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ig Detroit Steel Ee Seemehip E. C. Pope. "Special Correspondence to the MARINE REVIEW. JETROIT, Micn., April 16.—The Dry Dock Navigation Company is the » of the corporation now in charge of the big steel boat on the stocks e Wyandotte yard of the Detroit Dry Dock Company. The boat will be ready for service about May 1 and will be managed by Capt. James Mi len, of Parker & Millen. She will enter the general freighting siness, carrying ore, coal and grain. Preparations were made for launch- ing her on Saturday next, but it is not probable now that she will be _ launched until about May 1, as everything will be gotten aboard to make _ the boat almost ready for service when she enters the water. She -will be named. for EB. C. Pope, the Cleveland iron ore merchant. She will undoubtedly. ‘carry 75 to too tons more on the same draft than the big Maryland, built on the same model. This gain comes mainly froma shorter shaft, the engines in this boat being located farther aft. The new boat will be sailed by Capt. George Miner, and Engineer Snyder, formerly in the Iron King, will have charge of her machinery. Mr. E. C. Pope, for whom the boat is named has charge of the sale of ore of the Metropolitan Iron and Land Company, controlling the big Norrie mine. The boat is 337 feet over all, 42 feet beam and 24 feet hold. The recent accident to the City of Detroit, together with the changes that followed in officers of the line, has caused a great deal of comment— some of it of an unfavorable nature—but it can hardly be expected that a big steamboat line of this kind can be run for all time without a mishap of some kind, or that a steamboat officer is a poor navigator because he is unfortunate. The management of the big boats certainly has every con- fidence in the ability of Capt. D. A. McLachlan, although circumstances required achange. This was reaily his first accident. He could not well be blamed for eating his supper in the widest part of the Detroit river last summer when the City of Detroit-Kasota collision occured, and vessel masters who are acquainted with the channel from the head of Groose Isle to the Lime-Kilns can realize the difficulty of bringing a boat down that part of the river without the aid of the range lights that have always assisted them. By the change Capt D. A. Mclachlan goes into the old steamer City of Detroit, which will run in the excursion trade between Cleveland and Put-in-Bay, and Capt. Alex. J. McKay, for many years captain of the City of Alpena, of the Lake Huron division, has been given command of the new City of Detroit. His place on the Alpena will be taken by Capt. Matt. Lightbody, of the City of Mackinac. Capt. Slyfield, who has for two years been pilot and first mate on the Mackinac, will command her this season. General Manager Carter says the damages to the City of Detroit will amount to at least $30,000, besides six weeks loss of time, or a total loss of about $50,000. She struck the Dougall Rock squarely head on, crushing her bows up to the five foot mark and back for 20 feet into a shapeless mass of steel plates, frames, stem-piece and keelson. On the starboard side for nearly 100 feet back the garboard strake is crushed, and the frames probably so badly as to require removal. On the port side the damage is far greater. The path of the rock on this side seems to have started near the keelson forward, and to have gradually approached the bilge, badly crushing plates and frames to nearly amidships. ia Milwaukee Grain—Lake Michigan Notes. Special Correspondence to the MARINE REVIEW. MILWAUKEE, WIs., April 16.—Within a few days local shippers have taken two steamers for wheat cargoes to Buffalo at the going rate of 2 cents. They are the Veronica and P. J. Ralph, and their united capacity is about 105,000 bushels. These shipments will reduce the stock in store at this point to 240,000 bushels and leave very little to go forward in the near future, as the receipts are very light. Besides the steamers noted above the only other craft loaded with grain at this port thus far is the barge Allegheny, consort of the steamer Ralph. She has 40,000 bushels of rye on board.- Vessels of all descriptions, steam and sail, confined to the coarse freight trade, are now moving in every direction on Lake Michigan except es to Green bay ports; At the upper end of the latter thoroughfare the ice eS was still firm up to to-day, although it is supposed to be broken up inside ee of Death’s Door and accross to Cedar river. The Goodrich Line people do not expect to dispatch a steamer to Green Bay city before next week. The recently organized Milwaukee and Eastern Transit Company, which is to form railway connections with Detroit on the east and Louis- ville on the south by way of Benton Harbor, has purchased the old steamer City of Fremont for the route, and is concluding negotiations for another boat of similar size, so as to constitute a daily line. The company has closed a ten year’s contract with the railways interested on favorable terms. The price paid for the Fremont is said to have been about $20,000, A. P. Read, of Kenosha, and T. H. Head, of Chicago, have purchased the old-style Wéilend canal schooner John Wesley of Oswego parties for $6,600—a good price when the existing freight outlook is considered. A new boiler has been placed in Pauley’s iron steamer Roanoke. It was built at Detroit, and is 9 feet in diameter and 14 feet long. A telegram from East Tawas announces the total destruction of the _MARINE. REVIEW. ote ' schooner Souvenir through being crushed by shifting ice. The Souvenir was built at Milwaukee by Filkins in 1854, or thirty-seven years ago. Although fairly favored by fortune, she met with some serious mishaps in the course of her long career. On one occasion, when owned at Pentwater, Mich., she capsized off Little Point Sauble and drowned her entire crew. A fact worthy of note is that Capt. Elmer W.Craine, of the steamer William H. Wolf, was born on board the craft during a trip accross Lake Miahigan about twenty-three years ago. At that time Elmer’s father, Capt. D. P Craine, of the steamer Ferdinand-Schlesinger, was in command. A Launch Every Day. Special Correspondence to the MARINE REVIEW. WEsT Bay City, Micu., April 16.—The steamship William F. Sauber was launched from Wheeler & Co.’s yard at eleven o’clock, Wednesday. morning. Everything had been in readiness to launch Saturday, but the water in the river was too low to make the venture a safe one and the launch was postponed until Monday. At that time the wind still con- tinued in the south and the water had not risen an inch. Monday night the wind changed to the north and brought the water up rapidly, and the vessel was slid in as soon as possible. The second launch of the City of Chicago occured, Wednesday. The vessel now presents a much hand- somer appearance in her lines than before, and her builders and owners expect that she will come up fully to their expectations regarding dep capacity and draught. The barge Jrish was the first to begin loading lumber at this port. She commenced Tuesday, at Green & Braman’s mill and was loaded by members of the Longshoreman’s union. It is evident that the “free on the rail” resolutions of the vessel owners’ association a few weeks ago have — already come to naught. F. W. Wheeler is in Boston, and rumor has it that he is g after another E of those contracts for an ocean freighter, all of which have, so far, successfully eluded him. Everybody hopes he will succeed this time. The Keweenaw, the last of the steel vessels being built at Wheeler & Co.’s yard, will be launched in halves and taken to the Montreal dry dock direct from here. Her mate, the Mackinaw, was launched complete here and then cut in two at the Buffalo dry dock. The builders think they will effect a considerable saving by the plan they propose to pursue. It is the first time anything of that sort has been undertaken by lake ship builders, and the result will be watched with interest. The ways have already been laid’ under the vessel preparatory to pulling her apart. The separate launches will take place about the last of the month, on succeeding days. All of Capt. Davidson’s “Big Four” are ready for launching but every- thing will be made ready on them before they go into the water. They will all be afloat about May 5, and by that time the schooner now well under way at the yard will be nearing completion. She is now ready for plank- ing. Work is also progressing favorably on the Alpena company’s tug. The dimensions of the Sauber are 312 feet over all, 291 feet keel, 41 feet beam and 23 feet deep. Her engines were built by the Frontier Iron Works, Detroit, and her two boilers are from Wickes Bros., E. Saginaw. Chicago Grain Stocks—Labor Troubles. Special Correspondence to the MARINE REVIEW. CuHIcaco, Int, April 16.—Less than 2,000,000 bushels of grain of all kinds will leave here with the opening of navigation. A few boats are be- ing chartered for wheat at 2 cents to Buffalo with the corn rate at 1% cents and oats at 13 cents. On Monday last there was 6,231,138 bushels of wheat in store here, against 4,125,446 bushels at the corresponding time a year ago, but stocks of corn amounted to only 264,631 bushels against 8,729,863 bushels a year ago. Oats of all kinds foot up 591,978 bushels against 1,379,626 bushels last year. In addition to this there is afloat in the harbor 1,088,407 bushels of wheat, 226,328 bushels of corn and 189,255 bushels of oats. The Lake Michigan Vessel Owners’ Association, made up mainly of the owners of lumber carriers, has taken a stand against the labor organization in determining to establish a shipping office here for the coming season. They are willing to base wages upon the lumber rate from Manistee and Menominee. If the lumber rate is $1.50 per 1000 feet it is proposed to make the rate of wages $1.50 a day, that rate to be a minimum figure which will be increased in proportion to the increase in freights. The union sailors who want $2 a day are not satisfied with this arrangement. The owners of the lumber boats will accordingly endeavor to secure the assistance of the Chicago Vessel Owners’ Association in establishing a shipping office for the purpose of procuring men outside the union. Official Numbers and Tonnage. The following official numbers have been assigned lake vessels by Me bureau of navigation, W. W. Bates, commissioner, during the week ending April 11: Sail—Hattie B., Detroit, tonnage, gross 8.98, net 8.54, No. 96,101. Steam—Lillie A., Port Huron, tonnage, gross 11.23, net 5.62, No. 141, 126 ; 5 Towsend Davis, Buffalo, tonnage, gross 67.83, net 33-92, No, 145,580-