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NOVEMBER 23, 1899. THE MARINE RECORD. 1g i U. S.N. ENGINE AND BOILER TESTS. In his annual report the engineer in chief U. S. N. states as follows: “During the year I have pursued my former policy of supervising, with officers under this Bureau, such tests and experiments as bid fair to prove of importance and value to the Department. I have already alluded to the test made of one of the Babcock & Wilcox boilers built for the Alert, and the synopsis of this follows, together with tests made upon a Niclausse boiler at the works of William Cramp & Sons, and which was particularly undertaken in order to secure a basis for anticipating the results of the output of the Niclausse boilers being installed on the new Maine. Tests of machinery also of two of the Great Lake steamers, Pennsylvania and Alexander McDougall, were carried out, the former ostensibly to note the working of the automatic stokers fitted therein, and the latter to note the general operation of the machinery. Advantage was also taken of the opportunity, on the Pennsylvania, to secure exact data regarding the consumption of steam per horse-power of :the main and auxiliary machinery, the question of particular importance being to observe the effect of the cylinder ratios used on both these ships. I have continued the experiments with liquid fuel, which were interrupted by the war, and, while still unable to present data in complete form, I can state that excellent progress is being made with the experiments, and accurate information will result, upon which the Bureau can fairly decide regard- ing the prospective efficiency of fuel oil and its adaptability to naval use. I have caused experiments to be made with different burners for comparative results, in order to elimin- ate those least serviceable and to avoid extensive and ex- pensive trials with obviously inferior mechanism. ‘Tests are in progress both at the New York yard and upon the torpedo - boat Talbot, and a full report to you will be submitted after sufficient trials have been completed. The special appro- priation for this work is being carefully guarded, and ample funds remain to carry it on to definite issue. There are no indications, however, that success inan economic view will be startling, or that radical changes in existing evaporative methods will be found advisable.’’ rr re A CHICAGO LAKE PIONEER. Capt. ‘““Shanty’’ Morgan, one of the old guards among the lake vessel masters of 50 and 60 years ago, was in Chicago Thursday, the guest of Superintendent J. W. Gillman, of the Goodrich line. Capt. Morgan, though born the day before Christmas, 1820, and, therefore, nearly 80 years of age, is still hale and hearty and appears to be enjoying life as much as he did when he raked the shores of the St. Clair river with his jibboom while commander of the Lady Suf- _ folk in the early gos. It was inaspirit of pure warm- blooded deviltry incident to his first years as commander of a clipper-built vessel rather than in the desire to do the community a service that the captain and his lively jib- boom accomplished the ‘‘sweeping reform’’ among the shanties of that savory locality in the old days. It was in this adventure that he won the nickname that has clung to him so long that everybody has forgotten that he had any . other handle to his name. Capt. Morgan ran away from his home in Cattaraugus county, New York, when he was 12 years old, walked to Buffalo and shipped on a schooner before he knew which end started out first. He sailed the lakes steadily from that time until 1875. From 1878 to 1883 he was captain of the life-saving crew at Big Point au Sable, and it was here that his daughter, now deceased, in company with a single sailor, rescued the crew of a fishing boat in a blinding snow storm during one of the hardest gales of the early spring. For their action they were tendered a medal by Congress, but it was refused. Though Capt. Morgan was master of the various vessels of the Good- rich line from 1856 to the year of the great Chicago fire, he had sailed long before that time as master of vessels engaged in the carrying of grain to Buffalo. While master of the Lady Suffolk, a vessel with a capacity of 70,000 bushels of wheat, he brought to Chicago from Buffalo the first railroad iron ever brought here—that was used to build what is now the Chicago and Alton road. He relates that he deposited the rails ‘‘away out’? on the prairie along the river bank below Madison street. The cap'ain’s first boat of the Goodrich line was the side-wheeler Huron, and he sailed in succession a large number of steamers of the line, the very names of which are now only a memory to old Chicagoans. Among these vessels were the Wabash Valley, the Sunbeam, the Ogontz, the Alpena, the Victor, the Comet, the Seabird, the May Queen and the Lady Franklin. As commander of the Seabird he was the keen professional rival of Capt. McHenry, who was master of the May Queen, another of the crack boats of the line. When off duty the two captains were cronies, but the professional rivalry be- came stern from the moment the two men mounted the bridge. Capt. McHenry, it will be remembered by old residents, was the father of W. E. McHenry, more popu- larly known as ‘Billy’? McHenry, at one time president of the Chicago Board of Trade, and also in his time one of the heaviest of speculators. Capt. Morgan relates that he car- ried a cargo of wheat in his vessel, the Lady Suffolk, from Michigan City to Buffalo at a rate of 32 cents per bushel. It was in these times that Capts. Wiley M. Egan and John Prindiville were young fellows winning their spurs as mas- ters of freighters plying between Chicago and Buffalo. Capt. Morgan’s last boat was the steamer Charles McVea, plying between Chicago and Saugatuck, Mich. His son is now master of the big steel freighter Marina of the Minne- sota Steamship Co., carrying ore from Lake Superior to South Chicago. The old gentleman spends his winters on his son’s farm in Ohio and his summers in the Manitous. He still cherishes a longing for lake travel, and rode up to Milwaukee on the Indiana in order to ‘‘visit’? with his old shipmate Watson, steward of the line. on oo PROTECTING LAKE LEVELS. The Evening Telegraph publishes a letter this week from Mr. Frank J. Firth, president of the Lake Carriers’ Associa- tion, on the matter of maintaining lake levels. Certainly the subject is of such large importance that Mr. Firth’s ad- vice as to the appointment of a competent expert committee to endeavor to find out in advance the possible effect of the various canals on the lakes is certainly worthy of immediate recognition and endorsement by every lake interest. The Evening Telegraph suggests that the Commercial Club take up Mr. Firth’s suggestion and communicate with him on the subject. It is better to attend to it now then to let it go along to the stage when large vested private interests may be damaged by any protective action on the part of the lake interests.—Evening Telegram, West Superior, Wis. INQUIRY ON THE LOSS OF A VESSEL. A British steamer, the Bay State, was recently lost near Cape Race, and the following questions regarding the casualty were submitted for the opinion of the court of inquiry: 1, What number of compasses had the vessel; were they in good order and sufficient for the safe navigation of the vessel, and when and by whom were they last adjusted ? 2. Did the master ascertain the deviation of his compasses by observation from time to time ; were the errors correctly ascertained, and the proper corrections to the courses applied ? 3. Was the vessel supplied with the requisite charts and sailing directions ? 4. Were proper measures taken to ascertain and verify the position of the vessel at or about noon of the 2d October last? 5. Were safe and proper courses steered after noon of the 2d October, was due and proper allowance made for northerly set, and were the courses steered made good? 6. Did the master on the evening of the 2d October give the chief officer proper and sufficient instructions as to the navigation of the vessel, and did the chief officer carry out the instructions given him by the master? 7. Having regard to the state of the weather at and after 4a. m. of the 2d October, was the vessel navigated at too great a rate of speed? 8. Was the master on deck at a time when the safety of the vessel required his personal supervision ? g. Was the lead used before the vessel stranded, and if not, should it have been used? 10. Was a good and proper lookout kept? 11. What was the cause of the casualty ? 12. Was the vessel navigated with proper and seamanlike care? 13. Was the loss of the steamer Bay State caused by the wrongful act of the master, chief, second, third and fourth officers, or any of them? We have only to say that lake casualties might be similarly inquired into, and the cause of the strandings more clearly ascertained than has been the custom in the past. er AN INVITATION IN GOOD FORM. The RECORD has just received the following: The Gas Engine & Power Co. and Charles L. Seabury & Co. Consolidated, cordially invites you and your friends to be present at the Launching of the U. S. Torpedo Boat ‘‘Bailey’’ on Tuesday, December the fifth, 1899, at twelve o’clock, noon, Morris Heights-on-Harlem, New York City. Music by Lander. Special train for guests will leave Grand Central Station, Hudson River Waiting Room at 11.00 o’clock, returning half hour after the Launching. Train will stop at 125th Street Station. TOBIN BRONZE (Trade-Mark Registered. o.F.HODG Tensile strength of plates one-quarter inch thick, upward of 78,000 Ibs. per square inch. Torsional strength equal to the best machinery steel. Non-corrosive in sea water. ¢ c Square and Hexagon Bars for Bolt Forgings, Pump Piston Rods, Yacht Shaftings, etc. Rolled Sheets and Plates for Pump Linings and Condenser Tube Sheets, Centerboards, Fin Keels and Rudders, Can be forged at cherry red heat. Round, Send for Pamphlet. The Ansonia Brass & Copper-Co, SOLE MANUFACTURERS, 99 John St., NEW YORK. MARINE ENGINES, * PROPELLER: WHEELS, DECK’ HOISTERS, MARINE REPAIRS. @ sie ATWATER STREET, DETROIT, MICH. ° Chas. E. & W. F. 58 William Street, New York City. 5 and 6 Billiter Avenue, E. C., . “Thsurance BROWN &CO., - - - J. G. KEITH & CO., - Royal Insurance Building, Chicago, Ill. C. T. BOWRING & CO. London, England. 202 Main Street, Buffalo, N. Y. PARKER & MILLEN, {5 Atwater Street, W., Detroit, Mich. 138 Rialto Building, Chicago, III. LA SALLE & CO., Board of Trade Building, Duluth, Minn. Are prepared to meke rates on all classes of Marine Insurance on the Great Lakes, both CARGOES AND HULLS. Peck, Chicago Office, ROYAL INSURANCE BLDG. INCORPORATED 1899. AN ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF UNDER- WRITERS’ INTERESTS AS REGARDS WRECKED AND DAMAGED PROPERTY AT SEA. Application for the services of surveyors of this Association may be made to either the Chicago or New York offices. New York Office, MUTUAL LIFE INS. CO. BLDG.