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14 _ MARINE Around the Lakes. »Th€ small'steamer City of Marquette, which is used for excursion pur- poses on Lake Superior, will be given a new boiler and a general over- hauling at the works of the Detroit Dry Dock Co. during the winter. Capt. Shoemaker of the revenue marine service has issued orders to the cutters on the great lakes to go into winter quarters Nov. Ab, Wine Fessenden will lay up,at Detroit, the Calumet at Chicago and the Gresham at Milwaukee. PEN Fe Four Scotch boilers, which Wickes Bros. of Saginaw will build for the 475-foot Rockefeller steamer under construction at F. W. Wheeler & Co.'s yard, West Bay City, will each be 13% feet in diameter and 12 feet long and will be allowed 200 pounds working pressure. C It is quite probable that the number of vessels wintering at upper- lake ports will be much larger than usual, on account of the late shipments of coal. Several vessels are chartered for Manitowoc and a few other Lake Michigan ports with the understanding that their cargoes will be held for several weeks. King Folding Canvas Boat Co. is the name of a new Kalamazoo (Mich.) concern that will engage in the manufacture of the canvas boat patented by Chas. W. King of Kalamazoo. It is expected that a large demand for a portable boat of this kind will be found at Seattle and other northwestern points among Alaskan gold seekers. Duncan Stewart, for many years a prominent citizen and vessel owner of Detroit, died in that city on Friday last, aged seventy-nine years. For a number of years he was, with W. L. Hurd, a leading dealer in grain, and was also an extensive vessel owner. The Phil. Sheridan, Saginaw and Joseph L. Hurd were vessels in which he was interested. A Washington dispatch announces that the light-house board has de- - cided to recommend the establishment of a fog signal of the first class at Point au Barques, Lake Huron, but as an appropriation must be secured, it is not probable that the signal will be in operation until the latter part of next season. Capt. James Loftus, who was in the Bradley steamer Hale when she was lost on Lake Huron, is in command of the Gilchrist steamer V: Swain, which spring a leak on Lake Erie, a few days ago, while bound up the lakes with a cargo of coal, and was compelled to put into Amherstburg. The Swain had been tied up in Cleveland for some time before going out with this cargo. 'g The steel steamer Samuel Mitchell has just taken a cargo of coal to Sheboygan. The Mitchell is one of the Cleveland Rolling Mill Co.'s vessels, and trades regularly in ore between Marquette and Cleveland. Although Capt. Wilford has been sailing for thirty-seven years, this is the first time he has been called upon to take a vessel into Sheboygan. An error was made in reporting the location of the wreck of the schooner Groton, which foundered in Lake Erie recently. while bound from Cleveland to Port Stanley with a cargo of coal. The wreck lies 9% miles S. W. by W. from Port Stanley light and 1% miles S. E. of Talbot point in 40 feet of water, with 25 feet over the deck. Both masts are out of water with the foretopmast gone. Col. Jared A. Smith, United States engineer at Cleveland, has pur- chased for the use of the Cleveland district the small steel steamer Visitor, which was owned by V. Doller and others of Sandusky and Put-in-Bay. The Visitor is a steel vessel, built by the Detroit Dry Dock Co. five years ago and measures 70 feet keel and 20 feet beam. She has a triple expan- sion engine and is capable of a speed of about 13 miles an hour. For work conducted mainly by Assistant Engineer Wm. T. Blunt the government has been compelled for several seasons past to charter the steamer Swansea ee H. M. Allen of Toledo. The latter vessel will now be returned to er Owner. © Major Symons, United States engineer at Buffalo, is of the Opinion that work on the breakwater at that point is not' going along rapidly enough, He says that only about $100,000 of the $500,000 appropriated for the first year's work on the breakwater has been earned by the con- tractors, Hughes Bros. & Bangs. 'There will be an unexpended balance of $450,000 or thereabouts," Major Symons says, "from this year's appro- priation, which can be used in next year's work, and we expect an appro- priation from congress of the same amount for next year, so there will be nearly a million dollars which Hughes Bros. & Bangs can earn if they want to. There is no reason why they cannot do it, but they must work more rapidly than they have been working during six months of the pres- ent season." When Possible, Give the Other Fellow a Wide Berth. A man who walks about a steamer's bridge day after day and night after night without once seriously and carefully working out a few collision problems in his mind, is the person most likely to fall into a glaring error when the opportunity presents itself. What is to be said for those disas- trous collisions which take place during a fine clear day, or when, at night with the stars shining brightly, the lights of an approaching steamer 'can be seen even before her hull has actually cleared the horizon? As a rule they happen when the bridge is in charge of young and not well exper- ienced officers, who, however smart they may be in carrying out general duties, too often fall into the mistake of following the rule of the road too absolutely. "If I see a steamer's masthead and red light just a little on my port bow, and find that she is approaching-me on a nearly parallel line I know that she will pass me to port, and consequently I am all right 4 So far, yes. But does he remember that in such circumstances ships may pass each other at distances much too close for a safe high speed in the open sea? What happens if, on getting within a short distance of each other, one ship takes a yaw in her steering, and to such an extent as to accidently show her green light? The officer may suddenly conclude that it is owing to a designed change of course, and there being, as he thinks no time now. to lose, he orders his own helm a-starboard! The most suc- cessful officers are those who determine to give other vessels a good wide berth. If commanders advised such circumspection more often than they do in "night orders" there would be fewer inexcusable collisions.--Nautical Magazine. . ae REVIEW. Argument against Floating Dry Docks. Plans for a floating steel dock, suggested recently by the naval dry dock board, do not meet with approval in the department, especially in view of the great draft of battleships, for which sugh a; dock should be made available. Among many reasons given. for disfavoring a floating dry dock is that the cost of maintenance would be excessive, owing to the fact that the interior pontoons could not be protected, and deterioration of the steel would be very rapid. It is said that the annual cost ofmain- taining the steel floating dry dock at Bermuda, W. L,, is $65,000 per annum, and that there would be no floating dry dock at that point if.a site for a stationary dock was obtainable, the same being true as to Havana, Cuba, for which port a floating dry dock was recently constructed. Instability and insecurity are urged against the floating dry dock, because the water ballast would be continually. changing its position with each change of the level of the dock, making it impossible to use the dock in a seaway. The docking of a large ship is a delicate operation at any place or time, but would be doubly so when undertaken at sea or in an vpen roadstead. The probabilities are, that should the weather become stormy, either dur- ing the operation, or while dock and ship were being towed into port, both ship and dock would go to the bottom. It is also stated that such a dock would require a basin at least 50 feet deep to accommodate a battleship drawing approximately 30 feet of water. The bottom section of such a dock would be at least 15 feet deep, and allowing 5 feet for clearance, it is thus seen that not less than a basin of 50 feet in depth would accommo- date the dock. The channels at most navy yards do not exceed 30 to 35 feet in depth, and it is therefore clear that the basin would be from 15 to 20 feet below the bottom of the channel, and that every tide would shallow the basin, making it necessary to dredge constantly. A dock of the description recommended by the navy board, together with its basin, it is stated, would cost not less than $1,750,000. Cargo Records--Lake Freight Ships. Although cargoes of 6,300 net tons of grain and ore have been moved on the lakes, the largest loads of coal have not been within 600 tons of that figure. The big vessels do not wait to fill out coal cargoes when the supply in cars is not at hand, and the tendency, anyhow, is to avoid deep draft on up-bound trips. The largest load of coal ever moved on the lakes was that of the steel barge Polynesia--5,654 net tons, taken from Cleve- land to Duluth. The next largest cargo--5,369 net tons--has just been loaded by the Wilson line steamer Carnegie and is also bound to Duluth. Following are the corrected cargo records: Iron Ore--Schooner Amazon, owned by James Corrigan of Cleveland, 5,631 tons gross, or 6,307 net, Duluth to South Chicago, draft of 17 feet 1 inch; steamer Empire City, A. B. Wolvin of Duluth, 5,622 tons gross, or 6,296 net, Two Harbors to Cleveland, draft of 17 feet 2 inches; schooner Polynesia, James Corrigan of Cleveland, 5,477 tons gross, 6,134 net, Du- luth to Fairport, draft of 16 feet 8 inches. -- Grain--Steamer Crescent City, A. B. Wolvin of Dulurh, 225,000 bush- els of corn, equal to 6,300 net tons, South Chicago to Buffalo, draft of 17 feet; schooner Amazon, James Corrigan of Cleveland, 205,572 bushels of wheat, equal to 6,167 net tons, Fort William to Buffalo, 16 feet 8 inches draft; steamer Empire City, A. B. Wolvin of Duluth, 205,445 bushels of wheat, equal to 6,163 net tons, Duluth to Buffalo; steamer Crescent City, A. B. Wolvin of Duluth, 318,000 bushels of oats, equal to 5,088 net tons, Du- luth to Buffalo. eee: Coal--Schooner Polynesia, James Corrigan of Cleveland, 5,654 net tons of bituminous, Cleveland to Duluth, 16 feet draft; steamer Carnegie, - Wilson Transit Co. of Cleveland, 5,369 net tons of bituminous, Cleveland to Duluth. Stock of Grain at Lake Ports. The following table, prepared from reports of the Chicago board of trade, shows the stocks of wheat and corn in store in regular elevators at the principal points of accumulation on the lakes, Nov. 20, 1897: Wheat, bushels. Corn, bushels. AGIAN Ocrtn i tae ais SOs aee hone obs 4,712,000 18,736,000 Da atlae os epee Rae tare eit oon «avn 3,571,000 900,000 Min watt keene sera rie oat tat ete rs 214,000 344,000 Dietho ith 3 ated Re rae a fo Sah 341,000 133,000 holed Ones aaritteete cele ahs cons Pus caries 440,000 525,000 Btithalowseyey. tee howe ies «oot tae LO mROO0 1,823,000 10,815,000 22,461,000 As compared with a week ago, the above figures show, at the several points named, an increase of 421,000 bushels of wheat and a decrease of 1,176,000 bushels of corn. On the same date there was afloat on the lakes 1,630,000 bushels of wheat, 2,627,000 bushels of corn and 1,588,000 bushels of oats. Grain afloat on the canals aggregated 382,000 bushels of wheat, 611,000 bushels of corn and 529,000 bushels 'of oats. New Station. The new Twenty-third street station of the Pennsylvania Lines in New York is fast becoming popular with Cleveland people. The new cab service inaugurated by this line, with only.a nominal charge, is what the people long have wanted. The 1:40 p. m. train from Cleveland has through sleepers to. New York without change, and diner serving supper. This express train also makes quick time to Pittsburg, Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia. For rates and full information call at City Ticket Office, 149 Superior street, Cleveland. _ A meeting of Harbor No, 42, American Association of Masters and Pilots, the first of the season, will be held at the Superior street hall of the organization on Monday evening next. Jan. 17 is the date fixed for the opening of the convention of the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association (national organization) in Washington.