Fort Wrangel news., 1898-06-15
Captain Cross.

Captain Cross.
 We have been looking in vain for the return of the Ming Chow. She is off on some more profitable run than the Alaska trade offers. Wm Herbert Cross is captain of the Ming Chow. He has been on her for long time. You would be surprised to see him if you have not made his acquaintance. He is only 70 years old, looks like a thin, tall boy, blue eyes, light hair, and as bland and mildmannered as a sweet and we'll trained girl. Think of it, u boy captain in charge of splendid steel boat 350 feet long, 42 foot beam and as well built as anything in the water. Capt. Cross is an Englishman and was born at Manchester. He was with the Ming Chow in the ChinaLon- don tea trade. These boats are called tea -chasers over there. He brought the Ming Chow from Japan in water ballast. The Captains promotion was rapid for he first went onto the Ming Chow as fourth officer, and was then advanced to third, then second, then first, and from that to commander.
 We made a trip down Sound with the captain from this city. It was the next to her last trip up, and we never will forget the talk we had with Com mander Cross in the chart room of his boat When "laud lubber" talks with d sea-faring man one of the first things he thinks of is the terrible storms that the mariner encounters, and of course We drifted onto that subject as soon as it could be gracefully done. The cap tain told Us of those terrible storms and typhoons that are so frequently encountered off the Chinese and Jap ane~e coasts. From what We could gather from his description, these ty phoons are closely related to our land cyclones-perhaps the father of them.
 What do you do to protect your boat and crew." the captain was asked.
 His answer was that science has fur niShed the means whereby the sailor can tell within a few degrees the di- reetion of the typhoon, and when that iS known the course of the boat Is changed in an opposite direction, and if t is not entirely avoided, it k i'll part, anyhow The captain then relat- ed how in the harbor of Nagaskia, in Japanese waters, a typhoon struck the harbOr that Was full of ships. The ships anchors were dragging and the ANlitS NHON utti lo ilttiht dlitilti anu steamed out. The loss of boats was great.
 While Capt. Cross is young in years he has had d long ocean experience. Before he went onto the boat he now commands, he Was on sailing vessel. In speaking of the sea storms, he men toned one in which his ship scudded along at the rate of ten miles an hour and not stich of canvas up. When tine storm came on the sails were short eucd to the lower top sail and the wind took care of the balance. Ten knots an hour without steam or sail iS getting cn pretty well. This occurred off the Bermuda islands. The Captain further related his adventure with icebergs wilie off the Faulkland islands. This Was i'll February 1893. They found themselves surrounded in large bay of ice. The main island of ice was sur rounded by small bergs They spent a whole night of anxiety tacking from one ice berg to another and they were three days in getting clear from the ice These islands of ice or bergS were hetweeu three and four hundred feet high
 Of course this article contains but few of the many interesting things the Captain talked of. Capt. Cross is free and easy talker and we were much entertained with his experiences narra ted. We hope that he may again re turn to Alaskan waters.