Evening star., 1914-04-19
Revenue Cutter Service

To lead the way into Alaskan waters
this spring the revenue cutter Unalga
will leave Seattle tomorrow and she will
be followed shortly afterward by the big
fleet of commercial steamers that each
season plies between Pacific coast ports
and those in Alaska. For many years
past one of the vessels of the revenue
cutter service has led the way at the
opening of each season to the north Pa
cific waters. and this duty has hereto
fore devolved upon the cutter Bear. This
year it has been delegated to the Unalga
a new vessel built especially for service
in Alaskan waters. but the older cutters
the Bear an dthe Manning are to do patrol
work in Bering sea this spring and sum
mer. and will within the next two
or three weeks start north. Later in the
season, about June l, the McCulloch will
go to Alaska to take the place of the
Thetis in transporting the Alaskan float.
ing court from place to place to heal
civil and criminal cases and to dispense
justice.
Up on the great lakes. which have beer
closed by ice for four or five months
navigation is being resumed and the cut
terS doing duty on the big inland seas
are again in service. The cutter Morrill,
at Detroit, went into commission on tn.
18th instant. and on the 10th the cutter Tus
carora. at Milwaukee. went into service
and both are actively engaged in patrollint
the lakes. The cutter Mackinac. which
looks after the vessels passing through
! the 800" canal, has been in commission
for about ten days and. under the com
| mand of First Lieut.. William ]. Wheeler
! is actively employed in keeping the bis
lake steamers moving through the cana
in proper turn.
Capt. Garden and the cutter Seminole
in the past week completed a difficult
task in getting afioat the schooner Will
liam Thomas Moore from off the sands OF
Little River bar. S. C. The vessel had
gone so far inshore that all hope of ever
getting her afioat had been abandoned
by her owners. On the coming of the
sull spring tides Capt. Garden returned
to the task of saving the vessel The
and to get a line to her three long haws-
ers had to be fastened together. So long
was the line that boats had to be used
to buoy it up so that the cutter could
pull on 1t effectively. 1t is figured that
the long hawser when dry weighed three
and three-quarter tons. and after 1t was
wet its weight was increased about three
fold. In spite of this difficulty and the
fact that stormy weather had also to be
contended with, the schooner was sue
cessfully foated and taken to Whining
ton. N. c. after the floating of the YES
sci the crew Of the cutter were nearly
d day getting the hawser back aboard
the cutter and coiling it away.
For the second time in the past few
years the bark Matanzas of New York
has had to call upon the vessels OF the
revenue cutter service for aid. In the
past week. as she was being towed by
the ting John c. Chandler. the tug be-
came disabled off Highland Light, Mass
and tug and bark were in danger of be-
ing lost. The cutter Gresham went to
their aid and took them into safe harbor
at Provincetown, Mass. About five years
ago the Matanzas was picked up in trou-
BILE off Cape Hatteras by the cutter Onon-
dasa and taken into Hampton roads. The