Deck-hands and firemen would be procurable at whatever port a
steamer was to be bought.
Several vessels were offered in response to Crawford's advertisements,
and on the 16th of March, when the packing of the arms was well
advanced, Crawford, Agnew, and his chief engineer went to Norway to
inspect these steamers. Eventually they selected the s.s. _Fanny_, which
had just returned to Bergen with a cargo of coal from Newcastle. She was
only an eight-knot vessel, but her skipper, a Norwegian, gave a
favourable report of her sea-going qualities and coal consumption, and
Agnew and his engineer were satisfied by their inspection of her. The
deal was quickly completed, and the Captain and his Norwegian crew
willingly consented to remain in charge of the _Fanny_; and, in order to
enable her to sail under the Norwegian flag, as a precaution against
possible confiscation in British waters, it was arranged that the
Captain should be the nominal purchaser, giving Crawford a mortgage for
her full value.
Then, leaving Agnew to get sufficient stores on board the _Fanny_ for a
three-months' cruise, Crawford returned to Hamburg on the 20th, and
thence to Belfast to report progress.
Pages:
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376