Book 11 Read online

  Dear passengers: Greetings from Captain Lathem and the crew of the steamship, Brooklyn! As you know we sail at 10:00 a.m. and our destination is Norfolk, Virginia where we will eat in the Lobster House and head back to New York. We will dock at Pier 21. I hope to greet you all in the main dining room at 11:00 a.m. today and toast to a nice cruise. Lunch will be at 12:30 and dinner at 6:00 p.m. While I sign off now, the ship’s chef follows with lunch and dinner menus.

  NOTE: Passenger(s) in cabin 64 are assigned table 15 for the duration of the trip.

  LUNCHEON

  Shrimp Salad

  Bismarck Herring

  Cole Slaw

  Salami

  Pearl Onions

  SOUP

  Scotch Mutton Broth with Barley

  FISH

  Broiled Mackerel, Sauce Creole

  ENTREES

  Baked Pork and Beans, Boston Brown Bread

  Braised Short Ribs of Beef with Vegetables

  GRILL

  English Mutton Chop and Bacon

  COLD BUFFET

  Corned Brisket of Beef

  Pickled Lamb's Tongue

  Prime Rib of Beef

  Boiled Ham

  VEGETABLES

  String Beans

  Mashed Turnips

  Baked and Fried Sweet Potatoes

  SALAD

  Lettuce and Sliced Tomatoes, Mayonnaise

  DESSERTS

  Baked Apple Dumpling, Hard Sauce

  Raisin Cake

  Ice Cream

  CHEESE

  English Cheshire

  American

  AFTER LUNCH BEVERAGE

  Coffee

  Tea

  Soda Pop

  Beer or Wine

  NOTE: SPECIAL DIETERY NEEDS WILL BE PROVIDED IF THE CHEF IS NOTIFIED 2 HOURS BEFORE THE MEAL IS SERVED.

  “Nice,” Bill said to himself, “they assign tables to cabins and Matt made sure that I’m at the same table as she is. That makes it easier. No wandering around trying to find a seat at a table.” He opened the valise and removed the communicator. After popping it open he typed in ‘Samson’, pressed the unlock button and typed, HI MATT. SAFE ABOARD THE BROOKLYN. BUZZ ME BACK FOR A COMM CHECK. BEST, BILL.

  Two minutes later the unit beeped low as it vibrated and the time traveler opened it to see that he had a message coming in. He pressed the ‘read’ button and read Matt’s note. COMMUNICATIONS CAME THROUGH CLEARLY, SIR. ALL IS WELL AT HOME. GOOD LUCK. MATT AND SAMSON. PS SAMSON ATE THE LEFTOVER DIRTY WATER DOGS FOR AN EARLY LUNCH.

  Bill grinned and closed the brush/communicator and put it back in the valise. He stepped out into the corridor just as a pretty woman of medium height walked towards him. She looked at each door she passed and then at her ticket. She had a small carrying valise made of a material, probably wool, tucked under her arm and a long brown coat over her arm. The long black and gray feather sticking in her hat seemed to have a mind of its own as it bobbed up and down with each step she took.

  Bill politely tipped his hat and said, “Good morning, m’am.” She smiled and nodded as they passed each other, looked at the door he came out of, then at her ticket and finally shook her head and stopped short.

  Bill stopped and looked back. “May I be of assistance, m’am?” he said removing his hat.

  “Uh, oh, no, thank you anyway. I see my cabin now.”

  Bill smiled and said, “They all look so alike it’s easy to walk past one.”

  “Indeed it is, sir,” she answered with a smile as she opened the door right across from his.”

  Don’t push it, Bill, he thought to himself as he replaced his hat and walked on. According to Matt, she’s assigned to the same table that I’m at and, if Matt says it, you can bank on it. His research is meticulous!

  Bill walked down the carpeted corridor and up the short flight of stairs he had come down earlier. As was his habit when taking a cruise he lit a cigar and stood by the railing to watch the dockworkers and deckhands remove the thick manila ropes that secured the liner tied to the pier. At exactly 10 o’clock sharp, the ship’s whistle sounded and many of the passengers appeared on deck to wave to family, friends or New York City itself.

  A slight shudder was felt throughout the ship as the engines started to turn the huge brass screws at the ship’s rear. Mud mingled with the white froth that told all that the Brooklyn was backing out. As she was a coastal steamer and about half as large as the ocean crossing ships, the Brooklyn didn’t need a tug to get her moving out into the middle of the waterway. The captain easily backed her out and once in the center of the Hudson River, ordered the helmsmen to turn the bow of the ship down towards the Atlantic Ocean. Finally, on its way, the captain blew his whistle telling all that he was a free man once again, the master of his ship.

  Bill stood and watched as New York City slowly glided by. He could never get over the view of a much lower silhouette that he saw every time he went back in time. After a bit they slowly cruised past the Statue of Liberty and Bill was happy to hear the ship’s whistle sound in a salute to the gift from France.

  He finished his cigar and went back to his cabin to read the newspapers of the time he was in. Reading the newspapers had become a standard in his trips back as he knew they had just happened rather than reading them on a computer over one hundred years in the future. There was a small pile of reading material in a wooden magazine holder next to the bed and he went through them quickly, selecting a few. “Finally”, he said as he picked out a newspaper, “Ahhh, the New York Journal American, March 2, 1889. Let’s start with this one.” He lay back on the bed and opened the thin newspaper to no particular page and read.

  New York Journal American.

  Well, dear readers, it seems that our president, the esteemed President Grover Cleveland, has heard the plea of this and other New York City newspapers as well as New Jersey newspapers and signed the legislation which sets aside the first public lands protecting prehistoric features at the Casa Grande ruin in the Arizona Territory on March 2, 1889. These lands could not be settled or sold as many wish to see the territory, as it was thousands of years ago. Bravo!

  Bill opened another and read:

  Land Rush Start

  On March 23, 1889 - President Benjamin Harrison opened up Oklahoma lands to settlement, beginning April 22, when the first of five land runs in the Oklahoma land rush start. More than 50,000 people waited at the starting line to race for one hundred and sixty acre parcels. This great country of ours is expanding at a wonderful rate!

  A June 6 issue read:

  The deadliest flood in American history occurred in Johnstown, Pennsylvania when 2,200 people perished from the waters of the South Fork Dam after heavy rains caused its destruction on May 31, 1889. More than a few groups of citizens have called for an investigation so that this type of calamity might never happen again.

  The electric wave of the future!

  On June 3, 1889 - Running between the Willamette Falls and Portland, Oregon, a distance of fourteen miles, the first long distance electric power transmission line in the United States was completed. One wonders when this will be applied to other states?

  A brother newspaper is born!

  Welcome to the world of reporting and investigations. On July 8, 1889 - The first issue of the Wall Street Journal was published in New York City. While it is a competitor of ours, we of the Journal American are pleased to see another newspaper in our great city.

  Bill dropped the newspapers and opened a slick flyer advertisement for a Women and Designer’s Guide book:

  Directoire Revival Fashions 1888–1889 by Frances Grimble

  ISBN: 978-0-9636517-9-2

  Contains patterns, instructions, fashion plates, and adaptation suggestions for:

  13 ensembles with bodices, skirts, and draperies. Parts of all ensembles and dresses can be mixed to create different styles

  12 ensembles with polonaises and skirts

  6 dresses

  1 separate bodice
/>   2 skirts with overskirts

  2 lawn tennis costumes and 1 riding habit

  1 jacket, 1 capelet, 1 dolman, and 3 coats

  1 pair of drawers, 1 chemise, 2 nightgowns, and 1 morning dress

  8 wrappers or tea gowns

  1 sunbonnet

  Only 86 cents per pattern! Far more economical than buying separate patterns for each garment in an outfit (consisting of an ensemble, undergarments, and outerwear).

  Next, the time traveler saw a folder with the picture of the Brooklyn on the front and opened it. As usual, there were pictures of the head of the ship company and his officers. Beneath that was what he really wanted to read about: the ship’s specs.

  The SS Brooklyn is a single screw steamer of 3583 tons. She was built in 1888 by W. Doxford & Sons Ltd, Sunderland, for the Shaw, Savill & Albion Line. She is an open ocean, coastal steamer that sails along the coastline of a given area. (Information from `Ships with New Zealand Association’, Vol 4, 5)

  Bill’s alarm was set on vibrate and he felt it at the same time that he heard some of the passengers walking past his door.

  “Lunch is served, Bill,” he said as he looked in the small mirror over the dresser. He looked at his hat and decided to leave it on the bed, opened the door and stepped out into the corridor. Bill cringed slightly as he joined the crowd heading towards the dining room.

  The old feeling of knowing that they are all in his past always made him feel sorry for them and because of that he was reluctant to make friends with anyone. Silly, he thought as he walked along with his eyes on the floor, these are real live people going about their everyday chores: eating, sleeping and laughing as they intermingled with others of this period . . . including me! As the past president of the 1800 Club had said when he broke me in: ‘It’s not them who are out of place, Bill, it is you who have entered their time frame . . . don’t feel sorry for them as they still have the rest of their lives to live, whether you are in this time period with them or back in your own time’.

  At the end of the corridor a staircase ascended from their deck and a young man dressed in blue with gold piping on his sleeves and white gloves on his hands, smiled as he repeated over and over as he pointed: “The dining room is up and to your right.”

  Following the man’s instructions, Bill found himself facing two large glass doors held open by two more young men dressed the same as the first man one level down. The dining room was the width of the ship and long enough for twenty round tables with ten chairs each. He quickly went to table 15 and by checking the seating arrangement cards, saw that he was seated between two men. He switched the name cards, which placed him next to Miss Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, also known as Miss Nellie Bly. He walked away from the table and easily fit in with the two hundred passengers that were looking for their table.

  He now took note of the dining room and thought, Well, it’s not like any of the ships that I’ve been on before but it is tasteful.

  Lighting was supplied by the replica city street lamps that were attached to the floor-to-ceiling columns, which ran down the center of the room. The wall at the end of the room had a large mural depicting the (then) city of Brooklyn on it. From what he could see it seemed like every street was shown, even the one he had grown up on: Tenth Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Park Slope section. Bill knew that the ship company had two more ships: the Bronx and the Manhattan and he wondered, Bet each ship has a mural of their own borough as well. The other walls sported historical scenes of troops parading under the arch of Grand Army Plaza next to Prospect Park.

  Seeing that many of the passengers had found their tables, he strolled back to his. He sat and greeted all with a smile and a tall man with a full black beard and mustache stood and said as he showed his seating card, “Hello all, I’m Fred Monroe and according to the note on the back of my seating ticket, I’ve been selected as the table monitor.” There was a small amount of laughter from the others when another man said, “Better you, sir than I.”

  Monroe shrugged his broad shoulders and said with a grin, “I’m not sure what a table monitor does, but I’ll start by asking that we all say a little something about ourselves. As I said my name is Fred Monroe and this is my wife, Jenny and we are on vacation.” He nodded at the next man and the fellow stood and said, “Tim Housing and,” pointing to the woman sitting next to him, “my wife Elsie and we too are on vacation.” He sat and the next man stood and smiled as he introduced himself, “Jack Mack and my wife, Christine and the reason for this trip is that I start a new job next week in Georgia.” The next man stood and followed the others with “Hi, all, I’m Kenny Reilly and my wife Anne and like most of the table we’re on vacation.” He sat and Bill stood and shrugged his shoulders and said, “I’m Bill Scott and I’m alone on this trip.”

  “Are you on vacation?” asked Monroe as he did his monitoring duties.

  “I wish,” he said as he saw a way to become friends with Miss Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, “but in truth, I want to take a vacation in Italy this year and am using this short trip to see if my stomach can handle a seagoing voyage.” He sat and nodded his head to Elizabeth Jane Cochrane to give her the floor. She stood and he knew she was shocked by his reason for the trip as it was hers and she couldn’t possibly say the same reason without everyone at the table taking it as a white lie.

  “Ah,” she muttered as she tried to come up with another reason for being aboard the ship, “I-I’m also on vacation and as you see I am traveling alone.” She sat and Bill felt her glance at him.

  The group chatted amongst themselves as they went over the lunch menus. Bill casually asked her as they both looked at the food available for lunch, “Perhaps, Miss Cochrane, you can tell me if herring might disagree with my stomach? I know that when I visited New Orleans and had some herring, they definitely disagreed with it.”

  She looked at her menu and thought, I wonder what the chances are of sitting right next to a man that has the same ailment as me and is on this cruise for the very same reason as I? She was genuinely interested in finding out what to eat and what not to eat.

  “Sir, if I were you I’d keep away from anything that had a bad effect on you in the past.” Seeing that the others at the table were engrossed in either conversation or their menus, she leaned close and said in a low voice, “Sir, I dare say that I too am using this trip to gauge my tolerance for taking a sea voyage and I have just struck anything to do with herring off my menu.”

  Feigning surprise, Bill smiled and said, “Please call me Bill and one wonders how many others aboard this ship are using it for the very same reason as us?”

  She cocked her head as she wondered if he was making fun of her, but he winked and they both laughed.

  “If what you say is true, Bill, then this ship should be under the jurisdiction of the Red Cross.” They both broke into laughter and she added, “Please call me, Elizabeth, Bill.”

  Bill took a stub of a pencil and underlined his selection, then offered it to her to go over. Looking at both his and her menu she followed his lead except she chose tea over coffee and when the waiter arrived they passed him their marked-up menus.

  LUNCHEON

  Shrimp Salad

  Bismarck Herring

  Cole Slaw

  Salami

  Pearl Onions

  SOUP

  Scotch Mutton Broth with Barley

  FISH

  Broiled Mackerel, Sauce Creole

  ENTREES

  Baked Pork and Beans, Boston Brown Bread

  Braised Short Ribs of Beef with Vegetables

  GRILL

  English Mutton Chop and Bacon

  COLD BUFFET

  Corned Brisket of Beef

  Pickled Lamb's Tongue

  Prime Rib of Beef

  Boiled Ham

  VEGETABLES

  String Beans

  Mashed Turnips

  Baked and Fried Sweet Potatoes

  SALAD

  Lettuce and Sliced Tom
atoes, Mayonnaise

  DESSERTS

  Baked Apple Dumpling, Hard Sauce

  Raisin Cake

  Ice Cream

  CHEESE

  English Cheshire

  American

  AFTER LUNCH BEVERAGE

  Coffee

  Tea

  Soda Pop

  Beer or Wine

  After lunch and knowing that she was a person who enjoyed a good walk to stay in shape, Bill said as he pushed back his chair, “The day is still young, Elizabeth and I intend to walk rather than sit and let the food dictate my waistline.”

  “Well said, Bill.”

  “Would you do me the honor of strolling the deck with me and getting fresh air?”

  “She smiled and stood, “I do believe that I’d enjoy that very much.”

  Addressing the table Bill said, “See you all this evening.”

  They walked to the top deck and strolled around the entire ship and she never once mentioned her upcoming trip. She spoke of politics, women’s voting rights, the inequality of men and women in the workplace and other topics that were not spoken of by many women in this time period.

  Wondering why she didn’t mention the upcoming trip, Bill thought, Traveling by steamship is such a huge part of her up-coming journey I bet she doesn’t want to give her boss a reason to stop her from being the reporter that takes the trip. Her step told Bill that it looked like seasickness would not be a factor.