NAVY, UNITED STATES. 



NKHKA-KA. 



531 



boars, and her commander gives a very fuvor- 

 eport of its condition and working. 



Naval Academy at Annapolis, Mary- 

 is under the superintendence of Commo- 

 Jobn L. Worden. At the beginning of 

 i4 academic year, the number of mid-hip- 

 iiu-ii in the several classes was 253, as follows: 

 hiss, 68 ; second class, 55 ; third class, 88 ; 

 fourth class, 32 ; and there were two Japanese 

 ^ii'lents; 68 members of the first class grad- 

 uated, and were detached for active service; 

 51 members of the second class, 34 of the third 

 class, and 51 of the fourth, passed successful 

 examinations. Those members of the second 

 and fourth classes were embarked on board 

 the practice-ship Savannah for the summer 

 cruise. Fifty-one candidates for admission re- 

 ported in June, of whom four were rejected 

 by the medical board, 17 by the academic 

 board, and one declined to take the oath of 

 allegiance, leaving 29 who were admitted. The 

 amount appropriated for the current fiscal year 

 ending June 30, 1871, was $220,340. The es- 

 timates for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1872, 

 are $220,340.77, a decrease of $19,999.23. 



The Secretary of the Navy, in referring to 

 the importance of the submarine torpedo, as a 

 weapon of naval warfare, says: "It promises 

 to be the most efficient, as well as the least 

 expensive, means of defense and attack known 

 to the service. Recent events in Europe have 

 shown its value as on important part of the 

 system of coast defense. We are progressing 

 in this direction as fast as the appropriation 

 will permit, and if the suggestions of the officers 

 in charge of this branch are carried out, we 

 shall, I think, be as well armed in this respect 

 as any other power in the world." 



One of the most interesting naval contests 

 that has occurred for years took place the 

 present season, between the English yacht 

 Cambria, owned by Mr. John Ashbury, of 

 England, and the American yacht Dauntless, 

 belonging to Mr. J. G. Bennett, Jr. The Cambria 

 was built by Mr. Ratsey, of Cowes, England, in 

 1868. Her tonnage was 248 tons, according to 

 the New- York Yacht Club measurement, and 

 188 tons by the Thames measurement. She 

 was made of oak, with teak topsides, and 

 measured as follows: length from stem to 

 stern 108 feet; beam, 21 feet; tonnage for 

 racing, 199; draught of water, 12 feet; length 

 of main-mast (hounds to deck), 61 feet; fore- 

 mast, 56 feet 6 inches ; main-boom, 61 feet ; 

 main-gaff, 33 feet 9 inches ; foregaff, 25 feet ; 

 bowsprit, 35 feet, outside of stem ; main-top- 

 mast, 35 feet 6 inches; foretop-mast, 82 feet 8 

 inches ; maintop-sail yard, 32 feet ; foretop-sail 

 yard, 29 feet. The Dauntless was built at 

 Mystic, Connecticut, in 1866, and was first 

 named L'Hirondolle ; but was rebuilt in 1869, 

 and afterward known under her present name. 

 Her tonnage is 267.96 tons, and she spreads 

 between 6,000 and 7,000 feet of canvas. Her 

 measurement is as-follows: 116.9 feet on the 

 water-line ; 120.7 feet on deck; depth of hold, 



0.7 feet; breadth of beam, 24.8 feet; length of 

 masts, 89 and 90 feet respectively ; top-masts, 

 42 feet ; main-boom, 73 feet ; gafls, 84 and 82 

 feet. The two yachts started from Daunt's 

 Rock, near the harbor of Queenstown, on the 

 coast of Ireland, on the afternoon of the 4th of 

 July, and reached Sandy Hook light-ship on 

 the afternoon of July 27th. The Cambria 

 made the passage in 22 days 5 hoars 17 min- 

 utes and 15 seconds defeating the Dauntless 

 by 1 hour and 40 minutes. The yachts were 

 not in sight of each other from the time of 

 starting, the Cambria having taken a northerly 

 and the Dauntless a more southerly course. The 

 latter was delayed two hours on the 7th of 

 July on account of having lost two men over- 

 board. 



The distance made by each daily, as shown 

 by their respective logs, is as follows : 



NEBRASKA. Nebraska formed a part of 

 the Louisiana Territory, purchased of France 

 in 1803. It was first organized as a Territory 

 by the famous Kansas- and-Nebraska Bill in 

 1854, and was admitted into the Union as a 

 State in March, 1867. The first settlement was 

 begun in 1854, and 1860 it had 28,841 inhabi- 

 tants. In 1870 its population had increased to 

 116,888. 



The city of Omaha was first laid out in 1854, 

 and now has 16,083 inhabitants. The present 

 capital of the State is Lincoln, which has a 

 central location fifty miles west of Nebraska 

 City. It was first laid out in 1867, and has 

 now about 2,000 inhabitants. Considerable 

 progress has already been made in establishing 

 public buildings and institutions there. The 

 main portion of the capitol has been built of 

 handsome white limestone, and the foundations 

 of a State University and an Insane Asylum 

 are laid. The Legislature provided at its last 

 session for the erection of a Penitentiary at 

 the same place, and the Agricultural College 

 has also been located there. 



The following table gives the Federal census 

 of Nebraska for the years 1860 and 1870 : 



