The San Francisco call., 1896-10-30
Oaptain Howison Will Run No
Risk of Crossing the
Columbia Bar.
BARNAcLEs STUD THE SHIP.
The Midnight Torpedo.Boat Attack
and Battalion Drill Ashore at
SauSalito.
ABOARD THE
ABOARD THE
UNITED STATES BATTLE-SHIP OREGON
MnNTEREY BAY Oct 90.


MONTEREY BAY, Oct. 20.
A tower of black smoke rising high In
the calm sky and spreading out at the top
like the foliage of giant shade tree us
now pouring from the yellow tunnels. OF
the Oregon. 1t is o'clock in the after
noon, and the battle-ship is about to get
under way for San Fran cisco. Captain
Howison figures on getting off the heads
with plenty of time to spare so that he
can ''fool around" little if he wants to,
and go in across the bar at high water to-
morrow morning. That kind of water is
very necessary to the Oregon. When she
is laden for a cruise, fully equipped and
with all the stores aboard, the Oregon
draws not less than 26 feet of water. 1t
takes AZ tons to sink the ship an inch In
the water.
Owing to this fact there has been ex-
pressed aboard the Oregon on her present
cruise some doubt as to whether the giant
battIe-ship can get over the Columbia
River bar so as to steam up that river and
the raging Willamette, so as to receive
the set of beautiful silverware which the
people of Portland have had especially
made for the namesake of their State.
There is just about that depth of water on
the bar.
The Oregon will make her first cruise
north probably not before next spring, but
if she is in command of her present COM
mander, Captain H. l. Howison, she will
run no risks in crossing the Colum bia bar.
As much as the captain and the wardroom
mess would like to have that siIverware
they love deep water and fear the sea- s
bottom more.
So that it is quite possible that the Ore
CONS side boards will not glitter with the
silverware unless it is sent down to deep
sea to her by dele.aticn of prominent
Webfoot citizens on tug or other vessel
of light draft. There is no drydock on
the Pacific Coast capable of taking the
Oregon i'll when equipped, except the new
Government drydock at Port Orchard on
Puget Sound. There are whiskers four or
five inches long and studding of bar
naeles on the ship $ sides and bottom. She
should have been in the drydock some
time ago. 1t was partly on account OF her
foul bottom that on her present cruise the
ship made only about seven knots the first
day and eight to nine knots the second
day with the same number. of boilers, the
grass having been considerably washed
away.
The captain is going to burn three boil
ers on the run back, and she will probably
be let out a little more than on the way
down. The navy regulations require u
ship going into port to make a report on
that port. The report on Monterey is
not very extensive. Two of the things
that Assistant Secretary of the Navy Nc
Adoo will be told about Monterey is that
fresh water for ships is about 80 cents a
gallon, and that the surf is ordinarily
rather heavy for landing parties in ships
boats.
Executive Officer Drake turned out this
morning with the idea that he would clear
the ship for action, and the news leaked
out to the deck, either through the port
hole il the first lieutenants stateroom or
from the wardroom mess. But after a
time the crew found that the news was a
fash in the pan.
The first lieutenant, who is a descendant
OF Admiral Drake of the English navy,
had changed his mind. This is another
spectacle that will be reserved for Sausa-
Ito tomorrow morning, where the ship
will come to anchor. The midnight, at
tack by torpedo-boats and the battalion
drill ashore will also take place at and off
Sausalito, which seems to be getting more
attention from the Oregon than all the
rest of California.
Just after the messes had had their cof-
fee last night and were finding an easy
position with cigars or pipes fire quarters
were sounded. This is an exercise that
must be gone through with, even on iron
ships, though there is hardly a thing
aboard the Oregon outside the powder in