Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1889-09-20
& Cruise on the U. s. Steamer Alba
trOss.
BY JAMES G. SWAN.

COMMISSION otcdllleT AlDdtrOSS. i tOOk
short cruise of n week on this fine
vessel, outside Cape Flattery, to see
the method of deep-sea soundings, and
dredging iii the profound depths for
marine products. My friend, Prof
Charles II. Gilbert, of the Indiana
State University, was on board as nat
uralist, with Prof. Chas. ii. Townsend,
the naturalist attached to the ship
Both gentlemen are we'll known to
science, Prof. Gilbert as one of the
standard authorities on fish, and Mr..
Townsend on birds. Mr.. Gilbert -tid
l were at Neah Bay in 1880, with Prof.
Jordan, now President of the Indiana
State University, making collections of
fish for the United States National
Museum, and preparing statistics on
fisheries for the tenth census of the
United States.
We left Port Townsend on the 9th
day of June, 1889, at 10 o'clock A. NJ,
and ran down the Strait of Fuca, pass
ing Tatoosh Island light, Cape Flat
terry, at 8 80 p. NJ. We steered a south
easterly course from the Cape all
night, and at 4 A. NJ. on the 2Sth found
ourselves distant seventy miles. Here
we sounded and found 500 fathoms Of
water, and let 60 the trawl net, which
was hauled and got so full that the
trip line slipped and let out the con-
tents. We then hauled again and
brought up some entirely new varieties
Of fish which have not been described,
and many new mollusks and quanti-
ties of large shrimp six inches long,
and of deep red color, Us if they had
been boiled. We hauled the trawl and
dredge many times during the day,
and stood out to the westward till we
found 800 fathoms. Here we dredged
up some interesting species of pectens
or scallop, perfectly transparent, about
the size OF a half-dollar Specimens of
glass sponge, new varieties of holo-
thoria, queer looking star fish,
and other forms which are common in
Japanese waters, but rare on our
coast. Some of the new fish the stew
art cooked, and we found them sweet
and palatable, but they were very deli
cate and would not keep very long out
of the water. In fact, nearly every
thing we dredged from this great
depth MAS dead before reaching the
vessels deck. This was explained by
the Professors. The pressure of the
water at 800 fathoms or 400 feet
deep is very great, and these forms of
fish life are firm, but when hauled to
the surface and exposed to the air
their flesh becomes flabby, and the
eyes and stomachs swell and protrude
until they often burst. But, although
these forms of marine life are not OF
use as food for man. they constitute a
valuable article of food for the salmon,
cod, halibut and other fish which at
certain seasons retire from their feed
ing grounds, on the banks and in shoal
water, to the deep waters of the ocean,
where they feed ON the rich repast
which nature there provides, and when
they return in the spring to spawn
they are in their best condition.
On the 29th we made several sue
cessful hauls in S77 and $50 fathoms,
and at the latter depth We caught,
among a lot of other fish, one fine,
black cod, which shows that this deli
cious fish visits very deep water. 1t is
taken in the greatest perfection off
Queen Charlotte Islands, b. c., in 200
fathoms of water, but it is also taken
in all the deep waters of Puget Sound,
in from fifty to eighty fathoms deep.
This specimen, which our trawl net
brought up, was cooked for the cabin
and ward-roOm mess, and was pro-
nounced by all to be the most delicious
fish in the North Pacific Ocean.
As our supply of coal was low and
our time limited, Capt. Tanner decided
to return to the Cape and proceed to
Departure Bay for coal, to be ready to
take the Senate Committee to Alaska,
whom he was to meet at Tacoma. The
weather had been very pleasant, but
now q heavy swell commenced rolling
from the Northwest, and as our course
back was in the very trough of the
sea, the vessel began to roll heavily.
The Albatross is the best sea-goihg ves-
sci ever was on, but there never was
vessel built, from Noah's Ark down to
the present time, but would roll in
the trough of sea. As the wind was
very light and the water surface
smooth when this swell commenced,
no one anticipated the commotion
which followed. Steamboat stewards
are proyerbial for never making things
secure until the dishes are swept from
he table, and the short. sharp orders
s the officers wake them up from their
aim repose. They soon may be seen
.;th scks laid ON the tables, the legs
6 wh;. I are secured to the cabin floor
~ ra,tl;, stuff, while chairs and other
1ovohlas are punched up and lashed
viii sn,,n yarn. An inventory OF
'roEen Glass and crockery is duly en-
erad in she =, eward's log, the wrecked
made clean and weryone looks placid
nd unconcerned, VI. .iIh 'neii
,ext rol, so "a not IN be thrown bodily
o leeward. Persons u'~eeus,ollie., W
ca voyages do not s"ae'hper tiia'
vhen a vessel rolls doN ID ON iier siue
he is sure to come up ana foii Us
Ieeply the other way, so no. beng pre-,
jared, they are slammed uou' anu
oon demoralized. The seas 9K ones
wish themselves ashore, and egniars
epcat the old legend, "Who would
lot sell farm and go to sea?" Dut
Turing such times of oscillation, anu
ars and tumblings Of the vessel, we
ailor is as safe and secure as the alb a.
ross which skins along so lightly by
he vessels side. He looks with pleas !,
irable emotions upon the throes of the
easick landsman, ever ready to prof
er an old sailors remedy for nausea
'aw salt pork and molasses. There
we're not many seasick ones on board |
he vessel, but those who were seemed
Utterly discOnsOlate. / am one of the |
he fortunate ones who are never |
roubled with NAL de mer, so I could |
walk the deck, and with calm serenity |
,fier my sympathy to those whom old
Neptune had prodded with his trident.
As we entered the Strait OF Fuca the !
swell seemed to increase, and followed
rs up as far as Race Rock, where it
,bated. and We ran up the Strait OF
Hara into the Gull of Georgia, and on
10 Departure Bay, where We arrived
Sunday afternoon, June Both, and
coaling the next day.
A DESCRIPTION OF THE SHIP.
The U. S. Fish Commission steamer
Albatross is an iron twin-screw vessel,