Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-06-08
STRANGE VOYAGES OF BOTTLES.
Their Use in Determining the Courses
 of Ocean Currents.

Their Use in Determining the Courses
 of Ocean Currents.
 Every year for several years past hundreds of bottles have been thrown overheard from vessels of all kinds and nationalities with the object of testing the direction and strength of the count less currents which flow like so many devious rivers through the seas. Be fore eah bottle is dispatched on it's un- known journey, says Tit Bits, the skip per, who thus does marine science good service. places in 1t note of the exact place whence it is dispatched. with the date, and also a printed note in half a dozen languages asking the person who may pick it up to report to the Photographic bureau at Washington the time and whereabouts of its re covery. Thus each messenger with it's securely corked contents fares forth on its voyage of ocean survey, and by it's wanderings maps the currents of the oceans.
 Of two bottles thrown over in mid ocean at the same time one was pick ed upon the coast of Devonshire which the other drifted to far away Florida, each being caught by different cur rent and drifting thousands of miles away from it's fellow. In curious con trast was the wandering of three bot ties thrown overheard from the Dago 800 miles east of Newfoundland and all recovered during the same week within short distance of each other after drifting 1,2OO miles to the Hebri- des.
 Another bottle was started on It's journey from the Nautilus, when close to the Canary Islands. Traversiny the great tropical ocean in the trade wind belt, it went coursing along between the islands of the Windward group. across the Caribbean sea to the coast of Belize, almost within the Mexican gulf. For 496 days 1t thus pursued it's solitary way. having covered 4,IOO miles at an average speed of nearly ten miles day. Even this remarkable record of travel was eclipsed by bot tie which was thrown up by the seat at Shetland few years ago and of which a tragic story is told.
 On Oct II, 1890, the captain of the ship Buckingham was murdered by a coolie off the Sheland coast. Unable to attract attention from the shore. the mate proceeded on the voyage to New York, where the murderer was given into custody. and from there to the Bermudas. where he wrote an account of the tragedy and committed it to the sea. By most singular coincidence, this bottle with its tragic message was carried by the sea currents back from the Bermudas to Shetland. sneaylS hye thousand miles away. and two and half years later was rescued almost on the very spot where the murder which it recorded was committed.
 For nearly three years another bot tie was roaming over the seas before it came to it's rest On September 1 1t was pitched overheard from the Ere merhaven several hundred miles east of Newfoundland: it was carried into the southern edge of the gulf stream, drifted away beyond the Azores. then, curving to the southwest off the coast of Africa. it crossed the Atlantic. com ing 10 it's haven on the shore of small island in the West Indies, just north of Hayti. It had vOyaged. as nearly as.I could be estimated, 4.5OO miles in 994 days. averaging distance of about four and half miles in twenty-four hours.
 A bottle thrown over from the steam ship Sutherland on March II. 1897. drifted 1000 knots before 1t was re- covered 1S1 days later: another record maker was picked up on March 26, 1898. having covered HOO knots roughly 54O5 miles-in a little over sixteen months.