The Maritime Heritage Project ~~ International Harbors Travel

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The Maritime Heritage Project is a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) tax exempt charitable corporation established in San Francisco, California, U.S.A. by D. Blethen Adams Levy in 1998 to preserve 1800s shipping history and world migration.

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"Master Under God"
Captains exercised absolute authority at sea and so were dubbed "Master Under God"
by early insurance writs, agreements with ship owners and passengers and the Board of Trade.
In 1849, Captain Tibbetts sailed the Pacific into San Francisco Bay.  One of his more notable passengers was Mark Hopkins.

An article in the Oakland Tribune reported: "The first disillusionment experienced by the passengers aboard the Pacific was the attitude of one Captain Tibbetts, who trod the quarterdeck. The jovial mariner who previously extolled the service of his craft, the bounty of its table, and the conveniences of travel aboard his ship, proved a relentless tyrant as soon as land was left behind.

"Thirty days out of New York, the passengers were miserable with seasickness and cold.  Snow confined them in verminous quarters.  The food consisted of raw mush, preserved  meats, dubbed "old junk," and beans.  Some of the passengers asked why pickles and vegetables were not served with meals, and the Captain blandly explained these items as being saved against the time when the passengers developed scurvy.

"Needless to say, the emigrants were indignant. Their first cabin fare proved no better than the food served to sailors, and in that day and age the meals to able seamen were bare subsistence rations.

"Gales raged, seasickness became more prevalent.  A Samaritan who would have have carried gruel to a man so ill he could not leave his cabin was told by the Captain that if the sick man could not get to the mess hall, he need not eat.  A disease racked sailor, so weak and ill he could hardly walk, was sent aloft in the gale.  He managed to survive.  A passenger commented on the situation and Captain Tibbetts explained he never had sick sailors with him long.  

"As is usual when a group of men receive unsatisfactory food, dissent arose among the passengers.  A delegation waited on the Captain, who promptly threatened to fire the ship's powder magazine and "blow it all to hell," he he hard any more complaints.  

"Despite poor food and insults, the passengers amused themselves.  Ardent anglers trailed fish lines from the stern and impromptu concerts were held . . . Mr. Scott rounded out the ensemble with a "key bugle" . . . Dancing followed, but such antics irked the Captain's religious principles and he broke up the entertainment, threatening to stud the deck with spikes if such unholy practices continued.  

"Tibbetts was a sweet soul."

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Page: http://www.maritimeheritage.org/tibbetts
Date Entered: August 2001
Source: Geographicus, Newspaper Archives, Oakland Tribune, June 18, 1839: Held by California Historical Society, San Francisco in Biog & Obits, Volume 14



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Contact: D. Blethen Adams Levy
www.MaritimeHeritage.org and www.InternationalHarbors.com
1001 Bridgeway, Suite 410
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