The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1915-03-20

States coast and geodetc survey, that viii ap-
pend.
IF some of the persons who have it in their
power to vote funds for this work this notice,
perhaps it would them to keep the good
work going Could you bring this to their notice?"
R. D. McGillinay, pilot of the steamship City of
Seattle, writes:
q would like to add that I pilot of the
steamship Cottage City when the party of con-
gressmen and their families, headed by Speaker
Cannon, made excursion to Alaska. Fortu
natey we had a successful trip. Little did they
think of the dangerous waters they were travel
ing. If we had hit one of these pinnacles then
they would have looked out little better for
protection and the ship owners interests as we'll
as the lives of the citizens of the country.
81 must say that have sailed ali over the world,
and Alaska has the poorest surveyed waters that
I have ever navigated.'
And what of the who have been labor
ing for years against tremendous odds to do the
charting of these coasts with hopeless equipment
in Secretary RedfeId's "unseaworthy old tubs"
To push into those northern with their fogs
and gales for long cruises in stanch vessels would
be risky enough; but to go into them in single
cylinder, eaky antiquated little junk heaps OF
steamers for work that is far more perilous than
the layman conceives requires real grit. And it is
this sort of grit which stands out prominently in
the makeup Of the 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 it is considered that never
does a shore line channel remain precisely
the same. New sand bars made; old ones
obliterated Volcanic activity casts up new pin
nacles of rock under the sea and lowers old ones.
Between 1885 and 1908 Rockaway beach grew to
the westward at the rate of eight inches day.
In 70 years Coney islands western end has showed
itself westward fully 1000 feet
1T is a risky game said officer who had
served of the three old-fashioned survey
ships on the Alaskan coast Three times during
oiO Of orvioo her riod
20 miles out of course by only moderate gales,
and this despite the fact that did 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 could
not hold than 80. The engine was one of
the old type single cylinders in in Civil
times and in anything than full sail breeze
limit of speed to windwaTd two knots
With favorable winds and could
times churn along knots.
Once lay to a mile of shore for four days
in gale, expecting every minute to be washed
in a lee shore and ground to pulp, but lacking
the power to claw off to clear water.
Most of the time we had our men at the pumps
For the old thing leaked badly, and were
always having to put back to have her calked.
In any all aWash, for we had no free
board and did have open gangways, and the sea
just sliced across though we were sunken
log.
And it was mighty uncomfortable. We had an
open wardroOm- slept, ate and lived in a
single room, and had bathroom that
old ark. So you imagine that we had tough
time of it eight-month cruise. It's just
tough for the fellows there now-they have
the same boat and her accommodations aren't any
better But did the best could. 1t diff
cult getting correct soundings and frst-class
out of rig such that, but did pretty we'll
When missed rock it wasn't our fault. We
never knew it, anyway, until some steamer with
a few hundred passengers aboard went into it
and sank. Then, if around we'd help
rescue those in the water, if we could and the
r,1Tfzr fiohf h1TrT
the rock that the sunken ship had located
Its just the up there now. AS Secre-
tary Redfeld said, rocks were 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 locat
ing all the underwater Instructions to navigation
a 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 if its height above low level
were unknown for the moment of measurement
To determine this a registering tide gauge is
used-a sort of float attached to a mechanism in
which a pen traces the rise and fall Of the water
on roll of paper which a clock causes to revolve
under the pen.
Two methods of sounding used, the
ploying the lead line and the other the wire sweep
In lead-line soundings the process is about
follows: party goes out in a rowboat or launch,
among its members being two observers with
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: a leadsman and steersman. The
officer in charge directs the recorder to make
note of the position of the boat, which is deter
mined by the observers, and the leadsman casts
his line and calls out the depth in feet fathoms
as he draws it up. The recorder makes note Of
this and also of the course along which the boat