National Republican., 1883-07-07
Report Of Prot Holden, Chief Of the American
Expedition.
His Discovery That There is No Inter
mercunaI Planet.
A Splendid Day For Observation Of The
Voyage and Of the Observation.
Dinicuities OF Landing ON Coral Reef
The FEench and English Expeditions.
AfilirnnLee Scniins,.

journey as the head Of the American expedi-
tion to observe the total eclipse of the sun at
Caroline island, South Pacific ocean. That
the expedition was one of almost unblemished
success is already known. A perfect day was
granted by Providence for the observations.
Numerous splendid photographs of the eclipse
in its advancing and receding stages were
taken by the French and English photograph
ers, and Prof. Holden, having devoted him
self almost exclusively to that matter, dscov-
cred cock sure" as he puts it, that there is
no Vulcan in that field. The late Prof.
Watson supposed he discovered in 1878 the
planet to which the name of Vulcan was
given, and 1T now remains for the astronomers
to explain what he did and how he fell into
the error which this expedition has uncovered.
AS Prof Holden is clean cut and graphic
writer, his report, not yet transmitted to the
National Academy of Arts and Sciences, fur
nishes far better description of the long trip
he has just finished than anything your cor
respondent could write. The official "tele-
gram" employing those technical terms
necessary to describe the observation of the
eclipse and the search for Vulcan is omitted,
as it would be incomprehensible to the ordi-
nary reader; but the other movements of the
expedition are described as follows in Prof
Holden's own words
REPORT OF THE AMERICAN EXPEDITION
TO OBSERVE THE TOTAL ECLIPSE OF 1883,
MAY 6, Al CAROLINE ISLAND, SOUTH Pa
oIFIo OcEAN-To PROF. @. A. YOUNG, chair
man of the Eclipse Committee of the National
Academy of Sciences-Bfy Dear Prof Young I:
1t gives me great pleasure to address to you
my report of the total solar eclipse of May
q, 1SS3 together with the reports of the other
members of the American expedition and
with a memorandum from the chief of the
English Photographic party which accompa.
MED us. We had all hoped and expected to
have you for our director in this expedition,
and you will allow me to express my regret
that unforeseen circumstances prevented this.
AS our voyage and our subsequent stay on
Caroline Island was something out the COM
mon run of experience, you will allow me 10
five some details concerning them, which u
ally do not form part OF scientific report
Journey from New York to Colon 1850
miles, from Colon to Calloa q, ,722 miles, and
rom CatIao to Caroline island "a ,324 miles.
The six members of the American party
sailed from New York March 3 1883, on H.
Pacific mail steamship Acapulco Cant. W.
Shackford), and arrived at Colon March IL,
after touching at Castle island March z, to
send off mail. At Colon the expedition was
Joined by the English Photographic party
AS the steamer on the west coast of South
America did not leave until the evening of
March ~, the American party remained in
Colon till the morning of that day, and went
thence to Panama. Both in Colon and in
Panama we were indebted to the courtesy of
Capt. j. NJ. Dow, OF Panama, for expedting
our movements and for personal favors. At
Panama / telegraphed to the United States
and alBo to the admiral commanding the Pa
tE.,g H. L. 4
friend, Clarence Cary, esq, of New York,
found that all our kilograms over the lines
along the west coast of South America and to
the United States were sent free of charge.
Every day during May rehearsal for the
eclipse observations was gone through with,
and two days before May everything was in
complete readiness. On the morning of May
there were three rain showers and several
persistent banks of clouds. The sky was
clear at first contact (about 10h. 3m. local M
t.), cloudy at intervals till near totality, clear
during totality, except slight haze during the
first minute of totality, cloudy a few minutes
after third contact, and finally clear at
fourth contact. The observation of the
various parties may be considered to have
been successful. But the success was owing
TO the apparent accident of the dissipation of
q local cloud. / am more than ever convinced
that my conclusion to go to Flint island, had
found the French party occupying Caroline
ing of March 13 we sailed on the P. S. N. Cos.
steamer Bolivia Capt. Ferguson), for Callao,
stopping at Buenaventura March 14), Tu-
maco March 15), Guayaquil March ~,
Payta March 1S), and arriving at Callao
March 20. | at once called on Capt. G. G.
Carpenter, commanding the Hartford from
whom learned that he would be ready to
sail on March %. March 81 was spent in
Lima, and on March 90 the Hartford left
Calao for Caroline island, distance of 1924
miles,
On the twenty third day out from Callao,
We sighted one of the islands of the Marquesas
group, and at = a. M. of April 90 Caroline
island was seen as low green streak on the
horizon. We had come A, 1924 miles i'll twenty
nine days, mostly under sail tan average of
149 miles per day. without seeing a single
sail or any land, except Magdelena island, of
the Marquesas, which we had gone out of our
course to sight. / cannot refrain from quoting
here Darwins entry In his journal of a
Voyage in the Beagle" under date of Dec. 10,
lS3o: " We may now consider that we have
nearly crossed the Pacific 1t is necessary to
sail over this great ocean to comprehend its
lmmensity. Moving quickly onward for
weeks together we meet with nothing but the
same blue, profoundly deep ocean. Even
within the archipelagoes the islands are mere
specks, and far distant one from the other.
Accustomed to look at maps drawn on a small
scale, where dots, shading, and names are
crowded together, we do not rightly judge
how infinitely small tho proportion of dry
land is to the water of this vast expanse"
IL must be remembered that we knew alb
solutey nothing of Caroline island, except
that il had been inhabited in 1874 by at least
one white man and some thirty natives The
boat landing was known to be somewhere on
the southwestern side, and an "entrance to
the lagoon was spoken of ON the eastern
lAde. The Hartford approached the island
nom this side, and from end TO end there was
nothing TO be seen but line of heavy
breakers, then a strip of white beach, and
above this Il growth of trees, the highest of
which were cocoa palms. Finally in among
these was seen the gable roof of European
house, but no inhabitants. Coasting round
the island, every where surrounded by high
surf, the Hartford came opposite the place
where the boatanding was reported, and the
whaeboat was lowered, and Lieut., Qualtrough
sent in her TO land, If possible. IL seems
all very simple now, after Caroline is
land, its reefs, its lagoon, and its landing are
as familiar TO us as the beaches of New Eng
land; but at the time it was all quite strange
and new The advent of u man and a dog on
the reef was an event. 1t seemed TO settle
one thing ut least. and that was that we
should find some assistance in landing, But
the native disappeared aud Lieut., Qualtrough
was lett to find his own way among the break
ers, which he did In a capital manner. The
ocean reef forms solid wall all round the
island except at one narrow aud crooked Gu
trance, just wide enough for u boat and oars,
and through this entrance each boat must
ltI an. "a