New-York tribune., 1891-03-01
WORK AT THE NAVY YARD
THE vEsUvIUs'S BROKEN NOSE.
N,xrSG A REAL wARsmP OF THE MAINE-THE

Notwithstanding the utpdItuiN iiO''' 49, -'
Yard. few weeks ago, OF the NcSsciS co'Posi"5
the North Atlantic Squadron ana 'h' 'P""O'o" VI
T,.oI,tion and also of the sloOp-of-war iantlc
,1 ,ho 1ittIe torpedo-boat Cushing. there IS still
,,a, Or interest in the yard in the completing
-, ,Lo cruiscr Maine, the building of the un-
,o,,nobod crriser Cincinnati, and the work on the
orious otbcr ships There are now only TWO
r,issi nod war vessels in the Navy YARD, pu6
tbo old receiving ship Vermont and the seFcfal
,.oesoIs unon which work is done, and the others
wb;cb are relegated to Rotten Row, add 10 thc
number of craft there These two commissioner
ressels are the dynamite cruiser Nesuvlus ana the
new cruiser Concord The Ncsuvlus lies III 'hc
granite drvdock where she has been ABOUT tnrec
weeks The work Of scratching her bottom mas
been begun and visitor may see the "oIhHeh
natientlv tapping the bottom OF the Vcs'cI win
iron fools. in order to get Off the old paint ana
,be ccmcnt which is under that After the scrap
ING the bottom is to he painted.
Tho domooc which was done to the stem OF
,l VoeuviuS when coal barge came IN collision
with her in the North River few months ago IS
also being repaired. When the vessel was Put
into the drydock some Of the bow plates were
removed and an attempt was mode 70 s'r'iI"''h
the stem as il stood in position nut lus' aS
the work of STRENGTHENING 1t was ABOUT hh'Sh'"
tlp stem broke. 10 IPpulI 'HlN " ~" f''' ~
70 bc inserted above the break, and scarlei III
with the old piece. The bent plates are 10 DC
rolled into shane. and then put back and rlyeied
into nlace At present the Vesuvus has peculiar
apearancc as she lies in the drydock, with her
nose nll torn away and lying open. but II VIII
bc only a short time before the vessel Will DC
as good as ever.
The Maine is Of much interest. and also OF
mucb imnortance The work on this vessel adj
vonccs with much rapdtv. For some time the
work on the supcrstructure NJ the bow ana az
the stern Of the ship has been carried on ana
now the construction amidSEipS has been begun
The construction Of the barbcttc turrrtS has also
beon bcrun. The vessel Is now merely n grrae
red hulk. with the interior only partially h"iI'' put
as fast MS the workmcn can carry her along She j
approaching the time when She ZOO can Z" OH
- . yovoco with Gallant men 10 direct and take
cborgc of her. with the countN'e flag at her mast
head. and in the servicc Of her country. Inc
Maine is moorcd 70 the sca-wal alongside tho
lofty stationary derrick. and only short distance
from the shiphouSe in which she was Dnilt an"
from which she was launched last fall.
The donblc-turretcd monitor Miantonomah Is
at present also one Of the important vessels IN
tbc Navy Yard. The covering 20 the after tufTct
is Going int, place and the forward turrct Is, and
which have not yet arrived. Although the vessel
| has been in the yard for many months, and It
| has taken a long time to reconstruct her. II Is
now said that She will 90 into commission within
| tbr next sixty days. To this end several Of the
officers have already been assigned 10 tAc ship.
| CAPTAIN MONTGOMERY Sicard commanding, IA"n-
tenants commander Asa Walker executive officer,
! Lieutenant William Il. Caprrton. Chief Engineer
| George W. Magcc Passed AsSlstan'-EngInecrs
William :. Moore and +. {. Bicg. P1ymas,er J.
O. Barton and Surgeon James NJ. Flint
The Destroyer, the invention of Captain Fries
son. has been taken from tie yard TO Simpsons
| dry-dock The vessel is there t. be fitted with
| a sixtccn-inch submarine gun. The gun Is thirty
| five feet in length and carries proectilc twenty
| five feet long, with range OF about 500 feet.
| The new timber dry-dock provided for in the
Naval Appropriation BILL 10 he built on Puget
| sound is to be like the one at the Ncw-lork
Navy Yard. except that il is TO be 100 lcot
| longer. II is to be 500 feet long, 30 feet wide.
and capable of docking vessels drawing thirty
feet of water, and the cost is not 10 exceed
100000 The site is 70 bc at Port Orchard, and
a tract of 200 acres is TO be purchased for $!5.o0
| II will be by far the largest dry-dOck in the
| United States and one of the largest IN the
world This provision in the Appropriation bill
| led to one of the most spicy debates of the
session in the Senate, although the idea dates
| back 10 1883, when. in accordance with pre-.
vtous act Of khngcss, The President; APP
| pointed three Navy officers as commission 10
select site for a Navy Yard on the Pacific Coast
north Of California. The commission reported in
favor Of Port Orchard But in 1890 Congress
changed its mind about the necessity Of Navy
Yard, and the President appointed another com
mission to select a site for dry-dock This com
| .;..-. .
and Navy and two civilians. and after an cN.
haustiye examination of all available site, they
unanimously selected the same point which had
fulfilled all the requirements for a Navy Yard. in
! the opinion Of the members OF the first commits
| sion.
The latter commission naturally concluded that
repair shops, storchouscs and dwelling or
| two would he necessary cOncomitants Of a dry
dock, when some Of the Senators. not recocnizing
the difference between a naval station and a navy
yard, raised rceftopsal breeze in their dcnuucia
| tlons or the members OF the second commission
| but the members OF the Naval COMMITTEE con.
| WINGED the majority. No drydock now exists I'm
| the Northwest except the English docH nt
| Esquimaull, and the total ocean tonnage Of Puget
Sound is about four millions OF tons ana is
constantly increasing. The Naval COMMITTEES
| realized that it. the duty of the Government
| to assist the rapid development of tins PROMISING
| section, a section that has an unlimited supply of
coal and timber, an enormous quantity of iron
| ore of all grades, favorable climate and is the
| central site between San Francisco and Alaska
| The Yantic returned 10 the harbor on Thursday
| night to obtain coal. when she will resume her
cruise TO destroy the wrecks along the coast Tho
| vessel was ordered on FEBRUARY o 10 cruise along
| the coast from Sandy Hook 10 Charleston and 10
destroy, far as practcabc, all abandoned VT .clls
| dangerous 10 navigation The Hydrugrapllic
| Bureau furnished TO Captain Rockwell the follow
! ing list OF wrecks: Sunhcn wreck with three
| masts above water fourteen and half miles west
! Of Absccom Light, also sunkcn wreck SHOWING
three pole masts above water about six miles
! further out: sunkcn wreck near Five Fathon
Bank lightship. the sunkcn schooner Minnie and
| Gussic, thirteen miles TO the n0rthward If Cane
llenlOpen light a large sunkcn wreck OF Fcnwick
Island liehtship. a snnken wreck in Wachaprague
Inlet another of Winter Quarter Shoal IghtShin
another eight miles 10 the westward Of Frying
Pan Shoal lightship. the sunlen schOoncrs Dudley
FaIcin and Mollic J. Saunders, oA Rodc Island