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$2.00 PER YEAR. ESTABLISHED 1878. 10c. SINGLE COPY. VOL. XVIII. CLEVELAND, OHIO, SEPTEMBER 5. 1895. NO. 36 AN OLD-TIME WRECK. THE MARINE RECORD has received an entertaining letter from Capt. Charles Gale, ot Sombra, Ont. Capt. _ Gale has given up sailing for some years and enjoys life now on a St. Clair River farm. Hesays he is some- what feeble and has of late been having trouble with his eyes} but that if it had to be done he would yet climb aloft to save mast and sail. Capt. Gale expresses disapproval of the practice of towing through the St. Clair Canal with lines 700 feet long, and in referring to the fatal Yukon-Torrent colli- sion says the crew of the schooner was to blanie for not- having an ax at hand with which to cut the line. Capt. Gale continues : ; “JT was master of the schooner Harvey H. Brown seven years, one season behind Capt. James Fraser in the Forest City, and also behind Capt. C. C. Allen, in the steamer Haskett. We had to shorten towline before we came to the rivers. We kept a good ax, anda good lookout. John Cattanach was brought here for burial on July 25. He was born here, and his relatives live here.”’ But the part of Capt. Gale’s letter which is of most interest just now is the following, in reference to the obstruction struck by the J. C. Lockwood and C. W. Elphicke near Point au Pelee lately: “T see statements concerning a dangerous shoal that bears S. KE. by S. 5% miles from Pelee Island light- house, found by Capt. J. D. Peterson, of the steamer J. C. Lockwood. They say the boat was drawing only 14 feet and that the captain supposed there was 75 feet under him. I do not believe he said this. Ten miles from Pelee Island light there is only 39 feet—in this low stage of water but 36 feet. Twenty miles off the light there is only 66 feet, and the water then shoals to 42 feet. The greatest depth in Lake Erie is 198 feet, 18 miles east of Long Point. I wrote THE MARINE RECORD some three years ago that the schooner La Grange, which was cut through by the ice, in December, 1836, sank in that vicinity. The wreck bears SSE. 3% miles from the spit of Point Pelee, and lies in six fathoms of water. She had on board a valuable cargo —brandy, wine, lathes and Swedish iron. Capt. Cush- away was master, and he and his wife froze to death in the rigging. Only two of the crew were saved, and these lost their feet. Mr. Bloom, of Detroit, sailmaker, took care of them for some time. She was a strong vessel, all oak, with natural crooks. Where are your searchlights? Couldn’t you see a wreck with them in 80 feet of water? I feel positive that the Lockwood struck some part of the old Da Grange. ‘The big Ramsey Crooks was frozen in that winter off Colchester Reef. Capt. Ben Standard had his feet frozen. His first and second mate were drowned while _ they were trying to get ashore over the ice for provi- sions. Mr. McCormick’s folks took them flour and pork and wood from Pelee Island. They would take no pay for anything. The big Manhattan ran back to Buffalo in a gale, and went ashore, a total wreck, on Point Abino. ' She had a costly cargo for Detroit. Salt that winter was $14 a barrel in Detroit. sent through Canada to bring salt and other goods, as the vessels did not arrive.”’ A GENERAL INVITATION. The executive secretary of the International Deep Waterways Association desires, through THE MARINE RECORD, to extend to all vessel owners, masters, man- agers and builders, and to all persons interested in the inland water carrying trade, aninvitation to be present at the Cleveland convention, September 24, 25 and 26. Those wishing to have invitations sent: to interested friends should address Frank A. Flower, West Superior, Wis. The state and provincial presidents, who are the centers of the local organizations, are as follows: Ontario John I. Brown Toronto Quebec R. R. Dobell . Quebec Iowa Ambrose P. McGuirk. Davenport Colorado Hon. O. Wolcott, Denver Illinois Capt. J.S. Dunham Chicago Indiana J. W. Vanneman Evansville Michigan Hon. H. W.Seymour Sault Ste. Marie Montana Hon. Thos. C. Power Helena Minnesota EK. V. Smalley St. Paul Massachusetts Edwin H. Abbot Boston Nebraska F.. Rosewater Omaha New York F. S. Witherbee Port Henry North Dakota George B. Clifford Grand Forks South Dakota Hon. R. F. Pettigrew Sioux Falls Wisconsin Frank A. Flower Superior Wyoming Hon. Jos. M. Carey Cheyenne Ohio Luther Allen Cleveland Pennsylvania James H. Henderson Pittsbury Assiniboia Capt. Davidson, M. P. Indian Head Manitoba T. W. Taylor Winnipeg New Brunswick J. Robertson St. John Saskatchewan Capt. McDowell, Prince Albert NovaScotia § D. McKeen, M. P. Glace Bay, C. B. A beautiful memorial of the lost Chicora consists ofa plate of glass, suspended by a brass chain, and bearing the portraits of Capt. EK. G. Stines, first mate, C. D. Simons; second mate, Ben FE). Stines, clerk James R. Clarke, Civil Engineer, Robert McClure, and Joseph F. Pearl, the only passenger on board. A fac simile of the bottle and the bottle message are in one lower cor- ner, and in the other is a touching poem on the subjects of the disaster, by Nixon Waterman, and entitled ‘“‘Song and Sigh.’’ The memorial bears also the following data: Foundered Jan, 21 Bottle found April 14, The memorial ‘is issued by the Pictorial Publishing Co., Benton Harbor, Mich. DP + 2 + a NEWLY ENROLLED TONNAGE. Following isa list of lake vessels to which officia numbers and signal letters have been assigned by the Commissioner of Navigation, for the week ended Aug. 24: 1 EF TONNAGE. Official | Rig: Name. —_—_______——| Homé Port. | Where Built. No, Gross. | Net. ; 145 697|Sch. |Tyrone 2,117.72) 1,862.01|Cleveland Cleveland 141,402'St's. |L: W. Knapp] 17.51 11.91|Cleveland Richmond Teams were - A FAR WEST CANAL. An important enterprise, which has been in embryo for years, and which is now being pushed, is the Puget Sound and Lake Washington shipcanal. Inthe North- west of the future, and in its manifest destiny of com- mercial greatness there can be no question as to the im- portance of this waterway. ‘The idea has been encour- aged by statesmen, engineers and military, naval and commercial men. Eastern capitalists, after a thorough survey of the situation and prudent calculation as to cost and advantage, have, it is reported, guaranteed $7,000,000 in its construction. Its length from deep water in Puget Sound to deep water in Lake Washing- ton will be 20,785 feet. . It will be eighty feet wide on the bottom and twenty-six feet deep at low water. ‘The lake itself is twenty miles long, from three to five miles in width, and has a depth of water from fifty to seventy-five feet, and naval authorities are’ practically unanimous as to the possibility of being made not only an ideal harbor, but one of the most secure havens on the Pacific Coast. It will also practically reclaim a large area of flat and uninhabitable lands in the neigh- borhood of Seattle. ED a ALUMINUM AND SALT WATER. The Navy Department has received a report from the Norfolk navy yard in relation to the action of salt water on the aluminum fixings of the Texas torpedo boats. The report states positively that aluminum, so far as its use on board the Texas’ boats is concerned, is an abso- lute failure. Where the salt water has touched the aluminum fixings holes were often in them, and the re- port aiso states that those on deck out of the reach of water have been so badly afiected by the salt air that they had begun tocrumble. Paint has been applied to the fixings of the boats, and this has acted as a preven- tive to the action of the salt air and water. While the yacht Defender will undoubtedly be able to go through the strain of her coming race, she will, in the opinion of naval experts have to be overhauled next year and her aluminum fixings renewed, unless, as it is believed, the Herreshoffs have a special alloy of the metal which does not corrode by the action of the salt water. EEE a ———_¢ NEW PATENTS. Following isa list of new patents which have been recently awarded on inventions bearing on navigation, marine trade and-relative matters: No. 545,092. Life-Saving Apparatus for Ships. Lew Parker, Brooklyn, assignor of one-fourth to Wm. J. Quinlan, Port Richmond, N. Y. Filed Nov. 6, 1894, Serial No. 528,025. No model. No. 545,095. Apparatus for Trimming Ship. Edmond Redmond, Rochester, N. Y. Filed April 5, 1894, Serial No. 506,516. No model. No. 545,231. Socket for Checking-posts (on vessels). Thomas M. Jenkins, Pittsburg. Filed Noy. 5, 1894. Serial 528,000. No model. No. 545,32. War Ship. George W. Van Hoose, Tusca- loosa, Ala. Filed Nov. 10, 1894. Serial No. 528,421. No model, A full description of these patents can be obtained by’ sending to the Patent Office, Washington, 14 cents for each, and mentioning THR MARINE RECORD.