The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1915-03-19

States coast and geodetic survey. that will ap-
pend.
IF some of the persons who have it in their
power TO vote funds for this work this notice,
perhaps IL would move them to keep the good
work going Could you bring this to their notice?
r. ID. McGillinay pilot of the steamship City OF
Seattle, writes:
Il would like to add that | was pilot of the
steamship Cottage City when the party of
gressmen and their families. headed by Speaker
Cannon. made excursion TO Alaska. Fortu
nately we had successful trip. Little did they
think of the dangerous waters they were travel
ing II we had hit Of these pinnacles then
they would have looked out little better for our
protection and the ship owners interests. well
the lives Of the citizens Of the country
Il must say that have sailed all over the world,
and Alaska has the poorest surveyed waters that
! have ever navigated."
And now what OF the men who have been labor.
ing for years against tremendous odds to do the
chartng Of these coasts with hopeless equipment
in Secretary Redfeld's "unseaworthy old tubs"
To push into those northern seas with their fogs
and gales for long cruises in stanch vessels would
be risky enough but to go into them in single
cylinder, leaky, antiquated little junk heaps OF
steamers for a work that is far more perous than
the layman conceives requires real grit And it is
this sort OF grit which stands out prominently in
the makeup of the men of the coast survey. who
have for so long been graphing with the fog and
ice and gales of Alaskan regions
The endlessness of the coast surveyors work
may be gathered when il is considered that never
does shore line a channel remain precisely
the same. New sand bars are made; old ones
obliterated. Volcanic activity casts up new pin
nacles of rock under the and lowers old ones
Between 1885 and 1908 Rockaway beach grew to
the westward at the rate of eight inches a day
In 73 years Coney islands western end has showed
itself westward fully 1000 feet.
1T is a risky game" said officer who had
served on one Of the three oldfashioned survey
ships on the Alaskan coast. Three times during
eight months of service on her carried
20 miles out of our course by only moderate gales
and this despite the fact that we did our best with
full steam to hold the craft up to the wind But
she wouldn't hold she too old She should
have carried 10 pounds of steam. but we could
not hold more than so The engine of
the old type single cylinders in use in Civil war
times. and in anything than full sail breeze
limit of speed to windward was two knots.
With favorable winds and no sea could some
times churn along seven knots.
"Once we lay to mile off shore for four days
in gale. expecting every minute to be washed
in on "a lee shore and ground to pulp. but lacking
the power to claw off to clear water
Most of the time had at the pumps.
For the old thing leaked badly, and we were
always having to put back to have her calked
In any were all awash, for we had no free
board, and did have open gangways, and the sea
just sliced across us as though were sunken
log.
And ii was mighty uncomfortable We had an
open wardroom-e everyone slept. ate and lived in
single room. and had bathroom on that
old ark. SO you can imagine that we had n tough
time of it on an eght-month cruise. It's just
as tough for the fellows there now-they have
the same boat, and her accommodations aren't any
better But did the best could. II was diff
cult getting correct soundings and frstclass work
out Of a rig such as that but we did pretty we'll
When we missed rock II wasn't our fault We
never knew it, anyway until some steamer with
a few hundred passengers aboard went into II
and sank. Then, If were around. we'd help
rescue those in the water, If could and the
government would put up light a buoy
the rock that the sunken ship had located.
Its just the same up there now. AS Secre-
tary Rediield said, rocks being located regu-
larly by vessels striking them and going down"
The work of probing ocean trails is interesting
In ascertaining the depth of the water and ocat-
ing all the underwater distractions 90 navigation
n careful record Of the fluctuations of the tide
while the soundings are being made must be kept
1t would not suffice to measure the depth of the
water II its height above mean low level
unknown for the moment of measurement
To determine this registering tide gauge is
used-a sort of float attached to a mechanism In
which pen traces the rise and fall OF the water
on roll of paper which clock causes TO revolve
under the pen
Two methods OF sounding used. the one EN-.
poying the lead line and the other The wire sweep
In leadline soundings the process is about as
follows: A party goes out in a rowboat or launch.
among its members being two observers with sex.
tants and a map showing the shore line and the
objects whose positions have been determined
by triangulation; a recorder with a clock and
record book; leadsman and a steersman. The
officer i'm charge directs the recorder to make
Of fho ffpp of 10 hna uh hfph fc off
mined by the observers and the eadsman casts
his line and calls out the depth in feet or fathoms
as he draws IL up. The recorder makes a note OF
this and also Of the course along which the boat