by Jacob Abbott
CHAPTER XIV.
THE DOCKS.
One day Mr. George told Rollo that before leaving London he wished verymuch to go and see the London docks and the shipping in them.
"Well," said Rollo, "I'll go. But what are the docks?"
It may seem surprising that Rollo should be so ready to go and see thedocks before he knew at all what they were. The truth is, what attractedhim was the word _shipping_. Like other boys of his age, he was alwaysready to go, no matter where, to see ships, or any thing connected withshipping.
So he first said he was ready to go and see the docks, and then he askedwhat they were.
"They are immense basins," said Mr. George, "excavated in the heart ofthe city, for ships to go into when they are loading or unloading."
"I thought the ships staid in the river," said Rollo.
"Part of them," said Mr. George; "but not all. There is not room for allof them in the river; at least there is not room for them at thewharves, along the banks of the river, to load and reload. Accordingly,about fifty years ago, the merchants of London began to form companiesfor the purpose of excavating docks for them. The place that they chosefor the docks was at a little distance from the river, below the city.Their plan was to build sheds and warehouses around the docks, so as tohave conveniences for loading and unloading their ships close at hand.
"And I want to go and see some of these docks," added he, in conclusion.
"So do I," said Rollo. "Let us go this very day."
Although Rollo was thus ready, and even eager, to go with his uncle tosee the docks, the interest which he felt in them was entirely differentfrom that which his uncle experienced. Mr. George knew something aboutthe construction of the works and the history of them, and he had a farmore distinct idea of the immense commerce which centred in them, and ofthe influence of this commerce on the general welfare of mankind and onthe wealth and prosperity of London, than Rollo could be expected tohave. He accordingly wished to see them, in order to enjoy the emotionsof grandeur and sublimity which would be awakened in his mind by thethought of their prodigious magnitude as works of artificialconstruction, and of the widely-extended relation they sustained to thehuman race, by continually sending out ships to the remote regions ofthe globe, and receiving cargoes in return from every nation and everyclime.
Rollo, on the other hand, thought little of these grand ideas. All thathe was interested in was the expectation of seeing the ships and thesailors, and of amusing himself with the scenes and incidents which hehoped to witness in walking along the platforms, and watching theprocesses of loading and unloading the ships, or of moving them from oneplace to another in the crowded basins.
Rollo was not disappointed, when he came to visit the docks, in respectto the interesting and amusing incidents that he expected to see there.He saw a great many such incidents, and one which occurred was quite anuncommon one. A little girl fell from the pier head into the water. Thepeople all ran to the spot, expecting that she would be drowned; but,fortunately, the place where she fell in was near a flight of stonesteps, which led down to the water. The people crowded down in greatnumbers to the steps, to help the child out. The occurrence took placejust as the men from the docks were going home to dinner; and so ithappened that there was an unusually large number of people near at thetime of the accident.
SAVED.]
The place from which the child fell was the corner of the pier head, inthe foreground of the picture, where you see the post, just beyond thestone steps.
There is a boat pulling off from the vessel to the rescue of the littlegirl in the foreground, to the left; but its assistance will not berequired.
Now, Rollo's chief interest in going to see the docks was theanticipation of witnessing scenes and incidents of this and other kinds;but Mr. George expected to be most interested in the docks themselves.
The construction of the docks was indeed a work of immense magnitude,and the contrivers of the plan found that there were very greatdifficulties to be surmounted before it could be carried into effect. Itwas necessary, of course, that the place to be selected should be prettylow land, and near the river; for if the land was high, the work ofexcavating the basins would have been so much increased as to render theundertaking impracticable. It was found on examination that all the landthat was near the river, and also near the city, and that was in otherrespects suitable for the purpose, was already occupied with streets andhouses. These houses, of course, had all to be bought and demolished,and the materials of them removed entirely from the ground, before theexcavations could be begun.
Then, too, some very solid and substantial barrier was required to beconstructed between the excavated basins made and the bank of theriver, to prevent the water of the river from bursting in upon theworkmen while they were digging. In such a case as this they make whatis called a coffer dam, which is a sort of dam, or dike, made by drivingpiles close together into the ground, in two rows, at a little distanceapart, and then filling up the space between them with earth and gravel.By this means the water of the river can be kept out until the diggingof the basins is completed.
The first set of docks that was made was called the West India Docks.They were made about the year 1800. Very soon afterwards several otherswere commenced; and now there are five. The following table gives thenames of them, with the number of acres enclosed within the walls ofeach:--
NAMES. ACRES. West India Docks, 295 East India Docks, 32 St. Catharine's Docks, 24 London Docks, 90 Commercial Docks, 49
If you wish to form a definite idea of the size of these docks, you mustfix your mind upon some pretty large field near where you live, if youlive in the country, and ask your father, or some other man that knows,how many acres there are in it. Then you can compare the field with someone or other of the docks according to the number of acres assigned toit in the above table.
If you live in the city, you must ask the number of acres in some publicsquare. Boston Common contains forty-eight acres.
St. Catharine's Docks contain only twenty-four acres; and yet more thana thousand houses were pulled down to clear away a place for them, andabout eleven thousand persons were compelled to remove.
Most of the docks are now entirely surrounded by the streets and housesof the city; so that there is nothing to indicate your approach to themexcept that you sometimes get glimpses of the masts of the ships risingabove the buildings at the end of a street. The docks themselves, andall the platforms and warehouses that pertain to them, are surrounded bya very thick and high wall; so that there is no way of getting in exceptby passing through great gateways which are made for the purpose on thedifferent sides. These gateways are closed at night.
Mr. George and Rollo, when the time arrived for visiting the docks, helda consultation together in respect to the mode of going to them fromtheir lodgings at the West End.
Of course the docks, being below the city, were in exactly the oppositedirection from where they lived--Northumberland Court. The distance wasthree or four miles.
"We can go by water," said Mr. George, "on the river, or we can take acab."
"Or we can go in an omnibus," said Rollo. "Yes, uncle George," he addedeagerly, "let us go on the top of an omnibus."
Mr. George was at first a little disinclined to adopt this plan; butRollo seemed very earnest about it, and finally he consented.
"We can get up very easily," said he; "and when we are up there we cansee every thing."
"I am not concerned about our getting up," said Mr. George. "Thedifficulty is in getting down."
However, Mr. George finally consented to Rollo's proposal; and so, goingout into the Strand, they both mounted on the top of an omnibus, and inthis way they rode down the Strand and thr
ough the heart of London. Theywere obliged to proceed slowly, so great was the throng of carts,wagons, drays, cabs, coaches, and carriages that encumbered the streets.In about an hour, however, they were set down a little beyond theTower.
"Now," said Mr. George, "the question is, whether I can find the way tothe dock gates."
"Have you got a ticket?" asked Rollo.
"No," said Mr. George; "I presume a ticket is not necessary."
"I presume it _is_ necessary," said Rollo. "You never can go any where,or get into any thing, in London, without a ticket."
"Well," said Mr. George, "we will see. At any rate, if tickets arerequired, there must be some way of getting them at the gate."
Mr. George very soon found his way to the entrance of the docks. It wasat the end of a short street, the name and position of which he hadstudied out on the map before leaving home. He took care to be set downby the omnibus near this street; and by this means he found his way veryeasily to his place of destination.
The entrance was by a great gateway. The gateway was wide open, andtrains of carts, and crowds of men,--mechanics, laborers, merchants,clerks, and seamen,--were going and coming through it.
"We need not have concerned ourselves about a ticket," said Mr. George.
"No," said Rollo. "I see."
"The entrance is as public as any street in London," said Mr. George.
So saying, our two travellers walked on and passed within theenclosures.
As soon as they were fairly in, they stopped at the corner of a sort ofsidewalk and looked around. The view which was presented to their eyesformed a most extraordinary spectacle. Forests of masts extended inevery direction. Near them rose the hulls of great ships, with men goingup and down the long plank stairways which led to the decks of them.Here and there were extended long platforms bordering the docks, withimmense piles of boxes, barrels, bales, cotton and coffee bags, bars ofiron, pigs of lead, and every other species of merchandise heaped upupon them. Carts and drays were going and coming, loaded with goodstaken from these piles; while on the other hand the piles themselveswere receiving continual additions from the ships, through the newsupplies which the seamen and laborers were hoisting out from thehatchways.
Here and there, too, the smoke and the puffing vapor of a steamer wereseen, and the clangor of ponderous machinery was heard, giving dignity,as it were, to the bustle.
"So, then, these are the famous London Docks," said Mr. George.
"What a place!" said Rollo.
"I had no idea of the vast extent and magnitude of the works," said Mr.George.
"How many different kinds of flags there are at the masts of thevessels, uncle George!" said Rollo. "Look!"
"What a monstrous work it must have been," said Mr. George, "the diggingout by hand of all these immense basins!"
"What did they do with the mud?" asked Rollo.
"They loaded it into scows," said Mr. George, "and floated it off, up ordown the river, wherever there were any low places that required to befilled up.
"When, at length, the excavations were finished," continued Mr. George,"they began at the bottom, and laid foundations deep and strong, andthen built up very thick and solid walls all along the sides of thebasins, up to the level of the top of the ground, and then made streetsand quays along the margin, and built the sheds and warehouses, and thework was done."
"But then, how could they get the ships in?" asked Rollo.
"Ah, yes," said Mr. George; "I forgot about that. It was necessary tohave passage ways leading in from the river, with walls and gates, andwith drawbridges over them."
"What do they want the drawbridges for?" asked Rollo.
"So that the people that are at work there can go across," said Mr.George. "The people who live along the bank of the river, between thebasin and the bank, would of course have occasion to pass to and fro,and they must have a bridge across the outlet of the docks. But then,this bridge, if it were permanent, would be in the way of the ships inpassing in and out; and so it must be made a drawbridge.
"Then, besides," continued Mr. George, "they need drawbridges across thepassage ways within the docks; for the workmen have to go back and forthcontinually, in prosecuting the work of loading and unloading the shipsand in warping them in and out."
"Yes," said Rollo. "There is a vessel that they are warping in now."
Rollo understood very well what was meant by _warping_; but as many ofthe readers of this book may live far from the sea, or may, from othercauses, have not had opportunities to learn much about the manoeuvringof ships, I ought to explain that this term denotes a mode of movingvessels for short distances by means of a line, either rope or cable,which is fastened at one end outside the ship, and then is drawn in atthe other by the sailors on board. When this operation is performed in adock, for example, one end of the line is carried forward some littledistance towards the direction in which they wish the vessel to go, andis made fast there to a pile, or ring, or post, or some other suitablefixture on the quay, or on board another vessel. The other end of theline, which has remained all the time on board the ship, is now attachedto the capstan or the windlass, and the line is drawn in. By this meansthe vessel is pulled ahead.
Vessels are sometimes warped for short distances up a river, when thewind and current are both against her, so that she cannot proceed in anyother way. In this case the outer end of the line is often fastened to atree.
In the arctic seas a ship is often warped through loose ice, or alongnarrow and crooked channels of open water, by means of posts set in thelarger and more solid floes. When she is drawn up pretty near to one ofthese posts, the line is taken off and carried forward to another post,which the sailors have, in the mean time, been getting ready uponanother floe farther ahead.
Warping is, of course, a very slow way of getting along, and is onlypracticable for short distances, and is most frequently employed inconfined situations, where it would be unsafe to go fast. You wouldthink, too, that this process could only be resorted to near a shore, ora quay, or a great field of ice, where posts could be set to attach thelines to; but this, as will appear presently, is a mistake.
The warping which had attracted Rollo's attention was for the purpose ofbringing a ship up alongside of the quay at the place where she was tobe unloaded. The ship had just come into the dock.
"She has just come in," said Rollo, "I verily believe. I wish we hadbeen here a little sooner, so as to have seen her come through thedrawbridges."
Just at this instant the rope leading from the ship, which had beendrawn very tense, was suddenly slacked on board the ship, and the middleof it fell into the water.
"What does that mean?" asked Rollo.
"They are going to fasten it in a new place, I suppose," said Mr.George. "Yes, there's the boat."
There was a boat, with two men in it, just then coming up to the part ofthe quay where the end of the line had been fastened. A man on the quaycast off the line, and threw the end down on board the boat. Theboatmen, after taking it in, rowed forward to another place, and therefastened it again. As soon as they had fastened it, they called out tothe men on board the ship, "HAUL AWAY!" and then a moment afterwards themiddle of the rope could be seen gradually rising out of the water untilit was drawn straight and tense as before; and then the ship began tomove on, though very slowly, towards the place where they wished tobring her.
"That's a good way to get her to her place," said Rollo.
"Yes," said Mr. George. "I don't know how seamen could manage theirvessels in docks and harbors without this process of warping."
"I suppose they can't warp any where but in docks and harbors," saidRollo.
"Why not?" asked Mr. George.
"Because," replied Rollo, "unless there was a quay or a shore close by,they would not have any thing to fasten the line to."
Mr. George then explained to Rollo that they could warp a vessel amongthe ice in the arctic regions by fastening the line to posts set for thepurpose in the great flo
es.
"O, of course they can do that," said Rollo. "The ice, in that case, isjust the same as a shore; I mean where there is not any shore at all."
"Well," said Mr. George, "they can warp where there is not any shore atall, provided that the water is not too deep. In that case they take asmall anchor in a boat, and row forward to the length of the line, andthen drop the anchor, and so warp to that."
"Yes," said Rollo; "I see. I did not think of that plan. But when theyhave brought the vessel up to where the anchor is, what do they dothen?"
"Why, in the mean time," said Mr. George, "the sailors in the boat havetaken another anchor, and have gone forward with it to a new station;and so, when the ship has come up near enough to the first anchor, theyshift the line and then proceed to warp to the second."
Rollo was much interested in these explanations; though, as most otherboys would have been in his situation, he was a little disappointed tofind himself mistaken in the opinion which he had advanced soconfidently, that warping would be impracticable except in the immediatevicinity of the shore. Indeed, it often happens with boys, when theybegin to reach what may be called the reasoning age, that, in theconversations which they hold with those older and better informed thanthemselves, you can see very plainly that their curiosity and theirappetite for knowledge are mingled in a very singular way with thepleasure of maintaining an argument with their interlocutor, and ofconquering him in it. It was strikingly so with Rollo on this occasion.
"Yes," said he, after reflecting a moment on what his uncle had said,"yes; I see how they can warp by means of anchors, where there is abottom which they can take hold of by them; but that is just the same asa shore. It makes no difference whether the line is fastened to ananchor on the bottom, or to a post or a tree on the land. One thing I amsure of, at any rate; and that is, that it would not be possible forthem to warp a ship when it is out in the open sea."
"It would certainly seem at first view that they could not," replied Mr.George, quietly; "and yet they can."
"How do they do it?" asked Rollo, much surprised.
"It is not very often that they wish to do it," said Mr. George; "butthey _can_ do it, in this way: They have a sort of float, which is madein some respects on the principle of an umbrella. The sailors take oneor two of these floats in a boat, with lines from the ship attached tothem, and after rowing forward a considerable distance, they throw themover into the water. The men at the capstan then, on board the ship,heave away, and the lines, in pulling upon the floats, pull them open,and cause them to take hold of the water in such a manner that the shipcan be drawn up towards them. Of course the floats do not take hold ofthe water enough to make them entirely immovable. They are drawn in, insome degree, towards the ship; but the ship is drawn forward much moretowards them."
"Yes," said Rollo; "I see that they might do it in that way. But I don'tunderstand why they should have any occasion to warp a ship out in theopen sea."
"They do not have occasion to do so often," replied Mr. George. "I havebeen told, however, that they resort to this method sometimes, in timeof war, to get a ship away from an enemy in a calm. Perhaps, too, theymight sometimes have occasion to do it in order to get away from aniceberg."
