970 Transactions of tub American Institute. 



ter was as mild as we have had it here, the Geographical Society of 

 England was debating whether there was any snch thing as a gulf 

 stream. Some of the members said it was a myth. So we see that 

 great men are not infallible. It is remarked by Dr. Kane in one of 

 his works, that tlie gulf stream was traced as far as Nova Zembla, 

 and he thought that this vast volume of water penetrated the Arctic 

 ocean. And it would seem that there is something in this idea. It 

 would seem impossible to stop this vast body of water, even by the 

 immense ice fields of those regions. If the specific gravity of the 

 Gulf of Mexico is greater than that of the Polar sea, it is a philoso- 

 phical necessit}^ that this equatorial water should reinforce that of 

 lighter gravity, and thus keep open a portion of the surface of the 

 Arctic sea. The theory advanced by Captain Dent has, of course, 

 been dismissed ; we know how jealous the human mind is, and those 

 who have made voyages to the Polar sea, should reject the idea 

 which would render their enterprise useless. That there is such a 

 body of %vater, is a known fact, and that it has been traced from 

 those regions to the offings of Ilatteras. If we had a profile of the 

 Atlantic, we would see that in some places the channel is very shal- 

 low, but when we pass to the Windward islands it is some 4,000 

 fathoms deep. The most distinguished geographers of Germany 

 and England now call this vast expanse of water the canal of the 

 Atlantic. 



Many present, doubtless remembered the loss of the San Francisco, 

 some few years ago. She was heavily laden with United States 

 troops. After leaving New York she fell in with one.of those heavy 

 seas which are known to sailors as weather-breeders, these seas are 

 just on the edge of this stream, and this vessel met one. There were 

 two or three barks standing near her, which done all they could for 

 her, and particularly one vessel, "The Three Bells," stood by her to 

 the last, but night coming on the Three Bells lost sight of her, and 

 when the morning dawned the captain of this noble vessel did not 

 know where to look for her, and therefore hurried home. On reach- 

 ing New London he telegraphed to Washington. A revenue cutter 

 was immediately sent out to search for her ; she was furnished with 

 charts of the sea, telling at what point of the triangle the disabled 

 steamer would be found, and in eleven days the point was reached, 

 and the spars and pieces of furniture of tlie vessel were found still 

 floating. Prof. Maury in reply to a question stated that the large 

 physical atlas of Keith is the best we have. 



