154 BRYANT — DRIFT CASKS IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. [Aprils, 



DRIFT CASKS IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 



BY HENRY G. BRYANT. 

 {Read April 3, 1902.) 



Among the many notable sessions of this venerable Society, per- 

 haps none in recent years have been more interesting than the 

 *' Nansen " meeting held on the afternoon of October 29, 1897. 

 It was one of the last occasions on which our late President, Fred- 

 erick Fraley, occupied the chair. The occasion was noteworthy, 

 not only by reason of the paper on *' Some of the Scientific Results 

 of the Fram Expedition," read by the distinguished Norwegian 

 explorer, but also because of the supplementary discussion which 

 gave opportunity for Rear Admiral George W. Melville and other 

 competent authorities to give expression to their views on the 

 importance of Arctic research and the best methods of prosecuting 

 it in the future. 



In the course of his discourse on '*The Drift of the Jeannette," 

 Admiral Melville — after recommending that future attempts to ex- 

 plore the unknown area should start from the Bering Sea side — 

 called attention to the fact that much valuable data relating to 

 circumpolar currents could be obtained by setting adrift in the 

 waters north of Bering Strait specially constructed casks containing 

 the requisite records. A certain percentage of these floating mes- 

 sengers might fairly be expected to survive the perils of the Arctic 

 pack and eventually be looked for in waters adjacent to Franz 

 Joseph Land, Spitzbergen or Greenland. In this connection he 

 remarked: "I do believe, however, from the information we 

 have gained from the drift of the Jeannette and the Fram, that 

 vessels of any kind, such as casks or driftwood, will come out by 

 way of Spitzbergen — though not necessarily across the Pole. The 

 only reason for sending men in ships is, that they may be observers 



to make a daily record of events But for this, I say, a 



hundred casks, properly numbered, made after the manner of a 

 beer keg of twenty gallons capacity, properly hooped, and the ends 

 extended out to complete a parabolic spindle, would demonstrate 

 the drift." ^ 



This idea of studying ocean currents from data obtained from 

 ** bottle messages" is not entirely new, and has, in fact, been em- 

 ployed by the Hydrographic Office of the U. S. Navy and by 



1 " The Drift of the Jeannette," Prog. Am. Phil. Soc, Vol. xxxvi, No. 156. 



