Almost simultaneously with the completion of the great rifle at the New York arsenal, came the launching of the “Thomas W. Lawson,” the first seven-masted schooner ever built.
Differing from our usual idea of a sailboat, the new ship is constructed almost entirely of steel. So manageable are the six powerful steam engines which control the sails, spars, anchors, and rudder, that this, the largest sailing vessel afloat, requires a crew of but sixteen men.
The length of the “Lawson” is 403 feet, and she carries a cargo of 8,100 tons.
There is a system of electric lights and telephones throughout, while the cabins are heated by steam.
The “Lawson” will be used at first as a collier on the Atlantic coast, where her owners expect she will make a great profit.
It is to this application of steam and electricity to sailboats that we may look for strides in that science, which has probably advanced less than any other in the past two thousand years—the science of sailing.
Preservation of the “Buffalo”
The Secretary of the Interior has announced plans for the perpetuation of the American bison or “buffalo.” For this purpose he has secured an appropriation of $15,000 to build a wire corral at Yellowstone Park. Here the bison, both wild and tame, will be protected in every way. At present there are but twenty-two bison in the park, but this number will be greatly increased by purchase in the near future.
A numerical estimate of the pure-blooded bison now in existence gives, in the United States, 968, mostly tame, and in Canada, 600, all of which are wild.