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•Nd i ghe Marine gecori. K Journil dorolod to Commtrn, N»vl|»tlim >n( .ttolcnco, Fublllhod WmVIj »v AIAKSON WILCOX, Editor A Proprietor, « » CLEVELAND, OHIO. ? , OBu Ho, 9, South Water Strait- $200 per Annum. INVAttlADLY I\ ADVANCK, \ &OBHTB ABE WANTED IN EVEBY PORT ADVERTISING RATES. Ton cents per lino solid Nonporlol niooauromcnt. Tffolto linos of Nonparlci sot sofid make one Inch, Twenty conti per lino for routing notices, solid minion measurement. Articles, letters tiud queries on all siibjocft ano solici¬ ts WsTTho Editor as uines no responsibility for tbo opinions of correspondents. To Insure noUcefcontributors must give nanio and address, and write on one sldo of the paper only THE MARINE RECORD lias an Agent In every port on the'Lakes and RivorU, and will consequently elrcu- Uto more or leas in all of them ' Asa medium for advertising It hns no superior, as It circulates among a class of people that enn bo reached In no other way.. ^ EDIT0J1IAL NOTES. The Star Route furce lifts ended. Tlio de¬ fendants, though not convicted nro disgraced mon, and the verdict Is not a ylndlcuttoii. TiiEstenmbargeJ. S. ray wllhlior consort the D. P. Rhodes reports passing through 200 miles of Ice on the recent up trip. Sqmo of tbe cakes » ere 30 feet -thick and the mate ot the Fay thinks ibcie will be ice on tlio nortli shore all Bummer. Tiikhk has been a great deal 01 complaint of tlie measurement of grain at Kingston. Ipmany instances the shortngo has eaten up the entire freight, Lately Improvement lias been noticed in this respect, and some cargoes have overrun. Why this difference!1 Toe largest steel Balling ship afloat was launohed last year at Belfast, Ireland. It registers 2,320 tons and has been named tbe Garfield, after our lamented president. It Is employed In the Australia and California trade by the manager! of tbe White Star Lino. By the Michigan piipor* wo see Hint a del¬ egation from the legislature of that State is .^ likely to make an excursion to Lako Superl- \y or this summer. The details are to bo set¬ tled by the members tiom the Upper l*on- Insula. The Idea Is to provide for an In¬ spection ot the Iron and copper district and a visit to all the principal towns. A valuable smoke consumer hns been In-, vented by Mr. W. A. Foster of Cincinnati. It Is said that smoke cannot exist when his device is attached and Ills repieaentcd as being entirely applicable to any furnace under a steam boiler on shore oi sea. Tlie result of le6ts about to be made will be looked for with interest. Pulsomctor Steam Pump-. Company of 84 John street Now York. One says: "It uses so little fuol we use It all day long withal barrel antMtTUIl1 of coal." An_othor nays: "It will pump moro water with tlio least amount of Steam thari any puuip-I ever saw and It costs nothing for repairs." American built ships are the best In the world. As to superiority In strength and ['seaworthiness 'thoy aro uncqunloil among the sjilps of all nations. A wrecking regis¬ ter would show oin ships to be better manned and managed than those) ol Great Britain. There Is too muoh carelessness ant) utter disregard of human life, In the management of the British marine, as la showji by tlie collision^ disasters und-lossoi reported. We may mention as an evldoneo of tlio popularity of the patent metallic llfo iafts of H' C. and J II. Calkins, that during the past month they have supplied with raft* tbe Anchor, Onion, Red Star, Hambuig, North German, Llojd, Rolteidam, Monarch and State LIucb, all plying between New York and Fin ope. They have also sold rolts to numerous lines plying on the Hudson and East rivers, and have receded un order from the DotrwaiidCleveland Steam Navigation Company for two rafts for their new steamer City of Macklliaw j ^ Fheiohts seem to be in abundance at all tire principal ports on the lakes The de¬ mand for vessels continues and better rates are being obtained 1*. t. now general)' incaiiB above former latcs. Grain,ore, lum¬ ber, toal and general merchandise are offered In sufficient quantities to make the coming season a profitable one to vessel ou nors. Tut Chicago papers are loudly clamoring for the appointment of a tea Inspector nt tint point, claiming that Chicago Is the sec¬ ond city In the Union in the amount ol toil Imported, uud liouso in the union Is located there. We cinnot sec why they may not have an In- gpectoi and not be obliged to send samples to NowYoikfor Inspection. Demon Is making prcparatlou for .in art exhibition H6xtSeptemborSTrdJOetober. A "'building lor this purpose is belmi constructed similar to the "genieiilal in t annex." Some ■Very lino collections from Michigan and " other status aie promised for that iiccaslon. flucb-oxlitbltlons show the progressive taste and culture of our western civilisation and should bo encouraged. — H.ANY letters are received speaking in hlgest praise of tbe New l'ulsometer of the FLORIDA SHIP CANAL. TJie Florida Ship Canal and Transit Com¬ pany held a meeting in Nov York, presided over by Hon. J no. C. Brown, of Tennessee. Highly encouraging reports jveie mado by various committees, and the feeling of suc¬ cess In the enterprise is very marked, Charles. P. Stone, the engineer, was present. He stated that lie had examined fully Into the reports of previous englneoTS and enter- talned'^iio aonbt of the feasibility of con¬ structing a tide wntcr.Blilp canal aeross the Peninsula of Florida. . Ho also stated that his asslsum^engluecr, R. Hill, Is already on tbe ground In-Florida, and that the actual work of survoy would begin Immediately. Tln/survoy will l>e completed In about six weeks and at soon as the exact route ot the canal Is detei mined upon the contract will be let and the work be pushed with all pos¬ sible vigor. It is thought the woik will be¬ gin by September next. Goneral Stone has had large experience In Egypt, in connec¬ tion with the Suez canal. Leading capital¬ ists ol this country and Englard are eager to furnUh the funds required for tlie con¬ struction of the canal. It Is well understood here that the canal will have tlio backing and friendship of the great Texas and Ar¬ kansas system of roads, with the connections ramifying throughout the Southwest, and extending through to the Pacific. General Stone expects to be in Florida In two weeks. LAKE ERIE WATER SPOUT. One of the grandest sights that has ever been soen on Luke Erie was witnessed re¬ cently a little southeast of Turtle light. The heavens were overcast with heavy clouds and a squall suddenly sprang up of con¬ siderable energy. The waters of the hike were lashed bo that chop' seas ensued. Amidst the bobbing ol the waters and the casting of the spray high into the air a most remarkable phenomenon appeared. At, threo dillercnt points within half an hour the water was seen to take a whilling mo¬ tion and was swlftlj sucked up, appearing like the light Biuoke from tlio stuck of a steamer, increasing In volume like thread being wound Tound u bobblwr unjll It reached Beemlngl} aqiiartci of a mile high Union in the amount ot toaJas It lengthened out It took the shape of a that the largest Impcrtiygy,,,,, ,1U(.oplii, with Jargo apex and a thread like base. The three spouts were carried along with gicat force, rotating iiipldly, until they stiuck the cloudy and disappeared. The men on the tug Farnigiitsiiy that while they had frequently seen waterspouts on (both fresh and salt water, the ones here des¬ cribed had marked peculiarities, dlffsrlng widely from any thoy had five) soon. They were awe-lusplrliig In the extiome, and hud a weird nppeurnnio that carried des- -truction In their path. This 1,aa been a remarkable year for cjclones 'that have hurled desolation and desti notion, and one long to be reiueinber>rWoi' wonderful phen¬ omena In nature, and not the least strange were the spra} -clouds on Lake Erie. AMERICAN BUILT SHIPS. A reporter of a Philadelphia paper says: "Captain Joseph Steele, a stuidy, ruddy American mariner, who has spent many years of his life In tlio Clilncso Vr-ade. was found yesterday at his rcsldeneoNm South Broad street. He sn.hjjiu ljnd boon rcooutly In Great Britain,' oxitmlnlng the shlpbulld- hig yards In the Interest of an American trading firm. 'I was sent over,' he said, 'to Scotland, by the Oceanic Steamship Com¬ pany', to charter vessels for the trodo bo- twoon San FiancUo* and 'tlio Sandwich Islands. The vessels we wanted woie pecul¬ iar, for while they were to have a speed of not less than twelve-knots an hour, thoy were not to be more than 2,300 tons doad weight capacity. This high rate of speed, compared with thecomparatlvesmallnossof the capacity, Is rendered neseaaary by the limited depth of water on the Sandwich Islands bars. There are no ships to-day In Great Britain that havo that spued and that tonnage an J I found tliere wero only twen¬ ty five ships there that were capable of steaming over fourteen knots, and that the shlptof about the" capacity that we wanted wero only able to do from nine to ton knots. Falling to find the kind of ships tic wanted, I was liiBtrustod to -go to tlio principal ship building firms and get estimates for throe new ships. I accordingly visited John El¬ der & Co.'s famous shipbuilding yard on tlie Clyde, Thomson's yard on ttioClyde, Inglls & Co.'s yard near Glasgow, and Harlan &' Woolfs establlBbmenHrriielfast. All these yards had built well-known Atlantic ocean steamer* I got their estimates line* returned with them to the United States. Hero I went to our principal shipbuilding firms and got estimates from them also. After exam- Ing the home uud foreign estimates care¬ fully, the Oceanic Company directors le- solved to have the steamers thoy wanted built in this country, wlioro they would be able to run under the American Hag. Well, we finally decided to give the contract to a Philadelphia firm, at an Increased cost over the English estimates of only about $40,000 on each steamer. The directors argued thut-j this difference of cost would be compensated for by the superiority of Amerleau Work- mansnlp and material. Each of our steam¬ ers will cost half a million dollars." "What did you think ol shipbuilding In England?" ^ "My experience whs that the work turned out In Belfast was as tine as any in tlie world, and that tlie Clyde-built engines were su¬ perior to the hulls of Clyde-built steamers. The large majority ot the ships turned out In England were of the 'tramp' olass—very Intei lor Indeed; of no account, I might say. That Is why we couldn't find any s'eumeis that would suit us, and why we had to look at home for the fulfilment of our require¬ ments, Two of our ship), the Mariposa (or Butprfly). and the Alameda (or Fortress), are now nearly ready, and the third is already In frame on the stocks. # # # * « # * Captain. Steele, who Is superintending tlie building of-xhe Oceuiiie Company's steam¬ ers, showed gieat pride in Ills ships, null told the rcportei as he was about to lca\e him Hint nobody need tunc any fears of the future ol jtjjueilain shipbuilding when ships like these were being tinned out, superior in mn'ny respects to the very best boats built on the othor side of tlio Atlantic." STEAMER PEBCY SWAIN. Still"liter, Minnesota, Gazette. The new stemiler Peicy Swain, built by D. M. Swain, of our city, of which we made mention re¬ cently, has proved a success far beyond the expectation of her owner. Mr. Swum lias had much to contend, with In this now fea ture of umchluoiy, only quo or two ol our steamboat men giving lilm any encouiago- inent, but he has gone straight abend, and the day Is not fur distant when hU liupfove* ments will be recognized by all, - In our nrttele recently a few mlstatements were made and the following will-be moro comprehensive and correct. With 120 pounds of steam, she makes 20 ■ evolutions ol her whcelti minute. The en¬ gines are of the compressed plan, with sev¬ eral now features. One Is a high picssure engine, 12 Inch by sjx feot suoko. Tlio other Is a low pressure oiiglneWrlth a 24 'noli by sii foot stroke Sieunl^hrjisedLou tlio high proBBtiro onglno In the usual man¬ ner. Its exhaust steam supplies the low pressuro engine with about nlno pounds of steam. The steam Is condensed and a vaou- um is obtained of about twolve pounds. This nine pounds of stoant and twelve pounds of vneuup'i on the 24 Inch engine devolopes the same power-as the high (pros- snro onglno. Thus the consumption of steam Is one-half of the ordinary two- high piossure engines, which makes a saving of one-half tlio expense of fuel, whlolr amounts to many hundnijd dollars overy season. Slip Is also piovlded with heater, condonsor, air pumps, and food .wntor pumps, worked by an Independent engine. Tliewholo machinery Is so arranged that It ennuo manipulated as easy as (he ordi¬ nary steamboat machinery. ' MACKINAC' Nature and the luWl-of man never com¬ bined to bettor advantage, tuan, when they fashioned the Mackinaw Of to-duy. The beautiful Utile Island, with Its traditions. Its many romantic and lilstorloal associations somo extending way back Into the dim reminiscences of days long sinco gon, by others still wltlilif"tho remembrance of honoied actoisof the protont 'age of life, lies within the Straits of the sanio name, but a few miles from the main land, and Is easily accessible to olther the Northern or Southern Peninsula.". It Is the moat plcturoaqno'of any on the lakes, and here riature displays all her grandure. Indian tradition makes this Island the home of tile Giant falrlea, hence it was regarded with awe by that race, by whom It was called Moc;ohe-ne-moclt-c- nung. Tho French name of the early settlers was Miohlllmacklnac. Picture after picture has been drawn, extolling the beauties of the turroted castles, the walled-ln cities and fair fields, hills, rugged mountains and peaceful valleys of ancient and foreign cllmos. Songs have been Bung, and great minds have spoken In their praise; but not Inferior to'them all Is Mackinac—wjth her "Lover's Leap" around whloh circles a pretty story of maiden's fidelity; the "Arched Rock" a great natural wonder; the Devil's "Punch Bowl," a wlerd appellation to a singular freak of Nature; tbe "Giant's Stairway," "Pontlao's Lookout," the "Chimney Rook," the whitened wul'a of bid Fort Mackinac on the hillside, built by the English In 1780, with the original block houses still standing Intact; the Soldier's Cemqtery oarrylngone back a century and a ball, when some of those lying tliere wore true men and brave defenders; the remains of old Fort Holmes, the-'Parade Ground." tho building of the old Fur Company, some Of them nearly a century old; the quiet little village, beautiful because of its quietness—all these and Muoh more mako her the peer of any resort in tbo world. The settlement of Macklnao was com- oiiceil In 1701, a year after the massacre at id Mackinaw. In 1703 it was surrendered to tlie American govornmen:; tukon by the British 1 i 1812, but restored by the treaty of Ghent two yeai s later. It lies 728 feet above the level of the Ocean, Is 350 miles North from Chicago, nbout 300 from Detroit, and 00 miles fiom Suiilt Sto. Marie by steam boat route. The mean annual tcinperatuio Is 41 degrees full • A portion of the Islard has been set aside by Act of Congress, to be known us the "Maoklnac National Park." Within easy access to tho Island are vnrlom points of Interest. Among them St. Ignace, the seat of tho labors of Father Marquette; Old Fort Mackinaw, celebrated as tlie-scene of the drendlul Indian massacre In 1703. "Spectacle Reef," on which the Government has erected a very lino right- house. Choboygun, (Indian Oha boal-gan) ilouikhlng lumbering center—Duncan City, ore ndlo frpm Choboygun, Is extensively ongaged In lumbering, ninny million feet being cut annually. -----" —tattm, - .------------- , UNION STEAMBOAT LINE. This lino is composed of seventeen vessels In all, fifteen sfeniueis and two of the lurg est schooners on the lakes. Four of tlie vessels make Luko Superior ports, stopping at all Important points to Duluth. Tho line does a general freight and passonger busi¬ ness and Is about twenty years old. The H. J. Jewett, of tills Hue, is said to bo tlio fastest boat on fresh water, making Chicago from Buftaloln 08 hours. She U built In compartments and in tegular ocean style. X.