave and where to... might help me find myself when the time
comes to steam out...
-
The good news is we've finally made it to sea. The bad news is it's
12th July. There have been quite a lot of men absent without leave
and/or under the affluence on incohol to give the logs a bit of
interest. No idea where we're going yet.
-
Well we went South and ended up (on 27th July) anchored off San Jose, Guatemala.
-
(http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Respect/respect-060.gif) lollia paolina passes the 80,000 mark! (http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Respect/respect-061.gif)
-
Amazing work, Captain!
-
Thetis on diplomatic mission - 18th August 1890
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol011of024/vol011_009_1.jpg)
Sen.
Galindo Salvadorian Envoy & servant were received on board at
request of American Minister to be transported to Acajutla.
A
bit more info about this here
(http://www.forgottenbooks.com/readbook_text/Message_from_the_President_of_the_United_States_Transmitting_in_1000559655/7)
-
Thanks for the link - quite a tale!
Rather confusing with all the OCR errors, though.
-
24th Sept 1890 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol011of024/vol011_046_1.jpg)
James
Smith (1st CF) was found under the influence of liquor and was grossly
insolent to the Chief Engineer. James Slade (Cox) was found drunk while
in charge of boat. By order of Commanding Officer placed both men in
double irons for safe keeping until sober.
At
10.30 found that the catamaran had been stolen from ship and sent 2nd
whaleboat to find it. At 11.50 the whaleboat returned having failed to
find catamaran.
It
turned out to be an inside job - 25th Sept 1890
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol011of024/vol011_047_1.jpg)
By
order of Commanding Officer placed in confinement James Reilly(OS), C.
Thorson (Mach) & R.J. Orsen (2nd CF) in double irons for safe
keeping to await investigation, having taken the catamaran without
permission during the night and returning in the same at 5.40am. J.
Reilly (OS) drunk and disorderly, C. Thorson (Mach) drunk and R.J. Orsen
(2nd CF) sober
They are anchored off Acapulco which seems to be a bit too tempting!
-
That's a great story jil ;D Can you imagine trying to control a
catamaran when you're a tad more than one-over-the-eight. The Captain
was lucky not to get it back as matchsticks I reckon :o :D
-
I found this mention of the Thetis recently
It is only four months since the
Floating Christian Endeavor Committee
organized a Floating Christian Endeavor
on that ship (the Thetis). Since that
time the drunken brawls that had been
so frequent on board and ashore have
become a thing of the past, and in their
places are substituted prayer meetings
and revivals. I have been twenty-eight
years at sea in the darkest scenes of vice
with which a sailor is surrounded, and
I am convinced that the exhortations
of the members of the society are of
wonderful influence - sufficient to soften
any heart and inclining the hardest sailor
to mend his ways.
I
am not sure of the date of this but probably in the early 1900s.
The sailors had to sign a pledge not to swear or drink and displayed a
round CE badge to show their commitment to the floating christian
endeavour.
-
Interesting!
-
Thanks for that, Hurlock. They definitely need to sign the pledge!
-
In lieu of signing the pledge they were later punished -
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol011of024/vol011_057_1.jpg
Read
the following sentences of the Summary Court Martial held on this ship
Sep 27th, 29th, 30th and Oct 1st of which Lt. A.P. Osborn USN was Senior
member, approved by the Commanding Officer Oct 3rd, excepting somuch of
the sentence as relates to the loss of pay which are referred to the
Hon. Sec. of the Navy - R.J. Orsen (2nd CF) reduced to Coal-heaver and
loss of one months pay amounting to thirty-one(31) dollars. James Reilly
(OS) solitary confinement double irons ten days. Extra police[?] duties
one month and loss of one month's pay amounting to nineteen(19)
dollars. Carl Thorsen (Mach) reduced to First class Fireman and loss of
one month's pay amounting to seventy (70) dollars. Quarterly Board of
Survey Lt. G.W. Denfeld USN Senior Member, condemned 2 lbs cranberries
and by order of Commanding Officer, threw cranberries overboard.
not sure what the cranberries crime was ;)
-
Bringing out the big guns? Mare Island 6th Dec 1890
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol011of024/vol011_119_1.jpg)
At
12.30PM the US Flagship Charleston flying the flag of Acting R-Adml.
George Brown on approaching the Navy Yard saluted the flag of R-Adml.
A.E.K. Benham with 13 guns which salute was returned by the Navy Yard
shore battery with 11 guns.
BTW - James Reilly(see above) has been absent without leave for several days. ::)
-
Mr. Reilly graces us with his presence!
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol011of024/vol011_122_1.jpg
J. Reilly (OS) returned on board 8 1/4 days overtime and by order of Commanding Officer was placed in double irons until sober.
Next day - http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol011of024/vol011_123_1.jpg
By
order of Commanding Officer released from confinement in double irons
James Reilly (OS) at 9.30AM and placed him on the 4th conduct class.
-
;D ::)
-
More catamaran 'borrowing'! 15th Dec 1890
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol011of024/vol011_128_1.jpg)
During
the night S. Hansen (Sea) left the ship without permission in the
ship's catamaran and returned at 5.50am under the influence of liquor;
By order of Commanding Officer placed them both in double-irons for safe
keeping and to await investigation
And at 1pm USFC Str. Albatross hauled alongside and secured to this ship - Hello there!
-
;D
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/Albatross/vol022of055/vol022of055_174_1.jpg
-
There we are! :)
-
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol012of024/vol012_039_1.jpg
At the end of a long lost of stores - '2 feather dusters'. Glad to see they're going to be keeping the ship neat and tidy!
-
35% complete :)
-
1st May 1891 - http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol012of024/vol012_073_1.jpg
Received from the Navy Yard 300 bricks for surveying purposes.
???
-
For throwing at the bears? ???
-
A replacement for sounding leads?
-
For building survey towers on shore?
-
I can't wait to find out what they get used for!
Meanwhile a
change of command causes a bit of pointless bureaucracy?
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol012of024/vol012_074_1.jpg
In
conformity with par. 4 chap. X, US Navy Regulations, all persons rated
by Lieut-Com'nd'r. Chas. H. Stockton, were reduced to the rates they
held at the time of joining his ship, and were immediately appointed to
the same rates by Com'nd'r Geo. C. Reiter.
-
We've seen this happen a number of times - finally an explanation ;D
-
You're lucky it's only mentioned like this. :)
Multiple times this has happened on Yorktown, where every man involved was named, twice.
Once for being disrated and once for being reinstated to previous rank.
Those are very nice pages to transcribe, over 200 names on a page.
-
You're lucky it's only mentioned like this. :)
Multiple times this has happened on Yorktown, where every man involved was named, twice.
Once for being disrated and once for being reinstated to previous rank.
Those are very nice pages to transcribe, over 200 names on a page.
:o
Really
glad they didn't! I've only just started making a note of all the crew
names mentioned with this log book (now we have some nice clear
writing :) ) and 200 names on one page would have made me regret
that decision!
-
:o
Really
glad they didn't! I've only just started making a note of all the crew
names mentioned with this log book (now we have some nice clear
writing :) ) and 200 names on one page would have made me regret
that decision!
And I'm real thankful the Pioneer never did that either! I would have lost my mind!
-
6th May 1891 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol012of024/vol012_078_1.jpg)
By
order of the Commandant of the Navy Yard turned over Frank Burton (OS)
to the army authorities he having declared himself to be Frank Elgan, a
deserted from Company C, 4th US Infantry
:o
-
Sounds like he didn't like the Navy either ::)
-
28th June 1891 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol012of024/vol012_134_1.jpg)
At
2.10 stopped engine and sent Lt. Almy to board the sealing schooner
Albert Walter with President's Proclamation of June 15th 1891 together
with letter of warning
Also
several similar visits to other ships. Found mention in San Francisco
Call (http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC18910616.2.27#)
about the proclamation. Agreement with the Government of her Britannic
Majesty to put controls on fur seal fisheries in Bering Sea 'For the
purpose of avoiding irritating differences'
The
Navy Department has been advised of the progress and necessities of the
case, and orders are now in preparation for the immediate dispatch of
probably two naval vessels from San Francisco to Alaska, where they will
assist the revenue cutters in the task of driving off poaching sealing
vessels
and near the end of the article an actual name check :)
ORDERS
TO THE REVENUE CUTTERS. The following portion of the orders was not
given in tho published statement: "Before sailing to get orders from the
Commercial Company at San Francisco for coal at Ounalaska. After two
weeks cruising, in the neighborhood of Pribyloff Islands, to rendezvous
at Sand Point, Popoff Island, one of the Shumagin group, with the Thetis
and Alert, and await there further Instructions by the Marion. To
furnish a copy of the order to the commanding officer of the Alert and
tell him to comply with it. The commander the Mohican is ordered to
proceed to Behring Sea with all dispatch to the vicinity of the
Pribyloff Islands immediately on receipt of the printed copies of the
President's proclamation. The Thetis will proceed at once directly to
Sand Point, Popoff Island, the favorite rendezvous of the sealers, to
distribute copies of the proclamation to those found there. The Alert
will also promptly proceed to Alaskan waters, and will be followed later
on by the Marion with any subsequent instructions that may be framed.
-
jil passes the 20,000 mark!
-
Wow! 8) 8) 8)
-
August 2, 1890
San Jose, Guatemala
8 A.M. to Merid.
The coal in the port after bunker was found to be on fire - caused by spontanious combustion. Extinguished fire.
:o
-
A serious problem with coal dust. I'm glad they got it
out. The only one of our ships that was sunk by fire was the USS
Rodgers, and that was not apparently spontaneous combustion.
http://naval-history.net/OW-US/Rodgers/USS_Rodgers-1881.htm
-
Wow, fascinating story, hadn't seen that one yet.
-
She was a support ship on a rescue operation looking for the first
ever science ship Jeannette
(http://naval-history.net/OW-US/Jeannette/USS_Jeannette.htm), which is
another interesting tale.
-
(http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Respect/respect-060.gif) lollia paolina passes the 90,000 mark! (http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Respect/respect-061.gif)
-
kimma001
Welcome to the top 12 !
-
Well done Captain! And hello Kimma!
-
Ouch! July 26th 1891 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol012of024/vol012_162_1.jpg)
W.W.
Blaine (oiler) crushed the end of his right thumb, necessitating its
amputation at the first joint, in the reversing gear, while trying the
engines, preliminary to getting underway.
-
July 31st 1891 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol012of024/vol012_167_1.jpg)
C.H.
S~ns? (Lds) was delivered into the custody of the Deputy US Marshall
upon a warrant of the US Commisioner at Unalaska, charging him with
desertion from the American steam whaler Beluga.
We seem to keep picking up deserters!
By
order of the Commandant of the Navy Yard turned over Frank Burton (OS)
to the army authorities he having declared himself to be Frank Elgan, a
deserted from Company C, 4th US Infantry
-
Ouch (again)! August 4th 1891 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol012of024/vol012_171_1.jpg)
At
5:50am while Wm. Tait (OS) of the port watch afterguard, was in
boatswain's chair triced up by port mizzen mast-whip, at work passing
furling line around spanker, the standing part of whip became stranded
and parted 12 ft. below upper block, causing him to fall a distance of
25 feet, striking spanker boom and deck, and to sustain a fracture of
right radius (lower third) and bruises about right hip.
-
they are not having a good summer!
-
They're really keeping the surgeon busy! August 14th 1891
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol012of024/vol012_181_1.jpg)
At
7:30 stopped engine to plug a leaky tube. Boilermaker Wood was slightly
scalded and burned, while plugging a leaky tube, by steam and smoke.
-
Sept 4th 1891 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol013of024/vol013_010_1.jpg)
The
US Deputy Marshal served a subpoena on Ensign W.L. Dodd directing him
to appear before the District Court at Sitka Alaska Oct 1st 1891 in the
trial of the schooner La Ninfa.
The
following order of this date from Comdr C.S. Cotton, USN was delivered
by the Comd'g Officer to Ensign W.L. Dodd of this ship: Sir, you will
report, prior to 9am on the 5th inst. to Capt. Hooper USRM Comd'g the
USRS Corwin for passage on board that vessel to Sitka. Upon your arrival
there, report by letter to the Navy Dept. transmitting a copy of this
order, and in person to the Hon. John S. Bugbee, US District Judge of
Alaska in obedience to his subpoena dated Aug. 14th Ult. to appear on
Oct 1st prox., and deliver to you this day by the Deputy US Marshal at
Iliuliak Alaska. Upon your discharge by the Court from further
attendance you will, should you not in the mean time received different
instructions from superior authority, proceed to the Navy Yard Mare Id.,
Cal. and there report to the Comdt.
I
found the transcript
(https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/ca9/briefs/govuscourtsca9briefs0003/gov.uscourts.ca9.024.b.01.pdf)
of the court case. I've not read it all (it's 62 pages long!) but it
looks like the La Ninfa was seized for breaking the new laws on fur seal
fishing (see previous post), and it was actually the Corwin that had
done the seizing.
-
A nice photo of the Thetis from the N. Museum of the U.S. Navy:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127906254@N06/18902735569/in/album-72157654556160950/
-
8)
-
Very nice one - they say the ship behind her is the Bear.
(http://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-02000/NH-2145/_jcr_content/mediaitem/image.img.jpg/1436226426769.jpg)
click to enlarge
-
Yes, this is the Greely Relief Expedition, which we mostly did during the OW3 beta as I recall. Bear, Thetis, ex HMS Alert.
-
Great pic, thanks Kevin!
-
I don't know how far the logs for Thetis go, but this from Concord,
May 29 1904 in Honolulu
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Concord/vol033of040/vol033of040_137_1.jpg):
U.S.R.C. Thetis stood into harbor at 2:00 and anchored in "Man-of-War" row.
Thought I'd say, "Hi!" :)
-
Hello, Concord!
No idea how far the logs go either, I'm only up to 1891. It may take me some time to reach the equivalent page!
-
Sorry, but you won't get to that page.
The last logbook ends in July 1897.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol024of024/vol024_001_0.jpg
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol024of024/vol024_001_1.jpg
-
Sorry, but you won't get to that page.
The last logbook ends in July 1897.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol024of024/vol024_001_0.jpg
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol024of024/vol024_001_1.jpg
:( oh dear really .....so like the ship was not around in 1906?
-
Sorry, but you won't get to that page.
The last logbook ends in July 1897.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol024of024/vol024_001_0.jpg
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol024of024/vol024_001_1.jpg
:(
But on the plus side less years to transcribe to get to the end :)
-
Sorry, but you won't get to that page.
The last logbook ends in July 1897.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol024of024/vol024_001_0.jpg
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol024of024/vol024_001_1.jpg
:( oh dear really .....so like the ship was not around in 1906?
She
was around, but wasn't in the service of the Navy, although she wasn't
decommissioned until 1917 (and remained seaworthy until 1960...
ironically as a seal poaching vessel out of Newfoundland). Between 1899
and 1917 she was essentially little more than a rather famous ship that
had put her heroics behind her, and became a transport vessel. As she
was no longer a Navy survey ship after 1897, it's unlikely that we'll
see her later log books, since they aren't terribly likely to contain
much (if any) of the data that we require for the OW project.
-
The Thetis's page at NavalHistory says:
Log Period and Areas of Service: 1884 (imaging - 1887-1897), Greely Arctic rescue mission.
Fate: Transferred in 1899 to Revenue Cutter Service. Sold out of service in 1916.
In other words, 1887 to 1897 were the only parts that got scanned and uploaded, so they are the only ones we can transcribe.
But she did continue to serve in the Revenue Service for 17 years: http://www.naval-history.net/OW-US/Thetis/USRC_Thetis.htm
-
I'm really surprised they didn't pull the Revenue Service logs for
scanning also, as she was quite active transporting reindeer from
Siberia and then chasing poachers in Alaska and Hawaii. Oh, well -
we got what we got.
http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Thetis_1899.asp
-
And returning undocumented Japanese immigrants to Japan.
-
I'm
really surprised they didn't pull the Revenue Service logs for scanning
also, as she was quite active transporting reindeer from Siberia and
then chasing poachers in Alaska and Hawaii. Oh, well - we got what
we got.
http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Thetis_1899.asp
Thanks
for the link, sounds like the logs would be interesting, especially the
reindeer transporting (after getting a little obsessed with this
on the Bear ::) )
-
October 31st 1891 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol013of024/vol013_067_1.jpg) at Mare Island
4 to 8am:
The body of James Walters (Machinist) was found near the Georgia St. Wharf, Vallejo, he having been drowned, during the night
8am to Merid:
Asst. Surgeon G.B. Wilson USN left the ship on duty to attend the Coroner's inquest in the case of J.H. Walters late Mach USN
Merid to 4pm:
By
reason of his death the name of J.H. Walters (Mach.) was this day
dropped from the rolls of this ship and from the Naval Service. At 3:00
sent body bearers from this ship to conduct the body of J.H. Walters
(Mach.) from Vallejo to the US Naval Hospital.
Nov 2nd (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol013of024/vol013_069_1.jpg)
At
1:00 sent funeral party in charge of Lt. Denfield to the Naval Hospital
to bury the remains of the late James H. Walters (Machinist) and at
1:30 half masted colors.
Rest in peace, James Walters
-
I'm
really surprised they didn't pull the Revenue Service logs for scanning
also, as she was quite active transporting reindeer from Siberia and
then chasing poachers in Alaska and Hawaii. Oh, well - we got what
we got.
http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Thetis_1899.asp
Hi Janet,
this
morning I have finished another Thetis volume (ending September
30th, 1899) and started a new one with some weeks from April-May 1899
and then jumping to October 1899:
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol594/vol594_001_0.jpg
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol594/vol594_001_1.jpg
For the time being the logs are of the non standard type:
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol594/vol594_013_1.jpg
-
I think the temperature and pressure should be sufficient here -
especially since they are in California and have only three watches.
-
Your choice, Silvia, but I'd add Wind also. And maybe for weather code "clear" or "hazy".
-
Oops - maybe I was wrong about this, and we will get to 1904:
Sorry, but you won't get to that page.
The last logbook ends in July 1897.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol024of024/vol024_001_0.jpg
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol024of024/vol024_001_1.jpg
Ah well. There's no way I could have known.
Silvia, when you finish this ship, could you please tell us what date was on the very last page?
(For these odd logs - I would add wind direction, wind force and weather code from the text for the appropriate times when those are recorded in the text, like I'm doing now on Jamestown 1844)
Oh,
and I also changed the notes on Thetis in the index of active ships
(http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3210.msg73357#msg73357) to
let others know of the odd logs.
Hope my choice of words is OK:
Thetis
is usually a good ship for new transcribers, but some of her latter
logs are very different from the log shown in the tutorial and the order
of the columns in the logs does not match that of the Weather
Observation tab. See here for details.
(http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3017.msg114742#msg114742)
-
That seems fine.
When we did the Reference topic for Thetis, we had very little information :(
-
I'd do the parts of the WR that are not on the abbreviated chart
same as Jamestown 1844, except the presence of numbers makes it
richer. Maybe get instructions from that crew?
-
Miepie88
Welcome to the top 12 !
-
Miepie88 passes the 750 mark!
-
kimma001 passes the 750 mark!
-
A Happy Christmas to you! Dec 25th 1891
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol013of024/vol013_133_1.jpg)
At
10:00 by order of Comdg Officer placed in solitary confinement on bread
and water for five days A. Currie (1 CF) for being drunk on board ship
-
A mass meeting of OW ships - Jan 4th 1892
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol013of024/vol013_143_1.jpg)
Hello Albatross, Bear and Rush!
-
It's nice that they are all home for the winter. :)
-
40% complete :) :) :)
-
Miepie88 passes the 1000 mark!
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April 14th 1892
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol014of024/vol014_054_1.jpg)
in San Francisco Harbor
4 to 8am:
At
5:20 heard cries of man overboard from the ship B.F. Packard of Bath.
Lowered the dinghy and picked him up in an exhausted condition, being
unconscious when he was brought on board. Worked on him for an hour and a
half and resuscitated him.
Merid to 4pm:
Delivered to Deputy Harbor Commissioner for transfer to Marine Hospital the man who was picked up in the harbor.
-
O.O BF Packard's after cabin (captain's stateroom, day cabin, and
all of its trim and furnishings) are in the Museum of America and the
Sea in Mystic, Connecticut! The ship itself had to be scuttled after
taking severe damage in the Great New England Hurricane of 1938, but the
after cabin was salvaged and carted off because, frankly, it's a
testament to the beauty of the ships of the late 19th century.
-
8)
-
May 24th 1892 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol014of024/vol014_094_1.jpg) at Honolulu
Dressed
ship at sunrise in company with the Flagship San Francisco, British
Ensign at the main, in honor of the birthday of HBM Queen Victoria.
Comdg Officer paid official visits to the British Commissioner, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and to the Governor of Oahu.
Surprised to see Queen Victoria getting a mention!
-
I've noticed frequently ships in foreign ports act as diplomats,
honoring each others' holidays. In Hong Kong, British ships will
celebrate 4th of July because American ships are also in port.
-
Just spotted why they were running a line of soundings from Point
Conception, Cal. to Hilo, Hawaii. Surveying for possible route for
telegraph cable. Albatross also mentioned in the San Francisco Call
article (http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC18930326.2.181).
The cable was eventually laid in 1902 - http://atlantic-cable.com//CableCos/ComPacCable/index.htm
-
The Daily Bulletin (Honolulu)
(http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82016412/1892-05-31/ed-1/seq-1/)
for May 31st 1892 has a report on Memorial Day procession the previous
day which includes:
Captain
Sampson of the San Francisco and Lieut. Commander Reiter of the Thetis,
with officers of their ships, brought up the rear of the escort in a
wagonette
However no mention in the log :(
-
August 1st 1892 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol014of024/vol014_164_1.jpg) - Mare Island
At
2.15 sent 48 men and 3 officers to take part in ceremonies of unveiling
the monument to the men of the "Boston" who were killed in the accident
at the magazine on June 13th 1892.
Slightly
gruesome article
(http://www3.gendisasters.com/california/1904/vallejo,-ca-mare-island-navy-yard-terrible-explosion,-june-1892)
about the explosion.
-
I've
noticed frequently ships in foreign ports act as diplomats, honoring
each others' holidays. In Hong Kong, British ships will celebrate
4th of July because American ships are also in port.
We
celebrated the 4th of July aboard a chartered Norwegian ship anchored
at Grytviken, South Georgia (a British Overseas Territory) with a
company of Royal Engineers and a British civilian harbormaster.
Fortunately, no one was blown up by the artillery illumination flares
they gave us to use for DIY fireworks. TOO much diplomacy was had by
all.
-
Love your stories Kevin. Those fireworks must have been well lubricated by evening. ;D
-
;D
-
;D ;D
-
August 11th 1892 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol014of024/vol014_175_1.jpg)
William
Hutson (1 CF) was delivered to a constable of Vallejo on a warrant for
his arrest issued by a Justice of the peace, he returned on board after
appearing before the court.
Placed Chas. Johansen in a straight jacket for safe keeping.
:o
-
I wonder if a straight jacket was part of the normal ship's equipment, or if they sent for one from shore? :o
-
:o :o :o
Or perhaps it's one of those jobs that the sailmaker has to know about - there's a sobbering idea :o
-
I can't remember seeing one on any of the lists of stuff coming on
board any of the ships. Was the sailmaker rapidly stitching while
everyone else was trying to keep Mr. Johansen calm? :o
BTW - he was released in the early hours of the next day.
-
August 23rd 1892 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol014of024/vol014_189_0.jpg)
At 2am barometric pressure 99.91 :o
-
August 23rd 1892 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol014of024/vol014_189_0.jpg)
At 2am barometric pressure 99.91 :o
and so very clearly written. No excuses at all.
-
Very neat handwriting :-X ;D
I hadn't seen Janet's post because it was on the next page ;D
-
August 23rd 1892 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol014of024/vol014_189_0.jpg)
At 2am barometric pressure 99.91 :o
I'd say he almost did it again in the 6 a.m. entry. ;)
-
Yes!
-
Sept 24th 1892 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol015of024/vol015_031_1.jpg) - Mare Island
The San Francisco hauled down the flag of Rear Admiral Geo Brown and it was hoisted aboard this ship.
-
(http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Respect/respect-060.gif) lollia paolina passes the 100,000 mark! (http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Respect/respect-061.gif)
-
jil passes the 30,000 mark!
-
Bravo Silvia and Jil!
-
Thanks, Craig.
-
That makes this the THIRD ship where Silvia has passed the 100k mark! Impressive!
You're doing very well too, Jil - according to my rankings, you will be next to break the global 100k mark.
-
October 21st 1892 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol015of024/vol015_060_1.jpg) - Mare Island
At
8 O' Clock dressed ship masthead fashion, Italian and Spanish flags at
the Main, the band played the Italian and Spanish National Airs.
At noon salutes of 21 guns were fired from The Navy Yard, Mohican, Yorktown and Ranger.
-
October 21st 1892 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol015of024/vol015_060_1.jpg) - Mare Island
At
8 O' Clock dressed ship masthead fashion, Italian and Spanish flags at
the Main, the band played the Italian and Spanish National Airs.
At noon salutes of 21 guns were fired from The Navy Yard, Mohican, Yorktown and Ranger.
This is the only reason I can google to explain honoring both Spain and Italy in a domestic shipyard.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_21?oldformat=true
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_Columbian_Exposition?oldformat=true
1892 ? Opening ceremonies for the World's Columbian Exposition
(http://World's Columbian Exposition) are held in Chicago to celebrate
the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World
in 1492, though because construction was behind schedule, the
exposition did not open until May 1, 1893.
-
Thanks, Janet.
-
Nov 30th 1892 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol015of024/vol015_102_1.jpg)
Rear
Admiral George Brown Comd'g US Naval Forces on Pacific Station this day
transferred his flag to the USS Mohican. At one hauled down rear
admiral's flag and broke commision pennant. At same time the rear
admiral's flag was displayed on the Mohican.
-
Hello from Albatross!
December 23, 1889
Mare Island Navy Yard
4 to 8 P.M.
About
7.05 the collecting boat was swamped while making a passage from the
ship to Vallejo and the following men were drowned: R.S. Padgett (Mach)
J. Enright (Sea) W.W. Lee (Sea) and Phillipi, a citizen newspaper
peddler. The survivors were picked up by the whale boat of the U.S.S.
Thetis. The collecting boat was picked up and towed ashore by a boat
from Vallejo.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/Albatross/vol020of055/vol020of055_181_1.jpg
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/Albatross/vol020of055/vol020of055_181_1.jpg)
This write-up in the
San Francisco Chronicle (San Francisco, California) 25 Dec 1889, Wed - Page 6
gives more detail on the events and the people.
(https://img0.newspapers.com/img/img?id=27592962&width=557&height=3678&crop=1019_2898_622_4183&rotation=0&brightness=0&contrast=0&invert=0&ts=1446521151&h=83f2a22e9a066f5c9890a5df79e88051)
-
Feb 4th 1893 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol015of024/vol015_169_1.jpg) - San Diego
At 8.00 hoisted ensign half-mast in conformity to Genl. order No. 406 in respect to memory of ex-President R.B. Hayes.
-
45% complete :)
-
March 17th 1893
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol016of024/vol016_015_1.jpg)
- Pequena Bay, Lower California
Passed large patches of discolored water, dark reddish brown ("whalefood").
Presumably some sort of krill.
-
Well I guess I should report this to Penguin Watch, krill being a
jolly good penguin dinner (wrong end of the globe - but hey...) :D
-
It's also a key player in the Pacific salmon runs. Back in 1998
there was a rather large algae bloom in the Bering Sea that saw numbers
of krill drop significantly (since the krill can't eat the smaller
coccolithophores that made up the bulk of the bloom). It was thought at
the time (and still is, as far as I'm aware) that this was one of the
reasons why the Pacific salmon didn't spawn that season.
-
Noooooooooooo! After getting 24 WRs a day for every weather page
since I started (1508 pages in total) they stop at 6pm on this
page :'( .
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol016of024/vol016_027_0.jpg
No more nice round totals :'( :'( ::)
-
March 30th 1893 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol016of024/vol016_028_1.jpg)
By
order of Commanding Officer H.O. Prince (SA 1st cl.) disrated to SA 2d
cl for straggling from working party after repeated orders to close up.
Straggling - interesting offence, makes a change from drunkeness!
-
Noooooooooooo!
After getting 24 WRs a day for every weather page since I started (1508
pages in total) they stop at 6pm on this page :'( .
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol016of024/vol016_027_0.jpg
No more nice round totals :'( :'( ::)
Have a nice mug of hot chocolate to settle your nerves ;)
-
Noooooooooooo!
After getting 24 WRs a day for every weather page since I started (1508
pages in total) they stop at 6pm on this page :'( .
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol016of024/vol016_027_0.jpg
No more nice round totals :'( :'( ::)
I know that feel, Jil. Want a hug?
-
Thanks, I've calmed down now! It will at least stop me pausing every 3000 WRs to admire all those zeros ::)
-
July 1st 1893 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol016of024/vol016_124_1.jpg) - oops!
At
6.20 Schr. Yacht "White Wings" collided with this ship. Stove hole with
her jib boom about 10 in. in diameter in the stern of this ships
starboard side
-
That does not give me a feeling of confidence for facing ice or enemy fire :o ::)
-
August 6th 1893 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol016of024/vol016_167_1.jpg) - Mare Island
J.
Wilson Lds voluntarily delivered himself up as a deserter from the 5th
Artillery Regiment of US Army having deserted from the Presidio about
May 6th 1893. Per order of Com'd'g officer J. Wilson (Lds) was made a
prisoner at large & confined to the Berth Deck in charge of
Master-at-Arms to await instruction.
August 7th 1893 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol016of024/vol016_168_1.jpg)
Oscar
Krause (Lds) was placed under arrest as a prisoner at large to await
action by order of Com'd'g officer, he having voluntarily surrended
himself as a deserter from the US Army stating that he deserted from
Company A 16th Infantry at Fort Douglas, Utah Ty. In June last being
then enlisted under the name Frederick Kessler.
:o Not sure what's going on but they have been exercising the Landsmen
in the rigging and in boats so perhaps they decided the Army didn't look
so bad after all.
-
I find this fascinating - in those days who would know who you were
(unless they recognised you)..surely you could wander off and be anyone
you liked in a country so large? I wonder why they gave themselves
up? :-\
-
August 29th 1893 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol016of024/vol016_192_1.jpg) - Mare Island
Discharged
from the ship and from the Naval Service by order of the Bureau of
Navigation dated Aug 21st 1893 J. Wilson (Lds) O. Krause (Lds) and
turned them over to a guard from the Presidio, sent to take charge of
them as deserters from US Army.
-
Oct 8th 1893
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol017of024/vol017_026_1.jpg)
- Pequena Bay, Lower Cal.
Supplied
to Antonio Aguilar he representing that his family were in destitute
circumstances and paying for same. 141lbs sugar, 300lbs flour, 16 5/8
gals of beans, 143lbs rice, and 25lbs coffee.
-
(http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_6569.gif)
-
It seems USS "Thetis" logs for the period May-October 1903 have been scanned twice.
The first volume (the one I transcribed) encompasses the period April 4th, 1903- October 11th, 1903
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol602/vol602_001_0.jpg
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol602/vol602_001_1.jpg
After
completing the volume above, I was presented with the second copy that
covers the period May 26th, 1903 ? October 11th, 1903:
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol603/vol603_001_0.jpg
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol603/vol603_001_1.jpg
The second copy seems to be identical to the first one.
First copy, logs for May 26th, 1903:
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol602/vol602_060_0.jpg
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol602/vol602_060_1.jpg
Second copy, logs for May 26th,1903:
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol603/vol603_007_0.jpg
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol603/vol603_007_1.jpg
-
Thank you for posting that.
It looks like they gave us both the original and the copy.
As usual, just skip over the second copy.
-
Thank you, Randi :)
-
Welcome aboard the Albatross.
4th March 1896
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/Albatross/vol027of055/vol027of055_069_1.jpg
The
Ward-room Officers of the U.S.S. Thetis, called officially on the
Commanding Officer and the Ward-room Officers of this ship.
-
Hello Albatross!
-
50% complete!
-
Wooooo hoooooooo!
-
Money laundering? Dec 30th 1893 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol017of024/vol017_110_1.jpg)
Received in Pay Masters department 300 lbs of soap and $6000 in US Currency.
-
;D ;D ;D
-
Hi - this morning I was in July 1891 but this evening, the log page which opened is 6 March 1905 ?? Is this right?
-
Hi, I'm up to the start of 1894 and I don't remember any weird date leaps happening ???
-
I get July 23 1891 for the Thetis but I may not be in the same stream as Force 9.
-
Hi - this morning I was in July 1891 but this evening, the log page which opened is 6 March 1905 ?? Is this right?
You must have been having fun? ;D ::) ;D
Seriously, that does sound rather strange.
I get July 23, 1891
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol012of024/vol012_159_1.jpg
I am certainly in the third stream!
I have noticed that sometimes when I start on one ship and am asked to log in, I am sent to a different ship.
You
should be able to click on the VESSELS button at the top of the page
and then on Search Vessels and then select Thetis from the list.
If
you keep having problems, try to give a link to the log page
(http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=536.0) or do a screen
capture.
-
More in our long line of Army deserters - January 5th 1894
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol017of024/vol017_116_1.jpg)
San Diego
Alfred
Cunningham (Bugler) gave himself up as a deserter from the 7th Infantry
USA his correct name being Albert Culbertson, and deserted in June 93. W
Ray (Lds) also gave himself up as a deserter from the 17th Infantry USA
his name being Willis Wise, and deserted May 10th 1893 both were placed
in single irons for safe keeping by order of Comdg officer.
Also Hello to the Albatross :)
Comdg officer paid an official visit to the USS Albatross
-
Perfect timing!
You might also post it in This day in history... (https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/zooniverse/old-weather/talk/187/20239) ;)
-
Hi - this morning I was in July 1891 but this evening, the log page which opened is 6 March 1905 ?? Is this right?
You must have been having fun? ;D ::) ;D
[...]
I have noticed that sometimes when I start on one ship and am asked to log in, I am sent to a different ship.
You
should be able to click on the VESSELS button at the top of the page
and then on Search Vessels and then select Thetis from the list.
I
think what happened is you somehow got redirected to the Albatross
1900. When I select her, I get March 8th 1905 - and I haven't done a
single page on her.
This redirection can happen if you log in via the
"GET STARTED" button - you will immediately get presented with one
randomly chosen ship, but once you do a single page you will get sent to
a different ship.
I avoid that by having this link bookmarked -
when I click on it, I am asked to log in, and after that I am taken
straight to the list of ships I have worked on.
http://classic.oldweather.org/profile
Oh,
and I've been doing 5 dates every other day on the Thetis, but I will
stop that because it turns out there are 4 other people working on her
(Silvia, leelaht, Jil and Force 9), and I don't want to get in anyone's
way. I'll work on other ships and leave this one to you guys.
-
With Firefox you can set the option "Show my windows and tabs from
last time". This allows you to start where you left off previously
without having to sign in. However, you must be careful to refresh the
page (F5) if you are not the only one in your stream. If you don't, you
risk transcribing a page that someone has already done if you have been
away for a while.
The other advantage of this option is that if
you intentionally or accidentally move from the page you are working on
you can return to it without losing what you have transcribed.
And
there are other good things about Firefox such as automatic completion.
This is really handy when the same place name comes up often.
-
Perfect timing!
You might also post it in This day in history... (https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/zooniverse/old-weather/talk/187/20239) ;)
I didn't even spot that it was 5th Jan ::)
-
Many thanks to all for the help. Not being super computer
literate, I do log in via the 'clumsy' method, meaning I have to go to
vessels and deliberately select 'transcribe' Thetis. It has always
worked before, but I must have skipped the step last night. This
morning I am happily back cruising in the Bering Sea! Gale
-
January 31st 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol017of024/vol017_142_1.jpg)
Supplied
to two Mexicans of whom mules have been hired for our triangulation
work and whose families are in want, they paying for same 1 Bbl beans, 1
Bbl flour, 1 tin coffee
-
Imagine that! Triangulating with mules. I wonder how they keep them from moving ???
-
I thought the problem with mules was getting them to move!
-
Only when you want them to ;D (I was whimsically imagining the mules replacing the surveying rods)
-
;D It would save folding up and carrying of tripods!
-
From 1st Feb 1894 they start recording Aneroid barometer readings as
well as the normal (presumably mercurial one) but not on every line. No
mention in the remarks about why they are doing this. I've been putting
the aneroid ones in as an extra WR, hope that's correct.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol017of024/vol017_143_0.jpg
-
Yes.
"Extra" Weather Entries (http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3191.msg51629#msg51629) ;)
-
Thanks Randi.
-
Feb 20th 1894
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol017of024/vol017_162_1.jpg)
- off Boca de las Animas/Aminas?, Lower California
Sent
1st surf boat on shore with 2 signals in charge of Ensign Fermier. At
3.50 1st surf boat capsized in surf. Sent 3rd whale boat to the
assistance of 1st surf boat with Lieut. Hughes in charge.
At
5.40 3rd whale boat returned and at 5.45 1st surf boat returned, Ensign
Fermier reporting P. Burkhardt (Sea), one of the boats crew, drowned.
Lost from 1st surf boat 1 Boat compass, and one Boat Hook. Sun down at
5.55. Moon rise at 6.52. No current. Low water at 4.30. P. Burkhardt
(Sea) was drowned in the surf by the capsizing of the 1st Surf boat
about 4 o'clock.
-
Mexico - Baja California Sur
(Boca de las Animas in log)
Boca Las Animas:
http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=6156485&fid=4104&c=mexico
(25.683613, -112.094894)
Punta San Juanico:
http://geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-2384759&fid=4111&c=mexico
(26.066667, -112.3)
-
Thanks Randi! I couldn't locate any variation of Boca de las/los
Animas/Aminas and couldn't decide where the dot for the i was. Now all I
have to do is remember (assuming we go there again)!
-
Feb 21st 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol017of024/vol017_163_1.jpg)
By
order of Comdg Officer an inventory of the effects of P. Burkhardt
(Sea), deceased, was taken by Ensign L.R. de Steiguer. The effects were
sealed and truned over to Asst. Paymaster Z.W. Reynolds for safe
keeping.
-
Feb 22nd 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol017of024/vol017_164_1.jpg)
Shore party were in sight most of watch, apparently searching the beach for Peter Burkhardt's body.
-
Feb 25th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol017of024/vol017_167_1.jpg)
Sent surf boat, in charge of an officer, to examine object washed up on beach, and found it to be the carcase of a shark
-
March 1st 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol017of024/vol017_171_1.jpg)
At
5.30 sent boat in charge of an officer to try and ascertain, without
going into surf, if object washed up on beach were remains of Seaman
Burkhardt.
At
6.10, 2nd surf boat returned, the officer in charge reporting that
object on beach was not the remains of a man, as it appeared too large
-
So, I found this
(http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH18940510.2.12) short
article about Seaman Burkhardt in the 10 May, 1894 Los Angeles Herald.
Second to last column on the right, right in the middle of the page.
Looks like they kept up the search for a long time.
-
Thanks for that, HatterJack. At least they found him in the end.
-
Thanks for that, HatterJack. At least they found him in the end.
Indeed.
It's rather disturbing to me how few are ever actually found again once
they go over the rail. It's far too easy to lose sight of someone at
sea, and there's just so much water and movement that losing sight even
for just a few seconds often makes the difference between life and death
(or recovery of the body, in this case).
There's a reason we
sailors have a love-hate relationship with the sea. She's breathtakingly
beautiful, and arguably the single most powerful force on Earth. There
would be no life without her. But she is cold, cruel, and unreasonable.
We love her, even though she abuses us, because beneath the fury there
is something indescribably... pure (for lack of a better word) about
her. We ride out her rage, taking our blows until she calms, and all
that remains is so achingly glorious that we can't help but put up with
her fits because we know the potential that lies within.
Apparently, we sailors are battered wives with a serious case of Stockholm Syndrome.
-
This poetry should be copied into "art and letters"? Thank you for putting the feelings so clearly.
-
;D
-
March 6th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol017of024/vol017_176_1.jpg) - Boca de las Animas
After
a few days of signals between ship and shore trying to pick a time when
it would be safe for the shore party to return. It made me nervous just
reading it, they must have been very relieved to get everyone out of
the water.
3rd
and 4th whale boats, in charge of Ens. MacDougall, were sent in to
await outside the surf for 1st and 2nd Surf boats. About 1.30 1st and
2nd Surf boats came out through the surf and transferred their loads to
3rd and 4th Whale boats. In returning through the surf the 2nd Surf boat
was capsized. Lieut Braunersreuther and her crew except the Coxswain
were taken off by the 1st Surf boat, in charge of Ens. Fermier, which
returned to the ship, accompanied by 3rd and 4th Whale boats. Coxswain
Nelson, of the 2nd Surf boat, went through the surf, landed on the beach
with his boat and joined shore party.
Lieut
Braunersreuther reports that he and Ens. Fermier made a strict and
careful search of the beach to the South of Boca for the remains of
Peter Burkhardt.
-
March 7th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol017of024/vol017_177_1.jpg)
At
6.45 1st Surf boat with volunteer crew, 4 extra men, Ens. Fermier and
in charge of Lieut. Hughes left the ship accompanied by 4th Whale boat,
to go in and bring off shore party. At 7.40 both boats returned not
having landed.
At
8.25 1st Surf boat, in charge of Lieut. Hughes with Ens. De Steiguer
and four extra men, left ship accompanied by 4th whale boat to land, if
possible, and bring off men and instruments left on beach. At 11.40, the
signal O.K. having been made from the boats, started fires under main
boiler.
At 12.25 1st and 2nd surf boats, 4th whale boat and dory returned to ship, bringing off all shore party and gear. Hoisted boats.
Phew!
-
Hello Albatross! March 12th 1894
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol017of024/vol017_182_1.jpg)
just returned to San Diego
Received boarding visit from officer of U.S.F.C.S. Albatross.
-
USS Thetis came into harbor at 5.30. Sent Boarding Officer to make official call on Comdg Officer.
-
8)
-
More
in our long line of Army deserters - January 5th 1894
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol017of024/vol017_116_1.jpg)
San Diego
Alfred
Cunningham (Bugler) gave himself up as a deserter from the 7th Infantry
USA his correct name being Albert Culbertson, and deserted in June 93. W
Ray (Lds) also gave himself up as a deserter from the 17th Infantry USA
his name being Willis Wise, and deserted May 10th 1893 both were placed
in single irons for safe keeping by order of Comdg officer.
After
getting a couple of months more work out of them - March 14th 1894
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol017of024/vol017_184_1.jpg)
By
order of the Chief of Bureau of Navigation, discharged, and transferred
to the Army Authorities, at San Diego, A. Cunningham, Bugler, and W.
Ray (Lds).
-
A very nice find from USS Thetis logs: a new island sprang.
July, 10th, 1906.
Thetis is in Alaska, coordinates at Noon: 55 04 00N, 168 02 00W.
4am to 8am:
"Calm
& SE airs. Misty around horizon. Reconnoitred Bogoslof Island from a
distance of about 3 miles and observed that a new island had sprung up
between the two old ones, about 1/3 of the distance from the first one
(which came up in 1801) to the second (1881) and connected to the first
one by a ridge of land; a long spit runs out form the Southern end of
the new island, just as one runs from each of the others. A crater
pouring, firth vapor, is opened on the North side about 3/4 of the way
up, and all around the island, vapor is spurting up through fissures,
and the vapor is so thick over the surface of the island that it looks
like bank of snow. There is no indication of boiling water, reported by
Dirks, around the island. Sounded in 175 fms of water, within in three
miles of the island, showing no general upheaval, but the water appears
to be shoaler between the islands than it formerly were"
A sketch of the three islands view looking from SSE, dist 3 miles, follows :)
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol610/vol610_040_1.jpg
-
Is this Perry Island we IDed for the AVO in 2014, or is it a different new island?
http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3698.msg98295#msg98295
Perry gives their noon position (when they visited the new island) as "Bogoslav Vol. WSW 1/4 W distance 7 miles", July 5th 1906.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Perry_Island_postcard.jpg)
-
Like the little sketch in the log!
-
That I really do too.
I'm also sending this added info to AVO as add-on info - their geological descriptions are more detailed than Perry's.
-
April 5th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_011_1.jpg)
Received
signal from Lieut. Hughes "many signals stolen. No mules, need 4 more
men, box of bread, six flags and frying pan". Sent six signals ashore in
response to Signal, also 2, 40 ft signals for bases
Who forgot to pack the frying pan? ;D
-
That's a surprising mistake. Cookware is as essential as rope and a
knife. Well... maybe not that important, but still very important.
-
April 15th 1894
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_021_1.jpg)
- Boca de las Animas
At
12.18 Steam launch and 1st Surf boat with Lieut. Hughes and five men,
and provisions for 10 days, left the ship. At 12.40 1st Surf boat
capsized in the surf. At 1.00 Signaled from shore "No one lost".
fixed link - randi
-
(Thanks, Randi! I remembered to double-check this one!)
April 19th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_025_1.jpg)
The
remains of Seaman Peter Burkhardt, formerly of this ship were brought
on board having been found on the beach at Boca de las Animas the 9th
instant by shore party.
-
Wow, they were absolutely hell-bent on recovering his remains. The dedication of the crew to one another is inspiring.
-
You know Hatterjack, I just have a feeling about the Thetis. All the
way from the epic picture of the rescue of Greely, to the curious
almost constant presence of their underwear drying on the jib lines in
their photographs.
My sense of this ship is of confident, kind, excellence. But I've never transcribed her. I hope I'm right though. ;) :)
-
I haven't transcribed her either, but from what I've gathered your
suspicion seems to be spot on. Reading up on some of her history, it
almost feels as if she and her crews were essentially a key inspiration
for the modern US Navy's standards for service, etiquette, and sense of
duty.
-
Thank you for your kind thoughts about the crew , I feel quite proud. :)
BUT
possibly I should have posted all the times they ended up in single
irons on bread and water for disobeying orders and disrespectful
language and the number declared deserters for a more rounded
picture ;)
-
Perhaps, but incidents of misbehavior by a handful of crew aren't
what earns a ship its reputation when the manner in which they carry
themselves and the heroism beyond the call of duty that that selfsame
crew displays are far more spectacular. If this were the Concord, I'd
agree that it's more a case of a bunch of layabout troublemakers who
occasionally do something surprisingly not terrible. :P
-
;D ;D ;D
-
May 16th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_052_1.jpg) - Mare Island
A
party of six men left the ship at 8 o'clock for the Hospital with the
remains of Peter Burkhardt late Seaman on board this ship
At
1, sent funeral escort and a large funeral party in charge of Ensign
MacDougall to Marine Hospital to attend the burial service over the
remains of P. Burkhardt Sea. At 3.20 party returned
-
May 21st 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_057_1.jpg) - Mare Island
Held an auction of the effects of the late Peter Burkhardt (sea).
-
:'( :'( :'( But then I suppose his good mates will have keepsakes of his friendship? :)
-
Auction of Personal Effects
- "Sale of effects - started at least in the 18th century, and
finished, I don't know when - during or after World War 2? When someone
died or was killed, their personal effects - clothes etc. were auctioned
off and the proceeds sent to their next of kin. I believe that if the
man was popular, his mates or oppo's (opposite number) would sometime pay ridiculous prices for ordinary items just to make sure, say his widow, received a good sum." Quote from I question I had asked navalhistory [elizabeth]
[AND]
Whilst
it may seem impersonal, it would have been much easier to ensure the
money got back to the relatives rather than their effects. A lot
more opportunity for things to go missing in transit. As Gordon
has said, there is plenty of evidence that depending on their
circumstances, prices became inflated to help reduce immediate
hardship. There was also the thought that one day it might be
their belongings being auctioned to help their own dependents. [Haywain]
-
From
1st Feb 1894 they start recording Aneroid barometer readings as well as
the normal (presumably mercurial one) but not on every line. No mention
in the remarks about why they are doing this. I've been putting the
aneroid ones in as an extra WR, hope that's correct.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol017of024/vol017_143_0.jpg
Part way through May 29th 1894 they start to just use the aneroid - 'The mecurial barometer being reviewed'
-
From
1st Feb 1894 they start recording Aneroid barometer readings as well as
the normal (presumably mercurial one) but not on every line. No mention
in the remarks about why they are doing this. I've been putting the
aneroid ones in as an extra WR, hope that's correct.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol017of024/vol017_143_0.jpg
Part way through May 29th 1894 they start to just use the aneroid - 'The mecurial barometer being reviewed'
Hi
jil - I popped a copy of this in Barometers, Instrumentation &
Specifications by ship - phase 3:
http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?topic=3456.0
:)
-
Ta!
-
June 3rd 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_070_1.jpg)
Published
commendatory letters to A. McRath (Sea), J. Nelson (BM 2 Class), also
Geo. Haines (BM 2 Cl) received commendatory letter and Recommendation
for life saving medal 2nd class from Navy Department.
Also
have a different guy writing the logs doing very fancy copperplate :)
Unfortunately he seems to be making up for the extra ink used by doing
the weather records in tiny, tiny writing :(
-
June 27th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_094_1.jpg)
Sold
the effects of A.W. Anderson (Bm 1Cl) a deserter from this ship. By
authority of Commanding Officer R. Price (Lds) was given a watch found
among the effects of A.W. Anderson (BM 1 C) a deserter, the watch being
identified by Price as his own property.
-
July 9th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_106_1.jpg) - Mare Island
Lieutenant
W.S. Hughes with Ensign L.R. de Steigner left ship with Infantry
Company of thirty men to report to Captain C.S. Cotton for duty with
landing party; Lieutenant W. Braunersreuther and Ensign G.L. Fermier
left ship to report to Captain C.S. Cotton for duty with landing party.
Landing
party left ship at 1.15 to report on board USRS Independence. Sent to
that vessel seven tents complete to be used with landing party.
-
July 11th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_108_1.jpg) - Mare Island
Exercised
Infantry Company. Landing parties from U.S. Ships "Monterey" and
Charleston exercised on shore. Received from Magazine, 4000 rounds blank
cartridge, cal. 45; received from U.S.R.S. Independence 4000 rounds
ball cartridge, cal. 45; and 250 rounds ball cartridge, cal. 38.
-
Don't get them confused!
-
July 12th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_109_1.jpg) - Mare Island
At
12.15 Infantry Company in charge of Lieut. W.S. Hughes with Ensign L.R.
de Steigeur left the ship in Heavy marching order with four day rations
and 110 rounds each of ammunition. Lieut. W. Braunersreuther &
Ensign G.L. Fermier left the ship to take charge of men from the
U.S.R.S. Independence. These with Naval Battallions from U.S.S Monterey
and U.S.S. Charleston embarked on board the steamer Alameda for Oakland
mole to aid in suppressing railway strike riots.
:o
Article from Los Angeles Herald (http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH18940704.2.5) about the strike
From The Pullman Strike (https://libcom.org/history/pullman-strike-1894-jeremy-brecher) by Jeremy Brecher
Similarly,
at Oakland a large crowd occupied the railroad yards, "killing" engines
and leaving them to block the tracks. When 370 sailors and marines were
landed, the wives and mothers of the strikers organized a Ladies'
Relief Organization and turned a local hall into a hospital, in
anticipation of a battle that never occurred.
More
details from Chicago Tribune of July 13th
(http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1894/07/13/page/5/article/riots-on-the-coast)
including a name check for Thetis.
-
July 17th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_114_1.jpg) - Mare Island
The
Army Tug "McDowell" came to the yard at 11.30 sent on aboard of her
thirty nine hammocks for the use of the landing party at Oakland.
Well I think that's what it says - the guy with the nice copperplate didn't last very long. :'(
-
July 23rd 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_120_1.jpg) - Mare Island
Sold
at auction the effects of deserters realizing $6.60 for those of E.
Ward (Sea), $1.35 for those of M. Kennedy (Ptr) and $0.30 for those of
W.D. Humphray (J of D)
-
oh gosh - no wonder they deserted - perhaps they hoped to become worth more pennies than they left behind? :-\
-
August 7th 1894
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_135_1.jpg)
- Mare Island. It wasn't us, we were quietly moored in the dock ;)
At 10.20 Caisson to dock shifted and broke away from dock, rebent lines parted repeatedly but Caisson sank at 11.35.
August 8th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_136_1.jpg)
Divers & working force from Navy Yard preparing to raise the Caisson of the Dock.
-
That's what they all say ::)
-
August 18th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_146_1.jpg) - Mare Island
Caisson of dry dock floated into place.
Wooo hooo :D
-
That's one clever caisson :o I bet the Thetis divers did it really ;) ;D
-
August 19th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_147_1.jpg) - Mare Island
at
9:30 called all hands to muster, read articles for the Better
government of the Navy of the U.S; also published two letters of
Commendation, one from Brigadier General Ruger, Commanding Dept. of
California relating to conduct of officers and men while stationed as a
Naval Brigade and serving under his orders at Oakland Mole. Also one
from Lt. CA Clarke U.S.N. to the same effect.
-
Nice to see some praise for a change!
-
60% complete :)
-
September 13th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_184_1.jpg) - Mare Island
At
8.40 A. McRath (cox) left the ship without permission over the bows
getting into a shore boat. Sent Dinghy with Ens. Stearns in charge to
capture boat and bring occupants alongside. Confined A. McRath in double
irons by order of Comdg. Officer to await investigation and for
safekeeping - released boatman with a warning.
When sneaking off the ship you need to be sneaky enough to not be spotted ::)
-
September 14th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_185_1.jpg) - Mare Island
At
3.30 J.F. Daly (C.P.) was brought on board having accidentally shot
himself producing a compound fracture of the left arm - sent him to
Hospital for treatment.
:o
-
September 24th 1894
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_195_1.jpg)
- San Francisco Bay. Ahoy to the Yorktown :)
At 6.20 U.S.S. Yorktown entered harbor and exchanged numbers. At 6.45 Yorktown anchored to southward of this vessel
Sent
an officer on board the Yorktown with offers of the usual courtesies.
An officer of the Yorktown called upon this ship about 10:00. About
11:45 the Yorktown got underway and left the harbor, heading up the bay
towards the Navy Yard
-
September 28th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol018of024/vol018_199_1.jpg) - San Diego
Revenue steamer Wolcott and merchant vessels in harbor dressed ship at sunrise. Dressed ship with mast head flags at 8:00.
At
9:00 sent a landing party of twenty men with arms and accoutrements
with Ensigns Edie and Stearns to take part in the Cabrillo parade.
From
an article in the Sacramento Daily Union
(http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SDU18940929.2.4), they
were celebrating the discovery of San Diego Bay. Thetis gets a name
check for firing a 21 gun salute (although they don't mention that in
the log ???)
-
November 4th 1894
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol019of024/vol019_031_1.jpg)
- Magdalena Bay, Lower California
Sold
to the Commandante of the Port, who stated, that he and his family were
in want, 100lbs flour, 25 lbs coffee, and 25 lbs sugar.
Exchanged
colors with Mexican Gunboat at 5:10 bound for San Francisco and
offering to carry any messages. Accepted with thanks and requested to be
reported "all well on board".
-
November 11th 1894
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol019of024/vol019_038_1.jpg)
- Magdalena Bay, Lower California
Sent
following stores to Commandante whose family was in need of provisions 2
bars soap, 100 lbs flour, 58 lbs sugar, 8 lbs tea, 18 lbs Tomatoes, 21
lbs Butter, 25 lbs Beans, 25 lbs Rice
-
The rest of the provisions sound like a pretty typical month long
fare for a reasonably sized family, but how was the Commandante so hard
pressed that he couldn't get soap? With it being first on the list, was
it intended as an insult? Something along the lines of "Hey, we
appreciate all your hard work, but you kinda smell."
-
It struck me as a very small amount of soap - and a lot of sugar and butter.
-
November 29th 1894
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol019of024/vol019_056_1.jpg)
- Magdalena Bay, Lower Cal. Mail delivered by time-warp or confused log
keeper? Definitely confused transcriber ???
8am to Meridian: Received Mail from U.S. by Str. St. Paul at 8:45. Also took on board from her a Mexican Government Official
I thought it was odd that they hadn't mentioned the ship appearing before and then...
4 to 8pm: at 6:50 sighted lights of Steamer St. Paul bound South, sent a boat in charge of Lieut Moore for mail.
-
December 16th 1894
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol019of024/vol019_073_1.jpg)
- making passage to San Diego
Jamieson
T. (O.S.) confined for 2 days in solitary confinement on bread &
water by order of Com. Officer for not keeping proper lookout - deliberately facing aft; after having been warned by Officer of Deck.
It wouldn't have been difficult to at least pretend to be keeping a lookout ::)
-
December 28th 1894 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol019of024/vol019_085_1.jpg) - San Diego
Per
order of Comdg. officer confined in double irons for safe keeping and
to await investigation J. Mack (F 2d cl), having been caught in an
attempt to smuggle on board liquor. Confined B. Shore (Cor) per order of
Comdg officer in single irons to await further action for being slow in
obeying orders to assist M.A.A. to search J. Mack (2 cl F) for liquor
and then attempting to destroy evidence as to the liquor smuggling.
I wonder if the method of attemting to destroy the eveidence was to drink it. :D
-
Sounds like a pleasant way to destroy evidence ;) ;) :D
-
January 25th 1895 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol019of024/vol019_113_1.jpg)
At 6.35 came to anchor on Thetis Bank in 30 fms water
I wonder where they got that name from? ;)
-
No idea, but it does sound vaguely familiar... ;D
-
May 2, 1895 in San Diego Bay
About 4:10 cries for help were
heard about 3/4 miles down the Bay and the dinghy was sent to the
rescue. Two fishermen, Frank Lund and Henry Erdmann, were picked
up while clinging to their boat that had capsized in a squall.
-
Well done Thetis - you seem to be the heroes of rescues so often :D
-
I wonder about the story behind this (Thetis at Mare Island May 15, 1895):
The
name of Carl Strom (Sea.) has this day been changed to that of John
Erickson Nord. By order of the Bureau of Navigation.
I
happen to have 4 family members (across 3 generations) who have changed
their names. In one case it was to shorten the last name, two
cases to escape (one due to desertion, one due to discrimination) and
one to not be confused with others with the same name.
-
On Bear, Alfred Radebrecht (Seaman) had his name legally changed to Alfred Rader upon being fully naturalized.
However that is just a simplification rather than a complete change.
https://zooniverse-static.s3.amazonaws.com/old-weather-2015/The_Arctic_Frontier/Coast_Guard/Bear/Bear-1913-split/Bear-1913-0050-1.JPG
-
An unusual storm May 28, 1895, Mare Island
During first hour a
storm approached from the N'd accompanied by rain, hail, thunder and
lightning. It continued for about an hour, passing away to the S'd
and W'd. The size and amount of the hail, and the frequency and
severity of the thunder and lightning is perhaps unpredecented in this
section. There was very little wind. During the passage of
the storm, the wind shifted to NNE again shifting to WSW for remainder
of watch. Force light airs to gentle breeze. Cloudy
remainder of watch.
-
Tanks a lot!
Albatross 4th January 1897
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/Albatross/vol029of055/vol029of055_009_1.jpg
Sent to the U.S.S. Thetis two eight gallon tanks in case, and eight gallons of alcohol.
Probably for collecting biological specimens. Most likely seal stomachs.
-
;D
-
Seal stomachs? Ummmm....why? Any ideas? :-\
-
Mostly likely to see what's in them, i.e. feeding habits.
-
September 19th 1895
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol020of024/vol020_169_1.jpg)
- San Francisco Bay - a busy morning
Lieut
Clark left the ship with Medical Officer and two Petty officer for
recruiting duty on shore. Rec'd official visit from Comd'g. Officer of
coast servey[sic] str McArthur. At 10:30 Comd'g Officer paid official
visit to HMS Hyacinth. Recd Official visit from Flag Lieut for USFS
Philadelphia. At 9:30 half masted colors following movement of Flagship.
I don't remember seeing them doing recruiting duty before.
This HMS Hyacinth isn't our phase 1/2 one as she was launched in 1898 :'(
-
Must have been this one - according to The Wiki, five ships have had that name.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Hyacinth_(1881) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Hyacinth_(1881))
-
70% complete - yeah!
-
February 6th 1896 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol021of024/vol021_104_1.jpg)
By
order of Comd'g Officer PA Surg GA Lung and Ensign CL Hussey counted
the cash and verified the balance of Asst Paym'r John Irwin Jr. all in
the presence of the Comd'g Officer.
Did they think he'd been fiddling the books?
-
Trust, but verify? ???
-
Change of personnel?
-
Change of personnel?
I forgot to say they are in the middle of running soundings etc. off coast of Mexico, so not that.
It would seem sensible to have some sort of periodic audit but I don't remember seeing it mentioned before.
-
6th March 1896 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol021of024/vol021_133_1.jpg) - San Diego
At
9.00 J.Hoff (Sea) reported that he was a deserter from the USS
Monterey, that he enlisted in the Naval Service for three years on May
3rd 1895 at Callao Peru under the name of John Calasoff (his right name)
and deserted from the Monterey in August 1895 at San Diego, Cal.
By direction of the Commanding Officer John Hoff was constituted a
prisoner at large to await action of the Navy Department.
7th March 1896 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol021of024/vol021_134_1.jpg)
At
6am discovered that the dory had been taken from the ship in the night
and left at San Diego dock. A search of the ship revealed that John Hoff
(Sea) a prisoner at large, was absent from the ship, with-out
authority.
Did he forget that he hadn't really liked the Navy the first time?
-
Seems he took being a prisoner at large rather too literally!
-
;D ;D
-
June 8th 1896 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol022of024/vol022_033_1.jpg) - Mare Island
The
Comd'g Officer assigned the following punishment: OK Kirkmann (OS) for
Bathing without trunks, restricted from swimming privilege for one month
and reduced to 2nd class.
:o :-[
-
:o :o :o
-
Trouble on the Thetis, April 30, 1903 in Puget Sound, Wash
A
Farrell os F Miller boy 2nd class boy left ship without permission 11:15
J Harston os A Farrell os WA Smith boy & F Miller boy returned
aboard ship and without cause or provocation assaulted CF Connors, M at
Arms who reported same to officer of deck. Found men mutinous and
armed with iron belaying irons reported conditions of affairs to Comdg
Officer and at his order requested the assistance of the Marine
Guard. During the interval one or all of the above men forced the
lock of (stir?) brig. Having armed myself and the Bosn and Gunner
together with the Chief Engr took stations of quarter deck to prevent
men from leaving ship. The above named men came aft, armed as
before carrying their clothing and forced their way over the side.
Fired several shots after them in order to intimidate them.
Marine guard stopped them at head of dry dock and brought them
back. Placed them in double irons by order of the Comdg Officer
and locked them (ace?) brigs.
-
Wow, quite a bit of drama. :o
Reminds me of a few of the whalers... ;)
-
and on May 1...
9:45 JP Harston os A Farrell os WA Smith boy
& F Miller boy escaped from confinement on being taken to closet by
Master-at-Arms.
-
:o :o :o
-
fender bender in port, Sausalito Feb 27, 1904
About 600
strong tide eddy caught ship on stbd quarter and carried away 6" line to
dolphin and before it could be replaced by another line the tide
carried ship afoul of the stern of the USH transport "Warren" lying
alongside of wharf. Bent ford sailing-launch davit, smashed port
side of bridge, and did minor damage to port forward rigging sail
cracked two beams in ward-room (under supports to bridge) and slightly
damaged scroll-work in ward room, port side. Wash bowl in middle
room, stbd side broken by falling bottle. Warped alongside
"Warren" and made fast. Carried away Warren's flag-staff, chafed
moulding on her stern, slightly dented one plate and scratched paint
work slightly.
-
March 2 in San Francisco.... the repair bill:
Capt F.M.
Wringer came on board and notified Comdg Officer of acceptance of bid of
Risdon Iron Works to furnish material and do iron work to repairs to
bridge etc for $200.00, ships force to do carpenters work.
-
Ouch!
-
Risdon Iron works must love that eddy ;) :D
-
80% complete - wooo hoooo!
-
Congratulations to the crew of Thetis - always good to reach another landmark!
-
I'll join Helen in offering congratulations on reaching that landmark!
Good luck with the final fifth :D
-
8)
80% complete - wooo hoooo!
-
Wow! Coming along fine. 8)
-
fair exchange with Bear?
17/11/1904, Sausalito CA
Transferred
H Hamano, cabin steward, to Bear and received T Ohno, cabin steward,
and S Nakagawa I c boy, from the Bear. Transferred one Underwood
typewriter to the Bear.
-
Depends, I suppose, on how troublesome the transferred parties were. ;)
fair exchange with Bear?
-
The return of Dr. Jackson and the reindeer :) - July 18th 1899
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol592/vol592_060_1.jpg)
9.45
Lieut. Hamlet and Dr. Jackson went ashore on sand spit to determine
advisibility of landing reindeer there, returning at 10.50 with
information that deer could be landed and cared for.
At 12.30 lowered
three boats and commenced hobbling reindeer and loading them into
boats. 1.20 boats in charge of Lieut. Hamlet and accompanied by Dr.
jackson left ship and landed deer in good condition. Scrubbed boats
ashore.
This
reminded me of the book I'd come across while transcribing Bear - The
Arctic Adventures of the Thetis
(http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic30-1-2.pdf) - which includes
the above episode on page 5 8)
-
July 20th 1899
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol592/vol592_062_1.jpg)
(despite it saying 1898 on log!)
Sent
officer on shore, who learned that no reindeer could be bought from the
large herd nearby because illness in the familiy of the owner prevented
by native superstition.
Natives
came on board but would not trade for reindeer as the herders were some
ten miles inland and those on board owned no deer. Could find no way to
communicate with inland herds.
-
July 23rd 1899 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol592/vol592_065_1.jpg)
at
7.40 Lieut. Hamlet and interpreter went on shore and conferred with
deer-men & returning at 7.15. Reindeer men came aboard at 7.25 and
refused to go after deer unless furnished whiskey which was not done.
9.00 Native chief came off and promised to have deer herd to Ed of Cape Serdze-Kamen tomorrow.
-
What did they want to do with reindeer? ???
-
Bit early for Christmas ;)
They were being transported
to Alaska with the idea to provide a livelihood for the natives there
who were struggling due to all the commercial sealing and whaling going
on. It was the idea of Dr. Sheldon Jackson
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Jackson) and Capt. Healy of the
Bear.
-
Yup, it's an interesting bit of Alaska history... a brief summary
can be found here:
http://www.alaskool.org/projects/reindeer/history/iser1969/rdeer_1.html
Unalga too transported reindeers in its early voyages... by chance, Unalga commander at that time was Harry Gabriel Hamlet :)
-
24th July 1899 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol592/vol592_066_1.jpg)
6-35-00
Sounded alarm of fire, first water 6-36-05 - Port gangway being closed
for reindeer pens and decks filled with natives interfering with manning
and working of pumps. 7.15 sent Lieut. Hamlet ashore in charge of boats
with interpreter and barter goods to exchange for reindeer. Employed
during remainder of watch in bartering, hobbling and transporting
reindeer to vessel.
-
July 26th 1899
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol592/vol592_068_1.jpg)
- somewhere near Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska
7.05 Commenced hobbling and loading deer in boats. 7.35 Lt Hamlet left vessel with final boat load.
9.00 having landed 40 deer in good condition and turned them over to Mr. Lapps herders - Washed decks and hoisted boats
-
This is fascinating. I'd caught up with the story of Healy's
reindeer when we first got the Bear. I think it was Janet Jaguar who
mentioned them. :)
-
I remember very well how they fitted out the Bear to accommodate
reindeer and all those voyages between Siberia and Alaska. Here's a link
to Sheldon Jackson, the inspiration for all this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Jackson.
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Aug 12 1906
At 10:00 Commanding Officer married a native couple Ittok (man) and Tisudlok (woman) both of Point Barrow, Alaska.
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That's a nice part of the Captain's job :)
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Odd - I thought sea captains can't perform marriages ...
(One Googling later) - they can't, but the US Navy didn't ban it until 1913.
Officiating marriages
There
is a common belief that ship captains have historically been, and
currently are, able to perform marriages. In most countries of ship's
registry, this is certainly a myth.[27]
The United States Navy
defined a captain?s powers in its 1913 Code of Regulations, stating:
"The commanding officer shall not perform a marriage ceremony on board
his ship or aircraft. He shall not permit a marriage ceremony to be
performed on board when the ship or aircraft is outside the territory of
the United States" with the exceptions being "in accordance with local
laws and the laws of the state, territory, or district in which the
parties are domiciled" and "In the presence of a diplomatic or consular
official of the United States, who has consented to issue the
certificates and make the returns required by the consular regulations."
There are a few contradictory legal precedents: courts didn?t recognize
a shipboard marriage in California's 1898 Norman v. Norman but did in
New York's 1929 Fisher v. Fisher (notwithstanding the absence of
municipal laws so carried) and in 1933's Johnson v. Baker, an Oregon
court ordered the payment of death benefits to a widow because she had
established that her marriage at sea was lawful.
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Well I guess weddings involve all sorts of relations that can't get
married - so a lot more technical than a burial at sea :-[
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I'd wondered about that too, as it was part of my training to learn
that ship's captains certainly can't perform marriages here now. I
wondered whether things were different in America, or perhaps just when
you're a long way from authority!
Thanks hanibal for following that up and satisfying my curiosity.
Weddings
are indeed complicated - far more legal requirements than
burials. Gave me sleepless nights the first few times, hoping I
wouldn't miss out anything crucial, and would get everything signed by
the right people in the right places using the right ink!
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I'd
wondered about that too, as it was part of my training to learn that
ship's captains certainly can't perform marriages here now. I
wondered whether things were different in America, or perhaps just when
you're a long way from authority!
Thanks hanibal for following that up and satisfying my curiosity.
Weddings
are indeed complicated - far more legal requirements than
burials. Gave me sleepless nights the first few times, hoping I
wouldn't miss out anything crucial, and would get everything signed by
the right people in the right places using the right ink!
I
guess we rarely think about the official's side of a wedding.
:-\ A friend of mine married in a Buddhist centre in a newly
opened hall. The hall had to be registered for such offices. However the
registrar's office also moved at that time, and the regsitrar was on
holiday in Canada at the time. So when she returned she had to run
(literally) from pillar to post to register her new office, re-register
herself, register the Buddhist hall and snatch a breath before the
wedding the next day. We laughed about it afterwards, but it was a
close-run thing :)
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By the way, Thetis was not in port at the time, tethered to ice off the coast.
There was some comings and goings I didn't pay close attention to, but this event caught my eye.
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Showing the colors:
Dec 7, 1906 - Received from the Department by express the following flags:
1 national ensign 8 1/2' x 16'
1 " " 6 1/3' x 12'
6 " " 4 1/4' x 8 '
6 " " 3 1/4' X 6'
1 " pennant 5" x 20'
1 " " 4" x 9'
1 revenue ensign 5' x 8'
8 " " 2 1/2' x 4'
2 revenue pennant 6" x 30'
4 " " 5" x 20'
6 " " 3" x 6'
1 Union Jack, 10 yds each of red, white, and blue bunting and 5 yds yellow bunting, 19" wide
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Dec 9, 1906
Released D Kelly seaman and J Burns fireman from brig on account of serious effect on skin health reported by surgeon.
[D Kelly deserted the next day.]
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Ironic name 'J Burns, firemen' ::)
I'm intrigued by the skin condition, but obviously it was the final straw for D Kelly :o
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Is anybody other than me, Jil and leelaht transcribing the Thetis? If so, please post here ASAP!
Jil
and I are sharing a stream, and we've worked out a system to avoid
leapfrogging. But we recently noticed that someone else is in that
stream too.
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Hi! It's probably Mergie who came here through Panoptes talk but
found that the Whalers were all in a virtual reality dockyard. She's
really happy to do some work and it would be lovely if she could carry
on with Thetis. Would you like me to find out more about when she's
likely to be on the system? It will be a little higgledy-piggledy
necessarily. :)
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Yes, please do tell us when she's typically on, and what her Zooniverse username (not OW forum name) is.
However,
Thetis may not be the best ship for a new person because she has some
logs with a weird format, similar to the Jamestown 1844:
https://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol594/vol594_013_1.jpg
Does Mergie know how to handle such logs?
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She's only done a page or so. And at the moment I feel quite
confident about how she's dealing with it. She doesn't get a lot of time
so she's unlikely to cause many interruptions. :)
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Only a page or so?
I doubt that, given what Janet mentioned:
When
I started yesterday morning it was already up to mid August 1900. I
assumed you'd carried on after you'd PMed me, but then when I did a few
more pages at lunchtime the log had moved on a bit more. No issues with
skipping while actually transcribing so not a problem. I'd got as far as
mid Nov 1900 when I stopped.
This was on a day when it was her turn, so I didn't transcribe any Thetis pages at all.
If she's correct, either Mergie did way more than "a page or so" or we have a fourth person in the stream.
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You've got a fourth person - Mergie's quite busy and is only likely to be fitting in the odd page I suspect :D
That's the problem with so few ships being available. There's only four one-star ships :-\
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I noticed some new names in the OW rankings... maybe one of them found Thetis.
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November 11th 1901 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol596/vol596_140_1.jpg) - Union Bay BC
At
3.00pm Anton Svendsen (Sea) was reported by 2nd Lieut Ulke, for
insubordination and mutinous conduct. At the time he was under the
forecastle where the crew was collected and inducing them to refuse
duty, and to stand together in a body and refuse to do a stroke of work
after 4pm. He was called aft and upon being cautioned again for creating
a disturbance on board the ship he called the Executive Officer "a
liar" and called the officer of the deck a "God damn liar", repeating
same several times, and was very abusive and profane, threatening that
he would fix the officer of the deck as soon as he caught him ashore.
Placed him in double irons and confined him in the brig on a diet of
bread & water
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November 11th 1901 was a Monday and I hazard to suggest that Mr
Sevndsen was probably having a bit of a bad start to the week :o
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Right now, the Thetis has a mix of normal logs and "weird" ones with
very little detail, sometimes just text - like the Jamestown 1844.
The
normal and weird ones often overlap, but while transcribing them, I
noticed something great: The parts of weird logs that overlap with
normal ones were NOT added to the interface.
In other words, me and
Jil and whoever else is on this stream only have to transcribe the weird
ones when they are the only source for that period of time.
For example:
596: June - Nov 1901 -> Normal, all of it was uploaded for transcribing
598: Feb 1901 - Mar 1902 -> Weird, only Feb - June 1901 and Nov 1901 to Mar 1902 were uploaded
Many thanks to whoever set this up!
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Wow, interesting. I had to do some URL editing to find a 'weird' example, I get Vol 600 when I select Transcribe.
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It's good to know that the early stages of the transcription process
were so carefully dealt with - as we would expect from past times
:D
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90% complete!!!
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Gosh - well done Crew Thetis! The last 10% to go. :D :D :D
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Go, Team Thetis! ;D
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Have you switched sides? ;) :P
U.S.S. Yorktown - At anchor off Yokohama, Japan.
12-09-1902 - Meridian to 4 P.M.:
At
12:30 P.M. the S.M.S. Thetis came into the harbor and anchored inside
of the breakwater and fired a salute of 15 guns, French ensign at the
fore, also a salute of 13 guns, American ensign at the fore, which
salutes were answered by both American and French Flagships gun for gun,
German flag at the fore.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Yorktown/vol026of040/vol026of040_097_1.jpg
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Yorktown/vol026of040/vol026of040_097_1.jpg)
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:o ;D
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Nope - it's a different Thetis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Thetis
I wonder if she and the USS Thetis ever met? ;D
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;D ;D ;D
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fair exchange with Bear?
17/11/1904, Sausalito CA
Transferred
H Hamano, cabin steward, to Bear and received T Ohno, cabin steward,
and S Nakagawa I c boy, from the Bear. Transferred one Underwood
typewriter to the Bear.
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USRC%20Bear/vol091/vol091_151_1.jpg ;)
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That's an amusing exchange :D
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June 16th 1904 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol605/vol605_067_1.jpg)
Commanding
Officer landed on Lisiansky Island to superintend the rounding up of
the Japanese and at 11 oclock began transporting them with their
personal effects off to the ship.
At 6 o'clock finished work of
baoting having brought off 77 Japanese for transportation to Honolulu.On
account of ~~~ all their freight, consisting chiefly of feathers &
packed birds, was left under cover after posting a notice informing any
new arrivals of the departure of the owners (Japanese) by the Thetis on
June 16 & giving any vessel leave to carry away all freight
remaining.
June 24th 1904 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol605/vol605_075_1.jpg) - Honolulu
Made
arrangements with Japanese Consul & US Quarantine Officer to land
77 Japanese, transporting them with all their belongings to immegration
wharf, finished at 3.00pm. Supplied Japanese passengers with available
portions of ship's rations that could be spared & replaced same or
everyday? vouchers at a cost of $43.15.
Found
some more info about Lisianski Island
(http://www.janeresture.com/lisianski/) and this incident. Also another
mention for Thetis in January 1910. 8)
-
The duplicate log versions are a bit more legible:
16th June 1904 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol606/vol606_066_1.jpg) The ~~~ bit is
On account of sea & wind all their freight...
24th
June 1904
(http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol606/vol606_074_1.jpg)
So that last bit should read:
Supplied
Japanese passengers with available portion of ship's rations that could
be spared & replaced same on emergency voucher at a cost of $43.15.
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I entered the 4 am temperature as 42.5 - is that OK?
http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol608/vol608_007_1.jpg
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It might be better to stick with straight TWYS and enter it as 43/42.
Philip usually follows the forum, but I can send him a note to be on the safe side.
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I would just TWYS, 43/42.
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August 21st 1906 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol610/vol610_083_1.jpg)
10-30
the "Gjoa" rounded Pt. Barrow, anchored close to the Sch "Duchess of
Bedford" and was boarded by the steam launch. She left Hershel Isld. Aug
11th, and worked in shoal water finding it necessary in one place to go
in 1 1/2 fms water. Capt. Amundsen reported that he got in touch with
the pack in 3 fms water in several places.
The
Fram Museum has lots of details on Amundsen's Gjoa expedition
(http://www.frammuseum.no/Polar-Expedition/The-Northwest-Passage-(1903-1906).aspx),
the first to navigate the NW Passage. They had spent the winter 1905/6
at Herschel Island, so this was the last leg of the expedition. 8)
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8) 8) 8)
Super cool story jil
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Join OW, meet famous people! ;D
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99% complete! Almost there.
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8)
99% complete! Almost there.
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99% complete! Almost there.
Patterson too! We're gonna see two big ones get finished off before the end of the year. 8)
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Just wanted to mention that the weather codes in log 613, Jan - June 1908, often contain small p's that look like f's. ,
For example: https://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol613/vol613_138_0.jpg
I
think the scientists should be told about this because I unfortunately
mistook the p's for f's for a long time and transcribed them as such.
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Thanks, Hanibal.
I think Philip checks the forum pretty carefully, but I copied this to him to be on the safe side.
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100% complete - woo hooooo.... oh, wait a minute there's still at least 1 full log book and a bit to go. Rounding >:( ;)
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Details, details. ;D
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I just started the very last logbook!
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August 14th 1908 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol614/vol614_051_1.jpg) - off Icy Cape, Alaska
At
5.45pm, placed Second Lieutenant M.S. Hay in arrest for drunkenness on
duty, neglect of duty, scandalous conduct tending to the destruction of
good morals, and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, pending
the preferring of charges and the trial thereof.
:o
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:o :o !
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August 15th 1908 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol614/vol614_052_1.jpg)
By
order of the Commanding Officer, Second Lieutenant M.S. Hay, USRCS, was
released from arrest and temporarily restored to duty, his services
being necessary; and was denied the privilege of the wine mess for a
period of thirty days
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I just started the very last logbook!
Wow hanibal! That really is some record :D :D :D
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Further to Mr. Hay's conduct unbecoming
23rd September 1908 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol614/vol614_092_1.jpg) - Unalaska
The
Commanding officer informed Second Lieutenant M.S. Hay, USRCS, that he
was confined to the limits of the vessel, although by order of the
Commanding Officer he was on August 15, 1908, released from arrest and
temporarily restored to duty.
Second
Lieutenant M.S. Hay addressed a letter to Senior Captain F.M. Munger,
USRCS, Commanding Bering Sea Patrol Fleet alleging that his confinement,
mentioned above, is contrary to the Regulations of the US Revenue
Cutter Service, and requested that he be granted usual liberty.
He had got back the privilege of the Wine Mess a few days previously
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He seems to have learned his lesson ;)
https://books.google.com/books?id=lVQ-AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA531&lpg=PA531&dq=M.S.+Hay#v=onepage&q=M.S.%20Hay&f=false
https://books.google.com/books?id=iAEWAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA706&lpg=PA706&dq=M.S.+Hay#v=onepage&q=M.S.%20Hay&f=false
It
seems like he was a hero earlier:
http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1908-04-03/ed-1/seq-9/
Column 6 - Thetis picks up two men
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Spoilers! ;)
September 24th 1908 (http://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ow3/final/USS%20Thetis/vol614/vol614_093_1.jpg)
At
the request of Captain G.M. Daniels, USRCS, preseident of a board of
investigation, convened by order of the Commanding Officer of the Bering
Sea Patrol Fleet, the Commanding Officer released Second Lieutenant
M.S. Hay, USRCS, from arrest and all duty for the purpose of attending
sessions of such board during such time as his presence may be required.
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And she's done - I just completed the last logbook, and got the usual message! Yay!
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8) 8) 8)
Great work, all! ;D ;D ;D
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Yeah!!!
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That was fast!
-
That was quick work! Wonderful job Crew Thetis - let's hang out some
britches bunting to celebrate!! ;D
(http://i.imgur.com/mnj7MEB.png)
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I'll notify the PTB
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Are you bored? Are you out of ideas for Christmas presents?
We don't have the new OW running yet, but you could still walk through some pages and try find some ice for Philip and Kevin ;)
You
can find the links here
(http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?board=40.0), and if you are
really enthusiastic you can stake out a claim for pages and/or report
pages searched.
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Adam has marked Thetis as complete