Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1905-03-11

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 ne 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 a distance
appears to the man on the bridge as
a 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 II. 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 $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
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-
sionaIly more, was rectitied 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 a foot
ing, SO to speak, on one of the navi-
CATION charts 1t Is 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 S.35 S., 1914 E., or
about the middle of the Southern Pa
cifc. Not only was it reported as q
fact, but the information was accom-
panied with the superfuous SUPPOSE
ton that ''it is uninhabited." On the
strength of this assertion it was con
sidered the genuine article but it was
believed it's position was doubtful. Its
longitude was given as 167 degrees o.
minute, and this was said to be a mis-
| +olya Ao II euhcaouantlv rrovad the
whole island was a mistake. The ship
Garcia in 1888 made a search for il
for a distance sixty miles east anC
west of it's assigned position, and at g
cast of the lead to seventy-ive 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 The
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, but
on the Pacific they often cruise long
distances in search of islands or shoals
| or reefS reported at various umeS. III
this way more phantoms have beer
explained away than in any other
While the ordinary mariner does no
take time to investigate the thing.
be sees, or believes he sees, the sur
vey expedition examines critically Ii
nine cases out of ten they sail ovel
the spot where the fabulous island i!
said to have been seen, and generally
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 il
when they might have done better II
zone of those things no fellow cal
find out"