Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1904-08-06

the mariner the impression OF shoals.
Looking on his chart he finds none
charted in that neighborhood and, con-
seauently, enters his discovery In his
log. When he reaches port he gives
information, which finally finds its
way to the photographic Office or MS
government, and then to all the others
throughout the world. Sometimes a
tired whale will float lazily on the
bosom of the deep. and at distance
appears to the man on the bridge as
a reef or, perhaps, as distant island
school of fish will stir up the water
or change it's hue, and the wide-awake
sailor may see in 1t one OF those
dangers TO navigation" which VIII
live for a time on chart with the
embarrassing letters "E. D." opposite
Hle entry, meaning its existence Is
doubted. A tide rip often is mistaken
for breakers, and is another of the
things responsible for the $500 phan-
toms which appear on the books of
the photographic Office.
Disagreement In Charts.
Another explanation for mistakes
which were formerly made by ships
masters, especially in the East India
archipelago. is the disagreement in
ment charts and those Of other ma
tons. This difference. which amount
ed to five or six minutes, and occa-
sionally more, was rectited about
twenty-five years ago. when the Meth
erland government adopted the same
longitude as the British Admiralty
The rectification was not complete
however. and there are still many du
plications OF shoals and other dangers
on the charts. having been reported
by different navigators using the
charts OF their respective nations.
Once a fabulous island gets foot
ing, so to speak. on one OF the navi
CATION charts, it is the most difficult
thing in the world to get it of. One
case in point is sufficient In 1901 the
ship Nautilus reported the discovery
Of an island 81 S35 s, 1871 E. OF
about the middle Of the Southern Pa
cihc. Not only was il reported as {
fact. but the informs hon was accom-
panied with the superhuous supposi
ton that 1t is uninhabi1ed-" On the
strength Of this assertion il was con
sidered the genuine article. but IL was
believed its position was doubtful II:
longitude was given. IS 167 degrees O,
minute. and this WIS said 10 be a mis-
take AS il subsequently proved. the
whole island was & mistake. The shiI
Garcia in 1883 made a search for i
for a distance sixty miles east anC
west Of its assigned position. and at &
cast OF the lead 10 seventy-five faith
oms found no bottom. In 1898 the
fable was destroyed by being erased
There is nearly always some vesse
in the United States navy employed
in making and correcting surveys. Tn,
mass of material thus collected fol
the photographic Office is of the great
est possible service. The coast is. Of
course, the principal object of atten
ton to these surveying parties, bu
on the Pacific they often cruise Ions
distances In search of islands or shoal.
or reefs reported at various times. Ii
this way more phantoms have beer
explained away than in any other
| While the ordinary mariner does no
take time to investigate the thing
he sees, or believes he sees, the sur
vey expedition examines critically II
nine cases out of ten they sail owe
the spot where the fabulous island i
said to have been seen, and general,
find their dead line is too short t,
touch bottom. For some unknown
reason these islands of the imagina
ton persist in selecting that part o
the ocean where depth is greatest
when they might have done better /
when they might have done better /
zone of those things no fellow cal
find out"