The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-06-24

of brilliants. and make q beautiful night

scene.
Nearly 500 vessels In MI are engaged
almost exclusively In the ore-cnrrying
trade. One concern alone has 125 large
vessels which do nothing but carry iron
ore. except upon occasions when for their
own use or because of a temporary scare.
ity Of ore cargoes they bring coal up the
lakes. Usually. however. they 60 down
the lakes with iron ore and hurry hack
empty for another load. Last season one
OF these vessels. the Il. II. Gary. carried
a cargo OF 18.443 net tons of ore on a
draft Of Fl feet the greatest cargo ever
carried on the Great Lakes From this
achievement back to the pioneer days OF
iron mining and shipping on Lake su-
perior, when the nrst cargo OF IL barrels
OF ore went down the lakes, 10 a Tar cry
indeed.
A couple Of decades ago the average
cargo on the Great Lakes was less than
1900 tons. decade ago II was nenriy
5000 tons. and this season It 10 about
twice that figure. This win give an idea
Of the growth that has attended the lake
traffic. The season OF navigation runs
from some time In April or May. when
the channels connecting the lakes are un-
locked BY the northern advance Of the
the winter storms make navigation 90
hazardous that insurance ceases and own
ers must send their vessels out at their
own risk or not at all. A little later the
canals and rivers and harbors are Ice
locked, and the season is over.
The growth OF the lake trafac has beer
made possible by the wisdom OF the gov
eminent In appropriating funds sufficient
to dredge out q waterway, from Duluth
to Lake Erie. more than 20 feet deep.
This has involved the expenditure OF In
mense sums, but In cheapened freight Il
has all been returned TO the people many
fold.
From Lake Superior the loaded steam
er, perhaps, conducting a tow-barge. pro-
ceeds over well-dehned and chartered
courses direct to the ore-receiving ports
on Lake Erie. such AZ Cleveland. Con-
neaut Lorain and Ashtabula. o. Through
the canal at Sauit Ste. Marie. where
locking IL necessary for the only time on
the voyage, into st. Marys River. and
then out upon the broad expanse OF Lake
Huron goes the cargo Of yellow dirt
that 10 wanted 10 Pittsburg TO be made
Into implements OF use. Next comes beau
tiful Detroit River. Lake St Clair and
the st. Clair Flats. and then Lake Erie,
the last stage In the journey. Occasional
cargoes are diverted at the Sauit through
the Straits Of Mackinac into Lake Michi-
gan and thence to Chicago.
Though In the summer seasons the lake
voyage II commonly mild and uneventful.
In the spring and fall violent storms
often occur, and navigation Is attended
by perilS AZ great a. those OF the saity
deep. Last November a terrific snow
Tod Nv gales.
on Lake Superior, and before 1t was
ended a dozen wrecks strewed the shore,
aud one vessel had foundered In midiake.
carrying 10 souls into eternity. One large
ore-carrying vessel missed the ship canal
at Duluth and was driven on the beach
within 500 feet of the houses on shore.
There 1t broke In two, and nine men who
were caught aft, where the heaviest
seas broke, persisted miserabiy. while
thousands Of anxious watchers on shore,
almost within reach. looked on In impo-
tent horror.
At the Lake Erie receiving port again
the marvellous mechanism that man has
invented to save himself work comes Into
play. The vessel 10 placed under q tre-
mendous unloading machine, perfected to
such an extent that the entire cargo 10
taken out without human aid. Two such
machines will take 5000 tons OF ore from
a vessel In Eve or six hours, loading IL
upon cars waiting to take II away to
the smelters. Other unloading machines,
not 30 up to date. simply send large
buckets into the hold OF the vessel, which
men must load By hand.
Lake navigation, like water navigation
everywhere. 10 infinitely cheaper than
rail- traffic. The entire charge against
iron ore from the time 1t leaves the most
inaccessible mines on the most distant
Lake Superior range until It 10 in cars
or on stock pile at some Lake Erie port
10 less than 81.S0 per gross ton, and this
includes three landings, more than 100
miles Of rail haul and 1000 miles Of
water transportation. The charges for
the water haul are not much more than
half the cost OF carrying 1t 100 miles by
rail- from mine TO dock.
More than 500. oOo. 600 Of American cap
ital Ia invested In Mexican railways.
Az the rate of a pint and . half Of
LIQUID q day, q man drinks ESQ pints
during his life.
The Angora goat furnishes most Of the
hair which adorns ordinary dolls This
product II valued at 10000 a year.
Two hundred Thousand cells have been
deposited in Lake Maggiore. at Luino,
where are situared government hatcheries
for lake hsh.
The Chinese detective force II secret
body and the best organized In the world