Chapter IV: Conclusion (1)

The great storm that has thus been briefly described, as well as can be done from the data now at hand and in the limited time at our disposal, has furnished a most striking and instructive example of a somewhat unusual class of storms, and this on such a grand scale, and in a part of the world where the data for its study are so complete, that it must long remain a memorable instance. Instead of a more or less circular area of low barometer at the storm center, there is here a great trough of "low" between two ridges of "high," the whole system moving rapidly eastward, and including "within the arc of its majestic sweep," almost the entire width of the temperate zone. The "trough phenomena," as an eminent meteorologist has called the violent squalls, with shifts of wind and change of conditions at about the time of lowest barometer, are here illustrated most impressively. Such changes are, of course, to be expected and guarded against in every storm, and sailors have long ago summed them up, to store away in memory for practical use when occasion demands, in the well-known lines,--

"First rise after low
Indicates a stronger blow."

One thing to which attention is particularly called is the fact that storms of only ordinary severity are likely, upon reaching the coast, to develop greatly increased energy. As has been already pointed out, there can be no doubt but that this is especially so in a storm of this kind, where the isobars are elongated in a north and south direction. The accompanying Barometer Diagram, if studied in connection with the Track Chart and the Weather Chart for March 11th, illustrates very clearly this deepening of the depression at the storm center. The formation and persistency off Block Island of a secondary storm center of such energy as was developed in this case, however, it would seem wholly impossible to have foretold, and a prediction to that effect made under similar circumstances would probably prove wrong in at least nine cases out of ten. But it may be safely said that the establishment of telegraphic signal stations at outlying points off the coast is a matter of great importance, not only to our extensive shipping interests, but to the people of all our great seaboard cities as well. To the northward, telegraphic reports from such stations would furnish data by which to watch the movement of areas of high barometer, upon which that of the succeeding "low" so largely depends; and to the southward, to give warning of the approach and progress of the terrific hurricanes which, summer after summer, bring devastation and destruction along our Gulf and Atlantic coasts, and of which this great storm is an approximate example and a timely reminder. In this connection, also, there is another important result to be gained: scientific research and practical inventive genius, advancing hand in hand for the benefit of mankind, have discovered not only the laws governing the formation of the dense banks of fog that have made the Grand Banks dreaded by navigators but also the means by which certain facts may be observed, telegraphed, charted, and studied a thousand miles away, and the occurrence of fog predicted with almost unfailing accuracy, even whilst the very elements themselves are only preparing for its formation. By means of such predictions, the safety of navigation along the greatest highway of ocean traffic in the world would be vastly increased,--routes traversed yearly at almost railway speed by vessels intrusted with more than a million human lives, and property of an aggregate value of fully a billion dollars. What is everybody's business is too often nobody's business, and if no single nation is going to undertake this work, an international congress should be formed to do so, with full authority to act and power to enforce its decisions.

Probably nothing will more forcibly attract the attention of the practical navigator than the new and striking illustrations which have been furnished by reports from various masters of vessels, caught in the terrific winds and violent cross seas of this great storm, relative to the use of oil to prevent heavy broken seas from coming on board. Although this property of oil has been known from time immemorial, it has only recently come into general use, and it is good cause for congratulation, considering the great benefits to be so easily and so cheaply gained, that the U. S. Hydrographic Office is acknowledged to have taken the lead in the revival of knowledge regarding it, and in its practical use at sea. It is difficult to select one from among the many reports at hand, but the following brief extract from the report made by boat-keeper Robinson, in behalf of the pilots of New York pilot-boat No. 3 (the "Charles H. Marshall"), cannot fail to be read with interest. The gallant and successful struggle made by the crew of this little vessel for two long days and nights against such terrific odds is one of the most thrilling incidents of the storm, and well illustrates the dangers to which these hardy men are constantly exposed.

The "Charles H. Marshall" was off Barnegat the forenoon of the 11th, and, as the weather looked threatening, two more reefs were put in the sails and she was headed to the northward, intending to run into port for shelter. During the afternoon the breeze increased to a strong gale, and sail was reduced still further. When about 18 miles S.E. from the lightship, a dense fog shut in, and it was decided to remain outside and ride out the storm. The wind hauled to the eastward toward midnight, and at 3 A.M. it looked so threatening in the N.W. that a fourth reef was taken in the mainsail and the foresail was treble-reefed. In half an hour the wind died out completely, and the vessel lay in the trough of a heavy S.E. sea, that was threatening every moment to engulf her. She was then about 12 miles E.S.E. from Sandy Hook lightship, and in twenty minutes the gale struck her with such force from N.W. that she was thrown on her beam ends; she instantly righted again, however, but in two hours was so covered with ice that she looked like a small iceberg. By 8 A.M. the wind had increased to a hurricane, the little vessel pitching and tossing in a terrific cross-sea, and only by the united efforts of the entire crew was it possible to partially lower and lash down the foresail and fore-staysail. No one but those on board can realize the danger she was in from the huge breaking seas that rolled down upon her; the snow and rain came with such force that it was impossible to look to windward, and the vessel was lying broadside to wind and sea. A drag was rigged with a heavy log, anchor, and hawser, to keep her head to sea and break the force of the waves, but it had little effect, and it was evident that something must be done to save the vessel. Three oil bags were made of duck, half filled with oakum saturated with oil, and hung over the side forward, amidships, and on the weather quarter. It is admitted that this is all that saved the boat and the lives of all on board, for the oil prevented the seas from breaking, and they swept past as heavy rolling swells. Another drag was rigged and launched, although not without great exertion and danger, and this helped a little. Heavy iron bolts had to be put in the oil bags to keep them in the water, and there the little vessel lay, fighting for life against the storm, refilling the oil bags every half hour, and fearing every instant that some passing vessel would run her down, as it was impossible to see a hundred feet in any direction. The boat looked like a wreck; she was covered with ice and it seemed impossible for her to remain afloat until daylight. The oil bags were replenished every half hour during the night, all hands taking turn about to go on deck and fill them, crawling along the deck on hands and knees and secured with a rope in case of being washed overboard. Just before midnight a heavy sea struck the boat and sent her over on her side; everything movable was thrown to leeward, and the water rushed down the forward hatch. But again she righted, and the fight went on. The morning of the 13th, it was still blowing with hurricane force, the wind shrieking past in terrific squalls. It cleared up a little towards evening, and she wore around to head to the northward and eastward, but not without having her deck swept by a heavy sea. It moderated and cleared up the next day, and after five hours of hard work the vessel was cleared of ice, and sail set for home. She had been driven 100 miles before the storm, fighting every inch of the way, her crew without a chance to sleep, frost-bitten, clothes drenched and no dry ones to put on, food and fuel giving out, but they brought her into port without the loss of a spar or a sail, and she took her station on the bar as usual.

Do the pages of history contain the record of a more gallant fight! Nothing could show more graphically than this brief report, the violence and long duration of the storm. No wonder that this terrific northwest gale drove the ocean itself before it, so that the very tides did not resume their normal heights for nearly a week at certain ports along the coast, and the Gulf Stream itself was far south of its usual limits. The damage and destruction wrought ashore are too fresh in mind to be referred to here, and losses along the coast can only be mentioned briefly. Below Hatteras there was little damage done to shipping. In Chesapeake Bay, 2 barks, 77 schooners, and 17 sloops were blown ashore, sunk, or damaged; in Delaware Bay, 37 vessels; along the New Jersey coast and in the Horse-shoe at Sandy Hook, 13; in New York harbor and along the Long Island coast, 20; and along the New England coast, 9. The names of six vessels that were abandoned at sea have been reported, and there are at least nine others missing, among them the lamented New York pilot boats "Phantom" and "Enchantress," and the yacht "Cythera." Several of these abandoned vessels have taken their places amongst the derelicts whose positions and erratic tracks are plotted each month on the Pilot Chart, that other vessels may be warned of the danger of collision; the sch. "W. L. White," for instance, started off to the eastward in the Gulf Stream, and will soon become a source of anxiety to the captains of steamships along the transatlantic route, and furnish a brief sensation to the passengers when she is sighted. There is thus an intensely human side to the history of a great ocean storm, and to one who reads these brief records of facts and at the same time gives some little play to his imagination, there is a very pathetic side to the picture. In the words of Longfellow,--

"I see the patient mother read,
With aching heart, of wrecks that float
Disabled on those seas remote,
Or of some great heroic deed
On battle fields, where thousands bleed
To lift one hero into fame.
Anxious she bends her graceful head
Above these chronicles of pain,
And trembles with a secret dread
Lest there, among the drowned or slain,
She find the one beloved name."

Meteorological conditions at noon, Greenwich mean time (7 A.M., 75th meridian time).

Barometer.--Isobars in full black lines for each tenth of an inch, reduced pressure. The trough of low barometer is shown by a line of dashes.

Temperature.--Isotherms in dotted black lines for each ten degrees Fahr. Temperatures below freezing (32° F.) in shades of blue, and above freezing in red.

Wind.--The small black arrows fly with the wind at the position where each is plotted. The force of wind is indicated in a general way by the number of feathers on the arrows, according to the scale given in the following table:

PLOTTED ON | FORCE, BY SCALES IN PRACTICAL USE.
CHART. | 0-12 | 0-10 | 0-8 | 0-7 | 0-6
-------------+-------+-------+------+------+------
O Calm. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Feathers 1 | 1- 2 | 1- 2 | 1 | 1-2 | 1
" 2 | 3- 4 | 3- 4 | 2 | 3-4 | 2
" 3 | 5- 7 | 5- 6 | 3-4 | 5 | 3
" 4 | 8-10 | 7- 8 | 5-6 | 6 | 4-5
" 5 | 11-12 | 9-10 | 7-8 | 7 | 6
-------------+-------+-------+------+------+------

PLOTTED ON | POUNDS PER | MILES PER | KILOMETERS | METERS PER
CHART. | SQUARE FOOT. | HOUR. | PER HOUR. | SECOND.
-----------+--------------+-------------+-------------+-----------
O Calm. | 0. | 0. | 0. | 0.
Feath. 1 | 0. - .40 | 0. - 9. | 0. - 14.4 | 0. - 4.
" 2 | 0.41- 2.53 | 9.1-22.5 | 14.5- 36.2 | 4.1-10.1
" 3 | 2.54- 8.20 | 22.6-40.5 | 36.3- 65.2 | 10.2-18.1
" 4 | 8.21-22.90 | 40.6-67.5 | 65.3-108.7 | 18.2-30.1
" 5 | 22.91 and | 67.6 and | 108.8 and | 30.2 and
| over. | over. | over. | over.
-----------+--------------+-------------+-------------+-----------

It will be noticed that the Beaufort scale (0-12), in general use at sea, has been converted into the international scale (0-10) for the sake of clearness in plotting data on the chart. The absence of arrows over large areas indicates absence of simultaneous data; at sea, however, this has been partly compensated for in the construction of the chart by information obtained from journals and special storm reports of vessels in the vicinity.]

Meteorological conditions at noon, Greenwich mean time (7 A.M., 75th meridian time).

Barometer.--Isobars in full black lines for each tenth of an inch, reduced pressure. The trough of low barometer is shown by a line of dashes.

Temperature.--Isotherms in dotted black lines for each ten degrees Fahr. Temperatures below freezing (32° F.) in shades of blue, and above freezing in red.

Wind.--The small black arrows fly with the wind at the position where each is plotted. The force of wind is indicated in a general way by the number of feathers on the arrows, according to the scale given in the following table:

PLOTTED ON | FORCE, BY SCALES IN PRACTICAL USE.
CHART. | 0-12 | 0-10 | 0-8 | 0-7 | 0-6
-------------+-------+-------+------+------+------
O Calm. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Feathers 1 | 1- 2 | 1- 2 | 1 | 1-2 | 1
" 2 | 3- 4 | 3- 4 | 2 | 3-4 | 2
" 3 | 5- 7 | 5- 6 | 3-4 | 5 | 3
" 4 | 8-10 | 7- 8 | 5-6 | 6 | 4-5
" 5 | 11-12 | 9-10 | 7-8 | 7 | 6
-------------+-------+-------+------+------+------

PLOTTED ON | POUNDS PER | MILES PER | KILOMETERS | METERS PER
CHART. | SQUARE FOOT. | HOUR. | PER HOUR. | SECOND.
-----------+--------------+-------------+-------------+-----------
O Calm. | 0. | 0. | 0. | 0.
Feath. 1 | 0. - .40 | 0. - 9. | 0. - 14.4 | 0. - 4.
" 2 | 0.41- 2.53 | 9.1-22.5 | 14.5- 36.2 | 4.1-10.1
" 3 | 2.54- 8.20 | 22.6-40.5 | 36.3- 65.2 | 10.2-18.1
" 4 | 8.21-22.90 | 40.6-67.5 | 65.3-108.7 | 18.2-30.1
" 5 | 22.91 and | 67.6 and | 108.8 and | 30.2 and
| over. | over. | over. | over.
-----------+--------------+-------------+-------------+-----------

It will be noticed that the Beaufort scale (0-12), in general use at sea, has been converted into the international scale (0-10) for the sake of clearness in plotting data on the chart. The absence of arrows over large areas indicates absence of simultaneous data; at sea, however, this has been partly compensated for in the construction of the chart by information obtained from journals and special storm reports of vessels in the vicinity.]

Meteorological conditions at noon, Greenwich mean time (7 A.M., 75th meridian time).

Barometer.--Isobars in full black lines for each tenth of an inch, reduced pressure. The trough of low barometer is shown by a line of dashes.

Temperature.--Isotherms in dotted black lines for each ten degrees Fahr. Temperatures below freezing (32° F.) in shades of blue, and above freezing in red.

Wind.--The small black arrows fly with the wind at the position where each is plotted. The force of wind is indicated in a general way by the number of feathers on the arrows, according to the scale given in the following table:

PLOTTED ON | FORCE, BY SCALES IN PRACTICAL USE.
CHART. | 0-12 | 0-10 | 0-8 | 0-7 | 0-6
-------------+-------+-------+------+------+------
O Calm. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Feathers 1 | 1- 2 | 1- 2 | 1 | 1-2 | 1
" 2 | 3- 4 | 3- 4 | 2 | 3-4 | 2
" 3 | 5- 7 | 5- 6 | 3-4 | 5 | 3
" 4 | 8-10 | 7- 8 | 5-6 | 6 | 4-5
" 5 | 11-12 | 9-10 | 7-8 | 7 | 6
-------------+-------+-------+------+------+------

PLOTTED ON | POUNDS PER | MILES PER | KILOMETERS | METERS PER
CHART. | SQUARE FOOT. | HOUR. | PER HOUR. | SECOND.
-----------+--------------+-------------+-------------+-----------
O Calm. | 0. | 0. | 0. | 0.
Feath. 1 | 0. - .40 | 0. - 9. | 0. - 14.4 | 0. - 4.
" 2 | 0.41- 2.53 | 9.1-22.5 | 14.5- 36.2 | 4.1-10.1
" 3 | 2.54- 8.20 | 22.6-40.5 | 36.3- 65.2 | 10.2-18.1
" 4 | 8.21-22.90 | 40.6-67.5 | 65.3-108.7 | 18.2-30.1
" 5 | 22.91 and | 67.6 and | 108.8 and | 30.2 and
| over. | over. | over. | over.
-----------+--------------+-------------+-------------+-----------

It will be noticed that the Beaufort scale (0-12), in general use at sea, has been converted into the international scale (0-10) for the sake of clearness in plotting data on the chart. The absence of arrows over large areas indicates absence of simultaneous data; at sea, however, this has been partly compensated for in the construction of the chart by information obtained from journals and special storm reports of vessels in the vicinity.]

Meteorological conditions at noon, Greenwich mean time (7 A.M., 75th meridian time).

Barometer.--Isobars in full black lines for each tenth of an inch, reduced pressure. The trough of low barometer is shown by a line of dashes.

Temperature.--Isotherms in dotted black lines for each ten degrees Fahr. Temperatures below freezing (32° F.) in shades of blue, and above freezing in red.

Wind.--The small black arrows fly with the wind at the position where each is plotted. The force of wind is indicated in a general way by the number of feathers on the arrows, according to the scale given in the following table:

PLOTTED ON | FORCE, BY SCALES IN PRACTICAL USE.
CHART. | 0-12 | 0-10 | 0-8 | 0-7 | 0-6
-------------+-------+-------+------+------+------
O Calm. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Feathers 1 | 1- 2 | 1- 2 | 1 | 1-2 | 1
" 2 | 3- 4 | 3- 4 | 2 | 3-4 | 2
" 3 | 5- 7 | 5- 6 | 3-4 | 5 | 3
" 4 | 8-10 | 7- 8 | 5-6 | 6 | 4-5
" 5 | 11-12 | 9-10 | 7-8 | 7 | 6
-------------+-------+-------+------+------+------

PLOTTED ON | POUNDS PER | MILES PER | KILOMETERS | METERS PER
CHART. | SQUARE FOOT. | HOUR. | PER HOUR. | SECOND.
-----------+--------------+-------------+-------------+-----------
O Calm. | 0. | 0. | 0. | 0.
Feath. 1 | 0. - .40 | 0. - 9. | 0. - 14.4 | 0. - 4.
" 2 | 0.41- 2.53 | 9.1-22.5 | 14.5- 36.2 | 4.1-10.1
" 3 | 2.54- 8.20 | 22.6-40.5 | 36.3- 65.2 | 10.2-18.1
" 4 | 8.21-22.90 | 40.6-67.5 | 65.3-108.7 | 18.2-30.1
" 5 | 22.91 and | 67.6 and | 108.8 and | 30.2 and
| over. | over. | over. | over.
-----------+--------------+-------------+-------------+-----------

It will be noticed that the Beaufort scale (0-12), in general use at sea, has been converted into the international scale (0-10) for the sake of clearness in plotting data on the chart. The absence of arrows over large areas indicates absence of simultaneous data; at sea, however, this has been partly compensated for in the construction of the chart by information obtained from journals and special storm reports of vessels in the vicinity.]

Positions of the trough of low barometer and tracks of vessels, March 11-14, 1888.

Positions at 7 A.M. (Greenwich noon) are indicated on the chart by a point; at noon, ship's time, by a small circle.

Black.--The line of dashes indicates the position of the trough of low barometer, or the line of sudden change from easterly to westerly winds, with brief intervals of calm, shifts of wind in heavy squalls of rain or snow, colder, and, finally, clearing weather.

Red.--Positions and names of land stations and names and tracks of vessels plotted in red are those whose barometer curves are shown in the accompanying Barometer Diagram.

Blue.--The tracks of certain other vessels from which storm reports have been received are plotted in blue. In addition to these, however, storm reports have been received from the following vessels, omitted from the chart in order to avoid confusion:

_Transatlantic steamships, westward bound:_ Glendevon, Lydian Monarch, St. Ronans, Werra.

_Coasting steamships, bound south:_ El Monte, Morgan City, New Orleans. _Bound north:_ Newport.

_Sailing vessels off the coast from Montauk point to cape Cañaveral:_ Spartan, Charles H. Marshall, Caprice, Coryphene, Phebe, Isaac Orbeton, John H. Krantz, Arcot, Iroquois, Welaka, Serene, Warren B. Potter, Normandy, Lottie Stewart, Melissa Trask, Wilhelm Birkedal, Johanna, James S. Stone, Anita.]

Illustrating the fluctuations of the barometer from noon, March 11, to noon, March 14 (75th meridian time).

Barometer Curves.--As it is only practicable to illustrate graphically the barometer records of a few vessels and land stations, the following have been selected as being of special interest; the small circles mark the points of observation:

SIGNAL STATIONS. VESSELS.
Norfolk. British steamship Andes.
Hatteras. American schooner Kensett.
Atlantic City. British steamship Lord Clive.
New York. American schooner Lida Fowler.
Block Island. American schooner George Walker.
Nantucket. British steamship Serapis.
Yarmouth, N. S. British ship Glenburn.

Barometer Normal.--The barometer normal for the 5°-square from latitude 35° to 40° N., longitude 65° to 70° W., assumed for the present purpose as the normal for the entire area, is 29.98, and is indicated by the blue line on the diagram.

The positions of the above-mentioned signal-stations and the tracks of these seven vessels are all indicated in red on the accompanying Track Chart. This diagram should therefore be studied in connection with the chart, in order to form a clear idea of the general eastward movement of the trough of low barometer, and the accompanying rapid deepening of the depression upon reaching the coast.]

THE SURVEY OF THE COAST.

BY HERBERT G. OGDEN.

At the inception of the Coast and Geodetic Survey in the early years of the century, so little was known of the dangers attending navigation along our extensive seaboard, that those who engaged in commercial enterprises were constrained to rely upon local knowledge and the reports of the hardy navigators who might carry their ventures to success. The charts available were by no means a sure reliance, and it has since been shown, contained many serious errors. The great headlands and outlying shoals that present the greatest obstacles to the safety of coastwise navigation, had not been carefully surveyed, and their relative positions to one another were only approximately determined.

The capacities of the harbors had not been ascertained, many were unknown; and even at the great port of New York, the Gedney or Main channel, was not developed until after the permanent establishment of the Survey in 1832, and the thorough exploration of the entrance was undertaken. A list of the sunken dangers and new channels that have been discovered during the progress of the work would fill pages. It is true such developments were to be expected in making a precise survey of the comparatively uncharted coast; but they, nevertheless, clearly point to the necessity of the work. We may also assume that the men who were controlling the destinies of the republic, realized that a knowledge of the coast was essential if they would succeed in building up a commerce, without which it was believed the prosperity of the people could not be assured. The deep draught vessels of the present day could not have traded along our shores on any margin of safety with the little that was known, and it is largely due to the perfect charting of the coast, that commercial enterprise has found it practicable to build the larger vessels of modern type to meet the increasing demands of trade.

The survey proposed was also required in providing for the public defence; as it is a self-evident proposition, that if we would protect a harbor from a hostile fleet, we must know not only the channels by which the fleet might enter, but their relations to each other and the points of vantage that should be utilized in obstructing them; and in modern warfare to know these things only approximately will not suffice, for precision is practiced now in the art of war, as well as in the arts of peace.

The lack of charts of our extensive Coast line, or indeed, of any practical information that could be utilized in a systematic defence against foreign aggression, was only one of the many perplexities that surrounded our forefathers in building the nation. By their valor they had wrested a jewel from the British Crown, and had inaugurated a system of government by the people, which on their sacred honors they had sworn to defend. But not a generation had passed away when they saw new dangers, and were forced to contemplate again taking up arms in defence of their rights. The land was theirs, even far towards the setting sun, pioneers had explored it, and they knew whence might come a hostile foe. But of the waters from far away to the eastward, that flowed on until they washed every shore and filled the great Bays, even to the heart of the Republic, they knew little, save that over that almost immeasurable expanse might come the fleet of destroyers to penetrate they knew not where, and inflict incalculable damage months ere the dreary tales might be told. It must be remembered there were no telegraphs, no railroads, no steamboats, in those days, and time taken by the forelock was time gained. The speed of man could not be overtaken as we see it to-day in the wondrous inventions of the last generations. Each community was dependent upon itself, alone, in time of danger, to ward off the blow or yield to a more powerful foe; assistance could hardly be obtained in months and perhaps not then. It was not possible for any man to study or to learn the points of danger, and prepare a system of defence.

President Jefferson in his far-seeing statesmanship, threatened with war, realized the danger. A survey of the coast he believed essential to the national defence, and to the prosperity of the nation in time of peace. Had his wise counsels prevailed and the survey been prosecuted with vigor, instead of being almost immediately suspended for a quarter of a century, there can be no question but that it would have saved the people millions of dollars in expenditures and put other untold millions into their coffers, through the impetus it would have given to commerce years before commerce actually had a name in many that are now thriving seaport towns.

But it is not to be supposed the commercial importance of a knowledge of the coast and harbors was underrated because the Survey was not prosecuted. The people were poor, the task would be expensive and laborious. The appliances for the work were not in the possession of the Government, and above all, war came sooner than was anticipated and the energies of the people were taxed to the utmost in combat with their powerful foe; and when peace came again, there was the inevitable commercial depression that follows a resort to arms. The men of the day fully realized how illy they were prepared to invite commerce to our shores, or incite our own people to more extensive trade. There was nothing to adequately represent those magnificent harbors that have since become famous the world over; nor of that long line of coast with its treacherous shoals, whereby those seeking new ventures might judge of the dangers to be encountered. The absolute ignorance that existed was aptly described in the Albany Argus in 1832, when the propriety of reviving the act of 1807 was under discussion, as follows:

"It had been discovered by an American statesman that parent countries always keep the commercial knowledge of their colonies as a leading-string in their own hands, and that as practical navigators, American seamen knew less of their own shores than the country and its allies from whose subjection we had recently delivered ourselves by force of arms. In large vessels, three nations, the Dutch, the French, and the English, approached our harbors with less risk than those bearing our own flag; at the same time that in small and more manageable vessels, we had long been known as a match for the strongest. The president, Jefferson, saw the defect and the manner in which it must be remedied. We were at that time on the brink of war, about whose justice some of our politicians differed in opinion and it was, of course, more necessary to pray for a fortunate result than to preach the causes which had occasioned the quarrel. To have procured for the nation (even had it been practicable so to do) the old charts from the Dutch, French, and English governments, would have only been to put our knowledge on a par with theirs, while to execute more recent and accurate surveys, was advancing the new country above the old. With the clear and bold perception, which always distinguishes men of genius when they are entrusted in times of danger with the destinies of a nation, the president recommended a survey of the whole coast with all the aid of the more recent discoveries of science."

The proposed survey was strongly advocated by President Jefferson, and the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Gallatin, and in February, 1807, Congress passed the first act providing for the work. Thirteen separate plans, or schemes, were submitted for consideration; among the number was one by Professor F. R. Hassler, which was finally adopted, and Professor Hassler was appointed the first superintendent. It is not necessary to dwell, in detail, upon the varying fortunes of the survey during the three-quarters of a century that have passed since the original act authorizing it. The first thirty years of experiment, before it was finally established as a bureau of the Treasury Department, show only too clearly the ignorance and prejudice against which the supporters--we may say founders--of the survey had to contend. But they had only the experience of all men who attempt the inauguration of new things of which it cannot be shown that they will return a cash profit at the end of six months. To the opponents of the measure cash could not be seen at all, and the profit, whatever it should be, was only an intangible kind of benefit to be realized in the future by additional security to their property and commerce; but, in reality, as has since been appreciated, the direct saving of many millions of dollars annually.

The war of 1812 interrupted Professor Hassler's labors and it was not until 1817 that he actually commenced work; but he was stopped the next year by a limitation of the law requiring the work to be performed by the Military Departments. In 1832 Congress passed a special act reviving the law of 1807 and Professor Hassler was again appointed Superintendent. A further interruption occurred in 1834 by the transfer of the bureau to the Navy Department, but this was of short duration, as it was re-transferred to the Treasury Department in 1836, where it has since remained. Professor Hassler continued as Superintendent until his death in November, 1843. He was succeeded by Professor A. D. Bache, who was fortunate in assuming the charge under much more favorable auspices than had prevailed under his predecessor.

By the appropriation bill passed in March, 1843, the President was directed to appoint a Commission to reorganize the Bureau and prescribe methods for its future conduct. The plan recommended by the Commission was substantially that which had been followed by Professor Hassler. It was approved by the President a few months before Professor Bache assumed the superintendency and has since been the law for the execution of the work. To have a law specifying in detail the methods that should be employed in prosecuting the surveys, that had been drawn by a special commission of experts and approved by the administration, relieved the Superintendent of much of the responsibility that had been borne by Professor Hassler, although it did not put an end to the carpings of the critics, or their advocacy of the less expensive "nautical surveys."

The reorganization provided for the employment of civilians and officers of the Army and Navy to serve directly under instructions from the Superintendent; thus securing for the service the opportunity to procure the best talent from either civil or military life. The civil element, it was assumed, would form a body of experts for the prosecution of those branches of the work not properly falling in the direct line of the military, and experience has demonstrated that while the results anticipated have been fully realized, the organization has not only proved effective but conducive to the advancement of the survey in many ways. The Civil War was a serious interruption, but alone, proved the wisdom of the civil organization of the Bureau. On the outbreak of hostilities the military element was necessarily withdrawn for duty with the Army and Navy; and it was not until ten years after the close of the war that officers of the Navy were again available, while officers of the Army, through the exigencies of the Military service, have not returned at all.

The organization was preserved through these fifteen years by the permanent civil nucleus, and the work suffered no deterioration, but steadily advanced, notwithstanding that the larger number of the civilians were constantly employed during the four years of the war with the Armies and Navy, in different capacities on the staffs of commanding officers; and that the urgent necessities of the government devolved additional labor, and temporarily, a new class of work upon the office force in compiling, draughting and publishing maps of the interior for the use of the Armies in the field. And when finally, our Armies were disbanded and our fleets reduced to a peace basis, and officers of the Navy resumed the execution of the Hydrographic work, it was but to step into the duties of their predecessors; they had, too, the additional advantage of the fifteen years' experience of the purely civil administration of the Survey, during which time the trained surveyors of the land had become equally expert as surveyors of the water, and had added not a little to the improvement of Hydrographic methods. The History of the Survey shows a steady advance in methods of work from its foundation to the present day. But so equally has the march of improvement been due to the zeal and untiring efforts of the civilians and officers of the Army and Navy alike, that any distinction would be invidious.

The plan of reorganization of 1843 provided for a detailed survey of precision. It was to be based on an exact triangulation that would insure positive results, that the location of a danger or the development of a new channel, should be beyond doubt; and that the survey, when completed, should fit together as one continuous line, in which the distance and direction of any object on the map from any other object should be true, whether the objects were in hailing distance of one another, or at the extremes of our boundaries. So well was the scheme conceived, so perfect has it proved in operation, that it is substantially the guide for the closing labors of the great work, notwithstanding the many improvements that experience has wrought in the details.

Those engaged upon the Survey have been quick to profit by experience, and the master mind of Professor Bache, the second Superintendent, was not slow to adopt that which promised increased economy, rapidity or improvement. He drew from all sources, Science contributed her quota and the great inventive genius of the American people played an equal share in producing the final results.

The researches that were necessary to obtain the information required by law "for completing an accurate chart of every part of the coasts," have produced results of great economic and scientific value to the whole people, aside from their bearing on the interests of commerce and navigation; and which will contribute to the welfare of mankind long years after those who labored for them have passed away. A brief reference to a few of the many instances that might be cited to illustrate this perpetual influence to benefit our fellow men, may not be without interest to some of you present.

The application of the method of determining latitude by the measurement of small zenith distances, introduced by Captain Andrew Talcott of the Engineer Corps, U. S. A., while serving as an Assistant on the Survey, developed such radical errors in the star places given in the catalogues, that it led to an almost immediate call for better places, and arrangements were made with the observatories of the country to obtain the necessary observations, the Survey to pay for the labor involved. Stimulated by the knowledge that better work was required to meet the new demand, observatories deficient in instruments procured new ones, and soon furnished more accurate star places. Continued observation has added still further improvement until to-day we have catalogues that furnish the highest degree of precision. Professor Chauvenet defines "Talcott's method" as "one of the most valuable improvements in practical astronomy of recent years, surpassing all previous known methods (not excepting that of Bessel by prime vertical transits) both in simplicity and accuracy." But the advantages of the method have been found to be of a practical nature also; as it is productive of large economy in time and labor and has reduced the cost of the Survey many thousands of dollars.

The introduction of the Electric Telegraph was utilized by the Survey immediately on the practical accomplishment of the first line built, as a ready and improved means for determining longitude. Indeed, before Professor Morse had demonstrated to the world the truthfulness of his theories and experiments, the bare possibility of their success, and availability in the instant transmission of time, had been discussed on the Coast Survey, and the method to be first employed fully considered. But as in the application of all things under new conditions, experience is the teacher, and improvements were frequently made, until finally the invention and perfection of the "chronograph" has brought the method to a degree of precision that little more can be looked for. This method of determining longitude, introduced, fostered and perfected on the Coast Survey, has been more far reaching than geographical boundaries. All civilized nations have adopted it as the "American Method," and by the greater accuracy and reliability of the results the whole world has profited. The saving that has accrued by the more perfect determination of longitudes and the consequent increased safety to commerce, may be counted by millions every year; until one stands aghast in contemplation of the immensity of the sum, and fears to reckon it, even approximately, much less to prophecy what it may reach in the future. The system is but a natural sequence of the development of the telegraph, but emphasizes in a marked degree the spirit of progress that has ever been the active principle and guide in the conduct of the work, and advanced its methods to a state of perfection that has called forth the admiration of the scientific world.

The determination of the magnetic elements has been a subject of investigation from the early days of the survey; the knowledge sought was essential to the navigator, and in recent years, especially, has proved to be of the greatest practical value on shore. Limited by small appropriations the research was at first slow. But a trust fund left by Professor Bache, who always evinced the warmest interest in this particular investigation, added largely to the rapidity with which observations could be obtained, until now we have magnetic maps of the United States of such reasonable precision that they are authoritative, and are in almost daily demand. The results are more far reaching than their mere tabulation for the current year, as laws have been determined by which the declination in a locality can be ascertained for any year in the past.

There are but few places where the needle remains stationary, or points in the same direction, for any great length of time; it even changes daily and during the hours of a day; but the aggregate for a year will rarely exceed three or four minutes of arc. If we reflect then, upon the great use made of the compass in the settlement of the continent, and the proverbial neglect of the country surveyor of those days to record the local variation, or declination, with his work, we may see a little of the utility and practical purposes to which the results are constantly being applied. Property so little thought of a hundred years ago that a few acres more or less, lost or acquired, in its transfer defined by compass surveys, may suddenly assume a value in these days of progress that every square foot is worth dollars. When a dispute arises, deeds are examined, lost or obliterated marks are diligently sought for, perhaps one is found, surveyors are employed to run out the lines but only make the confusion worse. Instead of a few rods that were in doubt according to the best information, the surveyor's line makes it acres, and litigation looms up to eat the profits of the sudden rise, and there seems even then no satisfactory solution of the vexing problem. How valuable then must be the fact, that it is possible to compute the variation for years back, to the time the original survey was made, and furnish the deflection that will re-run the lines so clearly as to render the descriptions in the deed intelligible. This is but a single instance of the practical application of the knowledge gained; and if its general usefulness may be judged by the numerous inquiries made of the Bureau, it is not unreasonable to assume that time will bear increasing testimony of its great economic value from those who traverse the land, as well as those who sail on the waters.

The study of the recurrence of the tides along our extensive Coast lines, and determination of laws that would satisfy the great variance in the different periods, was a problem of no little magnitude but the greatest possible importance to our commerce. Much of the traffic along the coasts literally moves with the tides, and the cost of transportation is enhanced or diminished as the tide retards or advances it. Hundreds of dollars of expense may be incurred on a single cargo that must enter on the high water, but through imperfect knowledge of the master of the ship, is forced after sighting his port, to wait for the next tide, perhaps over night, and is driven to sea by a sudden storm and the voyage made several days longer. Such mishaps are not infrequent, and even at the great port of New York certain classes of vessels must "wait for the tide." The investigation of this complex subject has resulted in the acquirement of a knowledge that enables the prediction of the time of high and low water, and the height of the tidal wave, years in advance; and the mariner may now carry with him the tables published on the subject wherever he goes, and be independent of the doubtful communications he may otherwise receive from the shore. How many lives, how many dollars, have been saved by the knowledge gained?

But the investigation of the Tidal phenomena is of great scientific importance also; and a practical assistance in the great problems involved in the preservation and improvement of our harbors, but in this connection it probably falls more properly under the head of that greater study of the currents and their effects in the erosion, and building of the shores; the movement of the sands and formation of shoals and channels; termed "Physical Hydrography." Our commerce depends largely on this study for its perpetuation, for without harbors commerce must cease; and without harbors that will admit vessels of the largest class it must deteriorate. If commerce finds increased profits in large vessels it demands increased facilities, and the bars to the harbors with but six or eight feet of water on them a few years ago, must have ten, perhaps fifteen feet now, or the people must suffer their trade to pass to some more fortunate or energetic neighbor. This may be a hardship; but the demands of trade are inexorable, the profits must be reasonably assured, and those who would have the trade must comply with the requirements. Thus we see the striving for harbor improvements; the weakest making the greatest outcry that they shall not be left in the race. And the improvements must come in the end, or at least be attempted, for it is as much a law of commerce not to be hampered by small freights, as it is the law of nature that water flows down hill.

The outcry for "improvements" never grows weaker; it is the expression of a sincere conviction that the life of the community and the welfare of the "back country" depend upon its success for prosperity; it will not admit a rebuff and knows no such word as failure. Alleged authorities are consulted, a scheme of improvement is proposed and Congress is asked to vote the money, and finally the improvements are attempted. To be successful, the plan must conform to known general laws and the peculiarities of local conditions, many of which are only ascertainable by comparison of surveys at different periods. Theories advanced on data collected by one survey, may be strengthened or disproved by the facts ascertained in a subsequent survey; and it is only when the plan proposed meets the general laws and the local conditions at the same time, that it holds out promise of success. The study of the questions involved has been greatly aided by the work of the Coast Survey in improvements already attempted, and will be of greater assistance in the future. A positive knowledge of what the local conditions were when a harbor was at its greatest capacity, is of the greatest help in indicating the improvements necessary to restore it, after deterioration, or to maintain it in the full measure of its usefulness. Reliable charts do this, but they tell only half the story. A cause must be found for the effects that have been produced, and the remedy suggested must overcome that cause or control it, that it may work good instead of evil. In Physical Hydrography we learn the forces that nature has given us in the tides, the currents and the winds, and divert them from powers of destruction, as man in his ignorance may have led them, or in their warfare with one another they may have led themselves; and bring their mighty influence to protect, improve or maintain that which we originally had. Many harbors have suffered incalculable injury through the recklessness of these who live upon them, and whose daily bread is dependent upon their preservation; until the evil has become so great that commercial cities have now "Harbor Commissions," whose special function is the preservation and improvement of the harbors. The original surveys made by Coast Survey are the foundations on which they very generally must build, while re-surveys point out to them the obstacles that must be overcome. And thus it will ever be; and future generations endeavoring to meet the demands of commerce for increased facilities, will have still greater cause for thankfulness, that the wise men who inaugurated the work of the Coast Survey, determined that it should be executed with every improvement that science could devise; and that the able men who conducted it, did not yield to the clamor for quick returns and cheap results, of only momentary value. They will realize by the benefits they will derive from it, as do those now living who have watched its progress and development, that the best is the cheapest as it will be useful through all time.

In 1871 Congress authorized the execution of a Geodetic triangulation across the continent to connect the great primary triangulations along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and provided that the triangulation should determine positions in those States that made requisite provision for topographical and geological surveys of their own territories. Each year since then, a small sum has been expended on these works with gratifying results to the States that have availed themselves of the assistance. But it was not until 1878 that Congress designated the Bureau as the "Coast and Geodetic Survey," the official title it bears at this time. Many comments have been passed upon the action of Congress in extending the field of the survey to the interior in the establishment of a "Geodetic Survey," which has been looked upon as a purely scientific research for which the people had no immediate use, and could well afford to wait. But if the tree can be judged by its fruit, there will be no lack of testimony to the economic value of the Geodetic Survey in the near future; aside from its scientific and practical usefulness in perfecting the Survey of the Coasts. It will eventually be the basis for a precise survey of the whole country, determining boundaries, settling disputes, and furnishing incontrovertible data by which later generations can reproduce the marks placed by the local surveyors who make use of it, should they become obliterated or lost; thereby causing a direct increase in the security of property boundaries, and diminution in litigation that now costs millions of dollars annually. Some of the practical advantages to be derived from such a work, are now being demonstrated in Massachusetts in the "Town boundary Survey," as it is called, in which the corners, or turning points of the boundaries are being determined trigonometrically in a subsidiary work based upon the Geodetic triangulation of the Coast Survey. Each boundary corner in this scheme becomes a fixed point, and the direction and distance of many other corners are at once accurately ascertained in their true relations to it. The town boundaries will in due time be made the bases of reference for all local surveys and subdivisions of property; so that, eventually, there will be developed a cadastral map of unrivaled excellence, to supplement the Topographical map that has just been completed.

The imperfections of our "land surveys," brilliant as the scheme was conceived to be at the time of its inauguration, demonstrate only too clearly the extravagance of primitive methods in matters intended to be enduring. As time passes and property taken up under the "land survey" becomes more valuable, the difficulty of accurately identifying boundaries becomes more serious, until finally, it is only after long litigation that rights are determined. The inherent defect in the land survey to accomplish the purpose for which it was designed, lies in the fact, that while it parcels out the land, or a section of land, in a given number of lots, it fails to provide the means for identifying the boundaries of the lots at any future time; the marks placed for this purpose become obliterated or perhaps are moved by designing men, until a large area may be involved in great uncertainty. A triangulation covering the same ground and controlled by Geodetic work, determining the true positions of the old marks that may be left, would be the most economical and precise method of relieving these uncertainties and fixing for all time the location and boundaries of the lots originally parcelled out, by observations and marks that cannot be lost or obliterated.