Sept. 21, 1901.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
231 
nients, and., after a few preliminary picTcings and tunings 
and fragmentary chords, he dashed into a rollicking, bar- 
carole movement, the like of which the colored gentleman 
had probably never heard before. 
"Look at that expression," said Lacy, nudging me and 
the Colonel with his elbow. 
We turned our attention from George to the colored 
gentleman. His face and figure were a study. Rapt atten- 
tion, entire self-forgetfulness and absorption in George's 
playing were .expressed in every line and curve, from head 
to foot. His eyes were fastened on George as though 
riveted, his head drooped forward, his mouth half open. 
He was a most comical picture of complete ab.sorption ; 
withal, there was something pathetic about it. too, and we 
quite sympathized with his rapture. He stood there, with- 
out moving a muscle, while George, who had "caught on,"' 
played piece after piece, redoubling his cffoi-ts to capti- 
vate and entrance the darky — the meanwhile wc all en- 
joyed to the utmost his rapture. 
"You could hang your hat on his lower lip." whispered 
Lacy, wliile the Colonel and I snickered our assent. 
George finally gave him back his guitar, as abruptly as 
he had taken it from him. and fell back on his mattress 
again, and the fellow awoke with a start from his trance, 
and, after plying George with a few questions, he again 
placed the broad, green ribbon around his neck and went 
on his way. and was soon lost to sight among the trees. 
A short, heavy-set man, with full, black beard, who came 
fjuietly into camp, with one or two others, proved to be 
Mr. Martin, the owner of the place upon which we were 
camped. He made us welcome, and, after sitting and 
chatting awhile with us, they took their leave. 
While we were eating supper. Lacy, who could be safely 
trusted to make important di.scoveries of this character, in- 
formed us that there was a distillery for Ihe manufacture 
of apple brandy, located just across the road, looyds., 
from our camp." and, after finishing our supper, we all 
strolled over to have a look at it. Distilleries, both for 
the manufacture of brandy and whisky, are by no means 
uncommon all through this region, as Avell as in our own 
neighborhood, Augusta county whisky being widely and 
favorably known, yet none of us had ever been in a dis- 
tillery — a fact which George considered very singular, and 
scarcely credible, all things considered — therefore, we 
found this one quite interesting. It was but a crude affair, 
merely a shed erected over two or three copper stills, like 
huge bottles, with long, curiously twisted iiecks, terani- 
nating in great coils of pipe in large tanks of water, with 
a huge furnace, surmoimted by a rude, stone chimney, in 
the middle of the aggregation. A magnificent lithia spring 
lay along one side of the shed, in its dimensions almost 
rivaling the great pool at Bear Lithia, and whose pellucid 
waters lay like a sheet of transparent varnish over the 
bright-, shining pebbles in its bottom, and in whose mir- 
lor-like surface the full moon shone again, while in the 
outflow — a large brook — slowly turned a huge, primitive 
water wheel, of the "undershot" pattern, along one side 
of the rim of which was strung a row of tin cans, which, 
submerged in the wheel trough at the bottom, lifted the 
water, until, by the revolution of the wheel, they were in- 
verted at the top. where the water — or most of it — was 
caught, in a simple trough arrangement, which carried it 
in a steadily running stream over the tops of the casks 
containing the worms — as the coils of pipes are termed — 
where it wa.s distributed. 
A rude bunk in one corner, filled with straw, furnished 
not imcomfortable sleeping accommodations to the two or 
three men who ran the distillery,' for it was kept going 
night and day for seven days in the week. 
A pile of musk melons and canteloupes at one side of the 
inclosurc. gathered for the morrow's marketing, attracted 
our attention, for canteloupes are a staple article of diet 
with us in our August cruises. I selected four nice ones. 
"How much?" I asked of Mr. Martin, wbo, as the owner 
of the place, had courteously shown us round. 
"Oh ! five cents, I guess," he replied, carelessly, glancing 
at them as I showed them. 
"Five cents each?" I asked, hardly comprehending him. 
"No, five cents for the lot will do," he replied. 
"That's cheaper than stealing them," remarked Lacy, as 
I paid the nickel, and we all filed out of the place on o-ur 
return to camp. 
"This locust tree here," said Mr. Martin, placing his 
hand on a tree a foot or more in thickness, growing just 
inside the inclosure around the distillery, and pausing as 
he spoke, while we all stopped to note Avhat he had to say. 
"This locust tree here grows right in the cellar of the 
Kite bouse, and marks the place where it stood." 
"Why, how is that? What do you mean?" asked Lacy, 
in perplexity, the which we all shared. 
"I mean the house which the Kite family lived in — ol' 
Noah Kite an' his family, some seven or eight persons in 
all — stood right here on this spot. 01' Mr. Kite owned 
the mill, an' the house w^ent out when the mill went, an' 
ihe whole family was drowned but two — this tree grows 
right in the cellar o' the house." 
"Is that sol" I exclaimed, with interest, for that memor- 
able tragedy possessed a peculiar fascination for me. 
"The house was carried away, with the mill, in the 
Hood of 1870. wasn't it?" asked the Colonel. 
"Yes," was the reply. 
"Were you here at the time?" I asked. 
"I was." he replied, "an' witnessed the disaster, or as 
much of it as could be witnessed, toic. it tuk place in the 
night." 
"Which made it the worse," observed George, -'for, no 
doubt, people were drowned who might have escaped, if 
they could have seen where they were being carried." 
"Thet's right," Mr. Martin assented. "I was workin' 
fur ul' Mr. Kite then, an' I " 
"Then you must have been the man who rescued the 
boy from the house," I put in. "I have heard that the 
entire Kite family were drowned except one boy, who 
was carried out of the house, shortly before it went, by 
an employee of Mr. Kite, who waded in and got him." 
"I"m the man, an' your story's purty near correct," he 
replied. 
"How did you do it?" asked Lacy, as he opened the big 
^ate. and we passed out into the road. "Walk back over 
10 camp with us and tell us all about it; it isn't late," 
"Yes, do," I replied. "I've heard the story several 
times, but would like very much to hear it direct from one 
who was an actor in the event," 
"Well, I don't mind," he replied, good naturedly, as we 
crossed the road, and picked our way across the rough, 
rock-lined gully, back to our camp. 
"These posts here." he continued, as we passed the 
blackened, weather-beaten landmarks of the ill-fated mill, 
"was the fore bay of the mill ; it stood right here." 
Reaching camp, our campstools were produced, pipes 
and cigaTs were lighted, and we settled down to hear 
Mt. Martin's story, which promised to be interesting. 
Yachting: Fixtwcs, J90J. 
Secretaries and members of race committees will confer a favor 
by sending notice of errors or omissions in the following list and 
also of changes which may be made in the future. 
SEPTEMBER. 
2t. Kennebec, club, Kennebec, Me. 
21 New York C. C., fall regatta, Gravesend Bay. 
21. Manhasset Bay, fall regatta, Port Washington, L. I. Sound. 
21. Canarsie, commodore's cup races, Canarsie, Jamaica Bay. 
2i;-28-(.)ct. 1. — Inteniation.-il Races (Atnerica s Cup), off Sandy Hook. 
28. Manhasset Bay, fifth series race for Jacob cup, Port Washing- 
ton, Long Island Sound. 
The death of the President has cast a gloom over the 
entire world, and gentlemen sportsmen throughout the 
United States have shown proper respect by postponing 
anj' events that might take place before the funeral. .The 
yacht racing among the smaller boats is pretty much 
over with for this season, and the interest is now centered 
on the coming international races. The New York Y. C. 
has changed the date of the first race from Sept. 21 to 
Sept. 26. A longer postponement would have been prac- 
tically impossible owing to the obligations they were under 
to Mr. Lipton and his associates. The New York Y. C. 
has shown its usual good taste and judgment in this 
matter. 
A LITTLE incident which tends to show the tender regard 
for the President among yachtsmen was observed by the 
writer on Saturday, Sept. 14. the day of Mr. McKinley's 
death. Coming out of Oyster Bay early in the morning 
of that day, just after the sad news had been announced 
at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Y. C, a yacht with its en- 
sign at half mast overhauled a small cruising sloop off 
Huntington Bay, bound west. The skipper was in the 
act of taking down his side light boards; when he noticed 
the flag of the approaching boat at half mast, and learned 
that the President bad passed away, he hastily lowered 
bis mainsail, the reason for so doing not being apparent at 
the moment. It was soon discovered that his ensign was 
sewed to the leach of his sail, and, in order to half mast 
his ensign, he had to lower the sail and resew the flag in 
its proper place. The incident was rather touching and 
showed plainly how the man was afl:'ected. Here was a 
man who had been sailing single-handed all night and 
who was pretty well tuckered out. but his love and admira- 
tion for President McKinley was so great that he did not 
hesitate an instant to show his personal feeling, although 
much labor was involved by so doing. 
An Avoidable Danger. 
The frequent reports of appalling accidents caused by 
the explosion of gasoline on the newly developed and very 
popular gasoline launches should not fail to teach the les- 
son of caution to each individual who has to do with 
such vessels. 
Properly handled, gasoline is no more dangerous than 
a dozen other things with which men are brought into 
dail}'^ and harmless contact, but its use as a propelling 
agent is novel, and to-day a thousand people handle this 
violent explosive to one who did so ten years ago. 
A lighted match thrown in a waste paper basket may 
cause a dangerous conflagration. Gunpowder thrown in 
the fire may blow the window out of a room. Firearms 
arc enormously dangerous, but the great bulk of people 
who handle them are so well aware of this fact that they 
exercise extreme care in their use. The young boy who 
goes out with his first gim is usually accompanied by an 
older person who w-arns him continually to avoid certain 
acts and so, after a while, the boy becomes impressed 
with the importance of a particular course of action and 
forms careful habits. 
The dangers of gasoline, however, are not compre- 
hended by the average man, and each one, perhaps, re- 
gards himself as competent to start an engine and keep it 
running. He does not realize what he is doing, nor does 
he commonly comprehend the precautions that should 
be taken. He does not think, either, of the frightful hor- 
rors of an explosion on board a boat, nor that he may 
be blown to pieces or enveloped in flames which he can 
escape only by going overboard, where there is every pos- 
sibility of his drowning. He does not think of these 
dangers for himself, nor for his family or his friends who 
maj' be nn board the boat. So, perhaps, he works about 
his gasolu e tank with a lighted cigar in his mouth or looks 
for a leak with a jighted match, with results to himself 
and to others so terrible as to be heartrending. 
It is painfully true that we learn things only by experi- 
ence, and it is altogether possible that a certain number 
of people must be destroyed by gasoline explosions be- 
fore the lesson of caution shall have been generally 
learned, but it is certainly worth while to warn people over 
and over again that tanks are likely to leak and gasoline 
to escape, that gasoline is a terribly dangerous thing un- 
der certain conditioiLs, that it will certainly explode if 
brought in contact with fire, that the vapor arising from 
free gasoline is terribly explosive, that the presence of 
free gasoline may be told by the smell given off by the 
evaporated gas, and that where this smell is detected there 
is the very greatest danger, in case fire is anywhere about. 
Certain obvious protective measures may be employed 
against these dangers. One of these is to have the gaso- 
line tank surrounded by an outer cell, which shall prevent 
the escape of the fluid, even if the inner tank leak. Kept 
from the outer air, the fluid is not dangerous, because light 
cannot get at it. 
Another protective measure, which causes little trouble, 
is to look under the floor boards of the vessel daily, to see 
whether there has been any escape of the fluid. If any is 
found, it should at once be removed and the bilges sponged 
ofi^. and an effort made to find where the gasoline came 
from. Of course, if. in filling the tank, the fluid over- 
flows or is spilled, it should all be removed from the 
bilges. 
On the part of ntaitf men who believe that they know 
more or less abotit mechanics, there is a tendency to 
tinker with the engine; to endeavor to change things 
somewhat for the better. This should not be done. It 
rarely improves matters, and is a source of actual danger, 
as possibly starting some leak or loosening a joint through 
which the oil may escape. It is much better to avoid 
fooling with the engine and to follow closely the instruc- 
tions sent out with the boat by the manufacturer. 
Finally, it is oi the highest importance to recollect that 
this fluid now in such general use is dangerous and that 
only constant watchfulness and care will prevent accidents. 
If the man who is runn-'ng the engine will constantly 
keep this fact in mind and will see that the same caution is 
used about it that must be used about handling anything 
that has dangerous possibilities, sitch as firearms, the 
danger of accident will become very slight. 
If a leak should be found in tank or pipes, through 
which gasoline is escaping, it can be temporarily stopped, 
if a small one, by the use of a bit of soap squeezed on 
it, or. if larger, it may be plugged with a peg of wood, 
which may be made tight by soap. 
It is worth while to remember that where a fire — not an 
explosion — starts from gasoline, water is often of no avail 
in extinguishing it. It is a safeguard — and not a trouble- 
some one — to have on board the boat, and preferably in 
bow and stern, buckets of sand or earth, which, if thrown 
on a fire, will at once smother it, while throwing water 
on the flame might serve only to spread the fire and so 
increase the danger. Ammonia thrown on a fire of this 
kind will at once extinguish it, and two or three bottles of 
commercial ammonia kept at various places in the boat 
may prove u.seful, since they can be smashed over a flame 
in an instant. 
After all, however, the best remedj- of all is prevention 
—to form the habits of extreme caution in handling so 
dangerous an article as gasoline. 
If the owner of a gasoline launch finds a smell of free 
gasoline about his vessel, let him at once send from it all 
people whose"' lives and well-being he cares for and let him 
take measures to find out whether the gasoline is escap- 
ing from the tank, or has been spilled in filling the tank, 
and lies free in the bottom of the boat. Until this free 
gasoline has been removed and its source discovered, the 
vessel is unsafe. Above all, a man should no more have 
fire in a vessel where there is the slightest smell of free 
gasoline than he should go through a powder magazine 
filled with open kegs, lighting matches to see how full 
each keg is. 
A New Class of One-Desig-n Boats. 
The spring of next year will see a fleet of new Herre- 
shoff 30-footers on Buzzards Bay which promise to be 
the fleetest and the most comfortable boats of the kind 
that this designer has ever turned out. 
Nine of these boats are in process of construction at 
the present time, and it is not unlikely that orders for 
some more v^'ill be placed. 
The general dimensions of these new boats are 30ft. 
waterline, about 47ft. over all, loj^ft. beam and sft. draft 
without the centerboard, which will house under the 
cabin floor. 
The total sail area will be about 1,400ft. The light sails 
will consist of a balloon jib, spinnaker and probably 
sprityard topsail. 
These boats are designed to be comfortable cruisers, 
while at the same time they are to be fast racers. They 
will differ in man}' respects from the Newport 30-footers, 
which were built by Herreshoff, but more especially for 
racing. 
The new Buzzards Bay boats will probably, under all 
conditions, excepting, perhaps, the very lightest airs, 
be faster than these half-dozen Newport one-design 30- 
footers. 
The new boats will have a comfortable deck and low 
cabin house, in contrast with the narrow deck and high 
cabin house of the Newport boats. They will be built 
in the best possible manner. The cabins will be fur- 
nished in white pine and mahogany. 
It is expected that these new. boats will handle easily 
with a crew of fpur men. 
This new fleet of sloops is destined to make Buzzards 
Bay a famous yachting ground in the future. 
In addition to the nine which are in process of con- 
struction at the present time, two others have alreadj' 
been spoken for, and it is expected that, before the class 
is closed, there will be twelve in the fleet. 
The nine owners of these new boats are W. F. Harri- 
son, John Parkinson. John Hitchcock, H. E. Converse, 
E. M. Farnsworth, Charles Whittemore, C. H. Taylor, 
Jr., and W. O. Taylor, Robert Winsor, R. W. Em- 
nions 2d. 
These boats are to be so exactly alike in every respect 
that the owners are going to draw lots for them instead 
of having a specified boat built for a particular owner. 
Challengfe for Seawanhaka Cwp Accepted* 
Mr. Thomas H. Macdonald. chairman of the re- 
gatta committee of the Bridgeport Y. C.. received word 
on Sept'. 6 that the Royal St. Lawrence Y. C. had 
accepted the challenge of the Bridgeport Y. C. to race 
tor the famous Seawanhaka challenge cup, and the race 
will be saiiled on Canadian waters the latter part of 
July or early in August, 1902. 
Challenge for Canada Cap Accepted. 
At a joint meeting of the sailing and executive com- 
mittees oi the Royal Canadian Y. C, on Sept. 11, the 
challenge of the Rochester. Y. C. ior ^ race for the 
Canada's cup in. 1903 was .accepted* 
