92 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE 



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- 



