The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-05-28
DRIFTING WAR MINES.
How They Would Imperil Ships
In Many Ocean Pathways.
MAY TI0AT TH0UgANDs OF MlEg

= -
NAY FLOAT THOUSANDS OF MILES
Possibility 81 Disaster 10 Vessels
IN American Pacific Coast waters
From Explosives SET Adrift at Port
Arthur ~ Russians : Remarkable
Instances Of the Course Taken BY
Floating objects at sea.
Setting explosives adrift In tile ocean
AS the correspondent Of the London
Times and the New York Times on
board the Haimun warned the world
in his wireless message the other day
the Russians have done-ls new
phase Of warfare against which the
whole world viii protest 10 no uncer
tain terms.
The greatest immediate danger to
shipping from mines or torpedoes set
afloat ID PechiIi strait. between Port
Arthur and Weihaiwei, would be In the
gulf Of Peehili the yellow sea ana the
sea Of Japan between Japan and the
mainland The summer monsoons are
now blowing from the sen to the land.
the prevailing direction being from
southeast TO northwest. Objects set
afloat at this season near the entrance
To the gulf BIT Pechili are likely 10 drift
anywhere through the gulf across the
routes Of the thousands Of Chinese
Junks which ply 10 those waters. No
vessels bound for Chefu, Taku. the
port Of Tiehtsln or Newchwang would
be exempt from danger If any driftage
is Of q dangerous character
Another influence II ia operation
which would bring danger to the ship
ping movement in the yellow sea and
the Japan sea. a branch Of the great
Kurosiwo current runs westward
across the yellow sea to Pechili strait,
just south Of Port Arthur. Here the
current bends around. skirts the south
ern coast 81 Korea and then runs UP
the Japan sea into the 0khetsk sea,
skiFting halt of the east side of SAX
hahn island Explosives set afioat
near Port Arthur at amy season Of the
year might easily reach all these coasts
which have been the scene Of all the
movements OF the war feets. includ
ing the Yladivostok squadron
What might happen next winter
The fierce winter monsoon blowing of
the land earries much debris from Ja-
pan and southeast China TO the Phil.
ippine Islands anu all other parts Of
the eastern island world from Formo-
sa to Borneo Drifting explosives in
good condition set afoat ia the neigh
borhood Of Port Arthur might, for all
We know, bring the same dangers to
shipping in the East Indies archipela-
90 that now seem to threaten life and
property III the more northern waters.
Torpedoes would be just as likely to
be carried into the channels among the
Philippine Islands as the Asian debris
that now floats III them or IS dashed
against the shore.
But the danger might travel farther.
Any floating object from these Asian
coasts may not hug the shore closely
enough to avoid being swept into the
great main stream of the Knrosiwo,
the wide ocean river that sweeps In
vast curve across the north Pacific.
The great circle steaming route fol
lowed by some Of the steamships be
tween American Pacific ports and ia
pan dip into tile southern edge Of this
stream Although the Kurosiwo grad
ually loses the character Of a current.
it sets slowly along the coasts Of Brit
ish North America. the United States
and Lower California. ultimately re-
Joining the equatorial current The
branch that sweeps southwark along
our coasts Is known as the California
current. The northwari branch wash
es the shores Of our Alaskan islands.
If explosives get into the main
stream Of the KurosiWo, who Is able
to say that coastal steamers between
Alaska and Panama, that deep sen yes
sells along the northern route between
the American Pacific and Asia. Will
not be liable to meet terrible disas-
terg A few illustrations Of ocean cur
rents and winds as carrying agents
may help us to answer this question
Reclus tells Of a japanese junk that
In 1892 was carried by typhoon into
the Kurosiwo current. -Four Of the
nine poor fishermen on board lived to
tell the tale. They barely kept life In
their bodies with the aid OF rain water
and fish until after drifting for ten
months they were cast ashoreaon the
coast Of Oahu, in the Hawaiian Islands.
In the wind drift east Of the Kurosi-
wo current their craft had been car