The morning call., 1892-09-19
Crews Being Distributed to
the Cruisers.
ACTIVITY AT THE YARD.
Admiral Ghararai and the White Squadron.
Wonderful Locust From Central
America.
Correspondence of THE MORNING CALL

clerical force attached to the receivng-ship p
Independence have been kept very busy in
receiving and sending crews to the ships
now In port. Many of the men on board of
the Charleston consider. it somewhat OF a
hardship, having but a very short term to
serve, to be notified that they will have to
remain in the ship on her cruise to the
East This is considered a case Of neces-
sity. however, by the powers that be, owing
to the fact that 1t is not deemed advisable
to ship and take a comparatively green
crew to sea.
The men now ON board Of each of the
cruisers are well drilled and thoroughly
conversant with all their duties pertaining
to the working Of the ship. AS they are to
visit the pri ncipal ports on each side OF
South America, IL is considered, also, lhat
they are in honor bound TO make as good a
display as possible.
Rear Admiral Bancroft Gherardi. ac-
companied by his personal staff, Leuten-
ants w. p. Totten and Ridgely Hunt, are
expected To arrive from the East the first OF
the week. The admiral will probably go on
board OF the Baltimore and use her as his
flagship while making the trip East. The
Charleston and ostOn Will accompany the
Baltimore. The three cruisers will be at
San Diego to take part in the celebration OF
the three hundred and fitieth anniversary
The Baltimore and Charleston are ex-
pected to leave the nayy-yard on the even
ing of the 25th il the repairs are completed
on that date, of which there is no doubt
that they will be, as so far during his COM
mand of the yard when an order is issued
by Admiral Irwin to have ship ready for
sea upon a specified date that order has
been obeyed.
The Baltimore came out of the dock the
fore part of last week, and Wedne sday the
San francisco went in. 1t had been ex-
pected TO find her bottom pretty foul. but
all were agreeably disappointed TO find 1t
comparatively free of barnacles. The snip
had been away for six months and at the
islands, consequently nothing else was
looked for. A photograph was taken OF the
hull for the purpose Of sending TO the de-
partment as an evidence OF her good cond-
tion, which is attributed to the snti-foulng
paint put on the last time she WAS ia the
dock
Some of the marines on board say that it
is owing to some kind of fish or crab
found in he harbor at honolulu; that they
could distinctly near scratching or scraplns
against the metal. They seemed TO play
regular tattoo and lulled them TO sleep.
The Thetis has been hauled out in the
stream, where sne will remain until she Is
required TO go in dock TO have her new pro-
pellor put on.
The Alliance is to be fitted out as quickly
as possible for her trip to Honolulu. to take
the place Of the Boston, which is already on
her way to San Diego. The order for the
ship to 90 TO the, islands was entirely un-
looked-for by both officers and crew, who
were expecting to have the ship GO out OF
commission aud be assigned to home duty
The Albatr0ss is awaiting orders Sev-
enty or eighty men are doing work for the
San Francisco. She will be oil the latter
part of the month. wherefor is not exactly
known. Probably she, with the orktowD,
which will be here somewhere between the
Sth and 18th Of October, will join Admiral
Gherardi's white squadron somewhere down
the coast The Adams aud Mohican Will
come down from the north little later in
the month. They Will probably remain at
the yard for awhile.
The navigator of fgthe San Francisco,
Lieutenant J. F. Moser. u s. n, has gotten
up schedule of the time OF the turn OF the
current at Mare Island after high aud
low water, and the knowledge Of which
will be found of much service 10 men-of-
war and other vessels at San francisco who
are coming up 10 the island.
The result If his experience is based on
lage number OF observations made, to wit:
The current at high water spring tide,
turns III. 20m. after the turn of the tide.
The current at low water spring tide,
turns III ION. after the turn of the tide.
The current at high water neap tide. turns
Oh 20m. after the turn OF the tide.
The current at low water neap tide, turns
oh. ION. after the turn OF the tide.
His own rule Is the current at Mare Island
turns 50m. after high water, and 40nl. after
low water. These are mean values for a
lunar month. At spring tides add 30m.;
at neap tides subtract 30m. from above
values. Spring winds and river freshets
will change the results, but these are cor
rect for normal conditions.
Hereafter marines who are to be dis
charged from the service pursuant to a sen.
tence of courts martial will be discharged
from the vessel on board the ship they may
be serving at the time. Heretofore they
were transferred to the nearest marine bar
racks. so that ii msttered little IL they were
in foreign station. they were sure Of their
passage 10 the United States.
1t has been many years since such an
array OF ships has been In our harbor. OF
course, some Of them are out of commission,
but, II required, II would not take long 10
fit ALL with the exception Of one or two, for
sea. They are: The Baltimore. San Frau
cisco, Charleston. Alliance, Theris. Alba
tross. Monadnoek, Comanche, Hartford,
Pensacola, swatara, Iroquois, Omaha, H.
dependence.
The old and new navy is to be seen here.
the wooden and steel types. What change
four score years has wrought In American
naval architecture and armaments of warl
a striking example may be found la one Of
the little old guns seen at the ordnance build
ing that is said to have been on board of
the Independence when she first went into
commission about 1920, and the great guns
that have just arrived on the coast for the
battle-ships now in course Of construction at
San Francisco.
Naval Contractor Philip Hiehborn, WHO'S
very close to the department, speaks In the
most encouraging manner over the pros
poets of Mare Island getting one of the new
ships to build, and says, "As with the set
ting up Of the present plant and Of the new
tools ordered for the yard, it Will then be in
every way equal to the undertaking" And
as to the quality of the workmanship, he is
confident, as the craftsmen of Vallejo and
its vicinity have shown their skill in meet
ing the demands OF the modern vessels
recently repaired there, not to mention the
finishing of the San Francisco Charleston
and the work upon the Monadnock.
The members of the Academy OF Sciences
at San Francisco will have an inteIe sting
study for discussion at the next meeting, in
the form OF huge grasshopper or locust,
Iouhd some ten days ago near the Marine
Barracks. There Ia much speculation as
to what kind of an insect 1t is. and the
amount OF destruction swarm would cause
II coming in clouds aud settling in this
country.
The insect Is over five inches In length,
and by local experts is pronounced Japa-
pese locust. Paymaster Stanton has care
fully hoxed it up and sent it to the academy
lor inspection The insect few on board Of
the Boston while lying at Corrientes, Mica
ragua, and was caught and brought here
dead No person there among either native
or foreign ever saw one Of similar size or
Kind
Over 45 marines In barracks will be trans
ferred tomorrow to the various cruisers.
This on Its face does not seem strange, but
1t has caused quite commOtion in the quar-
ters and on board the ships. The reason
for the assignment is that orders have been
received from the colonel commandaut OF
marines that all marines who enlisted in the
East and having less than year to serve
shall be sent home on the cruisers for dis
charge, and all men on the cruisers that en-
listed Oh the Pacific Coast shall be trans