152 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE 



the plankton-collections were made as usual. Conditions were 

 never so bad that something interesting could not be learned. 

 And the magnetic observations continued without interruption 

 in spite of the wretched weather. 



During these gloomy days of rain and contrary winds we were 

 kept constantly in touch with home through the radio. The 

 "New York Times" had sent us their news broadcast schedules 

 with the Byrd expedition, and invited us to listen in. Besides 

 this daily messages were exchanged with our headquarters in 

 Washington, 



On November 3 we had a second look at the forbidding cliffs 

 of Malpelo Island. This gigantic rock rises sheer upwards from 

 the bottom of the sea. Soundings of 3,000 meters are obtained 

 only a few miles offshore. It looks exactly like a great iceberg — 

 but glistening black — with similar prism-like walls. Landing is 

 almost impossible. There are no inhabitants, of course, for 

 nothing grows on the bare rock. 



Malpelo was the first Pacific island to be discovered which was 

 situated out of sight of the coasts of the New World. It is 

 shown on a map of Peru published by command of the Emperor, 

 Charles V, in 1530. On this chart it is called "ye mallabry," 

 from the Spanish "malabrigo" meaning shelterless. Only one 

 landing has been recorded. In 1790, a ship in distress collected 

 some dirty water from the rock pools on the top of the island. 



November 3 brought very bad luck indeed, for the sonic depth- 

 finder failed us. The coils in the oscillator in the keel had appar- 

 ently become short-circuited. We would be unable to make repairs 

 until reaching Callao in January. This break-down deprived us 

 of our best means for charting the ocean-floor, and seriously 

 handicapped us in the oceanographic work. It was our custom 

 to measure the depth with the oscillator at the beginning of an 

 oceanographic station. With the depth thus determined we 

 would know how many bottles to attach and how far to lower 

 them. It now was necessary to send down the bottom-sampler 

 on the piano-wire before the other operations could commence. 

 The depth charts in this region gave far too little information for 

 our use. 



