The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1915-06-07
HEAVING THE LEAD
How a Ship Feels Its Way Over
the Bed of the Ocean.
TAKING SoUNDINGs AT SEA.

For Deep Water Work Machines That
Carry 500 Fathoms of Wire and =
Twenty four Pound Weight Are Used.
Casting by Hand In Bad WeathCt.
BY the deep. miner
The peculiar. long drawn out cry Of
the leadsman In the chains echoes out
as the cruiser gathers speed and be
gins to move through the water.
by the mark, tenn
We watch the man as he twirls the
lead In the air, and reels OF the sound
ing with mathematical accuracy. He
Is standing in the port "chains"-a
small platform, perhaps four feet
square, Jutting out from one end OF the
cruisers bridge. To US his position
seems rather precariOus, for his perch
oyerhangs the dark water thirty feet
below, but the man hImself-a season
ed petty officer-feels perfectly safe,
for he leans his body agaiSst a canvas
apron" waist high, while his feet are
firmly placed against wooden bar Sc
cured to the platform itself.
But let us watch him as he makes a
cast He first sees the end OF the lead
line Is properly secured and then pro-
ceeds to coil IL up in his right hand
The line itself. whitened by long use.
has sundry little marks at various dis
tances along It At two fathoms
twelve feet from the lead are two
strips OF leather. while at three faith
oms there are three At five fathoms.
and again at fifteen, is n piece of white
bunting; at seven and seventeen faith
oms, piece OF red bunting. and at ten
q piece OF leather with a hole In il.
At thirteen fathoms comes a rag OF
blue bunting. while at twenty-thre Is
a small bit OF line. with two knots tied
In ii. spliced into the lead line itself
The lead line is twenty-five fathoms
long. while the lead secured to its end
is about fourteen pounds I'm weight
The bottom Of 1t Is followed out to re,
ceive the ''arming'' OF tallow or soap
and this allows the nature OF the bot
tom to be ascertained, for the sticky
substance viii come to the surface
with PARTICLES OF mud or sand. etc. ad
herring TO It
"Heaving the lead" looks easy
enough, AID anybody who Is accus
toned to doing IL will say that 1t 4.
quite simple; but 1t takes a long time
before a man becomes a proficient
leadsman- A novice Is apt to be fright
ened at the whirling fourteen pound
weight on the end OF its line, and IL b,
loses heart and omits to give It tina
peculiar little jerk which brings it fly
ing round In circle it may fan per
pendicularly I'm close proximity to hi
head.
Heaving the lead may be all RICH
enough In good weather. but in tn,
winter. when it is blowing hard. rain
ing or showing. 1t Is anything but pleas
ant The driving rain and snow search
out every portion OF the leadsmani
anatomy. even though he may be wear
ing oilskins, while his hands get numI
with cold until there is no feeling Ief
I'm them.
The deep sea lead line. which was In
variably used for deep water work be
fore the introduction OF patent sound
ing machines and would still be use,
II they broke down, consists OF 10
fathoms OF line and twenty-eigh
pound lead. 1t is marked up to twent,
fathoms I'm the same way as the hanl
lead line, and then at twenty-five, thiE
ty-hve, forty-f1ve. ETC.. fathoms wit
one knot, and at thirty, forty, fifty
ETC., with three. four or five knots. an
SO on. to the greatest depth OF the line
The ship Is usually stopped whel
using the deep sea line, for 1t takes
considerable time for the lead to reacl
the bottom
The patent sounding machine cor
sists OF 800 fathoms OF thin piano wir
wound on a drum, and to the end G
the wire is secured a twenty-fou
pound lead. with, just above it. a pei
forated brass sheath fitted with a car
Before sounding takes place q glas
tube open at one end and coated o
the inside with a red chemical CON
pound, is placed I'm the brass sheatl
| The wire Is then allowed to run on
until the lead Is on the bottom. an
as IL descends the pressure forces tn
water up the glass tube and turns tn
red chemical into a milky white colo
for a certain distance up.
The lead Is then hauled in by hand
or by a motor. and the depth Is al
certained by comparing the line c
demarcation between the two color
In the glass tube with a wooden seal
marked In fathoms-
II With these simple but extremely r,
liable machines soundings can be oil
tanned at greater depths. and with th
ship travelling at a far greater speeC
/ than with the hand lead and lin,
though. as already stated. the olde
method Is always held in reserve
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