Pennsylvania Jack

BUYING SOME WIND

a story by Pennsylvania Jack

(C) Jack Graham, 2010

A QUARTER'S WORTH OF WIND

For centuries, lighthouses have helped mariners in all corners of the earth avoid the hazards of the near shore and rocks and reefs out to sea. But in spite of these stalwart bastions and the dedicated men and women who kept their lights and fog signals strong in the foulest of weather, many a ship still foundered on the rocks and sandbars. It wasn't always the result of poor seamanship. Sometimes the gales were just too strong, particularly in the days of sailing ships.

The John C. Hanna, sailing out of Liverpool, England, was but one of these ships overpowered by the winds of a September blow. The year was 1857. She was headed for Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with a load of coal from the mines of Wales, and had been making good time. Three days from her destination, Captain Marcus Macauley found his ship unexplainably becalmed. Not unusual in the doldrums of summer, or in the more southerly latitudes, this was most unusual in the North Atlantic. Captain Macauley was rightfully proud of his record of making port on time, and so he was concerned, but knew full well the old adage, "If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes!" He knew this unusual calmness wouldn't last.

Three days later, the ship had hardly drifted a mile closer to the New England coast. Captain Macauley sent his crew out in two longboats to try and tow the ship forward. This was heavy work, and in short order the crew was exhausted and had only progressed another mile or so. There was only one other solution the captain decided. They would pray for some wind.

Gathering his crew about him on the main deck, Captain Macauley called on them all to bow their heads in prayer. He thanked the Good Lord above for all the blessings that had up to then followed him and his crew and his ship on this and other voyages. He prayed and he prayed and he prayed some more. Finally, he finished with a brief reminder that he never asked for much, but if the Lord could see his way to send them just fifty cents worth of wind, they would all be eternally grateful. "Amen," the whole crew replied. With that the Captain took a half-dollar coin from his pocket and threw it far out over the rail.

Nothing happened, or at least not right then. When Captain Macauley and his crew awoke the next morning, the sky was darkening and the clouds were building. By noon there was a slight breeze from the North East. By two o'clock they were moving west at a furious clip and had to reef in the mainsails. By five o'clock, in spite of the lighthouses at Boon Island and at Portsmouth, the John C. Hanna was hard aground on the rocky shores of Southern Maine. In spite of the best efforts of the captain and crew, she had been blown into shore.

The crew was saved, but the cargo and the ship were beyond salvation, although local residents did glean much of the coal over the next few winters. Captain Macauley, a bit the worse for wear, would go on to sail many another ship across the oceans, but he had learned something important here. "If I had known that wind was so cheap," he told his rescuers, "I would only have asked for a quarter's worth!"


The idea of "Buying the wind," is an old, old theme, and variants of this tale are found in the folk literature of many maritime nations. It is only one of many tales that "Pennsylvania Jack" records and tells. Please visit the "Stories" section of this website for a variety of good wholesome tales.