until she set sail for the United States on 21 November. She arrived in San Francisco on 9 December and was decommissioned at the Mare Island Navy Yard on 6 February 1890. Various stations, 1890–93 Alert remained there, inactive, until recommissioned on 9 October 1890, Cdr. R. D. Hitchcock in command. She served initially on the Pacific Squadron, but departed Mare Island on 18 June 1891 for a summer of duty with the Bering Sea Squadron discouraging seal poachers before continuing on to permanent duty on the Asiatic Station. The warship left Unalaska on 22 August and arrived in Yokohama on 10 September. She spent the next two years cruising the waters along the Japanese, Korean, and Chinese coasts and visiting most of the major ports in the area. As in the past, her primary missions consisted of keeping an eye on American interests and showing the flag. In the summer of 1893, orders arrived sending the ship back to the United States. She departed Yokohama on 15 August; arrived in San Francisco on 21 September; and, two days later, was placed out of commission at the Mare Island Navy Yard. Pacific station, 1894–98 On 2 April 1894, Alert was recommissioned, Cdr. W. A. Morgan in command. Assigned to the Pacific Squadron once again, she returned to the Bering Sea late in May for a summer of duty suppressing seal poachers. The warship finished that assignment in mid-September and arrived back at San Francisco on the 27th. The following day, she moved to the Mare Island Navy Yard and remained there through the end of the year. On 24 January 1895, Alert, departed Mare Island to take up duty off the Pacific coasts of Central and South America. Proceeding via San Diego and Acapulco, she reached Puerto San José on 15 February. The vessel cruised along the Latin American littoral between Guatemala and Peru for over 16 months keeping watch over U.S. interests in the region. On 2 June 1896, she departed La Libertad, Salvador (now El Salvador), to return home. After stops at several Mexican ports and at San Diego, she reached San Francisco on 17 July. The steamer remained in the San Francisco Bay area almost two months, spending about half that time at the Mare Island Navy Yard. From 10 September-10 October, she made a round-trip cruise to Port Angeles, Washington. On 18 November, she stood out