318 CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON. 



wiring; observations could not be made ashore, owing to the necessity 

 of sailing that evening. 



As the vessel was now leaking more than usual, it was considered 

 advisable to proceed to San Francisco to dock for examination. The 

 course was kept somewhat eastward of the one planned, so that it 

 passed through the western Hawaiian Islands at Laysan Island instead 

 of beyond the Midway Islands. From Fanning Island to Laysan 

 there was no calm belt and no evidence of a proper northeast trade- 

 wind. The easterly wind blowing at Fanning Island continued until 

 after passing Laysan Island, often blowing from south of east. Laysan 

 Island was passed at a distance of 1 mile on January 25. The position 

 of the landing-place near the group of buildings, from the observations 

 made on board the Carnegie, is: latitude, 25° 46 '1 north; longitude, 

 171° 42! 7 west of Greenwich. This position depends upon a latitude 

 observation on Venus simultaneous with a longitude observation on the 

 Sun in the afternoon 2\ hours before passing the island, and upon 

 latitude and longitude observations from stars 3 hours later, taken 10 

 minutes after the last bearing was obtained on the island, at a distance 

 of about 1^ miles. There was no evidence of a northerly or southerly 

 current, and only 0.1 knot per hour westerly set between the 2 observed 

 positions. The longitude has been corrected for chronometer error 

 determined after arrival at San Francisco. The position as given on 

 the chart is 25° 42(2 north, 171° 44! 1 west for the lighthouse, which 

 should be near the landing-place as above. This shows the island to 

 be 3.9 miles north of its charted position and 1.3 miles east. Soundings 

 of 8 and 8| fathoms were obtained 1 mile off the southern end of the 

 island, where, also, numerous dark patches were noticed which seemed 

 to indicate shallower water. 



On January 28, in latitude 32° north, a northwesterly gale began 

 which continued for 4 days and prevented making the desired northing. 

 From February 1 to February 1 1 southerly winds and gales continued 

 without interruption. Rough seas and consequent increase in leaking 

 made it necessary to proceed under greatly reduced sail. Fine weather 

 prevailed February 17, 18, and 19. A good landfall was made at 1 

 p. m., February 19, by bearings on Point Reyes and the Farallon 

 Islands, and the anchorage in San Francisco Bay was reached at 10 

 o'clock the same evening. 



Declination observations were made daily with the exception of two 

 days. Unusually good weather was found near the California coast, 

 so that declinations were obtained where previous cruises had failed to 

 get them on account of clouds and fog. 



The Carnegie arrived at San Francisco after 47.3 days at sea. The 

 average daily run was 128.9 miles for the 6,099 miles traversed. Mag- 

 netic observations were obtained at 81 stations for declination and at 

 44 stations for inclination and horizontal intensity. Because of in- 



