Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 244, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 October 1911 — ENDS LIFE IN PARK [ARTICLE]

ENDS LIFE IN PARK

Career of Privateer of 1812 Is Ended. Famous Schooner Polly, Built In Amesbury In 1804, Is Condemned After One Hundred and Seven Years’ Service. Amesbury, Mass.—After 107 years of almost constant service, the old privater .Polly, -famous all along the Atlantic coast, has been condemned to leave her native element and take her place among the many monuments to the past century to be

found in Amesbury. The Polly will be placed in the public park here In the town her exploits tn the war with England in 1812 made famous. The grandsires of Amesbury tell many tales of the days when the Polly was the smartest schooner along the Atlantic coast Built from a model that has. endured for a hundred years as the best for all kinds of weather, the Polly has little resemblance to the wonderfully speedy yachts which are turned out by the designers of the present day. She could not sail with the slowest of them in light weather, but in a seaway and a breeze the sturdy craft

would make a lot of them look bad. There was no ship of war in the early days of the nineteenth century that could catch Polly on a run to lee ward. With her canvas spread wing and wing she simply ran away from a big British man-of-war which gave chase to her off the Bermudas. The Polly, commanded by a relative of the present president of the Atlantic company of Amesbury, had captured a British merchantman blown south from Halifax, and a British frigate gave chase. Sailing on the wind, although line for the schooner, was much finer for the man-o'-war, and the captain of the Polly just put his helm up and stood away to leeward. The way the schooner ran was wonderful to the British tars, and they all knew there was no chance of capturing the schooner if she stood long on that course. The night which followed was thick and the Polly had no difficulty in escaping from her pursuer. The privateer was put in trade after the war, and from then on has been constantly in service between this port and other towns along the New England coast The Polly has been around the world several times, having once been chartered as a private yacht She has often been "round the Horn.