50 THREE CRUISES OF THE " BLAKE." 



A systematic exploration of the Gulf of Mexico was begun in 

 1872 by Commander Howell, U. S. N., on the West Coast of 

 Florida, in comparatively shallow water, and was continued and 

 brought to a successful conclusion by Lieutenant-Commander 

 Sigsbee (1875-78) in the United States Coast Survey steamer 

 " Blake." The deep-sea hydrographic work of the " Blake " 

 was preceded by a number of soundings taken by the old meth- 

 ods, across the Straits of Florida, along the Florida Reefs, 

 and across the Gidf Stream beyond the Straits of Bemini. 

 Wire soundings were begun on the " Blake " in August, 1874, 

 while she was in charge of Commander John A. Howell, U. S. 

 N., the apparatus employed being Sir William Thomson's ma- 

 chine for sounding with piano-wire, as modified by Commander 

 George E. Belknap, U. S. N. 



The expeditions of Pourtales were followed in 1877-80 by the 

 dredging cruises of the " Blake," a vessel built especially for 

 the hydrographic work of the Coast Survey, and thoroughly 

 fitted out for deep-sea dredging and sounding-work in 1877. 

 The " Blake " explorations extended through the Caribbean 

 (Bartlett commanding), the Gulf of Mexico (Sigsbee command- 

 ing), the Straits of Florida, and the east coast of the United 

 States as far north as George's Bank. To these expeditions I 

 was attached in charge of the dredging operations. The deepest 

 trawling of the " Blake " was in 2,423 fathoms, and the deepest 

 sounding taken by the " Blake," in 1882, by Lieutenant-Com- 

 mander Brownson, off Porto Rico, was in a depth of 4,561 fath- 

 oms. Finally, we must mention the extended operations of the 

 United States Fish Commission, directed by Professor S. F. 

 Baird, assisted by a large staff of speciahsts. These commenced 

 in 1871 with naval tugs, and were carried on at first in moder- 

 ate depths. With the building of the " Fish-Hawk " in 1882, 

 the operations were extended into somewhat deeper waters off 

 the east coast of the United States ; the equipment of the " Al- 

 batross " in 1883 supplied the Fish Commission with the best 

 equipped dredger for deep-sea work in existence ; and the work 

 of the Commission is now extended to the deepest water along 

 the American coast. 



After the close of the Civil War the Coast Survey resumed 



