The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-09-02
PROF. A. ACASSIz
Has Sailed On the AlbatrOSS for
The South Seas.
VESSEL WILL LIKELY GALL HERE
Objects and Aims of one of the
Most Important Scientific
Expeditions.
VESSEL WILL LIKELY CALL HERE

United States steamer Albatross sailed
for the South Pacific today with a par
ty of scientists under the direction of
Professor Agassiz. The expedition will
make exhaustive researches of the ISL
ands in the South Pacific, and it is ex-
pected that much will be discovered
that is new and of great interest to the
scientific world. The voyage is expect
ed TO last at least six months, and at
its conclusion Professor Agassiz will
give TO the world the result of his ex-
plorations in volume published under
the direction of Harvard College.
On the evening before sailing Pro-
fessor Alexander Agassiz was the guest
of honor at the annual banquet of the
Harvard Club of San Francisco. The
banquet, which was held at a down
town restaurant, was attended by some
sixty members Of the club, and proved
exceptionally enjoyable by reason of
the fact that the eminent scientist from
Cambridge was present and contributed
to the feast of wit and reason that fol-
lowed the coffee and cigars.
President Samuel Bigelow presided
over the gathering in the capacity OF
toastmaster, and the guest of honor sat
on his right. The programme of toasts
opened with an address of welcome by
President Bigelow, to which Professor
Agassiz responded in a cheerful vein.
The scientist spoke of Harvard as
he first knew it forty years ago and as
it was today, and RECALLED the gathering
with some interesting "reminiscences
college days of the gray and bearded
members present. He also spoke Of the
plans and purposes of the scientific eX-
petition on which he was to depart
in the United States steamer
Albatross It was his desire, he said,
to explore thoroughly some Of the
ocean depths Of the Pacific which were
left untouched by the Challenger eX-
petition, sent out by the British Gov
eminent a few years ago. There is
one hole on the other side of the Paci-
fic over six miles in depth, and he de-
clared that it would be interesting to
ascertain something of the sea life, if
there be any such, existing beneath
such a weight of water. He viii be
absent on his exploring trip about six
months, and expects to publish the re-
suits Of his observations and discov-
cries upon his return.
Horace Davis spoke of his personal
acquaintanceship with the two Agas-
siz-the present Professor Alexander
and his distinguished father-and what
they had done for Harvard.
This large party of scientific men
propose to return to the United States
about May 10 of next year. Their
course will take them 10000 miles,
through a circuit of nearly every i'm
pOrtant group of the smaller islands
which lie in the mid-Pacific Ocean be-
tween the Tropic of Capricorn and the
TrOpic of Cancer. At the head of the
scientific work of the expedition will be
Professor Alexander AgasSiz, whose
achievements in deep-sea exploration
in the past thirty years entitle him to
the first place among the worlds in
VeStigatOrS of submarine life and con-
ditions
Many reasons induce the members of
the coming expedition to look for re-
suits of the highest Importance to sci
.entitic, popular and commercial knOwl-
edge. In the matter of paraphernalia.
and equipment for collecting specimens
and preserving them the Albatross will
on this trip undoubtedly surpass any
vessel of this kind ever before COM
miSSioned for scientific purposes. The
AlbatrOSS is a twin-Screw steamer of
something more than l 1000 tons dis
placement. She was constructed for
the Fish Commission in 1882 at a cost
of 5000, 900 and was the first vessel ever
specially designed for deep-sea eXplOr-
Iation. Prior to the Spanish-American
war, during which she was commits
stoned in the navy, the Albatross was
generally conceded to be the best
equipped vessel in the world for scien-
tific purposes. She was returned to
the Fish Commission in the early part
of this year. Since then she has been
undergoing extensive repairs and i'm
provements, including the installation
of new boilers, electric fans, ETC., and
the building of an ice-making and cold
storage plant. Her two spacious la
boratorieS have been remodelled and
additional facilities have been added
for the preservation of specimens of
deep-sea life and of marine and land
plants and animals which will be col
lected on the voyage. Every effort has
been made to equip the vessel thor
Oughly for deep-sea dredging, trawling
and sounding; surface and intermedi-
ate towing, shore SEEMING, land collect
ing and line and net fishing.
One feature of interest of the expe-
dition will be the use for the first time
in deep-sea dredging of a deep-sea
dredge or trawl of any considerable
size Heretofore the largest trawl ever
operated at any great depth has had
a mouth or opening 10 feet wide by
l21s feet high, with a net for the re-