Evening star., 1897-01-02

of rough estimates. but 1t is believed that
the data which is being constantly issued
under his direction for the benefit of navi-
gators, with regard to derelict vessels,
brokeE-up RATS. icebergs and other danger
Gus Instructions to navigation adrift in the
two great oceans. saves many stanch snip
and many a hardy sailor and sea voyageF
from the deep's remorseless NAV every
year.
1t is a fact we'll proven by figures that
there is almost much danger from col
isions at sea as from storms. Modern sci
entific navigation is of late years largely
obviatng the danger of collision between
oppositely moving vessels by means of we'll
understood international signaling systems,
uniformity in the matter Of standing lights.
and so on; but all of the science and care
in the world could not prevent frequent col
lisons between swiftly moving ships and
steamers and abandoned and wateriogged
derelicts of the sea, to say nothing of ice
tergs, were not the ever-shifting positions
of these lfe-jeopardizing ocean castaways
constantly known and noted on the pilot
charts issued every month by the hydro
graphic Office for the information and guild
ance OF deep-sea mariners.
Unique Service.
Several of the other leading maritime ma
tions of the world maintain photographic
offices Of more or less Importance, and the
work done by these is in some respects SIM
liar to that performed by the United States
hydrographic office. But the work accom-
pl!shed by all of them together, it is claim
ed, Is nothing like so comprehensive and
valuable as that which is quietly and unos-
tentatiouSly done by this suboff1ce OF one
of the United States naval bureaus.
This is amply shown by the Willingness
and even eagernesS with which the mer-
chant shippers Of the other great maritime
countries, especially those of England. de-
vote their time and skill TO the supplement
tation of the United States photographic
oifice's work, while many of them utterly
decline to do any sort of similar work 10
assist the ocean-charting bureaus of the
lands under whose flags they sail the seas
For the services which they render this
country's photographic office the shippers
of the worlds merchant marine thoroughly
recognize that they get value received in
the form of the free issue TO them OF publi-
cations relating to storms, currents, tides
and derelicts, upon which matters the hy-
geographic Office of TO other country pre-
tends 10 disseminate perpetually revised in
fcrma ton, and which these naviga tors have
during recent years found absolutely iadis-
penSable.
Charts Of The Ocean.
The United States photographic office IS
the only one in the world which issues
monthly pilot chart of the two great oceans
showing the positions of derelicts of the
sea and of icebergs. England, -he leading
maritime country of the world, furnishes
such information to its mariners only in
the form of bulletins which give the lati-
tude and longitude of the obstruction TO
navigation. The Washington photographic
office also issues such a bulletin every
week But its most important work in this
direction is in the form of two charts, one
of the Atlantic and the other of the Pacific
ocean, glance at which, as they are
spread out on the navigator's table, tells
him the position, with almost infallible ex-
actitude, of the distractions on the high
way of the deep which he is likely to en-
counter on his course. The master of a
sailing vessel weighing anchor, foc in
stance, from Yokohama for San Francisco
can, by reference to the hyGrogra phic
Cfffce's chart of the North Pacific SO shape
his course as to keep out of the way of an
abandoned ship which the chart tells him
was reported few days before in a certain
position, moving with certain current in
a certain direction.
If the skipper does not deem it necessary
TO alter his course to avoid such a danger
Gus obstruction he at least doubles the
lookout to keep a sharp watch for 1t when
his ship approaches the latitude and longi-
tude indicated on the chart. The chart for
the Atlantic ocean has been issued by the
photographic office every month for the
past thirteen years while that for the
Pacific has only been published during the
past two years. The charted positions of
derelicts and icebergs as given on the
charts have been verified SO often 10y the
commanders of ships that the shippers of
all nations have come to regard these two
monthly maps of the as almost abso-
lutely infallible.
Corps of Voluntary Assistants.
1t is entirely through the willing cooper
alton of shipmasters that the photographic
office is enabled TO collect the data neces-
sary for the making up Of these valuable
charts. There is probably no single office
under this government that has so many
voluntary, helpful agents as the hydro
graphic Office. Its daily mail consists in
great part of hundreds of letters from
every corner of the world, containing infor-
nation from shipmasters not only with ref
erence to derelicts and icehargs which they
nave encountered on their courses, but to
unusual currents, tides and storms through
which their ships nave passed on their last
voyages
The branch photographic offices, which
the bureau Of navigation has established
at all OF the country's leading ports, issue
to the shippers, on their departure on long
deep sea voyages. blanks for the jotting
down of this information, and the ship
masters are few who do not as religiously
fill out these blanks with the data called
for as they write their daily logs. There
Is an especial blank for the noting of the
positions of derelicts, together with the
general trend of the currents in which tha
serVations were made. There is, besides, a
separate blank for observations on ice
bergs encountered. These are carefully
filled out by the shippers and forwarded to
the United States photographic Office In
this city as soon as their vessels reach
port.
Most of the shippers do not confine them
selves to the mere filling out of the blanks
but send in quite elaborate accounts be-
sides CT the unusual things which they
have happened upon in the course of their
trips. When it is considered that the vast
majority of sailors, fore and aft, mas
ters and men, have a curiously intense
aversion to the use of pen and ink. the
zeal of these commanders of ships will be
the better appreciated. The documents
sent in by a good many of them are not
notable for elegance of diction or fiuency
of style, but they always contain good
solid facts that are of a good deal more
value to the photographic office than would
be frothy, poetic dissertations. bare of in
formation but surcharged with references
to amethyst seas. opaiescent clouds, and
80 on.
Translnt0rs Needed.
A good deal of the information which
thus reaches the photographic office is
written in foreign languages. which ne