New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-09-01

and also carries sail, which, in the interest OF
economy, is used in many of her cruises
Besides the Patterson in Alaska there are
three auxiliary vessels there that go to make up
the fleet that has done much in the last five
years toward mapping the far northern coast.
These auxiliaries are the Cosmos, the Taku ana
The Yukon the work of the latter being most
tvpical. The Yukon was built in New York ana
shipped in pieces to the Far North, where she
was set up. No difficulty was experienced IN
this latter work, which was done in a latItude
thousands Of miles from a city where a piece
could not have been replaced We're it lost or I'M
perfect Her work has been chiefly in charting
the waters about the mouth Of the Yukon and
in exploring that river in order TO determine to
what extent it is safely navigab!e
The auxiliares Of the Pathfinder in the Philip
pines are boats which have been supplied by the
insular government. which bears a portion
Of the expense OF the survey there. The
Fathomer and the Research were the first given
over by the native government, and recently the
RombIon and the Martinique have been added.
The work is being prosecuted rapidly in this
dangerous section which consisted of practi-
cally uncharted seas bristling with dangers in
every direction.
The coast survey vessels near the Atlantic
and Gulf states are at present the Bache, the
Endeavor and the photographer. The Explorer
has only recently made the trip around the
Horn from Baltimore to Seattle Those on the
Pacific Coast. exclusive of the vessels working
in Alaska. the Explorer. the Gedney and the
Macarthur All OF these vessels are constantly
sounding and mapping great extents OF various
coasts and harbors, and with the of new
devices installed in the last few years gain
ing a store Of information that undreamed
Of in the not very distant past
Perhaps the greatest accomplishment Of the
coast survey in the last fifty years is the per-
fecting Of an apparatus that Will accurately
sound the sea TO a depth Of six miles more.
This is Il recently perfected process and its pos
sibiity depends the procuring of a line that
would bear its own weight for such great
lengths. Rope was originally used, but it was
so bulky and elastic that the fact that bottom
had been reached could not be detected and it
would eventually break of its weight.
Finally wire suggested. and it was acknowl-
edged improvement upon rope, but a
string Of wire two or five miles long was
ueigh;y. and in tho material first used not en-
tirely successful. It finally found that a
steel wire Of a certain fneness, a little larger
than a pin, would support itself a greater
extent than any other size. and that grade has
been adopted.
The first successful deep sea sounding
donc by The Coast Survey steamer Blake. under
command Of Captain Sgsbce, later of the bat
tI"ship Maine. He was the inventor of a sound
ing machine which operated very successfully,
and with it the whole OF the Gulf of Mexico
Wa sounded and mapped. y great feat in CON
ucCtion with this work the anchoring of
The vessel in the current Of the Gulf Stream.
This mad been done before. and To ac-
complish il there was the necessity of letting
out > $50 fathOnIs. or nearly two and half
miles, Of anchor cable which was practically a
wire Of about the size of telegraph wire This
did the trick. and observations were obtained
OF temperatures and current velocties and many
discoveries made which solved problems pre-
viously undetermined.
The use of small wire In the sounding of deep
seL areas has hCcH carried to such extent
hat ii las been found possible TO reach and