The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Raised from a Depth of 186 Feet. Operations during the past summer on the wreck of the steamer Pe- 'wabic, sunk it' Lake Huron, together with Capt. James Read's efforts to raise the steel steamer, Cayuga, from a depth of 100 feet in the Straits. have directed attention to deep-sea wrecking operations in other parts of the world. Mr. Carl L. Holmer, naval architect with the Cleveland: Ship Building Co., has prepared for the Review from a pamphlet recently re- = - MARINE REVIEW. oo oer ALES ceived from Sweden, the following interesting account of methods adopted in that country in raising a small steel steamer from a depth of 186 feet. On Sept. 24, 1895, the steamer Sodra Sverige, carrying passengers and -- | a general cargo, left Stockholm for southern ports on the east coast of Sweden, and in the evening, owing to an error of judgment on the part ' of the captain, she struck a rock, and sliding off into deep water, shortly afterwards sank, the crew and passengers being saved. By means of mag- netic and other appliances the wreck was located, the depth of water being 186 feet. It was at first thought impossible to raise a ship from such a _ depth, and not until the summer of 1896 was it decided to make the at- tempt. The steamer was of steel, 165 feet long on the water line, with a beam of 24 feet 4 inches and 13 feet depth of hold. It had been ascertained that the vessel. was resting upright, and this made subsequent operations possible. A Mr. Waller suggested the idea of a tube, wherein a man might be lowered down alongside the wreck so as to enable him to insert the hook or crossbar at the end of a chain cable, suspended from a pontoon, into the sidelights, which extended al- most all around the ship. The inventor proved the practibility of his scheme, first on a small scale and subsequently, by going down to the wreck and picking off a life buoy. A company was formed, and active 1G q + SCESSE operations commenced in October, 1896, a couple of months being oa sidered sufficient time for the undertaking. Pontoons were constructe . of ample capacity not only to sustain the weight of the ship but ie oe: come the adhesion of the clay, in which she was somewhat embedded. The tube was made 197 feet long and 2 feet diameter, having at the lamer end a chamber 6 feet 6 inches high and 4 feet 3 inches diameter, wil a double bottom for the stowing of iron ballast. The plates were e aay sixteenths inch thick. Through the side of the chamber prplecsy ee rods, fitted in water-tight ball joints and capable of being move Ps of direction as well as pushed in any direction as well as Dea eB aat drawn in. Above the rods was a glass covered space for euieee which may for convenience be called a lens, and below pia Un ihe lenses, through which the light from electric lamps ee t Hee penidly wreck. A pipe for the supply of fresh air was fitted, ae : ee. ever needed, a man being able to work in the chamber three to without inconvenience. d ; The tube was ballasted until floating. upright and. mee can into the place where it was wanted. By means 0 Se could freely tackle the operator was lowered, and from. the cham Le aS ene eed converse with those on the pontoons. Having had a chain Seen phe alongside of him, he would, by manipulating the rods, ue the wreck. into a sidelight, and thus gradually attach the pontoons the place was It was an undertaking requiring much time and Peet ae ane bp talc an exposed one, and storms repeatedly endangere ee ing the chains, sinking the pontoons and causing other damage and delay. _Eventually all the pontoons were attached and the lifting began; first by immersing and pumping out the pontoons and afterwards by:means of jacks: When the ship had been lifted well clear of the bottom, the as- sembly of pontoons, with the wreck hanging some 160 feet below, was towed quite a distance into shallow water, a marine procession probably without a parallel. Considerable progress having been made, it was decided to push on through the winter and spring, in spite of the storms, cold and ice. In May, 1897, the deck was brought to the surface, and divers were employed carrying chains under the ship in the usual manner. At the end of May the ship was floating unassisted, and with'her delivery into Stockholm ,one of the most remarkable undertakings of modern times was brought to a successful finish. Around the Lakes, The Canadian government has ordered the wreck of the steamer Cot- trell removed from Bar point, Lake Erie. - : : Capt. John Kane, a vessel master well known at Lake Mich:gan ports, died at his home in Sheboygan, Wis., on the 8th inst. . ©. An interesting series of articles on 'Prominent Men of the'Great A (Canadian), by John A. Copeland, is now appearing in the Toronto obe. tate eae soe ee eter Directors of the Richelieu & Ontario Navigation Co., operating St. Lawrence river passenger steamers, declared a semi-annual dividend of 3 per cent., at a meeting held in Montreal on the 12th inst. GriA. Baker of Chicago has sold the steamer Mary McLane to the Traverse City Lumber Co. for $5,000; Wm. P. Robinson has, purchased the steamer M. Weston from N. L. Barker of Kenosha, Wis., for $1,500. Fred A. Ballin, for many years superintendent of the Detroit Boat Works, has resigned to accept the position of superintendent with Wolff & Zwicker of Portland, Ore., who have of late been engaged on: some work for the navy. a0 Tonnage of the new Davidson steamer Bermuda is 1,312.40 gross and 1,079.05 net. Capt. Davidson is putting down the keel for a schdoner, in. addition to the two wooden steamers which he has under way. The schooner will be 315 feet over all, 300. feet between perpendiculars, 44 feet beam and 26 feet depth. ie General Manager McVittie of the Detroit Dry Dock Co. successfully withstood an operation a few days ago for relief from an ailment that has kept him from his business the greater part of the. past six months. He is improving and has every prospect of eventually regaining his health and vigor.--Free Press. A dispatch from Washington says that Major T. W. Symons, United States engineer of Buffalo, is being considered as a successor on the Nic- aragua canal commission, to Capt. O. M. Carter, who was removed from the commission on account of-serious charges now pending against him in the war department. Capt. William E. Comer, who is in command of the passenger steamer State of Michigan, now running on the west shore route between Toledo and Lake Huron ports, has been in command of vessels since 1866 and has been sailing since 1852. New owners of the State of Michigan have adopted the name People's Line. » venliehiy The contract for the new Cleveland & Buffalo line passenger steamer has been signed with the Detroit Dry Dock Co., notwithstanding the differences that arose regarding the new organization that is to operate the Toledo line. Arrangements for the new organization are not fully ~ completed, but the plans are practically as announced in the Review two weeks ago. Vale The announcement that Lieut. Comdr. Duncan Kennedy is to succeed 'Commander Folger in charge of the eleventh light-house district has no connection with the efforts of certain politicians in Michigan to have Com- mander Folger removed from the Detroit District. Commander Folger will undoubtedly be made a captain Feb. 18, and will go to sea. If Lieut. Comdr. Kennedy, who was executive officer of the New York and is a -capable official, is to come to the lakes at once, the object is undoubtedly to have him become acquainted with the duties of the eleventh district, which is the most important on the lakes, in advance of Commander Fol- ger's promotion. iy Of a list of about sixty merchant ships that could readily be fitted to mount guns in event of an emergency, several are from the lakes. Drafts- men and other employees in the navy department put in a great deal of spare time in preparing and filing away for future use plans for alter- ations in these vessels that would make them serviceable. At present the navy thas either completed or in course of manufacture 130 modern rapid-fire rifles of four and six-inch caliber, with carriages complete, to be housed in navy yards ready for immediate installation on shipboard on short notice. Constructor Hichborn is drawing plans of every vessel certified as available as an auxiliary cruiser, and he says on thirty days' notice he can' convert these ships into well armed and well protected cruisers. Capt. O'Neil of the ordnance bureau says that the guris now available would be sufficient to arm possibly' fifteen of the auxiliaries. At tthe present rate of appropriations it will take several years to. secure a supply of guns sufficient for the list of available ships of the merchant service now in hand, but the work could, of course, be hurried if there was any immediate fear of difficulty. Sth Sy What are Rockefeller's plans about the building of more ships! _ This question has been asked many times in marine circles of late. The people who can answer it, Mr. Gates or Mr. Bowers, who are Mr. Rockefeller's managers, refuse to talk on the subject. This is not surprising, but they even refuse to say anything about whether present negotiations with ship builders will result in any contracts other than those just announced, being let for the coming winter. People who are best able to judge, are of the opinion that they are done for the present. But an opportunity a little luter to contract for two or three vessels at low prices, on which: delivery would not be required until late next year, will very probably be taken up,