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4 THE MARINE RECORD. NEWS AROUND THE LAKES. _ BUFFALO. Special Correspondence to the Marine Record. The price of fuel coal is down to $2 all round when de- livered-ftom the dock, and $2.10 from the scows. Talk about coal shipments, there is nothing of the sort in sight. Brokers could not secure a single cargo here on Tuesday. ad Supt. W. H. Hazen, of the B., R. & P. docks, is back from a business trip to Chicago. He will have charge of the company’s fueling. The Centurion, which has just completed fitting out, has laid off all hands and will tie up to wait for better freights. The George T. Hope will also tie up until busi- ness gets better. The credit of completing the first round trip between Lake Michigan and Lake Erie the present season belongs to the steamer C. S. Parnell. The Parnll took a cargo of grain to Buffalo from Chicago, and Saturday morning arrived at Milwaukee with a cargo of coal. Those Canucks are fearful people. It is now announced from Port Colborne that the Welland Canal locks were closed at midnight on Saturday and would not be opened again until midnight Sunday. Such paganism ought to be frowned down and commerce allowed to pursue its natural course. Ina word, I would ask the readers of the Record, “What are we here for?” : Much satisfaction is expressed at the appointment of apt. J. H. Killeran as surveyor for the English Lloyd’s at this port. Capt. Killeran is well known as a skillful, qualified man and has the confidence of all with whom he is brought into business connections with. I also learn that Mr. Logan will succeed Mr. Oldham as surveyor at Cleveland and upper lake ports. The David Bell Engine Works Co. will build a large steel tug for the Cleveland Tug Co. She will be 90 feet long, 23 beam and 14 deep. She will have a fore and aft compound engine 20 and 40x30, one boiler 12 feet in di- ameter and 16 feet in length. She will be one of the most powerful tugs on the lakes. She will come out next August. Her cost is estimated at $25,000. The Union Dry Dock Co., of Buffalo, has on the stocks a new steel tug for the Erie tug line. The tug will be 87 feet in length, 21 feet in beam, and 11 1-2 feet deep, to be furnished with compound engines. The company is also building two steel dump scows to be used on the Buffalo breakwater extension.. The large steel freight steamer Starucca, sister ship to the Ramapo, is progress- ing steadily, though it would appear as if there was no hurry in completing her the way freights are now. Vessel owners and some masters are complaining be- cause the lighthouse board has neglected up to this time to place the buoys and stakes in Niagara river to make the channels between here and Tonawanda. It is usual to put these marks in place as soon as the ice has ceased to run down the river, but there has been delay this spring. Sev- eral captains complain that they are held because they dare not risk the 75-foot passage at the head of Strawberry island and past the Waverly shoals. It is now learned, however, that the buoys have been placed in position and that the lighthouse tender Haze will lose no time in loca- ting and marking all dangers to navigation. The largest general cargo which, it is claimed, was ever carried out of Chicago by any boat, and the largest ever delivered at Buffalo, was the one brought in Saturday by the steel steamer Orr. According to the manifest of Capt. Montague, the cargo consisted of 4,790 barrels of glucose, 4,700 bags of starch, 5,600 bags of feed, 4,500 bags of sugar and 15,380 pigs of lead. The total weight of the mixed cargo was 3,740 tons. The mean draft of the steamer was 15 feet 10 inches. The steamer brought with her the new schooner Carrington, with a cargo of 154,000 bushels of oats. The Carrington went first to the Terminal ele- vator, where she first unloaded a part of her cargo. This is her first trip to Buffalo. ———$—$—$—$— <_< CLEVELAND. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. Mr. Robert Logan left Wednesday for Duluth to hold a survey on the steel steamer Katahdin, recently damaged in the “Soo” River. : Capt. Fred Hoffman, of St. Clair, has been appointed master of the Minnesota Liner Mesabi, and leaves port “today on the first trip of the season. The Erie railroad are building a large new warehouse _ on the river front, near the Willow street bridge and ad- joining their former storage rooms, Capt. J. R, Raymond, manager of the Standard Auto- matic Releasing Hook Co., New York, visited the port this week in the interests. of their special manufacture. The Chase Machine Co. are kept very busy fitting out : vessels for the season’s work and a large force of men are steadily employed on full time in keeping up with their numerous orders. : Capt. E. C, Joiner, last. season in the Roumania, has been appointed master of the Sagamore and will probably leave here this week for Two Harbors. The Sagamore wintered at Erie. The head of the river bed has simply been jammed with vessels this week. The schooners Grace Holland and Magnetic have certainly a new dress of paint, a lovely dark green, and they both look spick and span. The Geo. H. Corliss, a large new steel schooner of the Bessemer line, was also there, besides two of the Gilchrist fleet, not to mention the dry dock work. The several compass adjusters, or regulators of “sea- clocks,” are now finding their harvest among the line and tramp, iron and steel steamers fitting out and sailing from the prominent lake ports. Capt. H. Zealand, Port Huron, who is generally known as being one of the most skillful and capable masters on the lakes, will take charge of the Mariska this season, leaving here about Saturday. Capt. Charles De Ott leaves this week to attend to his ore trimming work at Ashland, Wis. There are few men better liked and more generally respected than Capt. De Ott is, and his:work is a guarantee of his character, or vice versa. The schooners S. H. Foster and Alverson, of the Gil- christ fleet, are still lying at their winter quarters, head of the old river bed. There seems to be but little notion of fitting them out yet, nor is there likely to be until freight brightens up. : One of the most active men around vessels at this time is Mr. Fraser, shore engineer of the Bessemer Line, at any portion of the river, wharf, shipyard or dry dock that I get around to Mr. Fraser is in evidence. Wonder he don’t get tired sometimes. The four wooden boats required for the equipment of the new revenue cutter Gresham were built in Boston by the firm of E. O. Sheldon & Co., and forwarded on from that port here. The boats are of a high class order and re- flect great credit on their builders, J. M. Beverly (local attraction Jack), has opened quit a nice store at 150 River street, under the name of the Phenix Nautical Instrument Co. Mr. Beverly is well. known, and including his compass-adjusting work, is likely to do a fair business in the future. It will be learned with deep regret that Mr.John F.Pank- hurst, vice president and manager of the Globe Iron Works Co., is not convalescing as rapidly as was hoped for. He is now residing at the Stillman hotel in this city and taking a much-needed rest from business cares. The Glidden and tow, from Chicago to Lake Ontario, were somewhat detained on account of the steamer strik- ing the sunken wreck of the Grand Traverse off Colches- ter, Lake Erie, on Saturday night. A steam pump was put aboard at this port and she proceeded on with her tow. No time is being lost by the Cleveland Ship Building Co. in getting their new shipyard at Lorain in working order. Work is progressing steadily on the dry dock excavation, contracts for new buildings have been let and some machinery, including a large boiler, is already on the ground. It is probable that the Lorain yard will soon become one of the leading industries on the lakes. The steamer Olympia is in the large dock at the head of the old river bed, as after a survey, they, the owners and surveyors, thought it best to look her bottom over after her late Chicago experience. She is being calked and put in the usual first-class condition, which the vessels of the Wilson Transit Co. are always kept in. Capt. Ed Morton is around the job and that is sufficient to say that the ship or steamer be thoroughly overhauled and the work done in a ship-shape manner. At the yards of the Ship Owners’ Dry Dock Co. the Continental is in the small dock for extensive repairs; in fact, I would say a thorough rebuild. She has had new deck frames,shelf pieces,decks recalked,hull inside and out, besides considerable new upper works, and Capt. Rattery is around all the time taking note of the work, as well as her master, Capt. McGarvey. If Mr. Rees is not satisfied with his outlay of several thousands of dollars on the Con- tinental it won’t be for want of adequate, careful and skilled supervision. At the yards of the Ship Owners’ Dry Dock Co. there is a new iron plant being erected with dimensions of 40 by 100 feet. In additon to this a commodious store room 30 by 40 feet shows a substantial structure. On the second story of the building Mr. Auguste Cold, secretary of the company, pertinently suggested that it be turned into a dining room for the workmen. It affords me much pleas- ure to announce that the secretary's views were endorsed by the stockholders, and when the building is completed th men will be given clean, commodious and warm quar- ters wherein to take their daily sustenance. If there is a busy plant in Cleveland at the present time commend me to the Globe Iron Works Co.’s shipyards. I there find plans laid down for two U. S. Revenue Cut- ters to be numbered 71 and 72; also the large schooner building to the order of Corrigan, Cleveland, well ad- vanced and partly plated; No. 69, which I understand is to be named the Antrim, nearly all plated. She is being built. to the order of the American Transportation Co., Mr. Tenor, of Pittsburg, manager. And then comes the Sydney G. Thomas, finishing her upper works. The new Revenue Cutter Gresham is fully equipped, practically ready for service, and the Hanna yacht Comanche lying alongside of her. In addition to the foregoing the steam- ers Park Foster, Ira H. Owen and Alva are having four large gangways cut out on each side for the accommoda- tion of what is called “package freight,’ but which really means general instead of bulk cargoes. CHICAGO. Special Correspondence to the Marine Record. Mayor Harrison has appointed Captain John Roberts to be harbor master. Charles Darrow, John Carthy and F. Walterholter are assistants. : Capt. John Roberts has been appointed chief harbor- master at this port. Capt. Roberts has been in the em- ploy of the O. S. Richardson Fueling Co. several years, and is well known and much respected. Capt. Thos. B. Nelson left here for Whitelake, Mich., on Wednesday, to take charge of the steamer Mabel Bradshaw, which is being fitted out. The Bradshaw will make tri-weekly trips this season and will leave on her first trip May 4th. The passenger and freight steamer A. B. Taylor, which runs between Chicago and Michigan City, was in col- lision with Franklin street bridge at the last named port — Sunday night. The stem and upper works forward of - the Taylor were badly smashed and the bridge received several hundred dollars’ worth of damage. The collision was caused by the steamer’s engine getting on the center. The Taylor came to Chicago for repairs. ee DETROIT. Special Correspondence to the Marine Record. The damaged ferry boat Lansdowne is still in commis- sion, though she will go into dock for repairs as soon as arrangements can be made. Saturday afternoon Ashley & Dustin’s homing pigeon, Brass Band, made 36 miles in 38 minutes, flying home from a point four miles off Middle Sister island. This — beat the Detroit amateur record to date. : Official notices have been issued of the appointment — of John Stevenson as agent, at Detroit, of the Union ~ Transit Co., and of the Ogdensburg Transit Co: eae latter agency was recently held by H. W. Chesebrough. The United States engineer’s office has been notified by L. P. & J. A. Smith, of Cleveland who hold the contract for deepening the ship channel at the mouth of the De- troit River, that work will be begin by May 1. Major M. B. Adams, Corps of Engineers, U. Sine light-house engineer for this district, will make his first ° official trip to the upper lakes next week. Assistant En-— gineer Woodruff will remain in charge of the light-house engineer's office during the temporary absence of Major Adams. The office has been notified that dredging con- tractors, L. P. & J. A. Smith, of Cleveland, who hold the’ contract for deepening the ship channel at the mouth of the Detroit River, will begin May 1. The ferries will be running between the city and Belle Isle next Sunday. Three boats will be put on, and a twenty-minute service will be given. One week from Sun- day the service will again be resumed. The regular daily service will be started Saturday, May 15. The usual re- | pairs and alterations have been made in the steamers since _ last fall, and it is now in as good condition as the hand of man can make it without rebuilding the boats from the water line up. The fact that ice did not seriously interfere — with the operation of the Windsor ferries during the win- _ ter is of the greatest advantage to the company. _ The railroad car ferry steamers Landsdowne and Mich- igan collided at Detroit in a fog on Saturday. Jackscrews — and saws had to be used to separate them. The Lands- downe had her starboard wheel, wheelhouse and guard and bulwarks demolished and had to seek the dry dock. The forward bulwarks of the Michigan were stove in, but she was able to keep at work, colliding in the river during a heavy fog and running the way these railroad ferry boats do it is a wonder that they don’t come to-— gether oftener. It takes discipline, a long drill and good nerve to safely conduct this great river traffic. throughout the busy season. : The large steel steamer Robert Fulton, recently built and completed by the Detroit Dry Dock Co., to the order of the Bessemer Steamship.Co., is a credit to her builders, and fully meets the expectations of her owners. The Fulton, Capt. N. B. Nelson, of Cleveland, possesses all? the latest improved devices for effective control that elec- tricity and recent discoveries in steam have made possi- ble. Her pilot house is a marvel. The captain signals the engineer by the duplex gong system, a pointer on a dial recording the order at the same time the bell rings. The vessel is lighted by electricity, and heated by steam. The officers are superbly housed in quarters finished in polished ash. Thomas Adams, of Adams & Farwell, recalls an inter- esting circumstance connected with the season of 1870, — the first three months of navigation was exactly like the present. At the end of those three months freights began to take an upward turn, and his firm began to look out for a big consort. They chanced upon the J. H. Rutter. The first price asked for her was $25,000, but the agent thought this too high, and declined it. Still he kept after her. Freights continued to go up and the price of the vessel with them. The agent was finally compelled to pay $27,000 and she passed into the hands of Adams & Far- well. Freight rates reached $5 a ton and more before that season ended and the Rutter would have entirely paid for herself had she not gone ashore. That took some of the gilt edge off the profits, but she more than — paid for herself in the next year. ¢ or The first steamers to reach Duluth and Superior were the Harlem, W. H. Gilbert and North Wind.