HIS POSTHUMOUS REPUTATION
Immediately after Maury’s death there was a veritable flood of eulogies
of the character and services of the great scientist. They were by
no means confined to the colleges, legislators, and newspapers of
Virginia; but the scientific journals throughout the world made known
in unmistakable terms the high estimation in which he was held. For
example, the British journal _Nature_ of March 20, 1873, declared that
Maury was the first to show how meteorology could be raised to the
dignity of a science, and that he was essentially a practical man in
the highest sense of the term. “He will certainly”, it added, “and
deservedly, occupy a niche in the temple of fame as a benefactor of
humanity and a promoter of scientific knowledge, to which not many men
ever attain”. It is difficult to resist the temptation to quote other
extracts from the dozens of highly commendatory appraisals of Maury’s
achievements and character, which appeared soon after his death. But
such is unnecessary, if this biography has with a reasonable degree
of success given an understandable account of his work and revealed
through the assistance of his letters the sterling character of the man.
After this flood of eulogy had subsided, a period of some fifteen
years followed during which Maury’s name was wrapped in comparative
forgetfulness. Then, there appeared in 1888 the “Life of Maury” by his
daughter Diana Fontaine Maury Corbin, and the reviews of that volume
once again brought his name into the literary and scientific journals
where the praises of former years were repeated. The _Athenaeum_ of
July 21, 1888, after pointing out how Maury’s meteorological work
had come to be unduly depreciated, declared, “The work (_Physical
Geography of the Sea_) remains one of undoubted genius—great if only
for the impulse which it gave to the study of this particular branch
of physical geography and for the enormous advance in the science of
meteorology which we owe to it”. The _Saturday Review_ of October 20,
1888 said that scientific navigation was almost non-existant before
Maury’s work and that he had improved the course of every ship on the
sea. It would be tedious to quote further from these reviews, and it
will be sufficient to state that they were unanimous in their opinion
that Maury deserved high rank among the great scientists of the world
because of his pioneer work in the field of oceanography.
In this connection, there is a letter which, because of the fame of
its author as well as the pertinence of its contents, is of peculiar
interest. Thomas Nelson Page, the distinguished Virginia novelist,
wrote to Mrs. Matthew Fontaine Maury,[28] on the receipt of a copy of
Mrs. Corbin’s biography of her father, as follows: “Please accept my
thanks for the biography of your distinguished husband which will be
an addition to our library both on account of its literary merit and
of the information it contains of one of our greatest men. I trust you
may live to see the services he rendered mankind suitably commemorated
by a monument worthy of him. But whether you do or not, the time will
assuredly come when he will be recognized by our people as an honor to
the race from which he sprang. I esteem it one of my privileges that
in my youth I knew personally two such men as General Lee and your
honored husband”.
For many years repeated attempts have been made to erect such an
adequate monument to Maury as the one mentioned in Page’s letter.
Immediately after Maury’s death, at the suggestion of Rear Admiral
Marin H. Jansen of Holland, some steps were taken toward the building
of a lighthouse on the Rocas Banks near the coast of Brazil, as a
fitting memorial to the great oceanographer. But the plan did not
succeed, as foreign geographic societies wished the movement to
originate in America, and this country, when approached on the matter,
was found unsympathetic toward the undertaking. The renewed interest
in Maury which was caused by Mrs. Corbin’s biography led to an effort
in 1890 to induce Congress to appropriate $20,000 to erect a monument
to Maury in Washington; but this attempt was not successful. Then, the
Daughters of the American Revolution began a movement, which lasted
for about fifteen years, to interest the government in building an
appropriate monument in the nature of a lighthouse upon the Rip-Raps in
Hampton Roads, off Old Point Comfort, Virginia. A final effort was made
to have the memorial built and to arrange for its unveiling during the
Jamestown Exposition in 1907; but failure again met all endeavors.
In 1915 it was suggested by the Superintendent of the Naval
Observatory that a memorial building in Maury’s honor to accommodate
the Hydrographic Office and some of the Observatory activities be
erected on the Naval Observatory grounds, but the suggestion brought
no tangible results. On May 11 of that year, however, the Matthew
Fontaine Maury Association[29] was organized in Richmond, with three
specific objects in mind. The first was to have Maury’s name placed
in the Hall of Fame of New York University. In this they have not as
yet succeeded, but in the election of 1925 Maury’s name came sixth,
with fifty-two out of the one hundred votes cast. The two successful
candidates, John Paul Jones and Edwin Booth, received sixty-eight
and eighty-five votes respectively; while the other three who were
ahead of Maury were John Jay with fifty-nine votes, Samuel Adams with
fifty-eight, and “Stonewall” Jackson with fifty-three. The second
object of the Maury Association was to induce the State Board of
Education of Virginia to appoint January 14th—Maury’s birthday—as
Maury Day in the schools; this was done June 27, 1916. Their third and
most ambitious undertaking was the erection of a bronze statue of Maury
in Richmond. In this effort slow but steady progress was made. The
Virginia legislature contributed $10,000, and after the close of the
World War the United Daughters of the Confederacy gave their support
to the raising of funds. The school children of Virginia gave $2000,
and many others contributed generously. Accordingly, the sum of $60,000
has now been raised, and the monument will in the near future be put in
place at the intersection of Belmont and Monument Avenues in Richmond,
where the corner stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies on June 22,
1922. A tentative model of this monument has been made by the sculptor,
Mr. F. William Sievers, and approved by the committee in charge of the
memorial. For description of this monument please see footnote, end of
chapter, page 251.
A long list of minor memorials to Maury have appeared from time to
time. One of the oldest is his portrait in fresco on the ceiling of
the Library of the State Capitol of Tennessee in Nashville, which
was painted in 1857. His name, among six or seven others, adorns the
exterior of the building of the Seaman’s Institute, overlooking the
Elbe, in Hamburg, Germany; while the University of Virginia has his
name inscribed on the frieze of its new Rotunda. There are a number of
other memorials in Maury’s native state. In Lexington at the Virginia
Military Institute there is a Maury-Brooke Hall in which the physical
sciences are taught. In Richmond, the house in which he invented
the electric mine has been marked, and in South Richmond a street,
a cemetery, and an elementary school all bear his name. Norfolk has
a Matthew Fontaine Maury High School; while Fredericksburg has its
Maury Hotel, and has marked the house where he resided for several
years. In Goshen Pass, a tablet in Maury’s honor was unveiled on
June 9, 1923. The bronze tablet is attached to a granite shaft about
eight feet tall, at the base of which is to be placed an anchor,
weighing 1500 pounds, and 90 feet of chain, of a type used in Maury’s
time and donated by the Virginia Pilot Association of Norfolk. This
memorial, which was designed and constructed by the sculptor Guiseppe
Moretti, was authorized by the Legislature of Virginia. In the state
of his adoption, there is only one recent memorial, a tablet in his
honor, placed on the walls of the Public School Building in Franklin,
Tennessee, by the Old Glory Chapter of the Daughters of the American
Revolution.
[Illustration:
_Courtesy of the Commanding Officer, Commander James B. Glennon, U.
S. N._
DESTROYER U. S. S. “MAURY,” NAMED IN HONOR OF MAURY]
In the United States Navy there has been considerable recognition of
Maury since his death,—particularly in recent years. His name is
placed at the top of all the charts issued by the Hydrographic Office,
in the following phrase: “Founded upon the researches made and the data
collected by Lieutenant M. F. Maury, U. S. Navy”. In 1918 a destroyer
in the U. S. Navy was called the _Maury_, and recently the Secretary
of the Navy has named the Naval Oceanographic Research in his honor.
At the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, the left wing of the
Academic Building bears the name of Maury Hall. This was originally the
navigation wing of the building, and, according to the Superintendent
of the Academy (Captain W. F. Fullam, U. S. Navy, in 1915), it was
named by his direction “Maury Hall” because of “Maury’s distinguished
and world-wide reputation in connection with meteorology and the
study of ocean currents, etc.” In 1919, the United Daughters of the
Confederacy established a prize at the Naval Academy, consisting of a
pair of marine binoculars, to be known as the “Maury Prize” and to be
awarded annually to that midshipman of the First Class who has shown
superior excellence in electrical engineering and physics. A portrait
of Maury by E. Sophonisba Hergesheimer was presented to the Naval
Academy by the Daughters of the Confederacy, Atlanta Chapter, Georgia
Division, and unveiled on November 20, 1923.[30]
One of the most recent memorials to Maury is as interesting as it
is appropriate. On December 22, 1925, the Martin Vas Isles (Ilhas
da Martin Vas) were visited by the Schooner _Blossom_ of the South
Atlantic Expedition which was sent out by the Cleveland Museum of
Natural History for the purpose of collecting specimens from the
volcanic islands of the South Atlantic. These islands, individually
unnamed and hitherto imperfectly charted, lie about eight hundred
miles off the coast of Brazil in the direction of Africa (latitude 20°
31′ S., longitude 28° 51′ W.). Captain George Finlay Simmons of the
_Blossom_ and his associates, impressed with the importance of the work
done by Maury, decided to give his name to one of the three islands of
the group which rises from the ocean like an impressive monument.
All of these memorials, so varied in their nature and so widely
distributed, would seem to indicate that Maury’s name is by no means
likely to be forgotten. Still, his name and his achievements are not
so generally known, even in the United States, as they deserve to be.
“For myself”, wrote Julian Street[31] a few years ago, “I must confess
that, until I visited Virginia, I was ignorant of the fact that such
a person had existed; nor have Northern schoolboys, to whom I have
spoken of Maury, so much as heard his name. Yet there is not one living
in the United States or in any civilized country, whose daily life is
not affected through the scientific researches and attainments of this
man”. One is surprised, however, sometimes to find foreign authors
more familiar with Maury’s name, and to meet with references to him
where one might least expect any knowledge of his scientific work. For
example, in Walter de la Mare’s “Memoirs of a Midget” (p. 226), the
reader is unexpectedly confronted with this: “I searched Mrs. Bowater’s
library for views of the sea, but without much reward. So I read over
Mr. Bowater’s Captain Maury—on the winds and monsoons and tide-rips
and hurricanes, freshened up my _Robinson Crusoe_, and dreamed of the
Angels with the Vials”. Another example, almost equally unexpected is
to be found in Vicente Blasco Ibanez’s “Mare Nostrum” (p. 65). “He
(Ulysses) had learned English”, writes Ibanez, “the universal language
of the blue dominions, and was refreshing himself with a study of
Maury’s charts—the sailor’s Bible—the patient work of an obscure
genius who first snatched from ocean and atmosphere the secret of their
laws”.
In recent scientific works, however, such as “The Depths of the Sea”
by Sir John Murray and Dr. Johan Hjort, “Science of the Sea” edited by
G. Herbert Fowler, and “Founders of Oceanography” by Sir William A.
Herdman one is not surprised to find full justification for referring
to Maury as “The Pathfinder of the Seas”, for marine meteorology,
they declare, may be said to date from his time. Not only is this
title appropriate in that Maury laid out on his charts the best tracks
for voyagers to follow on the Seven Seas, but it is also fitting in
a figurative sense for he was indeed a pathfinder in the realm of a
new science,—the physical geography of the sea. This phrase was,
therefore, rightly chosen to be placed on the memorial tablet in Goshen
Pass as well as on the one at Franklin, Tennessee, and it is to be
prominently inscribed on the monument soon to be erected to him in
Richmond. This beautifully poetic title, “The Pathfinder of the Seas”,
will be his real monument against which the tooth of time will gnaw in
vain, for it will rest solidly based upon his original contributions to
the science of the world: “The Physical Geography of the Sea” and the
“Wind and Current Charts” with their “Sailing Directions”.
It is not so easy, on the other hand, to describe in a phrase Maury’s
personality. Some of those who knew him well thought his most
characteristic trait was his modesty; others considered “masculine
common sense”, which enabled him to see things in their true light and
their real bearing, most fully characterized him; while still another
declared that he belonged to that class of men who are _sans peur et
sans reproche_. But his character had too many facets for such a simple
characterization, and one is forced to turn to a more detailed summary.
Perhaps, the most nearly satisfying one of this sort is that written by
Francis H. Smith, formerly Professor of Physics at the University of
Virginia and one who was well acquainted with Maury and his scientific
work.
“Of Maury’s personality”, Professor Smith wrote, “it may be said that
no one that had the privilege of meeting him ever forgot the event.
He had the winning manner and kindly address which seemed to belong
to the men of his race and section. No worthy young fellow ever felt
ignored or oppressed in his presence. He wore his honors easily, but
while he valued the public tributes he received, he was not fond of
displaying the insignia which came with them. He would put on those
jewels sometimes in the privacy of home to gratify his children. He
loved the little ones, and if to be childlike is to be perfect he was
charmingly complete. His conversation was interesting to the thoughtful
in the richness of the lessons he drew from common things. He would
couple facts, regarded by others as unconnected, and thereby disclose
unsuspected relations. It takes genius to make the rejected refuse of
one generation the valuable ore of a succeeding one. This detection of
a hidden meaning in the simplest matters shows the inexhaustible nature
of truth, and is the mark of a superior mind”.[32]
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Permission has been granted to print the
following portion of Miss Virginia Lee Cox’s description of the
Maury Monument soon to be erected in Richmond, Virginia:
“It is a marvelous conception of the man who was admired as the
‘Pathfinder of the Seas,’ and beloved for his humanity. Just how
wonderful it is, is proved in the words of Commodore Maury’s own
daughter, Mrs. James R. Werth, who, when she saw the finished
figure of Mr. Sievers’ skill, said: ‘I feel as if I am sitting in
the presence of my father in flesh, blood, and spirit; I feel as if
I could put my arms around his neck as I did when I was a little
girl.’
“The sculptor has portrayed Maury in a reminiscent attitude,
listening to the voice of the storm. It has been said of him that
the voice of the wind and waves was music to his ears and Mr.
Sievers, with fine sympathy and originality, built on much study of
the man, has succeeded in showing this.
“Above the figure of Maury, which is seated in a great chair,
there is a group of figures which supports the globe. The figures
represent a storm on land and sea. At one corner of the monument is
an ox around which cluster the windswept figures of the farmer and
his household, driven before the fury of the storm.
“At the other corner is an overturned boat and figures of women
and sailors, drenched in the thundering waves of the sea. The
group embraces a symbolization of the world and its natural
elements. Through the allegorization three of Maury’s outstanding
achievements are brought well to the foreground—meteorology,
hydrography, and geography.
“The storm is a meteorological disturbance, and the capsized
lifeboat with its occupants amid the rolling waves is symbolic
of ocean meteorology, a branch of hydrography, symbolized also
in the “paths of the sea” on the globe, that naturally represent
geography.
“On the plinth of the monument in the flattest relief are figures
of fish, representing Maury’s interest in the paths of the sea. The
story goes that once when Maury was ill he had his son read the
Bible to him each night. One night he read the eighth Psalm, and
when he came to the passage—‘The fishes of the sea and whatsoever
walketh through the paths of the sea’—Maury had him read it over
several times. Finally he said, ‘If God says there are paths in the
sea I am going to find them if I get out of this bed.’ Thus the
Psalm was the direct inspiration for his discoveries.
“Mr. Sievers has shown Maury in a reminiscent mood, representing
him at that period of his life when he had achieved his greatest
discoveries. In his right hand are the pencil and the compass,
and in his left hand a chart. Against his chair is the Bible,
from which he drew inspiration for his explorations. The sculptor
has caught amazingly the spirit of the man.”—From Richmond (Va.)
_Times_.
LIST OF LETTERS
(Quoted in full or in part)
Maury to (?), March, 1856, 4
Maury to Sally Fontaine, October 26, 1866, 5
Maury to Frank Minor, October 30, 1859, 5
Maury to Frank Minor, November 5, 1859, 5
Maury to William Hasbrouck, March 13, 1866, 9
Maury to William Hasbrouck, April 14, 1865, 9
Maury to Rutson Maury, August 31, 1840, 12
Maury to N. P. Willis, September 24, 1859, 16
Captain William B. Whiting to Maury’s daughter, May 31, 1873, 23
Maury to Ann Maury, February 25, 1872, 30
Maury to Ann Maury, February 15, 1840, 33
Maury to Secretary of Navy Paulding, March 14, 1840, 33
Maury to S. F. B. Morse, February 23, 1854, 77
Cyrus W. Field to Maury, June 20, 1855, 79
Maury to Dr. Kane, October 7, 1856, 82
Maury to Lord Lyons, April, 1861, 82
Maury to Felix Julien, Imperial French Navy, February 21, 1859, 102
Ripley Ropes to George Manning, December 18, 1856, 103
Maury to Secretary of Navy Dobbin, September 20, 1855, 108
Maury to Bishop Otey, September 20, 1855, 109
Secretary of Navy Dobbin to Maury, November 9, 1855, 110
Matthew Calbraith Perry to Maury, November 12, 1855, 111
James S. Biddle to Maury, November 15, 1855, 112
Maury to Hasbrouck, April 23, 1858, 116
Secretary of Navy Toucey to Maury, January 29, 1858, 117
Maury to Captain A. H. Foote, March 27, 1855, 118
Maury to John A. Bulles, May 20, 1845, 120
Maury to Frank Minor, December 30, 1859, 121
Maury to Governor Packer, Pennsylvania, January 3, 1860, 121
Maury to Rutson Maury, January 24, 1861, 123
Maury to Hasbrouck, March 4, 1861, 124
Maury to Frank Minor, February 16, 1861, 127
Maury to Professor L. F. Kamtz, Russia (undated), 130
Maury to William Blackford, March 12, 1849, 131
Maury to Hasbrouck, November 3, 1852, 131
Maury to Hamilton Lieber, May 30, 1850, 132
Maury to Rear Admiral Fitzroy, England, August, 1861, 143
Maury to Secretary of Navy Welles, April 26, 1861, 143
Maury to Frank Minor, June 11, 1861, 145
Hasbrouck to Maury, June 21, 1861, 147
Maury to Frank Minor, July 19, 1861, 149
Maury to Frank Minor, August 11, 1861, 150
Maury to Frank Minor, August 2 and 19, 1861, 150
Maury to Secretary of Navy Mallory, June 19, 1862, 151
Secretary of Navy Mallory to Davidson, June 20, 1862, 154
Maury MS. Lecture on Torpedoes to Dutch Government
Representatives, July, 1866, 154
Maury to Frank Minor, April 15, 1862, 160
Maury to Frank Minor, June 8, 1862, 160
Maury to Frank Minor, August 19, 1861, 161
Grand Duke Constantine to Maury, July 27, (August 8), 1861, 162
Maury to Grand Duke Constantine, October 29, 1861, 165
Maury to Rutson Maury, September 21, 1863, 166
Maury to Frank Minor, October 24, 1862, 168
Maury to Mrs. M. F. Maury, September 24, 1862, 168
Maury to His Daughter Nannie, April 20, 1863, 173
Maury to His Family, August 29, 1864, 178
Maury to Frank Minor, January 23, 1863, 183
Maury to Brodie Herndon, April 22, 1863, 184
Thomas Bold to Maury, April 26, 1865, 186
Maury to His Wife, October 15, 1865, 187
Maury’s Letter of Surrender, May 25, 1865, 187
Mrs. W. A. Maury to Maury, June 19, 1865, 188
Brodie Herndon to Maury, May 1, 1865, 188
Maury to Tremlett, May 19, 1865, 189
Captain Jansen to Maury, July 22, 1865, 190
General Lee to Maury, September 8, 1865, 191
Maury to His Wife, September 12, 1865, 195
Maury to His Wife, November 27, 1865, 198
Maximilian to Maury, January 29, 1866, 199
Carlotta to Maury, January 29, 1866, 199
Maximilian to Maury, April 19, 1866, 202
Maury to Maximilian, July 1, 1866, 203
Maury to Rutson Maury, July 8, 1866, 205
Maury to (?), August, 1866, 210
Maximilian to Maury, August 16, 1866, 212
Maury to Maximilian, October 11, 1866, 212
Maury to Jansen, July 7, 1867, 215
Maury to Jack (?), July 24, 1867, 215
Rutson Maury to Maury, September 9, 1870, 215
Maury to James Minor, May 10, 1868, 216
William Wright to Maury, August 3, 1869, 216
Maury to Superintendent Francis H. Smith, V. M. I.,
April 21, 1868, 218
Maury to Jansen, July 17, 1868, 220
Maury to Tremlett, June 13, 1869, 221
Maury to Tremlett, March 8, 1869, 222
Maury to Tremlett, December 10, 1871, 227
Maury to Tremlett, February 2, 1872, 227
Maury to Rutson Maury, January, 1870, 229
Rutson Maury to Maury, November 11, 1871, 231
Tremlett to Maury, December 11, 1871, 231
Senator Johnston, Virginia, to Maury, April 25, 1872, 231
Maury to Tremlett, June 13, 1869, 233
E. P. Dorr to Thompson B. Maury, February 25, 1873, 236
M. F. Maury, Junior, to His Sister Nannie, October 15, 1883, 236
M. F. Maury, Junior, to Jansen, September 21, 1873, 241
Thomas Nelson Page to Mrs. M. F. Maury, March 28, 1891, 243
INDEX
Abbé, Cleveland, 236.
Abel, Frederic Augustus, 207.
Adams, John Quincy, 128, 234.
Adams, Samuel, 245.
_Agamemnon_, 79.
Agassiz, Alexander, 128.
_Alabama_, 171, 173, 226.
_Albany_, 67.
Allen, John J., 145.
Amundson, Roald, 82.
_Antarctic_, 62.
Appomattox, 183.
_Arabia_, Cunard Steamer, 170.
_Arctic_, 79.
Arctic and Antarctic Exploration, 81–83.
Arman, L., 174.
Ashburton, Lord (Alexander Baring), 128.
Atlantic Cable, 76, 77, 104, 212.
_Atrato_, Royal Mail Steamer, 183.
Bache, Professor Alexander D., 80.
Bacon, Francis, 131.
Badger, Secretary of Navy, George E., 41.
Bailey, Professor J. W., 76.
Barron, Commodore James, 133.
Barron, Captain Samuel, 171.
Bazaine, General F. A., 214.
Beauregard, General Pierre G. T., 126, 209.
Bell, Senator John, 113.
“Ben Bow” Articles in Richmond _Enquirer_, 155–158, 162.
Benjamin, Senator Judah P., 114.
Berryman, Lieutenant O. H., 67, 76, 79.
Biddle, E. C. and J., Publishers, 27, 67, 68.
Biddle, Commodore James, 52.
Biddle, Lieutenant James S., 108, 111.
Bigelow, Abraham, 108.
Blackburn, the Reverend Doctor, 4, 5.
_Blossom_, Schooner, 248.
Bolivar, Simon, 14.
Booth, Edwin, 245.
Bowditch, Nathaniel, 22, 27, 37.
_Brandywine_, U. S. Frigate, 9, 10, 12, 13.
Brooke, John Mercer, 76, 229, 246.
Brown, John, 121.
Brussels Conference, 57, 58, 85, 229, 230, 232.
Buchan, Alexander, 232.
Buchanan, Admiral Franklin, 108, 146.
Buckingham, Duke of, 185.
Bulloch, James T., 170, 174, 177, 186, 187, 188.
Bureau of Coast, Harbor, and River Defense, 148.
Busey, N. H., 247.
Byrd, Commander Richard Evelyn, 82.
Byron, Lord George Gordan, 131.
Calhoun, John C., 128.
Cambridge LL.D., 215–217.
Carlotta, Empress of Mexico, 190, 195, 197, 199, 200, 203, 213–216.
Carpenter, W. B., 75.
Carter, W. F., 153.
Champlain, Battle of Lake, 7.
Charles II, 2.
Children, Maury’s (Pet Names), 139, 141.
Clayton, Senator J. M., 114.
Coffin, Professor John H. C., 47.
Collingwood, Admiral Cuthbert, 133.
Colt, Colonel Samuel, 154.
Columbia University, 64.
_Columbus_, 52.
_Congress_, 18.
_Consort_, 29, 32.
Constantine, Grand Duke of Russia, 128, 162, 164, 166, 180, 209.
Corbin, Mrs. Diana Fontaine (Maury), 136, 141, 147, 185, 203,
242–244.
Cox, Virginia Lee, 251.
Coxetter, Captain Louis M., 168.
Craven, Captain T. T., 172.
Cuba, 162, 183, 186, 187, 189, 193, 199.
_Cumberland_, 148.
_Cyclops_, 78.
Dahlgren, John A., 128.
Dante, Alighieri, 131.
Davidson, Lieutenant Hunter, 153–155.
Davis, Jefferson, 114, 124, 126, 128, 146, 154, 160, 162, 165, 175,
179, 189, 215, 219.
Davy, Marie, 232.
Dayman, Lieutenant (Royal Navy), 78.
Decatur, Stephen, 133.
Decorations, Degrees, etc., 63–65, 112, 162, 163, 215–217.
De Haven, Edward J., 81, 82.
De la Mare, Walter, 249.
De Le Marche, Captain, 165.
_Delta_, Royal Mail Steamer, 169.
Dickerson, Secretary of Navy, Mahlon, 27, 29, 30, 33.
Dobbin, Secretary of Navy, J. C., 114.
_Dolphin_, 24, 67, 76.
Dorr, E. P., 236.
Downes, John, 24.
Du Pont, Samuel F., 108.
Edgeworth, Maria, 141.
Elder, John A., 247.
Electric Torpedoes (Mines), 148–155, 178–183, 204–208.
_Elizabeth_, 190.
_Engineer_, 31.
_Essex_, 7, 16.
_Experiment_, 31.
_Falmouth_, 23, 24, 51.
Faraday, Professor Michael, 80, 128.
Farleyvale, 142, 147.
Farragut, Admiral David Glasgow, 11, 18, 178.
Field, Cyrus W., 78, 79, 128, 212.
Finch (Bolton), William Compton, 14, 15, 17, 18.
Fitzroy, Robert, 229.
_Flying Cloud_, 60.
_Flying Fish_, 61.
Fontaine, Sally, 141.
Foote, Andrew H., 108.
Forbes, R. B., 83.
Fowler, G. Herbert, 249.
Francia, Dr. José G. R., 120.
Franklin, Tennessee, 3, 4, 9, 31, 246, 249.
Franklin, Sir John, 81.
Fraser, Trenholm and Company, 170.
Fredericksburg, 2, 9, 26, 28, 31, 32, 41, 126, 146, 150, 164, 167,
196, 227, 246.
Fullam, W. F., 247.
Fulton, Robert, 154.
Gentry, Susie, 248.
Geography Series, 210–211, 222–225, 237.
Georgetown College, 94.
_Georgia_, 171, 172.
Gibraltar, 12.
Gilliss, John P., 44, 45, 81.
Gladstone, William Ewart, 175.
Glynn, James, 29, 31.
Godon, Sylvanus W., 108.
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 131.
Goldsborough, Lewis M., 44.
Goshen Pass, 240, 241, 246, 249.
Graham, Secretary of Navy, William A., 56, 64, 114, 116.
Gregory, Captain Francis H., 30.
Gunboats, Construction of, 158–160.
Hall of Fame, 245.
Hamburg, Germany, 246, 247.
Harlan, Senator James, 87.
Harper and Brothers, 68, 102.
Harpeth Academy, 4, 7.
Harris, Isham G., 198.
Harrison, Thomas, 127.
Hasbrouck, William C., 5, 7, 68, 123, 147.
Hassler, F. R., 31.
Hawaii, 17.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 128.
Haymond, Thomas S., 145.
Hemans, Felicia D., 132.
Henry, Professor Joseph, 89.
_Herald_, 168, 169.
Herdman, Sir William A., 75, 249.
Hergesheimer, E. Sophonisba, 247.
Herndon, Ann Hull (See _Maury, Mrs. M. F._).
Herndon, Dr. Brodie, 188, 237.
Herndon, Edward, 8.
Herndon, Ellen, 59.
Herndon, William Lewis, 82, 119.
Herschel, Sir John, 74, 75.
Hindman, General Thomas C., 197.
Hjort, Johan, 249.
Hollywood Cemetery, 241.
Holmes, Nathaniel J., 183, 204, 205.
Honolulu, 17.
Houston, Samuel, 7, 128.
Hubbard, Professor J. S., 47, 48.
Humboldt, Baron F. H. Alexander von, 59, 65, 68, 78, 128.
Ibanez, Vicente Blasco, 248.
_Immortality_, H. M. S., 170.
“Inca Papers” on the Amazon, 119–120.
_Investigator_, H. M. S., 82.
Irving, Washington, 18.
Irving, Midshipman William, 18.
Jackson, Andrew, 27, 29.
Jackson, “Stonewall”, 240, 245.
Jansen, Marin H., 128, 138, 181, 189, 190, 203, 208, 209, 232, 237,
244.
_Japan_, 171.
Jay, John, 245.
_John Gilpin_, 61.
Johnston, Senator John Warfield, 231.
Jomard, E. F., 74, 128.
Jones, John Paul, 245.
Jones, Thomas Ap Catesby, 29, 30, 41.
Juarez, Benito P., 214.
Kamehameha III, 17.
Kane, Dr. Elisha K., 82, 128.
Kearny, Captain Lawrence, 30.
Keith, Professor Ruel, 47.
Kennedy, Secretary of Navy, John P., 114.
Kennon, Beverly, 155.
_Kilby_, 62.
Lafayette, Marquis de, 10–12, 27.
Laird, John, 171, 209.
Lalande, Joseph de, 48, 49.
Land Meteorology, 85–89, 229–237.
Lee, General Robert Edward, 144, 146, 183, 187, 188, 191–193, 220,
239, 244.
Lee, S. P., 67.
Letcher, Governor John, 145, 150, 158, 159, 161, 220, 227.
Leverrier, W. J. J., 48, 128.
Lexington, Virginia, 220, 221, 227, 228, 239–241, 246.
Lieber, Hamilton, 132.
Liebig, Justus von, 128.
Lincoln, Abraham, 123, 125, 126, 157, 183.
Locke, John, 46.
Lomax, Judge John T., 41.
Longfellow, H. W., 216.
Lopez, Colonel Miguel, 214.
Lowell Institute, 103.
Lynch, William Francis, 81, 82.
Macdonough, Thomas, 7.
_Macedonian_, 13, 29.
Magruder, General John B., 197.
Mallory, Stephen R., 113–115, 146, 150, 160–162, 166, 174, 179, 215.
Manassas, Battle of, 161.
Manila, 18.
Manning, George, 68.
“Mare Nostrum”, 248.
Margolle, M., 232.
Markham, Clements, 200.
Marquesas Islands, 14.
Maupin (Mauphin?), Dr. Socrates, 153.
_Maury_, U. S. S. Destroyer, 247.
“Maury Testimonial”, 208, 209.
Maury, Abram, 2, 7.
Maury, Betty (Mrs. W. A. Maury), 139, 141, 146.
Maury, General Dabney H., 67, 90, 183.
Maury, Diana Fontaine (See “Corbin, Mrs. Diana Fontaine”).
Maury, Eliza, 141, 203.
Maury, Ellen, 59.
Maury, John Herndon, 132, 141, 183, 184.
Maury, John Minor, 7, 16, 26.
Maury, Lucy, 141, 185, 203, 215.
Maury, Mary (Mrs. James R. Werth), 126, 141, 203, 215, 247, 251.
Maury, Mrs. Matthew Fontaine, 9, 22, 26, 123, 126, 140, 142, 146,
163, 185, 191, 195, 196, 198, 200, 202, 203, 215, 237, 239, 243.
Maury, Matthew Fontaine, his birth, 2;
elementary education, 4–6;
entrance to the Navy, 7–9;
his first three cruises, 10–24;
his “A New Theoretical and Practical Treatise on Navigation”,
27–28;
promoted Lieutenant, 29;
South Sea Exploring Expedition, 29–30;
surveying Southern harbors, 31;
injury to his leg, 32;
“Scraps from the Lucky Bag”, 33–40, 43, 155;
journalistic work, 41–43;
astronomical work, 44–50;
“Wind and Current Charts”, 51–63, 83, 144, 249;
honors, 63–65, 112, 162, 163;
“Physical Geography of the Sea”, 66–75, 84, 102, 124, 243, 249,
250;
Atlantic Telegraph Cable, 75–80, 211–213;
interest in Arctic and Antarctic exploration, 81–83;
ocean lanes for steamers, 83;
land meteorology, 85–89, 229–237;
transportation routes, 90–93;
lectures and addresses, 93–106;
“Retiring Board”, 107–117, 146;
promoted Commander, 117;
“Inca Papers” on the Amazon, 119–120;
mediation between North and South, 120–125;
his resignation from the U. S. Navy, 126, 127, 143;
his character, 129, 130, 250, 251;
ideas about education, 131–134, 140, 141;
Maury and his family, 134–142;
his appearance, 135;
assistance in the defense of Virginia, 145–147;
a Commander in the Virginia State Navy and also a Commander in the
Navy of the Confederacy, 145;
as Chief of Bureau of Coast, Harbor, and River Defense invents
torpedoes (or mines), 148–155;
“Ben Bow” articles in the Richmond _Enquirer_, 155–158, 162;
construction of gunboats, 158–160;
invited to Russia, 162–165;
invited to France, 166, 204, 205;
ordered to England, 166–170;
fitting out _Georgia_ and _Rappahannock_, 171–174;
as a propagandist for the Confederacy, 174–176;
international political intrigues, 176–177;
experiments with electric mines, 178–183;
leaves England, 183–188;
goes to Mexico, 189–192;
Mexican colonization scheme, 189, 193–201, 202, 203, 213;
in England again, 202;
his “Torpedo School”, 204–208;
“Maury Testimonial”, 208–209;
his Geography Series, 210–211, 222–225, 237;
enters the Church, 215;
Cambridge University confers on him the LL.D., 215–217;
his return to the United States, 218–220;
“Physical Survey of Virginia”, 219, 221, 222, 227, 233;
Maury at Virginia Military Institute, 220–239;
last illness and death, 237–239;
his burial in Hollywood Cemetery, 240–241;
estimates of his work, 242–244, 248–251;
monuments and other memorials, 149, 244–248.
Maury, Matthew Fontaine, Junior (“Brave”), 141, 167–169, 171, 185,
186, 203, 215, 222, 236, 241.
Maury, Mytton, 222.
Maury, Reuben, 8.
Maury, Richard (father of Matthew Fontaine Maury), 2.
Maury, Richard (brother to Matthew Fontaine Maury), 8.
Maury, Richard Launcelot, 132, 141, 147, 167, 187, 196, 198, 201,
210, 239.
Maury, Robert H., 149.
Maury, Rutson, 147, 215, 224, 231.
Maury, Thompson B., 236.
Maury, William L., 108, 153, 171, 172.
Maximilian, Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, and Emperor of Mexico,
128, 177, 189–191, 193, 195–204, 212, 213, 215.
McCauley, Charles S., 108.
McClure, Commander (Royal Navy), 82.
McGuire, Parson E. C., 26.
McKay, Donald, 128.
McRay, Archibald, 81.
Mejía, General Tomás, 214.
_Merrimac_ (C. S. S. _Virginia_), 159.
_Minnesota_, 148, 151, 158.
Minor, Diana, 2.
Minor, Dudas, 2.
Minor, John, 146.
Minor, Robert D., 151.
Miramón, General Miguel, 214.
Missroon, John S., 108, 115.
Mobile Bay, Battle of, 178.
Moffitt, Mrs. E. E., 245.
_Mohican_, 169, 170.
Monroe, President James, 241.
Montague, R. L., 145.
Monuments and memorials, 149, 244–248, 250.
Mordecai, Major Alfred, 197.
Moretti, Giuseppe, 246.
Morgan, James Morris, 168, 170.
Morris, Captain Charles, 10, 18.
Morris, Dr., 151, 153.
Morse, Professor S. F. B., 80, 128.
Müller, Max, 216.
Murray, John, 249.
Myer, General Albert James, 229, 235–237.
Nabuco, Joaquim, 120.
Napoleon I, 18.
Napoleon III, 65, 166, 174, 175, 177, 204, 214, 215.
Nashville, Tennessee, 3, 105, 123, 246.
Navigation, Maury’s “A New Theoretical and Practical Treatise on
Navigation”, 27, 28.
Newton, Isaac, 131.
_Niagara_, 79, 172.
Norfolk, Virginia, 7, 13, 29, 31, 41, 91, 93, 148, 151, 159, 161,
221, 234, 235, 246.
Nukahiva, 14–16.
Ocean Lanes for steamers, 83.
Orr, Colonel James L., 165.
Otey, Bishop James, 4, 96, 128.
Packer, Governor William F., 121.
Page, Richard L., 81, 108.
Page, Thomas Nelson, 243, 244.
Pakington, Sir John, 209.
Pasteur, Louis, 165.
Paulding, Secretary of Navy, James K., 33.
_Peacock_, 30.
Pendergrast, G. J., 108.
Pendleton, William (D.D.), 239.
Perkins, Judge John, 198.
Perry, Matthew Calbraith, 30, 81, 108, 109, 111, 128.
“Physical Geography of the Sea”, 66–75, 84, 102, 124, 243, 249, 250.
“Physical Survey of Virginia”, 219, 221, 222, 227, 233.
_Pioneer_, 229.
Plato, 131.
Platt, Captain Charles T., 67.
Plutarch, 131.
Poe, Edgar Allan, 28.
Poinsett, Secretary of War, Joel R., 30.
Polk, Bishop Leonidas, 128, 151.
Pollard, Edward Albert, 160.
Poma, Manuela, 24, 25.
Pope Pius IX, 59, 65, 214.
Porter, David, 7, 16.
_Potomac_, 25, 26.
Preston, Margaret J., 240.
Price, Governor Stirling, 198.
Priestly, Joseph, 205.
Pynes, the Reverend Doctor, 140.
Quetelet, Jacques Adolphe Lambert, 57, 58, 232.
Quintard, Bishop Charles Todd, 215.
Rains, General Gabriel J., 155.
_Rappahannock_, 172, 173.
_Raven_, 60.
“Retiring Board”, 107–117.
Reynolds, Governor Thomas C., 197.
Richardson and Company, 210, 224, 225.
Richmond, Virginia, 40, 93, 143, 145, 147–151, 155, 159, 161, 162,
166, 178, 183, 187, 220, 221, 227, 240, 241, 245, 246, 250.
Richmond Medical College, 149.
Ringgold, Cadwalader, 81.
_Roanoke_, 148.
“Robinson Crusoe”, 249.
Rodgers, John, 12.
Rodgers, John, Junior, 81.
Rollins, R., 153.
Sampson Low, Son and Company, 68.
Sandwich Islands, 17.
_San Francisco_, 62.
_San Jacinto_, 170.
_Savannah_, 151.
Scharf’s “History of the Confederate States Navy”, 155.
Scott, Sir Walter, 132.
Scott, General Winfield, 110.
“Scraps from the Lucky Bag”, 33–40, 43, 155.
_Sea Witch_, 60.
Secchi, Father Angelo, 232.
Semmes, Raphael, 226.
Seneca, 131.
Shakespeare, William, 132.
Shelby, General Joseph O., 197, 198.
Sheridan, General Philip H., 199.
Shubrick, Captain William B., 30, 108.
Sievers, F. William, 245, 251, 252.
Silliman, Professor Benjamin, 128.
Simmons, George Finlay, 248.
Simonds, Frederic William, 224.
Sims, William Gilmore, 128.
Slaughter, General James H., 197.
Slidell, John, 177.
Smith, Superintendent Francis H., 145, 220, 241.
Smith, Professor Francis H., 250.
Smith, General Kirby, 197.
Socrates, 126.
South Sea Exploring Expedition, 29–30.
Soulé, Pierre, 197.
_Star of the West_, 125.
Stephens, Alexander H., 124.
Stevenson, Sara Y., 197.
Stewart, Chaplain C. S., 15, 17, 18.
St. John’s College, 225.
Stockton, Commodore Robert F., 124.
Stoeckle, Baron, 164.
Strain, Isaac G., 81.
Street, Julian, 248.
Stribling, C. K., 108.
Tahiti, 17.
Talbot and Son’s Iron Works, 149.
_Taney_, 67.
_Teaser_, 153, 154.
Terrell, General James B., 197, 199.
Thomson, C. Wyville, 74, 75.
Thomson, William (Lord Kelvin), 80.
_Three Bells_, 62.
Toucey, Secretary of Navy, J., 117.
Toynbee, Captain Henry, 229.
_Trade Wind_, 61.
Tredegar Iron Works, 149.
Tremlett, the Reverend Doctor F. W., 176, 185, 189, 208, 209, 216,
231, 233, 237.
“Trent Affair”, 170.
Tyler, President John, 40, 128, 241.
Tyndall, Professor John, 209.
_Typhoon_, 60.
U. S. Naval Academy, 38, 132, 247.
University of Alabama, 225–227.
University of North Carolina, 64.
University of the South, 95, 123, 215, 218.
University of Virginia, 94, 132, 153, 218, 246, 250.
University Publishing Company, 222.
Upshur, Secretary of Navy, A. P., 44, 52.
Valentine, Edward V., 135, 247.
Valparaiso, 7, 14, 19, 23, 25, 104.
_Victor_, 172.
_Vincennes_, 14, 15, 17, 18, 30.
_Virginia_, C. S. S., 159.
Virginia Military Institute, 132, 159, 218, 220–222, 227, 228, 239,
241, 246.
Walker, General John G., 197.
Walker, Sears Cook, 48.
Walsh, Lieutenant J. C., 67.
Washington, George, 12, 44.
Washington and Lee University, 222, 239.
Welles, Secretary of Navy, Gideon, 143.
West Point, 37, 38, 131.
_W. H. D. C. Wright_, 54.
Wheatstone, Sir Charles, 206.
White, Editor Thomas W., 41.
Whiting, William B., 23, 25, 143.
Whitthorne, W. C., 105.
Wilcox, General C. M., 197.
_Wild Pigeon_, 61.
Wilkes, Charles, 30, 31, 33, 44, 81, 169.
Willis, Nathaniel Parker, 128, 129.
“Wind and Current Charts”, 51–63, 83, 144, 249.
Wordsworth, William, 132.
Wright, William, 216.
Wrottesley, Lord John, 59, 68, 128.
Wurttemberg, King of, 205, 208.
Yancey, Robert L., 123.
Yorktown, Battle of, 11.
Zurcher, M., 232.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FOOTNOTES: |
| |
| [1] “Scraps from a Lucky Bag” in _Southern Literary Messenger_, |
| May, 1840. |
| |
| [2] _Ibid._, December, 1840. |
| |
| [3] From “The National Observatory” read by Maury before the |
| Virginia Historical Society. It was copied from _The Historical |
| Register_ in the _Southern Literary Messenger_ of May, 1849. |
| |
| [4] From “Introduction”, p. xiii, to Maury’s _Physical Geography |
| of the Sea_, 1855. |
| |
| [5] “Physical Geography of the Sea”, 1855, p. 263. |
| |
| [6] “Sailing Directions”, sixth edition (1854), pp. 725–730. |
| |
| [7] “Founders of Oceanography”, p. 175. |
| |
| [8] From “Chapter 1, The Air” by Hugh Robert Mill and D. Wilson |
| Barker in _Science of the Sea_, edited by G. Herbert Fowler for |
| the Challenger Society, 1912, p. 3. |
| |
| [9] There is a tradition that Field said in this speech: “I am a |
| man of few words: Maury furnished the brains, England gave the |
| money, and I did the work.” But diligent search has failed to |
| discover any authority for the statement. |
| |
| [10] _Um Estadista do Imperio_ (Paris, 1897), III, 12. |
| |
| [11] In the _Home Journal_ of New York, September, 1859. |
| |
| [12] _The Life of Maury_ by Diana Fontaine Maury Corbin, pp. 147, |
| 148. |
| |
| [13] _Ibid._, pp. 149–154. Maury’s children were Betty, Diana |
| Fontaine, Richard Launcelot, John Herndon, Mary, Eliza, Matthew |
| Fontaine, Jr., and Lucy. |
| |
| [14] Maury had some connection with the reconstruction of this |
| vessel. In a lecture on “Man’s Power-giving Knowledge”, delivered |
| by him to Virginia Military Institute students on January 23, |
| 1871, he said, “After the burning of the Norfolk Navy Yard in |
| 1861, the Governor’s Council advised that the _Merrimac_ should |
| be raised and converted into an ironclad. Quick to perceive and |
| prompt to act, as in the emergencies of the war he ever was, his |
| Excellency caused it to be done”. This is corroborated by the |
| following entry in the minutes of the Council for May 11, 1861, |
| for a meeting at which Maury was present: “Governor submitted for |
| approval a proposal of B. and I. Baker of Norfolk to raise the |
| wreck of the steamer _Merrimac_ and deliver her in the Dry Dock |
| at Gosport Navy Yard for $5000.... Advised unanimously that the |
| proposed be accepted”. |
| |
| [15] “The Lost Cause” by Edward A. Pollard, p. 192. |
| |
| [16] “Recollections of a Rebel Reefer”, p. 100. |
| |
| [17] “History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850” |
| by James Ford Rhodes, IV, 339. |
| |
| [18] “The Secret Service of the Confederate States in Europe”, |
| James D. Bulloch, II, 62–63. |
| |
| [19] Of this son Maury wrote in the family Bible: “Our noble |
| son, John Herndon, went out from Vicksburg, Miss., alive, on |
| the 27th day of January, 1863, to reconnoiter the enemy. A few |
| hours afterwards his horse was seen without a rider, but nothing |
| was ever heard of him. From the footprints and other signs and |
| marks on the levee, it is supposed that he was surprised by a |
| scouting-party of the enemy in ambush within our lines and done |
| to death. Comely in person, lovely in disposition, generous and |
| brave, he loved right and hated wrong. Precious in the eyes of |
| his parents, he was very dear to our hearts”. |
| |
| [20] “The Secret Service of the Confederate States in Europe” by |
| James D. Bulloch, II, 415. |
| |
| [21] “Maximilian in Mexico” by Sara Y. Stevenson, p. 174. |
| |
| [22] In 1888 Norway, through Rear Admiral Neils Ihlen, Royal |
| Norwegian Navy, sent to Maury’s children the sum of $2180.74 |
| which had been intended to be applied to the Testimonial Fund. |
| |
| [23] The last letter that Maury received from the unfortunate |
| Empress enclosed photographs of herself and Maximilian. After |
| becoming insane, she was taken to the Château de Bouchout in |
| Brabant, Belgium, where she continued to write pathetic love |
| letters to her “dearest Maximilian”, whom she did not realize to |
| have been dead. Death came to her at the age of eighty-six, on |
| January 19, 1927. During the World War, a heavy guard was placed |
| around her villa by order of the Kaiser and this placard set |
| up: “This villa is the property of Her Majesty the Empress of |
| Mexico, sister of His Majesty Francis Joseph, Kaiser of Austria. |
| Disturbances in the neighborhood will be punished with the utmost |
| severity”. |
| |
| [24] It has often been stated that the poet Tennyson received |
| the LL.D. from Cambridge at this same time. This is incorrect. |
| A letter of May 12, 1926, from the Registrary of Cambridge |
| University states that on May 28, 1868, the “Degree of LL.D. |
| _honoris causa_ was conferred upon: Frederick Max Müller, |
| Professor of Comparative Philology, Oxford; William Wright, |
| Assistant in the Department of MSS., British Museum; and Matthew |
| Fontaine Maury of Virginia”. |
| |
| [25] In 1912 it was revised as “Maury’s New Complete Geography” |
| and copyrighted by the American Book Company, and is still on the |
| market. |
| |
| [26] This was the name given to Washington College in 1871 after |
| the death of General Lee on October 12, 1870. |
| |
| [27] The opening stanzas of “Through the Pass” by Margaret J. |
| Preston. |
| |
| [28] Mrs. Maury survived her husband until the year 1901. |
| |
| [29] Great praise is due Mrs. E. E. Moffitt for founding this |
| Maury Association, and successfully raising the money necessary |
| to build the monument to Maury in Richmond. |
| |
| [30] Of the numerous portraits of Maury, those deserving special |
| mention are in Richmond. There is one by N. H. Busey in the |
| Westmoreland Club of that city, another by John A. Elder in the |
| Virginia State Library, and a third of some merit in Battle |
| Abbey, Richmond. In the State Library is also a cast of the fine |
| bust of Maury made by Edward V. Valentine of Richmond in 1869, |
| which is considered by Mrs. Werth to be a very excellent likeness |
| of her father. There is a statue of Maury over the main entrance |
| to the Meteorological Station of the German Admiralty in Hamburg, |
| Germany. Recently, the M. F. Maury Chapter of the Children of the |
| American Revolution has been organized at Franklin, Tennessee by |
| Miss Susie Gentry. |
| |
| [31] In “American Adventures” (1917), pp. 140–145. |
| |
| [32] From “Library of Southern Literature”, VIII, 3440. |
| |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[Illustration: Chart from inside front cover]
PILOT CHART
OF THE
NORTH ATLANTIC
M. F. Maury. L.L.D. Lieut. U.S. Navy.
National Observatory, Washington
1853.
_New Edition corrected 1857._
SHEET NO. 2.
_SERIES C._
EXPLANATION.
_The object of this chart is to show the relative number of times in
every 5° square of the ocean that the wind blows from the several
points of the compass for each month. As an example, take the square
between 5° & 10° N. and 20° & 25° W. The figures in the N.E. corner
of the circumscribed square show that in this square, there have been
examined 294 records of the winds in Dec; 212 in Jan; & 161 in Feb; and
the numbers 33, 18, 8, in the N.E. quadrant of the inner circle, show
that it was calm 33 times in_ addition _to the 294 winds in Dec; 13
times in Jan; and 8 times in Feb._
_These are the_ winter _months; and the number of times that the wind
has been found to blow from the several points of the compass, in the
winter months, is entered in the space between the two_ outer _circles.
The radii show the points of the compass; the figures between the radii
show the number of times, for each month, the wind has been timed to
prevail from such points for as much as eight hours together. Thus,
between the two heavily drawn radii opening to the North, the winds
from N. by W. to N. by E. are entered as North winds. Between the right
hand line of these two and the broken radius to the right of that
again, the winds between N. by E. & N.E. by N. are entered as winds
from N.N.E. Between this broken radius and the next one on the right
are the winds from N.E. and so on, with the sun, around the sixteen
points of the compass. All the winds between N. by W. and N. by E. are
called North winds; those between E. by N. and E. by S. are entered as
from E. & so on._
_Referring again to the same square, and to the two heavily drawn radii
opening to the North, the numbers 20, 8, 16, between the two outer
circles, mean, that 20 of the 294 winds in Dec, 8 of the 217 in Jan,
and 16 of the 161 in Feb. were North. In Dec, the winds blew also 36
times from N.N.E; 37, N.E; 51, E.N.E; 60, E; 21, E.S.E; 17, S.E; 10,
S.S.E; 6, S; and so on._
_Proceeding towards the centre, the next inter-circular space contains
the winds, according to their direction, for the three spring months.
The figures in the S.E. corner of the circumscribed square show the
total number of winds recorded for each month, as 159 for March; 227
for April, and 301 for May, exclusive of 4, 5, 12, calms in the S.E.
quadrant for the same months, and so on, around with the sun, for calms
and number of winds, in the order of the months; beginning with the
first number in the N.E. corner and quadrant, as the total winds and
calms for December, the 2ⁿᵈ numbers for January and so on._
_The third space between the circles contains the winds for the three
summer months in the same order, June, July and August, between the
radii. The space between the two inner circles is for Autumn; the outer
round of figures being the winds for Sept, and the inner for Nov.
Diagram A is referred to for further explanation. In it the months are
written instead of the number of winds and calms for each month and
point of compass._
_The method, in which the number and direction of the winds have been
ascertained, is this: As many logs as could be obtained have been
examined; the 24 hours have been divided into three parts of eight
hours each; and, according to the square in which the vessel was,
the_ prevailing direction _of the wind for every eight hours has been
entered as one wind_.
_Thus, in the square between 5° & 10° N. and 15° & 20° W. we see, in
the S.W. corner 916 winds, and in the S.W. quadrant, 15 calms. These
are the total number of intervals of eight hours each for which the
winds and calms for August have been examined in this 5° square of the
ocean. Consequently, all the vessels passing through this square in the
month of August were in it, 310⅓ days. Compare the totals for August
in the adjacent squares, with this 916 and reasons will appear for the
conclusion that the winds here in August, are particularly light and
battling, and that the vessels were detained so long in this square on
that account._
_The blank spaces, or the spaces that are filled up in some of the
squares and circles and not in others, mean that no winds have been
reported in the logs from these points of the compass, or that no calms
prevailing for eight hours together, have been reported during those
months._
_Diagram B is for the convenience of the navigator. Make a fac simile
and cut out the black part. Now to ascertain the chances for head and
fair winds in any part of the ocean, lay this card over the circles in
the square in which the vessel may be, with the white pointer mid-way
between the two radii that represent the course to be sailed. The winds
that can be counted for the month, in the segment that has been cut
from the card, will show the chances for head winds; and this number,
subtracted from the total for the month, will show the chances for fair
winds. Calms speak for themselves._
_Navigators using this chart, either to lay off their best rout for
the month, or to decide upon which tack to go, when the winds come out
ahead, will know what difference to make between the chances for winds
that will enable them to lay within 4 points of their course, and the
chances for winds that will enable them to lay within two points of
their course. In sailing 10 miles, a ship, within six points of her
course, makes but 3.8 good. Within 4 points and 10 miles, she makes 7.1
good, and within 2 points, she makes good 9.2 miles out of ten._
[Signature: _M. F. Maury. Lt. U.S.A._]
_National Observatory,
Washington, May 1858._
[Illustration: Chart from inside back cover]
PILOT CHART OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN
The following is a summary of information contained on this chart, and
in order that certain items may be more readily identified, they have
been numbered and a duplicate number inclosed in a circle placed on the
chart as close to the item or feature as practicable:
FRONT
Month of issue.
Date of printing.
Foundation of chart.
=6= Explanation of symbols:
(_a_) Derelicts and wrecks.
(_b_) Drifting buoys.
(_c_) Icebergs and field ice.
(_d_) Radio stations.
(_e_) Magnetic variation.
(_f_) Ocean currents.
(_g_) Storm tracks.
(_h_) Prevailing winds and calms.
(_i_) Scale of wind percentages.
=20= Explanation of inset chart pertaining to normal reduced
barometric pressure and normal temperature for the month.
=21= Inset chart showing isobars and isotherms for the month; also
annual rate of change in the variation of the compass.
=1= Average conditions of wind and weather during the month.
=9= Local weather.
=4= U. S. storm-warning flags and explanation of use.
=19= Storm signals for Great Britain and France.
=22= Inset chart showing percentages of gales.
Storm tracks.
Wind roses graphically presenting average wind directions and
percentages of calms and light airs.
Lines of equal magnetic variation for the epoch 1925.
=13= Lag in U. S. naval radio time signals.
=3= North Atlantic Lane Routes—United States.
=7= North Atlantic Lane Routes—Canada.
Various steamer routes.
Various sailing vessel routes.
Lines of equal fog frequency.
Current arrows.
Trade-wind limits.
Compass rose (true).
Magnetic equator.
Various drifts of derelicts and buoys.
=5= U. S. submarine warning flag.
=11= Communication via U. S. Coast Guard stations.
=12= Note to observers relating to Hydrographic Office publications
and blanks for reporting information.
=15= H. O. publications obtainable at the Panama Canal.
=16= List of Branch Hydrographic Offices.
=17= Equator crossings in the North Pacific Ocean for sailing
vessels.
Sources of hydrographic and meteorological information.
=14= Note regarding percentage of fog.
=2= Key to storm tracks shown on chart.
=10= Currents north of the Bahamas.
=8= Notes to observers.
=23= U. S. radio-compass stations.
=18= Note on counter equatorial current.
BACK
Fog at sea.
CURRENT REPORTS
On the Current Reports to the Hydrographic Office the set and drift
should be the difference between the dead reckoning position (corrected
for all known errors except current) and the position determined by
astronomical or other fixes.
Blank forms and envelopes may be obtained from any Branch Hydrographic
Office or from the main office in Washington.
DATE ON WHICH AN OBSTRUCTION IS SIGHTED
The attention of shipmasters is invited to the fact that it is very
desirable to know the date when ice and other obstructions reported
by radio from ship to ship were sighted. Many reports of this kind
come to the Hydrographic Office bearing only the date of the radiogram
and lacking the date when the obstruction was seen. Cooperation in
supplying this additional fact will assist the work of this office and
will be appreciated.
SPECIAL SUBJECTS FOR INVESTIGATION
The Hydrographic Office is pursuing the following special subjects of
investigation and invites reports of the same from mariners:
Port facilities, great sea waves, ocean currents, ocean routes, and
value and correctness of charts.
Information relative to and blanks for reporting the same can be
obtained from the Hydrographic Office or its Branch Offices.
[Chart top:
No. 1400
Price 10 cents
PILOT CHART OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN
Founded upon the researches made in the early part
of the nineteenth century by Matthew Fontaine Maury,
while serving as a lieutenant in the United States Navy.
_Issued Monthly._
NOVEMBER, 1927]
[Chart bottom:
N. A.—NOVEMBER, 1927.
Printed October 15, 1927
Prepared from data furnished by the HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE of the
NAVY DEPARTMENT and by the WEATHER BUREAU of the DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE.
[Legislative Act, June 17, 1910.]
Published at the HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE under the authority of the
SECRETARY OF THE NAVY Washington, D. C.
NOTE.—On the back of this chart will be found an article on “Fog
at Sea.”
Price 10 cents
No. 1400]
=1.= AVERAGE CONDITIONS OF WIND AND WEATHER OVER THE NORTH
ATLANTIC OCEAN DURING NOVEMBER
PRESSURE.—Pressure continues only moderately high along middle
latitudes, but the crest to the southwestward of the Azores has
increased to 30.15 inches. Off the coast of the United States the
isobar of 30.10 inches extends farther eastward into the ocean than
in October. A belt of moderately low pressure, 29.90 inches, extends
in low latitudes across the ocean into the Caribbean Sea. The Iceland
Low continues to deepen and the isobar of 29.70 inches appears in the
position occupied by the 29.80 line of the previous month.
TEMPERATURE.—The temperature has fallen 10° to 18° along the American
coast and on the Gulf of Mexico except off central and southern
Florida, and 3° to 8° over the British Isles and off western Europe.
Elsewhere the changes have been unimportant. Sharp contrasts in
temperature appear off the American coast, the temperature ranging from
30° in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to 75° at Key West. Along the northern
trans-Atlantic routes the mean is from 45° to 55°. In the greater
portion of the Caribbean Sea and east of it, between the 15th parallel
and the Equator, the temperature is about 80°.
WESTERLY WINDS.—North of the 35th parallel the winds are fresh, with
greatest percentage from the westerly quadrants, although they shift
considerably with the passage of cyclonic storms.
Northwesterly winds sweep the American coast from the Gulf of St.
Lawrence to Hatteras. South of Hatteras they become northerly to
northeasterly, merging with the trades south of Jupiter.
THE TRADE WINDS.—West of the 30th meridian the northeast trades lie
mainly between the 5th and 26th parallels, but east of that meridian
they are farther north, and the southern and northern limits touch the
African coast at latitudes 12° and 32° N., respectively. A pronounced
type of these trades occurs between the Cape Verde and Canary Islands.
In mid-ocean the trades are easterly, but again become northeasterly
over the West Indies, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.
The southeast trades extend about 4° north of the Equator west of the
15th meridian. East of that meridian, in the same latitude, the winds
become southerly, and in the Gulf of Guinea, south-southwesterly.
GALES AND CALMS.—With the approach of winter, there has been a
moderate increase in the percentage of gales north of the 35th
parallel, except near the Azores, where it is less than during October.
Gales are infrequent south of latitude 35° N., and only seventeen West
India hurricanes have been observed during the 39-year period 1887 to
1925.
Calms are of highest percentage between the 5th and 10th parallels and
northward along the African coast to the Canary Islands.
FOG.—The percentage of fog has diminished generally since October,
although the area of highest percentage, 30 to 35 per cent of days,
continues to the southeast of Newfoundland with little change. A light
increase has occurred in the English Channel.
=2.= KEY TO THE NOVEMBER STORM TRACKS AS SHOWN UPON THIS CHART
======+======================+================
No. | Dates | Begins near—
------+----------------------+----------------
| | ° °
I | Oct. 24-Nov. 2, 1912 | 41 N. 75 W.
II | Nov. 12–20, 1912 | 12 80
III | 19–21, 1912 | 40 57
IV | 6–10, 1913 | 53 45
V | 12–15, 1916 | 11 80
VI | 18–19, 1919 | 22 78
VII | 16–19, 1920 | 24 86
VIII | 28-Dec. 2, 1920 | 34 80
IX | 10–13, 1921 | 40 68
X | 9–14, 1924 | 19 77
XI | 10–12, 1924 | 40 47
XII | 5–7, 1925 | 43 37
------+----------------------+----------------
Tracks of other and older storms than those shown on this chart were
published in previous editions. Positions given are at Greenwich mean
noon.
ICE CONDITIONS
Navigation of the Strait of Belleisle by the trans-Atlantic trades
ordinarily ceases about November 25, although the average formation of
local ice is some two weeks later. In the River St. Lawrence the close
of navigation occurs during the last week in November.
=3.= NORTH ATLANTIC LANE ROUTES—UNITED STATES
In accordance with the North Atlantic Track Agreement, the Hydrographic
Office advises that the North Atlantic Lane Routes, agreed to in Oct.
1924, by the principal steamship companies, shown on this chart in full
black lines are effective as follows:
TRACK C EASTBOUND.—Cross longitude 50° in latitude 42° from Sept. 1
to Jan. 31 inclusive.
WESTBOUND.—Cross longitude 50° in latitude 43° from Sept. 1
to Jan. 31 inclusive.
Vessels bound to or from United States ports calling at Halifax
have the option of following either the Canadian or United States
seasonal tracks to or from that port, passing 40 miles south of Sable
Island westbound, and 60 miles south of Sable Island eastbound,
when proceeding on U. S. tracks, or 20 miles south of Sable Island
eastbound, when proceeding on Canadian tracks.
Vessels bound direct to Portland (Maine) may follow the Canadian
Seasonal tracks.
NOTE.—The above routes are liable to alterations when, owing to
abnormal ice conditions it is considered advisable by the steamship
lines who are parties to the North Atlantic Track Agreement. Notice of
these alterations will be published by the U. S. Hydrographic Office.
=4.= U. S. STORM WARNINGS.
[Illustration:
N. W. Winds
S. W. Winds
N. E. Winds
S. E. Winds
“Hurricane” Warning]
Flags 8 feet square. Pennants 5 feet hoist, 12 feet fly.
_Storm Warning Flags._—A red flag with a black center indicates that a
storm of marked violence is expected.
The pennants displayed with the flags indicate the direction of
the wind: Red, easterly; white, westerly. The pennant above the
flag indicates that the wind is expected to blow from the northerly
quadrants; below, from southerly quadrants.
By night the approach of storms of marked violence is indicated by:
Two red lights, one above the other, for winds beginning from the
northeast; a single red light for winds beginning from the southeast; a
red light above a white light for winds beginning from the southwest;
and a white light above a red light for winds beginning from the
northwest.
_Hurricane Warnings._—Two red flags with black centers, one above the
other, displayed by day, or two red lights with a white light between,
displayed by night, indicate the expected approach of a tropical
hurricane, or one of the extremely severe and dangerous storms which
occasionally move across the Lakes and northern Atlantic coast. These
warnings are displayed at 219 Weather Bureau stations on the Atlantic
and Gulf coasts of the United States, and at the following places in
the West Indies: Basseterre, St. Kitts; Aguadilla Central, Aguirre
Central, Arecibo, Arroyo, Fajardo Playa, Guanica Central, Humacao
Playa, Luiza (Canovanas Central), Mayaguez Playa, Ponce, San Juan, and
Vieques Island, Porto Rico; Kingston, Jamaica; Puerto Plata, San Pedro
de Macoris, and Santo Domingo, Haiti; Roseau, Dominica; St. Thomas,
Virgin Islands of the U. S. A.; Grand Turk Island, Turks Islands; Swan
Island; and Habana, Cuba.
NOTE.—The Weather Bureau stations at Cape Henry, Virginia, and the
Philadelphia Maritime Exchange Station at Delaware Breakwater are
equipped for day and night communication with passing vessels. The
International Code is used by day and the Morse Code, flashlight, by
night. Messages to or from vessels will be forwarded to destination.
[Illustration: SMALL CRAFT]
Moderately strong winds are expected
A red pennant indicates that moderately strong winds that will
interfere with the safe operation of small craft are expected. No night
display of small-craft warnings is made.
=5.= U. S. SUBMARINE WARNING FLAG
[Illustration]
The submarine distinguishing and warning flag is hoisted on the tender
or parent ship of United States submarines to indicate that submarines
are operating in that vicinity. It consists of a rectangular red flag
with white center on which is the profile of a torpedo in black.
Launches accompanying submarines also fly this flag.
Vessels seeing this signal should give the escorting vessel a wide
berth and keep a good lookout for submarines.
=6.= EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS.
[Illustration] =DERELICTS AND WRECKS.=—The name of the vessel is
given, if known, and the symbol in red represents the reported rig and
condition at the date set opposite to the position. The successive
positions in which the derelict was sighted are joined by lines of
dashes and the corresponding dates are indicated.
[Illustration] =DRIFTING BUOYS.=—These are shown in red color. The
date when sighted is also given in red.
ICEBERGS FIELD ICE.—These symbols with date represent ice of
previous month. When numerous bergs are reported by one vessel along a
given track the date and position of the first and last one only are
graphically shown, and the number of bergs is written on a line joining
them.
[Illustration] =RADIO STATIONS.=—Represents various governmental
stations. The U. S. naval radio stations operate to various distances.
Communication with most of them can be relied upon by all vessels for
100 nautical miles at least.
=MAGNETIC VARIATION.=—The lines of equal magnetic variation for every
degree for the epoch 1925 are shown by lines of fine dots in black.
=OCEAN CURRENTS.=—The yearly average set of the stream and drift
currents is shown by small black arrows.
=STORM TRACKS.=—The several red lines indicate the individual paths
followed by the centers of the more severe cyclonic storms that
have occurred during the corresponding month in past years. (See
table in another column.) The successive positions of a storm center
at Greenwich mean noon are indicated by small circles with their
corresponding dates.
[Illustration] =PREVAILING WINDS AND CALMS.=—The wind rose, in blue
color, in each 5-degree square shows the character of the winds that
have prevailed within that square. The wind percentages north of
latitude 30° were concentrated upon eight points; south of latitude 30°
upon sixteen points. The arrows fly with the wind. The length of the
arrow, measured from the center of the circle on the attached scale,
gives the number of times in each 100 observations that the wind has
blown from or near the given point. The number of feathers shows the
average force of the wind on the Beaufort scale. The figure in the
center of the circle gives the percentage of calms, light airs, and
variable winds.
FOR EXAMPLE: The attached wind rose should be read thus: In each 100
hours the wind has averaged as follows: from N. 32 hours, force, 4;
from NNE. 20 hours, force 3; from NW, 18 hours, force, 2; calms, light
airs, and variables, 30 hours.
[Illustration: SCALE OF WIND PERCENTAGES]
=7.= NORTH ATLANTIC LANE ROUTES—CANADA
In accordance with the North Atlantic Track Agreement, the Hydrographic
Office advises that the North Atlantic Lane Routes to Canada shown in
full black lines are effective as follows:
TRACK “F”
From May 16 to the Opening of Belle Isle Route and to November 30 When
Not Using the Belle Isle Route
=Eastbound.=—Steer from a position 25 miles south of Cape Race on
a course 10 miles south of the Great Circle track until approaching
Fastnet, Inishtrahull, or 19 miles south of Bishop Rock.
=Westbound.=—Steer from Fastnet, Inishtrahull, or 10 miles south of
Bishop Rock, on a course 10 miles north of the Great Circle track until
approaching Cape Race, then steer a course to pass 10 miles south of
Cape Race, thence to the St. Lawrence.
TRACK “G”
From the Opening of the Strait of Belleisle to November 14
=Eastbound.=—Steer from Belle Isle on a course 10 miles south of the
Great Circle track until approaching Fastnet, Inishtrahull, or 10 miles
south of Bishop Rock.
=Westbound.=—Steer from Fastnet, Inishtrahull, or 10 miles south of
Bishop Rock on a course 10 miles north of the Great Circle track until
approaching Belle Isle.
NOTE.—Vessels bound to or from U. S. Ports FROM OR TO THE NORTH OF
IRELAND have the option of following the Canadian Seasonal Track “F”
passing 40 miles south of Sable Island WESTBOUND, thence to position
south of Nantucket, and EASTBOUND from position 40° 10′ N. in 70° 00′
W. to position 60 miles south of Sable Island.
=8.= TO ALL OBSERVERS
Many letters to observers acknowledging reports of marine data are
returned to the Hydrographic Office on account of wrong or insufficient
address.
It is realized that mariners change their addresses frequently and
their mail in consequence is frequently delayed and sometimes lost;
but the office is anxious to get letters of acknowledgment through to
each observer, and to accomplish this it requests observers to indicate
plainly in reports where acknowledgments should be sent.
Should any observer fail to receive an acknowledgment of information
furnished this office, he may be sure that it is due to faulty address,
as every report is acknowledged.
=9.= LOCAL WEATHER
For extended remarks on wind and weather along the more important
coasts, see the Sailing Directions published by the U. S. Hydrographic
Office.
=10.= CURRENTS NORTHWARD OF BAHAMA ISLANDS
In the angle between the Gulf Stream and the Bahama or Antilles
Current, and the Bahama Islands to approximately latitude 30° N.,
currents setting southward have been experienced.
=11.= U. S. COAST GUARD STATIONS
All U. S. Coast Guard Stations on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts are
equipped for signaling by the International Code, the Semaphore Code,
the Occulting or Flashing-Light Code, and the International Morse Code
(Wigwag). On the Atlantic coast those stations north of Cape Hatteras,
with few exceptions, and on the Pacific coast those stations near lines
of communication, are prepared to transmit messages of passing vessels
either by telegraph or by telephone and telegraph combined.
=12.= NOTE TO OBSERVERS.
HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE PUBLICATIONS.—To those mariners who contribute
marine data relating to this or other publications of the Hydrographic
Office, the Pilot Charts, Notice to Mariners, and Hydrographic
Bulletins are given in exchange free of cost. In American ports in
which a Branch Hydrographic Office is established mariners of every
nationality should call for them in person and receive in addition the
latest information regarding charts, sailing directions, dangers to
navigation, etc. All services free. Office hours 9 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.
To other American ports and to foreign ports the Pilot Charts will be
forwarded by mail upon application to the Hydrographic Office or to the
nearest Branch Hydrographic Office. In such cases state clearly for
which ocean and for which months they are desired and the post-office
address to which they should be sent.
OTHER PLACES OF SUPPLY.—The above-named publications and observers’
blanks will also be furnished upon application to the Harbor-master at
Manila and the American Consular Offices in the leading seaports abroad.
MARINE DATA REPORTS.—These should be handed or mailed promptly upon
arrival in port to the nearest Branch Hydrographic Office, or to
the Main Office, in the franked envelope supplied for that purpose.
At places outside of the United States or its possessions such
communications may be handed to the American Consul who will mail them
free of cost.
OBSERVER’S ADDRESS.—Mail for captains and officers of the merchant
marine is frequently returned because the ship has sailed from the port
named in the address. Those who desire their Pilot Charts, Notices to
Mariners, and Hydrographic Bulletins to reach them regularly should
make arrangements to have their mail follow them, or else give the
Hydrographic Office an address at which such mail will be held for them
until they return.
=13.= LAG IN U.S. NAVAL RADIO TIME SIGNALS
The U. S. Naval observatory during the year 1925, determined the lag
of the Annapolis and Arlington signals to be about nine hundredths of
a second (.09). The error of the time signal is generally less than
one-tenth of a second (.1).
=14.= FOG.
The dotted blue lines show the percentage of days on which fog was
observed in November from 1901 to 1906, inclusive.
=15.= HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE PUBLICATIONS OBTAINABLE AT THE PANAMA CANAL
By authority of The Governor of The Panama Canal some of the duties of
the Branch Hydrographic Offices are performed by the Captain of the
Port at Cristobal and the Captain of the Port at Balboa. Reference
charts and sailing directions may be consulted at these offices, and
shipmasters may receive the Pilot Charts, Notice to Mariners, and
Hydrographic Bulletin in return for marine and meteorological data
reports. Observers’ blanks and comparisons of navigational instruments
may be obtained at the same time. Neither of these offices maintains
a regular mailing list for the distribution of publications; such
mailing lists are maintained at the Branch Hydrographic Offices along
the United States coasts (see addresses elsewhere on the chart) and at
the main office, Washington, for the benefit of those shipmasters and
officers who contribute data regularly.
SALE OF HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE PUBLICATIONS.—The Captain of the Port of
Cristobal, Canal Zone, is an agent for the sale of Hydrographic Office
publications. Applications should be made to the Captain of the Port at
Cristobal or at Balboa.
=16.= BRANCH HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE ADDRESSES
BOSTON, MASS. 14th Floor, Customhouse
NEW YORK, N. Y. Rooms 301–302, Maritime Exchange, 78–80 Broad St.
PHILADELPHIA, PA. Main Floor, The Bourse Building
BALTIMORE, MD. Room 123, Customhouse
NORFOLK, VA. Room 16, Customhouse
SAVANNAH, GA. First Floor, Customhouse
NEW ORLEANS, LA. Room 215, Customhouse
GALVESTON, TEX. Room 301, Customhouse
SAN JUAN, P. R. Federal Building
SAN PEDRO, CALIF. Immigration Building, San Pedro
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. Merchants’ Exchange
PORTLAND, OREG. Room 407, Customhouse
SEATTLE, WASH. Room 408, Lowman Building
DULUTH, MINN. Room 1000, Torrey Building
SAULT SAINTE MARIE, MICH. Room 10, Federal Building
CHICAGO, ILL. Room 481, Post Office Building
DETROIT, MICH. 7450 East Jefferson Ave.
CLEVELAND, OHIO Rooms 406–408, Federal Building
BUFFALO, N. Y. Room 345, Post Office Building
HYDROGRAPHIC INFORMATION OFFICE
HONOLULU, T. H. Room 219, Federal Building
=17.= EQUATOR CROSSINGS FOR SAILING PASSAGES IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN.
This table gives the data for ships north bound in the Pacific from
Cape Horn or west coast of South America, for the United States.
-----------+---------------+--------------+--------------+---------------
Month of | Longitude | Lose SE. | Enter NE. | Lose NE.
crossing. | of crossing. | trades. | trades. | trades.
| | Prob. lat. | Prob. lat. | Prob. lat.
-----------+---------------+--------------+--------------+---------------
January | 114° 00′ W. | 5° 00′ N. | 8° 00′ N. | 27° 00′ N.
February | 113° 30′ W. | 3° 30′ N. | 6° 30′ N. | 26° 00′ N.
March | 113° 30′ W. | 5° 30′ N. | 8° 30′ N. | 27° 00′ N.
-----------+---------------+--------------+--------------+---------------
Vessels bound from Cape Horn to the line during the above months will
meet the SE. trades (in longitude 90° W.) as follows: January, 29° S.;
February, 28° S.; March, 26° S.
=18.= NOTE.—_Between 25° to 50° W and 5° to 10° N the current sets to
the eastward from July to December._
=19.= STORM SIGNALS
[Illustration:
GREAT BRITAIN
A black cone point upwards indicates that a gale from NW., through
North, to SE. may be approaching.
A black cone point downwards indicates that a gale from SE.,
through South, to NW. may be approaching.
Three lights of like color suspended from the corners of a triangle
replace the cone at night.
FRANCE
Gale from NW’d.
Gale from SW’d.
Gale from NE’d.
Gale from SE’d.
Hurricane.
]
=20.= EXPLANATION OF INSET CHART.
The inset chart below shows the normal reduced barometric pressure and
the normal temperature of the atmosphere for the month, and the annual
change in the variation of the compass.
Isobars are shown by full and dashed blue lines; isotherms by dotted
blue lines.
Any wide departure from the normal pressure shows some disturbance and
may indicate a coming gale.
=21.= ISOBARS AND ISOTHERMS FOR THE MONTH.
Readings of mercurial barometers must be corrected to 32° F. and to
standard gravity, by the tables given below, in order to compare them
with the pressures shown on the inset chart. Aneroid barometers require
no correction for gravity.
To 32° Fahrenheit. || To standard gravity.
---------+---------++---------+------------
Att. | Corr. || Lat. | Corr.
Ther. | || |
---------+---------++---------+------------
° | _In._ || ° | _In._
40 | -.08 || 0 | -.06
50 | -.06 || 10 | -.06
60 | -.06 || 20 | -.06
70 | -.11 || 30 | -.04
80 | -.14 || 40 | -.01
90 | -.17 || 50 | +.01
---------+---------++---------+------------
_The red lines show the annual change in the variation of the compass.
The direction of movement of the north end of the magnetic needle is
indicated by E. or W._
=22.= =GALES.=—The figures in the center of each 5-degree square show
for the month of November the percentage of days (_i. e._, the number
of days in each hundred) upon which winds of force 8 and over have been
recorded at some point within the given square during the eleven-year
period 1897–1907.
=23.= U. S. RADIO-COMPASS STATIONS
Information relative to the methods for obtaining radio-compass
bearings from the U. S. radio-compass stations situated on the U.
S. Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts, together with a list of such
stations, formerly printed on this chart, will be found in H. O.
Publication No. 205 of 1927, “Radio Aids to Navigation”; price, 75
cents.
* * * * * *
Transcriber’s note:
- Blank pages have been removed.
- Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected.
- Inside cover charts and text placed at the end.
- The Pilot Chart inside the back cover references an article “Fog at
Sea.” on the back, this was not included in the source book.