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Celestial Empire (clipper)

Celestialempireclipper.jpg
Celestial Empire
History
United States
Name: Celestial Empire
Owner: C.H. Parsons & Co., New York City
Builder: Jotham Stetson, South Boston, MA
Launched: 1852
Fate: Abandoned 1878, en route to New York from Hamburg
General characteristics
Tons burthen: 1630 tons
Length: 193 ft (59 m)
Beam: 38 ft (12 m)
Draft: 29 ft (8.8 m)

Celestial Empire was a long-lived medium clipper ship built in 1852 for the San Francisco trade. She met with a variety of mishaps characteristic for ships of her era. A second ship by this name set a legal precedent regarding damage done by sailing ships coming in to dock.

Captain Barstow took charge of Celestial Empire at anchor off the Battery in New York for a voyage to San Francisco, October 27, 1874. She was carrying coal and timber, and had a crew of 26, including the captain, of various nationalities. The ship was over twenty years old at the time.

The outbound trip was not especially fast for a clipper ship. Captain Barstow notes the expected periods of calms, gales, and stormy weather at Cape Horn. Celestial Empire unloaded her cargo at Mare Island Navy Yard, near San Francisco, on March 22, 1875, and her bottom was re-coppered.

The new captain slated to relieve Barstow at San Francisco backed out of taking command of the ship. On May 27, 1875, Celestial Empire set sail in ballast for Callao, Peru, on a charter in the guano trade, arriving July 15, 1875. Barstow reported,

"While at Callao my crew were very troublesome and attempted to run away and a strict watch had to be kept on them, finding that they could not get away they complained of ill treatment and applied or complained to the Consul who came on board at their request through me."

The American Consul found in favor of the Captain, saying

"I have come to the conclusion that they have not been treated badly - their conduct has bordered on insubordination and they have not complied with the conditions of their contract. They have no complaint to make about their food or the work that has been required of them, and there is every indication that their dissatisfaction arises from a desire to be discharged."

After boarding 3 new men to replace deserters, on July 27, 1875 the ship "left Callao for the Southern Guano Deposits and arrived at Point Lobos on the 12th of August".

For the month of September, Celestial Empire lay at anchor in rough water and could not load. Provisions were short, and crews on neighboring vessels were also "troublesome". The nearest provisions were eight miles away by open boat, at Pabellon de Pica, described as

"a collection of wooden shanties with gunny bag roofs and huts of mats without much roof and have all been put up since January 1875 when these southern deposits were first opened ... The town or village is situated on the beach behind a reef of rocks, that make a shelter for a boat landing when the surf is not too heavy. Some 30 persons were drowned by the upseting of the boats at the 3 deposits while I was there .. The Guano is loaded into launches of from 10 to 15 tons each direct from the deposits, and through shutes of canvass from the rocks to the Launches and is towed off by the Ship's boats and hoisted, or passed on board in tubs or baskets ..."-- a very dirty and dusty operation.


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