The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-08-03
TRIAL OF THE COLUMBIA
Remarkable Time Made Across the
Atlantic.
A RACE ACROSS THE OCEAN
The American Warship Breaks All Rec
Ords In q Rapid Trip from tho
lsio Of Wight to Sandy
Hook.


Minneapolis. the fastest war vessel Of
her class atioat. arrived here today
from her race against time across the
Atlantic. No Yankee warship ever
chased herself away from British soil
with such celebrity. and no warship ever
built crossed the ocean In the same
time, These are the principal figures:
Time from the Needles. Isle of Wight.
to Sandy Hook Lightship. six days.
twenty-three hours. forty-nine minutes.
Course. S,ll2 knots, Average hourly
speed. 1858. Best hourly run. 2O.6O,
Best four-hour run. $3.50. The daily
runs were from 2 p. IN. of July 70 at the
Needles to noon of the following day.
iO5 knots, and to noon OF each succeed
ing day a67. 4,O. i51. ass. AS and 4o5 to
Sandy Hook Lightship at S49 a. M. to-
day.
On July 50. at . u. m. 1t was sQually.
and a storm threatened, The wind was
southwest by west, heavy seas came
over the bows. and for four hours the
speed was reduced to eight knots an
hour. In the evening Of the same day
in lat 4605. long, lS2O, the Columbia
ran near an iceberg, which was about
$50 yards long. 100 yards wide and 40
feet high. The Columbia took IN
pilot four hundred miles east of SANDY
Hook. only slowing up sufficiently Tor
the purpose. She passed quarantine
shortly before noon. reporting all wei!
on board and dropped anchor In the
North river less than an hour hter'
She looked as though she had been do
ing something with the elements. her
four great tunnels We're covered Win
salt crystals where they were not black
with smoke. SCOT covered the upper
structure. and her sides were smeareu
and streaked with rust; her decks We're
covered with coal dust and cinders' ana
altogether she looked as though an
early securing at the navy yard would
be the best thing for her.
The Captain Interviewed.
A representative Of the United Press
found Captain George w. Sumner III
his cabin.
Il consider her rur across very sue
cesssul." said he. I'VE came uhoer ha
tural draught. II was a smooth run
though we had a little rough weather.
We slowed down only once before head
seas. We met some fog. but went
through 1t a { full speed with our eight
boilers and three screws. The coaA
consumption, the captain said, varied
from 200 to 23O tons day. about one
half that used by the Cunarder Lucania
In her trip from Liverpool over
course Of about 3,O32 knots. whose best
average speed on a record trip was
2l.90. The Columbia had the best coal
obtainable at Southampton. Her nre
room force was twelve short and that
number were taken from volunteers
Of the deck crew, making up the full
complement OF 1856. In addition, forty
five men from the deck force and three
petty officers were transferred to the
engineers department to assist in car
rying coal. They worked night and
day, and though fatigued, none gave
out
THE experience shows" said Cap
tain Sumner, "the ability Of the Colum-
bla to make such an extraordinary run
and satisfactorily demonstrates what
II was intended 1t should"
The Hamburg-American line steamer
Augusta Victoria from Hamburg and
Southampton via Cherbourge followed
the Columbia In arriving off the Hook
at 1850 a. IN. The distance covered by
the Augusta Victoria from Cherbourg
was 3,C54 knots and her time Of pass
age six days. twenty hours and twenty
minutes. The average speed Of the
Hamburg steamer on this trip was 1854