Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1904-08-05

the mariner the impression of, shoals,
Looking on his chart he finds none
charted In that neighborhood and, con-
sequently. enters his discovery In his
log. When he reaches port he gives
information, which finally finds its
way to the photographic Office Of his
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
reef or, perhaps, as distant island.
A school of fish will stir up the water
or change its hue, and the wide-awake
sailor may see in it one of those
dangers to navigation" which will
live for a time on a chart with the
embarrassing letters 'E. D." opposite
yhe entry, meaning its existence is
doubted. A tide rip often is mistaken
for breakers, and is another of the
things responsible for the 1850 phan-
toms which appear on the books of
the photographic Office.
Disagreement in Charts.
which were formerly made by ships
masters, especially in the East India
archipelago, is the disagreement in
longitude Of the Netherland govern.
ment charts and those of other ma
tons. This difference, which amount
ed to five or six minutes, and occa-
sionally more, was rectified about
twenty-five years ago. when the Meth
erland government adopted the same
longitude as the British Admiralty.
The rectifcation 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 fabulous island gets foot
ing, 80 to speak, on one of the navi-
cation charts, It lie the most difficult
thing in the world to get it off, One
case in point is sufficient. In 1901 the
ship Nautilus reported the discovery
of an island at 835 s., 167.47 E., or
about the middle Of the Southern Pa
cific. Not only was it reported as
fact, but the information was accom-
panied with the superfiuous SUPPOSE
ton that ut Is uninhabited." On the
strength of this assertion it was con-
sidered the genuine article, but it was
believed its position was doubtful. Its
longitude was given as 1877 degrees .O5
minute, and this was said to be mis-
take AS it subsequently proved, the
whole. island was a mistake. The ship
Garcia in 1883 made a search for it
for distance sixty miles east and
west Of its assigned position, and at
cast of the lead to seventy-five faith
oms found no bottom. In 1898 the
fable was destroyed by being erased
There is nearly always some vessel
in the United States navy employed
in making and correcting surveys. The
mass of material thus collected for
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, but
on the Pacific they often cruise long
distances in search of islands or shoals
or reefs reported at various times. In
this way more phantoms have been
explained away than in any other.
While the ordinary mariner does not
take time to investigate the things
he sees, or believes he sees, the sur
vey expedition examines critically In
nine cases out of ten they sail over
the spot where the fabulous island is
said to have been seen, and generally
find their dead line is too short to
touch bottom. For some unknown
reason these islands of the imagina-
ton persist in selecting that part of
the ocean where depth is greatest.
when they might have done better is
when they might have done better is
zone of those things no fellow can
find out"