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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



© Underwood & Underwood 



ACTIVE SERVICE IN EUROPEAN WATERS: MACHINE-GUN READY EOR BUSINESS 



On May 4, 28 days after the declaration of war, American destroyers arrived at a British 

 port to assist in patrolling European waters. The United States Navy was prepared for 

 whatever might come. 



furnished new charts and sailing direc- 

 tions to masters of vessels bound for 

 foreign ports, and all captains of ships 

 and others who follow the sea were in- 

 vited to join Maury in collecting data for 

 making other charts and new sailing di- 

 rections. 



He had the vision and the wisdom to 

 secure cooperation from all parts of the 

 world. Maury writes, in 1848: "The 

 Boston merchants were so pleased with 

 that Wind and Current Chart that they 

 offered to raise $50,000 to buy a vessel 

 and keep her at my orders — to try new 

 routes." 



In March, 1849, ne wrote: "The charts 

 are going ahead bravely. They are quite 

 as much admired on the other side as on 

 this, and they do turn out exceedingly 

 rich. Some new discovery, some new 

 fact or law of nature, is constantly start- 

 ing up before us as we proceed with our 

 investigation." It was a period when life 

 was worth living for those who shared 

 Maury's enthusiasm and felt the thrill 

 which new discoveries impart. 



A GREAT OCEAN RACE 



The papers of 1852 fairly glow with 

 descriptions of the famous, spectacular 

 ocean race between the two first-class 

 ships, the Governor Morton and the 

 Prima Donna, which attracted as much 

 sporting interest as the deciding base-ball 

 game of our day. These ships sailed to- 

 gether from the port of New York on 

 the fourth day of February, crossed the 

 Equator in the Atlantic Ocean on the 

 same day, though not in the same longi- 

 tude ; entered the Straits of Le Maire the 

 same day and came out the same day ; 

 crossed the Equator in the Pacific on the 

 same day and in the same longitude, and 

 arrived at San Francisco within three 

 hours of each other, after a race of 

 16,000 miles. This was truly a tribute to 

 Maury, and the San Francisco Times at 

 that time said: "These two facts demon- 

 strate the accuracy that has been obtained 

 in the science of navigation, and also 

 prove the reliance that can be placed upon 

 the Wind and Current Chart of Lieuten- 



