The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-01-31

NEWPORT NEWS, Va, Jan. 3d.
The third warship constructed by the
private southern shipyard since the
war. and also the largest merchant
steamer built in this country with the
exception of the two American trans
Atlantic liners built by Cramps, were
launched successfully here by the New
port News Shipbuilding company at
high tide this morning in the pres
ence of a distinguished party from
Washington, members of the house
naval affairs committee, Admiral
BROWN, commanding the Norfolk
navy yard, and 5000 people from adj
joining towns. There were present also
representatives of Admiral Bunce's
great fleet in Hampton roads, Sena-
tors Carter and Mantle, of Montana,
and Assistant Secretary McAdee, who
represented the navy department in the
absence of Secretary Herbert.
SPECTACULAR EFFECT.
Adding to the spectacular effect pro-
duced by the steamers and sailing
vessels gathered for the occasion, was
the battleship Indiana, which came up
coal, pending her departure for Port
Royal.
Both vessels are the finest type of
their class ever turned out by this yard
which soon begins the construction of
the mammoth battleship Kentucky
and Kearsarge, authorized by the last
congress.
In order to take advantage of the
flood tide the launch of the vessels
took place before II o'clock. one follow
ing the other as fast as the workmen
could knock away the shores and
wedge UP the keel.
The first to take the water was the
merchant vessel. whose name had been
kept a secret until she began to slide
down the ways. when Miss Nellie Seld-
ridge of Boston broke the usual bottle
Of wine and named her Grand Ouch
esse AS the stern of the great hull
caught the water. Shrill whistles of the
steamers gave greetings. while thou
sands of people showed their apprecia-
ton by prolonged cheers for the New
port News shipbuilding yard and G. P.
Huntington as its founder. What route
the new vessel is intended for has not
vet been announced. Thirty minutes
after the Grand Duchesse had been
towed out OF the way the warship
Helena was ready to take her natural
element With slight hesitation, due to
the lack of sufficient talIow. and with
stately precision. she glided off into
the James as Miss Agnes Belle Steele.
the daughter of Mayor Steele of Hell
ena. smashed a champagne bottle and
named her in honor of Montana's cap
ital civ
WESTERN MEN PRESENT.
Senators Garter and Mantle. Mayor
Steele and a party of eighteen from
Montana. CAPTAIN Class of Texas and
Admiral Brown were on the platform
The Indiana greeted the new addi-
tion to the service with deep blasts
from her steam whistle. Tugs and
other ships added to the din.
AT the conclusion of the ceremonies.
President circuit entertained the Wis
itors at a banquet where the ships and
the COMPANY were toasted by senators.
representa- tives and others
The keels Of the new battleships will
be laid near the spot where the two
ships were launched today. This even
ing the Washington visitors will re-
turn home.
The gunboat Helena is one of the two
ships of peculiar design built for the
navy by the Newport News company.
her sister ship, the Wilmington, having
been launched last October The pur-
pose was to secure an efficient type of
vessel for the navigation of shallow
and shifting rivers, such as are found
in China, which might still possess
sea going qualities sufficient to insure
safe passage from the United States
to foreign stations and also to enable
them to be used in carrying the United
States flag into the many ports of
South and Central America which are
now inaccessible to our warships oW-
ing to shoal water. SO the Helena,
when complete, with all stores aboard.
will draw only nine feet of water and
may go where any schooner able to
navigate the seas can enter, and while
NOT A BATTLESHIP
in the sense of not possessing armor
and big guns. will carry eight four-inch
rifles, guns quite large enough to meet
anything short Of armored craft and
heavy Notifications, and a number of
smaller machine guns, so mounted as
to afford an extremely destructive fire
upon mobs or troops on shore, or a
boarding party. To enable the Helena
to make up and down narrow, crooked
channels, she has double rudders, Civ
ing great turning power, and these
are so shielded that the stern may be
run into a soft bank and the bow
swept around by the current as is
customary in some of our Florida
rivers. To give the screws sufficient
water to work in and at the
same time to protect them from
snags and drift in the freshet
streams, they are placed in two
tunnels, worked in the bottom of the
boat The general lines of the boat
above water are broad and this re-
suits in giving much more than the
usual allotment of space for berthing.
so that the boat will be peculiarly
fitted for service in the tropics and
will also be able to give refuge to
many people in time of stress. There
will be. no sails upon this vessel and
her one mast is a big steel tube, large
enough to permit of spiral staircase
inside, giving access from the deck to
the top, where four machine guns are
placed to sweep the shores and the