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MG Ka mKK HK BUFFALO. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. Mr. John C. Fitzpatrick, general agent for the Clover Leaf line, took a trip to Cleveland this week. Several bodies have been picked up on the north shore, and identified as members of the crew of the lost Canadian steamer Niagara. : The last cargo of the season was loaded by the Bradley line steamer Ranney, on Friday last, she arrived at Milwau- kee all well, freight $1.25 per ton. The only new tonnage registered out of the port this week is the steamer C. Person’s Sons, gross 49 and net 34 tons, built here and hailing from this port. More transfers of ownership in floating property took place this season than ever known before. The largest in- dividual investment was that of sixteen vessels in all, pur- chased by Mr. James Corrigan, of Cleveland. Remedies for New York’s gradual slump from the position of America’s premier grain export city were asked of repres- entative Chicago dealers. The consensus of opinion was that the metropolis’ hopes for renewed western favor lay in the reconstruction of the Erie canal and the granting of rail- road and transfer rates that at least would equal those of other Atlantic ports. - The Venezuela, of the Davidson fleet, arrived here on Tuesday with what is supposed to be the last cargo of grain for the season, it is reported that Capt. Davidson personally insured the cargo, besides staking the freight and the value of his steamer on the safe conduct of the adventure, but few owners are in a financial position toso act, and there are fewer still possessed of nerve enough to tackle such a prop- osition. a Congressman Alexander will formulate and introduce a bill for a marine hospital in Buffalo, and it was concluded that the bill should call for an appropriation of $125,000. This will purchase the land and build as large a hospital as is - now needed, but the building will be so erected that wings can be added later as the demand for more room increases. The Surgeon General said a hospital with room for 75 beds would supply the present demand of Buffalo. _ The Donnelly Contracting Co. will employ about 200 men steady all winter on their breakwater extension contract. In the early spring the force will be increased to between 500 and 600, when work will be continued until the fall. Work on the concrete superstructure will be begun early next season, possibly about June 1. At present the company has on hand 1,750,000 feet of lumber ready for operations in the spring, so there will be no delay in waiting for the arrival of lumber after the opening of navigation. The Union Dry Dock Co., have a good deal of new work contracted for as well asa large amount of repair and dry dock work. A large cargo steamer will be built this winter to the order of the Lehigh Valley Trans. Co., A fire boat for the city of Buffalo, and four steel drill boats, each to be 50 feet in length, 16 feet beam and 5 feet deep, to be used for rock drilling purposes in the harbor contracts secured by the firm of Dunbar & Sullivan. Thetwo former contracts were placed some time ago but there has been some deten- tion experienced in receiving material from the Carnegie Steel Co., Pittsburg. _ The large steel steamer S. F. B. Morse, owned by the Bessemer Steamship Co., Cleveland, is wintering at this port. The lake fleet is: pretty well scattered this winter, Buffalo will have a small winter fleet compared with last and previous years. Cleveland harbor will be pretty well crowded, and Lorain will have a large number of big car- riers. Most of the vessels of the Bessemer fleet are being laid up at Lorain. The number of grain carriers at Chicago and Milwaukee is smallerthan usual, while Duluth has the largest fleet of vessels in winter quarters on record. A large - number of vessels that took coal cargoes to the head of the Jakes were compelled to lay up there on account of the ex- piration of lake marine insurance policies. The end of the season of navigation on the lakes for 1899 finds Buffalo’s grain receipts for this year over 71,000,000 bushels less than those of 1898. Some authorities attribute the big decline to the dock troubles at the opening of the _ season, while others claim the railways are responsible for os th, otis. true the railways have carried much more grain this year, and they are preparing to do a still larger business next season. It is also true, perhaps, that the dock troubles turned some of the grain to rail routes, but many men main- tained that the strikes were not chiefly responsible for the falling off, which is larger than was expected. The St. _ Lawrence route received none of this deficiency, so evidently - railroads carried an extra bulk to the coast for direct ship- THE MARINE RECORD DECEMBER 21, 1899. CLEVELAND. Special Correspondence to the Marine Record: The steamer Eureka was placed in one of the upper dry- docks last Friday. Seven of her bottom plates are damaged. The local life-saving station was closed last Saturday. Capt. Motley will remain in charge of the station during the winter. The Bradley line steamers, M. B. Grover and City of Cleveland, are expected to arrive here this week to go into winter quarters. It is learned that Mr. M. A. Bradley is to be named among the wealthy vessel owners who will take a trip across the Western Ocean this winter. The Shipmasters’ Association held the first meeting of the season. A committee was appointed to make arrange- ments for the annual reception and ball. Half a dozen of the largest boats owned by the Wilson Transit Co., are wintering at Manitowoc and will hold grain for winter storage, on account of the Northern Grain Co. Mr. I. M. Bowers, general manager of the Bessemer Steamship Co., has been laid up at his home, Binghamton, N. Y. He is improving in health and is expected back to business at an early date. The Boutelle Towing Co. sent a couple of their large tugs to the coast, and their Boston manager, Mr. William Mack, stated that they were gaining increased patronage almost daily and that the fleet would soon be increased. Mr. John C. Fitzpatrick visited here this week. His num- erous friends and old business associates were pleased to see him looking so well and hearty. Mr. Fitzpatrick has been the Buffalo manager for the Clover Leaf Line for the past couple of seasons. Capt. James Corrigan has added another vessel to his fleet. He has bought the schooner J. I. Case from Detroit parties. The price was not given out, but it is said to be $13,000. This makes sixteen vessels that Capt. Corrigan has pur- chased this season. Captain Charles Miner while at work on his vessel, the steamer H. J. Johnson, at Ashtabula, fell from the upper deck to the main deck, a distance of ten feet. His left collar bone was fractured and a rib in his left side broken. He also sustained a severe scalp wound. Capt. John Mitchell will make a trip to the Mediterranean during the winter, leaving home about Jan. 25. Capt. J. S. Dunham, of Chicago, will make the ‘same trip. There are other lake vesselowners who also contemplate a trip to Europe before the opening of navigation in 1900. Navigation is not quite closed as ore, grain and coal have been moving this week, and there are still vessels on the freight market. The Lake Superior traffic is stopped and the ‘‘Soo’’ locks closed but Escanaba and Lake Michigan ports are still open. The John Craig cleared from Escanaba on Wednesday for an Ohio port and if the ore can be got other vessels will load at that port. The annual reception and ball of the local lodge of the Shipmasters’ Association will be held at the Chamber of Commerce Thursday evening, Jan. 25, the week following the annual meeting of the Lake Carriers’ Association. The members of the committee of arrangements are: Capts. C. M. Ennes, John Smith, A. G. Greenley, Thomas Jones, W. A. Collier, Ralph Byrns, Samuel Allen and C. G. Ennes. A meeting of the Masters’ and Pilots’ Association was to haye been held last Monday, but the general officers were away. This necessitated and postponement of the meeting. Naturally, the following meeting would be next Monday evening, but as that is Christmas there will be, of necessity, another postponement. It is thought that a meeting will be held some day next week. The members will then map out the work that is to be done during the winter. If ever owners searched for a missing boat and acted from a humanitarian standpoint, it is the firm known as the Minnesota Steamship Co., in sending the several expedi- tions after the whaleback barge No. 115, cast away last week on Lake Superior. Their first regret was that the crew of the barge might run short of provisions before being picked up. This week, two expeditions, comprising four vessels, started out from Duluth and Sault Ste. Marie in search of the miss- ing craft, but a successful result of their cruise is now being generally doubted. Life-saving crews on the lakes have had a more than usually easy time the past year, and the few wrecks that have occurred have been out in the lake beyond reach of the life savers. The Typo disaster, the Hunter Savidge and the Niagara losses were beyond all possible reach, and not a single big wreck has occurred along the shore line. The cause is to be found in the markedly fine weather extending throughout the season, the great increase of big boats and the falling away in number of the little craft, which were easy prey to the storms. Capt. James Laframboise, of the steamer William Edwards, was painfully injured while on board his vessel a few days ago. The William Edwards is undergoing repairs at the Shipowners’ drydock, and Capt. Laframboise in walking about the deck slipped upon an insecurely fastened hatch and was precipitated into the hold. He fell about twenty- five feet. The captain received painful wounds about the back and shoulders, and a bad scalp wound, He was con- veyed to St. John’s Hospital. Capt. Laframboise’s home is in Amherstburg. He has four sons in this city. Mr. Thos. W. Bristow, who has divided his time for the past score of years as superintendent of construction in the Wyandotte yards of the Detroit Dry Dock Co. and_ the Cleveland Ship Building Co., will take a similar position with the Maryland Steel Co., Sparrows Point, Md. Mr. Bristow has always been very well thought of among those with whom he was brought into contact and a small army of people will regret his departure from the lakes. In his rela- tions to the large number of workmen continually under his charge, Mr. Bristow exercised great executive ability and very seldom had any labor troubles. At a recent vote taken on the West Side, to determine the most fair minded ‘‘boss,”’ the majority were in favor of Mr. Bristow, and he was pre- sented with a handsome gold watch, suitably inscribed. Other compliments, including a very fine diamond ring, etc., are also to his eredit. In leaving for the scene of his future labors early in January, Mr. Bristow will carry with him the earnest and best wishes of a large community for . his future success, and, should circumstances so transpire that he may again return to the lakes he will meet with as hearty and numerous a welcome as there are present regrets at his departure. SS DETROIT. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. The steamer Forest City and consort William McGregor are expected here this week to go into winter quarters. Tonnage is still being sought after for passenger service as well as cargo carrying, and even a fifty per cent. advance on former valuations does not seem to cinch intending pur- chasers if they can only secure the bottoms that they desire or require. ~ On Monday there was the first ice of the season in Detroit river. During Saturday night considerable thin ice formed in Lake St. Clair, and floating down, was blown against the Michigan bank of the river so as to cause considerable delay to the ferry boats. ‘The remains of the late John Franklin Eddy reached Bay City last Friday from St. Augustine, Fla., accompanied by Mrs. Eddy and her son, John W. They were met at the station by relatives and friends and taken to the family resi- dence, 258 Washington avenue. The funeral took place on Saturday. An effort is being made by Mr. George Y. Wisner, of Detroit, acting as a member of the United States Board of Engineers of Deep Waterways to determine the approximate effect of shallow water on the speed of steamships. The board is collecting from vessel owners information from the logs of their vessels regarding time of passing lights on Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair, and will thus be able to form a_ fair comparison of the rate of speed on Lake Huron as com- pared with that on Lake St. Clair. The twenty-third annual dinner to the employes of the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Co., took place on Saturday evening on board the steamer City of Detroit. Invitations were sent to all officers and members of the company. The season 1899 has been the most prosperous year for the line. It has passed without loss of life or property. Mr. David Carter, general manager of the line, recalled the fact that since the last banquet the ranks of the company had not been broken, and that year after year the same faces had been seen around the same tables. He said that through the watchfulness of a kind Providence and the carefulness of the officers, the steamers of the company had covered 160,000 miles during the past season without a single accident, and maintaining, with few exceptions, the exact schedule time. He thanked the employes of the company for their co-op- eration during the years past. Capt. A. J. McKay, acted as master of ceremonies, and a number of toasts and musical numbers made the banquet merry. Other entertainment was furnished by amateur and professional performers. Each guest was presented with a souvenir silver oar with _ the compliments of Mr. Carter. After the spread the guests retired to the saloon above for a smoker and card party. ne ee FLOTSAM, JETSAM AND LAGAN. The Sault canal closed for the season Sunday, Dec. 17. In 1898 the canal was closed for the season Dec. 14. Boats could undoubtedly have kept navigation open for a week or — ten days from the date of closing the canal, but as no insurances could be effected, traffic ceased on Lake Superior. The Indians had bound their captive to the stake, when the coriventional happy thought struck the latter. ‘‘If you burn me,’’ he explained, ‘“‘the sun will be darkened to- morrow.”’ ‘‘You will find,’ replied the Indian, ‘‘if you calculate the parallax in the forty-third decimal place, that the eclipse doos not take place until the day after tomorrow.” Saying which, for these simple children of the forest were all graduates of the government schools, they proceeded a with their barbaric slaughter.—Detroit Journal. Capt. Wm. Morrow, mate of the steam barge A. Weston, of 2 Milwaukee, whose home is at No. 824 Franklin street, De- troit, on reaching Chicago recently, learned that his wife was — on the steamer Niagara, lost on Lake Erie with all on board. — Capt. Morrow went on to Detroit to apply for the administra- tion of his wife’s estate, as he kept his money in the bank in her name, On arriving there he found a telegram from Chicago, addressed to his wife, informing her that a son of hers, named Charles Johnson, had been accidently killed. So that it was a double bereavement for the captain. :