U. 6. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY — ROBERTS 225 



charted, Hassler was ready to sound the waters. The schooner Ex- 

 periment was the first of a long line of survey ships to sail back and 

 forth across the sea, sounding by cast of the lead, and fixing position 

 by three-point fix controlled by sextant cuts on the survey signals 

 ashore. She did not last long, but she was joined, before her retire- 

 ment two years later, by the brig Washington, a former revenue cut- 

 ter and very clumsy vessel which did her work very slowly but well 

 enough. The Washington displayed her sturdiness by surviving 

 one of the most dramatic storm disasters in American maritime his- 

 tory. Contrasted with the efficient hydrographic ships of today, 

 those labors were primitive indeed! They represented to Hassler, 

 however, and to an impatient Congress, the first fruits of his work. 



Among the first visible benefits was the finding of numerous rocks 

 and ledges, hitherto unknown, in Long Island Sound. Singu- 

 larly striking was the discovery by Lt. T. R. Gedney, on assignment 

 from the Navy, of a deep channel approaching New York from the 

 southeast, passing near Sandy Hook. This had the utmost naviga- 

 tional importance. It was realized that, had Gedney Channel been 

 known in 1778, a surreptitious entry of the friendly French fleet might 

 have been effected with disastrous results for the British vessels 

 within. Hassler had the satisfaction, before his death in 1843, of 

 seeing the first surveys done from Point Judith to Cape Henlopen — 

 some 9,000 square miles of charted area containing 1,600 miles of 

 shorelines. 



Hassler may have been as consecrated a public servant as ever 

 lived. No one could doubt it who saw him as he sat night after 

 night in his office, after midnight at a table lit by candles, checking 

 computations, verifying map sheets of soundings, or writing his re- 

 ports. He was doing work for which his meager appropriations did 

 not provide workers, and he was seeing personally to the attainment 

 of his own impeccable standards. When he could spare himself from 

 his office or from the incessant demands of Congress for explanations 

 and justifications, he endured the hardships of field life. It was on 

 such an occasion in 1843 that, during a storm, he fell in the dark 

 trying to protect one of his cherished instruments from the elements, 

 injuring himself upon a pointed rock and subjecting himself to 

 exposure. Aged 73 years and weakened by a lifetime of relentless 

 work, he died in pursuit of his vision, probably little realizing how 

 enduring his example was to be. 



The Bureau grew rapidly in size and in the strength of its or- 

 ganization under Hassler's successor, Alexander Dallas Bache, who 

 served until 1867. One of America's all-time great educators and 

 scientists, this great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin had intellectual 

 curiosity, progressiveness, organizing ability, and personal charm. 



