The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1909-02-10
THRILLING RESCUE
ON HIGH SEAS
MADE POSSIBLE BY WONDERS OF MODERN
SCIENCE.
BALTIC CAPTAIN TELLS THE TALE
Article in 'The Outlook" Describes The All
Day Search for the Sinking Steam
er, Republic"
BALTIC CAPTAIN TELLS THE TALE

VII Vic IuOLuluS VI Gu0 UlSaSU6T we
had already made the Nantucket
lightship by the submarine bell. The
Baltic was inward bound for New
York from Liverpool. and we were
going at reduced speed in very
heavy fog. We had located the light
ship about midnight. and had proceed
ed about eighty miles to the west
ward. At SEVENTEEN on that Sat-
urday morning the wireless operator
came rushing up to me on the bridge
he did not take time to write the
message ON the usual printed form,
but had put it down on the first clip
of paper he could lay his hands on
and handed me this message: "The
Republic dangerously. Latitude 40:17
north; longitude 70 west. - You can
see from the wording of this message.
from which some such word as Elm
jurcd" is apparently omitted after
the word dangerously. in what
urgent haste it was sent. 1t came
from the wireless station at Siasconset
on the island of Nantucket. My first
move was to throw the helm hard a.
starboard and make for the position
of the Republic with all possible
speed. We knew her latitude and
longitude. and our job was to find her
in the thickest kind of a fog. At
that time we were sixty four miles
from the position given US in the first
message from the Republic, but of
course she was drifting all the time.
and during our twelve hours search
estimated we travelled two hundred
miles in our zigzag course before we
found her. and all within sea area
of ten square miles.
| But before go on with the story
might explain the three scientific
methods which we employed in our
hunt for the drifting Republic.
There were wireless telegraphy, the
submarine bell and telephone system,
and Sir William Thompson's appara
tus for sounding. Wireless telegraphy
you are doubtless familiar with. AL
most all passenger vessels, as we'll
as naval ships, are supplied with it.
and can communicate with each other
or with the stations on land within
radius of two hundred miles. A WIRE
less message cannot convey to you
the definite position of moving vessel.
The electric waves from wireless in
strument move in circle. 1t is like
throwing a stone into the water,
and the stronger you throw the stone
the farther the wavelets go; so, if
you get a distress call, the vessel
sending it may be anywhere in any
direction within circle of two hum
dred miles, of which the sending YES
sci is the center. OF course vessel
in trouble can send her latitude and
longitude. and that helps to locate
her. But if you are in fog and have
lost your reckoning, wireless will not
help you much in regard to the posi-
tion of the land. But submarine
bell will. The Nantucket lightship.
like all modern lightships in this
country, Great Britain. and the Con-
tinent of Europe, has subma inc bell
which is kept ringing by compressed
air l believe. The sound waves go
out below the surface of the water
and can be heard for a distance of
seventeen miles by passing ships with
the proper instruments installed. On
my ship, for example. there are two
apertures on either side of the bow
which you might call submarine ears.
They are connected by wires with a
telephone receiver on the bridge. By
listening at this telephone and switch
ing the instrument from the star
board Gear" to the port Gear and
back again, you can hear the faint
tones of the lightship's submarine
bell when you get in range of it.
If the tone is louder through the
starboard Gear" than through the
port Gear" you know the lightship