Page 83 - Poat_to_Poot_Engels

no choice but to travel in steerage. These passengers were treated no
better than the crates of cargo they traveled with. Cargo space was
divided into two tiers of cubicles, and at least four people traveled per
cubicle. First class usually held no more than 100 people, but steerage
frequently held over 2,000. If the steerage was not full, the company
tried to fill the spaces with cargo. On most ships, steerage passengers
had to bring their own food, typically grain and potatoes. The area was
locked much of the time, so people had no sunlight or fresh air. If they
were allowed out onto the lower deck, they would be crowded, often
shoulder to shoulder. Diseases, fights, crime, and deaths were not
unusual in steerage.

The Reverend J.W. Poot was apparently not knowledgeable about
steamship travel and had arranged for tickets below first class, probably
second or cabin class. The residents of Oude Leije undoubtedly knew
people who had emigrated and sent letters home. The congregation was
horrified and raised a collection to insure that their precious dominee
would travel in first class.

The Poots probably sailed on a steamship of the Holland America Line,
the Schiedam or Rotterdam. The ship did not have refrigeration, so
livestock was carried on board to provide fresh food. Ice was carried in
the lower hold of the ship, but this did not keep food fresh long enough
to last the length of the trip. Steamships still possessed masts for sails,
but the Holland America Line had chosen to no longer carry sails. This
was considered a bold decision for transatlantic travel.

The entire trip took 16 days. They experienced stormy weather for nine
days. Willem's mother Fredrika was seasick for the entire trip. Willem,
however, was not bothered and never missed a meal. They sailed first
class, and were treated as guests of the ship's captain, and dined at the
captain's table every night. This made some of the other first class
passengers upset, they felt the Poot's were monopolizing the captain's
time. The captain presumably found some of the other passengers
boorish or less interesting to dine with than an articulate minister.

When the ship reached New York, it would have skirted beside Long
Island until it reached "The Narrows" between Brooklyn (the western tip of
Long Island) and Staten Island on the left. After passing through the
Narrows, the Statue of Liberty could be seen 3 or 4 miles ahead, and the
ship anchored off Staten Island for quarantine. Health officials then
boarded for a quick look at the passengers to check for communicable
diseases and to look at the ship's log for deaths at sea. Released from
quarantine, the ship proceeded a little further toward the Statue of
Liberty and anchored again.

Willem vividly remembered sailing by the newly erected Statue of Liberty
located on Bedloe's Island. He found it both dazzling and inspiring, and

- Coming to America - page 4 -