Waterbury Democrat., 1901-08-30
THE TERRoR OF THE NAVY

The most feared vessel in the United States navy, one that has struck terror to the heart of the commander of many proud and powerful battleship, is soon to be retired from service. This naval terror is the scow-like fer ryboat which plies between the Cob dock and the foot of Main street in the Brooklyn navy yard. It's retire nlent will ease the mind of every cap- tain who has occasion to bring his ship to the yard. The Merry Andrew she is called, and the career of the pudgy little craft is rich in attempts to ram and send to the bottom huge battle ships, great armored cruisers and heavy monitors, single turreted and double turreted. Nothing has been loo formidable for the pugnacious Merry Andrew to tackle Once the stumpy little ferryboat even tried to put the mighty kearsarge out of commission, but was pulled back before she sould get to close quarters. The Merry An drew runs on cable-that is. she does when she feels like it. When she doesn't feel like it she runs any old way her fancy wills. She is especial " cranky and eccentric when there is stiff wind blowing in Wallabout bay. Then the Merry Andrew takes the bit 1n her teeth, so to speak, runs amuck and tries to ram and sink every war ship moored around her. These are times filled with terror to the com manders of the fighting craft tied up | at the yard.
 | Only by the most desperate efforts on the part of her crew was the Merry Andrew prevented from ramming the big new battleship Kentucky, when that floating fort was last at the yard. something like gale was blowing when the little ferryboat started on a trip across the basin for the Cob dock. Moored to starboard just ahead, was l the Kentucky. Following the cable, the Merry Andrew could have passed l the big battleship with plenty of room 1 to spare But the Merry Andrew was 1 hungry for prey, and was not follow ing any cable just then.
 | Sighting the Kentucky. she pulled her puglike nose around and pointed it threateningly at the unoffending bat. tleship. Swing Ter over ter port therew yelled the pilot down to the engineer, below decks. The engineer did the best he knew how, but the Merry Andrew had scented prey and could not be swung to port, or any l other way. Making the best of hel cables slack she started for the Ken, l lucky. The commander of theqb battle
 ship turned pale, and the crew worked
 frantically to throw off the lines which held the ship, to the dock. But when the Merry Andrew was within a few feet of rammfng the battleship her en
 gineer, by a desperate effort, brought
 her to, and caused her to cross the
 bow of the Kentucky. It was a 'Ilar
 row escape for the Kentucky, but 1io1 | more so than has been experienced by
 many warships thatshave met the bel
 ligerent Merry Andrew in the navy yard basin.
 l But the days of this terror of the
 navy are numbered. She is to be re
 tired and replaced by a harmless
 bridge. A board appointed by the
 navy department came on from Wash
 ington and looked over the ground fol
 the selection of site for the proposed
 bridge to connect the main yard witt
 the Cob dock. An appropriation o1
 $115,000 for the building of the bridge
 has been made.-New York Times.