Daily Yellowstone journal., 1886-06-17
souNolNGS IN THE DEEP SEA.
How the Heavy Iron Bale Are sunk In
Water Four Miles Deep.

How the Heavy Iron Bale Are sunk In
Water Four Miles Deep.
After steaming two days to the east.
ward the line Of deep sea soundings was
taken up again in the South Atlantic
ocean, where the Enterprise had left off
on her outward passage around the Cape
of Good Hope over three years before.
The soundings are taken with iron balls
similar to nine-inch shot slung with wire.
A hu!c three inches in diameter through
the middle Of the ball reduces its
weight from riety-six pounds
the weight of nine-inch shot-to sixty
four pounds. Through this hole brass
plunger is inserted several inches
longer than the diameter of the shot.
The plungcr is filled with worm,
cup, and IA hook, by which the shot is
fastened To a reel containing 5000 faith
oms of steel wire fastened to a swivel
forming the head of the plunger, and led
over wheel in an iron frame several
feet clear of the ships side, and over an
other wheel little below the frame.
This leads the wire still further clear of
the ship. The frame on which the upper
wheel hangs has five hollow stanchions,
in which are springs, to each of which
rope is fastened, roll over roll, as in the
top of the frame, and to which the wheel
hangs SO as to give it a chance to give
way several feet to ease the strain which
naturally comes on the wire and would
surely break it ON a heavy roll of the
ship, as il has done once, causing a loss
of 1900 fathoms OF wire.
When everything is ready the shot is
dropped overheard and the wire runs off
the reel at a rate OF !, 900 fathoms in ten
minutes. As soon as the plunger reaches
the bottom the hook to which the shot is
fastened turns over by the slackening of
the strain, and so releases it. A tell-tale
on the axle of the reel tells how many
fathoms of wire have run off. A steam
engine then winds the wire with the
plunger on the reel, minus the shot,
which forever remains at the bottom of
the ocean. The plunger consists of
hollow brass tube ten inches long, in
which is inserted worm with cup ON
the lower end. The worm serves for
the purpose of twisting the cup into the
bed of the ocean and fetching up.
sample from the bottom. The contents
of the cup, after the water is drained off,
are put in small bottles and labeled with
latitude, longitude, and depth. These
bottles are packed into boxes and sent
to the photographic office in WASH
ington.
When under steam alone the engines
are stopped for sounding, but when un-
der sail alone steam has to be gotten up
and all sail taken in, as the ship has to
lie perfectly quiet and to be under con-
troll, which is impossible under sail
Soundings were taken about 100 miles.
the depth usually being 2OOO or 5000
fathoms. The greatest encountered was
$500 fathoms OF about four and half
miles. In latitude 30 degrees south and
longitude 30 degrees west shoal water
OF about 400 or 800 fathoms was found,
revealing the existence Of a range of
mountains ON the bottom of the ocean.
These the Challenger, an English man
of-war, on deep-sea sounding expedi-
ton around the world ten years ago, had
failed to discover. That day fifteen
soundings Were taken, one every five
miles, till deep water was found again.
The cost Of shot is "a. Lieut.. Mark,
the navigator, had charge of the work,
and it required a quartermaster, an as
sistant and fireman to run the engine
to take sounding, which altogether
lasts about an hour. Should the shot
fail to discharge, as it did once during
the cruise. the whole has to be wound up
again by hand, which takes three hours
for depth Of 5000 fathoms, as the en-
gine is not powerful enough to wind up
wire, shot and all.-Baltimore Sun.