As White Star Line’s Tauric departed New York on 14 November 1891, her harbor pilot managed to run the combination passenger-cattle ship aground at high tide.
Tauric stubbornly remained aground, even after over half of the 800 head of cattle on board were transferred to a barge. Five tugboats eventually arrived and Tauric was refloated the next day. An inspection revealed no major damage to the vessel, so the remaining cattle were brought back on board.
The liner resumed her voyage to Liverpool on 17 November. Press reports from the time make no mention of any paying passengers on board Tauric. This could be due to the fact that the liner primarily carried steerage passengers on westbound crossings and cattle on eastbound voyages. In fact, one could say that Tauric was a three-class ship: Second Class, Steerage and Cattle.Built at the Harland & Wolff shipyard and launched in 1891, Tauric’s maiden voyage was from Liverpool to New York. She later served a Liverpool-Portland (Maine) route. Tauric was transferred to the Dominion Line in 1903 and renamed Welshman. Leyland Line acquired the vessel in 1921, and she was scrapped eight years later in 1929.
Tauric (or Taurika) is the ancient name for the southern part of the Crimea, derived from the name of the Tauri.
A tauric creature is a hybrid being with the head, arms and upper torso of a humanoid, and the legs and lower body of an animal or insect.
