The San Francisco call., 1898-02-01
FOR SPEED
 AND COMFORT The New Launch Port Costa Is a Fast and
 Handsome Graft. An Opposition Boat to Be Put on the Petalunaa Creek Route.
 
Death of Elisha Higgins, the We'll Known .Ship-owner and Lunn- Der Merchant.

The latest addition to the gasoline |. fleet is G.. w. McNears launch Port :. Costa. The big dealer in wheat has built his summer residence on the hills above his grain elevators and the launch will carry. himself and family to San: Francisco and around the bay on many. an excursion. : The Port 1. Costa is 45 feet long, g feet broad and AZ feet deep. She is fitted with a fifty horsepower Union gas engine, and MT. MeNear will be disappointed if, when down to her bearings, she will not beat thirteen knots an hour. She: will have long overhang deck and Pullman .berths for four will be pro vided in the after cabin and for two in the forward cabin. She will be finished in quarter sawed oak, rubbed and Varnished, will have heavy. plate glass windows and will be. upholstered with morocco leather. As she may. be. occasionally used for towing. small: crafts a towing post has been put in, but when not in use it can be made to disappear in the after: compartment and the hole in the deck will be cov- cred with metal plate. : The Port Costa had already half a dozen races on her hands and in the Augusta and. America she will have two fast boats to meet. Z :; =: = ::
 Captain Turner, :: Navigating Officer w.. F.. Gum, Ensign Peterson and a. squad of men from the naval militia were busy at work on the sloop- -of-War Marion yesterday. :: Tenders between E the vessel and Howard street wharf were put out, one of the boats on the starboard side was taken into the re-. serve boathouse and the other was brought in on deck so as to prevent any possibility of damage from vessels which may have to dock ahead of the Marion. Everything will be shipshape by the end of the week and the reserve will then begin to prepare for the re-. ception and ball which is to be held on: board the latter part of the month. " Great credit is due to. Chief Engineer George Kingsland and his crew for the manner in which they: got. the war ships. engines ready to come to San Francisco. They did not reach Mare Island until midnight Saturday, and then found that a great deal of ma chinery had been taken apart in order to facilitate oiling. The men went to work with a will and by s o'clock Sun. day morning everything was in work ing order and the vessel was ready to start at a moments notice. ,* A. couple of the coastfng fleet are making long passages from the Sound. The schooner Maggie c, Russ is now fifteen days out from Port Gamble, and the schooner Mary E. Russ seventeen days fcom Port Ludlow. Both vessels gre lumber laden and the chances are their long passages will be accounted for by contrary winds. -.
 The American bark Hadyn Brown Is having a hard time of it to get to this coast. She left Baltimore for Puget Sound 265 days ago and twice has been compelled to put into different ports into Bermuda leaking, and it took un- til July 10 to patch her up and get her to sea again. On September 10 she put into Montevideo with her decks swept, boats carried away and three of the crew. washed over board. It took until November 22 to get her ready for sea again, and since. that day she has not been heard from. It will take her a long time to get this far up the coast, and the chances are by the time she reaches her destination she will have the longest passage on record to her credit. :....
 The Star line of sailing vessels, one of the best known in England, is going out of existence and several of its yes sels will be owned in San Francisco. The Star of Italy has been sold to J. J. Moore 6 Go, and will go into the Australian trade. The Star of Bengal has been purchased by Captain J. Smith, and will also be put in the Aus tralian trade. The Star of Bengal is now on her way from Swansea to Santa Rosalia. On her arrival there, ands after discharging her cargo, she will be taken over by Captain Tender schooner Golden Shore, and Captain Oliver, her present master, will come to San Francisco on her as a passenger
 The steamer San Bias arrived from Panama and way ports yesterday with a few passengers and a large cargo of coffee. At Corinto she landed thirteen engineers who came from the East to work on the Nicaragua canal From this it looks as though the work on the canal was going to be pushed to com pletion.
 The United States steamer Adams ar rived from Honolulu yesterday and went direct to Mare Island. She was twenty-six days coming, having cov- cred the entire distance under steam.
 The funeral of the late Elisha Hig- gins will take place from his home in Oakland to-day. The deceased was the senior member of the firm of Higgins & Collins, and part owner in the teamer Celia, three -masted schooners Daisy Rowe and Glendale, four-masted schooners Alice Cook and Robert Lew CTS, ships John Ina and Hawaiian Isles and many others. He was one of the best-known and best-liked men in the shipping and lumber business in San Francisco, and his death is a distinct loss to the business community.
 Monsieur Augeo, the owner of the Pom mery champagne, arrived from the east n hf1c since