The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 4, 1900, Page 7

THE SUNDAY CALL. BY QUERITA VINCENT. 8 the buck & e -t P g “Juba” 15t have at awyers, doct o plckaninnies and dignified aid the esting gh she were not the Pres- t's private yacht, and as best I can I give a description of her aa ter, spring, summer fes at her moorings in the waters of the Potomac h are ¢ prised in the Washington 3 ready at a quarter hour’s no- President McKinley any- e may desire. that the President’s yacht is hly b that she could weather almost any gale which she might n the turbulent waters of the At- ic, and that she is seaworthy in every way. But I am told that it 1s doubtful if she will ever be used by the Presidential party to travel farther than the mouth of the Potomac River, a hundred miles down from Washington, or at the most for a trip down to Fort Monroe and famous Old Point Comfort. This casts no asper- sion on the little boat and its seagoing qualities; but if the Chief Magistrate con- templated a longer journey by water than those mentioned there are several much larger Government boats as well as a number of large war vessels within easy reach of Washir ‘on and at his command. If his trip were to be extended beyond Capes Henry and Charles at the mouth (CED THE BUCK AND WING WHILE PRESIDENT W 7 An Unexpe\;cte@]‘ VYSY'E on Board the Qhief Execltive’s New Private of the Chesapeake Bay he would without doubt elect to travel in one of these, The Sylph is popularly known as the President’s and to all Intent and purpose is as much the property of the members of the family of the Chief Ex- ecutive as if she ha. been purchased out- reut, Yacht right by Mr, McKinley, B8he {s manned, however, by a regular officer in the United States navy and by a crew of twenty- five enlisted men, In the naval roster she is efficially designated as one of the ver- sels of the auxillary navy of the United States detalled for special duty at Wash- the Sylph ington. But even if the casual stranger lacked the knowledge set forth in that publication he would very much suspect the graceful little boat's connectlon with our navy from the white paint of peace which adorns her hull and the flerce six- pound Hotchkiss gun which stands guard over her bows. warlike in her KINLEY PATTED JUBA J. Maxwel al gentleman and “THE- COMPANY PATTED Jupa’ 3 YYHILE 1 DANCED” be small, although very comfortable and nicely furnished, the furniture being mahogany and leather. This room Is prettily carpeted and is Sufficiently com- modious to accommodate almost any de- mands that may be made upon it by the small Presidential parties which generally go aboard the yacht. In addition to the cabin there are flve comfortable rooms be- low decks, which are used as sleeping apartments for the officers and for the guests aboard the vessel. These apart- ments are finished in white, and in con- sideration of the comparatively small amount of sunlight that enters are very bright and pretty. There is also a minia- ture dining room and & kitchen as well as quarters for the men balow decks. In charge of the Syloh is Lieutenant W. THE SYLPH— | PRESIDENT MSIKINLEY S }ll‘jkwoq':‘- YACHT I\ forth In somewhat solitary state aboard his craft To me Lieutenant was bullt by Jok ter, Pa,, and wa use as a course of mined t tty and Spain, she w r was Lieut eiphia, an of d unde ma At snatching fous offici ng dewn the Potomac aboard one tugs to get a li est and r thought that some more able vessel of the na shoul ided for the Chief Exe y the lttle nd to Was 3 er enant Gartley brough 1 he was mus- tered out of . and Lieutenant Maxwell su He has remained in command ever si Lieutenant Maxwell has made consider- able changes of a minor nature in the Sylph. He has had three of the four Hotchkiss guns with which she was fitted up remc aving only the one on the forward This gives more ample room to the White House parties, who almost invariably spend their time aboard the yacht abovebc 1, on the etty and He boat spa fous decks. as also ¢ hauled the from s ng every nook and cra the wood and metal worlk polished like & mirror. The cond! h the Sylph is kept s cer- bute to the lleutenant’s genius for housekeeping. Mr. McKinley has scarcely evinced the fc water that was displayed r in office. It m to business ing nts his making uch as he would ot 13 As it is, he has tak very extended trips aboard her, preferrir rather to run down the river to Mount Vernon during the course of the after- noon or evening. Occasionally the trips of the Presidential party are extended tarther down to Indlan Head, or even as far as Quantico and Broadwater, soms forty miles down, where President C) land used to go in the fall for duck h ing and fishing. Almost invariably the President is ac- companied on these little excyrsions by Mrs. McKinley, who Is sald to be very fond of the water, and is quite a satlor, Very often the young people visiting the White House accompany the party and sometimes one or more of the members of the Cabinet. A great many very pleas- ant social gatherings of this nature taks place aboard the Sylph in the spring, sum- mer and umn. It is only occasionally that the Presi- dent makes use of his yacht in winter. At times, however, he places it at t disposal of prominent diplomats or offi- clal visitors to this eountry. On the 24 of January, 1899, she took the President of Costa Rica down to Mount Vernon. She was also placed at the disposal of the Joint High Commission, which met in Washington last year to determine the Canadian boundary dispute, and they spent a whole day aboard her on the Potomac. From time to time she does & great deal of work of this kind and proves herself a most useful and valuable vessel. i i N