Ocean Steamships A popular account of their construction, development, management and appliances

Part 1

Chapter 13,414 wordsPublic domain

Transcriber’s Notes:

The spelling, punctuation and hyphenation from the original has been retained with the exception of apparent printer’s errors.

Italic text is marked _thus_.

OCEAN STEAMSHIPS

A POPULAR ACCOUNT OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT, MANAGEMENT AND APPLIANCES

F. E. CHADWICK, U. S. N. J. D. J. KELLEY, U. S. N. RIDGELY HUNT, U. S. N. JOHN H. GOULD WILLIAM H. RIDEING A. E. SEATON

_WITH NINETY-SIX ILLUSTRATIONS_

NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS 1891

TROW DIRECTORY PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY NEW YORK

CONTENTS.

PAGE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STEAMSHIP 1

BY COMMANDER F. E. CHADWICK, U. S. NAVY.

SLOW GROWTH OF THE IDEA OF STEAM PROPULSION—MODELS SHOWN AT THE LIVERPOOL EXHIBITION IN 1886—CLAIMS OF PRECEDENCE IN THE INVENTION OF STEAMBOATS—WHAT FULTON ACCOMPLISHED—THE CLERMONT—THE VOYAGE OF THE SAVANNAH IN 1819—THE FIRST WAR STEAMER—THE ATLANTIC CROSSED BY THE SIRIUS AND GREAT WESTERN IN 1838—FOUNDING OF THE CUNARD COMPANY—INVENTION OF THE SCREW PROPELLER—ITS APPLICATION TO THE ARCHIMEDES AND THE GREAT BRITAIN—EARLY FLEET OF THE CUNARD COMPANY—AMERICAN ENTERPRISES—THE SCREW STEAMER PRINCETON—ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PACIFIC MAIL—THE COLLINS LINE—ITS SUCCESS AND ULTIMATE FAILURE—THE GREAT EASTERN—BEGINNING OF GREAT RIVALRY IN SPEED—TRIPLE EXPANSION ENGINES—IMPORTANT CHANGES IN DESIGN.

SPEED IN OCEAN STEAMERS 57

BY A. E. SEATON.

THE VIKING’S CRAFT AND THE MODERN “GREYHOUND”—PROBLEMS OF INERTIA AND RESISTANCE—PRIMARY CONDITION FOR HIGH SPEED—WHAT IS MEANT BY “COEFFICIENT OF FINENESS” AND “INDICATED HORSE-POWER”—ADVANCE IN ECONOMICAL ENGINES—WHAT THE COMPOUND ENGINE EFFECTED—A COMPARISON OF FAST STEAMERS FROM 1836 TO 1890—PREJUDICE AGAINST PROPELLERS AND HIGH PRESSURES—ADVANTAGES OF MORE THAN ONE SCREW PROPELLER—ATTEMPTS AT PROPULSION BY TURBINE WHEELS, EJECTIONS, AND PUMPS—THE INTRODUCTION OF SIEMENS-MARTIN STEEL IN 1875 THE CHIEF FACTOR IN THE SUCCESS OF MODERN FAST STEAMERS—DECREASE IN COAL CONSUMPTION—IMPORTANCE OF FORCED DRAUGHTS—THE PROBLEM OF MECHANICAL STOKING—POSSIBILITIES OF LIQUID FUEL—IS THE PRESENT SPEED LIKELY TO BE INCREASED?

THE BUILDING OF AN “OCEAN GREYHOUND” 91

BY WILLIAM H. RIDEING.

THE COST OF AN OCEAN RACER—INTRICATE “FINANCING” OF SUCH AN UNDERTAKING—THE CONTRACT WITH THE SHIP-BUILDERS—THE UNCERTAIN ELEMENT IN DESIGNING—GREAT SHIP YARDS ALONG THE CLYDE—THE PLANS OF A STEAMER ON PAPER—ENLARGEMENT OF PLANS IN THE “MOULD LOFT”—WHAT IS MEANT BY “FAIRING THE SHIP”—THE “SCRIVE BOARD”—LAYING DOWN THE KEEL—MAKING THE HUGE RIBS—WHEN A SHIP IS “IN FRAME”—SHAPING AND TRIMMING THE PLATES—RIVETING AND CAULKING—READY FOR LAUNCHING—THE GREAT “PLANT” WHICH IS NECESSARY FOR THE BUILDING OF A SHIP—DESCRIPTION OF A TYPICAL YARD—WORKS COVERING SEVENTY-FOUR ACRES—WHERE THE SHAFT IS FORGED—THE LATHES AT WORK—THE ADJUSTMENT OF PARTS—SEVEN THOUSAND WORKMEN.

OCEAN PASSENGER TRAVEL 112

BY JOHN H. GOULD.

THE FIRST OCEAN RACE—PASSENGER TRAFFIC IN THE OLD CLIPPER DAYS—STATE-ROOMS AND TABLE FARE IN EARLY DAYS—THE FIRST OCEAN MAIL CONTRACT—DISCOMFORTS FIFTY YEARS AGO—AMERICAN TRANSATLANTIC LINES—GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES—NOVELTIES ON THE COLLINS LINE—WHEN STEERAGE PASSENGERS WERE ALLOWED ON OCEAN STEAMSHIPS—IMPORTANT CHANGES IN THE COMFORT OF PASSENGERS WROUGHT BY THE OCEANIC IN 1870—THE PRESENT ERA OF TWIN-SCREW SHIPS—THEIR ADVANTAGES—THE FASTEST VOYAGES EAST AND WEST—RECORDS OF THE GREAT RACERS—MODERN CONVENIENCES AND LUXURIES—THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CABIN PASSENGERS FROM 1881 TO 1890—HOW THE LARDER IS SUPPLIED—ELECTRIC LIGHTS, LIBRARIES, AND MUSIC-ROOMS—CUSTOMS PECULIAR TO THE FRENCH, GERMAN, AND BRITISH LINES—LIFE IN THE STEERAGE—IMMIGRATION STATISTICS—GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS.

THE SHIP’S COMPANY 149

BY LIEUTENANT J. D. JERROLD KELLEY, U. S. NAVY.

HAS STEAM RUINED THE GENUINE SAILORS OF STORY AND SONG?—HAULING A LINER OUT OF THE LIVERPOOL DOCKS—THE TRAITS OF MASTER-MARINERS—EDUCATION OF JUNIOR OFFICERS—A FIRE DRILL—STOWING THE CARGO—DOWN THE CHANNEL IN A FOG—THE ROUTINE LIFE AT SEA—THE TRIALS OF KEEPING WATCH—A BO’S’N’S RIGHT TO BLUSTER—STEERING BY STEAM—SCRUBBING THE DECKS IN THE MIDDLE WATCHES—FORMALITIES OF INSPECTION—THE MAGIC DOMAIN OF THE ENGINE-ROOM—PICTURESQUENESS OF THE STOKE-HOLE—MESSES OF THE CREW—THE NOON OBSERVATION—LIFE AMONG THE CABIN PASSENGERS—BOAT DRILL—PLEASURES TOWARD THE END OF THE VOYAGE—THE CONCERT—SCENES IN THE SMOKING-ROOM—WAGERS ON THE PILOT-BOAT NUMBER—FIRE ISLAND LIGHT, AND THE END OF THE VOYAGE.

SAFETY ON THE ATLANTIC 185

BY WILLIAM H. RIDEING.

THE DANGERS OF THE SEA—PRECAUTIONS IN A FOG—ANXIETIES OF THE CAPTAIN—CREEPING UP THE CHANNEL—“ASHORE AT SOUTH STACK”—NARROW ESCAPE OF THE BALTIC—SOME NOTABLE SHIPWRECKS—STATISTICS SINCE 1838—THE REGION OF ICEBERGS—WHEN THEY ARE MOST FREQUENT—CALAMITIES FROM ICE—SAFETY PROMOTED BY SPEED—MODERN PROTECTION FROM INCOMING SEAS—BULKHEADS AND DOUBLE BOTTOMS—WATER TIGHT COMPARTMENTS—THE SPECIAL ADVANTAGE OF THE LONGITUDINAL BULKHEAD—THE VALUE OF TWIN SCREWS—DANGERS FROM A BROKEN SHAFT—IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MARINER’S COMPASS, THE PATENT LOG, AND SOUNDING MACHINE—MANGANESE BRONZE FOR PROPELLERS—LIGHTS, BUOYS, AND FOG SIGNALS—THE REMARKABLE RECORD OF 1890.

THE OCEAN STEAMSHIP AS A FREIGHT CARRIER 217

BY JOHN H. GOULD.

REVENUE OF THE SHIP’S CARGO—AMOUNT OF FREIGHT CARRIED BY EXPRESS STEAMSHIPS—GROSS TONNAGE OF IMPORTANT LINES RUNNING FROM NEW YORK—THE MERCHANT MARINE OF THE UNITED STATES—THE “ATLANTIC LIMITED”—THE SEA POST-OFFICE—IN THE SPECIE ROOM—ENORMOUS REFRIGERATORS—THE NEW CLASS OF “FREIGHTERS”—LARGE CARGOES AND SMALL COAL CONSUMPTION—THE OCEAN “TRAMP”—ADVANTAGES OF THE “WHALEBACK”—VESSELS FOR CARRYING GRAIN—FLOATING ELEVATORS—THE FRUIT STEAMSHIP—TANK STEAMSHIPS FOR CARRYING OIL—PECULIARITIES OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION—THE MOLASSES SHIP—SCENES ON THE PIERS WHEN STEAMSHIPS ARE LOADING—STEAM HOISTING APPARATUS—HOW THE FREIGHT IS STOWED—COALING—THE LOADING OF CATTLE SHIPS—“COWBOYS OF THE SEA”—OCEAN TRAFFIC THE INDEX OF A NATION’S PROSPERITY.

STEAMSHIP LINES OF THE WORLD 253

BY LIEUTENANT RIDGELY HUNT, U. S. NAVY.

IMPORTANT PART TAKEN BY THE UNITED STATES IN ESTABLISHING OCEAN ROUTES—RIVALRY IN SAILING VESSELS WITH ENGLAND—EFFECT OF THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA—THE CAPE HORN ROUTE—AUSTRALIAN PACKET LINES—THE PROBLEM OF A SHORT ROUTE TO INDIA—FOUR MAIN ROUTES OF STEAMSHIP TRAFFIC—CHARACTERISTICS OF THE REGULAR SERVICE BETWEEN EUROPE AND THE EAST—PORT SAID AND THE SUEZ CANAL—SCENES AT ADEN AND AT BOMBAY—THE RUN TO COLOMBO, CEYLON—SOME OF THE BY-WAYS OF TRAVEL FROM SINGAPORE—THE PACIFIC MAIL—FROM YOKOHAMA TO SAN FRANCISCO—TWO ROUTES FROM PANAMA TO NEW YORK—SOUTH AMERICAN PORTS—MAGNIFICENT SCENERY OF THE MAGELLAN STRAITS—BEAUTIES OF THE PORT OF RIO—THE GREAT OCEAN ROUTE FROM LONDON TO AUSTRALIA.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE A DRAMA OF THE SEA, _Frontispiece_

SPECIFICATIONS OF EARLY PATENTS TAKEN OUT IN ENGLAND, 15

THE ETRURIA, 37

TRIPLE-EXPANSION ENGINE OF THE ALLER, TRAVE, AND SAALE, 41

THE GIOVANNI BAUSAN, OF THE ITALIAN NAVY, 49

THE NORTH GERMAN LLOYD STEAMER KAISER WILHELM II., 65

THE WHITE STAR STEAMER MAJESTIC, 75

THE INMAN LINE STEAMER CITY OF PARIS, 81

GENERAL VIEW OF THE FRAMES OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK—JUNE 25, 1887, 99

IN THE GRAND SALOON OF AN INMAN STEAMER, 115

THE END OF THE VOYAGE, 139

IN THE STEERAGE, 145

ON THE BRIDGE IN A GALE, 161

“MUSTER, ALL HANDS,” 167

NIGHT SIGNALLING, 177

OUT OF RECKONING.—A NARROW ESCAPE, 187

LANDING STAGES AT LIVERPOOL, 191

AT CLOSE QUARTERS, AMONG THE ICEBERGS, 201

THE DEEP-SEA SOUNDING MACHINE AT WORK, 207

LOADING GRAIN FROM A FLOATING ELEVATOR, 221

UNLOADING AND LOADING A COASTWISE STEAMER BY ELECTRIC LIGHT, 227

THE “WHALEBACK” STEAMSHIP FOR GRAIN AND OTHER FREIGHT, 235

UNLOADING A BANANA STEAMSHIP, 241

A CATTLE STEAMSHIP AT SEA, 249

CHART OF THE WORLD, SHOWING THE PRINCIPAL STEAMSHIP ROUTES, 257

DECK QUOITS ON A P. AND O. LINER, 261

ENTRANCE TO THE SUEZ CANAL AT PORT SAID, 267

THE PORT OF VALPARAISO IN A NORTHER, 285

ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT.

THE GREAT WESTERN, FROM AN OLD PAINTING, 10

CROSS-SECTION OF THE GREAT WESTERN, 11

THE GREAT BRITAIN, 13

PLAN OF THE HIBERNIA AND CAMBRIA, 22

MODEL OF THE PERSIA AND SCOTIA, 31

LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF THE WARSHIP DUILIO, 33

THE BRITANNIC, 34

CROSS-SECTION OF THE OREGON, 40

CROSS-SECTION OF THE SERVIA, 40

LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF THE CHAMPAGNE, 42

THE CHILIAN CRUISER ESMERALDA, 47

THE BELTED CRUISER ORLANDO, WITH TWIN SCREWS, 51

THE CITY OF ROME, 54

H. B. M. S. POLYPHEMUS AT FULL SPEED—18-5/8 KNOTS, 59

THE IMPÉRIEUSE GOING AT FULL SPEED, 64

PASSENGER STEAMER PRINCESSE HENRIETTE AT FULL SPEED—24-1/2 MILES PER HOUR, 69

ENGINES OF THE COMET, 70

PASSENGER STEAMER DUCHESS OF HAMILTON AT FULL SPEED—21 MILES PER HOUR, 71

PASSENGER STEAMER COLUMBA AT FULL SPEED—21 MILES PER HOUR, 72

THE TWIN SCREWS OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, 84

THE PROPELLER OF THE NORTH GERMAN LLOYD STEAMER HAVEL, 85

RECENT NAVAL ENGINE, 87

ITALIAN CRUISER PIEMONTE AT FULL SPEED—22.3 KNOTS = 25-3/4 MILES PER HOUR, 89

THE UMBRIA JUST BEFORE LAUNCHING, 94

FRAMES OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, LOOKING AFT—JULY 19, 1887, 102

FRAMES OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, LOOKING FORWARD—JULY 19, 1887, 103

THE MANGANESE BRONZE PROPELLER-BLADE OF THE WRECKED STEAMER MOSEL, AFTER IT HAD BEATEN UPON A REEF, 106

A STERN VIEW, SHOWING TWIN SCREWS, 108

THE CITY OF NEW YORK READY FOR LAUNCHING, 109

MODEL OF A STEAMER DESIGNED TO CROSS THE ATLANTIC IN FIVE DAYS, 110

THE STEAMER’S BARBER-SHOP, 121

MORE COMFORTABLE ON DECK, 123

A QUIET FLIRTATION, 125

SMOKING-ROOM OF A FRENCH LINER, 127

THE GANG PLANK—JUST BEFORE SAILING, 132

THE SALOON OF A HAMBURG STEAMER, 134

THE PILOT BOARDING, 135

REVENUE OFFICER BOARDING, NEW YORK BAY, 142

DOWN THE CHANNEL IN A FOG—A NARROW ESCAPE, 157

THE SKIPPER, 158

THE DECK LOOKOUT—“DANGER AHEAD,” 160

THE BOATSWAIN’S WHISTLE, 164

THE COOK, 165

WASHING DOWN THE DECKS, 169

THE STOKE HOLE, 172

IN THE FO’CASTLE, 174

WATCHING FOR THE SUN ON A CLOUDY DAY, 176

THE DECK STEWARD, 180

CAPTAIN’S BREAKFAST, 181

THE NIGHT SIGNAL OF A DISABLED STEAMER, 183

EDDYSTONE LIGHTHOUSE, ENGLISH CHANNEL, 194

A WHISTLING BUOY, 195

LIGHTHOUSE, ATLANTIC CITY, N. J., 197

A BELL BUOY, 199

LIGHTHOUSE, SANIBEL ISLAND, FLA., 205

OFF FIRE ISLAND, NEW YORK, 210

GEDNEY’S CHANNEL, OUTSIDE NEW YORK HARBOR, AT NIGHT, 211

THE LIGHTSHIP, OFF SANDY HOOK, 213

BROKEN BOW OF LA CHAMPAGNE, AFTER HER COLLISION OUTSIDE NEW YORK HARBOR, DECEMBER, 1890, 214

A SUNKEN SCHOONER, 215

THE SPECIE-ROOM OF A PASSENGER STEAMSHIP, 232

CROSS-SECTION OF A TANK STEAMSHIP, SHOWING THE EXPANSION TANK, 244

LOADING A TANK STEAMSHIP WITH OIL, BY FORCE PUMPS, 245

THE PORT OF ADEN, ARABIA, 270

A DECK-BATH IN THE TROPICS, 271

PROMENADE DECK OF AN ORIENT LINER, 274

LANDING PASSENGERS AT NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA, 279

STEAMER AT ANCHOR, SIMON’S BAY, CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, 291

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STEAMSHIP.

BY COMMANDER F. E. CHADWICK, U. S. NAVY.

It is a wonderful fact in the swift expansion of mechanical knowledge and appliances of the last hundred years that while for unknown ages the wind was the only propelling force used for purposes of navigation, apart from the rude application of power through oars worked by men, the whole scheme of steam transport has grown, practically, to its present wonderful perfection within the lifetime of men yet living.

Of course, the idea, as is that of all great inventions, was one of slow growth. It cropped up at various stages through the eighteenth century, and there are faint evidences of gropings in this direction in the latter part of the seventeenth; but these latter were not much more definite than the embodiment of the idea of the telegraph in Puck’s girdle round the earth, and the evidence that men really thought of propelling boats by steam is very meagre until we come to the pamphlet written by Jonathan Hulls, in 1737, in which he gave utterance to a very clear and distinct idea in the matter. It struggled through a very backward infancy of fifty years and more, certain memorable names appearing now and then to help it along, as that of Watt (without whose improvements in the steam-engine it must still have remained in swaddling-clothes), Fitch, De Jouffroy, Rumsey, Symington, and finally Fulton, who, however much he may have learned from his predecessors, has unquestionably the credit of putting afloat the first commercially successful steamboat. He is thus worthy of all the honor accorded him; much of it came too late, as he died at the comparatively early age of fifty, after passing through the harassments which seem naturally to lie in the path of the innovator.

* * * * *

A graphic history of the wonderful changes wrought in this great factor of the world’s progress was set forth during the summer of 1886, at the International Exhibition at Liverpool, where, by model and drawing, the various steps were made more completely visible and tangible than, perhaps, ever before. True, the relics of the earlier phases of the steamship age, when its believers were but few and generally of small account, were sparse, but the exhibits of later models, from the date of the inception of transatlantic traffic, preparations for which were begun in earnest by laying down the steamship Great Western in 1836, were frequent enough, and the whole of the steps in the development of the means of ocean traffic from then till now were sufficiently well shown.

The exhibition, of course, did not confine itself to the steam era alone. It even had a model of an Egyptian vessel, which was exhibited by the Liverpool Library Society, as taken from Thebes, and estimated to date about 1,500 years B.C., and which Moses himself might thus have seen. It was a long stretch, however, to the next in date, as no others antedated 1700 A.D. There were many of the handsome and dignified eighteenth-century men-of-war, built at a time when men began to preserve a record of their work in the miniature ships which are now esteemed an essential addition to almost every vessel of importance put afloat. Firms now exist whose only business it is to make the various minute fittings—the ports, chains, anchors, blocks, etc.—of the Liliputian craft, so that every detail of the original is given with an exact verisimilitude in very often most beautiful and elaborate work.

It would have been very interesting had the early struggles of the steamboat been thus illustrated _in extenso_, but there is nothing of its concrete history earlier than a small model of the original Comet, built by Henry Bell, at Glasgow, in 1812, and so named because of the extraordinary comet of that year, and the engines of her successor, built in 1820. These recall, however, the vessel which was the first steamer engaged in passenger traffic in Europe, and are thus worthy of honor.

In looking over the beautiful array of models then exhibited, which thus represented almost every stage of progress in British steamship building, from the Comet onward, one could not help regretting that an effort had not been made by our government to bring together models, of which there must have been some, at least, available, illustrative of our earlier practice, particularly as there is much in it peculiar to us, and which would have been most interesting to the great public which visited the exhibition. Models of the Clermont; of the Stevens experimental screw boat; a later Mississippi steamer; the Savannah—the first vessel using steam which ever crossed the Atlantic; the Washington, the pioneer of regular transatlantic steam traffic under our flag; the Adriatic; the Hudson River and great Sound steamers of to-day, would, apart from any war-ship models of interest which could have been sent, have made a most interesting and attractive collection. The only things, however, which were visible were the drawings of a New York ferry-boat (the type of which, by the way, we owe to Fulton), so placed as to be scarcely discoverable. These boats are so typical, so different from anything found in Europe, and so interesting to any student of steam ferriage as a thorough adaptation of means to an end, that a complete model of the boat and its ferry slip would have been a most satisfactory addition.

It must be remembered that the steamboat had in its earlier days a much greater extension in America than elsewhere. Our great rivers were an especially attractive field for its use. The Mississippi had but lately come under our control, and the beginning of the great tide of Western emigration and exploration was almost coincident with the steamboat’s advent, so that through these favoring conditions it had a much more rapid growth among us than elsewhere.

The display, however, of British models was as complete as it could well be made. Private owners and builders, the Admiralty, and Lloyds’ Registry, united to make the collection a very complete and perfect one. Of continental European exhibits, that of the Italian Government, which sent a very splendid collection of models of its great war-ships, was the most important. Associated with it was the exhibit of the Fratelli Orlando of Leghorn, who have done much of both the public and private building of Italy. The only French exhibit was that of the Bureau Veritas, which followed the example of its English rival, Lloyds, in making a very striking and instructive show.

The only exhibits of modern war-ships were those of England and Italy, unless we except the numerous vessels built for foreign powers by English builders. The remainder of the display was chiefly connected with the strife of commerce, and in this it is likely to remain as complete and comprehensive as can be made in some time to come. It was one also in which Britain might well take pride, as, however great the United States were as pioneers or as more than equals in the beginning of the race, we have long since been distanced by our kinsmen, and we must refer, for some years at least, to Great Britain to study the principal changes in hull and machinery of the last half-century, though the great strides of the last six years, accomplished through our war-ship construction, bid fair to once more put us in our old and honorable place.

The Liverpool exhibition was the forerunner of a number of others of like character, which have culminated in the “Naval Exhibition” of 1891 in London, which, however, is more concerned with war than was its predecessor, and does not enter so fully into the details of early practice.

It is useless to draw comparisons between the value of claims of precedence in the history of steam navigation. The fact that Fulton’s efforts finally started the world to building steamboats for actual service is indisputable. All preceding cases were simply sporadic, and had none of the contagious power possessed by the experiments on the Hudson. Fulton himself had already built six steamboats before one was built elsewhere than in America. His boats, from the beginning, were of practical value, and not small experiments, the Clermont herself being 136 feet long, 18 feet broad, 7 feet deep, of 160 tons; and the diameter of her wheels was 15 feet.

In 1809 the first steamboat, the Accommodation, was seen on the St. Lawrence, and in 1811 the first (built at Pittsburgh) appeared on the Mississippi. A year after this the Comet, already alluded to, was put upon the Clyde by Henry Bell. She was only 40 feet long on the keel, and 10-1/2 broad, with two small paddle-wheels on each side, driven by a gearing which geared into a wheel on the axle of each set of paddle-wheels. Her original engines are still in existence, and are deposited in the Museum at South Kensington, where they were set up by the same engineer (Mr. John Robertson) who placed them in the Comet.