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THE MARINE RECORD. DETROIT. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. The steamer Frank E. Kirby commenced running this week, and will leave this port on alternate days until about June ist, when a daily service will be given. Ash- ley & Dustin are managers of the line, as formerly. Vessels owners are not at all pleased over the wild ore contracts which have been made. Forty cents from Esca- naba to Lake Erié ports and 65 cents from Marquette to Tonawanda are extremely low figurés for the opening of the season. The Flint & Pere Marquette railroad train leaving Fort street, Union station at 1:20 p. m., now makes direct con- nection at Ludington with its own line of steamers for ’ Milwaukee, where connections are made with all railroads for the northwest. Col. Lydecker, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., answers Capt. McDougall, who claims that there will never be a 20-foot channel, as the deeper cuts run the water off so much faster, by saying that if the water were leaving Lake Superior faster than before, the level would be lowered, whereas it is higher now than for many years back. The colonel admits that in the immediate vicinity of a deep cut like the Limekilns channel the water is lowered, but that the fall above this cut has a limit and does not extend beyond it. For instance, he thinks that the lowering of the level at Ballard’s Reef was caused by the Limekilns cut, but he says it does not run up as far as Detroit. The colonel, who has just returned from an inspection trip of the St. Mary’s River improvements, says that all the work of the deep channel project is finished in that river except the removal of a few riverbed projections left by the dredgers and blasters last fall, and which are now be- ing located by sweeps and removed. Before the end of the season all of these projections, which are below the canal, will have been taken away. oe oro CHICAGO. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. The Lake Michigan & Lake Superior Transportation Co. began receiving freight for Lake Superior points this week. All the grain offered for shipment this week was taken by the lines for their waiting steamers. The Buffalo corn rate was 14 and 1% cents. The Hurson Line steamers City of Fremont and F. & P. M. No. 1 has resumed their daily trip schedule be- tween Milwaukee and Chicago. One boat was chartered for corn to Buffalo on Monday at 1% cents. The lines were reported to be taking corn - in some instances at 1% cents. Little grain was offered at any price. ~The Sheriffs Manufacturing Co., of Milwaukee, has just shipped two wheels, one 8 feet and one 8 feet 6 inches in diameter, to New Orleans; also a 6-foot wheel to Fitz- simmons & McConnell, of this port. ~ On Saturday, under the pressure of the line boats seek- ‘ing cargoes of grain, rates dropped first to 144 cents and then to 1% cents on corn to Buffalo. The John Emory Owen was placed for wheat to Buffalo at 1% cents. _ The excursion steamer Macatawa, Capt. Oliver W. Landreth has been chartered by the Riley Trans. Co., of South Chicago, to carry passengers and freight between Chicago, South Chicago, Hammond, Riverdale and Heg- wick. The Macatawa will leave her dock at Harrison street bridge every evening at 7 o'clock. Henry Finch, the new keeper of the Milwaukee life saving station, and his crew are at work at the station: preparing for the season. It is expected everything will be in readiness this week. Charles Johnson is a new mem- ber of the crew. The other men at the station, besides Capt. Finch, are Frank Gerdes, Charles Garland, Henry - Sinnegan, William Peterson, John Allie and Julius Meyer. - The fishing tug Charm has been libeled at Kenosha by U.S. Marshal Pratt, for a claim of $350 held by the own- ers of the steamer S. S. Curry. Last October the tug Charm went out to look after her nets. She got disabled, and rolled about for an entire day before sighted by the Curry. In that time the crew had become so stiffened _ with the cold and lack of food that they were almost help- less. The steamer took her in tow and brought her into Chicago harbor. The bill of $350 was for this tow. The southwest gale Sunday put an embargo on com- ‘merce on Lake Michigan. Everywhere vessels were forced to seek shelter from the heavy wind and sea.. A few vessels started out for the Straits during the night and in the morning, but for them the wind was favorable, and the following seas not nearly so dangerous as to ves- sels bound up the lake. The water was lowered in Chi- cago and Calumet Rivers two and one-half feet. Boats - were on the bottom in both places, and the high wind made it very difficult to handle a big steamer at all. *A double launch will take place at the yards of the Chi- cago Shipbuilding Co., on the Calumet, Saturday, April 24. The two boats are the twin steamers Minneapolis and St. Paul. The Minneapolis will be the first to go into the water, her launch taking place at 2:30 o’clock in the af- ternoon. The St. Paul will follow an hour later. The two boats are known in the yard as numbers 27 and 28. Their every particular the exact duplicate of the other. The idea of launching both on the same day is a novel one, and such an event rarely takes place. C. L. Hennig, the collector of customs at South Chi- cago, submits some very interesting figures of the business done last year. He says: “Last year we shipped 22,000,- ooo bushels of corn, 14,000,000 bushels of oats, 4,000,000 bushels of wheat, and 3,000,000 bushels of barley, besides 60,000 tons of steel rails and 40,000 tons of steel billets, to say nothing of innumerable other freights, making alto- gether 1,800 of the largest cargoes on fresh water. We received here 1,500,000 tons of ore, over 500,000 tons of coal, 80,000,000 feet of lumber, and about 700,000 barrels of salt. We also exported to Canada over 2,000,000 bush- els of corn, 500,000 bushels of oats and wheat, 20,000 tons of steel rails, and about 10,000 tons of other manufactured iron.” Lincoln Park Yacht Club members are ready to join the Yacht Union of the Great Lakes. At the annual meeting of the club, Commodore E. C. Berriman was elected a delegate to the Lake Michigan Yachting Asso- ciation, which meets at Racine on April 24, and was in- structed to advocate the association joining the union, and if the association did not desire as a body to join, it was the sentiment of the meeting that the Lincoln Park Yacht Club join as a club. Without membership in this organization Chicago yachtsmen are not in a position to challenge for an international contest, and are debarred practically from the big events on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The opinion in regard to joining the union was unanimous. Within a few days all the Goodrich line steamers, with the exception of the Virginia, will be on their regular routes for the season. The west shore is at present cov- ered by the City of Racine, the Indiana and the Atlanta, which will continue on the run all season, from Chicago to Milwaukee and as far north as the Sturgeon Bay Canal. The City of Ludington will go on her old run from Chi- cago to Green Bay Menominee, and as soon as_ the weather permits to Gladstone, Manistique and other ports. The Iowa will continue on her present run from Chicago to Grand Haven, and Muskegon. Last season she did a large business on this route. The side-wheel steamers Chicago and Sheboygan will be placed on the Escanaba run, and will also visit Green Bay as soon as business warrants. The Virginia will take her place on the Chi- cago, Milwaukee run in the excursion business, making her first trip about June 1. oo CLEVELAND. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. Capt. John Mullin, ex-Mayor of Amherstburg, visited. this port during the week, Capt. Johnson of the steamer I. W. Nicholas has dis- charged the crew and will await orders. The Nicholas is at Erie. The steamers Cort, Ericsson, and Queen City cleared for Duluth, light, but they will not get away before Satur- day or Monday. The steel steamer Andrew Carnegie,,of the Wilson fleet, is on her first trip. She was drawing fifteen feet forward and fifteen feet four inches aft, and had on 5,300 tons of cargo and 250 tons of fuel. ~ Capt. John Ward qualified this week as master of the steamer Henry Cort, Capt. H..1, Mills as master of the steamer Queen City ‘and Capt. H. Wz, Stone as master of the steamer Ericsson. It is likely that three of M. A. Bradley’s boats—the Fred Kelley, Sandusky, and Thomas Quayle—will not go into commission very early this season. Their crews have been selected, but the owner does not now feel certain that he will send them out until freights pick up. Mr. J. R. Parker, last season chief mate of the John Harper, wintered in Tampa, Fla., and has returned to go mate this season on the Alex, Nimick, owned: by . the American Transportation Got, Ge: B: Tener, manager. Capt. D. R. Wright is in charge of the Nimick this season. Vessel owners and brokers are looking around for first loads from Escanaba, but shippers are not ready yet to talk business. The indications are that the wild rate will open at 4oc. The coal freight market is very dull and no charters reported worth speaking of, although boats for the head of the lakes are offered at 20c. Capt. Arthur H. Hawgood, well known to all local vesselmen, has received an appointment to succeed the late Capt. Martin as manager of the Flint & Pere Mar- quette Line at Ludington. We are more than sorry to lose Capt. Hawgood, but presume that our loss is his gain. On the other hand, it is certain that the captain will reflect credit on his friends wherever he goes. oe or PORT HURON. Special Correspondence.to The Marine Record. The water at this end of Lake Huron is a foot higher than it was at this time last year. Since December the rise has been steady. The lake level usually rises from April to June-and in the latter month reaches a height of six inches greater than in April. If this takes place this year vessels will be able to load to a draft of over 16 feet through St. Clair River, which will materially increase the carrying capacity of the largest boats. berths in the stocks are side by side, and each ship is in . s BUFFALO. Special tact bondeties to The’ Marine Record.| Capt. John Mitchell has ordered the, stéamers McWil- liams, John Mitchell and: Lagonda tied up here as soon — as they discharge their grain cargoes. The steamer Tom Adams was libeled here on Wednes- day on a claim for $10,000 by a sailor, who claims to have been injured on the steamer last season. There is nothing new in the freight situation. Grain rates from Chicago to Buffalo are gravitating toward the — I-cent mark, and there isn’t enough up-bound coal: i in sight to raise a dust. The steamers City of Paris, City of Venice and Rappat hannock were placed for coal for Duluth at 20 cents,’ and the Sam Marshall and tow for Milwaukee at 25 cents. The latter tow will hold their cargoes until May. tf. Official notice has been received that the Erie Canal would open for navigation on Saturday, May 8, at 12 o'clock noon. Twenty boats loaded with grain are await- ing the opening at this port. Shippers say that the out look for the season on the canal is exceedingly poor. For- warders are asking 3% cents on wheat to New York, but no contracts are being made. Eugene Hughes, of Hughes Bros & Bangs, ithe Syra- cuse contracting firm which is to build the new break- water, was in Buffalo this week. He stated that arrange- ments for beginning the work as soon as navigation opens are practically completed. Part of the firm’s plant is at the Soo and cannot be brought here until later. A big clam shell dredge is being built. for the deep water work. It will not be completed until next year. Most of the gravel dredging will be done with ordinary dredgers. The first work will. be done on the rubble-mound elevator. Mr. Hughes was unable to state how many men will-be employed at first. The number will be increased from time to time. : The excursion steamer Vision, owned by Sloan & Cowles, of this city, has. again been chartered for the sea- son by New York parties. The Vision will make two trips, morning and afternoon, between the Battery and Bath Beach, and during the day and evening will run from Jersey City and Hoboken to Bay Ridge in connec- tion with the railroad to Coney Island. The excursion steamer Pilgrim, which many Buffalonians will remem- ber, is now in Portland, Me., where she is owned. Mr. Cowles said that her forward. awning deck has been built out to her stem and that while now in the ocean trade she is allowed 200 more passengers than when she was in the lake and river service here. When talking over freights, Capt. J. J. H. Beene was asked if the dull opening of this season was any particular exception to the general rule. The cry of “nothing do- ing’ and “got to lay up” has for years been the regular accompaniment: of the opening of navigation. “I don’t remember any season but one that started out as dead as this,” said he. “That was in 1879. For three months, nearly, things all went to pot and there didn’t seem to be anything in sight. Then business picked up, and, Great. Scott! how it did hum the rest of the season, after July tf. I sincerely hope this year will be a repetition, but it is safe. to say that this is the worst start off for vesselmen since 1879.” Capt. Cooney ran the Garden City in the Crystal Beach Line here last summer and was the only captain of a Can- adian excursion boat who ever was able to affiliate on congenial terms with the masters of Buffalo steamers and tugs. The lot of the usual run of boats and alien cap- tains who ply on ferry licenses from here is not generally a happy one, but Capt. Cooney won the whole outfit and there isn’t a Buffalo pilot who wouldn’t give him the glad hand. An attempt was made this week at. Port Dalhousie to burn the Garden City, and the local mariners are specu- lating as to whether the atmosphere in Canada turned blue or red when ‘Capt. Cooney heard of the plot, for his vo- cabulary of invective is of fierce and varied hues. Capt. -Cooney’s triumphant exit from Buffalo last fall is well re- membered. The Garden City was to be libeled’and Capt. Cooney found it out. He then lit out of port wide open and never checked down until his boat was s safely moored at Port Colborne. oo ior DULUTH. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record: ... The passenger boats this season will leave Duluth at - 1:30 p..m. on Saturdays and Tuesdays, and arrive Friday and Monday evenings at 6:30, making a stay of nineteen hours in Duluth. The boats will arrive in Buffalo at 9 a. m., and leave at 9:15 p. m. of the same day. ~ The new lake and rail route which will be estabitistied: between the head of the lake and Montreal via Lake Su- perior, Georgian Bay, Perry Sound and the Canada Atlantic railway, will, it is generally believed, be ant im- portant factor in the matter of freight rates between this place and the seaboard. The launching of the Constitution, the new boat at the yards of the Steel Barge Company in this city, which was to have taken place on Saturday afternoon, has been postponed until Wednesday at 5 o’clock. The officials of the Barge company experienced some delay in preparing for the launch and it was necessary to postpone it for a few days. In addition to the ack fetes fleet of eighteen Me