762 Sheet – American State Trials 1918 Volume X Leo Frank Document

Search for:

Reading Time: 4 minutes [548 words]

Here is the translated text as follows:

American State Trials

Captain Jeremiah Briggs: I have commanded nine merchantmen over 32 years. My voyages have generally been to the East Indies, and I have also been to Rio and other South American ports. It is customary, when hailed, if from Salem, to answer "from Boston," as Boston is a port more known than Salem, particularly to foreign navigators. I have never been on the coast of Guinea.

Mr. Dunlap: Suppose a clipper, bound for the coast of Africa, sails from Havana on the 20th of August, and a vessel like the Mexican, a dull sailer, starts from Salem on the 29th for Rio Janeiro. Would they be likely to meet, and if so, where? They would be more likely to meet at latitude 33, longitude 34-30 (the place where the Mexican was robbed) than at any other spot on the chart. The schooner would have to sail about one thousand miles more than the other. The route to the East Indies and the Brazils is the same as to Rio.

Captain Benjamin Rich: A vessel sailing from Salem to South America or the East Indies would cross the line at 22 or 26 longitude, not lower than 27. In going from Salem, she would steer to the east as far as longitude 30 or 35. A fast vessel would not go so far before she would haul to take the trade winds. A vessel sailing from Havana on the 20th of August would pass out of the Gulf of Florida and keep the Gulf Stream until she arrived near Cape Hatteras. She would then strike off to the east, keeping a little north, and as she approached our coast, she could not be a great distance from any vessel which left Salem on the 29th of August.

Mr. Dunlap: Suppose the vessels started, the Mexican on the 29th and the clipper on the 26th. Would they then be likely to meet? I think, if there were no difference in their rates of sailing, the brig ought to be ahead of the schooner. If they met, however, at all, they would meet at the point above stated (latitude 30, longitude 34-30).

Cross-examined: I have never made the voyage to Africa, but I have been in sight of the coast of Guinea. I know the different rates of sailing between a clipper and such vessels as the Mexican. It would depend greatly on the wind, but the schooner, in a light wind and sailing on the wind, would beat the brig by half. In a strong wind and a fresh sea, going free, the schooner would not beat the brig so much. The latter would, perhaps, go nine knots, and the former eleven.

November 17:

Mr. Dunlap: Suppose the clipper sailed from Havana on the 26th, and the brig on the 29th. Would they still be likely to meet or not? They would come near each other because, at that season of the year, the clipper would get along very fast. The winds in August are light and would give her a great advantage over the brig.

Cross-examined: The runs made by merchantmen depend entirely upon the winds they may happen to have. The Liverpool packets make up from about one hundred to one hundred and fifty miles per day.

---