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NEWS AROUND THE LAKES. —————————SX= CLEVELAND. Sap DEATH BY DROWNING OF Capr. WILLIAM COWIN— SPRING CHANGES. CLEVELAND, April 23. The news of Capt. William Cowin’s sudden death by drowning at South Chicago last Friday night was a great shock to all of his many friends at this port, where he has lived for a score of years. Capt. Cowen was climbing aboard his steamer, John Mitchell, when the ladder slipped, precipitating him into the water. The remains were brought to this port, and the funeral ser- vices were held at his family home, No. 244 Waverly avenue. Capt. Cowin was born on the Isle of Man 49 years ago, and as a matter of course, went to sea when a mere boy. At the age of nineteen he was master of one of the largest sailing vessels which trades between Douglass and Liverpool. While yet a young man he came to America, and settled in Toledo, afterward com- ing to Cleveland. He first sailed the schooners Ed Kelley, and D. K. Clint, after which he was successively in command of the steamers D. W. Rust, George Spen- cer and John Mitchell, having sailed the last named for four seasons. He was known as one of the most suc- cessful and advanced of lake masters. He was a mem- ber of Cleveland Branch No. 4. Ship Masters’ Associa- tion, Erie Lodge, I. O. O. F., Royal Arcanum, and the Foresters. He lost his wife about four years ago. Three daughters and two sons survive him. Capt. F. D. Galton has been assigned to the wooden steamer W.H. Gratwick, and Capt. Richard Jackson will sail the John Mitchell vice the late Capt. Cowin. The Cleveland Dredge Co.’s big dredge is at Ashta- pula, trimming the ends off the P. Y. & A. docks at the end of the slip, so that the big ships trading there this season may be winded. A riot occurred on the docks Wednesday atternoon when non-union lumber shovers attempted to unload the schooner John Wesley. It was quelled by the police, and a number of the union men were arrested. One or two non-union men were badly hurt, and one of the rioters, named Miller, had to be severely clubbed by an officer before he could be arrested. The policeman bravely hung to his prisoner during an attempt to res- cue him, keeping the crowd at bay with his revolver. Several others were badly hurt. The J. B. Kitchen and other boats are being unloaded by union men. Henry C. Barter, national secretary of the ’longshore- men’s union, came down from Detroit a few days ago for the purpose of organizing the freight handlers, about 1,000 in number, into a union. He was an on- looker at Wednesday’s riot on the docks. The C. & B. liner State of Ohio started out on her first trip to Buffalo Wednesday night, but a hitch in her machinery necessitated her return to port. She will probably make the trip this eveuing. The City of Cleveland is now running between Cleve- land and Detroit. Capt. Archie McLachlan is in charge. There is now a hitch between the city and the Lake Shore and Erie railway companies and the Lake Erie Iron Works, the dispute relating to the ownership of certain land on Whisky Island. The city wants to erect a $140,000 bridge to replace the wooden Willow street structure; but as almost the sole occupants of the island are obstinate, the present bridge may be taken down and the channel left with no bridge at all. This threat ought to bring the obstructionists to time, as the bridge is an absolute necessity to them. Capt. C. EK. Benham has removed his vessel agency from room 618 to 609 Perry-Payne building. Mr. Walter Miller, consulting engineer, has opened offices on the third floor of the Western Reserve build- ing. CHICAGO. PARTICULARS CONCERNING THE DEATH OF Capr. W.H. CowIN—FREIGHTS AND OTHER NEws. OFFICE OF THE MARINE RECORD. t CuHIcAGo, April 21. Capt. William H. Cowin, master of the steamer John Mitchell was accidentally drowned last Friday night at South Chicago. He was going on board the Mitchell, which was laying outside the schooner San Diego, at Beck’s lumber yard, when he fell off the ladder, which he was ascending, between the two vessels, striking his head against the side of the steamer before he fell into the river. His body was found early Saturday morn- ing and taken to the morgue at South Chicago. An in- quest was held Saturday afternoon and a verdict of ac- cidental drowning was returned. The deceased cap- tain’s remains were sent to his late home at 244 Waver- ley avenue, Cleveland, 0., Saturday night. He leaves three}daughters and two sons, the youngest being 13 years of age. Captain Cowin was well-known as a skillful and careful navigator and was held in high repute by a host of friends who deeply deplore his sad death and feel much sympathy for his children in their sad loss of a good, kind, indulgent father. When completed, the Coxe Bros. Co.’s plant in Chi- cago will be one of the best equipped coal-handling docks. The intended coal storage pockets will cover an THE MARINE RECORD. area Of 180x200 feet, and be built in a most substantial manner. The loading pocket which shown in our view is 60 by 49 feet in size, and 54 feet in height, and built for durability and long service. The machinery, which is now partially erected and will be completed during this season, is one of the most modern and efficient de- sign. It will consist of a hoist for unloading vessels, a wire rope haulage system for hauling railroad cars in and out of the yard, and a complete elevating and con- veying system for transferring the coal from the stor- age pockets to the loading pocket for distribution to their wholesale and retail customers. The portion of the machinery now in place is a complete steam plant, consisting of a large engine and a battery of boilers equipped with a novel automatic stoker for burning an- thracite dust, the invention of the late Mr. Kckly B. Coxe. A ‘Jeffrey’? suspended flight conveyor is 200 feet long, with flights every 36 inches on one strand of “Climax Steel Chain.”’ These flights are being strength- ened with wrought bars riveted solidly to them, the ends of these bars having cast iron wearing blocks attached, which slide on wearing strips screwed to the trough timber, entirely eliminating the noise usually found in scraper conveying machinery, lessening the friction and confining the wear to the wearing blocks and Strips, which are economically renewed. This conveyor, which hasacapacity of a ton a minute, delivers the coal toa “‘Gravity Discharge Elevator,’’ also an inven- tion of the late F).B. Coxe. This elevator is constructed with two strands of No. 308 ‘‘Climax Steel Chain’’ (each strand tested at 16,000 pounds), with substantial 18x24x 7-inch steel buckets, made of -inch plate, every 16 inches, and is capable of handling three tons of coal per minute easily. In operation, discharging by grav- ity and not centrifugal force minimizes the breakage of coal, and it being run at slow speed adds largely to its longevity. From the head of elevator the coal is spouted to a gyrator screen, another valuable inven- tion of Mr. Coxe’s, which rapidly, economically and thoroughly screens and separates the sizes, which are then spouted to their respective bins for shipment. When the system is completed there will be five longi- tudinal conveyors similar to the one now in use.in the main storage shed, and across conveyor of sufficient capacity to handle the output of two or three of these longitudinal conveyors, their independent .°operation being controlled by friction clutches. Theconveying and elevating machinery was furnished by the Jeffrey Manufacturing Co., Columbus, O., and is of the very best quality in every particular. Spécial attention is called to the “‘Climax Steel Chain’ used throughout. the plant, its strength and durability being evident by the most casual examination. In fact, the whole plant, when carefully considered, will be found to be pleasing in design, perfect in finish, ample in strength and dur- ability and efficient in operation. Capt. H. H. Townsend, master of the steamer Edward Smith No. 2, took command of the steamer John Mitchell and left South Chicago, with her Saturday evening for Buffalo. Lumber and cedar freights are offering a trifle more freely. The present rates are nine shillings from Menominee and Manistee on lumber, and 5%c and 6c on cedar ties from Green Bay and the foot of Lake Michigan. The steamer Colin Campbell collided with the schooner Surprise, lying at her dock at Clybourne avenue bridge on Friday morning. The schooner had her jibboom and head gear carried away. The steamer P. J. Ralph and consort Harold were chartered for wheat to Detroit at 13%c. C. W. Elphicke & Co. chartered the steel schooner Martha for 165,000 bnshels of corn to Erie at 134c. She loaded at Bartlett & Frazer’s elevator at South Chicago. Her cargo of corn was the largest ever taken out of that port. Capt. John Prindiville chartered the schooner Emily B. Maxwell for corn to Walkerville, Ont., Canada, at 2c per bushel. The Dunham Tug Co. towed the steamers Thos. W. Palmer and Brazil to Armour’s A elevator; the steamer J. C. Gilchrist to the Danville and Indiana elevators. The officeof Dr. John B. Hamilton, of the United States Marine Hospital, has been removed from the United States Building to Suite 319 Rand-NcNally Building, No. 174 Adams street. The Dunham Tug Co.’s tug IT. T. Morford went into commission on Thursday last. She is a noble looking and better tug than when she was first built, It is as- serted that she is the most powerful tug in this port. A very large number of the grain laden fleet have left here for lower lake ports. WILLIAMS a BUFFALO. CauGHT NAPPING BY THE OPENING OF NAVIGATION— Coal SHIPPING RATHER DULL. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. Re BurFFaLo, April 21. If there was any further evidence needed to prove that there is not the least use of trying to predict the time of the opening of navigation the arrival of the steamer Davidson at dark on Sunday evening ought to furnish it. ‘There was a company of lake captains and others sitting in one of the harbor tug offices just before night that day. ‘They were speculating over the proba- ble arrival of the first boat. Some thought that some- thing would get in next day, but one captain, who was himself under orders to leave as soon as possible, d clared that he had madea bet that it would be late in the week at the best before he would get out. Just then someone came in and announced that there was a steamer blowing four whistles over to the southward. Everybody declared the thing impossible, but it proved correct and soon the tugs were off after the steamer Davidson. James Kennedy, general contractor for the Lake Car- riers’ association for the handling of grain at this port, has made the following apppointments of general fore- men at the various elevators: Erie, Edward Sheehan; Niagara A. & B. John Haley; Wheeler, Daniel Dela- hunt; Coatsworth & Kellogg, William H. McDonald; City A. & B., Ald. J. J. Kennedy; Dakota & Sturges, — Timothy Desmond; Frontier & Marine, Simon McMahon; Bastern, William Sheehan; Wells & Wilkeson, George Phillips; Connecting Terminaland Watson, P. M. Kane; Evans, Bennett, Union, Ontario, and Thornton & Ches- ter elevators, John F. Egan; Exchange, Michael Dono- van; Empire, foot of Ferry Street, M. Hurley. William H. Kennedy has been appointed general superintendent and Anthony J. Boland chief elerk. The following appointments have been made by Mr. Kennedy}for the freight docks; West Shore freight docks, L. Mahar, general foreman; stevedores, M. McGowan, Thomas O’Shea, and John Ljitz; foreman of coopers, James Malone. There is stillthe utmost indifference over the ship- ment of coal. The Pennsylvania company last week made three or four charters to side ports and then stopped. Monday, when the liner McVittle wanted a load she had to be sent to Erie for it. Leading shippers say that they may wait a fortnight before asking for ton- nage, though it is very doubtful if they do hold off so long. ‘The delay is not a matter of rates, for there will be no effort to change the 40 cent rate made by infer- ence by the other rates. Lumber shipments are in about as quiet a condition as coal. So far nothing has been taken on which a rate is made public but the Sam Marshall tow at $1.60 from Green Bay points. The Germania and consort Jenness, with lumber from Alpena, are bound here, but the ship- pers will not give out the rate. Pfohl & Son are going heavily into the handling of wet grain this season in addition to the wet flour busi- ness they have in hand already. ‘They are interested in an invention which they are preparing to set up in a new elevator they will build on the dock at the foot of Genesee street, but there is a hitch about the patent and they will,not be able to go into the spring trade at all. Lake men are watching the coming out of the steamer Queen of the West with the new engine they are putting in her. She hasbeen rather noted for the speed that she didn’t make, but now with the Calumet’s engine in place and steam-generating accommodations to match she will take'the wind out of a lot of steamers that used to go by her five miles an hour. Then if the beaten skipper doesn’t happen to know what has happened he will imagine that his boat has lost her grip and his en- 2 gineer will catch it. ‘There have been dispatches enough from Washington within a week screaming that the Buffalo breakwater was ‘‘safe’’ to crib and ballast the whole structure with- out any timber or concrete to put with them. Let us hope that the question is really settled, whether any member of Congress gets the glory of it or not. There is to be a five mile harbor of refuge southward to Stony Point and that settles it. Tugmen are still full of the idea that there is going to be trouble at the new bridge. They say that if the tem- porary structure or the south approach is touched by a passing boat it will go intotheriver and with it as many people as happen to be on it. But the contractors are sure that everything is as safeas it can be made, and there you are. The Union line has lost two good captains this season. A few days ago Capt. Clossey of the Rochester died and now comes a despatch from Oswego announcing the death of Capt. Garden. Mate Wulke was put in com- mand of the Tioga in place of Capt. Garden. John Gordon is kept in a “‘state’’ about all the time by someone who is putting into print the announcement that he has either done something important in the steamboat line or is just going to. Then he stands up on both feet and protests that he is doing nothing of the kind and so far has proved it by nothing coming of the stories. I am of the opinion that he is now in duty bound to do something to show how much he appreciates the interest taken in him. ‘The local papers have devoted the usual space to the robin and the Sassafras Indian, but have shipped ‘Old Tom”’ Linn, the dock fruit and candy dealer. He hiber- nates somewhere through the winter and comes out in the spring, good as new. He took possession of his stall in front of the tug office last week andit all looks nat- ural there now. Tomcameoyer from the old country long ago, but he is not the man to forget it, and few ex- iles of Erin are better supplied with newspapers from that country than he. The first arrival of the season, the steamer Thomas Davidson, gave the cue for the rest of the fleet. She was a foot ‘‘by the head’? when she came in and was drawing about an even 16 feet forward, but she found the water too shallow and after running into the doek and the steamer Maytham in the lower creek went aground at the Watson elevator. After the water came upa little two tugs dragged her up to the City elevator. It is expected that the dredges will be at work on the a