376 
The Wreck of the Mohegun, 
Apart from the vague and sensational stories cabled 
immediately after the wreck of the steamer Mohegan, 
very little has appeared in the papers" on this side, and 
the details of the mishap are still unknown. The follow- 
ing is from the last issue of the Yachtsman, of Oct. 20, 
reprinted from the Western Morning News, of Ply- 
mouth; an interview with Mr. John Hyslop: 
' I had been reading in my room on the promenade 
deck, and had got pretty well through Kingsley's West- 
ward Ho! when the dinner bell rang at half-past six on 
Friday evening (the 14th inst). We had only just got 
sea f ed at dinner, and there was about time for the soup 
and fish to be served, when I felt the vessel strike. A 
Mr. Lockwood, an elderly gentleman, who, I believe, is 
amongst the dead, sat opposite me, and said 'What is 
that?' I replied, 'She has struck.' What she had struck 
was another matter. It seemed to me to be a rock, but 
it was impossible to conceive that in broad daylight the 
ship could have been navigated in such a way as to 
make it possible that she had struck rocks. I there- 
fore supposed, as the most reasonable thing, that she 
had struck a submerged wreck of a solid nature. Imme- 
diately I went on deck, and I soon made up my mind 
that the ship was lost. 
"Mr. Lockwood asked, 'What can I do? I replied, 
'We must simply do the best we can,' meaning to indicate 
that it was impossible to say what could be done. I 
went out on the port side of the ship. It was not quite 
dark, and I could see land close by, and wondered if it 
was possible a ship could have got so near. No one can 
understand it. There she was within a mile and a 
quarter off the land The men were trying to clear the 
boats on the port side. The vessel had then listed to 
the starboard, and when they got the lashing clear it 
•was difficult to get the boats outward. There was also a 
very unfortunate arrangement on the vessel. I noticed, 
when I first went on board, the upper deck was not 
nearly so clear as the Victoria, in which I came across 
to England. There was a rail inside the boats, as well 
as outside, and I have not seen this elsewhere. The 
men were hampered very much indeed by the presence 
of this inner rail in getting the boats out. The vessel 
being listed to starboard, they would get the boats part- 
ly out and then they would swing in again. In one 
case the s"ay which is intended to keep the davits swung 
out in proper posi ion had parted. Then, too, the men 
were working in the dark. Some one asked for a knife, 
and I lent mine. Seeing the chance of launching the 
boats on that side was poor, I went on the starboard 
side. By that time she had listed the other way, and 
these people were equally hampered. 
Then I saw the case was very bad. The ship began to 
settle down. Her stern had been away in the air, and 
none of us knew how deep she would sink. We did not 
know whether there was forty or a hundred feet under 
the stern; but it then occurred to me that the best thing 
was to hang the boats clear. The sailors were hesitating 
to cut the lashings, and I shouted, "Cut them adrift." I 
knew if the boats were got clear before the vessel sunk 
the men would not probably get more boats afloat than 
the women would fill. 
"1 thought I would take my chance in the mizzen rig- 
ging. As I was putting my resolve into execution the 
stern settled so that the water overtook me. It went 
over my head and washed my cap off. I struggled up 
through the water, holding on to the rigging. I knew 
if the sea washed me free I might be entangled and be 
submerged, so I scrambled up. Eventually I got alto- 
gether out of the water and I remained on the rigging. 
Presently the assistant stewardess and a quartermaster 
got below me, but as high up as possible. Sometimes I 
would be standing on one foot, and scarcely room for 
that. There was a young man close to me, between my- 
self and the back stay. 
"Having given away my knife, I was unable to cut 
away a buoy within my reach, but I managed to wrench 
it away. Then there were strappings which I could not 
part, and which prevented my getting into the buoy. 
The shoulder straps were tied so that I could not use 
them. Lifelines outside the buoy, which got over my 
shoulders, would not hold. When I was completely 
worn out with carrying this weight and holding on to 
the rigging with one hand, I asked for a knife. Some 
one produced a knife and cut the buoy adrift. Then I 
felt better. 
"The vessel must have struck about a quarter to seven. 
Her stern remained above water not more than ten or 
twelve minutes. I should judge. 
"T think the bottom is ripped out of the boat from for- 
ward away aft to the center. The darkness, the listing 
of the boat first one way and then another, the presence 
of the inner set of rails, hampered the men very much. 
"I do not think there was any deficiency of lifebelts; 
there were people all about me with them on. When I 
came on deck immediately after she struck, the captain 
was on the bridge giving orders to clear away the boats. 
I am glad to speak of this. I did not see a man who 
was not doing all that a man could do. The first officer 
behaved well, and I was told that he was the la*t seen to 
dive from the stern of the ship as she went down. Jud- 
dery, a quartermaster, is a splendid fellow. He was in 
the rigging self-possessed, active, and ready to do any- 
thing possible. When the lifeboat came alongside he was 
the man who swam out to establish communication with 
her. Afterward he employed himself in fastening the 
ropes from the lifeboat. I assisted in that. 
"It was high tide when I got in the rigging, and the 
sea surged well up toward those in the lower part of 
the rigging. When the sea swept right over us and 
then rolled away, I could hear the screams of the poor 
women and children almost within reach, and yet not 
within sight in the darkness. As the vessel went down 
ithJ wave must have swept a score or two into eternity. 
'The voices of the perishing people will be in my ears 
■for a long time. 
"It was extraordinary that all the lights were electric, 
and they were all extinguished. If there had been an 
ordinary lamp on the masthead it would have been of 
great value to us, who were in the rigging from 7 o'clock 
until 2 o'clock in the morning. My watch stopped at ten 
jninutes to 2, when I took the plunge. We recognized 
FOREST AND STRfiAM. 
that there was no light to guide those who wanted to 
reach us. A small boat discovered us and went back." 
New York Y. C 
A very important meeting of the New York Y. C. 
was held on Oct. 27, with Com. J. P. Morgan in the 
chair. Apart from the routine business of the usual fall 
meeting, a report was expected from the special com- 
mittee on the subject of a new club house, and in this 
same connection the following amendment was under 
consideration: 
Chapter 1 — Dues — Paragraph i, line 2, substitute the 
word "fifty" for the words "twenty-five," and on line 7 
substitute the word "fifty" for the words "twenty-five." 
When amended the paragraph will read: Each mem- 
ber, on his election, shall pay the sum of $100 as entrance 
fee, and $50 for the current year. If said sums are not 
paid within thirty days from the date of his election the 
treasurer shall notify the secretary of the fact, and such 
election shall be null and void. Each subsequent an- 
nual payment shall be $50, and shall become due at the 
first general meeting in each year. Foreigners, members 
of yacht clubs in their own country, and not residing in 
the United States, shall be exempt from all payments, 
except entrance fee.- Members who are absent from 
the United States for the whole fiscal year, commencing 
on the second Thursday in February, shall be exempt 
from their dues for such year, provided they give notice 
of their absence to the secretary. 
The report of the committee, read by Vice-Corn. Lewis 
Cass Ledyard, recommended the purchase of ground for 
a new house, specifying two available sites, one of 50ft. 
and one of 75ft. frontage, in the vicinity of Fifth avenue 
and Forty-fourth street. Com. Morgan offered to pres- 
ent the ground on the conditions that a house of 75ft. 
frontage be built, and the dues raised to $50, which offer 
was accepted by the club, the committee being authorized 
to secure plans and to proceed with the work. An 
amendment to the by-laws was offered by Oswald 
Sanderson, providing that the owners of yachts of 30ft. 
l.w.l. and upward, regardless of tonnage, be accorded 
the right of representation; this was passed, subject to 
ratification at a subsequent meeting. A letter was read 
from Admiral Dewey, thanking the club for the honor 
conferred by the election to honorary membership. 
Messrs. Vanderbilt, Morgan and Iselin, the Defender 
syndicate, presented to the club a very handsome full- 
rigged model of Defender, the work of Gustave Grahn, 
the well-known model maker. The nominating commit- 
tee for the coming club election was elected as follows: 
C. Oliver Iselin, Percy Chubb, Seymour L. Husted, Jr., 
Henry F. Lippitt, Harrison B. Moore, Philip Schuyler, 
Edward M. Brown, Arthur Ingraham, Oswald Sander- 
son, Francis H. Davies. 
The following new members were elected: Thos. Car- 
michael, Abbot S. Rogers, Howard Willets, Commander 
Joseph G. Eaton, United States Navy; John R. Thomas, 
Lieut. H. W. Harrison, United States Navy; Henry G. 
Timmermann, Daniel Lord, Lieut. Frank Marble, United 
States Navy : Bryce J. Allan, Ensign Wililam H. Buck, 
United States Navy; Joseph E. Widener, Ensign John 
R. Edie, United States Navy; Lieut. Commander N. J. 
K. Patch, United States Navy; Edwin Gould, Past 
Assistant Engineer John C. Leonard, United States 
Navy; P. C. Stewart, A. Y. Stewart, F. S. Pearson. Pay 
Inspector Henry T. Wright, Lmited States Navy; Com- 
modore Charles O'Neil, United States Navy. 
On the following morning Com. Morgan purchased 
the property on Forty-fourth street, opposite to the new 
house of the Bar Association, the price being $148,000, 
and presented it to the club. 
Defender. 
During the past two weeks the work of cleaning and 
fitting out Defender has progressed steadily at her moor- 
ings, off New Rochelle, just inside of Glen Island. The 
bottom has been cleaned by a diver, who reports the 
metal as uncorroded and easily cleaned with a brush. 
Contrary to the opinions expressed in many 'papers, there 
is nothing strange in this, as the -bottom plating is not 
of aluminum, but of manganese bronze, a material which 
should corrode only enough to kill marine growths. 
Within a few days it has become known that Capt. 
Charles Barr has been temporarily released by Com. 
Postley, of Colonia, and has been engaged by Mr. 
Iselin. He will have charge of Defender, and probably 
of the new boat later on. He has been busy overhauling 
the yacht, and she will start for Bristol under sail, with 
Mr. Iselin and a few friends aboard, as soon as the new 
ways at the Herreshoff works are ready to haul her. 
She will go under jury rig, a trysail with no boom, her 
racing spars being left at City Island, where they have 
been housed, on Piepgrass' Wharf, since she was laid 
up in 1895. 
The new railway will be of sufficient capacity to haul 
Defender, being carried out to get the necessary draft 
over the cradle. A new and powerful steam windlass has 
been specially constructed, operating the cradle by means 
of a steel cable. Preparations for the new boat are 
going on steadily, but no definite information is obtain- 
able. A rumor is current that she will be built entirely 
of aluminum, which probably means that she will be 
P^ted with it throughout, instead of merely on the top 
sides. 
Y. R. A. of Long Island Sound. 
Notice to Representatives. 
A general meeting of the Yacht Racing Association 
of Long Island Sound will be held at the Hotel Man- 
hattan. Madison avenue and Forty-second street. New 
York, on Thursday, Nov. 3, at 8 o'clock P. M., to take 
action on the recommendations of the executive com- 
mittee as to the new measurement and classification 
rules adopted by the Yacht Racing Union of North 
America, and as to various modifications of the classifi- 
cation rules of the Association. By order of the Exe- 
cutive Committee, 
Chas. P. Tower, Sec'y. 
[Nov. 5, 
The Canada Cup. 
The notice of challenge for the Canada cup, mentioned 
in our previous issue, has been received at Toronto, and 
reads as follows: 
Royal Canadian Y. C, Toronto, Canada. 
Gentlemen: I have the honor to notify you that the 
Chicago Y. C. will challenge for Canada's cup. 
If agreeable to you, a committee will meet you in 
Toronto to present formal challenge and to arrange all 
details of races. 
An early reply, stating when you wish to meet our 
committee, wall greatly oblige. Respectfully yours, 
Charles H. Thorne, Sec'}'. 
Chicago, Oct. 25, 1898. 
A meeting of the executive and the sailing commit- 
tees of the R. C. Y. C. was held immediately on the re- 
ceipt of this letter, and it was arranged to hold a joint 
meeting at an early date. 
Inland Lake Y. R, A. 
The annual meeting of the Inland Lake Y. R. A. was 
held on Oct. 15, at Chicago, the following officers being 
elected: 
Pres., J. W. Taylor, White Bear Y. C, St. Paul, Minn.; 
Sec'y-Treas., Benjamin Carpenter, Lake Geneva Y. C, 
Chicago; Executive Committee, H. Battis, Oshkosh, 
Wis,; John Dupee, Oconomowoc, Wis., and Benjamin 
Carpenter. 
Delegates from the following yacht clubs attended the 
meeting: White Bear, Green Lake, Delavan, Pine, Lake. 
Lake Buelah, Fox Lake, Detroit, Minnesota, Lake 
Geneva, Minnetonka, Indiana, Oconomowoc, Pistakec, 
Pewaukee, Duluth, West End, Nodaway and Oshkosh. 
It was decided to hold the 1899 annual inland lake re- 
gatta at Oshkosh, on Winnebago Lake. 
Yacht Measurement. 
New York, Oct. 29. — Editor Forest and Stream: In 
looking over the table published on Oct. 22. I found one 
noticeable discrepancy which led me to check over the 
columns headed "Equivalent based on speed and seconds 
per mile." The whole table was prepared in time illy 
spared, and consequently' could not be properly checked, 
and this must be my excuse. In the first mentioned 
column, first and fourth lines, substitute 37.9 for 39.7; 
second line, substitute 19.5 for 13.0, and leave out the 
foot note. In the second column mentioned, first line, 
substitute 620 for 6T2.0; second line, substitute 758 for 
1,022, and in the fourth line substitute 620 for 616. 
Geo. Hill. 
YACHTING NEWS NOTES. 
Mr'. W. B. Stearns, of the Marblehead Yacht Yard, has 
joined forces with Mr. J. R. Purdon, the Boston de- 
signer, and the union will probably be to the advantage 
of both. Mr. Stearns has a large and growing busi- 
ness, the management of which leaves him little time 
for designing, and the facilities of his yard will give Mr. 
Purdon new opportunities for those personal experiments 
in construction which are now necessary to the suc- 
cess of the designer. 
A meeting of the executive committee of the Sound 
Y. R. A. was held on Oct. 24, at the Seawanhaka C. Y. 
C. house, with Pres. Cromwell in the chair. There 
were present Messrs. C. P. Tower, F. B. Jones, E. B. 
Hart and W. P. Stephens. The committee decided upon 
the recommendations to the association at the annual 
meeting, which will be held on Nov. 3. 
We have heretofore looked upon the flippant and 
would-be humorous comments on the city of Oshkosh 
that are so frequently seen in the different daily papers as 
mere slanders, unsupported by facts; but after the fol- 
lowing, which we reprint verbatim from the Oshkosh 
Northwestern, we are prepared to believe the worst. 
There might be some excuse for such a story in a 
Chinese or Egyptian paper, but it is impossible to con- 
ceive how such ignorance can exist in a civilized land: 
"Oshkosh has secured the annual regatta of the In- 
land Lake Yachting Association. 
"The event will easily be the leading one in yachting 
circles in the United States. 
"All Oshkoshians therefore should commence early 
to acquire a knowledge of yachting and nautical terms, 
for the city will harbor the greatest yachtsmen in the 
country next summer. 
"The Association at the very outset decided to adopt 
no style of model for next year until the St. Lawrence 
and the Swaneca clubs, the leading yachting organiza- 
tions of Canada and of Eastern United States, have 
adopted models, as the Western clubs yvant to be on the 
same footing when it comes to putting their champion 
boat against the champion of Canada and Eastern United 
States. 
"In the race this year between the Challenger, the 
Canadian boat, and the Dominion, of the Swaneca Club, 
of Long Island Sound, the latter defeated the Canadian 
craft. The American craft was a novelty to yachtsmen. 
It had a double hull and was built by Dugan, a noted 
Eastern builder of yachts. After their defeat the Can- 
adians objected so strenuously to the double hull style 
of yacht that the Americans returned the cup they had 
won and Dugan said that next year he would build a 
yacht that would again defeat the Canadian boat, and of 
a model that they could not pick on. Therefore the 
clubs of the Inland Lake Yachting Association are wait- 
ing for that model to make its appearance." 
The Chicago Tiroes-Herald described as follows a 
new class of restricted yachts, proposed for that city-; the 
21-footer Spray, mentioned below, was fully illustrated in 
the Forest and Stream of April 9-16-23, 1898: 
Chicago's yacht fleet will be increased next season by 
a new class, known as the raceabouts. These craft are 
of the jib and mainsail rig, and are particularly handy 
for amateur crews. Besides being fast and very sea- 
worthy, for cruising purposes they have considerable 
room and comfort. The three which are certain to be 
built will be enrolled in the Columbia Y. C, and will 
