The evening times., 1895-12-18
DOUGHTY IOR|PEll. !l|!|' .RQiIl
The Gushing Is Asw Steamihs,
Down chesapsak Bay: I:,...... -.
ON HER WAY TO WASHINGTON
She Cut Frozen Canaisr ON Her Infanus
Voyage and Got some Big Dents IN
Her Sides-Coming Here 10 Go Into
Winter Quarters 1.-THE Navy YGrd..
PURPOSE of the Experiment..

The torpedo boat Gushing, Lieut., Roy @.
Smith commanding, attached to the tor
pedo station at Newport, K. r., arrived al
the Naval Academy at Annapolis lastnigbt.
| The steamer lett Bordentown, n. j., yester-
day morning, aLd encountered some Ice
coming through the canal Lieut.. Smith
| paid his respects to Supt. Cooper, ard today
| the Cushing is on her way to Washington
for winter quarters by way OF Chesapeake
| Bay and the Potomac. The ma ximIm speed
| OF the Cushing is twenty two ituofs.: '''-
The Cushing is on her way TO winter quar-
| tiers here alter cruising about NarrI ga nsett
| Bay all summer, and, instead OF taking the
| outside route to the capital, it was deemed
| expedient to take the course by way ofthe
jniand canals. The trip has been ref.dereti
| especially hazardous bystnci ice III the
| Raritan River and In the canals.
When the Cushing TOOK this course two
seasons ago, Lieut.. Fletcher, who vas in
command, was forced to put sbout after
encountering heavy ice beneath south Am
boy and New brunswick. He returned and
took the outside course. l'iis' a''3 4i'is' Il, q
The Cushing encountered fierce gale
WIEN in the Delaware Brcak%atcf, and
was delayed 1Our days, during wtiich she
was badly disabled, and many weeks Were
spent putting her in repair. Because of
the experience, 1t was deemed advisable
To risk the ice in the canals on the trIp. %
THROUGH OPEN WATER,
The Cushing left the navy yard, Brook
lyn, at q a. nI-, Monday. She made the
run into Raritan Bay through open water
and at South AmbOy took aboard Capt.
John Smith, the pilot, whose knowledge OF
the Raritan River and tue iufsnd canals
have made him a valued aid on. government,
craft.
Soon after leaving South Amboy the
Gushing, which was smakiDg twenty knots an
hour. fell in with noes OF broken ice nearly
foot thick. She then proceeded under
balf-steam up the Rsritan. 1t seemed at
flrst TO Lieut.. Smith that the sha rp edges Of
the broken ice would badly bulge the steel
plates of the little fighter, but he continued
on, as the prospect was for clearer water.
The chisel-shaped PROV of the Gushing cut
through the ice with ease, sending the
broken cakes to port and starboard ike
great sheets OF neecy paper. After a run
of three hours and forty-five minutes. the
Cushing entered the Delaward and Rari-
tan Canal at New Brunswick. II had taken
that time to make forty-seven miles, since
the last half of the run had been made at an
eight-knot rate.
The torpedo boat was then locked in the
sluiceway, the big gates were shut ut the
lower end, and the craft was lifted 10 the
icsct u tut n great CIoWu WIS at
the lower lock to see the Gushing. As she
steamed slowly through the canal, past the
various factories and under the big bridge
at Albany street, which connect New Bruins
wick with Highland Park, the factory em-
piOyes in the suops turned out ncheer Uncle
Sans little batt.eship, and enthusiastic en-
gineers opened their gongs and steam whis-
ties full gauge. The Cushing screamed her
loudcst in return for the hundred varied
salutcs from the factories. Her trip through
the city was quite like triumph.
PURPOSE OF THE TRIP.
After the Gushing had passed through
New Brunswick Lieut.. Smith said OF the
purposes OF the experiment: s.,'r,. 80 .7t
lit will serve TO demonstrate that the
trip is feasible. We shalt avoid tile tiHngs-r
OF injury from rough weather ut sea. and.
third, the trip Will be OF valic us giving
the MEN experience i'll this kind Of work.
In the event of war IL might be necessary
to use the inland route Frequently. 'und by
sending the men over IL as often as it is
possible they Will gain cXperiefijc In nayi-
eating those waters. As one object OF the
"trip is to get an acquaintance with the
route, we shall proceed sowIy, ahing
notes of the colrsc as VIC 90 along"
At Princeton the college boys turned out
and gave the Cushing roGsing reception.
Many of them Were on skates. tft lce being
still firm except in the channel. where
some OF the Pennsylvania Railroad tugs
had broken it up. The appearance of
the black. cigar-shaped craft and iistrailing
cloud of smoke sent woe II the hearts of
the Evelyn College girls, who were on the
ice, in company win escorts from the uni
yersity, bat their spirits recovered when
they saw that the Cushing's fifteen-foo.
beam still left them enough ice To skate on.