New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-08-03
ave IS WITHOUT A PEEh.
CAPTAIN SUMMERS OPINION OF HIS BIG
WHITE SHIP.

CAPTAIN SUMMERS OPINION OF HIS BIG
WHITE SHIP.
THE corrMRlAs COMMANDER AND HIS OFFICERS
AND ENGINEERS HAVE NOTHING But PRAISE
FOR THE vEssEI~-How THE SHIP BE-
HAvED AND THE ENGINES WORKED
For the purpose for which she was constructed
that OF a commerce destroyer. she is without d
neer upon the high seas. 1t is not necessary 10
drive warship at racing speed SO long u's'a"''
as across the Atlantic"
This Is the terse language In which captain
George W. Sumner Of the Columbia expressed his
conclusion at the result of the speed trial Of the
pirate" which dropped her anchor in the mud OF
the North River off Forty-ffth-st yesterday
morning shortly after 10 o'clock after having
hem sighted off Sandy Hook at SOS. What Cap
tain Sumner meant by his remark will be under
etood bv experts, and by landsmen as well, as 10
the necessity of driving ship at racing speed
across the Atlantic But the Captain has created
necessity for soroe other fellow II the nations OF
the earth are to keep pace with the record SET oy
one of the crack ships Of the White Squadron IL
IL the world record and there are no flaws In the
ocean track If anybody else wants TO have try
for The pennant.
tt. RECORD MIGHT HAVE BEEN LOWER.
The best of it is that this proud record
might have been lowered by at least twelve hours
had aptain Sumner beer willing 10 take chances
by approaching this uncertain coast with short
coal supply. AS it was everybody was satisfied.
Hardly that. either; for, as Executive Officer
Charles o. Allibone remarked:
satisfied Not at all. We must do better. We
are never satisfied" All the same. though. 1t was
from the time he passed the marine guard at the
after-starboard gangway until he left the ship
some hours later in her launch. Fresh from
the triumphs of the ship at Kiel where she shared
the honors bestowed on the New-York, and where
officers and crew were entertained to the point OF
safety it would be strange indeed II they did not
take added pride In their achievement. which caps
the climax Of naval endeavOr.
WHAT THE NAVIGATOR SAYS.
Lieutenant w II. briggs. navigator OF the
Columbia. was found in his cabin sorting over
charts with his assistant, hut ne had time for
pleasant greeting and alternately talked anG
read from the log Of the vessel First he cor
rected an error which has gone abroad The
ship passed the Needles at o'clock in the after
noon OF July 26.
THE first day out" Lieutenant briggs went
on. I'VE had heavy seas. for were right on the
tailend of a storm. and again on the fourth day
early in the morning there were indications OF
heavy weather. everything pointing to a storm
from the southwest. This occurred about
o'clock in the morning. and for three hours the
ship was slowed down to eight knots. Before
that the ship had bee:' making 1872 knots per
hour Thus. as you will see. we lost some time.
After that. however we had good weather. al
though on the following day had some fog
LIGHT ind
though, looked squally. The wind was southwest
by west. and heavy seas came over the bows
"In the evening OF that same day. at $50
o'clock, we had a little adventure with an ice
berg We were In latitude 1866 and longitude
1920. which would bring us off the Banks Of New
foundland, when the berg was sighted and we
were 50 close to 1t that the course Of the ship
had to be altered to keep clear. do not sup
pose that the iceberg would have cared rap II
We had come up against IT. but was very glad
for the ship that we kept clear Had the
weather been foggy, 1t is doubtful II we would
have come off so fortunate.
How big was the berg?"
''weli. should say Il was about one hundred
and fifty yards long by hundred yards in
width and possibly forty-fve feet in height. 1t
was not small when you lake into account the
submerged portion. which is about nine times
the exposed surface. There other Incl
dent OF the voyage worth mentioning We had
good weather clear up 70 the lightsh!p
WHY THERE WAS NO FORCED RUN.
Captain Sumner did not carry out the original
design a~ contemplated and ordered by the Navy
Department Of using forced draught for the last
twenty-four hours Of the run. The coal was too
far from the furnaces. the supply was running
down. and 1t appeared needless TO exhaust the
men. So the whole voyage was made under
natural draught. Under the circumstances the
record Is exceptional. as you can see. The average
OF speed maintained was 1871 knots per hour. and
the highest rate obtained was 20.6. Possibly this
might have been exceeded trile. but very little
At any one time For four hours as recorded.
the ship made 500 knots, which makes an aver
age OF speed for that period of about 2o's knots
per hour"
"A great deal has been said here about the
quality OF c,)al which the Columbia had.
Well, 1t was good coal from the Welsh mines.
although Mr.. Harris. our chief engineer. can tell
you more about that part Of 1t. We took on at
Southampton 1861 tons OF coal, having some
thing over one hundred tons board. IT was
simply good coal, such as Is used BY the various
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