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MARINE REVIEW. 9 Centurion's Fast Time.--Cargo Records, Some time ago the freight steamer Centurion, owned by the Hop- kins Steamship Co. of St. Clair, Mich., and built by F. W.Wheeler & Co. of West Bay City, made the run from Buffalo to Duluth, 997 miles, in 67 hours and 50 minutes, or at an average speed for the full distance, making no deductions for checking down or other delays in the rivers, of 14.7 miles an hour. Aside from the Union liners Owego and Chemung, the Centurion has been looked upon as the fastest freight steamer on the lakes, and now that she has made another fast run between Buffalo and Duluth, beating her own reocrd, her owners have additional cause to lay claim to this prestige. On her last trip up, running light, she left Buffalo on Aug. 12 at 8:15 p. m. and ar- rived in Duluth Aug. 15 at 1:25 p. m., making the run in 65 hours and 10 minutes, or at an average speed for the whole distance of 15.3 miles an hour. In this calculation no allowance is made for reduced speed in the rivers (only seven miles an hour in a part of the Sault river), nor for a stop of forty-five minutes at St. Clair. Two of the owners of the Centurion were aboard and she was hurried, but it is claimed that she did not reach her maximum speed, as the engines, which are capable of withstaading more than 100 turns, were not turned faster than ninety-seven or ninety-eight turns at an outside. Time reported for the run from Buffalo to the "Dummy"' is exactly twelve hours, which would mean a speed of 164 miles on Lake Erie. From the Sault to Duluth, distance of 395 miles, the time reported is 24 hours and 50 minutes, indicating a speed of a fraction less than 16 miles an hour on the entire Lake Superior run; and from Fort Gratiot to Detour, 221 miles, the time reported is 13 hours and 40 minutes, which would mean 16.2 miles an hour on Lake Huron. Other speed and cargo records, corrected to date , are: Tron ore--Coralia, Mutual Transportation Co. of Cleveland, 4,813 gross or 5,391 net tons, Escanaba to Ashtabula, draft of 16 feet 14 inches; 8. 8. Curry, Hawgood & Avery Transit Co. of Cleveland, 4,569 tons gross or 5,117.net tons, Escanaba to South Chicago, draft of 18 feet. Lake Superior cargoes--Steamer Sir Henry Bessemer, Bessemer Steamship Co. of Cleveland, 4,117 gross or 4,611 net tons, Ashland to Conneaut, draft of 14 feet 6 inches. Grain--Steamer Queen City, A. B. Wolvin of Duluth, 207,000 bushels of corn, Chicago to Butfalo, 16 feet 8inches draft; steamer Maricopa, Minnesota Steamship Co., Cleveland, 191,700 bushels of corn, Chicago to Buffalo. Coal--S. 8. Curry, Hawgood & Avery Transit Co. of Cleveland, 4,535 net tons bituminous, Conneaut to Gladstone; Selwyn Eddy, Eddy Bros. of Bay City, Mich., 4,252 net tons anthracite, Buffalo to Milwaukee. ~ Speed--Owego, Union Line of Buffalo, Buffalo to Chicago, 889 miles, 54 hours and 16 minutes, 16.4 miles an hour; Centurion, Hop- kins Steamship Co. of St. Clair, Mich., Buffalo to Duluth, 997 miles, 65 hours and 10 minutes, 15.3 miles an hour. 1 { Ship Yard Matters, Commodore Frank Welcome of the Davidson fleet, who was in Cleveland a few days ago, says that notwithstanding the present con- dition of business on the lakes, Capt. James Davidson will certainly put down keels shortly for two or three more big wooden freight carri- ers. *'Capt. Davidson has a large amount of timber on hand," Capt. Welcome says, "and a force of men to care for who can not well be allowed to scatter to other places or to other employment. . Then, too, material and labor are both probably as cheap now as they will be for Some time to come, and Capt. Davidson can afford to build-vessels and operate them until such time as he may find purchasers. On the in- vestments which they represent to him they can make money when- ever any of the best of. the steel ships can be operated. One big steamer now on the stocks at West Bay City is about finished, and the two tugs are also well along, so that I think itis only a matter of a little time when more keels must be laid, in order to keep things going."' ¥. W. Wheeler & Co. are making fair progress with the four big steel ships which they have under way, notwithstanding the labor difficulties that they have encountered. It has been decided to give the name Pere Marquette to the big car ferry, which is to run between Ludington and Manitowoe, in connection with the Flint and Pere Marquette railway. Of the three Rockefeller ships, the first to be completed will be the schooner James Nasmith, which will be in ser- vice in the course of another week or ten days. The second Rocke- feller barge, to be named Sir Isaac Lothian Bell, will not be finished until Oct. 1, and the steamer will come out somewhat later. The ton- nage of the James Nasmith, custom house measurement, is 3,422.64 gross and 3,162.29 net. Tonnage of the Minnesota Steamship Co.'s steel barge Magna, which has just left the South Chicago ship yard, is 3,259.43 gross and 3,124.70 net. : Another wooden steamer which the Calvin Co. (Canadian) is to build at Garden Island, Ont., will be 200 feet keel, 215 feet on spar deck, 37 feet beam and 15 feet hold. She will have a triple expansion engine, but the size has not been definitely decided upon, though it will be expected to develop about 700 horse power. Steam will be furnished by two Scotch boilers, and the ship will be equipped with steam steer- ing gear, steam windlass, deck winches ete. The new boat will have large ports forward, to facilitate loading and discharging timber. It can be stated definitely that it is the intention of the shipping department of the Standard Oil Co. to take to the coast this fall the two oil barges now in service on the lakes--Nos. 75 and 76. These barges were built for coast work, and' their. work on the lakes during this and last season has been only 'temporary. The larger barge, building at the works of the Union Dry Dock Co., Buffalo, is intended for lake service. a ' Lights on Middle and Scare Crow Islands. There is some objection on the part of the light-house board, and probably one of the district officers on the lakes, to recommending lights which the Lake Carriers' Association has asked for on Middle island and Scare Crow island, Lake Huron. On account of this objec- tion, Secretary Keep of Buffalo, and 'Capt. Geo. P. McKay of Cleve- land, are desirous of securing opinions regardizig the necessity of these lights from captains of freight and passenger vessels. These opinions will be submitted to the district officers and to the light-house board. Capt. McKay says of these aids to navigation: "The argument that the district officers of the board have ad- vanced in the past against a light on Middle island is to the effect that it is not needed as a coast light, and that there is a harbor of refuge on Presque Isle. We can not argue the coast light side of the question with them, although we know the light would be valuable even as a coast light. But there should be no difficulty in convincing these officers that Presque Isle as a harbor of refuge, notwithstanding its range lights, etc., is absolutely worthless to vessels of the present day, while a light on Middle island would enable vessels to take ad- vantage by night of the natural harbor of refuge under that island, and would also permit of their using False Presque Isle as another excel- lent harbor of refuge. The harbor of refuge known as Presque Isle har- bor is not now used at all, excepting probably by a few small traders. It is entirely too shallow in all its parts, and even if vessels got into it they would not have room to work around and get to an anchor. The ab- solute uselessness of Presque Isle as a harbor of refuge for lake vessels of to-day is well understood by all vessel masters. But with a light on Middle island vessels and tows bound down Lake Huron would take shelter in great numbers under the island from heavy easterly and south-easterly winds. On the other hand, vessels bound up and en- countering heavy northerly or westerly winds would find this light a sure guide to shelter under false Presque Isle. Unlike Presque Isle harbor, these two natural harbors--False Presque Isle and the lee of Middle island--would be available for all times and for vessels of all kinds. : RE "Now as to the proposed light on Scare Crow island: The very large shipping interests of Saginaw bay are entitled to this light. It is - needed for the protection of traffic to and from Alpena, and also for - the traffic northward out of Saginaw bay. The latter would be especially benefited by this light during westerly and northwesterly gales; when 'vessels are forced to run close to the west shore of Lake Huron and Thunder bay. The steamboat passenger traffic throughout this part of Lake Huron is, as everybody knows, very extensive.' .., An excursion is to be run via the Nickel Plate road to Toronto, Niagara Falls and Thousand Islands. Two special trains will leave Cleyeland Sept. 7, at 5:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. Toronto, $4.50; Niag- ara Falls, $3.50; and Thousand Islands, $9.00. Reserve sleepers early. iain 306 Sep Des Toronto Fair, Sept. 1 to 12--The Niekel Plate road will place ex- cursion tickets on sale Aug. 31. °° 256 Sep 2.