THE LOG OF THE SAVANNAH. 629 



As nothing is said about getting - up steam it is assumed that the sails 

 only were used. At 4 p. iu. Sailing Master Rogers states, " with fresh 

 breezes and clear " the " Hilands of Never Sink bore N. b. W. G leagues 

 distant, from which I take my departure." Thus, seventy-two years ago, 

 the sailing master of the pioneer transatlantic steamship, with a little 

 crew of daring seamen, made the first record iu a vessel's log book of 

 the day and hour when he last saw land in New York Harbor as he 

 took his departure for a distant port. This event is in the memory of 

 some men who have lived to know that in the year 1888 there left New 

 York Harbor for transatlantic ports 1,320 steamships, carrying 147,329 

 passengers and over 3,500,000 tons of freight, while there arrived at 

 the same port 480,451 passengers and over 3,000,000 tons of freight. 



At 11 o'clock on the following morning, the master records the fact 

 that they "got the steam up and it came on to blow fresh; we took the 

 wheels iu on deck in 30 minutes." This peculiar performance of taking 

 in the wheels during a storm, through fear of having them washed 

 away, or damaged, was unique. In the published records of steam 

 navigation no allusion is made to any other vessel with the wheels 

 similarly constructed, either before or since the Savannah went to sea. 

 The arrangement was, without doubt, made by the direction of Moses 

 Rogers, who in 1808, while taking the Phoenix from Sandy Hook to 

 Cape May (en route from New York to I^iiladelphia), was compelled 

 to run that steamboat through Barnegat Inlet into the bay and up on 

 the beach, iu order that the wheels, which had been damaged by a 

 storm, could be repaired. 



By examining the log book of the Savannah it will be noticed steam 

 was seldom used except iu calm weather, or when it was desired to 

 show the power of the engine of the vessel. 



On the 3d of April, the weather being calm and pleasant, the log 

 states at 3 p. m., " stowed the wheels and started the wheels, firld all 

 sail." 



But the run under steam was of short duration, as the fore and aft 

 sails were unfurled at 5 o'clock the next morning, and the crew at " 8 

 a. m. folded up the wheels and stowed the wheels." During the whole 

 voyage, from New York to Savannah, we find that the engine was 

 running: 



Hours. 



March 29 -£• 



From April 2, 3 p. m., to April 3, 8 a. m 17 



From April 3, 6 p. m,,.to April 4, 8 a. m 14 



From April 5, 10 p. m., to April f>, 4 a. m 10 



41| 



The vessel came to anchor at 4 a. m. April G, eight days fifteen hours 

 (207 hours), from Sandy Hook Light. 

 The Savannah "Georgian" of Wednesday, April 7, 1819,. states: 



The elegant steamship Savannah arrived here about 5 o'clock yesterday evening. 

 The bank of the river was lined by a large coucourse of citizens, who saluted her 



