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going only four miles an hour or thereabouts and had I had a little more time, I might have checked up more. As it was the only result the backing had was to swing my stern to port. Of course I could do nothing else but back, but it availed me nothing. Had I gone ahead I suppose I would have hit the end of the bridge and helped push it open, but the backing, as I say, swung the stern to port, and I hit the bridge in the middle. "Then the crash came. "I and other captains have long ex- pected some accident of this sort be- cause of the manner which has been in force of opening the bridge only at the last minute; but I regret deeply that it fell to my lot to be the victim. "There has been one shortcoming of the bridge ever since it was built and that was the lack of signals on it. The operator has no means of letting a master know if he could:or could not open the bridge and we had to go ahead and take our chances. JI com- plained to our agent about this once,. and he said he would take the matter up. Mr. Douglas: was on the Buffalo with me one day when the bridge was excessively slow in opening and he was very much alarmed for a 'time. 1 pointed out the lack of signals and he said that he would take. the matter up, but nothing came of it. : "My opinion is that the operator was asleep." On the other hand the brides bender claims that the Troy was only 600 feet -- - away when she blew the signal and was coming at the rate of eight miles an M. Philbin, -- hour, instead of four. assistant general manager of the Great Northern railroad, whose property the - bridge is, was of the opinion that at 1 o'clock, which is the time at which the draw is always swung open for the remainder of the night, the bridge op- erator. would be less liable to be negligent than at any other time. The excellent past record of both the ship master and the bridge master makes the occurrence the more wunaccount-- able.' The draw was about one-third open when hit and the steamer struck close in toward the middle. The force of the blow moved the bridge but little. from its natural position on the bear- ing on which the rollers supporting the draw run, but the shock. swayed the structure so that a diagonal strain resulting from the. overhanging ends came on the long compression columns in the center. All four columns buckled, 'bending at right angles in two places, letting the top down ten feet and taking the tension off the two ends, which sank in the channel on -perior and' traffic -cities is 'considerably: hampered. The TAE Marine REVIEW both sides, the bottom chord on the side that was struck breaking off clean. The loss to the Great Northern in damage to the bridge has not yet been estimated, but it is believed that: it cannot be rebuilt before the opening of navigation next spring. As much of -the wrecked span will be saved as is possible, but the woodwork is entire- ly splintered in the center and the two middle: panels are bent and broken be- yond redemption. Immediate measures were taken: to remove the obstruction, and after -a consultation of engineers and -others, including President. Harry Coulby,: of the Pittsburg Steamship Co., who had just arrived in the city, and Engineer Hoagland, of the Great Northern, it was decided to lift: the span adjoining the draw away, which will open an old channel 230 ft. wide and 20 ft. deep. Scows will be filled with water under each end of the span to be re- moved and then they will be pumped out; lifting the bridge bodily and tow- ing it: into one of the slips until the wreckage can be removed. -pected that Whitney Bros., of Superior, It. is: ex- to whom: the contract was awarded, will have that work done by: Tuesday night at-least. :A: dozen or more boats are anchored i in:'the outer harbor await-_ ing the opening of the channel. -Sev- eral of the boats coming up: light were ordered to Superior, Two Harbors and Ashland, but most 'of them are loaded with coal,' which fact will result "in a oe congestion and a in ones ing. c The Enieraats tes was built in 1896 and opened in 1897. It is the con- necting link between Duluth and Su- "between the two steamer Troy was scarcely damaged at all and will clear for her down trip. A small hole not over two feet in diameter is punctured in the forward part of her bow about three feet above the hawse pipe on her starboard side, and the anchor in her port hawse pipe is snapped off short. That is the total damage to the boat, beyond having the paint scratched off in one or two places . on the bow. 'AT THE HEAD OF THE LAKES. - Duluth, Aug. 13.--The coal: situation at the ead . of the | wakes... 15 not... badly. crowded: as'. yet.. All of the docks have been able to take care of the boats so: far as storage is concerned up to this time, but the docks movement of coal into the interior started for. the assurance of -a_ greater shortage of cars than ever before ex- perienced seems everywhere evident and rget in. however,. short lull in "the grain trade and from 25, is cohfidently believed ins' At the pres- ent writing the Northwestern Fuel Co. has three boats at its Duluth dock, two at No. i and two waiting, and two at No. 3. The No. 4 dock is not filled, but in all there are 58,000 tons of coal un- loading or waiting to unload at the Northwestern docks. The Pittsburg Coal Co. has three boats at its No. 1 dock and one at No. 2. The St. Paul & Western Coal Co. has two boats, but the Lehigh have none in at the Superior dock and none reported, though there is one boat at the Duluth dock of this company. The other docks in the inner harbor. are pretty much open because the boats that were unloading at the end of the week are now at the Missabe docks loading ore and no others can The dozen coal-laden boats now waiting for the channel to be cleared will probably meet with cone: de- lay. The coal dock people do not feel that the rush of coal is more than is to be expected or more than will have to be shipped regularly » in order to get the required amount up here. Ore interests depending upon wild cargoes for the carrying of 'their tonnage are objecting to putting so many-boats in coal on: the up-trip- because of the slower time. and possible delays. A great deal. of. coal, must be moved during the the coal handlers' standpoint, at least it seems necessary to put every boat pos- sible in coal at present. A little later: it is expected that' the present 40-cent 'rate will be. raised, but that will depend somewhat on how rapidly the coal can 'be moved away from the docks, a' move- tent > which: is very. uncertain -as yet. From -August'-1 'to: August *12, ° 368,161 tons of coal were received at: Duluth, Superior and Two ;Harbors, which is not at a rate any more rapid than the receipts in July, when 840,269 tons were received. The week was hommai" cae in grain, most of what still remains at the head of the lakes being easily taken care. of. The receipts and shipments are as fol- lows. The rate remains at 2% cents and 3% cents for October shipment. Receipts. Shipments. -- Aug. 4. Aug. 11. Aug. 4. Aug. ii. 'Wheat . | .244,091 186,726 756,077 373,899 Corn . . . 3,923 3073 34,057 ++: Oats . . 253,300 164,784 524;672 335,953 Barley . .144,168 157,248 142,679 210, Rye ... - 17,782. 15284 1.343 _. 5 Flaxseed 428,377 251, 235 635, 346 662,900 -Wm. Heller, now second -mate on the-B. Lyman Smith, is-to be given a mate's berth. on that boat when. Geo. are making strenuous efforts to get the .L. Phillips goes on the Joshua Rhodes. Ellroy- Fisher, .now wheeling on the Smith, will be pushed up a notch to a second mate's berth with Heller. Capt. Frank Boyer is. master of the Smith.