The _Peter Denny_ was built by Duthie, of Aberdeen, of teak and greenheart with iron knees in the ’tween decks, and measured 998 tons. She was not a very fast ship, her best run in the westerlies being 285 miles, but she was a very handy-easy working ship and, still better, a very comfortable happy ship. She was also well run and beautifully kept under Captain Adams. The Albion Shipping Company, 1869 Ships. In 1869 Duncan, of Glasgow, built the two fine little composite ships, _James Nicol Fleming_ (afterwards renamed the _Napier_) and the _Otago_, for Patrick Henderson. They were sister ships of 993 tons register. Their top strake and bulwarks were of iron, but their bottoms were of wood with pure copper sheathing. The _Otago_, by the way, must not be confused with a little iron barque of 346 tons, which was owned in Adelaide and at one time commanded by Joseph Conrad. Patrick Henderson’s _Otago_ was eventually sold to the Portuguese and renamed _Ermilla_. She was torpedoed and sunk by the Germans early in the war. It was in 1869 that Patrick Henderson made his first venture in iron ships, Scott, of Greenock, building him the two sister ships _Jessie Readman_ and _Christian McCausland_, of 962 tons register. These were fine handy little ships, good for 11 knots on a taut bowline, and equally good off the wind. They made very good outward passages with their ’tween decks full of emigrants, and loaded wool home. In those early days all the New Zealand wool was pressed on board before being stowed; this was generally done by a temporary crew of beachcombers, as it was the regular thing for a crew to run on arrival in the Colonies, however comfortable the ship was. The crew picked up for the run home was usually a fine one, of real sailormen, who had tired of the land after a short spell of working ashore. The “Christian McCausland” Loses her Wheel. In 1873, on the run to the Horn, when homeward bound loaded deep with wool and tallow (it was just before the days of Plimsoll) the _Christian McCausland_ had her wheel washed away, and the incident, as showing what a beautiful steering ship she was, is worth recording. Being very deep, she was making a wet passage of it running before the high westerly seas, and taking a good deal of heavy water aboard, especially in the waist. About eight days after leaving port she was running before a fresh gale on the starboard quarter, under reefed foresail, reefed upper topsails, and fore topmast staysail, the only sail set on the mizen being the lower topsail. Soon after the change of the watch at 4 a.m., two heavy seas broke over the poop in quick succession, and washed away the wheel, which with the helmsman clinging to it was only brought up by the rail at the break of the poop.