51 



One of the most important surveys made by our vessels survey of Sam- 

 (luring" 1882 was that of Samana Bay, by Commander an 

 Bridgrnan and the officers of the Despatch. 



Some idea of the amount of labor involved in this survey 

 may be obtained when it is kuown that within the space of 

 three months, the officers of the Despatch measured 15,655 

 angles, and made 57,877 soundings extending over lines 

 aggregating 2,G03 miles in length. 



Up to 1882, of the whole west coast of North and South 

 America, from Cape Horn to the Arctic Ocean, only a single 

 chart had been issued by the Hydrographic Office, and that 

 chart embraced a coast line of less than 300 miles. Steps, 

 however, had been taken at the Office in the preceding year 

 to commence the issue of charts of the west coast of North 

 America, and several of these were engraved and published 

 in 1882. But the law restricting the operations of the 

 Hydrographic Office to coasts and waters outside of the 

 United States prevented, and at the present time (1886) 

 still prevents, the publication of a connected series of these 

 charts until the Coast Survey shall have completed its work 

 on that coast. 



Valuable hydrographic work was accomplished in the work in Arctic 

 Arctic regions by the steamers Jeannette and Rodgers. re 

 Three new islands in the Siberian Arctic Ocean were dis- 

 covered by Lieutenant Commander De Long, in the Jean- 

 nette, and now bear the name of "De Long Islands," in his 

 honor; while Lieut. R. M. Berry, in the Rodgers, solved 

 the problem of Wrangel Land by making a survey which 

 proved it to be an island instead of an Arctic continent, 

 as had been supposed. The results of this survey, and of 

 investigations made in the Arctic Ocean on the northeast 

 coast of Siberia, were published in the Hydrographic Office 

 and communicated to foreign Governments. 



The Ranger, Commander Philip, continued the survey of 

 the west coast of Mexico, and at the close of the year had 

 nearly completed that arduous and extensive work. Com- 

 mander Philip, in the Ranger, also made a prolonged but 

 unsuccessful search for the so-called Reed Rocks, sup- 

 posed to lie in the Pacific about 700 miles west of San 

 Francisco. 



On the Asiatic Station the Alert, Commander Hunting- ^epwtsofsi^ 

 ton, finished the work of surveying a number of islands, by uavai vessels. 

 and investigating reported dangers off the southeast coast 



