Henry StDmtnel
OceanograpKer
MBL/WHOI Library
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THE LAST CRUISE
OF THE
CARNEGIE
The CARNEGIE From a water-color by William J. Peters
The Last Cruise
OF THE
CARNEGIE
11^
.C3
BY
J. HARLAND PAUL
Surgeon and Observer WITH A FOREWORD BY
JOHN A. FLEMING
Acting Director Department of Terrestrial Magnetism Carnegie Institution of Washington
BALTIMORE THE WILLIAMS & WILKINS COJV
1932
.MONB«.
1930
Copyright 1932 THE WILLIAMS & WILKINS COMPANY
Made in the United States of America
Published January, 1932
Composed and Printed at the WAVERLY PRESS, INC.
FOR
The Williams & Wilkins Companv Baltimore, Md.,U. S. A.
Dedicaticn
TO
CAPTAIN JAMES PERCY AULT
whose world-zvide scientific service has enriched geophysical knowledge
CONTENTS
Foreword xv
Previous Cruises of the Carnegie and Purposes of
Cruise VII 1
The Vessel 18
Recommissioning the Carnegie 24
The Equipment 28
Narrative of the Cruise 61
Washington to Plymouth to Hamburg 61
Hamburg to Reykjavik to Bridgetown to Panama. . . 103
Panama to Easter Island to Callao 143
Callao to Apia to Port Apra to Yokohama 223
Yokohama to San Francisco to Honolulu to Tutuila to
Apia 281
VI 1
ILLUSTRATIONS
1. The Carnegie, from a water-color by William J. Peters Frontispiece
Opposite or on page
2. Captain James Percy Ault 2
3. The scientific staff aboard the Carnegie 3
4. The watch-officers and the engineer 4
5. Cruise VII of the Carnegie, May 1928 to November 1929 5
6. Edmund Halley 6
7. Hourly values in atmospheric-electric potential on normal day and on disturbed
day 12
8. Oceanographic stations. Cruise VII 15
9. Magnetic-survey work of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism during
1905-1926 16
10. Under a full spread of canvas in the Pacific 19
11. The lofty fore-rigging 20
12. The wooden windlass and manila hawser 22
13. The oscillator of the sonic depth-finder 24
14. The waist and quarter-deck viewed from the royal-yard 25
15. Paul at the plankton-pump 29
16. The Stevenson meteorological shelter 30
17. Erickson, the first mate 31
18. Parkinson testing the photographic recorder 33
19. The case containing the delicate deep-sea reversing-thermometers 35
20. A Richter and Wiese deep-sea reversing-thermometer 37
21. Weighing the hydrogen-filled balloon 39
22. Torreson observing a pilot-balloon 41
23. A silk-net coming up after being towed from the ship 43
24. Seiwell at work in the chemical laboratory 45
25. The Wenner salinity -bridge 47
26. The fore-rigging 49
27. Looking down on the bow from aloft 51
28. Using a marine collimating-compass 53
29. Parkinson making a "dust-count" 55
30. The waist as seen from the royal-yard 57
31. The radio receiver 59
32. Captin Ault and his family 62
33. Dr. John C. Merriam, President of the Carnegie Institution of Washington,
bidding good-bye to Captin Ault 63
34. Scientific staff waving good-bye 65
35. The Carnegie being towed out into the Potomac 67
36. Some members of the laboratory staff 69
37. Scott at the "deflector" 71
ix
X ILLUSTRATIONS
38. Franklin's chart of the Gulf Stream 71
39. Captain Ault about to remove a "Nansen bottle" 73
40. Seiwell inspecting a plankton-catch 75
41. The Car/ie^je running before the wind 77
42. The Carnegie digging her prow into a heavy sea 79
43. Paul withdrawing samples of sea-water for chemical analysis 81
44. The Carnegie at Plymouth 83
45. The stone commemorating the sailing of the Pilgrim Fathers 83
46. The beautiful boat-harbor at Plymouth 85
47. The ferry to Cornwall 85
48. Fifteenth-century building, formerly part of the Dominican Monastery ... 86
49. The cathedral at Exeter 87
50. Sir Frank Dyson, Astronomer Royal of England 89
51. Entering the Elbe River 91
52. Welcomed in Germany by Government officials and leaders of scientific
societies 93
53. The Carnegie party at the Hagenbeck Zoo, Hamburg 94
54. Dr. Burath, official host, Hamburg 95
55. The Carnegie dressed for the Fourth of July, Hamburg 101
56. A salt-water shower 105
57. The "meal-sack" 107
58. The great art-museum at Reykjavik 107
59. An Icelandic woman in native dress 109
60. Automobile road in Iceland 110
61. Thingvalla Plain " Ill
62. Waterfall, Iceland 113
63. Lake on Thingvalla Plain 113
64. Iceberg passed off coast of Newfoundland 116
65. Paul at the evaporimeter 118
66. The biologist using a dip-net from the "boom-walk" 120
67. The forecastle gang 122
68. An oily calm in the trade-wind belt 124
69. Quarter-deck of the Carnegie during an oceanographic station 126
70. Paul and Soule preparing bottles for the water-samples 127
71. The Carnegie at anchor in Carlisle Bay, Barbados 130
72. Native coin-divers 130
73. A Barbadian negress 132
74. The "careenage" in Bridgetown 133
75. Captain and Mrs. Phillips visit the ship in Barbados 135
76. The tents pitched for magnetic shore-station 135
77. Captain Ault using the diving-helmet 137
78. Crane Beach, Barbados 139
79. Old windmills at Barbados 141
80. Tablets in Panama City relating the history of the building of the Panama
Canal 144
81. Tower of Old Panama 145
82. Malpelo Island outside the Gulf of Panama 148
83. By-the-wind in the South Pacific 151
ILLUSTRATIONS xi
84. One of the islands of the Galapagos group 154,
85. Captain Ault releasing a pilot-balloon 158
86. Captain Ault, Torreson, and Scott following the pilot-balloon 159
87. The Carnegie hove-to for an oceanographic station in the Pacific 162
88. Images lining the slopes of Rano Roraku, Easter Island 165
89. Colossal statues, Easter Island 173
90. Group of statues, Easter Island 174
91. Quarry for statues, Easter Island 175
92. Crater-lake of Rano Roraku, Easter Island 176
93. The platform at Tongariki, Easter Island 177
94. Ancient rock-carvings 181
95. An entrance to the burrows on the rim of Rano Kao Crater 182
96. "Bird Rocks" lying below the caves on Rano Kao Crater 183
97. Plate showing natives and monuments, Easter Island, from the "Voyages of
La Perouse" 187
98. The albatross of the South Pacific 195
99. A small "bottle-nose" whale of the South Pacific 196
100. Large deep-sea organism 197
101. Typical vertical section showing temperatures at various depths for voyage
from Panama to Easter Island to Peru 199
102. Typical vertical section showing salt-content of sea-water at various depths for
voyage from Panama to Easter Island to Peru 201
103. The waters off the coast of Peru abound with fish, but the birds are the fisher-
men 202
104. Switchback at Chicla, Peru 204
105. The primitive wooden plow 205
106. A herd of llamas 206
107. A typical village church in the Andes of Peru 207
108. Gulls near Huancayo 207
109. Flowering cactus 208
110. Winnowing barley 209
111. Buildings of the Huancayo Magnetic Observatory 210
112. The Sunday market at Huancayo 211
113. Huancayo Valley 212
114. A native inn at Huancayo 213
115. Native dancers pay a visit to the Huancayo Magnetic Observatory .... 214
116. Glaciers in the Chuspiocha (Fly-Lake) Valley, Peru 215
117. The earthen oven used by the Indians in the Andes 216
118. The Indian women of the Andes spin wool-yarn as they walk or gossip . . . 216
119. Burial place in Lima 217
120. Burro burden-bearer 217
121. Indian women on their way to market 218
122. Facade of the ancient Jesuit church, Arequipa 219
123. The original "Bridge of San Luis Rey" near Chupaca, Peru 220
124. A wayside shrine in the Andes of Peru 221
125. Bottom-snapper with countersunk lead weight 224
126. A propeller-device for reversing deep-sea thermometers 225
127. The boat-harbor at Amanu Island ... 229
xil ILLUSTRATIONS
128. Captain Ault pays his respects to the native chief of Amanu 231
129. Our first drink of coconut-water 233
130. Boatload of native guests leaving the harbor at Amanu for a visit to the
Carnegie 233
131. Soule, Jones, Scott, and Torreson visit the "Transit-of- Venus Monument" near
Papeete 235
132 Fisherman's hut on the island of Tahiti 237
133. Tahiti has a magnificent coast-line 239
134. Inlet near Taravao, Island of Tahiti 240
135. A group of Samoan chieftains 241
136. Samoan men resting in front of the "fale" after a "siva-siva" dance, Apia . 242
137. A Samoan house under construction 243
138. The interior of a Samoan "fale" 244
139. Samoan boy dressed for a "siva-siva" dance 246
140. A Samoan chief dressed for the "knife-dance" 247
141. The beautiful grounds of the magnetic observatory at Apia 249
142. The atmospheric-electric station set up on the reef near Apia 250
143. Tomb of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Louis Stevenson on Mount Vaea, near Apia 251
144. Gigantic banyan tree near Apia 253
145. Collecting biological specimens on reef at low tide, Apia 254
146. Shark 255
147. A "snapper" type of bottom-sampler 257
148. Wake Island in the mid-Pacific 260
149. Chamorro houses near Agana, Guam 261
150. A lane in Agana, Guam 263
151. Chamorro woman, Guam 264
152. Chart showing bottom-profile in the vicinity of "Fleming Deep" 265
153. Japanese fishing-boat, the Ichio-maru 267
154. The Carnegie hove-to after a storm 269
155. Two Japanese flappers 270
156. Magnetic Observatory at Kakioka, Japan 271
157. The staff of the Kakioka Magnetic Observatory 272
158. Kegon falls near Nikko 273
159. School children on pilgrimage to shrine at Nikko 274
160. Sacred red lacquer bridge at Nikko 275
161. The Japanese oceanographic research-vessel, the Synpu-morn 277
162. Officers and crew of the Synpu-maru 277
163. The old Japanese method of sawing logs 279
164. Wall around the old Imperial Palace at Kyoto 280
165. Captain Ault about to descend in the diving-helmet 282
166. Observing the flight of the pilot-balloon "283
167. A "gooney" or black-footed albatross 285
168. The "gooney" or black-footed albatross, a constant companion in the North
Pacific 286
169. Gish testing the penetrating-radiation aparatus at Crystal Lake, San Francisco . 289
170. The Carnegie dressed for the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the
founding of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism 291
171. Visitors on the quarter-deck 292
ILLUSTRATIONS xiii
172. The dome for the 100-inch telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory, California . 294!
173. The scientific personnel of the Carnegie on leaving San Francisco in September,
1929 295
174. Forbush measuring the force of gravity with the pendulum-apparatus . . . 297
175. The pendulums of the Vening-Meinesz gravity-apparatus 299
176. A "wiliwili" tree, coral plains, Oahu Island, Hawaii 301
177. The pit of Halemaumau at Kilauea Volcano, Island of Hawaii 302
178. A Chinese woman at work on a plantation in Hawaii 303
179. A "gannet" 304
180. The "gannet" salutes 305
181. Young bo'son-birds of the South Pacific 306
182. Captain Ault releasing pilot-balloons 307
183. Scientific results from oceanographic stations Nos. 161 and 162 310
184. The boat-harbor, lagoon, Penrhyn Island 311
185. A rehearsal for the unique native dance of the Manihiki Islanders 313
186. Dancing in the churchyard at Manihiki Island 314
187. The Carnegie at dock. Naval Station, Pago Pago, American Samoa .... 317
188. Bowl, coconut dipper, switch, and dried root used in making "Kava," the
ceremonial drink of Samoa 318
189. A Samoan feast 320
190. A Samoan girl 321
191. Typical Samoan types 322
192. A Samoan stream 323
193. Breadfruit 325
194. Samoan boys in their "pao-paos" or outrigger canoes . 326
195. The palolo-worm which lives in dead coral in Samoa 327
196. Public shower-bath, Samoa 328
197. Native chief and his wife, Apia 329
198 The last of the Carnegie 330
FOREWORD
The Carnegie — the world's only sea-going non-magnetic ob- servatory— was constructed by the Carnegie Institution of Wash- ington to obtain geophysical data over the oceans. This vessel was part of the equipment of the Institution's Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, founded April 1, 1904, realizing a plan for an international magnetic bureau submitted by Dr. Louis A. Bauer, the Department's director from 1904 and its director emeritus from 1930. The purpose of the Department, set forth in the plan, is "to investigate such problems of world-wide interest as relate to the magnetic and electric condition of the Earth and its atmosphere, not specifically the subject of inquiry of any one country, but of international concern and benefit." Among the problems proposed was the magnetic survey of ocean-areas and magnetically unexplored regions, so that more accurate and comprehensive charts might be constructed. It was in the realization of this part of the plan that the Carnegie did such useful service during 1909 to 1929. The first six cruises were made almost exclusively for the surveys of the Earth's magnetism and electricity for which she was designed. The seventh cruise was to be unique in the vessel's history, as its program contemplated besides these survey-operations extensive researches in oceanog- raphy, including the exploration of the ocean-depths for the physical, chemical, and biological conditions found there.
In May 1928 the Carnegie left the United States for a three- year cruise of all oceans — the seventh since her launching in 1909 — to further increase the store of geophysical data. Captain James Percy Ault, and the staff under his command, had com- pleted one year and a half of this voyage when disaster struck suddenly. The ship and its unique equipment — evolved in twenty-five years of active endeavor of the Department — were totally destroyed, and the Captain lost his life together with the Cabin-Boy. The tragedy took place November 29, 1929, at
XV
xvi FOREWORD
Apia, Western Samoa, when a gasoline explosion occurred while supplies of fuel were being stored aboard.
The following pages sketch briefly the earlier work of this famous research ship in her quest for scientific facts, and give a narrative of the seventh and last cruise.
There was a scientific staff of eight, in addition to a full com- plement of sailing oflScers and crew, numbering seventeen. On leaving Washington, May 1, 1928, the members of the party and their fields of research were: Captain J. P. Ault, commander of the Carnegie, and chief of scientific staff; Wilfred C. Parkinson, senior scientific officer, atmospheric electricity and photography; Oscar W. Torreson, navigator and executive officer, magnetism and navigation; Floyd M. Soule, observer and electrical expert, magnetism and physical oceanography; H. R. Seiwell, chemist and biologist, oceanography; J. H. Paul, surgeon and observer, meteorology and oceanography; W. E. Scott, observer, nagiva- tion, magnetism, and commissary; and Lawrence A. Jones, radio operator and observer, radio investigations and magnetism.
The sailing staff included Albert Erickson, first mate, C. E. Leyer, chief engineer, and F. Lyngdorf, steward — all three had served throughout the previous cruise.
The scientific program was carried out successfully; computed values of the various observations were forwarded from port to port in such a form that they could be immediately utilized by workers ashore, and by the hydrographic offices of the world. The prompt publication of results necessitated continuous ap- plication to duty on the part of the staff, whether at sea or in port. But this also made the expedition scientifically successful, although the vessel and all its equipment were later destroyed. On the other hand, it may be said that the work during the cruise was only a beginning, for it will take several years to analyze and correlate further these data.
Captain Ault's death deprives the sciences of oceanography and terrestrial magnetism of a promising leader at the height of his powers. No more fitting monument can be erected to the memory of a man than the imperishable records of his service for science. In twenty -five years of research as one of the staff
FOREWORD xvii
of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism Captain Ault made notable contributions in the varied fields of geophysics. He led many expeditions to far ends of the world and commanded the Carnegie on four of her world-wide cruises. Those who had the good fortune to serve science with him and to sail under his skillful and inspiring leadership know how completely he met his responsibilities and realized his ideals. His death deprives the public of his own fascinating story of the cruise. A charming book indeed would have resulted from his rich background in oceanic surveys, his contagious enthusiasm, and his ability to interpret fundamental scientific researches in popular terms.
The preparation of the narative of the cruise has devolved, therefore, upon Dr. J. Harland Paul, who so creditably carried his dual responsibilities as surgeon and observer throughout the cruise, and to whose constructive and loyal service Captain Ault so frequently made appreciative reference in his official correspondence, as was also the case for every other man of his staff. In some of the more intimate details. Dr. Paul has had the privilege of abstracting from Captain Ault's letters to his wife and daughters detailed accounts of many incidents of the cruise not forming part of or entering into the official reports.
The story of the expedition is a record of diligent and continu- ous application to duty on a pre-arranged schedule. But few passages will be found describing the wonders or terrors of the deep, and but few romantic pages of brilliant exploits of physical daring — for the simple reason that the cruise was carefully planned to avoid digressions that might interrupt the discharge of impor- tant routine. How faithfully and loyally the plans and observa- tions were carried out by each and every one concerned on board the vessel is abundantly evidenced by the vast number of ob- servations made, samples collected, and data derived, the dis- cussion of and the interpretations from which are real contri- butions to the physics of the Earth — geophysics.
John A. Fleming.
PREVIOUS CRUISES OF THE CARNEGIE AND PURPOSES OF CRUISE VII
The history of the Carnegie has been so closely bound up with recent developments in magnetism, that it will be justifiable to recite briefly some of the salient facts of this science. The story begins, of course, with the introduction of the compass for navi- gation, some hundred years before the voyages of Columbus. He was the first, however, to note that the compass does not point to true north except at a few points on the Earth.
This bewildering behavior of the trusted instrument more than once got him into difficulties. On his first passage to America, the crew was greatly disturbed, and on the point of mutiny, when they saw the needle point ten degrees west of true north. They did not wish to trust the compass any longer, for fear they should never find their way home. Columbus allayed their fears by saying that the officers must have made some mistake in the bearings of the Pole Star, and that in the morning he would in- vestigate.
Sure enough, when morning came the compass was seen to read correctly again. The wily Columbus had no doubt shifted the compass-card under the needle, as he admitted having done on a previous expedition. He writes: "Being unable to force the crew's inclination, I yielded to their wish, and, having first changed the points of the compass, spread all sail, for it was evening; and at daybreak we were within the Cape of Carthagena while all believed for a certainty that they were going to Mar- seilles."
In doing this Columbus was taking chances, for laws had been framed against falsifying the compass. In one of these curious statutes, mariners were charged not to eat onions or garlic, lest the odor "deprive the lodestone of its virtue by weakening it and prevent them from perceiving their correct course." The pun- ishment for violations seem barbarous in the extreme, for the
2
THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
Capxaix James Tercy Allt
PREVIOUS CRUISES AND PURPOSES OF CRUISE VII
3
culprit, "if his life be spared, must be punished by having the hand which he most uses fastened by a dagger thrust through it to the mast, to be withdrawn only by tearing it free."
Early experiences with the compass soon showed that it was necessary to know the angle by which the geographical north dif- fered from the north as indicated by the needle, that is, the mag-
The Scientific Staff aboard the Carnegie
(Front row, left to right: W. C. Parkinson, senior scientific oflBcer; Captain J. P. Ault, commander and chief of scientific staff; J. H. Paul, surgeon and observer; back row, left to right: F. M. Soule, electrical expert; L. A. Jones, radio operator and observer; W. E. Scott, navigator and commissary; H. R. Seiwell, chemist and biologist; O. W. Torreson, navigator and executive officer.)
netic declination or variation. This was the beginning of the science of terrestrial magnetism. One of the earliest methods for finding this angle was to take bearings of the Sun as it rose and set, the mid-point being true south. It was a modification of this method which was used throughout the cruises of the Carnegie. So far, onlv the declination had been discovered. In 1576
4
THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
another practical seaman, Norman, published an interesting paper entitled "a newe discovered secret and subtill propertie concerning the Declyning of the Needle, touched therewith under the plaine of the Horizon." This discovery of magnetic "dip," or inclination as it is now called, gave us the first hint that the source of magnetic force might be in the Earth and not in the
The Watch-officers and the Engineer
(Left to right: Jentoft, third mate; Leyer, engineer; Erickson, first mate; Unander, second mate.)
stars, as had previously been supposed. Even today we do not know the origin of this mysterious force.
In the seventeenth century a very discomforting fact came to light. Up to this time it had been assumed that the magnetic declination and dip, though differing for various localities, was constant at any one place. But now it was shown that the Earth's magnetism undergoes changes in the course of time — irregular changes at that. The effects of this discovery were far-
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6
THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
Edmund Halley
This noted astronomer made the first magnetic variation-chart of the Atlantic from observations secured on the Paramour Pink from 1698-1701.
PREVIOUS CRUISES AND PURPOSES OF CRUISE VII 7
reaching. For example, the compass-bearing of hnes surveyed in London in 1580 differed 35° from their compass-bearings in 1812.
Besides this, the dream of the mariner had to be abandoned that some day longitude might be determined by simply noting the declination of the compass. This was a great disappointment indeed, for chronometers keeping accurate time had not yet been discovered, and there was no satisfactory method for finding longitude at sea. In fact, there were large prizes offered to any- one who could solve this pressing problem. The only known method was to rely on estimations of each day's run and the course followed; and there were uncharted currents in the ocean which might carry one unawares many miles a day in an unknown direc- tion. Even Halley, the noted astronomer, was three hundred miles out of his reckoning from this cause, on one of his voyages.
The first to construct a chart showing the declination of the compass was Edmund Halley, whose name is associated in our minds with the great comet. At the expense of the English Government, he sailed over the Atlantic Ocean in the Paramour Pink, between 1698 and 1701, and his cruises were thus the fore- runners of those of the Carnegie. He brought his important work to the attention of the Royal Society by modestly presenting to them "my magnetic chart and some barnacles which I observed to be of quick growth."
Halley's excellent chart could not be used for finding longitude at sea, since no one knew how much the declination changed from year to year in any one place. Dr. Bauer, the founder of our Department, used to give the following illustration to show the change in the pointing of the compass in the course of time:
"The Carnegie on her maiden voyage in 1909, in sailing from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Falmouth, England, followed almost the identical path of Halley's Para- mour Pink. The observations on board the Carnegie showed that the variation of the compass as observed by Halley had changed to such an extent that if the Car- negie had followed the same compass-courses as those of the Paramour Pink, instead of coming to anchor in Fal- mouth Harbor, in the south of England, she would have
8 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
made a landfall somewhere on the northwest coast of Scotland. In brief, while the sailing directions as gov- erned by the winds and currents on the Atlantic Ocean are the same now as they were in Halley's time, the magnetic directions or bearings of the compass that a vessel must follow across the Atlantic to reach a given point, have greatly altered."
More recent observations have brought out many new facts about the magnetism of the Earth. Apparently the Earth is far from being simply magnetized. The so-called magnetic poles are over one thousand miles from the geographic poles; they are not diametrically opposite, for a straight line drawn between them passes some seven hundred and fifty miles from the center of the Earth. Moreover, mathematicians tell us that the actual magnetic poles are really not at the surface of the Earth at all, but near its center. It was once thought that an iron ship should not risk sailing near a magnetic pole, lest she should be unable to free herself from the attraction, much as iron filings are fixed to a bar magnet. This apprehension was groundless, as the real poles are so near the center of the globe that iron weighs practi- cally no more at the north magnetic pole than at the equator be- cause of magnetic attraction.
Then there are numerous areas on the Earth's surface, where certain mineral deposits affect a compass in an anomalous way. Some of these local disturbances are very intense, as in Kursk, Russia, and in Iceland. In fact, these variations in magnetic manifestations of subterranean masses have been used in mining to locate ore.
The forces directing the compass have also been found subject to short-period changes, as distinct from the secular changes mentioned above, such as the so-called annual, lunar, and diurnal changes which have a degree of regularity. Besides these, times of great activity on the surface of the Sun, as indicated by num- ber of "sunspots," are in general times of an unsteady behavior of the compass. When these disturbances become violent, they are known as magnetic storms and may be so intense as to paralyze cable and telegraph communication.
PREVIOUS CRUISES AND PURPOSES OF CRUISE VII 9
It may be appropriate here to give from eminent authorities one or two quotations relating to terrestrial magnetism. Helm- holtz and Maxwell, two of the greatest physicists, have considered magnetism, next to gravity, as "the most puzzling of natural forces." And Professor Fleming of England, referring to the practical importance of research in this field, has said: "That great empire which has its center in these islands (Great Britain), but its dominions scattered over the distant seas, has been built primarily on the art of navigation, in which the magnetism of the Earth is a central fact. Neither its world-wide commerce, nor the naval power which defends its coasts, could exist for a day without the aid of the magnetic compass."
The whole subject is thus exceedingly complex, and its com- plexity has been increasingly made evident with the development of observations and theories involving them offered in the past century. To learn anything worth while of the nature of the Earth's magnetic field, record of all these changes simultaneously at many points on the Earth's surface was required. Accordingly magnetic observatories have been set up throughout the world, but these are not numerous and had therefore to be amplified by establishing temporary stations in magnetically unexplored countries. Furthermore, almost three-fourths the surface of the globe is covered by the oceans, over which it was important to collect information as well.
This led to the plans made in 1904 and the formation of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington under the energetic and resourceful directorship of Dr. Louis A. Bauer for a world-wide magnetic and electric survey.
The magnetic survey was begun immediately. Land parties were organized to penetrate to the remotest corners of the Earth : through the heart of Australia and the Sahara, over the top of Central Asia, across the watersheds of South America, and through the forests of the Congo, and on the northern plains of Canada. Expeditions into polar regions were supplied with magnetic observers. In fact, stations were occupied wherever camel or canoe, mule or riverboat, motor or railway, could transport the instruments.
10 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
To make a beginning in the exploration of the vast ocean-areas, a brigantine was chartered, the Galilee. She set out from San Francisco Bay in 1905 into the ahiiost uncharted Pacific to make three cruises, one under the command of J. F. Pratt and two under W. J. Peters. In three years she cruised the waters between Alaska and New Zealand and between China and the coasts of the Americas. Conditions for observing were very unfavorable on this ship. The instruments were mounted on an open plat- form on deck, where rain or seas interrupted the work for days at a time. Since she was not free from magnetic materials, it was necessary to "swing ship" for deviation-errors as often as circumstances permitted. These errors occasioned delay in reporting results, and made the computations of final values most laborious.
It was apparent that a non-magnetic vessel with observatory domes would be able to do the work far more efiSciently. It was in answer to these needs that the Carnegie was built in 1909. The experience with the Galilee had been invaluable; old instruments were adapted to marine use, new ones were invented, and methods were compared with the aim of finding those which gave the greatest accuracy under ever changing conditions at sea.
The Carnegie made six cruises between 1909 and 1921, I and
11 under the command of W. J. Peters, III, IV, and VI under J. P. Ault, and V under H. M. W. Edmonds. During these she sailed more than a quarter of a million nautical miles, making some of the longest voyages in history, and traversing all waters between 80° north and 60^ south. She had met ice and fogs around Spitzbergen and the South Orkneys, typhoons off Japan, har- mattans along African coasts, pamperos near Argentina, hurri- canes in the South Seas — and had come through unscathed. She had visited the most unfrequented islands, and was without doubt better known the world over than any ship that sailed the seas.
Perhaps the most notable achievement in her history was a sub-polar circumnavigation of the Southern Ocean in her fourth cruise in 1915-1916. This perilous voyage was made in a single season — a unique chapter in the annals of sailing. She made
PREVIOUS CRUISES AND PURPOSES OF CRUISE VII 11
only one stop, desolate South Georgia at that! Gales blew on 52 of the 118 days required for the 17,000-mile journey through ice and snow. Some of the bergs were as much as five miles long and five hundred feet high. Captain iVult refers to them as "unpleasant sailing companions amidst the almost continuous fogs and blizzards of the Southern Ocean." To reduce the speed and to give the lookout an unobstructed view, the foresail was constructed in the shape of a triangle.
Probably the fastest voyage the Carnegie ever made was from New York to Hammerfest — 4800 miles in 24 days. Not a reef was taken, as she ploughed through the rough seas of the North Atlantic. On this same cruise she very nearly came to grief off Spitzbergen, when a strong southerly gale almost bottled her up in an ice-pack to the north. She managed to clear this and proceeded to Iceland, where the party first learned that the Great War had been declared.
After every cruise there were tales of unusual and thrilling ex- periences. The vessel has scudded along at nine knots under bare poles near Wake Island. She once passed a corpse at 60° south, far both from land and from trade-routes; this had been the only sight of a human being encountered in four months, except for the whalers of South Georgia. On another occasion she set mail adrift in a copper box near Kerguelen Island contain- ing abstracts of the scientific results during the first part of the sub-antarctic cruise; this was done so that if the ship were lost the records at least might be picked up. Again she had to navi- gate close to shore on the west coast of Africa through a red fog, caused by a harmattan, which brought the visible horizon to within less than half a mile from the ship. And after success- fully making port at Dakar, she found the city so riddled with plague that she was forced to leave at once for Buenos Aires.
Another branch of geophysics is the study of the electric state of the Earth and its atmosphere. The entire Earth is charged with negative electricity. Although this charge is constantly being dissipated into the air, its total is not permanently diminished. Here we are face to face with a mystery, and we must find the source of this negative charge of the Earth.
12
THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
Because of its relation to magnetism, a survey of terrestrial electricity was added to the observational programs of the Galilee and of the Carnegie. On board and ashore measurements were made of the elements of atmospheric electricity. These included the determination of the atmospheric potential-gradient or the change in voltage with distance above the Earth's surface and of conductivity or ability of the air to transport electricity. These
MDT I
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LOCAL MEAN TIME MDT I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 1 NOON 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 MDT + 2501 1 1 \ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 h-/VI — /I — 1 1 1 H-250
Hourly Values in Atmosphkric-electric Potential on Normal Day and on
Disturbed Day
From observations made aboard the Carnegie in the Atlantic Ocean on Cruise VII.
two measurements give us an idea of the rate at which the Earth loses its negative charge.
But if we are to seek out the source of this charge, many other factors must be observed. For example: counts of the number of air-molecules carrying a charge (ions) ; measurement of the amoimt of penetrating-radiation coming to the Earth from outer space (since this force is capable of producing ions in the air) ; measure- ment of the amount of radioactive matter in the air; and counts of the so-called Aitken nuclei, or "dust-particles."
PREVIOUS CRUISES AND PURPOSES OF CRUISE VII 13
In some respects conditions of electric study at sea are more favorable than on land and the vessel does not have to be non- magnetic for these investigations. The potential gradient of the atmosphere undergoes daily variations which are simultaneous over the whole Earth, and are thus independent of local time. This important fact had been hidden for years in the data col- lected ashore, because local disturbances of the atmosphere are almost the rule. The phenomenon was apparent when records from all the oceans were compared.
Important advances may be expected in these subjects when the upper air is investigated, for until now observations have been confined largely to the Earth's surface. In fact, plans for using dirigibles, balloons, and even rockets for this work are now being made.
We have already made reference to the oceanographic studies made on the Carnegie on her seventh cruise. A brief orientation will make the following narrative more intelligible; although, due to the great number of separate sciences concentrated here, this field of research is even more confusing than magnetism and electricity.
Aside from its importance to many branches of science, a knowledge of the oceans has a practical value for mankind. The intelligent development of our fishing industries, the laying of oceanic cables, the proper construction of harbor-works, oceanic commerce and navigation, as well as long-range weather fore- casting, are all dependent on an understanding of oceanic con- ditions.
Changes in the physical properties of sea- water affect profoundly the life of the sea, and have even brought about evolutionary processes through changes of ocean-currents. Physics, chemistry, physical geography, meteorology, astronomy, zoology, botany, bacteriology, and physiology, all play their part in developing a proper picture of the water-world around us. To indicate how large a part of the Earth is covered by the oceans, we might call attention to the fact that a whole hemisphere, with its center near New Zealand, would have only one-tenth of its area as dry land! And the average depth of the seas is over two miles.
14 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
Oceanography as we have described it is not an ancient study. Its development has depended on the invention of methods in the other sciences. For instance, in recent years the perfection of echo-sounding has given to physical geography a magnificent tool for charting the oceanic floor. With this method one could easily make as many soundings in a year as had been made in all previous centuries.
The first true oceanographic expedition set out from England under James Cook in 1768 in the Endeavour. His primary pur- pose was to make astronomical and geographical investigations. However, a noted biologist was a member of the party, and deep- sea soundings and temperatures were recorded. In his day no one dreamed that life could exist under the great pressures exist- ing in the depths of the ocean.
During the following hundred years, a multitude of new instru- ments was devised by men of all nationalities, and an increasing interest in the ocean was shown by great scientists. Charles Darwin and Thomas Huxley were two of this company. And the interest in marine biology was intensified when the telegraph companies began to report broken cables showing clear evidence of marine life even in the greatest depths. By this time Sir John Ross had invented a bottom-sampler which he called a "deep-sea clamm." With this he brought up some starfish and marine worms from two thousand meters.
This was the first direct evidence that life could exist under enormous pressures. iVn equally important contribution to the science was the invention of the deep-sea reversing thermometer protected against pressure. With these thermometers it could be shown that as we go deeper in the sea the temperature di- minishes, and that on the bottom the water is not far from the freezing point — the reverse of conditions in a mine-shaft on land.
It was apparent from these advances that the time had come for a world-wide survey of the ocean and its floor. Until then research had been limited to areas near the coasts. Accordingly, the H.M.S. Challenger set out in IST'-Z on a great exploring expe- dition under the noted Sir Wyville-Thompson. This ship cov- ered sixty -nine thousand miles in all oceans, making soundings,
PREVIOUS CRUISES AND PURPOSES OF CRUISE VII
15
16
THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
dredgings, temperature and chemical determinations on samples collected from great depths, and biological studies of the floating forms of life. So thoroughly the work was done that since then oceanographers have limited their operations to some special region or some particular problem.
The United States had made many important contributions to the new science both before and after this voyage. Wilkes
Magnetic-survey Work of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism during
1905-1926
Cruises of the Galilee are indicated by Arabic numerals, those of the Carnegie by Roman numerals; black dots show the land stations.
made dredgings and soundings. Dana, the great naturalist, carried on biological and geological studies. Maury made the first systematic depth-charts, and may be said to have created meteorological oceanography. Agassiz, like Dana, prosecuted the biological end of the program. The larger part of this work was done on ships of the United States Coast Survey.
In recent times the advance of oceanography has been marked by the establishment of marine biological laboratories through-
PREVIOUS CRUISES AND PURPOSES OF CRUISE VII 17
out the world as well as by numerous expeditions. In these shore stations highly important experimental work can be done to supplement the discoveries of research vessels. Major contri- butions to the science are now coming from these institutions. Among the important oceanographic voyages completed just prior to the sailing of the Carnegie may be mentioned the German Atlantic Expedition of the Meteor, which covered the South At- lantic in a very systematic way between 1925 and 1927. Our staff had the great privilege of meeting the members of this party when we called at Hamburg in 1928.
Although much information has already been obtained about the sea, comprehensive, systematic studies have only begun. The projected cruise of the Carnegie was to cover the oceans so completely that it seemed highly desirable to take advantage of this fact by equipping her for work in oceanography.
THE VESSEL
The Carnegie was designed by Henry J. Gielow of New York, who had turned out many of the world's fine yachts. She was built by the Tebo Yacht Basin Company of Brooklyn in 1909. The architect succeeded in combining the graceful lines of a yacht with the requirements of strength and steadiness — the latter being paramount, since delicate instruments were to be used in all weathers.
She was built of white oak, yellow and Oregon pine. Copper or bronze-composition metal was used for all fastenings in the hull or rigging, in place of iron or steel. The rigging was of hemp, while manila hawsers replaced the usual anchor-chains. The fuel tanks were made of copper and the anchors, davits, galley- ranges, and even the engine and propeller-shaft were specially cast of bronze. There was an old-style fisherman's wooden wind- lass in the bow; and it required the brawn of all hands to up- anchor. Throughout every detail of fitting and commissioning, she was kept free from materials that might introduce errors in the magnetic measurements.
It is curious to note that Andrew Carnegie, who had acquired his wealth from steel, furnished the funds for constructing a ship in which every effort was made to avoid steel. Someone has said that the Carnegie fulfilled a prophecy by Thomas Hood, the Brit- ish poet and humorist, which he made early last century in a poem entitled "The Compass, with Variations." The following lines occur:
"They found no gun — no iron, none To vary its direction."
We did carry a small cannon — for shooting out a breeches-buoy line in case of shipwreck — but it was cast of bronze!
The unique features of the ship have been the cause of innumer- able quips in ports the world over. It was once reported that
18
THE VESSEL
19
an otherwise capable watch-officer was refused a position on board because of his "iron constitution," and was informed that only "bronzed sailors" were acceptable. Several visitors have even asked if we have had to exclude raisins or spinach from our diet because of their high iron-content !
The principle dimensions of the vessel were: overall length, 155 feet; load water-line, 128 feet; beam, 33 feet; draft, 14 feet; displacement, 568 tons. The foremast stood 122 feet above the
Under a Full Spread of Canvas in the Pacific
water-line; and the length from the forward end of the bowsprit to the after end of the main boom was 197 feet. Registered as a brigantine yacht to facilitate port entries, the Carnegie was really a hermaphrodite brig, with a spread of some 13,000 square feet of canvas. While cruising the original mainsail and gaff- topsail were replaced by the more handy leg-of-mutton mainsail. Aside from her unique non-magnetic construction, the vessel presented another curious feature, namely, the two revolving glass domes mounted in the fore-and-aft line amidships. These housed the instruments for measuring the magnetic elements.
20
THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
The Lofty Fore-eigging As seen from the quarter-deck with the wind dead astern.
THE VESSEL 21
They communicated directly with the chart-room, so that, with their protection, the observers could go about their work regard- less of wind or rain or spray. On the Galilee, an ordinary sailing vessel chartered for a magnetic survey of the Pacific between 1905 and 1908, instruments had been mounted on an open plat- form above the deck. These domes were partly responsible for the choice of the square-rigged foremast, for they would have interfered with the handling of a boom forward. This choice of sail was of course unfavorable when sailing close to the wind for long passages, but with a light breeze blowing from astern she was more than a match for a schooner.
Besides these observatories, the super-structures included: A chart-room housing the "standard" compass, navigating in- struments and charts; three laboratories for the atmospheric- electric, chemical, and radio investigations; and a "control-room" on the quarter-deck housing the observation-control apparatus of the sonic depth-finder together with certain parts of the mag- netic and meteorological equipment.
Below deck, from the bow toward the stern, were the forecastle, the forward galley, the wardroom with officers' quarters, the cabin with staterooms, the after galley, the fuel tanks, the engine- room, and the lazarette in which provisions were stowed.
Before we describe the scientific instruments, we might answer the first question asked by the average visitor to the ship : Why was the Carnegie built non-magnetic? Iron in a vessel's hull, or carried on board, affects the compass-needle in two ways. First, it alters the normal direction of the needle and introduces an error known as the "deviation of the compass." Secondly, it weakens the force of the Earth's magnetic field acting on the compass. Both of these effects vary with place, time, and course of the vessel. A change of cargo, or the buffeting of an iron ship by the waves, will change the "deviation."
Ordinarily a ship-master has his compass "adjusted" by placing magnets or pieces of iron in the neighborhood of it in such a way as to counteract the effects of the iron ship. But to make this adjustment, he must first know where the compass would point on a non-magnetic vessel like the Carnegie. With this information
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THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
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THE VESSEL 23
he knows what correction to make on his disturbed compass. Many a shipwreck can undoubtedly be laid to an improperly ad- justed compass, or to the use of faulty magnetic charts. The Carnegie was made non-magnetic so that observations as free as possible from local disturbances due to iron or steel in the vicinity of the instruments could be supplied from which correct charts would be drawn, and at the same time furnish the facts demanded by science.
The non-magnetic features of the Carnegie entailed large ex- penses in building and in repair work, and introduced some seri- ous difficulties in navigation. Our unhappy experience at Easter Island may be cited as an example where the manila anchor- hawsers were chafed through by coral heads, almost putting us on the rocks. The clumsy windlass, made necessary by the non- magnetic requirements of the ship, was unsuited to such passages as the Straits of Magellan. In negotiating these narrow waters, one must heave up the anchor at a moment's notice to take advantage of a sudden change of wind or tide. It might take as much as one or two hours to get away with the fisherman's windlass, so it can be realized how much we were handicapped. In fact, the farther we were from land the safer we felt.
RECOMMISSIONING THE CARNEGIE
The summer of 1927 was a happy one for the Carnegie. She must have been restless indeed in her berth on the Potomac River, where for six years she had watched the seasons come and go without the tramping of sailors on her deck, or the tang of
The Oscillator of the Sonic Depth-finder
Installed in the keel — the vibration of this heavy diaphragm sends to the bottom the sound-wave whose echo is picked up by the microphones.
salt spray on her bow. And now she was to be recommissioned for the grandest cruise of all, over the oceans she knew so well. Tugs of the United States Coast Guard took her safely to dry- dock in New York, and brought her back to Washington in the fall. Captain Ault and Mr. Erickson, her mate, supervised the installation of new masts and rigging. Only the old royal-yard
24
RECOMMISSIONING THE CARNEGIE
25
The Waist and Quarter-deck Viewed from the Royal-Yard
26 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
remained aloft to tell its tales of squalls and of creaking calms. New sheathing was applied to the bottom, new laboratories were built on deck. A host of new instruments was put on board: winch and sonic depth-finder, recording thermometer and refrig- erator, generators and batteries. Whale-boats that had hung on the quarter-deck were now raised to platforms amidships, to clear the deck for sounding wires.
When they had finished her, the Carnegie must have felt a little self-conscious, dressed as she was in the latest styles in scientific apparel — much of it imported from Berlin and London, Norway and Denmark. The United States Navy had given her the means for sounding the bottom without heaving to, and had supplied a radio to keep her in touch with home. And it had commissioned her Captain a Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserve, as a further mark of its interest in the coming cruise.
With all the new work in oceanography and radio, it was neces- sary to abbreviate the usual magnetic program and to add two members to the staff. On previous cruises duplicate methods had been employed for measuring the three magnetic elements, so it was now possible to select the most trustworthy and to dis- pense with the others. Also, it was decided to occupy complete magnetic stations only on alternate days, although declination- values were to be obtained daily. This allowed the necessary time for oceanographic work and for a considerable expansion of the meteorological program.
As much of the work as possible was done by specially made automatic recording-devices; thus continuous records of potential- gradient and conductivity were obtained photographically, and humidity-changes at various levels above the sea were recorded electrically. The observer had then only to compare these instru- ments frequently using standard methods, and was free to take up other duties. Only the long experience of the Department in ocean-surveys, and the use of these recorders, made it humanly possible for the staff of eight men to carry on the heavy program outlined.
The magnetic survey of the ocean which had been initiated in 1905 had been brought to practical completion by the end of
RECOMMISSIONING THE CARNEGIE 27
Cruise VI in 1921. The chief aim in the present voyage was to reoccupy many of the former positions in order to note the changes which had occurred with the lapse of time. There had been disclosed on earlier expeditions areas of local magnetic disturbances, and these too must be studied again. These con- siderations determined to a large extent the course we followed in traversing the oceans; but here and there a compromise with the requirements of the ocean-studies had to be effected.
THE EQUIPMENT
While docked in San Francisco after our first year at sea, a celebration was held aboard the Carnegie commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Department of Terrestrial Mag- netism. Following the ceremonies, the vessel was open for public inspection for a period of several days. The popular interest shown in the ship and its scientific equipment was keen — three thousand visitors having made the rounds in two days. This experience suggests that the reader of the following narrative may also find of interest such a conducted tour. It will certainly give a more concrete idea of what we set out to accomplish.
Coming upon the quarter-deck from the pier one's attention is drawn to the shiny three-ton bronze winch and its two reels of aluminum-bronze wire. With this electrically driven "gold- hoist," as the sailors call it, deep-sea soundings can be made, water samples collected, and temperatures taken down to a depth of three or four miles. From the winch the wires lead through blocks, over meter-wheels to davits over-hanging the water. One of the winch-heads was cut down to hold the steel piano-wire, which was used later in the cruise for collecting samples of the bottom, and for getting temperatures at depths greater than could be reached with the bronze cable. Although this steel wire was very long it weighed little, and was so far removed from the mag- netic instruments as to have no observable effect on them. The drums and heads of this winch were ingeniously constructed to work independently, so that to save time several operations might be under way simultaneously: for example, paying out on the bottle-wire, and hauling in on the bottom-sample. Aluminum- bronze wire had previously been used by the German Atlantic Expedition of the Meteor, on which it had been shown superior to any other cable for deep-sea purposes and fitted in admirably with our non-magnetic requirements.
Mounted over an outboard platform near the winch is the
28
THE EQUIPMENT
29
Paul at the Planktox-pump This device makes a census of the microscopic Hfe floating at any desired depth.
30
THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
"plankton-pump." This apparatus is lowered to various depths to count the number of microscopic animals and plants existing at each water-level. Due to an insuflSciency of power, our bio- logical work was limited to the study of these minute, drifting organisms found everywhere in the oceans. A small conical net made of very fine-meshed silk bolting-cloth, such as millers use in sifting flour, is attached to the end of the bronze cylinder. A pump actuated by a falling lead weight forces a measured
The Stevenson Meteorological Shelter
On the quarter-deck housing instruments to measure temperature and humidity of the air.
volume of sea-water through the net. One has only to lower the apparatus to the desired depth, drop a brass "messenger" down the wire to release the catch on the pump, and gravity does the rest. The cylinder is closed while being lowered and raised. This avoids contamination of the desired sample by plankton living in the upper layers of the water.
From this description, the plankton-pump seems to be a clever little mechanism which does its appointed task uncomplainingly.
THE EQUIPMENT
31
But of all the pieces of machinery aboard, this one required the greatest display of ingenuity and the most severe strain on one's
Erickson, the First Mate
good humor, to keep it in operation. Wires and valves, rubber bands and springs, weights and releasing forks — all had an abomi-
32 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
nable habit of getting tangled up once the mechanism was safely hidden from view in the waters under the vessel. It was a rare day when three consecutive hauls were successful. Neverthe- less, with its aid we were able to make a census of the sea's popu- lation in various regions and at the various depths — a valuable contribution to our knowledge of life in the ocean. The pump was designed by Dr. Petterssen of Norway, and had been tested off the coast of that country by Dr. Sverdrup, a Research As- sociate of the Carnegie Institution.
Immediately inboard from the plankton-pump platform is a large "gear-box" filled with oceanographic instruments. Stand- ing on the outside in ranks, like well drilled veterans, are the reversing water-sampling bottles, designed by the late explorer Nansen. These remarkable brass cylinders may be attached in series to the bronze wire, lowered to the desired depths, and reversed by dropping a brass messenger down the cable from the ship. Each bottle has a messenger hanging at its lower end, so that when the first bottle reverses end-over-end, its messenger continues down the wire to upset the next. The two valves at the ends of each bottle close automatically when reversal takes place, imprisoning about a quart of water, to be analyzed by the chemist in the laboratory on deck. To each of these bottles is attached a small frame containing the all-important deep-sea reversing pressure thermometers.
Inside the gear-box are several types of "bottom-samplers." Some consist of brass tubes surrounded with lead weights which fall off after the apparatus plunges into the ocean-floor. Others operate like a clamshell or turtle's jaws, snapping up a sample of bottom-deposit. A third kind is a long, glass-lined metal tube with a heavy weight permanently attached to it, which procures a vertical section of the mud or ooze, showing the successive layers in which it has been deposited. But the sampler most commonly used is a modification of the telegraph "snapper" of the clam- shell type. Like the plankton-pump, this mechanism required considerable nursing, and even some surgical operations as time went on.
On the basis of these samples a study of the nature and origin
THE EQUIPMENT
33
of marine bottom-deposits will be made ashore. This collection will prove of great interest, due to the scarcity of material,
Parkinson Testing the Photographic Recorder This instrument measures the potential gradient of the atmosphere.
especially from the Pacific. Workers in the Geophysical Labora- tory of the Carnegie Institution in Washington are interested in the chemical analyses. From the amount of radioactive material
34 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
found in them, thorium and radium, they hope to get some idea of the age of the Earth. Scientists studying the origin of oil- deposits will be furnished samples. The American Telephone and Telegraph Company wishes to determine the corrosive ef- fects on their cables. Then too, it is now known that bottom- living creatures feed on organic matter found in muds.
In this same box is kept the brass bucket for collecting diatoms from the harbors we visit. These exquisite microscopic plants, displaying inexhaustible patterns of form, are present in all the waters of the Earth from pole to pole. They are almost the sole food for the larval stages of fish, and are therefore of immense importance. Some of the largest marine creatures use these tiny plants as food. So minute are they that a hundred of them might be placed side by side on the head of a common pin. The harvest of fish has been noticeably increased by adding silicates and phosphates to the water to augment the supply of diatoms, just as nitrates and phosphates are used in agriculture. The work on board was planned to include a study of the relation of these chemicals to the abundance of diatoms and plankton. In fact, the source of the silica in the surface-layers of the ocean, where the diatoms thrive, is not well known, for the great red- clay silica deposits are sometimes several miles below and seem to be increasing in extent.
In higher latitudes the diatoms show great changes in abundance with change of season, for they are plants and depend directly on sunlight as their source of energy. It is for this reason that they are found in a living state only in the uppermost few hundred meters of the sea, and on the bottom of shallow shore- waters. It is not always realized that sunlight is totally absorbed in the clearest sea-water in less than a mile from the surface.
Leaving the gear-box we walk aft to the Stevenson meteoro- logical shelter, which gets its name from its designer, the father of Robert Louis Stevenson. Here are housed some of the various instruments used in studying the circulation of the atmosphere, just as the oceanographic equipment is used to give us a picture of currents in the ocean. There are three forms of apparatus for measuring the changes of humidity. One is a motor-venti-
THE EQUIPMENT
35
Nf "liii'ji^' JriVii^Ti iiiSiiij8^^
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The Case Containing the Delicate Deep-sea Reversing-thermometers
Used not only to measure the temperature of the sea at different levels but also the depth.
36 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
lated recording psychrometer procured in England designed to give a continuous record of "wet" and "dry" bulb temperatures and from this record is calculated the degree of saturation of the air by water-vapor. Another is one unit of an electrical resist- ance-psychrometer, which measures the humidity at three heights over the ocean — on deck, at the main crosstrees, and at the masthead. In the control-room, which we shall visit later, is the automatic recorder for these three pairs of electric thermom- eters which registers at intervals of thirty seconds the six wet- and dry -bulb temperatures in consecutive order. The third is of German make, and has very accurate thermometers. It is ventilated by clock-work, and is read directly by the eye of the observer. This is used daily to check the accuracy of the other two.
In the shelter is also kept the little instrument for measuring wind-velocity — the anemometer — as well as the standard sea- surface thermometer and other meteorological equipment.
Walking aft a few feet we stand at the steering gear of the ship. There is no cozy wheel-house on the bridge for the quartermaster of a sailing ship ! He must stand at the very stern, with an un- obstructed view of the sails. When sailing "by the wind" his eye is glued to the weather-side of the uppermost sail; he keeps it drawing a trace of wind, but never lets it fill. It is true that the Carnegie had a "bridge," but this was used only by the pilot when entering or leaving port, and by the lookout during the night.
The steering gear itself is a constant source of interest to visitors, for it is one of the many features of the old-time wind- jammer to be found on the Carnegie. The whole mechanism is operated by hand; a whirl of the wheel to starboard brings the helm to port and turns the ship itself to starboard. The old- fashioned method of giving orders to the steersman, calling "port" or "starboard," almost wrecked us one day in Samoa, when a shore pilot in a tight place overlooked the fact that we did not use the modern code in which the order refers to the ship's head and not to the helm. The binnacle, which stands before the man at the wheel, is also a carry-over from bygone days, for the com-
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pass reads in "points" and not degrees. As each man finishes his two-hour trick at the wheel, he calls out to his reliever: "East by south half south," and not "107 degrees."
On one side of the wheel, mounted near the rail, stands the rain-gauge; and on the other, the evap- orimeter. The latter is made of glass, and is used to measure the rate of evaporation of sea-water from day to day. This subject is part of the general investigations made of the influence on cli- mate of movements of large bodies of warm or cold water. We wished to study the transfer of heat between the sea and the atmosphere; and the evaporimeter, together with the electric resist- ance-thermometers, gave us much needed infor- mation.
On the taffrail around the stern is the auto- matic recorder for the potential gradient of the atmosphere's electricity. The negative charge on the Earth's surface causes an electric pressure in the air increasing with height above the Earth's surface. Ordinarily this rate of increase or gradi- ent is in the neighborhood of one hundred volts per meter near sea-level. There are daily vari- ations, aside from the local changes due to dis- turbances in the atmosphere near the ship. We have already referred to the mysterious surge in the potential gradient which occurs simultane- ously over the whole Earth. It was discovered after examining observations obtained on previous cruises of the Carnegie, and our aim was now to collect records from widely separated geographical
51
J?
5J
Ji
A RiCHTER AND WiESE DeEP-SEA ReVERSING-THERMOMETER
Protected against pressures encountered in the depths of the ocean — (A) Sea-water thermometer, (B) auxihary thermometer for making correction for air-temperature on deck, (C) point at which mercury-capillary breaks on reversal, (D) mercury-shield which protects bulb from pressure of sea.
38 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
regions to confirm this. Any attempt to discover the cause for the Earth's permanent negative charge must be based upon a knowledge of potential gradient.
This automatic recorder gives us traces at about tenfold the rate possible with the eye-reading apparatus used on former voyages. It is also very sensitive to changes in the electric conditions of the air, because ionium-collectors are used. Ionium is an element which has the property of giving "air-molecules" in its neighborhood an electric charge, thus turning them into "ions." These ions acting as carriers facilitate the transfer of electricity from the air to the instrument, and eliminate any lag during rapidly changing conditions.
We shall now walk forward on the port side of the quarter-deck past the jaunty little dinghy hanging in its davits. The control- room built alongside the companionway contains many essential parts of our equipment. The time-measuring device for the sonic depth-finder with its control-panel is located here. This electric sounding-device, loaned by the United States Navy, is made up of three important units, the oscillator, the micro- phones, and the timing mechanism. A large steel-diaphragm oscillator, set face downwards in the keel of the ship near the stern, is put into periodic vibration by electromagnets and pro- duces a sound-wave which is reflected from the ocean-bottom. The echo is picked up by microphones set in the vessel's hull, and carried to the head-phones of the observer, who sits at the control-panel. An accurate time-measuring device gives us the exact time-interval between outgoing signal and returning echo. With this information we can easily calculate the depth, for the velocity of sound in sea- water is known. It is roughly one mile a second, depending however on the temperature and salinity. But as these factors for each water-level are determined on board, we are able to sound with an unusual degree of precision. For example, the observer reports that it took two seconds for the echo to return. This means that the sound-wave traveled about two miles, and the sea is one mile deep. This is the underlying principle, although actually the procedure is somewhat more complicated.
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The great advantage of this method is that the ship need not heave to and consume one or two hours for a sounding with line and lead. A sonic depth may be made with the ship on her course in from five to ten minutes. We are able to check these soundings by the old-fashioned lead weight, and do so on alternate days.
Weighing the Hydhogen-filled Balloon Followed in ascent to a height of from two to seven miles in order to plot the air- currents.
In the large box on the floor are our pressure thermometers. With these we have an ingenious method for checking the depths recorded sonically and by wire. Besides this, the marvelous instruments can tell us precisely at what distance from the sur- face each of the "Nansen bottles" was reversed.
40 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
These German-made thermometers are of two types. Some are protected from the enormous pressures encountered in the deeps, and give the true temperature. Others are unprotected, and give a fictitious reading: the sum of the true temperature and the effect of the pressure exerted mechanically on the naked bulb by the weight of the water-column above it. The difference between the readings of such a pair is then a measure of the pres- sure. By rather complicated calculations we may then convert this to meters of depth.
The thermometers are sent down, inverted, in their frames on the side of the Nansen bottles. They are given time to assume the temperature of the surrounding water, and are then reversed along with the bottle, when the messenger comes down the wire from the surface. This reversal breaks the mercury-thread in the tiny capillaries in such a way that the changes in temperature and pressure encountered on the way back to the surface will not be registered, and the observer on deck can get a true picture of conditions at the desired depth.
By the use of these readings and the salinity-values for each sample, we are able to calculate"dynamic pressures" for each water-level to the bottom. Plotting the figures on a chart we can determine the speed and direction of the ocean-currents below the ship — a subject of great importance to oceanography. These charts are made in much the same way as weather-maps prepared by the Weather Bureau — based as they are on pressure readings taken at a multitude of stations, and from which winds can be predicted.
There are more direct means for measuring ocean-currents. We may trace the course, speed, and direction of floating objects. This is not satisfactory, for only the surface-current is represented, and the effect of changing winds on the object may confuse the true picture. A more useful method is to lower from an anchored ship an instrument similar to an anemometer. We had insuf- ficient power for hauling in a deep-sea anchor, and so we relied entirely on the "dynamic-pressure" computations.
The configuration of the ocean-floor is of great interest to seismologists studying the movements of the Earth's crust.
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Oceanographers are also able to explain certain peculiarities of ocean-currents by the contour of the ocean-bed. But enormous areas are still unexplored.
On the wall of the control-room hangs the German multithermo- graph which was referred to when we looked into the Stevenson
ToRREsoN Observing a Pilot-balloon With the specially designed theodolite loaned by the United States Navy.
meteorological shelter. Below it is an inflation-balance for use in connection with soundings of the upper atmosphere. Rubber balloons filled with hydrogen are released from the deck. These extremely light globes are deflected from their upward course by
42 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
every breath of air they meet. By following them with a theo- dolite, an instrument for measuring elevation and direction through vertical and horizontal angles, we can study the air- currents at heights up to six or seven miles. Besides the general scientific interest in the movements of the Earth's atmosphere, the aviator will some day come to rely on pilot-charts based on these soundings, just as the mariner relies on wind- and current- charts for the ocean-surface.
Before leaving the control-room we must glance at the long array of switches, galvanometers, batteries, and ammeters stretched along a table against the starboard wall. Although it is part of the equipment for measuring the elements of the Earth's mag- netic field, some of this apparatus contains small pieces of steel, and must be set up well away from the observatory-domes. One observer sits at this table to control the constant-speed motor for the "marine earth-inductor" which we shall see later. He is in communication through a brass speaking tube with the second observer in the dome. At given signals he records the readings of the ammeters of galvanometers before him.
In the control-room we also find the Sperry gyroscopic pitch- and-roll recorder. Magnetic measurements at sea are usually affected by small errors caused by rolling, pitching, and scending of the vessel. Though small, these errors are important where accurate determinations are desired of the distribution and of progressive changes in the Earth's magnetism — as on the Carnegie. A study based on records from this instrument has shown that when the vessel heads on any one of the four cardinal points of the compass, no error is introduced into the measurements. A record of the rolling and pitching of the ship during magnetic stations can be studied later at headquarters to detect these disturbing effects.
We have spent a long time in the cramped quarters of this little room, but one can see that in it lies the central nervous system of the magnetic and oceanographic equipment. A few steps down and we have left the quarter-deck. Standing in the waist of the ship we see curious nets hanging from the whale-boat platforms. These long cones of silk bolting-cloth are used to collect plankton.
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A SiLK-XET Coming Up after Being Towed from the Ship Used to collect the microscopic forms of life floating in the ocean.
44 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
They are towed from the ship during oceanographic stations, and may be lowered to any depth desired.
It is true that the lack of fishing and dredging equipment de- prived us of the excitement of bringing up fantastically shaped monsters from the deep. But in the plankton-nets we can catch a hundred bizarre forms to every one recovered from a dredge; we can find animals painted with all the colors of the rainbow, whereas the deep-sea organisms are either black or red. Anyone who has once seen these exquisite creatures through a microscope will never again envy the man with a deep-sea dredge.
A double boat-boom projects over the water from the fore rigging — a glorified pirates' plank, as someone has suggested. This boom-walk was similar to that used on Beebe's expedition. On calm days it may be lowered for the use of the biologist, who is thus able to dip up floating objects beyond the wash of the vessel.
A step over the high doorsill and we are in the chemical labora- tory. Here each water-sample is analyzed for salinity, phosphates, silicates, oxygen, and hydrogen ions. All these substances are intimately related to the life of plankton. We limited ourselves to such determinations as could be made on board, for we had no room to stow away samples for study ashore.
There were several unusual features about our chemical work. The salt-content of the sea-water was measured electrically by a resistance-bridge designed for our use by Dr. Wenner of the Bureau of Standards in Washington. By measuring the electrical re- sistance of a sample of sea- water, we are able to calculate its salinity. This method was regularly checked by the conventional titration of samples with silver-nitrate solutions.
The apparatus for measuring the so-called "hydrogen-ion con- centration" of sea-water at various depths was ingenious. It avoided the use of permanent color standards in test-tubes, and gave more accurate readings than are ordinarily obtained at sea. It was a modification of the double-wedge comparator described in technical journals by Barnett and Barnett.
To analyze for phosphates and silicates, chemicals are added to the specimen to bring about the development of a certain color, the intensity of which is a measure of the phosphate or silicate
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Seiwell at Work ix the Chemical Laboratory Analyses were made for many substances, like phosphates and oxygen, which are con- cerned in the life of the plankton.
46 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
present. After treating with the same chemicals a second solu- tion (whose composition is known) we have only to match the intensity of one color against the other to obtain a value for the unknown sample. The presence of as little as one part of phos- phate per billion parts of water can be detected in this way.
When the reports of the oceanographer, the chemist, the biologist are correlated, we have a good picture of the life of plankton. We can see what limits of temperature and salinity they tolerate; what substances they need for food; and what in- fluence variations in sunlight, oxygen, and acidity have on their growth.
The usual equipment of a chemical laboratory is more familiar and will be passed by. But there are, besides this, microscopes, dissecting instruments, and preservatives for the use of the biolo- gist.
Over in the corner of the room is a self-recording sea-water thermograph. This device keeps a continuous record of the changes in surface-temperature as we sail down the latitudes. A large bulb of mercury is mounted on the outside of the vessel's hull. It communicates with the recorder through a capillary tube. Any changes in the volume of the mercury in the system, due to changes in sea-temperature, are transmitted through a hollow coil-spring to a recording pen.
A short walk forward, a few steps up, and we are on the "bridge." From here we can look upward at the lofty rigging, more be- wildering in detail than many of our instruments. Or, we may look toward the forecastle-head and see, coiled on the deck, the two great hawsers which serve us for anchor-chains. But a weird object, suggesting an automaton in a brass helmet, stands at the center of the bridge, challenging attention. This is the "marine collimating-compass." It gives us the magnetic declination, or "compass-variation" as sailors call it.
The principles on which it operates are simple enough. We wish to find the angular difference between true geographic north and the magnetic north as indicated by the compass. We can use the Sun as our point of reference, since we know its true bearing from the ship by using the Nautical Almanac. In the
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collimating-compass, the card ordinarily viewed from above is replaced by a set of vertical scales which may be seen by looking horizontally through openings in the sides of the compass-bowl. An observer brings the image of the rising Sun, let us say, to one
The Wenxer Salinity-bridge An apparatus giving the salt-content in a sample of sea-water by measuring the resist- ance it offers to the passage of an electric current.
of these vertical scales with an ordinary sextant and measures the horizontal angle between them. With the Sun's image on the vertical scale he can make continuous readings of its posi- tion, as the compass swings back and forth with the roll of the
48 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
ship. By taking the mean of several hundred such readings he has made an accurate measurement from which the decHnation may be computed.
This instrument was designed by Peters and Fleming of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, and was made in its shop. The method is superior to older methods used at sea which de- pended on hasty readings taken as the Sun's image, or a shadow, flits across a moving compass-card on a rolling ship. Three ob- servers are required to take a declination-measurement. One man's duty has been described. A second reads the altitude of the Sun from time to time, for it seldom happens that weather- conditions are perfect exactly at sunrise or sunset, and corrections for altitude must be applied. The third observer is the recorder. He must be a sleight of hand artist, because he had to write down the readings of the other two and keep a second-to-second record of the time when each of these is made.
On the starboard wing of the bridge is located an apparatus for collecting the radioactive materials in the atmosphere, which are present in only infinitesimal amounts. When a measured volume of air is drawn through the collector over negatively charged metal foil, the desired particles are deposited on the foil because they carry a positive charge. Let us now follow the observer into the atmospheric-electric laboratory, where he will measure the amount of radioactive material collected. This electric laboratory is located just abaft the bridge, directly amid- ships. It is entered from the foot of the steps leading to the bridge. The observer places the metal foil in an ionization- chamber where the rate at which the radioactive material produces electrified particles or ions is measured. This rate is a direct measure of the amount of radioactive material collected.
Another instrument counts the ions normally present in the atmosphere, by extracting them from a measured volume of air. There are usually about 30,000 of these per cubic inch, but their origin is unknown. Under the action of the Earth's electric field, positive ions are traveling toward the Earth and negative ions upward into the air, giving rise to an air-earth electric cur- rent which makes no impression on our senses. The rate at
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which this interchange takes place would neutralize the Earth's negative charge in a very short time, were there no recharging agent. But radioactivity alone accounts for only a small part of the ions produced in the air.
The Fore-riggixg Looks very complicated from this angle — it is!
Recently, penetrating-radiation of "cosmic rays" have been shown to ionize the air. These exceedingly powerful rays can penetrate several feet of lead, and seem to originate entirely out- side our solar system. An apparatus carried on board measures the amount of this energy received by the Earth. However, it does not appear that this accounts for more than another fraction
50 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
of the ionization of the atmosphere or of the permanent negative charge of the Earth.
Intimately connected with the number of ions in the air is its electrical conductivity, or its ability to carry an electric current. It is measured in this laboratory with an automatic photographic recorder. A stream of air is drawn through a duct past a cylinder at its center. A small battery causes a current of one millionth of a millionth of an ampere to pass through the air, and a delicate electrometer measures the air's conductivity.
The air over the sea is much more free of dust than over land, but the influence of this pollution on the elements of atmospheric electricity is so great that systematic "dust-counts" must be made even far from land. Some years ago, when the volcano Krakotoa erupted, such quantities of dust were blown into the atmosphere that it took two years for it to settle over the Earth. Even in normal years pollution may vary from 1,000,000 particles per cubic inch to a few thousand. When dust is abundant the atmospheric conductivity is decreased and the potential gradient rises to as much as 300 volts per meter. The Aitken counter is used to determine the pollution of the atmosphere. When moist air is suddenly expanded, the water present condenses as droplets, provided some dust-particles are present to act as centers of condensation. In the Aitken counter, the droplets so formed are enumerated and not the dust-particles themselves. Not all dust is visible under a microscope, for it is believed that such particles as salt-spicules, and even aggregates of water or am- monia molecules, may act as condensation-centers.
In the chart-room under the bridge is the navigational equip- ment including sextants (sixteen of them), barometers, log books, marine charts, and pilot-books. There are six desks where the observers do their computing. Complete sets of graphs, tables, and calculating books are at hand to facilitate the work. These desks are always filled except when a magnetic or oceanographic station is being occupied; for a large part of our duties consisted in preparation of records. Large windows supply plenty of air and light to the men at work.
In the center of the chart-room stands the "standard compass,"
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Looking Down on the Bow from Aloft
52 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
which furnishes a correct reading for magnetic north. The "earth-inductor" in the forward dome, and the "deflector" in the after observatory, both use this compass for standard magnetic readings.
Visitors have often expressed surprise that such a well-equipped vessel had no gyroscopic compass, or "metal mike," as it is re- ferred to by sailors. The apparatus may be employed to actuate an auxiliary device, which is fast becoming standard equipment on ocean-liners, and steers the ship automatically on any desired heading. But on a sailing ship the course must be constantly changed to take advantage of wind and squalls. The gyroscope would have required precious power for operation, and would have introduced magnetic materials on board. For these reasons it was out of the question. Besides this, we were seldom trying to make a bee-line from one port to another.
We shall now climb into the forward observatory-dome to inspect the marine earth-inductor. It determines the "dip" of the magnetic needle, or inclination. It is essentially a rotating coil of wire which is connected to current or potential meters in the control-room. Any coil rotating in a magnetic field, with its axis perpendicular to the lines of force, will generate a current in the circuit in which it is placed. It is on this principle that ordinary dynamos operate, except that they use either permanent magnets or electromagnets, whereas we use the feeble magnetic field of the Earth.
If we move the coil around to such a position that its rotation axis is parallel to the lines of force (pointing exactly to the mag- netic pole), no current will be generated. This is true because the magnetic field is being cut so that the effect of one half of the coil exactly neutralizes the effect of the other. So when the observer in the control-room signals that no current is being produced, the man in the dome reads off the angle of inclination. In actual practice the procedure is somewhat more complicated than this.
In the after dome is the "deflector" which gives us the strength of the magnetic field acting on the compass-needle. Briefly, we balance the effect on the compass of a small magnet of known
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Using a Marine Collimating-Compassi On Cruise VI — Dr. L. A. Bauer, Director of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism (right), Capt. Ault standing at the instrument, and Dr. Franke recording.
54 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
strength against the eflPect of the Earth's magnetism. In other words, we find how far a measured artificial magnetic field de- flects the compass from its normal position.
Modern magnetic charts of all oceans are based largely on the work of the Carnegie. So promptly are our observations com- puted and forwarded to the world's hydrographers, that the "Variation Chart for 1930," published in October, 1929, by the United States Navy, included our measurements through Sep- tember. These charts are used, of course, by air-pilots as well as by mariners.
The cabin on the Carnegie occupies the space ordinarily used for cargo on a sailing ship. It can be entered by companion ways from the quarter-deck or from the chart-room. Although there are no port-holes, because the room is below the water-line, good ventilation and light are afforded by several large skylights. Everything possible was done to make our living quarters com- fortable. Each observer had his own stateroom, a wise pro- vision, because the working hours for some of the men were very irregular. Each one could decorate his room in his own way, and could secure a semblance of privacy.
In the cabin is the ship's library. There are books of reference, technical handbooks, general literature, and an extraordinary collection of books of polar exploration and oceanography. In addition, each man has ample space in his stateroom for his personal choice of reading.
There is a splendid phonograph with a good assortment of records, bought chiefly by the observers themselves. A card- table near the library was occasionally swept clear of typewriters and account books for a game of bridge or poker. Photograph albums and a highly-prized guest-book lie in a corner of the book-shelf. This register contains many famous names from every corner of the Earth, and was one of the two books rescued from the flames in Samoa.
The center of the room is taken up by our dining-table. Around this are eight ordinary cane-bottomed bent-wood chairs, with brass screws instead of iron ones. They are not fixed to the floor as in most vessels. This little detail did much to disguise
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Parkinson Making a "Dust-Count" Even over the oceans, far from land, the atmosphere is polluted by microscopic particles of dust — the presence of this material in the air affects the electrical conditions of the atmosphere.
the fact that we were cooped up in a ship. Anyone who has travelled in an ordinary steamer will know how uncomfortable the usual swivel-chair can be — made as it is to accomodate the
56 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
fattest passenger. Only on the very rough days was it necessary to brace ourselves at the table.
On the walls are several portraits, including one of Andrew Carnegie, autographed with the following inscription:
"Success to the wandering Yacht Carnegie whose world wide mis- sion is to correct the mistakes of others and ensure against shipwrecks."
But even the cabin cannot be kept free of scientific apparatus. Our chronometers lie in a row on green cushions under the book- shelves, with time-signal head-gear hanging above them. The constant-speed motor is here, with its shaft running forward to the earth-inductor. A barograph gives us a continuous record of changes in atmospheric pressure. And wedged between the dining-table and the book-shelves is the complicated pendulum- apparatus for measuring the force of gravity at sea.
This is no doubt the most delicate device on board. It has been long known that, in general, gravitational attraction varies with latitude, but certain irregularities which occur in the force of gravity over the face of the Earth still await explanation. Many determinations have been made on land, but only recently have successful attempts been made to measure the mysterious force at sea. Dr. Vening Meinesz of Holland, who designed this instrument, used it on a circumnavigation cruise in a submarine; and the United States Navy also loaned a similar vessel for this purpose. A sub-surface ship is free from the disturbing motion of the waves, and is much better suited to these studies than the Carnegie, although it was hoped that with smooth seas useful results might be obtained, even on a surface vessel.
Below the cabin and under the staterooms are water-tanks, specimen , bottles, preservatives, tents, a diving-helmet, and a general assortment of ship's gear. The wooden water-tanks kept our fresh water very sweet even on such long stretches as from Panama* to Callao, some three months at sea. The supply was carefully rationed, and a reserve tank always kept for emergen- cies. Each received about two quarts of fresh water daily for
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The Waist as Seen from the Royal-yard
58 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
washing hands and face, and the steward issued all that was needed for the galleys. Every man was entitled to a full bucket once a week for washing clothes, or for a fresh-water bath. On the shorter trips there was an abundance for all hands, but when rationing was strict we relied on rain squalls.
The galley for the staff mess lies just abaft the cabin. It was always the center of attraction for feminine visitors, for they all wished to see what a non-magnetic kitchen would look like. The kerosene stove is bronze, and all kettles and pans are either of copper or aluminum. On earlier cruises the cook's knives and the table cutlery were placed in the lazarette during magnetic observations; later it was found that this small amount of mag- netic material did not have any effect on the instruments situated in the domes. A small electric refrigerator is set back in a recess from the after-galley. It served to keep us in fresh food for only about a week after leaving port. Still, it was good to have cool water to drink for the remainder of the trip.
We now walk past the "office" on the opposite side of the companion way. Files of scientific records, correspondence, and accounts line the walls and smother the desk. There are also comptometers, typewriters, drafting instruments, and cupboards filled with blank forms for the observations. The bathroom is situated abaft the office. A great porcelain tub filling half the room served chiefly as a place to drain rain-soaked clothes, since we all preferred to take salt-water baths from a shower on deck.
Those who are interested in machinery might go up to the quarter-deck and descend through the hatch to the engine-room. The main engine is cast of bronze. It originally operated on gas produced from coal, but was later adapted to the use of gaso- line for fuel. In fact, the Carnegie was the first ocean-vessel equipped with a "gas-producer." It could take the ship 144 miles a day without the use of sails, on seven dollars worth of coal.
A small auxiliary gasoline engine connected to an electric generator furnishes power for our oceanographic and magnetic operations, as well as for radio, lighting, sounding, and recording instruments. Large storage-batteries are provided, since the
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demand for electric current is very heavy for such a small vessel. As a matter of fact, a considerable part of the gasoline fuel we carried was devoted to electric requirements.
Switch-panels for the sonic depth-finder, radio generator, and bronze winch, line the walls. A machine-shop containing a lathe leads off to one side while the photographic dark-room is wedged in between the gasoline-tanks and the battery-recess. A sail- locker and storage space for spare instrumental equipment are also accessible from the engine-room.
It is always a relief to leave the engine-room, for it is infernally hot. We ascend to the quarter-deck, step down into the waist of the ship on the port side, and enter the radio cabin. A short- wave experimental receiving set, built for us by the United States Naval Research Laboratory, brings us time-signals, weather- reports, and news from home. Our transmitter was powerful enough to keep us in communication with the United States almost every day, through the cooperation of amateurs. Special apparatus for making investigations of radio signal-strength is set up on the work-benches. The equipment is very complete, be- cause the radio operator had a unique opportunity for studying radio conditions at sea; he could correlate variations of signal - intensity with magnetic and atmospheric-electric changes. Regu- lar short-wave schedules gave us information about radio "skip- distances" over the oceans.
In recent years there has been considerable interest in the so- called "Kennelly-Heaviside conducting layer." This zone, situated some fifty or more miles above the Earth, is thought to be the path by which radio signals travel from place to place. Experiments at the Laboratory of the Department in Washington show that this layer varies in height from time to time, and can be located by "echo-sounding." It is hoped that the radio in- vestigations made on the Carnegie may add some information about this radio zone.
The American Radio Relay League with headquarters in Hart- ford recommended our first operator, Mr. Jones, and cooperated with us throughout the whole voyage. The value to us cannot be exaggerated of the services rendered by hundreds of amateurs throughout the world.
NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE WASHINGTON TO PLYMOUTH TO HAMBURG
The long months of planning and refitting were over. Sails were bent on the yards that for six years had been only roosts for the birds of the Potomac River. Provisions for six months were stowed in the lazarette aft. The whole array of scientific equipment had passed final tests. The carefully chosen crew of deep-water sailors had been broken in to new duties. All were impatient for the signal to cast off the lines which held us to the Seventh Street dock in Washington, our home port.
But it was not yet nine o'clock, our scheduled hour of depar- ture. Every moment was precious. There were last-minute instuctions, last-minute purchases. Friends and relatives had collected on the little wharf, until it fairly groaned. Men and women who had labored for weeks to prepare us for the three- year voyage, were on hand to see us off.
So on May 1, 1928, the seventh cruise of the Carnegie began. Whistles roared from the harbor craft, and pleasure boats jockeyed for position to escort us down the Potomac. At midnight we reached the mouth of the St. Mary's River in Chesapeake Bay, and anchored till dawn. We were to spend four busy days here, "swinging ship," to be sure that our magnetic instruments and standard compass were not influenced by the new oceanographic equipment. A magnetic station had been set up on shore where simultaneous magnetic observations were made. To ensure ideal conditions for the land-station, a magnetic survey of both sides of Chesapeake Bay had been completed a few days previously. Six "swings" of the ship on different headings were made, before everyone was satisfied that all was well.
The radio outfit was given its first trials here. Schedules were made with the Naval Research Laboratory and with headquarters of the American Radio Relay League. And throughout these four days, the atmospheric-electric instruments were being com- pared with similar ones ashore whose accuracy was well known.
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THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
The days spent here in the St. Mary's River had given the new observers an opportunity to become acquainted with their
Captain Ault and His Family Just before the Carnegie let go her moorings for the three-year cruise.
new duties. They now knew what a long day's work was involved in swinging ship, a procedure we were to repeat in many parts of the world. They learned the technique of intercomparison
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63
Dr. John C. Merriam, President of the Carnegie Institution of Washington,
Bidding Good-bye to Captain Ault
64 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
of instruments with those ashore, for in most of the ports of call this was to occupy a large portion of their time — especially where there were permanent observatories like those in Germany, Peru, Samoa, and Japan.
At dusk on May 5, all hands were summoned to heave up the anchor for the short trip to Hampton Roads — our first passage under sail. A stiff, steady breeze from astern bowled us along in grand style. Although we were not carrying full sail, we had the rare satisfaction of overtaking several steam vessels.
The three kittens prowled about over the sleeping forms of the members of the Laboratory staff in Washington, who had come along to test the instruments. There were no berths to spare, so these men had to sprawl over the deck on air-mattresses. But there were some of us who could not force ourselves to go below for well-earned sleep. The moonlight shone gorgeously on the smooth curves of the square sails, and the unthrobbing motion of the vessel was exhilarating.
We were anchored off Newport News by eight o'clock next morning, and were greeted at once by "bum-boats," little launches which were to be our inseparable companions in every port. They offered laundry service, taxis, provisions — everything we needed, and some things we did not.
Everyone was impatient to put to sea, so it was a great disap- pointment that we were forced to go into dry-dock here. The oscillator of the sonic depth-finder required some changes, and Mr. Russell of the Navy Yard in Washington had come to per- sonally supervise the work. It rained incessantly, many of us caught colds, and there was little to do after work was finished but to poke around in the cold cabin, stowing our personal effects for the sea-voyage.
Mr, Gilbert, Administrative Secretary of the Carnegie Institu- tion, and Mr. Fleming, the Acting Director of our Department in Washington, came down to see us off on May 10. We were towed out into the Roads, and set sails, while photographers on the tug made pictures. The breeze was just sufficient to give us steerage way. We had cast off our last ties with shore, and were at last headed for the open sea. Our last sight of land was Cape Henry at sunset.
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65
It was a real relief to settle down to our ocean routine. The hectic past months gave place to as simple a life as possible. Meal hours were so arranged that in spite of their various duties, the staff could eat together. The radio-operator and atmospheric electric observers occasionally kept irregular schedules which made this not always possible. The watch-officers and the Engineer had their mess in the wardroom forward; and the fore- castle was served from the same galley. The deck-force was separated into two watches, as is usual on a sailing ship ; the men spending four hours on and four off, with two "dog-watches" of two hours each between four and eight in the evening.
Scientific Staff Waving Good-bye On departure from Newport News, Virginia, for the three-year voyage.
Our first morning out. May 11, was chosen for the first magnetic station. The ship was now fifty miles off the coast and away from local disturbances ashore. At sunrise the officer on watch calls the observers to the bridge for the declination-observation. When they are assembled the ship's course is changed, if necessary, to keep the foresail from hiding the sun. Captain Ault and Torreson make readings of the marine collimating-compass; Erickson meas- ures altitudes of the sun with his sextant; and Scott enters each reading on special forms, with a time-record for each observation.
66 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
From these measurements we could tell how much the "variation" of the compass had changed since former cruises.
After breakfast is over, and when time-sights on the sun have been made for longitude, the observers take their places at the magnetic instruments in the domes. Soule stands at the earth- inductor; Torreson sits in the control-room on the quarter-deck; and Paul reads aloud the heading of the ship from the standard compass in the chart-room. This allows Soule to keep the rotating coil properly oriented. As Soule places the coil in vari- ous positions, Torreson reads the ammeter or potentiometer in the control-room. From here he also starts and stops the con- stant-speed motor which rotates the coil. These observers de- termine the "dip" or inclination of the dipping-needle.
Meanwhile, Scott is in the after dome at the deflector. He places magnets of known strength near his compass and reads off their effect upon it. Jones makes simultaneous readings of the standard compass in the chart-room, and records for Scott. These two men measure the strength of the earth's magnetic field.
The afternoon is occupied in calculating the values for the magnetic elements. The observers were furnished special forms for recording, and these were so printed as to make the necessary tabulations as simple as possible. The formulae used in computing appeared in these, together with space for entering data derived from tables. By using these sheets it was practically impossible to overlook essential control-records, such as air-temperatures and chronometer-reading. It is very easy to make these omis- sions when the observer's attention is directed primarily to the operation of the instrument itself.
For some of us the time-keeping on board was at first quite confusing. The ship's routine was operated on Local Apparent Time, with a resetting of clocks every morning at eleven. Many records were kept on Local Mean Time, others in Greenwich Mean Time. Then there was 75th Meridian Time for certain radio schedules, while a Sidereal-Time chronometer later became part of our equipment for gravity-observations. In addition, for the most accurate time-signal comparisons, an "offset chronometer" was added, that loses one second in sixty -five of mean time.
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67
The Carnegie Being Towed Out into the Potomac The start of Cruise VII,
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After the evening time-sight and dechnation-observation, we noticed a change in the color of the sea. It lost its grayish-green tint and became clear blue. The seawater thermograph had shown great variations in temperature for several hours, and now read 75° Fahrenheit. At noon it had been only 46°. We were in the Gulf Stream.
Whole volumes have been written about this "mighty river in the ocean" first charted by Benjamin Franklin just prior to the Revolutionary War. It had long been noticed that the time consumed in a western passage from England to America was considerably greater than for the return. But the Nantucket sea-captains, who were all acquainted with this current, had con- sistently been able to bring their heavy laden cargo-vessels to Boston many days sooner than the crack English mail-packets.
This state of affairs annoyed Franklin, who was then post- master, and he determined to investigate the cause. He con- ferred with the Nantucket whalers, and found that they were well aware of a "stream, on the edges of which they fish, and that if they do not find their game on one edge, they cross the stream, and try the opposite edge."
Franklin was not content with these reports, although the fishermen were able to give him the geographical limits of the current, in the neighborhood of New England. In his character- istic manner he set out to investigate it scientifically. He says: "A stranger may know when he is in the Gulf Stream by the warmth of the water; the warmth of that water, which the stream forms, being much greater than the warmth of the water on each side of it. If the navigator is bound to the westward, he should cross the stream, and get out of it as soon as possible; whereas, if you get into the Gulf Stream, you will be retarded by it at the rate
of sixty to seventy miles a day I have, in the course of
my passages to and from America, made several experiments with the thermometer on the warmth of the water within the Gulf Stream; and of the difference at the edges."
Franklin plotted the course and limits of the current, as he had measured them, on the chart hanging on the walls of the post- office. He advised all American shipping to use this knowledge
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69
in navigating the Atlantic. But when he forwarded such a map to the offices of the Enghsh mail-company, it was scorned; for did their captains not know more about sailing the Atlantic than a postmaster in the Colonies? When the Revolutionary War broke out, Franklin was well content that his advice was not followed.
Some Members of the Laboratory Staff Who lielped to equip the ship for Cruise VII — Mr. Fleming, Acting Director of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, in the center.
It was one of our chief aims to study these currents, which de- termine to a large extent the climate of the coasts of the world. London is six hundred miles north of New York, yet it has a milder winter, due to the warm ocean-currents from the south and west bathing the shores of England. So vast a capacity has the ocean for carrying heat, that even in Spitzbergen the influence of the "Gulf Stream" is felt.
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May 12 was for several reasons a memorable date in our cal- endar. We logged our best day's run of the cruise, 282 nautical miles, of which the current accounted for only six. Once out of sight of land we had met a glorious south wind which bounced us along over a smooth sea at ten to twelve knots — a propitious beginning for our three-year voyage.
In the afternoon we hove to for our first oceanographic station. The sea had become more choppy, and the wind was so strong that the ship drifted considerably. Nevertheless, we lowered our thermometers and collecting bottles in series to a depth of 2000 meters, and put out our silk-nets to capture plankton.
While we were hove to the giant Italian liner Conte Grande appeared on the horizon, and changed her course so as to pass our stern by a few hundred yards. The rails were lined with passengers who shouted their greetings and frantically waved their handkerchiefs. It seemed that they were as glad to see us as they would have been to see the Statue of Liberty — the Ameri- can flag flying from our masthead was to them a symbol of the New World to which they were going. They would have been surprised indeed had they waited to see the "fish" we were catch- ing with our long lines: temperatures, hydrogen ions, chemical salts, and plankton. Certainly less exciting game than bizarre deep-sea monsters, but more valuable to science.
We encountered difficulties at the very outset. The releasing devices for the tow-nets were found to be too feeble for the strain caused by the rapid drift of the ship. This meant that we could only determine the kind of plankton in the sea, but not the num- ber of each kind — until we obtained our plankton-pump from Nor- way.
The thermometers chosen for the lowest Nansen bottles were of too low a range. We had expected much lower temperatures in the deeps than we actually encountered at this station. Ordi- narily the water from the bottom is only two or three degrees above freezing, while the surface may be as warm as 82° Fahren- heit.
The sea was too rough for microscopic study of the plankton- catches. But we could get some idea of the gorgeous colors and
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71
Scott at the "Deflector" An instrument to measure the strength of the Earth's magnetic field in different parts of the world.
^ y-^ S^oW»/. GT Bask
r ■ , i V N'-v.- l"'tn nil l.Tnrt
Franklin's Chart of the Gulf Stream In the lower right-hand corner we see Franklin discussing this "mighty river in the ocean" with Neptune; the notation "4 minutes" means that the flow is four miles per hour in the direction indicated.
72 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
tremendous variety of form displayed by these tiny organisms, when we held the sample bottles to the light.
Since this Atlantic crossing was intended to be a "shake-down" cruise, and we were to take aboard several essential oceanographic instruments in Germany, we will not describe the routine of a station until later. Nevertheless, the salinity of each sample was measured by Soule, with the electric resistance-bridge; and Seiwell determined phosphates, silicates, and hydrogen-ion con- centration.
While May 12 gave us our best day's run, May 13 demonstrated what strong currents may be encountered, for we made 69 sea- miles due east from this cause alone.
The ship had been supplied with a solarimeter, for ineasuring the quantity of radiation reaching the earth from the sun. We gave it a first trial on the 13th, but it was at once apparent that conditions would not be favorable for using it on a sailing ship. The effects of rolling and pitching were minimized by mounting in gimbals the sensitive photoelectric cell; but the greatest dif- ficulty was shade cast by the rigging, and back reflection from the lofty sails. After a few more trials it was found impracticable. The information it gives is used in studies of world-weather. It would have made an excellent adjunct to our meteorological program, for we were concerned with heat-transfers between sea and air, and with evaporation-rates in various regions.
For a week following our first oceanographic station we had wretched weather and rough seas, and we did not risk losing equip- ment to occupy a second station. However, the observers were busy enough working up the results of the first, and getting ac- quainted with their new duties. Besides this, many of us had to restow our equipment to avoid breakage in the ugly seas we were entering. Fortunately, we suffered no serious damage from breakage during the whole cruise.
During this time echo-soundings were made at regular intervals, and the magnetic and electric observations were not seriously interrupted. Parkinson obtained valuable records of the electric state of the atmosphere, in spite of the miserable working con- ditions. He had also made many counts of the "dust-particles"
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73
in the air. The automatic recording apparatus for potential gradient, which had been mounted at the masthead, was moved
Captain Ault about to Remove a "Nansen Bottle"
Contains a sample of sea-water obtained from the deep — the thermometers attached to the bottle give the temperature at the level at which the bottle was reversed.
to the taffrail over the stern, for the motion in the former location was too violent for smooth operation. Experiments with the
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earth-inductor were continued. We hoped eventually to use it for determining the strength of the earth's magnetic field, as well as the inclination or "dip." This work promised favorable results, but only a long series of comparisons with the deflector would finally prove its reliability.
While we had been anchored in St. Mary's River, a gyroscopic stabilizer had been installed on the earth-inductor. It was hoped that this device, in addition to the gimbal-mountings, might make the coil more independent of the ship's motion than the gimbals alone. But all attempts to use it had failed, because the strain when the constant-speed motor was started or stopped was too severe on the shafting. Several changes in design would be necessary before it could have been employed, and after a few more trials it was discarded for the time being.
Living conditions aboard became more and more miserable, due to the continuous rains. The unusual strains on the deck amidships, occasioned by the weight of the whale-boats, had opened up tiny cracks which allowed a slow seepage into the staterooms. We ate, slept, and worked in wet quarters. It was almost more comfortable to don oilskins and fish for surface speci- mens with a dip-net, in the rain. We picked up a large number of interesting fish in this way.
Portuguese men-of-war would float by, always with a little colony of fish swimming beneath them. It appeared to us that that these fish fed on the tentacles of the "host." But when the creatures were scooped up together in a dip-net the fish became entangled in the stinging threads and paralyzed by the men of war. Again, we would drop the submarine light into the water at night and capture the floating life attracted to it. Jellyfish were very abundant, many of them luminous. They often re- sponded like a flashlight chorus on the stage, when we switched on the depth-light for a moment. During these days, whenever the speed of the vessel was reduced, we dropped over standard silk plankton-nets to collect surface life.
On the morning of May 18 we occupied our second ocean- ographic station. It failed, because of the strong wind and rough seas. The ship was drifting as much as three miles per hour
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Seiwell Inspecting a Plankton-catch These minute animals and plants display every color of the rainbow and an infinite variety of forms
with only enough sail to keep her hove-to. The bottle wire stretched out to windward at an angle of 50° from the vertical, and it was not feasible to reach down more than 400 meters.
76 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
This meant that the messengers descended too slowly to reverse the bottles. Under conditions of this kind it is impossible to determine accurately the depth of each bottle from the length and angle of the wire, so the pressure-thermometers we carried became indispensable.
The first week had been wet, but the second was rough as well, for we struck a series of gales, some reaching storm force. When the first one came, on May 18, those who had boasted of having found their sea-legs had a disconcerting surprise. Torreson scored twice. During the afternoon, while taking the time-sight on the quarterdeck, he was thrown violently from his feet and landed with a crash against the rail. His presence of mind saved the sextant, for as he sprawled down the deck he thrust the in- strument beneath the rail and held on until he could collect him- self. Only a few hours later, in the cabin, he was thrown back- ward out of a chair, and against the bureau in his stateroom. Only the fact that his door was open saved him from serious injury.
Paul meanwhile had braced himself at a computing desk in the chart-room. When a sudden lurch hurled him out of his seat, he grabbed the table-top and saved himself from a crash. But his desk was wrecked, for the wood gave way and split clean down the middle, spilling ink and papers over chart-room floor.
By this time the first watch-officer had become disgusted with our unseamanlike behavior, and greeted each flop with picturesque language. It was a breach of etiquette to enter the chart-room from the windward side, as this invariably blew all the papers off the computers' desks. Occasionally one of the party would break the rule, only to meet Mr. Erickson's withering look, and to hear him mutter some remark about farmers on board!
The third oceanographic station, on May 23, brought its dif- ficulties. The deep-series of sample bottles failed to reverse because some fibrous deep-sea organism, possibly a siphonophore, arrested the messenger on its way down. We thought this an unusual event at the time, but it was to prove one of our com- monest annoyances.
That same night we watched the barograph make its first real
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77
tumble. It was rough enough already, but some real weather was ahead. By dawn a fresh gale was whipping the sea into a frenzy, and we had to heave to for it to moderate. A torrent of rain fell after the blow, to trickle its way to our book-shelves and bunks. All attempts to stop the leaking failed; for permanent relief we must await repairs in port. Meanwhile the ingenuity of the party was directed to deflecting the streams of water to the floor of the cabin by the least damaging route. Glass funnels, rubber tubing, towels, pots, pans, canvas troughs, were all used
The Carnegie Running before the Wind On an earlier cruise.
in an attempt to save our personal effects, and to give us dry beds. In the end either they were successful, or else we had become ac- customed to living under water, for we went about our work un- concerned. Captain Ault did much to keep us in high spirits by promising days of beautiful weather and moonlight nights in the tropics. Our daily radio contacts with home helped as well.
On May 27 we saw the most perfect solar halo of the cruise. There were grand arguments between members of the crew as to what it presaged. Some thought it a sign of better weather, but the gloomier predictions prevailed. On the next day we had the
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worst storm of the passage. We were forced to heave to and ride it out. Several of the bronze fittings in the rigging were carried away. However, damage was not so serious that emergency repairs could not be made. The vessel was having a bad time of it. Time and time again seas swept the quarter-deck, something which had rarely occurred on previous cruises. This was prob- ably due to the load carried aft. The new winch, generators, batteries, and so on, used for our oceanographic work, weighed many tons.
The fogs that set in on the 30th did not add to the joy of life. They interrupted the declination-observations, and kept a man busy day and night at the hand-operated foghorn. It began to look bad for our schedule. We had left Newport News nine days late, and the head-winds we were encountering gave us a run, one day, of 17 miles. In fact, we averaged only 29 miles a day during the first week in June.
But on May 31 we had splendid conditions for the oceanographic station. The wind had dropped almost to a calm. We collected the first bottom-sample of the cruise. The snapper was lowered at the end of the bottle wire, and brought up light gray ooze from almost 3000 meters. This material, which consists of the skeletons of untold billions of tiny globigerina organisms, covers the greater part of the ocean-bottom, and is often deposited in layers many feet deep.
In the following words Captain Ault describes our fight to gain entrance to the English channel:
"And so through the storms, calms, and head- winds of the North Atlantic we approached our first port, Ply- mouth, England. But first we were made to feel the temper of the Old Man of the Sea. For ten days before we could enter the English Channel, we had to tack back and forth, and run the engine against a wind which seemed nailed down to the east point of the compass. When we were within a few hours of Bishop Rock Light, Scilly Islands, it began to rain; fog and mist closed in on us, and we were compelled to stand out to sea as we had repeatedly done.
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"After several hours, the weather cleared sufficiently for us to head in again and at midnight to pick up the light, thus giving us our landfall and departure up the Channel for Plymouth. A fair wind took us to within ten miles of Plymouth, whereupon it began to rain once more. The fog shut down, a gale began to blow from ahead, and we were on the point of heading out to sea as safety had compelled u& to do again and again.
"The square-sails were taken in, the engine was started; order had been given to tack out away from shore, when, in a momentary lifting of the fog, I sighted the headland two miles west of Plymouth Harbor. We kept on, slowly forging ahead against the storm. Fi- nally, just before dusk we slipped safely inside the break- water where we found the pilot awaiting us. However, even here we had difficulty, for the new cable of the port anchor was so stiff and hard and wet from bad weather that it kinked and could not be let out rapidly enough to fetch the vessel up against the gale. The starboard anchor was let go just in time to avoid danger.
"For the next two days a terrific wind blew from the south. Had we not been lucky enough to weather the Channel when we did, it would have sent us hurrying back to sea for another week; for a sailing ship depends upon wind and weather for safety as well as for progress from port to port."
At no time during the remainder of the cruise was the sight of shore more welcome than on the morning of June 8. It had been tantalizing to spend a week of rain and fog almost within sight of land, with only patches of seaweed and their swarms of large crustaceans to prove that our voyage was nearly over. We skirted the coast of Cornwall all day from Lizard Head to Eddy- stone Light outside of Plymouth. The light on the Lizard was a familiar sight to the veterans of former cruises. They had once seen its rays reflected on the clouds at a distance of sixty-two miles.
The vivid green of the pastures, interrupted here and there by jutting promontories of rock and the dazzling white of light- house towers, made this short sail one of the most beautiful of the entire cruise. Steam-vessels of every nation, fishing-boats
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Paul Withdrawing Samples of Sea-Water for Chemical Analysis Such specimens were obtained down to a depth of three miles at some stations.
with colored sails, trawlers performing their mad dance in the waves, all welcomed us as they passed by. But of most interest to us was a square-rigged sailing ship with auxiliary steam-power, which passed us some two miles away. She was the Massachu-
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setts Nautical training-ship, the Nantucket, making her annual cruise. One of the boys in training, who was aboard that day, later joined us as a seaman.
We had not been long at anchor in the harbor when we were greeted in the name of the British Navy by Captain Arnold. He offered us any possible aid while we were in English waters. We also sent ashore a cablegram to headquarters telling of our safe arrival. This was necessary beause while in port we were not permitted to transmit our own radiograms. The office in Washing- ton kept on file a list of the addresses of our families and friends, so that our message was promptly relayed.
Early next morning we were towed into the inner harbor. This trip, ordinarily uninteresting, was thrilling on this occasion. The powerful tug whisked us through the narrow tide-gate at a ter- rific clip, only to find that we had gathered too great momentum to stop in the confines of the small basin. A hawser was thrown ashore to check our mad pace before we crashed into the dock at the further end. It snapped, but only after it had slowed us up considerably. A second hawser did the trick, and we found ourselves tied up to the Millbay railroad wharf.
With what joy we stepped ashore! But the ground did not feel so solid, after all. It took some hours for the sidewalks of Plymouth to settle down for us, so accustomed had we become to the gentle rise and fall of the Carnegie's decks. None of us will forget that first meal of lamb chops, fresh vegetables, and Devonshire cream! Plymouth was not exciting. There was more than enough to do on board during the day — computing, preparing records for mailing, answering official correspondence, and so on; but in the evening we found quiet enjoyment in poking around the historic spots of the city, or in bicycle rides over the moors of Devonshire.
Scott usually found himself the busiest man in port, because it was through him that orders for provisions, or for repairs, were issued. He also had charge of pay disbursements and account- books, to say nothing of typing the numerous letters sent to headquarters. It was always a rule on the Carnegie to analyze and put in form the scientific data collected on each leg of the
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The Carnegie at Plymouth After a tempestuous voyage across the Atlantic — she is lying at the berth once occu- pied by the Danish training-ship the Kobenhavn which was lost with all hands while the Carnegie was in the Pacific.
The Stone Commemorating the Sailing of the Pilgrim Fathers It forms part of the pavement at the boat landing of the fishing-harbor.
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cruise, for the immediate use of hydrographers and oceanographic workers ashore. This feature of our routine kept the other ob- servers occupied throughout our stay ashore.
For example, tables were drawn up showing the values of declination, horizontal intensity, and inclination, as given by the latest British, German, and American charts for the regions traversed by the ship. Against these we tabulated the measure- ments made on the voyage, so that errors in the charts might be corrected in future editions. Differences of as much as 1?5 in declination were discovered on the passage from Newport News, with corresponding errors in the other elements. This serves to emphasize the importance of repeated surveys of the earth's magnetism, to determine the changes constantly taking place in the distribution of this mysterious natural force.
All of us had an opportunity for visiting the famous Marine Biological Laboratory of the United Kingdom, located in Ply- mouth. Dr. Allen, the director, generously put the facilities of the laboratory at our disposal, and we had many occasions for taking advantage of the invitation. Dr. Atkins, the chemist of the group, offered many useful suggestions in connection with our work. We had a chance to inspect their research vessel, the Salpa, and to critically compare methods. The physiological researches being made in Pylmouth impressed us as much as the magnificent collections of marine life displayed in the buildings.
We owe to Dr. Allen and Dr. Atkins two of the most delightful evenings of the cruise. Both of these gentlemen symbolized in our minds that genuine hospitality we found in almost every port we visited. Dr. Allen invited the members of our party to a dinner at the Grand Hotel, superbly situated, overlooking the beautiful harbor. After the meal he escorted us through Old Plymouth. We visited, among other places of interest, the 16th century custom-house; the old Blackfriars monastery, now used as a distillery; and the Mayflower stone beside the quaint fishing harbor, marking the spot from which the Pilgrim Fathers set out to the New World.
Soon afterwards Dr. Atkins invited us to his home in St. Anthony's Parish, Cornwall. Visits to private dwellings were to
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The Beautiful Boat-harbor at Plymouth Showing the characteristic fishing-boats that operate in the English Channel.
The Ferry to Cornwall
Used on visit to Dr. Atkins' home in St. Anthony's Parish — the ferry moves along two chains lying on the bottom of the river.
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prove for us the most appreciated of entertainments. The charm- ing country-phice of Dr. Atkins, situated beside an ancient 9th century church in a quaint Cornish vilhige, will forever typify in our minds the English ideal of a home. Lovely walks between the characteristic hedges radiated out from the local tavern "St. Anthony's Bells." Beside the highway on the western shore of the Tamar River grew a magnificent oak tree, whose beauty so fascinated us that we returned to photograph it the next day.
This Fifteenth-century Building, Formerly Part of the Dominican Monastery "Black friars" — now the home of the famous Plymouth Gin.
Like the giant sequoias we were to see in California, it must have had many tales to tell of the past. It had doubtless looked se- renely down on the successive invasions of England a thousand years before the Pilgrim Fathers sailed out of Plymouth.
Our first Siuiday was devoted to an all-day motor-trip through Devonshire. It did much to satisfy our hunger for a taste of the green landscapes for which this country is famous. We struck out inland over the rolling moors north and east of Plymouth; lunched at Exeter; and returned along the coast through Dawlish
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and Torquay. At the Rougement Hotel in Exeter we had our first serious difficulties with pounds, shillings, and pence. Tor- reson had been chosen treasurer for the occasion. On settling the bill he nonchalantly waved aside as a tip the change from a Bank of England note, only to realize a moment later that the waiter received as much as the hotel for the hearty meal we had been served! If any of us ever return to Exeter we will know where to get prompt service!
The Cathedral at Exetek Visited by the staff of the Carnegie while on their Sunday excursion into Devonshire.
The following day we installed the newly purchased Negretti and Zambra recording psychrometer in the Stevenson metero- logical shelter on the quarter-deck. This instrument gives us a continuous record of the changes of humidity. The air is drawn over the "wet" and "dry" bulbs by an electric fan, for the ac- curacy of the readings depends to a large extent on the ventilation of the bulbs.
During these days groups of technical students came aboard to inspect our equipment and to hear about our work. It was
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always a pleasure to show these men about the ship, for they seemed to carry away a wider vision of the mission of science, whether or not they were personally interested in geophysics or oceanography.
Soon after our arrival in Plymouth, Parkinson was called to London on account of the illness of his father. He found Mrs. Parkinson and his son there, who had left Washington soon after we did. They were about to leave for Australia, where they were to await Mr. Parkinson's arrival in December, 1929. It had been planned that Mr. Johnston, in charge of the Watheroo Magnetic Observatory, would relieve him in Sydney.
A few days later. Captain Ault, Soule, and Jones also went to London, on business for the Carnegie. On the voyage across the Atlantic one of the cells of the salinity-bridge was found to have too high a resistance, and it was hoped that the National Physical Laboratory at Teddington might be able to correct the condition. Jones purchased some radio supplies not available in Plymouth. Before returning they saw a delightful musical comedy, "Clowns in Clover," containing a song which became one of the favorites on board, "Little Boy Blues."
On June 16 we were paid a visit by Sir Frank Dyson, Astrono- mer Royal of England, who came down from London especially to see us. He was well acquainted with the work of the vessel, and had known Mr. Parkinson, who was at one time employed at the observatory in Greenwich. Our distinguished guest stayed aboard for tea and dinner, and made a very thorough inspection of the equipment. He was apparently as delighted with the vessel and our prospects as we were to have him with us.
The second Sunday gave some of us a chance to visit the pic- turesque villages on the Cornish coast. Paul had gone ahead the night before on his bicycle, and expected to meet the others at Looe for a trip to the fascinating village of Polperro. But through some blunder in meeting the bus the connection was not made, and he proceeded alone, leaving the others to explore the seaside resort at Looe.
At this place there are tide-pools which are happy hunting grounds for the marine biologist. Almost the whole range of
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Sir Frank Dyson, Astronomer Royal of England
Paid the Carnegie a visit during the stay in Plymouth — Parkinson at one time worked in the Greenwich Observatory under Sir Frank Dyson's direction.
90 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
species characteristic of English shore-Hfe are found on these weed- covered flats: limpets and sea-anemones, blennies and sea-cu- cumbers, prawns and algae.
The town of Looe itself is built upon the cliffs surrounding the boat-harbor. One looks down at the tiny fishing-boats, propped up with stilts at low tide, or careened over on their beam-ends. Great racks along the waterfront display the drying nets; and over the whole scene innumerable screeching gulls whirl and dive for the morsels of fish discarded by the fishermen.
Polperro is a town of the imagination. At every turn one expects to meet a pirate, or a wrecker returning gaily from his nefarious business of dismantling a ship put aground by the falsifying of lights along the shore. Some of the quaint houses are no more than niches cut out of the precipitous walls of the gorge. Others perch on stilts on the mud-flats below. Polperro justifies its claim of being the most paintable village in Cornwall. Certainly there are no thrills left for a cyclist who has once ped- alled over the crazy cliff roads surrounding the village. And anyone who has navigated a bicycle with brakes on the front wheel will appreciate how exciting a twenty per cent grade can be, when the path is but ten inches wide, and a hundred-foot cliff begins two or three feet to one side!
Before we left Plymouth, Dr. Allen of the Marine Biological Laboratory informed us that a complete set of the reports of the famous Challenger Expedition had arrived, and he invited us to take them with us for our work. This set, numbering about sixty large tomes, had been collected for us by the Royal Society. The task was not simple, for many of the volumes had been long out of print and for that reason were almost priceless. But to safely stow away aboard the Carnegie such a bulky library was out of the question. Each member of the party took only those volumes which would be most useful in his work, leaving the others ashore. The destruction of these books in the fire at Samoa must be considered one of the major losses of equipment.
By June 18 the necessary repairs had been completed, provisions had been stowed away, the scientific records were mailed to the United States, and we were ready to square the yards for the short
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voyage to Hamburg. At high tide we were towed out past the breakwater, picked up a gentle westerly breeze, and headed for the narrow Straits of Dover. The channel was smooth all the way, and with fair winds and no fog we made splendid progress through the narrow waters always dangerous for a sailing ship.
Entering the Elbe River
Fog shut down a few moments later and we played hide-and-seek with the pilot-boat — • an officer on a passing ship sent us this photograph when we arrived in Hamburg.
On this passage no complete oceanographic stations were oc- cupied, but Seiwell collected many samples of surface water for phosphate-analysis.
The breeze hauled ahead as soon as it had put us safely past the Straits, and the whole North Sea passage was made by use of the engine. We passed the chalk cliffs of Dover just as they were tinted with rose by the sun rising ahead of us. Everything went well along the Dutch and German coasts, the lights being easily identified. But when we were about to pick up the light-
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ship at the mouth of the Elbe River, fog and rain blotted out all landmarks. We knew that a pilot-vessel must be waiting for us somewhere in the offing, but it was hopeless to find her now. From time to time a passing steam-vessel gave us a clue to the proper course, but the strong flood-tide made us uneasy lest we should drift on to a sand-bank. For a moment the fog lifted, and we caught a glimpse of a tall mast off the bow, toward which we headed in the hope that it might be our pilot-vessel Only after a long game of hide and seek did we finally locate her. Our guess was right, and we were now sure of a safe entrance to the Elbe.
Once inside the river we picked up a tug-boat and enjoyed a beautiful fifty-mile trip up the busy river. We had a splendid view of summer resorts and yacht-clubs which lined the banks, and we exchanged greetings with giant liners passing us on their way to the four corners of the world.
At dusk we reached Hamburg. What indescribable traffic congestion! The water was alive with tugs and barges darting here and there like water-spiders, always avoiding collision by a hair's breadth. We had to elbow our way in to a berth on the Vorsetzen to get a good seat for the fascinating spectacle. Our mooring-lines were hardly made fast when Dr. Sverdrup, the well-known explorer of the Geophysical Institute at Bergen, Nor- way, jumped aboard to bid us welcome. He had come down to Hamburg, with his bride, to help us install the new oceanographic equipment we were to take aboard here. Dr. Sverdrup, as a Research Associate of the Carnegie Institution, had been con- sulted frequently during days when the expedition was being planned, for he had a rich oceanographic experience. It was always pleasant to have a familiar face to greet us in foreign ports, the more so in a country new to the Carnegie, such as Germany.
Early the following morning we received a most hearty welcome from the German Government and many scientific societies. Dr. Wilhelm Blaschke, Rector of the University of Hamburg; Admiral Dominik, President of the German Hydrographic Of- fice; Dr. Kurt Burath, magnetician of the same institution; Dr. Defant, Director of the German Oceanographic Institute in Berlin — all called in turn to offer us any possible aid in the prose-
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cution of our researches. Dr. Defant, as special representative of the State of Prussia, invited us to BerHn to a joint meeting of the Geographical and Oceanographic Societies, which had been called in our honor, and asked Captain Ault to deliver a lecture on the program of the Carnegie. Dr. Burath was designated our official host throughout our stay in Germany, and was tireless in his attention to our needs. He supplied official automobiles
Welcomed in Germany by Government Officials and Leaders of Scientific
Societies
Left to right: Dr. Burath and Admiral Dominik of the German Seewarte; Dr. Sver- drup of the Geophysical Institute at Bergen, Norway; Captain Ault; and Dr. Defant, Leader of the German Atlantic Expedition of the Meteor, and Director of the Institute of Oceanography in Berlin.
whenever we desired them, and a large launch for our magnetic work down the river; he acted as guide in our visits about the city, and called many times daily to inquire after our comfort. We were swept off our feet by this unexpected cordiality on the part of our German scientific colleagues. It was apparent on every hand that the twenty -five years of research carried on by our Department in Washington was nowhere appreciated more than here.
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Later on that morning we paid our first visit to the Deutsche Seewarte, a combined hydrographic and meteorological institu- tion, proudly situated on a hill overlooking Hamburg harbor. This organization is justly famous for its progressive and meticu- lous research into problems of marine and aerial navigation.
With one accord the members of the Seewarte staff shook our hands in the heartiest manner, as "fellow countrymen of Matthew Fontaine Maury"! It must be admitted that some of us were
The Carnegie Party at the Hagenbeck Zoo, Hamburg
In the front row are Dr. and Mrs. Sverdrup, the superintendent of the park, and Dr. Burath of the Seewarte.
mystified at first. As we came in we had noticed a bust promi- nently displayed at the entrance to the building, and this was pointed out to us as Maury's statue. It only goes to show how a prophet is without honor in his own country. Had not Maury created with his own hands the modern science of marine meteor- ology.^ Had he not made the first modern bathy metric charts .^^ Had he not developed the electrically controlled submarine-mine as a defensive weapon in warfare.'^
The time was too short to see more than the magnetic and oceanographic divisions of the institution, because a tour of the
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city had been arranged for us. That afternoon several resplend- ent Benz cars drove up to the gang-plank. The liveried chauf- feurs, wearing the insignia of the Free City of Hamburg and
Dr. Burath, Official Host, Hamburg
Before the hangars of the great aviation-company, the Deutsche Lufthansa — several of our party were invited to fly over the city in the company's splendid planes.
carrying the flag of the city on their machines, took the right of way through the busy afternoon traffic. No doubt about it — we were welcome in Hamburg.
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We drove through the busy waterfront streets, past the beauti- ful residential sections near the Alster, to the outskirts of the city, and found ourselves at the Hagenbeck Zoological Park. Dr. and Mrs. Sverdrup were with us, and Dr. Burath accompanied us as host. A moment later and we were on our way through the fascinating display of animal life, with the Superintendent per- sonally acting as guide. This park is unique. Each group of animals lives in surroundings made artificially to resemble its native habitat. The collection is more complete than any other in the world. It even contains prehistoric monsters cast in cement in the most lifelike of poses. There are about thirty men con- stantly in the field bringing back new animals or replacing older ones.
The Hagenbecks supply animals to circuses all over the world, and the young performers are trained here in their own kinder- garten. The little creatures troop out in groups and receive their instruction, just as children do: they are spanked when naughty, and get extra big helpings of dessert if they do their work well ! The park is worth a long visit — even to the busiest visitor to Germany.
The following day was Sunday, so we accepted Dr. Burath's invitation to spend it in the magnificent country north and east of the citv. The same official cars were on hand, and we tore through the streets, with flags flying. Traffic police gave us the right of way as before, and saluted as we whizzed by. If we ever suffered from inferiority complexes, this treatment cured us once for all.
Our drive took us over rolling farm lands, through the famous Bismarck Woods, into Schleswig-Holstein, and out upon charming lake-country roads. We were continually arguing whether to penetrate further the rich country, or to stay a little longer at some charming cross-roads inn.
The day was not over at sundown. We were to taste the night- life of Hamburg. Certainly none of us have ever lived in a city which so abounds in evening entertainments. There are operas or Inlays for the more serious minded ; cafes which serve symphonies with the pastry; midnight revues and cabaret-dancing; and for
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those who would entertain themselves an endless list of taverns and night-clubs with American jazz orchestras for dancing.
Even by Monday we had not come down out of the clouds. The famous aviation concern, the Deutsche Lufthansa, invited some of us to fly over the city in one of their cabin-planes. It was Mrs. Sverdrup's first flight, but her anxiety was soon dispelled when the giant air-liner smoothly roared its way off the ground.
The earlier part of the morning had been spent in an inspection of the various meteorological establishments in Hamburg. We called at the Seewarte for the second time to see the meteoro- logical section at work. One of their most interesting activities is the preparation of pilot-charts for the upper air. German aviators have this wonderful organization working for them day and night. Observers are trained here, and send up pilot-bal- loons from the decks of German liners bound for all parts of the world. The results of these observations are published within a few hours of their receipt by radio, along with the reports of the numerous stations in Europe. It is apparent that the Germans are laying the foundations of a great over-seas air commerce. Ocean flying to South America, on a commercial scale, is upper- most in their minds.
We later drove out to the meteorological observatory at Gross- borstel, where we saw the experimental wind-tunnels in operation, and a pilot-balloon ascension. We were keenly interested, for we were soon to do this work ourselves in the Pacific.
The busy morning ended with an official luncheon held in our honor in the Rose-room of the Town Hall. The elaborate affair was attended by many of our colleagues at the Seewarte and the University, most of whom spoke English fluently. Choice wines and tobaccos were provided for those who desired them, and a round of speeches of felicitation ended the ceremony. Captain Ault answered in his best style the toasts for our party.
The feeling of comradeship which was present at this gathering was very genuine. These men, who had for years followed eagerly the scientific studies of the Carnegie Institution in jour- nals, took this opportunity for showering us personally with their gratitude. Their final act of appreciation was the presenta-
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tion of a photograph of Maury's statue, which stands at the entrance to the Hydrographic Office. This picture was placed on the wall of the cabin, when we returned.
During the speeches in German which followed the dinner, some of us had difficulty in keeping our eyes on the speaker. The ceiling was decorated with full length paintings of the daugh- ters of the successive mayors of Hamburg. Each buxom lass was posed as a rose in a thorny bush — and from this feature of the decorations the room derives its name.
On June 26, Captain Ault, Dr. and Mrs. Sverdrup, Parkinson, Torreson, and Paul, proceeded to Berlin where they were to at- tend the special joint meeting of the Geographical and Oceano- graphic Societies, and to confer with various scientists in con- nection with our work and new equipment. Parkinson took some of his instruments along, which he was to compare with those at the Potsdam Magnetic Observatory and elsewhere. The party was met at the station in Berlin by Dr. Defant and Dr. Wiist, who had reserved hotel rooms for them. The evening was spent in informal conferences with these distinguished scientists.
While they were in Berlin, Seiwell was visiting the famous Marine Biological Station on Heligoland; and Soule, Scott, and Jones were busy in Hamburg installing new apparatus on board, and surveying a site for a shore magnetic station to be occupied a few days hence.
The party in Berlin spent the morning of June 27 inspecting the Institute of Oceanography. They had the good fortune to meet personally the various members of the great German At- lantic Expedition of the Meteor, and to profit by the practical knowledge these men had acquired in their recently completed three-year cruise of the South iVtlantic. The offices of this ex- pedition were extremely busy, for they aimed to complete the publication of their scientific results within five years — a stupen- dous task. This visit was a very profitable investment of our time. We could get here a fine perspective of the whole field of oceanography, and could see the correlation of the physical, chemical, and biological phases of the science. The immediate results of these conferences were numerous. We modified some
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of our equipment, ordered additional instruments, and accepted the loan of some of their most satisfactory devices.
While making the rounds of this institution, we were paid a visit by Mr. Richter and Mr. Wiese, renowned makers of deli- cate glass instruments. They had supplied us with our deep- sea reversing-thermometers, and many other highly specialized pieces of equipment. It was almost uncanny to meet these two gentlemen in the flesh; for in our minds they had heretofore been "Richter and Wiese," an impersonal, superhuman firm which did unbelievable things with glass. We placed an order for ad- ditional pressure-thermometers, and turned over to them the difficult task of reducing the resistance of the third cell of the salinity-bridge, which we had failed to repair in London. Cap- tain Ault also commissioned them to make duplicate surface-film thermometers for the evaporation-apparatus on board, lest the one we had should be broken, and leave us handicapped.
The evening was devoted to the festivities arranged in our honor by our German colleagues. The party collected at the Geographi- cal Society, and proceeded to the Auditorium, which was already filled with a distinguished audience. Many familiar faces greeted us; and there were physicists, magneticians, explorers, whom we had known only through print. The meeting was called to order by Dr. Krebs, the President of the Geographical Society. Dr. Sverdrup, who needed no introduction to this audience, and who was heartily applauded when he rose to speak, opened the proceedings by delivering a fifteen minute address in German. He sketched l^riefly the story of the Carnegie, and summarized, for those who did not understand English, what Captain Ault was to say about our plans for Cruise VII.
During the interval between his speech and that of Captain Ault, a figure was seen to enter quietly and take a seat in the rear of the hall. Dr. Krebs spied him, and told the audience that it was Filchner, the noted explorer, who had only that day returned from a hazardous expedition through Tibet and Central Asia The outburst of enthusiasm that greeted this announcement was immense.
When Captain Ault rose to speak, he received an even warmer
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applause. He spoke briefly of the previous cruises of the Carnegie, and went on to describe the new program in oceanography. It was apparent that the majority of the hsteners understood him, for without fail his occasional humorous touches were greeted with appreciative smiles or laughter. He closed his lecture with lantern-slides and moving-pictures, and gave a running descrip- tion of each subject as it was flashed on the screen.
The final event of the meeting was the presentation to Captain Ault of a magnificent volume, just off the press, commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the Society.
After the meeting, our party was entertained by the members of the Geographical Society at a charming informal supper in a large restaurant. A spirit of good fellowship reigned. We had an opportunity for interchange of experiences with these inter- esting people, who were all anxious to do anything they could to further our jjlans and make our stay pleasant.
On the following morning we visited the observatory at Potsdam, leaving Parkinson there to complete intercomparisons of his instruments. Paul left that day for a trip to Bavaria by plane, and the others returned to Hamburg to receive the return visit of the scientists who had entertained us in Berlin. The staff of the Potsdam Observatory, the members of the Oceanographic Society, and others, made this journey to inspect the vessel and to offer suggestions based on their own experience. They were all favorably impressed with working conditions aboard, and many expressed a regret that they could not join us.
Following these suggestions, we had the winch-head turned down to hold about 10,000 meters of piano-wire for sounding and for collecting bottom-samples. This modification would make the sounding independent of the water-sample series. It would allow us to check the sonic depth-finder by wire-lengths as well as with pressure-thermometers, for it was not feasible to reach depths greater than 5500 meters with the larger bronze wire. The piano- wire was generously supplied by the Meteor Expedition. They also gave us a glass-lined bottom-sampling tube, which they had found useful in the South Atlantic. It is superior to the snapper-type sampler, because it gives a vertical
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TtiElCarnegie Dressed for the Fourth of July We saw many square-rigged ships in this harbor.
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section of the deposit, and plunges into the sediment to a greater depth.
On Sunday the party attended the annual regatta of the Ham- burg Yacht-Club. We were ushered to seats near the trans- Atlantic flyers, Koehl, Hiinefeld, and Fitzmaurice, who had just arrived. These men presented the trophies to the winning shells. Hamburg is extremely fortunate in having preserved Alster Lake, and it was here that these races took place. It was one of the many features to make us realize that a busy city may also be made beautiful.
The Carnegie had many visitors every day. Distinguished scientists and technical students, city officials and sightseers, all were taken on the rounds. And on the evening of July 2 we gave a reception to the American Consul and his guests. Dr. and Mrs. Sverdrup left for Oslo that same afternoon. We had enjoyed their company very much during their stay with us.
The Carnegie was dressed up for the Fourth of July along with the other American vessels in harbor, but there was no holiday for her crew. We were towed into dry-dock across the river. There were some important repairs to make. The copper-sheath- ing had suffered from the rough Atlantic crossing; the winch was to be modified to hold piano-wire; the electrical psychrometer had not yet been completely installed ; and there were numerous smaller details of equipment to look after. Spare coils of alumi- num-bronze cable were stowed away. The Petterssen plankton- pump, which had been tested by Dr. Sverdrup in the coastal waters off Norway, was taken aboard. Standard Assmann hand- psychrometers were added to our meteorological equipment. These were furnished by the Deutsche Seewarte, and were used to calibrate the recording psychrometers on board. Plankton collected on the voyage from Newport News was shipped to Washington, and provisions for the next run of the cruise were stowed below.
During these last days in port, Soule, Torreson, and Scott had occupied a magnetic station at Finkenwarder, a small town below Hamburg. They were taken to and from their work in grand style — a splendid harbor-launch being furnished by the Seewarte.
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Commenting on our experiences in Germany, Captain Ault says :
"Our stay in Germany has been unusually profitable and inspiring. To meet so many scientists who are enthusiastic about our prospects, who indicate so strongly the importance of the data we are securing, and who are so keenly interested in the many problems to be solved, has given us a better view of the task before us, and we shall go ahead with renewed enthusiasm."
On July 7, two weeks behind schedule, we said good-bye to our German friends. We were towed down the river past Heligoland before we picked up enough breeze to fill the sails.
HAMBURG TO REYKJAVIK TO BRIDGETOWN TO
PANAMA
The vessel was now well equipped for oceanographic research, and we were all eager to give the equipment its first trials. The new resistance-thermometer equipment, for measuring humidity at three levels above the sea, was recording satisfactorily. Re- pairs had been well done to the vessel and the machinery, and the party was in a fine frame of mind for the long voyage to the West Indies by way of Iceland.
We headed due west to get clear of the coast, then turned north- ward a bit to skirt the bold cliffs of the Shetlands and the Faroes. Vivid green pastures were set here and there in these forbidding rock-masses, like unmined emeralds; and occasionally a whole tal)le-top of green rolled upwards from the precipitous coasts.
Between the Faroes and the southeast corner of Iceland we encountered some of the roughest water of the cruise. On July 14 the wind hauled ahead and for six days we fought for every mile westward by using our engine and fore-and-aft sails. It began to look like a repetition of our experience in entering the English Channel.
On July 15 we sighted the dazzling Oraefa Glacier on the southern coast of Iceland. Although it was sixty miles away, this stupendous ice-mass, seven thousand feet high and fifty
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miles wide, glittered in the sun like an enormous heliograph. For some mysterious reason, the sight of it suggested a shower- bath on deck. The pump was started, and several of the party braved the cold salt-water and icy wind. The copper stove was set up in the cabin, serving to dry out our clothes and to keep the quarters more comfortable.
Once we had sighted the entrancing coast, no mere head-wind could discourage us from paying a visit. So day after day we wore ship and tacked against the westerlies. Every time we closed in on the pitiless coast, mist or rain would shut down on us, while there were also strong currents to contend with. All this made navigation hazardous. After we had averaged only sixty miles a day for five days, and not always in the desired direction. Cap- tain Ault became disgusted. He announced his intention of head- ing down to St. John's, Newfoundland, on the following day if conditions did not improve. But our little engine kept bravely at its task, and the next morning found us well up in Faxe Bay, having rounded the point unawares in the gloom.
Not the least of the dangers encountered along this coast had been the erratic behavior of the compass. There are masses of subterranean magnetic materials which cause local deviations of many degrees. With the poor visibility often met with, one is almost forced to rely on his compass, so that an accurate mag- netic variation-chart is nowhere more essential than on a coast like this. It was for these charts that the Carnegie was busy making observations. The whole southern coast is strewn with wrecks. Many of them must have come to grief through too implicit reliance on the compass-needle. So treacherous are the waters, that at every small cove or beach the government has established caches of food, clothing, and water, for ship- wrecked mariners.
Our entrance to Reykjavik was uneventful except for the annoy- ing drizzle and rain-squalls that intermittently hid our landmarks. Heavily laden trawlers passed us from time to time, wallowing miserably in the choppy seas. One wave after another would sweep their decks, while our buoyancy was such that we bobbed up and down like the sea-gulls around us. A few of the party
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were still uncomfortable from the motion of the vessel; but one look at the trawlers dispelled whatever feeling of self-pity they
A Salt-water Shovvek On deck in the shadow of Vatna Glacier, Iceland.
might have had. These little vessels go out every day in the year, facing the gales and the sunless days of arctic winter.
On this passage only two oceanographic stations were occupied. We were already nine days behind schedule and the time required
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for tacking against head-winds made it undesirable to heave to. Besides this, the sea was so rough and winds so strong that the results would have been doubtful. The other researches were uninterrupted, however. By proper vigilance we were able to spot the sun in the mornings and evenings, long enough to get good declination measurements.
So on July 20, we came to anchor at Reykjavik, the capital city of Iceland. The first to meet us was an old friend of former cruises, Mr. Sveinston, a journalist. When the Carnegie had arrived here in 1914, from her long voyage to Spitzbergen, this gentleman brought the news that war had broken out in Europe. But this time he could not surprise us so readily, for we had been constantly in touch with shore through our radio schedules with amateurs scattered all over the world. Mr. Sveinston kindly offered us his services as guide, should we have time to make any excursions into the interior.
We were playing a phonograph record, "Fifty Million French- men Can't Be Wrong," when we heard a strange voice in the chart-room humming the chorus. It proved to be Monsieur Simon, the French Consul! He introduced himself as an old resident of Washington where he had served in the French Con- sular Service. Monsieur Simon at once offered us the use of his home, and lost no time in arranging a round of social activities on shore.
Days were literally endless in Reykjavik. There was no night at all. One day merged into another with only a short period of midnight dusk to mark their passing. Perhaps this is why the party could condense so many varied activities into our week's visit. When the official day's work was over at four or five o'clock, there were still almost eight hours of daylight in which to amuse ourselves.
For those who wish to take walks there are hot springs and geysers to see, volcanic craters to explore. Green meadows and flower-gardens are inviting. There are highways to travel over by auto. The harbor is alive with interesting creatures. Giant medusae, some measuring many feet in length, float alongside the ship. Sea-parrots, eider-ducks, and cormorants, fly by on their way between the numerous islands in the bay.
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The "Meal-Sack"
A picturesque rock which stands as an outpost to the entrance of Reykjavik harbor in Iceland.
The Great Art-museum at Reykjavik We were very much impressed by the high state of culture in Iceland.
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The day after our arrival was spent in examining the mag- netic station on Engey Island, where observations had been made in 1914. Tents were pitched, and the hay-field cleared for the potential-gradient comparisons. That evening Monsieur Simon held a dance at his house. We were introduced to several attractive young ladies of the island. Many of them had studied in the ITnited States, others had spent some years in England or the Scandinavian countries. All spoke English (or American!) better than we. We also met some of the officers of the Danish cruiser, Fylla, stationed here for part of the year to patrol the fisheries.
This event served to show us how little we knew about Iceland. Nowhere did we discard more false notions about a foreign country than we did there. The climate in Reykjavik was found comparable to that of New York. Snowfall is moderate and soon melts away. The mighty Gulf Stream, in its journey of thousands of miles, still holds enough warmth to keep the main harbors free of ice, and permits the growing of the usual household crops. Grass is abundant, and sheep and ponies are bred on a grand scale.
Life in Reykjavik is not unique, except for the very short day- light in winter, and the virtual absence of night during the sum- mer. We were not far enough north to experience a midnight sun, but one went to bed in daylight and an early riser was many hours behind the sun.
Instead of finding a squalid fishing-village, composed of har- dened toilers of the sea, fighting a cruel nature for a meagre living, we found perhaps the highest general level of culture of our whole cruise. Libraries, museums, model schools, hydroelec- tric power, airplane transportation, orchestras, and choral socie- ties; a generous, intelligent population, at home in the world, reading good books and plays — truly a different picture from that we had brought with us.
We found there a successful solution to a great social problem. Once a notoriously rum-drinking community, Iceland has by a gradual process of popular education and government control closed all open saloons. By limiting the sale of liquor to wines
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and beer, it has virtually eliminated distilled spirits and has not fostered the growth of a "bootlegger" class. The only source of wines and beer is a government dispensary in which there is no display or advertising. No alcoholic beverage may be obtained elsewhere except in two large restaurants, and here only with regular meals. The absence of any signs of drunkenness was notable, and as a result of this policy drinking has never become the "thing to do" among the young people.
An Icelandic Woman in Native Dress
The girls wear the latest Parisian costumes until they are married at which time tliej- revert to the ancient dress of black cloth and ornamental skull-cap.
On Sunday, Mr. Sveinston conducted us on an all-day trip to the famous valley of Thingvalla. This magnificent plain is about forty miles by auto from Reykjavik, and is the place where, exactly one thousand years ago, the first parliament of the world was organized. Stretching to the bases of the distant volcanoes are green pastures, intersected by streams and lakes. Here and there over the landscape are great fissures in the lava-field, where water has collected, forming deep pools which display every con- ceivable shade of blue. A romantic spot in a romantic country !
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One of the small lakes at the base of a lovely waterfall, has a name which means "Drowned Woman." In the early history of
Automobile Road in Iceland This one built in lava-fissures, leads to Thingvalla Plain.
Iceland all female criminals were brought here and drowned, while the men were beheaded. Even today an Icelander is assured of
NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE
111
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justice of the sterner sort, free from the exaggerated sentimental- ism found in other civilized countries.
Another of these pools is called the Reserve Bank of Iceland, for each visitor tosses a coin from his homeland into the sapphire waters. Money from every land lies here on the bottom, glit- tering in the sun, and far too deep in the cold waters for a passing sneak-thief to recover.
There were several Norwegian tourists at Thingvalla that day, many of whom had come out on the handsome Iceland ponies. These little beasts carry enormous loads uncomplain- ingly, and can go without food for several days if necessary. We never found an opportunity for riding on them, although they are still the chief means of transport throughout the island.
We had not been long in the valley before we were wandering about in shirt-sleeves. It was uncomfortably hot in the blazing sun. The management of the little inn had been notified by telephone that they were to expect some distinguished guests. They had gone to particular pains to procure the greatest delica- cies known to an Icelander. Imagine our dismay when we found spread before us canned salmon, canned sausage, canned beef, canned butter, canned fruit! Surely a mistaken way to treat eight hungry sailors, when out of the window they could see fresh mutton grazing beyond the fence of the vegetable garden !
On the return journey we visited a few of the numerous small craters which line the highway, and some of the party walked to the modern hydroelectric plant supplying the city with power. On the outskirts of the town are many hot springs which furnish the town with continuous hot water for laundering, bathing, and heating. Iceland has been called the "Land of Frost and Fire." For on every hand these great natural forces are brought into vivid contrast. The active volcanoes are hooded with glaciers. Hot springs are abundant. Our word "geyser" is no more than the Icelandic name for their most famous steam-fountain.
We were hardly back in the city when word was passed that an exhibition of Icelandic wrestling was to be held for the Nor- wegian tourists, and that we were invited to attend. This form of wrestling, characteristically Icelandic, resembles faintly the
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Waterfall, Iceland Where female criminals were drowned .
Lake on Thingvalla Plain
The Plain contains several beautiful lakes and is intersected by many clefts in the lava.
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Japanese "jiu-jitsu" and is called "glima." Each wrestler wears a harness around the body, and the object is to lift the opponent, trip him, and drop him to the floor. When any part of the body touches the boards, the referee declares the winner.
But there was still time to go to one of the two splendid moving- picture theatres. Some of the party declare to this day that they have never been in more luxurious theaters. The films are chiefly imported from America along with automobiles and many other articles in common use.
Busy days followed our spree on Sunday. Jones inspected the local broadcasting-station; the magnetic and atmospheric-electric instruments were set up on Engey Island, and the Carnegie was anchored out in the harbor as near to them as possible. These intercomparisons had been delayed by the strong gales of the past days. Paul and Parkinson were stationed on the island, and spent several nerve-racking hours dodging the sea-gulls which swooped down on their heads. For they were disturbing the breeding-grounds. Infant gulls scrambled helplessly around the hummocks of grass, but should we pick one up we were sure to be attacked by the screeching mother, circling constantly over- head.
It was not enough to take possession of Monsieur Simon's house for dancing in the evenings. He must arrange a full-course dinner in our honor. Charming young ladies were there in their New York or Parisian gowns ; the dinner itself was a masterpiece of the chef's art, and gaiety was unrestrained. During the dinner. Monsieur Simon had us inscribe our names on a post-card, which he forwarded to our mutual friend, the late Edwin E. Slosson, Director of Science Service in Washington. Before long our numbers were swelled by the officers of the Fylla, who had brought from their ship some bottles of Danish beer. Since it did not grow dark, it occurred to no one that there might be such a thing as a proper time for going home !
On the following day Seiwell and Paul made a collecting trip for the Smithsonian Institution. They chartered a small launch, and, armed with an impressive special hunting permit, brought back a large number of the characteristic sea-birds of the island.
NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE 1 15
The eider-duck is sacred in Iceland. The delicate feathers which line their nests form one of the leading exports, and nothing must disturb the birds. Although we probably had a sufficient excuse for killing a few specimens, we thought it wiser to leave the eider alone.
On this same trip the diatom collecting-bucket was tried out, but the specimens were unsatisfactory because we had not located a suitable bottom-area for dredging.
On the day before leaving port several members of our party were invited to lunch in the ward-room of the cruiser. This group of Danish officers will forever typify to us the hearty, merry life led by naval officers in works of fiction. There were songs and good-natured banter, toasts and speeches — all at an ordinary noon-day meal. They presented us with a beautiful photograph of the Fylla, which was hanging in the cabin when the Carnegie was destroyed in Apia.
The time had come for us to reciprocate all these attentions, so a dance was arranged in the cabin. The best music we could furnish was from our phonograph; but with the dining-table re- moved we could offer an excellent dance-floor. The Danish officers joined in, of course, and a "good time was had by all." We were not ashamed to make the most of our evenings in Reyk- javik. The next two months were to be spent out of sight of land, in routine that knew no Sundays and no labor laws. And none of us had imagined that we should find here as congenial companionship as we found in any port during the cruise.
At noon on July 27 we said our farewells and pushed off, using the engine until clear of the coast. Another propitious start — we picked up a favorable breeze that bowled us along toward Cape Farewell, Greenland. The wind was so strong that we had wire-angles of 50° at our first oceanographic station, July 28. There was too great danger of fouling the wires should we use the new plankton-pump, so neither this nor the bottom-sampling was attempted.
On July 30 conditions were ideal, and for the first time in the cruise we made use of our plankton-pump. Water-samples and temperatures were obtained clear to the bottom (at 3500 meters).
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a specimen of bottom-deposit was secured, and the silk tow-net collected plankton at three depths. The Petterssen pump is used to count the relative numbers of each kind of plankton collected by the nets, so it was sent down to the same depths.
On the next day we lost our favorable breeze and were forced to operate the engine. Fog and drizzling rain added to the dis-
IcEBERG Passed Off Coast of Newfoundland
As it was drifting into the steamship-lanes a radio report was forwarded to the Hydro- graphic Office in Washington to warn shipmasters; bergs seldom come this far south in August and are quickly melted in the Gulf Stream.
comfort. On August 1 we made less than sixty miles, and were carried south of our course. But on the 3d a fine northeast breeze picked us up and swept us past Cape Farewell. We covered 233 miles that day with a fifteen-mile current against us.
Since we were some ten days behind schedule, Captain Ault decided to omit the proposed loop into Baffin Bay, and to head directly for the Grand Banks. On the 4th, Captain Ault was
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confined to bed with a severe cold. It was the first time in his hfe at sea that he had taken cold on shipboard. As none of the others had suffered from it in Iceland, or in the eight days after leaving, it was interesting to speculate on the source of the in- fection. We were to be pestered with this common complaint in many ports, but on only a few occasions while at sea.
An unexpected stir was created at sunset on the 5th, when a giant iceberg was sighted off our port bow. We changed course to determine its size and position, so that the trans-Atlantic shipping might be notified. It was very late in the season to encounter a berg, especially so far south, and the ice-patrol had already left its post. We sailed within a few hundred feet, meas- ured its length and altitude, and sent the necessary information by radio to the Hydrographic Office in Washington. It was over a hundred feet high and four hundred feet long. Those who had never seen an iceberg were thrilled with pleasure, but to those who have navigated the Southern Ocean an iceberg is nevei* beautiful. Once it drifts into the warm waters of the Gulf Stream it will not last long.
We crossed the Banks of Newfoundland on the 6th, and hove- to for an oceanographic station on the following morning. We were on the southern shelf, and there was a depth of only 130 meters below us. At 50 meters the water was 3° Fahrenheit below the freezing-point of pure water, while it was 23° warmer at the surface.
This station was interesting for another reason. All around us we could see whales spouting. Over in the east was a school which must have numbered over twenty. In Barbados we were to learn that whalers had pursued these same animals and had made the greatest killing of the century.
On August 8 we stepped suddenly from winter into summer. Within a few hours the water-temperature jumped 20° Fahrenheit, with the air following suit. The stove in the cabin was dismantled, woolen caps and underclothes were discarded, and we went about the deck squinting in the brilliant sunlight. We were in the Gulf Stream, and out of the cold Labrador Current.
For two weeks we logged an average of 140 miles a day, with
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Paul at the Evaporimeter
The evaporation of sea-water is enormous, thus at the equator it appears to be about seven and one-half feet per year — facts concerning evaporation are essential to an under- standing of many problems in the field of meteorology.
NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE 1 19
ideal weather for our work. Only one gale threatened us during this time, but it was so short a blow that the sea had no time to become rough. Little by little we expanded our program of studies. As each man developed his technique he found himself able to undertake new details. Parkinson and Torreson started weekly diurnal-variation observations in atmospheric electricity. This required continuous readings of the instruments for 24-hour runs. The fine weather simplified the navigation work, and Scott found time to take over Captain Ault's place at the collimating- compass, while Paul or Jones replaced Scott as recorder. The number of echo-soundings was increased, since Soule was now able to complete in one day the determination of the salinity of the water-samples. Paul began a series of evaporation measurements. All along the line there was a notable improvement in the scien- tific work.
On August 12 we took water samples and temperatures to a depth of 5600 meters, or about three and a half miles. There was a hot bearing on the winch, due to the great weight of the wire and bottles, and we were hove-to for almost five hours. It was apparent that a different type of bearing must be installed at our next dry-docking. The plankton-pump was up to its usual bag of tricks, and required encouragement from time to time. However, it seldom failed if given a second chance.
On the same day we entered the Sargasso Sea. F'or about a week the vessel passed through patches of the characteristic weed of the region. Paul made daily weed-counts, and collected specimens. Many of these clumps sheltered small fish, crusta- ceans, and egg-clusters; so the boom-walk was lowered from the side of the ship to make collection easier. Any romantic ideas of ours, about the Sargasso Sea, were dispelled. We saw very few floating logs, and not a single derelict, although we passed through the very heart of the region. The weed was at no time very thick, and was usually a few feet below the surface. Fanci- ful yarns are told of sailing-vessels trapped here by immense accumulations of debris.
By the 20th we had entered a region of sudden squalls and elec- trical storms. The sea became choppy, due to the variable winds.
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Nothing can be more exhilarating than to race before one of these short wind-squalls on a small sailing-vessel like the Carnegie. Promptly at two o'clock in the afternoon, for several days in a row, we would feel the ship slowly heel over beneath our feet, and hear the low droning hum of the breeze in the rigging rise
The Biologist Using a Dip-net fuom the "Boom-walk"
The boom-walk consists of two 30-foot booms with a net between and enables the observer to collect specimens beyond the disturbance caused by the ship's wash.
in a steady crescendo, higher and higher in pitch as the vessel gathered momentum, until the jibs quivered and flapped as the helmsman eased off a bit. During the next two weeks we used these squalls to best advantage, for once they passed over we would be left floundering around in a calm.
It had been growing steadily warmer, and Soule had to regulate
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the salinity-apparatus to a 104° temperature, for there was no cooling device. These were glorious days for the cats on board. Flying-fish were skimming the water in every direction. At night they would be attracted to the lights and strike the ship, sometimes falling on deck. A cat was usually the first on the scene when this occurred, and so we would be deprived of the specimen. We had been asked to collect these fish for Mr. Breder of the New York Aquarium, for he was interested in the geographical distribution of the different species. Mr. Kellogg, research associate of the Carnegie Institution, had supplied us with harpoons for collecting porpoises, but we never had occasion to use them. He was making a study of the evolution (or de- volution!) of the whale-family, and was anxious to complete his collection.
There were two questions that furnished lively arguments on board and were never settled: Does a flying-fish fly.'^ Do sharks attack human beings.^ The discussions became so heated at times that it was well some routine duty separated us before belay ing-pins began to fly. In the beautiful evenings on deck everything was close-harmony again. Torreson led the singing of the old-time moonlight favorites; and invariably began and ended with his musical signature, "Among my Souvenirs."
The last week in August was spent in glassy calms. The timbers groaned, and the sails flapped till the reef-points were in shreds. One looked over a sea like lubricating oil, reflecting all the pastel shades when the sun was on the horizon. The engine was operated almost continuously. This made evaporation- observations impossible, and increased the difficulties in other work, because of the constant vibration of the instruments. Always a squall was greeted with cheers. These calms were aggravating for another reason. We were not allowed to jump overboard for a swim, no matter how hot or cloudless the day. The rule seemed very unreasonable at times; but no doubt the Captain had good reasons. On one of the previous cruises there had been a close accident of some kind, and this time no chances were to be taken.
We were in the doldrums, there was no doubt about that.
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Any attempt to get further south seemed hopeless. For ten days we had averaged less than sixty miles, and on no day had we made as much as a hundred. Accordingly, Captain Ault gave orders to head westward toward Barbados, thereby omitting the proposed loop to the mouth of the Amazon.
The scientific routine was progressing favorably. We had occasional difficulties with equipment. The piano-wire had a habit of breaking at kinks, and we lost a few snappers from this cause. It was not always certain when bottom was struck, and sometimes many meters of wire coiled up in kinks on the ocean-
The Forecastle CJaxg On a Sunday afternoon.
floor. We really needed a separate machine, with an automatic stop for the sounding work. Parkinson found that his electrom- eter-fibres were scaling and he had to radio for a new supply to be delivered in Barbados. From time to time messengers sent down to reverse the Nansen bottles were intercepted by some marine organism. But on the whole our duties were discharged more smoothly every day, and we could relax for a few hours after supper. An occasional game of cards, or a motion-picture of our own make, followed the meal. And there were those who found pleasure in stretching out on the cover of a whale-boat to watch for shooting-stars or gaze at the moon.
NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE 123
On Sundays the sailors would sit on deck, busy with their skrimshandy, or would collect in the chart-room to play the phonograph. Juan Oyarzo was very clever with string, and made us belts and watch-fobs in his spare time below. Others would make ship models or amuse themselves with a mouth-organ, or wash clothes. But for the "scientifics," as the sailors called us, there was no difference between Sunday and the next day. Oceano- graphic and magnetic stations alternated regularly. Every day- light hour was spent in the laboratories or computing-room, and even the nights brought their rounds of routine: radio schedules, echo-soundings, atmospheric-electric observations, meteorologi- cal work, star-sights.
Mr. Erickson was always ready with an excuse for our bad luck. If it was not the biologist's "plus fours," it was something else. He now accused certain members of the party for the long- continued calms because of the grotesque beards they were culti- vating. Soule easily carried away the honors for his baboon decoration. He was dubbed "Admiral Benbow," for had not this intrepid seaman swept clear the Caribbean.^ Who knows, though, but that the jibes of the others were prompted by envy?
The oceanographic station of September 3 was exceedingly interesting. We had occupied a station within fifteen miles of this spot only five days before, but changes had occurred in that short time. The temperature at the '200-meter depth had dropped about 6° Fahrenheit, and the salinity had followed suit. The current had trebled during the same interval. We realized as never before how important it is to make repeated observations in the same spot, preferably throughout the year, if we want a complete picture of conditions in the sea.
After four days of head-winds, the long-awaited northeast trades began to blow. This was a welcome event, for we were still twelve hundred miles from Barbados, and our supplies of gasoline and water were getting low. On the same day the sailors captured some bonitos, giving us a change from the monotonous diet of tinned meat.
Unfortunately our hoped-for trade-wind disappointed us, and we were left becalmed in the afternoon, with an occasional water-
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spout on the horizon. The fact that we were non-magnetic must have had some bearing on their behavior. Although we saw a good many of these "terrors of the deep," they acted as though we did not exist. They did not bear down on us as they do in books, but headed away from us as often as they approached. We did not even keep our guns loaded!
Light airs, squalls, and calms alternated for another week be- fore we picked up a stiff breeze. This happened on September 10. It came with fury from a totally unexpected quarter, south-
An Oily Calm in the Trade-wind Belt
west. Rapid changes in direction and increasing force hinted that there was trouble in the neighborhood. This rather took us by surprise, although we had known from the start that we were entering the Caribbean during hurricane-season. The short disturbance was no doubt the beginning of that frightful hurricane which three days later roared through the Mona Passage, de- molished many of the West Indian towns, and razed buildings in Florida. The wind did not reach violent force until it had passed over the Windward Islands, and our barograph did not show any
NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE 1 25
marked departure from the usual curve; but all the same it was a close call for us.
A night or two later a steamer passed us. This had been our first sight of human life for seven weeks, with the exception of some distant lights on a ship near the Grand Banks. We rigged up a signal-light on deck and attempted to communicate. Un- fortunately, we spent so long in figuring out what language they were using that the vessel was out of sight when we wanted to say something. The best guess had it that she was a Portuguese ship bound for Brazil. This incident emphasizes the advantage of having some universal language outside of the marine code.
However, we had no reason to complain. Jones kept us in constant communication with shore through amateur radio fans. Messages were exchanged with families and friends almost daily, and if any item of real interest was picked up from news-broad- casts, it was posted on the chart-room wall. The absurdity of what is commonly regarded as front-page news in American cities is never so apparent as on a ship like ours. For a time, Jones copied out broadcasts from the most distinguished New York papers: a murder in Cicero; a divorce in Hollywood; a sharp drop in utility-stocks ; a blackmail letter to scion of wealthy New Jersey family; another murder somewhere — this was the fare we were offered from shore. We laughed so heartily at the incongruity of all this and our placid existence, that Jones became discouraged and very properly ceased to take it down.
By this time our procedure at an oceanographic station had become somewhat standardized, and it might be of interest to describe just what takes place. On the morning of September 15, we are about two hundred miles from Barbados. At eight bells the new watch comes on deck and finds everything in readi- ness for heaving to. The winch is uncovered, the wires are threaded through blocks to the davits, outboard-platforms are in place, and running-gear is laid out on deck ready for shortening sail. With the sound of the ship's bell still in our ears, the men dash to the tackle, blocks rattle and yards creak as the squaresails are taken in. The lower topsail alone is not furled, and is set aback to check our headway. Then one after another the fore-and-aft
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sails come down until only the mainsail and middle staysail re- main. The ship is now hove-to and comes up into the wind or falls off alternately with the helm alee.
The oceanographic team consists of four members of the scien- tific staff (Captain Ault, Soule, Seiwell, and Paul), the Mate (Erickson), the Engineer (Leyer), and the watch-officer with his four seamen. Practically all operations take place on the quarter- deck. Mr. Erickson immediately attaches the bottom-sampler
Paul and Soule Preparing Bottles for the Water-Samples
These are collected in the depths of the sea to be later analyzed in the chemical laboratory.
to the piano-wire, drops it over the stern, and signals to Leyer to pay out on the winch. Meanwhile Captain Ault and Soule are attaching the Nansen bottles, with their reversing-thermom- eters to the aluminum-bronze wire. As these bottles are lowered one after the other in a long series, Paul reads the meter- wheel. When the desired length of wire has been paid out he signals to Leyer to apply the brake. Another bottle is attached, more wire is paid out. This goes on till some eight or ten bottles are strung on at intervals of from five to five hundred meters.
128 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
At this station we are to reach down five thousand meters, so it will be necessary to repeat the bottle-series twice. The "short-series" will consist of nine bottles lowered to 5, 25, 50, 75, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 meters respectively, while one bottle is reversed at the surface. As the greatest difference in tempera- ture and chemical salts occurs near the surface, the intervals are fairly short there. But in the "deep-series," which is sent down later, the bottles are spaced 500 meters apart. The strain on the wire would be far too great were we to lower twenty bottles at once.
During this time Seiwell has put out the plankton-nets. These are lowered in series, much as the bottles; but onlv three are used. One goes to 100 meters; another to 50 meters; and the third to the surface. Microscopic life in the sea is chiefly concentrated near the surface because sunlight does not penetrate water very far. All animals depend on plants for food, directly or indirectly, and of course it is sunlight which is utilized as a source of energy by plants such as diatoms.
Ten minutes are allowed for the lowered Nansen bottles to take up the temperature of their surroundings. Captain Ault now drops a brass "messenger" down the wire to reverse the first bottle in the series. As each bottle tips over, its own messenger is freed to proceed to the next bottle, and so on down the line. It takes from ten to forty minutes for the messenger to reach the lowest bottle. When they are inverted in this way, the valves automatically imprison a sample of water from the desired depth. Also, the mercury capillary of the thermometer separates in such a way that the temperature of that level can be read off on deck, no matter what temperatures are encountered on the way to the surface.
It is not possible to raise the bottle-series until the bottom- sampler has struck. With depths like five thousand meters this may take an hour. When the signal is given that the piano-wire is slack, Leyer ceases to pay out, Erickson reads the meter-wheel, and Captain Ault measures the vertical angle made by the wire. From these readings the depth can be calculated. Soule has meanwhile made an echo-sounding to check this value.
NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE 129
The winch then brings up the bottle-series and bottom-snapper together. The bottles are removed from the wire and placed in sheltered racks. Paul collects water-samples for chemical analy- sis, and Soule takes specimens for salinity-determinations. When this is done, the deep-sea thermometers are read and the Nansen bottles prepared for their second plunge — this time to greater depths.
While all this is going on, Seiwell or Paul has put the plankton- pump into operation. This apparatus is lowered three times, to levels corresponding to the depth of the tow-nets. A measured volume of sea-water passes through a fine silk net. The number of organisms captured, divided by the number of liters of water pumped, gives the "density of population" at each level. The plankton-nets are hauled in after an hour or so. The specimens collected are preserved and labelled for future study.
It now remains to bring up the deep-series and collect the sediment from the bottom-sampler. This done, the sails are once more set and we proceed on our way. If everything has gone well there is still an hour before lunch in which to start the chemical work. The delicate hydrogen-ion tests are made first, to avoid the possibility of changes in the samples from contami- nation by the air or by sunlight. The other chemical charac- teristics are determined after lunch, along with the salinity.
These mornings are strenuous. There are many operations going on at once. Wires lead in all directions from the winch. The sun glares on the water, making it necessary to wear dark- glasses. And only careful co-ordination saves us from utter confusion. Each man has his appointed tasks, but is always ready to lend a hand should things go wrong for the other fellow. And it was a rare day when something did not go awry. Wires might foul below the ship. Messengers might fail to reverse the bottles; or a "jellyfish" get in the way. The piano-wire might snap, or the plankton-pump fail to operate. Anything might happen, without warning, to upset the regular order.
On the afternoon of September 16 we sighted Barbados, our first land in fifty-two days. Our premonitions on leaving Iceland had not been borne out, for we had been much too busy to get
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THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
The Carnegie at Anchor in Carlisle Bay, Barbados
Bridgetown is a thriving port with frequent contacts with North and South America and with shipping services to all of the ^Yest Indian islands.
Native Coin-divers Alongside the Carnegie in Carlisle Bay, Barbados.
NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE 131
lonesome, and time had flown. But how good a piece of beef- steak w^ould taste! We beat up and down outside the city of Bridgetown all night, awaiting dawn and the pilot. By eight o'clock we were riding at anchor opposite the Yacht and Aquatic Clubs in Carlisle Bay, with a swarm of native coin-divers around us, and bum-boats nosing their way through the canoes to our ladder.
With the arrival of our mail hopeless indecision seized us. Would we rather stretch our legs on the coral roads for a change, or busy ourselves in the great heaps of letters that had been ac- cumulating here for months.^ It took almost a day merely to sort out this mass of letters, magazines, and newspapers. The invitation could not be refused of fresh food and fruit waiting for us ashore, and most of the men scrambled into the boats to spend a few hours on land. We were at once ofi'ered guest-mem- berships in the numerous Bridgetown social and athletic clubs, whose privileges we enjoyed to the utmost during the following two weeks. Among these were the Bridgetown Club, Yacht- Club, Savannah Club, and Aquatic Club. They offered splendid places to dine, dance, play tennis, or swim; and all the other facilities for diversion ashore. We were given a hearty wel- come wherever we turned.
Barbados offered a sharp contrast to Iceland, our last island. There we had found a population which was purely Nordic. In fact, more than ninety-nine percent were of Icelandic stock. But here we found one white man to eleven negroes! Barbados was to be our only "black" island; for the Polynesians we met in the Pacific are more similar to the white race than to the negro.
It was always interesting to wander up and down the coral- paved lanes with their pastel-tinted walls, listening to the soft voices of these light-hearted natives. Gigantic negresses, balancing their fantastic wares on their heads, mingle their musi- cal street cries with the braying of the donkeys. One had diffi- culty in deciding whether it is the donkeys or the women who are the island's beasts-of -burden. Should one be thirsty, there is always a walking "soda-fountain" nearby. For some of these negresses carry great tanks on their heads, full of a native drink
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THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
called "gavy." Without lowering the heavy load from its pre- carious perch, they deftly fill a cup from the spigot projecting over the forehead.
A Barbadian Negress Carries enormous loads on her head — this one is selling hot baked yams.
Others sell limes or oranges, stacked high on trays — always carried on the head, of course. Should you wander into a main thoroughfare you will see an incongruous mixture of donkey-carts and shiny automobiles, antediluvian hacks and bicycles. Oh, yes! There is traffic congestion — even in Bridgetown. But not
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till one reaches the careenage is one convinced that this is a bus- tling, industrious seaport. Into this inner harbor are crowded an unbelievable number of schooners, barges, motor-tugs, and bum- boats. Arriving as we did in the hurricane-season, the congestion was at its worst; for it then takes courage to push off shore in these dinky trading-schooners.
The first few days were spent chiefly on board preparing the enormous mass of scientific records for forwarding to Washington. Captain Ault paid his official calls and made the necessary ar- rangements for occupying the magnetic station ashore. Then followed a flood of invitations from the local British community — tennis-matches, teas, dinners, bridge parties, dances. It was certain that our evenings would be well filled.
Scott was swamped by the official mail that required answer- ing. He helped Captain Ault with his correspondence to head- quarters, in addition to his usual business with the ship's com- missary and pay disbursements. But one amusing complaint from the Chief Clerk in Washington served to add a touch of humor to the whole business. On leaving Reykjavik we had paid a large laundry bill itemized in Icelandic. There had been no time to have a translation made before sailing, so it was forwarded as it stood to headquarters. What was the dismay of the auditors when they came to check up on this incomprehensible bill!
Our work aboard was interrupted by a brisk trade in souvenirs. Natives would come alongside in their row-boats and offer shark- bone canes, bleached coral, beads, fans, and so on, in exchange for old shoes or new shillings. There were also native tailors. Prices seemed absurdly low, until we saw the long-promised suit or trousers — delivered on board by proxy the minute before sail- ing. And there were shoemakers (or so they styled themselves) . But they were not so lucky as the tailors, who had come along at the right psychological moment. We had just arrived from a cold climate, and faced a solid year in the tropics. Everyone had postponed the purchase of hot-weather clothes, and so we fell easy game to the first outfitters that came along.
One day Governor and Lady Robertson very kindly asked us to tea at the Government House, and invited us to use their
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135
Capi'aix axu Mks. Phillips Visit the Ship in Barbados Captain Phillips was Adjutant to the Governor.
The Tents Pitched for Magnetic Shore-station Near the "Transit-of- Venus" pier at Barbados.
136 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE
beautiful tennis-courts. Some games were arranged a few days later; but we were no match for the practised players of Barbados. Ample opportunity for dancing was found. The party was invited to a semi-formal affair at the Yacht-Club. There were occasional dances at the Marine Hotel in Bridgetown, and at Crane Beach. Besides this, there was a splendid floor on the Aquatic Club pier, and music