Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1886-01-07
TIE JoxIArA,s CRUISE.
A Wilmington Commanders Three
Years. voyaEing i'm Distant Seas.
Army and Navy Register.

Years V0ynHing in Distant Seas'
Army and Navy Register.
The corvette Juniata, Commander
Purnell +. Harrington commanding, hnv-
ing completed her cruise about the world,
tied up at the navy yard dock few days
ago. She has made cruise of exceptional
value and variety. size sailed for the
east via the Suez linnnl in tho summer OF
1882, under the command of Commander
George Dewey. That officer, whose bril-
liant reputation led the department to
expect remarkable service from the ship,
fell ill when but n few days out of port
aud continued in dangerous condition
until the ship had passed into the Medi-
terranean, when it became certain that his
life depended upon seeking hospital treat
ment. He was put ashore and consigned
to the hospital care of the Engliah naval
officials at Malta. Commander Harring-
ton was dispatched by the navy depart
ment by mail steamer to his rslief,
and assumed command of the
Juniata at Malta. Leaving Commander
Dewey in his friends hands the ship
again steamed for her ultimate destina-
tion, the Asiatie station.
Since then the Juniata has been most
actively engaged in cruising or in attend
ing to those more important duties in
friendly waters, around and over which
war is raging and neutrals are in danger
of excesses from either "high contracting
powers.n On her cruise to tho eastward
she visited the Azores, Gibraltar, Malta
and Alexandria, went through the Suez
canal, passed down the Red Sea to Alden
and visited all the ports in the Persian
gulf. She assembled the river Euphrates
so miles to Bussora, where she displayed
for the second time in its history the
American flag. The authorities offered
her every possible attention and hospi-
tality. From this point the ship visited
Kurrachee, in Scinde, Bombay, Ceylon
and all ports in India on the AIalabnr
coast, Calcutta, Rangoon and the straits
of Malacca. The ports of Burmah and
the straits are rarely visited by American
ships, but the people were warm in their
welcome and visited the ship in large
numbers.
Three days after the ships arrival at
Singapore the tremendous volcanic ex-
plosion of Krakatoa was announced, and
with the intelligence came telegraphic
orders to Captain Harrington to proceed
with his vessel to the scene of the disaster
in the Straits of Sunda. The Straits were
carefully resrrveyed, the work involving
very delicate and dangerous handling, as
the conformation of the earths surface in
that broad locality had been violently
changed by this tremendous upheaval
and old charts were really of little or no
value. A careful use of the lead enabled
the Juniata's people to plot out broadly
new chart. The report was sent 10 the
navy department and q copy was trans
mitted to the government of the Neither
lands, by whom the important informa-
tion thus received was instantly given by
telegraph to the maratime world. Subse-
quently the King of Holland conveyed
through formal official channels an ex-
preston of his high appreciation of the
value of the prompt scientific work per-
formed by Commander Harrington and
the officers and men under his command.
Besides this highly important hydro
graphic work the Juniata warned many
ships and rescued from danger two mer-
chant ships, one American and one
English. From this important work she
was sent by telegraphic orders to Canton,
China, arriving there soon after an assault
upon the foreign settlement by an cnor-
nous Chinese mob. German and British
gunboats assisted in preventing dread
full massacre. The Chinese officials gave
the foreign naval forces cheerful and
ready assistance on all occasions of this
nature happening in treaty ports during
the war between China and France.
The Juniata had an experience of three
months in the Min river, while the
French were operating against and de-
stroying the Chinese fleet below Foo
| Chow, and took under her protection the
American aud other foreign residents.
| Cor6n was next visited and the water ap-
proaches to the port of Chimnepo and
the capital were surveyed. Two months
we've spent at Nagasaki, Japan, where the
| sale of the United States naval storehouse
was satisfactorily completed. The Juniata
brought to this navy yard o large quantity
of stores pertaining to the engineer and
other bureaus of the navy, to be ''turned
in" After visiting number of ports on
the coast of China, the Juniata returned
to Japan, and finally broke her home
ward. bound pennant ut Nagasaki on July
| LIST.
She first sailed for the island Johanna
| Comoro group, Mozambique Channel,
where difficulty between King Johanna
and an American citizen, DR.. B. F. Will
son, was examined into. II grew out of
q fine imposed upon the American's prop
erty for an alleged violation of custom
house law, 1t was satisfactorily arranged
and the king was polite and hospitable
again. The ship then visited ports on
| the southeast coast of Africa and reached
Cape town on October 18th, where she
was kindly received. After passage of
48 days from the Cape, touching at ST.
Helena to display her numbers for the
information of people at home, and at
Barbados for one day for fresh supplies,
the Juniata reached New York. The
Juniata, during her long cruise of three
years and more, travelled over 10000
miles and visited nearly 100 ports without
an accident to the ship.