Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2016 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ =========================================================================== Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== The East Shore News Pentwater, Michigan April 5, 1872 [Marine extracts] The ice is beginning to break up in Pentwater Lake, and in a very few days will disappear if warm weather continues. Vessels are already loading at Eldred's dock. The steamer METROPOLIS, Capt. S**nard, arrived this morning, on her way down the shore, and will hereafter make regular trips, in connection with the CITY OF TOLEDO. The propeller MESSENGER arrived here yesterday from Milwaukee, and on her return will begin to run between Sheboygan and Pentwater, mak- ing the round trip daily. The Shore boats will probably commence their trips next week. SHEBOYGAN AND PENTWATER LINE. - After going to press we learned that the propeller MESSENGER will be put on the transit line between Sheboygan and Pentwater, to run in connection with the Sheboygan & Fond du lac Railroad. 'Tis well - Sheboygan Times, March 30. Lake Freights for the Coming Season. - There is every reason to believe, says the Cleveland Leader, that lake navigation will open late this spring, and that high rates will prevail, at least until past summer. The quantity of ice on the lake is unprecedented in thickness and quantity. At Port Huron the pres- sure of ice is so as to have greatly damaged the docks, and all the land-bound harbors, like Sandusky and Toledo, are anticipating having a tedious season of waiting for the disappearance of the ice. All the lower part of the lake from Erie eastward, is frozen solid, teams having crossed, so it is reported from Erie to Canada during the past month. Lake men usually reckon late seasons best for the purpose of vessel owners; if the busy period is shorter, rates are corresponding- ly higher. It may therefore be expected that the blockade will last for a month more, or until the 15th of April, and that as soon as the ice disappears the opening of navigation will be vigorous and prompt. There will be no serviceable vessels tied up to docks to rot this sea- son for want of profitable work. Every keel afloat on the lakes will be needed. Ohio wants more lumber from Michigan and Canada, and more ore from Lake Superior than ever were wanted in a single year. Chicago needs 1,000,000,000 feet of lumber and immense quantities of building stone and brick from the various lake ports. The amount of grain to send East is enormous, and lake captains at Chicago are now making heavy contracts at 13 cents on corn to Buffalo, and 18 cents to Oswego. The whole northwestern country needs heavy shipments of iron, machinery and other heavy merchandise, for the carriage of which water transportation is alone available. To meet this demand for vessels the shipbuilders of the various lakeports are hard at work. Three large vessels are on the stocks at Toledo. New Haven has one in process that will carry 250,000 feet of lumber. Port Huron has several fine ships under way, as have Cleveland, Buffalo and various other ports. The gloomy predictions of the croakers last year to the effect that the days of lake commerce are over, are to be exploded this year by one of the busiest and most prosperous seasons ever known. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The East Shore News Pentwater, Michigan April 12, 1872 [Marine extracts] THE GOODRICH STEAMERS This popular line of lake steamers is now ready for the season's campaign. On the West Shore route the steamers SHEBOYGAN and MANITOWOC will ply - Charles M. McIntosh is commander of the former boat; Captain Barney Sweeney of the latter. The MUSKEGON, Captain J. F. Smallman, and the ALPENA, Captain J. P. Hodges, will run on the East Shore route. The steamer CORONA, Capt. Napier, will run to St. Joseph. The propellers ST. JOSEPH, TRUESDELL and OCONTO, will form the tri- weekly line to Green Bay. John Gillman is commander of the ST. JOSEPH, Thomas McDonald of the TRUESDELL, and R. Jones of the OCONTO. The steamers are all in first-class condition, and the line, or series of lines, will continue to enjoy during the season of 1872 all the favor which has been bestowed by the public in preceding seasons. - Chicago Post. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The East Shore News Pentwater, Michigan April 19, 1872 [Marine extracts] (From the Chicago Republican) THE NEXT ADVANCE. Iron Ships and Steamers on the Lakes. The time has come when shipbuilding should receive attention and development upon the northwestern lakes. There is no other branch of industry, with perhaps the exception of railroads, which would so tend to enlarge and develop our agricultural and manufacturing interests as the building of a sufficiency of iron sail and steamships for the transportation of our surplus products upon our inland waters. The old wooden ship has had its day upon the ocean. It ought also to have its day upon the lakes and rivers of the West and Northwest. Wooden vessels decay much sooner and require repairs much more frequently upon the lakes than upon the ocean. On account of shallowness of our harbors vessels must be built of light draft, and if their length is out of proportion to their depth it is found necessary in sailing ships to add to the strength and weight of their timbers, and in steamers to supplement the ordinary timbers by a series of arches, which are unsightly and weighty, and which take up a great deal of cargo space. An iron ship or steamer, on the other hand, needs none of these extra means for obtaining strength. She can be built of an un- usual length, in proportion to depth. By increasing her beam, her powers of flotation can be increased in proportion. Thus vessels of this character, with great length, flat floors, light weight of hull, and greater internal space, can carry an immense cargo; it is esti- mated from twenty-five to thirty per cent, more than wooden vessels of the same amount of tonnage. For canal navigation, such as we have on the Welland and St. Lawrence route, the superiority of iron over wooden vessels is immense. The draw so much less water, in proportion to tonnage and capacity, than wooden vessels, that they would neces- sarily earn twenty-five to thirty per cent more money on the capital invested in their construction. Nor is this all. An iron vessel or steamship is much longer-lived than a wooden one, and costs much less for repairs; probably one third. This is acknowledged to be true as respects ocean navigation; but the advantage is much more marked upon the lakes, as the process of oxidation is much slower in fresh water than in salt; while the liability to foul on the bottom is reduced to a minimum, as respects the navigation of our inland waters. A wooden vessel on the lakes has seen her best days at ten years. At fifteen she is old and will cost so much in the way of repairing as in many instances to render her wholly unprofitable. An iron vessel, on the other hand, will live on the lakes and do good service, from thirty to fifty years. The United States Government iron steamer MICHIGAN was built over twenty years ago, and is to-day as serviceable as the day on which she was launched. We venture to say that she has cost less for repairs than any vessel owned by our government. She still uses the boilers and engines with which she was originally supplied. The old English mercantile steamer GREAT BRITAIN was built of iron in Bristol, in 1844, and is consequently nearly twenty-eight years old. Yet we notice she is now advertised in the Melbourne Herald to make the direct passage from Australia to England in sixty days. The vessel was at one time ashore in Dundrum Bay, on the coast of Ireland, for a whole winter. No doubt, however, such a vessel would last twice as long upon the lakes as she will upon the ocean. It will at once be seen, then, that for the navigation of the lakes, iron ships and steamers possess an immense advantage. There is no doubt that if we had a sufficiency of them to supply the wants of our inland commerce, it would reduce the cost of transporting our products nearly one-half. We have long hoped to see efforts made in the direction of extending this most important branch of industry. A few more iron steamers have been built, during the past few years, at Buffalo and Cleveland. This winter we learn that an increased impetus has been give to the business. The vessels already constructed have proved serviceable and have paid well, notwithstanding the high cost of the material. Proposed Appropriations For Rivers And Harbors. - The Committee on Commerce of the House of Representatives, to whom the River and Harbor Appropriation bill is always referred, have re- ported their bill for reference to the Committee of Appropriation for revision. That committee, it is understood, will report the bill for action substantially as it stands. The appropriations it contains are $4,958,000 in all, those for the Western lakes and adjoining rivers being as follows: Duluth Harbor, $50,000; Superior City, Wis., harbor, $50,000; Marquette, Mich., $50,000; Menomonee, Mich., $25,000; Ahnapee, Wis., $25,000; Two Rivers, Wis., $25,000; Sheboygan, Wis., $18,000; Port Washington, Wis., $15,000; Kenosha, Wis., $10,000; Chicago, $150,000; Calumet, Ill., $30,000; Michigan City, Ind., $50,000; Michigan harbors - New Buffalo $5,000, Aux Becs Scies $10,000, Manistee $10,000, Pere Marquette $10,000, Pentwater $10,000, White River $5,000, Muskegon $10,000, Grand Haven $20,000, Black Lake $10,000, Saugatuck $10,000, South Haven $12,000, St. Joseph $3,000, St. Mary's River and St. Mary's Canal $300,000, Cheboygan $15,000, Au Sable $10,000, Harbor of Refuge on Lake Huron $100,000, mouth of Black River $15,000, St. Clair Flats $4,000, Monroe $10,000. The RUBY will commence running next week as a ferry boat on Pent- water lake. She has been refitted throughout. The MANISTEE will make trips three times a week between Milwaukee and Pentwater during the present season. The MESSENGER has not yet begun her regular trips between Pentwater and Sheboygan, but will be put on the line as through trains are run- ning on the Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore Railroad. HARBOR APPROPRIATIONS. - By reference to an article on our second page, it will be seen that an appropriation of $10,000 will probably be made for our harbor this year. Although this is not as much as we should have, it will do considerable toward straightening and widening the channel, an improvement that is becoming more necessary every year, as it is difficult for steamers to come in when vessels are loading at the docks in the narrow part of the channel. Capt. Stannard, of the METROPOLIS, has had occasion to find some fault in this particular this spring. The appropriations as proposed seem quite evenly distributed along the shore. COMMON COUNCIL. - Wednesday evening, April 17, 1872. ....On motion the salary of Lighthouse Keeper was fixed at $30 a month. NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS. Grand Haven. A schooner called the CITY OF GRAND HAVEN was launched last week. She is 127 feet keel, 26 feet beam, and 9 feet in depth of hold. Her carrying capacity is about 250,000 feet of lumber, and her measurement about 250 tons. She is built for Kirby, Furlong & Co., to run in the barge line. Ludington. From the Record we learn that the tug ALDRICH was considerably damaged and nearly capsized on Sunday, by coming in contact with a line by which the BISMARCK was towing the barge ELDORADO. General Items. Navigation has opened at Muskegon, the first boat arriving on Tuesday night. Marine Register. ARRIVED. April 16 Sch'r FLEA, Milwaukee CLEARED. April 11, Scow BLACK HAWK, Chicago " " , Sch'r MT. DESERT, Port Washington " " , " FAWN, Sheboygan " 13, " ITHACA, Chicago " 16, " FLEA, Milwaukee " 17, Sloop MAID OF THE MIST, Sheboygan. The steamers of the Engelmann Line have commenced running, and are making regular trips. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The East Shore News Pentwater, Michigan April 26, 1872 [Marine extracts] The Harbor appropriation bill passed the house on the 15th, as pre- sented last week, with the exception that the amount allowed White River was raised to $10,000, and Grand Haven was cut down to $15,000. The steamer NEWAYGO will commence plying between that village and Muskegon about the first of May. Work on the harbor improvements has been resumed. The appropriation will be expended in straightening and widening the channel. Lake Michigan is now nearly two feet lower than usual, and when it resumes the usual level dredging will not be required. Our New Harbor Master seems to be diligent in the discharge of his duty. Last Saturday he ordered a vessel to remove **** channel, and as the Captain merely moved into the bight on the south side of the chan- nel, he was fined $10.00 and costs on Monday for disobeying orders. We **** that any trouble should occur, and that hereafter the captains of vessels coming to Pentwater will strictly conform to the provisions of our Harbor Ordinance which we re-publish this week. The Harbor Master informs us that he intends to show no partiality, and hereafter no vessel will be allowed to lie in the channel on Sunday, and only one at a time during the week, when steamers are entering our Harbor. The captains of the steamers say that they can without difficulty pass a single vessel lying ****** else in the channel is likely to be trouble. FIRST STEAMER IN - The steamer METROPOLIS arrived at her dock in this village on Saturday last. The METROPOLIS found low water at the mouth 6-1/2 feet only, and scraped her keel as she crossed the bar, but sustained no injury therefrom - Whitehall Forum, April 25. LOW WATER - There is only seven feet eight inches of water over the bar at Ludington. The barge ELDORADO last Sunday grounded and remained fast 24 hours. She was compelled to lighter 40,000 feet of lumber to get off. - Det. Tribune. WRECKED - The schooner LIBERTY of Sheboygan was wrecked near the entrance of Milwaukee harbor, on last Sunday night. We clip the following account of it from a Milwaukee paper. A sad incident of last night's storm is the wreck of the schooner LIBERTY, and the loss of one of her crew. The disaster happened about 11 o'clock, last night, while the vessel was endeavoring to enter the harbor. Captain James Gunderson, who owned and commanded the ill-fated craft, states that he left Sheboygan at 11 A.M., yesterday, took on forty-four cords of wood at Mann's Pier, and arrived off Milwaukee late last night. In consequence of the absence of a beacon light upon the extension of the north pier, he failed to enter the harbor, run- ning to the northward of it. He was nearly east of the pier when he discovered his mistake. The anchor was dropped, and brought the vessel up about five rods off the crib, but she soon dragged herself against it, and began pounding herself to pieces. By repeated shouts they attracted the attention of Capt. Kynaston, the light-keeper, who pro- cured a rope, and drew three of the shipwrecked men upon the dock. A fourth, the steward, Nick. Thompson, either slipped or was thrown be- tween the vessel and crib. He is supposed to have been crushed to death, as he was not seen or heard after falling, The unfortunate man was a brother-in-law of Capt. Gunderson, and about 23 years of age. The LIBERTY was owned by Capt. Gunderson and a brother of the deceased. She was worth probably $2,700 - no insurance. Besides all his clothing, Capt. Gunderson lost a sum of money which he had in the cabin. The remainder of the crew also lost everything they had on board. MARINE REGISTER Arrived. April 18 - Stmr METROPOLIS, Grand Haven 19 - Prop MANISTEE, Milwaukee 19 - Stmr METROPOLIS, Manistee 20 - Schr LAVINDA, Chicago 20 - Schr SOUVENIR, Michigan City 21 - Prop MANISTEE, Manistee 22 - Stmr METROPOLIS, Grand Haven 22 - Schr R. B. HUBBARD, Chicago 22 - Schr JOS. C. WILSON, Sheboygan 22 - Schr S. BATES, Chicago 23 - Schr JOSEPHINE DRESDEN, Chicago 23 - Prop MANISTEE, Milwaukee 23 - Stmr METROPOLIS, Manistee 24 - Prop MANISTEE, Milwaukee 24 - Stmr METROPOLIS, G. Haven 24 - Schr MINNIE CORLETT, Chicago 24 - Schr NORTH STAR, Chicago 24 - Prop MESSENGER, Sheboygan 25 - Schr SOUVENIR, Chicago Cleared. April 18 - Stmr METROPOLIS, Manistee 19 - Prop MANISTEE, Manistee 19 - Stmr METROPOLIS, G. Haven 20 - Schr SOUVENIR, Chicago 20 - Schr LAVINDA, Chicago 21 - Prop MANISTEE, Milwaukee 22 - Stmr METROPOLIS, Manistee 22 - Schr R. B. HUBBARD, Chicago 22 - Schr S. BATES, Chicago 23 - Prop MANISTEE, Manistee 23 - Stmr METROPOLIS, G. Haven 23 - Schr JOSEPHINE DRESDEN, Chicago 23 - Schr JOS. C. WILSON, Manistee 24 - Prop MANISTEE, Milwaukee 24 - Stmr METROPOLIS, Manistee 24 - Scow MINNIE CORLETT, Chicago 24 - Schr NORTH STAR, Chicago 24 - Prop MESSENGER, Sheboygan 25 - Schr SOUVENIR, Mich. City ===========================================================================