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THE RAISING OF THE AUSTRAL.
Complete success lia3 (Hays the
. . M. Jl-iruht of the 2nd Mnrch)
crowned the efforts mndo for the
raishig of the Austral. Yesterday
the ship was not only floated bodily
out of the muddy lied on which she
has lain for nearly four months, hut
she was towed three or four hundred
yards higher up Neutral Hay, and
safely grounded in shallow water.
The coffer dam is high and dry, the
hows of the ship stand 10ft. or 12ft.
out of water at low tide, and the
main deck aft is about level with the
water. The vessel only needs to be
further lightened by additional
pumping, and the removal of the
eoffer dam and of the heavy top
hamper, to enable her to float as
high as when she was berthed at the
Circular Quay, and she may then be
lowed into dock and put into a
condition to make the homeward
voyage. Within a couple of hours
of the 1 enewal of operations yester
day morning success was placed be
yond the shadow of a doubt, and
before 10 o'clock the long-hoped-for
and thrice-welcome cablegram,
"Austral afloat and moving," had
been despatched by the local mana
ger to the managing director in
England.
The floating of the ship was wit
nessed by very few people. Up to
Wednesday night there was consi
derable uncertainty as to when the
Austral would be fairly shifted, and
the general public consequently did
not Hock to the scene of operations
until late in the day. Yesterday
morning we notified Mr. Eldridgc's
confident prediction that the ship
would be floated before 8 a. m., but
lliib information would not reach
leaders builiciently eiuly to enable
any very great number of people to
be present at the hour named. It
Wiis just a few minutes before
8 o'clock when the vessel commenced
to rise forward. Immediately after
wards she was connected with four
powerful tug boats, and at midday
she had been grounded in a safe
position.
The work was runcwed at 0.50 a.
in. Eight pumps were set to work
at about 7 o'clock. The 20-in.
pump was not available for use. At
that time the ship had a list of 2
to the starboard ; at 7.20 one of the
after pumps was stopped as the
after part of the vessel was rising
too rapidly in comparison with the
forepart. The water was thus al
lowed to run aft while pumping was
still carried on forward. At 7.10
the water was being doci cased in the
fore-hold at the rate of liu. per
minute. At 7.45 the list was re
duced to lj . Just before 8 o'clock
the vessel for the first time since she
went down commenced to rise for
ward, and at 8 o'clock the bow had
risen ilin. , as indicated by a float
ing gauge over the bow. The scene
on board at this time was very
exciting. There were no boats or
steamers about, except those engaged
at the ship, and only a few persons
were on board, but those who were
there were deeply interested in the
operations, and all freely expressed
their great gratification at this first
indication of crowning success. The
stem tugs were signalled, and four
of them the Achilles, the Neptume,
the Prince Alfred, and the Thetis
got abreast of each other, ran a tow
line out to the bow of the Austral,
and commenced to tug. The ship
went forward slightly, but as her
bow was embedded something like
3ft. in the mud she was not easily
moved. Just about this time one of
the forward pumps ceased working,
and the discharge of water was
thereby slackened. At 8.30 the bow
had lifted 2ft. lOin. After some
delay all the pumps were got to
work again, and did good service
for about an hour, when the con
necting pipe of the forward pumps
burst, and pumping operations had
to be suspended for some time in
that part of the vessel. The pumps,
however, had rendered good service
in the Meantime. I hey had been
kept at easy work during Wednesday
night in order to prevent the water
gaining the ship, and yesterday
morning they reduced the water at
the rate of an inch per minute. Very
great care had to be taken in moving
the ship, and the steamer Commodore
was kept fast to the stern in order
to steady her from slewing. After
the vessel had moved forward about
100 yards she got too close in shore
and grounded on .1 bank, but by
towing astern she was pulled off.
Some time afterwards she again got
aground, and was again pulled off,
and the full tugging power was then
used to get her as high up the bay as
possible. After proceeding about
300 or 400 yards from where she had
sunk, she was gtounded at the top of
high water at 1 o'clock in a shallow
portion of the bay. She is now lying
there perfect safety, and can be
easily floated again at high tide.
Early in the afternoon a number of
hands were put on to remove the
upper portion of the coffer dam. This
woodwork, together with the pump
ing gear, &c, equals a weight of
nearly 300 tons, all above the level
of the upper deck, and the removal
of this is therefore necessary to render
the ship stable as she rises higher out
of the water. The coffer dam will
be removed to within 3ft. or 4 ft. of
the upper deck, and the pumping
gear will be placed lower down in the
ship, A large proportion of the
machinery has been exposed to view,
and on careful examination has been
found quite free from serious
damage. It is very dirty and rusty
looking of course, but so far can be
seen, the machinery will, after clean
ing, be practically as serviceable as
before the ship went down. At high
tide, to-morrow, which will bo about
1 o'clock, the vessel will be moved
about a length and a-half further in,
all the coffer dam and other, top
weight taken off, the.water pumped
out as low as may be deemed ncces'
sary, and the ship again floated at a
subsequent high tide and towed into
dock. This might have been done
yesterday had the pumping apparatus
expelled the water as rapidly as was
"desired, but this was nprcveted by
the breakage of the stcampipe con
nection on two occasions on the same
pumping steamer.
THE ELECTRICAL CHAIR.
A wealthy pork packer who lives
in the south p-irt of the city h is late
ly invented an electrical chair, lie
has a good looking daughter who is
considered quite a catch, and she is
the recipient of considerable atten
tion from the young mashers of the
neighborhood, and the electrical
chair was invented by the old duller
as a kind of time-lock protection
against too many and too prolonged
visits from the lu-di-dah. Just be
fore lie goes to bed he cuiric all tho
furniture out of the room but the
grand piano and the electrical chair,
and when the young man comes to
call the girl gies him the chair and
takes the piano-stool for herself.
The chair is arranged to go off at
!):30 P. M., and it has been noticed
by the young lady that the masher
generally goes off about that time,
too, or at. least, very soon after.
He sits in the electrical chair
building air castles and weaving a
web of rose colored lies a foot and a
half thick, for the sole edification of
the pork packers daughter and just
about the time h'e waxe- the most
eloquent and glows with warmth,
love and adoration, the electrical
chair commences to get its work in
on him and he curls up his legs a
moment, and then spasmodically
shakes them out again. And then
he feels awfully cold, and there is a
pricking sensation running up the
seams of his pants as through there
were an electric pen trying to turn
him into an autograph album, and
he lists over to one side as though
his cargo hasslrifted in the hold, and
says "Ouch! Goso! It's funny when
you feel this way," and the girl
looks foolish and red in the face, and
then the youth doubles up and rocks
himself just as though he hud a
sudden attack of tho cramp colic,
anil grows white and tries to edge
off fioin the infernal machine. Then
he attempts to take his watch out ol
his pocket, but every time he touches
the metal he gets, a bjggor shock,
and then he grows red in the face, a
cold sweat starts on him all over the
body, and he leaps into the middle
of tho room and howls. Then he
makes a break tor the hall and climbs
into his overcoat and goes away with
tho sensations of a man who has ta
ken two hundred and ten Masonic
degrees in one evening, and tho next
day the young lady wiites liini a
note calling attention to his horrible
condition the night previous and
saying that he need not call on her
again until he has learned to let
whiskv alone. But one of these line
evening after tho young man has
been fired out of the house Iry the
electrical kicker, the pork-packer' s
daughter will take a notion to rest
herself in that chair, and then the
family will hear somebody squ eal
Talk about tho various uses to which
electricity can be applied! Why the
half has never been told by tin
wildest of wild-eyed visionaries
MILK DIET.
If any one wishes to grow fleshy,
a pint of milk taken on retiring at
night will cover the scrawniest bones.
Tn cases of fever and summer com
plaint, milk is now given with
excellent results. The idea that
milk is feverish has exploded, and it
is now the physician's great reliance
in bringing through typhoid patients,
or those in too low a state to be
nourished by solid food. It is a
mistake to crimp the milk pitcher.
Use more milk and less meat. Look
to your milkman ; have large-sized,
well-filled milk pitchers on the table
each meal, and you will have sound
flesh and save doctor's bills.
A JUST CAUSE FOR SHOOTING.
During the war, while General
Steele commanded the post at Little
Rock, an old Arkansawyer was drawn
up before the General on the charge
of shooting a soldier.
"Why did you shoot the soldier?"
demanded Steele.
"1 had a right to shoot him. Gene
ral." "Did he insult your wife?"
"Wusscn that, Gencial." .
"Did he strike you ?"
"A heap wnssen that."
"What did he do?"
"Wiry, General, the cuss said that
I was an uneddyeated man. That
was more' 11 I could put up with.
He hit my daughter with a churn
dasher, and said that my wife was as
homely as a cow, but, General, when
he insinewated agin my college
trainin' I couldn't stand it no longer,
and I lifted him." Arlunnaw 'I'm-
vcler.
1 .
Here is an "Essaj' on Man" ra
ther more concise the Pope's. It
consists of the following canto :
Man's a vapor,
Full of woes;
Starts a pnper,
Busts anil .n's.
"Thirty dollars fifteen dollars
for a spring bonnet !" gurgied Jones
as he looked from the bill to his
wife, "Mrs. Jones, it's an outrage
a gross imposition." "Yes, but
that's the price." "I'd better have
married a milliner instead of a so
ciety lady." "Yes. that's what all
my friends seem to think!" she de
murely replied. lie got red in the
face and growled and kicked the
footstool across the room, but by-and-by
looked up and said, "And
by the way, darling, you'd better
get one of those ten-dollar hats
which become you so, too. I want
you to look pretty, no matter what
the cost.
