Existing comment:
Waiting for Guano at the Chincha Islands, 1865
In the heyday of the guano trade, up to three hundred ships per year visited the Chincha Islands and waited offshore to load. The ships with exposed waterlines have already discharged their ballast and are ready to load.
When the loading started, all inside doors and windows were closed and tightly covered with canvas to prevent the toxic dust from filling a ship's crew spaces. Loading crews were limited to twenty-minute shifts in the cargo holds, and the rest of the crew climbed to the tops of the masts to breathe fresh air. |