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t } Sagres BaSwerpeen prema nee olor Pe ca 6 Ihe Marine Record. HISTORY OF LAKE NAVIGATION. l by the steamship Milwaukee in St. Clair BY J. W. Writlen for the Marine Record. CHAPTER LXXVI. During the navigation of 1869 there were HALL. j a “ u = | t a variously employed on the northern lakes | cinda Van Valkenburg, became insane at 121 side-wheel steamers, 140 propellers, 247 tugs, 175 barques, 50 brigs, 904 schooners, and 223 scows, making a grand total of all craft employed of 1860. At this epoch of lake history side-wheel steamers began to decline, the screw class having already gained the ascendancy, and it was but little dreamed of that a full-rigged ship had ever been on these waters, for they had long since disappeared and were almost entirely for- gotten. Full-rigged brigs became extinet this year with the loss of the Robert Burns in the Straits, together with ten souls, a sad end- ing to this style of rig, which never should have been introduced into lake service. Those in service were called brigantines, and in many instances were a base counter- feit on the genuine. The number of scows gradually lessened, as they were only useful in shoal waters, such as creeks and other places where ves- sels of greater draft dare not approach. The class known as tugs had reached their primeval and flourished while those of the harbor class rapidly increased and have been of important service to vessels for towing in and out of ports, During the navigation of 1869 no less than 188 vessels of every description passed out of existence, with an aggregate loss of ton- nage amounting to 38,920 tons. There were commissioned during the season 67 new ves- sels, with an aggregate amounting to 19,293 tons, thus showing a decrease for the year of 14,627 tons. The number of vessel sales which took place amounted to some where near 335, so far as the records show. The number of disasters on all the lakes and rivers were 2,048 of all kinds. Of this number there were 174 minor collisions and leakages, 37 groundingson the St. Clair Flats, and 29 occurring in Detroit and St. Clair rivers. Vessels commenced plying on Lake Michi- gan March 26, and between Detroit and Port Huron April 5, at which time vessels com- menced plying on Lake Ontario. The steamer R. N. Rice, Captain Wm. McKay, commenced her trips between Detroit and Cleveland on the same date. Between De- troit and Saginaw the schooner Telegraph, Captain Allen, was the first vessel to arrive at Bay City, April 18, encountering much ice during the voyage. The propeller City of Concord was the first to reach the Wel- land cana) April 23. The propeller Young America was the first to pass through Mackinac Straits April 24, bound eastward, followed by the barkantines J. C. King and Major Anderson, which passed Detroit four days later. One hundred vessels took their departure from the Welland canal on the same date, April 30, bound for western ports. The prope.ler Dean Richmond, Captain Ben Wolvin, was the first boat to leave Buftalo, May 1. ‘The Sault canal was open May 7, the propeller St. Paul, Captain John McKay, the first to pass through, bound for Mar. guette. On May 25 the bark Etowah, Ciptain W, F. Campbell, arrived at Cleveland from Liverpool with merchandise, and on the 17th of June she sailed from Cleveland for Liverpool with a cargo of oil. On the same date the propeller Queen ot the Lakes was burned at Marquette and be- came a total loss, The propeller Saginaw, atter nineteen years service, was converted into a tow barge at Detroit. The steamer Rothsay Castle, a former blockade runner, took her departure from Lake Ontario for ocean service. : On June 22, the schooner Reed Case, a new vessel, failed to pass through the Wel- land canal, having one inch too much beam, and was obliged to transfer her cargo. The barkantine Golden Fleece wae con- verted into a three-masted schooner, as were also the Bridgewater and Sunrise, On August 5 the bark Thermutis, Captain Robeit Dick,sailed from Cleveland for Liver- pool with a cargo of oil. The iron side- wheel steamer Helen Brooks arrived at Detroit on the same date from Baltimore, Md., en route to the Mississippi, via Chicago. The propeller ‘Boscobel, Captain J. P. Hodges, was burned on the St. Clair river, September 3, with the loss of three lives, On the same date the steambarge 8. Ciem- ent was diswnantled of her machinery at Detroit and made atow barge. The screw steamer Washington left the lakes for ocean service, where she had for- merly plied, passing Detroit September 25. The propeller Lac Labelle which was sunk raised, and reached Detroit on date last noted, repaired and placed in commission once more, Captain Gordon Wilson, of schooner Lu- Chicago. One of the most destructive gales of the 'THE LIMIT OF SPEED river and submerged for two years, was | | | lof | th season occurred October 17, resulting in| of IN OCEAN STEAMERS. It was asserted that marine nearly forty years ago engines could be built that | would drive a steamer through the wa’er at | the rate of It was a rate attained knots an hour. claimed, however, that such speed would never be an ocean steamer. It was held at no hull could long stand the atrain such a rate of speed, and that the pressure forty in much damage to the shipping and great lozs! of water would crush in almost anything of life. The barge Illinois, formerly a prominent} side- wheel steamer and known as No. 2 of\ that name, was lost off Forestville, Lake | Huron. She plied for several years on the Lake Superior route, and had been fifteen years in service. M. B. Kean, Esq., Detroit, was her last owner. : The most destructive and violent gale of the season took place November 17, causing great loss of life und property, among which may be enumerated the foundering of the schooner J. B. Martin, grain laden, Captain Thomas Lord, in Lake Huron, with loss of all hands, ten lives. The schooner W. W. Arnold, laden with ore, Captain Charles Beardsley, lost, with all hands, twelve lives. The brig Robert Burns, Captain Henry Churm, lostin the Straits, and nine lives; also, the schooner ‘Titan in Lake Michigan, all lost save one. ‘he gale was ot three days duration, and extended throughout the lake region to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Among those lost on that date was the bark Naomi, a fine vessel, Captain James Car- penter, which was wrecked at Manistee, Lake Michigan,and under the circumetances, was the most heart-rending of any pre- viously recorded. Captain Carpenter had himself and wife lashed to the mizzen gaff when she breathed her last, with her head resting in his lap. His last words, after asking for achew of tobacco from one of the crew, were: ‘‘Mother is dead. This is the last chew of tobacco I shall want.’’ After this he rolled oft the deck and dis- appeared. He had been many years on the lakes, was a man of strict habits, and was widely and favorably known. He waz, if I mistake not, a resident of Painesville, Ohio, anda Christian sailor, of which, from first to last, we find but few on the records. The bark Wirralite was the latest arrival at Cleveland trom Liverpool, November 23, with a.cargo of merchandise. The steamship Detroit was, at the close of the season, withdrawn from the Grand Haven and Milwaukee route, brought to Detroit and sold. On December 17 navigation was closed at all points. RVG OO ML Pare a ae A FISH STORY. A week or two-ago a singular occurrence transpired at the wood camp on Wolf Creek. says the Alpine, Cal., Argus. The land on which the timber is being cut is extremely ragged and broken by huge bowlders and rocky cliffs. Over these rocks the little streams which form Wolf creek came tumb)- | ing down their snowy sources on the moun- tain tops. Near one of these streams a couple of sturdy woodmen set to. work to fell a large pine tree which stood close toa high smooth wall of granite, About thirty feet from the foot of the tree,at which point it seemed to be decayed, the trunk divided into two large branches, one leaning over against the perpendicular wall of ruck. A small stream of water poured over the rock and falling upon the limb, fell in spray down along the side of the tree. Ihe water made the woodchoppers’ position very un- comfortable, but they kept at their work and soon the tree began to totter and fell with a resounding cia-h, and broke in twain. The men followed its course with their eyes, but their gaze turned to a start of wonder and their surprise found vent ina loud shout, which rang from) mouth to mouth and sent its echoes ringing through the mountains, “Fish! fish in the tree!’ cried the woodman, for from the top of the tree poured a volume of water as it fell and with it a hundred or more moun- tain trout, which were lett helplessly upon the stony ground. ‘I'he excited woodehop- pers crowded around and began to pick up the fish as they could, all ata loss to account for the presence of the trout in the tree top. The most plausible theory is that the water caused the tree to decay and become hollow, and the fish, being swept over the rock, fell down Into the tree. In whatever way their presence there may be accounted tor, the sight of the tree emptying itself of lively contents was wonderful, not tosay startling. SULPHUR IN ANTHRACITE COAL, M. Dieulefait has been inquiring why there is so much sulphur in anthracite coal, and why there is so little of free alkaline carbonates in the ashes. For this purpose he has analyzed the surviving species of the families of the coal plants, particularly the equisetaces, and has found in them a greater than usual proportion of sulphuric acid. Hence he deduces, as the answer to his questions, that the coal plants were more highly charged with sulphur than most ex- isting plants and that for that reason their alkaline constituents assumed the forms of | from those but a solid hull. 'wenty knots an hour has already been attained by ocean steamers, and the probabilities are that this rate of speed will be still further increased. But whether forty knots an hour will be the limit is almost as much a matter of doubt as it was forty years ago, although the objec- | tions now considered are entirely different then offered. It seems to be conceded by naval architects and engineers that a steamer can be built to attain a speed of forty knots an hour, size and cost being the chief questions to be answered. Prof. R. H. Thurston,in the June number of Forum, in an article upon ‘The Limit of | Speed in Ocean Travel,’’ says that “for ves- sels loaded toa limit with machinery, the higher the speed demanded, the larger must be the ship.’’ Considering how big are the “racers”? which now cross the Atlantic, a steamer much larger than even the largest of these is not considered an improbability. Upon the hypothesis laid dewn in the article before mentioned, Prof. Thurston enters into some interesting calculations about the size of a vessel which can cross the Atluntic in three and a half days—the time so ardently desired by some people. He says that a steamer 800 feet in length, 80 feet beam, and 25 feet draught water, would weigh, complete and in sailing trim, about 38,000. tons, “‘if given what may be con- sidered as the best form to-day known for maximum speed.’”’? This vessel may be ex- pected to demand about 35,000 horse power, at 20 knots. The power required to attain 40 knots would be calculated to increase as the cube of speed, but itisin fact found, says Prof, Thurston, that the law often be- comes more favorable at these higher speeds, while a speed of 40 knots economically cor- responds, according to what are known as ‘Froude’s laws,’ to about the speed of the torpedo boats, which latter are found to have reached a velocity well beyond the the point of change of the ordinary law of resistance.”” He thinks, therefore, the pro- bable power demanded as not far from 250,- 000 horse power. ‘'he machinery of this ves sel would weigh about 7,500 tons. Her fuel consumption would be about 175 tons ot Goal an hour, 3.200 tonsa day, and 10,500 tons for the voyage. The total weight of fuel and machinery wo :ld be about 18,000 tons, leaving 20,000 tons for weight of ship and cargo. The hull would weigh about 12,000 leaving 8,000 tons for passengers, crew, stores and cargo. Prof. Thurston estimates the cost of running a ship of this kind at not less than $75,000 for each voy- age across the ocean; and to pay this, he estimates for 500 passengers at $150 eavh, leaving the profit to the vessel owner to come trom carriage of freightand mails. He thinks passengers would be willing to pay $150 each, on account of the great saving in the time of the voyage. This description and estimate simplifies ‘the question of.the kind in ocean travel to the problem, What speed will pay? [f all the deductiotis betore mentioned are correct, no engineering or ship building difficuities are in the way of giving the ocean voyager a three and a half days’ trip avross the Atlantic. It is said that the big “racers”? of to-day do not jay a profit, even if they meet expenses. Cabin pa-senger rates are not likely to increase greatly, and increase in traific is the only direction to look ‘for more money. At present, therefore, the forty knots an hour steamer is nota probability. But when she can be demonstrated to be commercially a success—and not before—she will be built for the Atlantic trade.—Maritime Register. RAPID COAL LOADING, The London Shipping World instances the following cases of quick coal loading at the Bute docks, the coal being of South Wales extraction, said to be very inert. ‘‘On Feb- ruary 20, 1886, the Vectis steamship, for Messrs. Worms, Josse & Co., loaded 1,167 tons in eight hours; March 8, 1886, the Ele- more, steamship, for the Dowlais Iron Co., loaded 1,212 tons in nine hours; April 22, 1886, the Great Yarmouth, steamship, for Messrs, ‘*Lewis Merthyr Co.,”’? loaded 1,008 tons in six hours;. May 8 and 4, 1886, the Rose Hill. steamship, for Messrs. Worms, Josse & Co., loaded 2,291 tons in twenty hours, The employment of movable tips in the loading of coal cargues is a great stride in advance, It obviates the time lost in shift- ing ships for working each hatch, and en- ables coal to be poured into three holes simultaneously. ‘he new Roath dock,which will shortly be opened, is to be equipped with fixed and movable tips. In the con- struction of this dock regard has been had to affording accommodation for the largest steamers; and no doubt the inducements offered will attract the attention of the ship ping interests to this enierprising port. When the new dock is open, it will be pos- sible for three or even four tips te bé worked on the same vessel. A good instance of the advantage of this arrangement is shown by one of the cases quoted, viz., that of the Great Yarmouth, which vessel was loaded with 1,008 tons of coal in six hours, and this with two tips. ith tour tips the number of hours occupied would be obviously re duced 50 per cent, and thus a steamer orf 4,000 tons could be loaded in twelve hours, sulphates instead of carbonates.—Chicago|or at all events within fifteen hours.”— News. Nautical Gazette. [= SUBSCHIEE FOR THE Marine Recond. Lee MeDOUGHLL, VESSEL AGENT AND BROKER, hed WA XE Owners and masters of vessels wishing to get cargees of grain from this port will do well to confer with me. Will be giad to furnish information 1p regard to car- ‘oes, also in relation to docks, depth of water, etc., at luth, Agate Bay (new iron ore port), Pert Ar- thar, Washburn, Ashland, and all points near the west end of Lake Superior. Good gangs of men fur- nished on short notice fortrimming cergoes of grain, loading and unloading all kinds of freight THOS. WILSON MANAGING OWNER Wilson’s= Transit Line. Gen. Forwarder. | Freight and Vessel Agent, CLEVELAND, 0. J. J. H. BROWN. EDWARD SMITH. BROWN & CO., Ship Brokers and Agents. Special Attention given to Surveying, Apprais- ing and Settling Marine Losses. Exchange Building, 202 Main-st., Buffalo, N. Y. PALMER & BENHAM, Vessel Owners & Agents, New Bank Building, corner of Superior and Bank Street, Cleveland, Ohio. H. J. WEBB & CO., Ship Brokers, Vessel Owners and Agents. [ESTABLISHED IN 1856.] H. J. Wess & Co., willcharter Vessels for Lake Trade, Special attention given to Chartering Vessels in the Lake Superior Iron Ore Trade, both for the season and Single trip, ARCADE BUILDING, [01 ST. CLAIR ST., Room 27. Cleveland, Ohio. «.« TELEPHONE { 2c. No. 338. Residence, No. 1328. WARNER & BECKER, Vessel Agents andBrokers, ROOM 10, : Arcade B’ld., 101 St. Clair $8, CLEVELAND, OHIO. JOHN P- DRYNRY. Marine Collector. — Collections Promptly Attended to. ASHTABULA HARBOR, OHIO. “JAMES T. ROSE, ‘Vessel Agent and Broker, Room 4, Exchange Building, Duluth, Minn. Ihave an excellent gang of Trimmers this sea- son, Captain Miller’s old Crew, Special Attention Paid to Chartering Vessels, amd seeing that they get dispatch in Port. CORRESP )NDENCE SOLICITED. ‘ ROBERT RAE, Admiralty and Insurance Law Office, Room 37 Merrhants’ ouilding, CHICAGO. ILL, GEORGE FE. HALLADAY. Attorney and Proctor in Admiralty. Marine Business Promptky Attended To, OFFICE 2) BUHL BLOCK, DETROIT, MICHIGAN. ‘ Make Money! Fortunes are yearly made by successful eperators in Stocks, Grain or Oil. These investments Freeney per from $500 to $2,000: on each $100 invested. liable correspondents wanted, Address for cireulars WILLIAM E. RICHARDS, Banker and Broker. 38, 40 & 42 Broadway, New York. LOANS 1 per cent to 4 per cent per annum; Investments. will secure one BRUNSWICK 20-THA- — LER BonDand one FrariaN RED Cross Bonp,. the next redemption of which soon takes place. Every Bond vere in FOUR REDEMP- TION DRAWINGS anpua! a nr than one chance to obtain a Premium $20,000 to $100,000. Bonds at all times worth their face value. Remit $3 by Money Order, Draft, Registered Letter or Express. Balance payable in mon instalments. U. 8. Government Bonds sold’on monthly. payments. — Address for circulars, &¢,, . : G. W. FOSTER, Banker, 42 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.