Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2024 February 29

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February 29

Is there any more information about the creation of the Boot Monument?

Hello. In the article Boot Monument, there is a section on the creation of the monument. I was wondering if there's any more information on what Peyster did for the monument to be created or how Bissell sculpted it, etc. Thank you~ ‍ Relativity 02:46, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

See what the RefDesk found for you in December about the Boot Monument. Alansplodge (talk) 12:28, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

Nostromo

According to our article Nostromo "Conrad ... relates how, as a young man of about seventeen, while serving aboard a ship in the Gulf of Mexico, he heard the story of a man who had stolen, single-handedly, "a whole lighter-full of silver". As Conrad goes on to relate, he forgot about the story until some twenty-five years later when he came across a travelogue in a used-book shop in which the author related how he worked for years aboard a schooner whose master claimed to be that very thief who had stolen the silver". Has anyone ever identified the travelogue? Thank you, DuncanHill (talk) 22:59, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

This article (I've only looked at the first page) points to On Many Seas: The Life and Exploits of a Yankee Sailor by Frederick Benton Williams. --Wrongfilter (talk) 10:09, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

@Wrongfilter: Many thanks. I wonder if he ever knew! DuncanHill (talk) 22:58, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

DuncanHill, does your "he" refer to Conrad, the man/master, or the author, and what was it that he might have known? {The poster formerly known as 87.891.230.195} 2.127.56.230 (talk) 15:37, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

I meant I wonder if Frederick Barton Williams ever knew that Conrad had picked up a copy of his book, been reminded of an old tale, and written Nostromo? DuncanHill (talk) 17:36, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

How much would a "lighter-full" amount to? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:13, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

A lighter was/is a barge used to transport cargo between a ship and the shore, when the ship cannot dock, so a substantial amount. In the 19th century they were propelled by oars, sometimes by one man as in this case: I would guess that the capacity of one such as might have been involved (in the period 1864–76) would have been of the order of a ton. Probably Williams' book goes into details.

Regarding what Williams knew, he died in 1908, and although Nostromo was published in 1904, the Author's Note about the story only appeared in later editions in and after October 1917, so Williams cannot have known his book had reminded Conrad of the tale, though he could have read Nostromo and recognised the inspiration. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.127.56.230 (talk) 09:22, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

Out of interest, the art of propelling a lighter with oars is preserved by The Thames Barge Driving Race. Alansplodge (talk) 18:41, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

I notice that those lighters are 30-ton barges (which presumably indicates their cargo capacity). Thirty tons would be a lot of silver, but we cannot know (unless Williams or another source tells us) what the capacity of a mid-19th century lighter in Peru would have been. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 176.24.44.161 (talk) 21:24, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

The size of a lighter would depend upon where it went from the ship. A Thames lighter would normally lie alongside a quay and so might be quite large, a lighter landing stuff onto a beach might be not much larger that a big rowing boat. Another factor is tides, where there is a larger range a larger lighter can come inshore and wait for the tide to go out allowing carts or other means to come alongside. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 22:28, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

Nowadays the writer would probably just say "a boatload" of whatever. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:42, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

2022 Japan flood northern and central regions evacuation order

There was a flood in Japan in 2022[1], and around 500,000 people were given an evacuation order. I am trying to find a map, or a list of areas that this evacuation order covers.

Level 4 evacuation orders are in place across Akita, Aomori, Fukui, Fukushima, Ishikawa, Iwate, Niigata, and Yamagata prefectures, affecting more than 324,000 people.

Yamagata prefecture alone has around 1,000,000 people, so I am guessing that the evacuation order only covered parts of Yamagata prefecture. I am guessing that the government published some sort of list of towns and cities that were covered by the evacuation order, and this list was available back in 2022. (Or it could have been a map.) Now I am trying to find that list/map. OptoFidelty (talk) 23:48, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

The page to which you linked has, "Officials are expanding evacuation orders to include parts of Akita, Aomori, Fukui, Fukushima, Ishikawa, Iwate, Niigata, and Yamagata prefectures" [my underlining. --L.], so the evacuation orders presumably also covered only parts of other prefectures.  --Lambiam 12:52, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

Yes, that's correct. Only parts of those prefectures are covered. I am trying to find which parts exactly. OptoFidelty (talk) 08:53, 3 March 2024 (UTC)