T>"VESTI(;ATlnXS OF TTTfl ALUATROSS. 2 1 



iVoin an hour to an luMir and a- half wbiic takiii,i; ll»e sonndinj--, then 

 i«'l)eatiiig the critical o])eratioii of turning- her ajijain to lier course. 

 The work was successfully prosecuted at no snuill risk to life andliinl), 

 and at the expense of yre;it and unusual strain and Avear and tear on 

 hull and machinery. 



We were obliged to drop the line at noon of the l57th and go to San 

 Francisco for coal, encountering a heavy southwest gale en route. 

 Tlie following extract from a San Francisco paper, describing the trip 

 of the II. S. S. ClittrJcsfo)) from Honolulu to San Diego during the last 

 half of December, shows the weather exi)erienced by that vessel: 



San Diego, Januarn 1. — At 9 o'clock this moimiug the cruiser Charleston ronuiled 

 Point Loina and stcaiued into tlio bay. *' * * Her sides were rusty and dirt- 

 boi>riiiied, and slio looks as il' slic had experienced a hard trip and rough usage. 

 « * « During the past week the vessel passed through one of the most terriiic 

 storms ever experienced by anybody on board, it being so bad for the 24 hours 

 ending Thursday morning, that everything had to be strapped down, and it was 

 impossible for a person to maintain footing anyAvhere on the decks. 



Eeturningto complete the line we found light Avinds, pleasant weatlier, 

 and smooth seas, except a few hours of boisterous coast wind on the 

 ir>th of January. 



Wear and tear. — Deep-sea sounding and dredging are nnich more 

 destructive to machinery, boilers especially, than ordiiniry full-speed 

 steaming. Tlie run between stations must be made as (piickly as prac- 

 ticable, and then the engines are slowed, stopped, and baclced 5 if steam- 

 ing head to the sea, the vessel must be turned stern to it by going- 

 ahead on one engine and backing the other, and to hold her in position 

 first one engine and then the other is slowly backed. If running before 

 Avind and sea, it is not necessary to turn around, the engines being 

 simply stopped and reversed until the vessel is brought to a stand- 

 still. In calm weather, smooth sea, and no current, soundings are 

 sometimes made without moving* the engines after getting into posi- 

 tion, but as wind and sea increase the necessity for working them is 

 enhanced until, in a gale, one or both are constantly moving, either in 

 the same or opposite directions. Signal follows signal in rapid succes- 

 sion in order to maintain the position of the vessel over the sinker, for 

 it is an invariable rule on board the Albatross that none but vertical 

 soundings will be accepted. 



The destructive effects of this peculiar service on the boilers is not 

 apparent at iirst sight; but, remembering that constant and marked 

 changes of temperature are taking place in them from the frequent 

 opening and closing of the furiuice doors, the introduction of cold fuel, 

 and from other measures resorted to in order to control the pressure of 

 steam Avithout destroying the fires, it will be seen that rapid deterio- 

 ration must ensue even Avere these the oidy hurtful agencies at Avork. 

 If Ave add to this the tVeriuent loss of fresh Avater by tlie unavoidable 

 overflow of the hotwell while sounding or dredging, with the attend- 

 ant evils arising from the introduction of an e(pial amount of salt feed, 



