INVESTIGATIONS OF THE ALBATROSS. 15 



Tlie followmg instructions for tlie cable survey Avere received. October 

 1, ISKJ • 



BuKEAi: OF Navigation, Navy Department, 



TVashiiu/ton, Septemhev 22, 1S91. 

 Sir: When fully prepared for -oork, you will proceed with the vessel under your 

 commaud to take deep-sea soundiugs between San Francisco, Cal., and Honolulu, 

 Hawaiian Islands, with a view to determining a suitable route for a submarine cable 

 between these ports. Soundings taken at alternate intervals of 10 and 2 miles will 

 be sufficient to demonstrate any irregularity of bottom. It may not be necessary, 

 however, to confine yourself to these distances; I merely give them as being such as 

 will insure with certainty the proper development. Should any Tiuusual rise in the 

 bottom occur, it will, of course, need close exauiiuation to determine a feasible route. 

 You will please keep a complete record of all resulting data for transmission to 

 the Departmeut at the completion of the work, and will record upon appropriate 

 forms the latitude, longitude, depth, nature of bottom, with frequent surface and 

 bottom temperatures, and occasional serial temperatures. 



The books and papers for the records will be furnished you from the Hydrograpliic 

 Office, with a sheet showing the soundings taken by the Titscarora in 1875, from Avhich 

 it appears that the desirable route is likely to be just to the northward of this line. 

 By direction of the Secretary of the Navy. 

 Very respectfully, 



F. M. Eamsay, 

 Chief of Bureau. 

 Lieut. Commander Z. L. Tanner, U. S. N., 



Commanding U. S. F. C. S. JJbalross. 



Tlie vessel was ready October 3, with the exception of a supply of 

 wire, books, etc., which were to be furnished by the Hydrographic 

 Office. We waited for them until the 5th, then went to San Francisco 

 and coaled. The following telegram was received on the 0th from the 

 Chief of the Bureau of Navigation : 



Method of survey proposed letter September 27 approved. . - . - 



Monterey Bay to the Hawaiian Islands. — Messrs. C. H. Townsend, 

 naturalist, and A. B. Alexander, fishery expert, were assigned to tem- 

 porary duty on shore. We finished coaling on the 8th, having taken 

 on board 171f tons. Proceeding to sea at daylight the following morn- 

 ing, we arrived t>ff Santa Cruz at 2:50 p. m., and swung ship under 

 steam, observing azimuths ou every point to determine the errors of 

 compass, finally anchoring ofl" the town for the night. A dense fog 

 obscured the sun during the forenoon of the 10th, but passed off at 2 

 p. m., when we swung ship for heeling error, first with a starboard list 

 of 6° to 7J°, then with a like inclination to port, bearings being taken 

 on the cardinal poinds. The results were widely different from previous 

 observations, but they seemed reliable. The maximum heeling error 

 did not exceed one-quarter of a point. 



The first sounding of the survey was made at 9:45 a. m. on the 11th 

 of October in 52 fathoms, 2i cables W. 4 N. (mag.) from the head of 

 Salinas Pier, a wooden pile structure about 150 yards in length; thence 

 to the beach a line of soundings was run by boat. Taking a south- 

 westerly course, following the submarine gully before mentioned, the 



