Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1916-07-07
Government Has Spent Millions
to Make Waterways Sale
for Ships,
PERIL OF JAGGED REEFS
Hsreulean Fight Against Unseen
Shoals That Menace Navigation Has
Been Carried on Since ts4t-
New Method Of Sounding.

aAAA AANN 9NNAN VI nNL0 AAAA "
searching for danger spots that may
claim their heavy toll in human life
and vessel Tonnage.
Probably no frequented waterways
IN the world ure 50 hazardous as The
Great Lakes. AT no time Is u steamer
ON them more than u comparatively
few hours from shore and periodically
fierce storms arise, fully as violent us
hose experienced on the ocean. which
play with tlie steel ships. buttertng
hem helplesSly about. threatening TO
engulf or sweep them ashore.
over S5.OOO.OOO has been spent by
the government since 1871 for the
prosecution of the work OF chnrtlng
the lakes. Locked In heavy timber
boxes, protected from fire In immense
vuults I'm the old post office building,
Detroit, are over 1900 Held chnrts,
dating back to 1918, when IL survey Of
Lake Erie was made by officers Of the
British navy. With few exceptions
the maps ure the result Of the sclen-
tiic researches Of United Suites engi-
neers and surveyors.
Work Of Generations.
These maps represent the work of
generations Of men who have tOilr-d
TO make the Great Lakes snfe. As n
result Of their Investigations light
houses hive sprung from bnrren rocks,
und the solemn ringing Of bells on
buOys curries their warnings to pass
Ing navigatOrs.
While the work Of chnrting the
lakes has been Carried on since 1871
with only one break In the task. which
occurred In 1880 and lasted until 1880.
there IL still much to be done 10 mike
the survey n thorough one. In fnct
II was only - years ngo that what
might be called nm unfniling system
for testing the depths hns been devised.
Previous to that time the old meth.
cd Of dropping n weight Of twelve
pounds or so, trying TO keep the line
plumb. was employed. The system
wns far from lnfnllihle.
This lightweight testing method was
employed until the nos. Then cnmo
the heavy l0O-pOund sounding he'll.
This heavy Obstacle was dragged
through the water. a machine on bOnrd
ship registering the angle the metal
wns DETECTED from the boat ms the
ship steamed along. The bell's sheer
weight made II an excellent drug.
But This system WIS too crude and
imperfect. Twelve years ago Major
Keller. United States Engineer CORPS,
In charge Of the lake survey. devised
u method whereby n piano wire from
l.0nO to hOON feet in length. Slung
from two inunches md weighted down.
wns used to search for shoul spJis
and other elevations Of submD~ne
land.
Today this Ingenious device Is in
use on the hikes and as u result Of II
many shOnl and reef regions, hitherto
unknown. have heen listed.
Increase In Commerce.
During the years NJ the decade ne
ginning in 1890 the commerce Of The
Great Lakes had hpgun to assume ron.
siderable proportions. ana the kmprl-
can government planned II canal nj
SaultP Ste. Marie to COnnPc Luke Su.
ppriOr ana the lower lakes. The only
chnrflng. however. had been accom-
plished by engineers connected with
the British navy.
In 1S41 Capt. W g. Williams. who
was NJ that time IN charge Of hnrhor
improvements In Buffalo hnrhOr. was
ordered to TAKE charge Of the survey.
ing Of the Great Lakes. BY 1878 what
n assumed to he n. thorough survey
Of the hikes had heen made and The
following two years were spent In the
compiling Of documents and the per,
fectiOn Of charts then In existence aud
circulation.
The years that had heen spent M
10 1880 on making the geodetic or sub
murine survey Of the hikes hnd wit.
messed marvellous chnnges. The flow
Of population moved westward like u
tidal wave and cities sprung seeming
~ ont Of the very earth. The i've
hikes were white with the sails Of ON.
merce.
ny AfsNF ~ AAANNlANAE WV iWNN HNfNNNiN
Ing obsolete. The heavy drnf,
Steamer that displncpd water 10 III
depth 0f 10 feet had driven the llgu
vessels of II and 70 feet draft from
the field.
Tint u resurvey must he mude h.
rnme evident. Provisions hnd nee,
mnde only for vessels ~ ilehi dlsrIacc
ment. Appropriations were mai, h.
congress 10 cHrry on the work p,min
IN searching for a shHll nrr
ns much ns s1OtG hns hr.i sppn'
The work Of the Lake Survey has Ia
It's object the preparation NJ nccurnt
n%nvigHtOrs' chuTts Of the lakes and n
pnins nre spared 10 mike the mnp
cnmplete. The work NJ searching To-
shOnls Is long and tedious. To SWEEP
u full Sanare mile costs sqmeyhrr,
arennd s5n