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eal = ts Ro a ee eee pee EE ee Ray ee ee ee ESTABLISHED 1878. , VOL. XXIV, No. 18 CLEVELAND =-- MAY 2, 1901 -- CHICAGO. Z 4 “ Z $2.00 Per Year. 5c. Single Copy LOSS OF THE RIO JANEIRO. BY ALEXANDER MC ADEE, FORECAST OFFICIAL, SAN FRAN- CISCO, U. S. WEATHER BUREAU, IN THE MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. On the morning of February 22, the Pacific Mail steam- ship Rio de Janeiro ran upon the Fort Point Reef during the fog. Within fifteen or twenty minutes from the time of striking the vessel sank, and of the 2I0 persons on board, 130 were lost. Another statement, purporting to be official, makes the total number aboard 207, and the lost 127. The following facts are obtained chiefly from the state- ments of Pilot F. W. Jordan; the ship’s master, Capt. Wm. Ward, went down with the vessel. The pilot boarded the Rio de Janeiro in the vicinity of the 9-fathom buoy, near the bar buoy, and anchored in 13 fathoms at a little before six o’clock Thursday night, February 21. The weather being foggy, the ship remained at anchor till about 4a. m., one hundred and twentieth meridian time, when the fog lifted and the Cliff House Light could be seen, but not the Point Bonita Light. Preparations were in progress to steam into the harbor, when a dense fog came out from the Golden Gate, obscuring everything. There is some difference of testimony as to whether the captain or the pilot gave the orders to proceed in the fog, but the vessel was started on a north-east course with Lime Point straight ahead, steering by the whistle. The pilot ex- pected to get an echo of the ship’s whistle from Point Diablo, but heard none. The course was changed north-northeast with the intention of running close to Lime Point. The ves- sel was not moving at full speed and was subject to a strong cross current, which, apparently acting at right angles to the length of the vessel, carried the ship to the south, far out of the proper course. The first officer was standing on the starboard side listening for the Fort Point bell. No soundings, however, were taken. The vessel struck a short distance to the southwest of the Fort Point Light. At the moment of striking the pilot saw the white flash at Fort Point and heard the Fort Point bell. The pilot had had eleven years’ experience in the harbor and was considered one of the most capable pilots in San Francisco. He had never previously met with an accident. There appears to be no doubt of the existence of the strong cross current, inasmuch as other vessels entering the barbor about the same time on the same morning came near going onthe rocks. The Pacific Mail Steamship Co. has a rule that vessels must not enter or leave a harbor when fog pre- vails. Onthe morning in question the fog lifted for a few moments and then settled down again; but by 9a. m., local time, the fog had dissipated. The rest of the day was clear and balmy, and the water as smooth as a mill pond. The vessel struck about 5:30 a. m., with the pilot and cap- tain on the bridge, the first officer on the starboard side of the bridge listening for the bell, and the second officer at the telegraph. When the vessel struck the captain blew the danger whistle, a long blast. Ordinary fog blasts (long enough to count six or seven) had been blown previously. The details of the accident, particularly with reference to the whistles, the course steered, and the motion of the cur- rent are given, because from such evidence as can be obtained at this writing, it appears that even after the vessel struck the sound of the whistle was not heard plainly at Fort Point not more than half a mile distant, where a lookout of the life-saving station was on duty, and where a life-saving crew could have hurried to the rescue and probably reached the ship within five minutes, without doubt saving many of those whose lives were lost. There was also a sentry walk- ing post within a short distance of the lookout. It is stated that some soldiers heard voices and also a whistle, but the evidence is very conflicting and it seems improbable that if the long danger blast was clearly heard it should pass with- out notice and subsequent action. The Weather Bureau records show that. about the time of the accident a mongrel tule fog prevailed over the Bay of San Francisco, At Mount Tamalpais the weather was clear with a wind of 13 miles per hour from the north-west. At San Francisco dense fog prevailed with little if any wind. The wind vane at the Mills Building indicated a south-west wind blowing about one mile per hour. From 1 a.m, till 6a, m. but 9 miles of wind were recorded. When all is said and done, it appears that the fog was the prime factor in causing the loss of the vessel. Owing to the aberration of the sound waves in the fog, the pilot was un- able to hear the fog signals from either Point Bonita or Lime Point to the north, or the tolling of the bell at Fort Point to the east and north. It has not, however, been shown that the bell was certainly ringing. The Lime Point whistle has great penetrative power. The fog bell at Fort Point is 4o feet above the water, and should be heard for at least a mile. It is supposed to be struck every ten seconds. It is a strange fact that in a paper upon the Fogs and Fog Signals of the Pacific Coast, by Ferdinand Lee Clark, published in 1888, there should occur this statement concerning the fog bell at Fort Point: “In point of fact it is said to be hardly ever heard except when too late to be of use. * * * If mariners depended upon its sound to tell them how near they were to the point they would generally have no time after hearing it to clear the danger.”’ The loss of the Rio de Janeiro proves that the bell at Fort Point in its present position is sometimes of little value. The temperature at the time of the accident was 50° F. at sea level, and 52° ata height of 2,500 feet. The thickness of the fog probably did not exceed a few hundred feet; and as indicated above it was a land fog rather than a sea fog. As a general thing the reflected sounds from Point Bonita and Lime Point are heard better on the south side of the channel. On the accompanying rough sketch of the chan- nel the lines of natural reflection are drawn and also the zones of inaudibility. The sound waves from the fog whistle at Lime Point, how ever, should have been heard, and as the moderate south- west wind would tend to canse a deflection of the sound wave upward, it is possible that while the sound was inaudi- ble on the deck of the vessel, it might have been heard by a lookout at the masthead. The catastrophe furnishes a remarkable illustration of the utter helplessness of a vessel in fog despite lights and fog whistles. It would seem that under such conditions nothing short of some method of fog dissipation will suffice. It has occurred to the writer, although the suggestion may prove of no value in practice, that if a strong sound had been made under water by some automatic contrivance at either Lime Point or Point Diablo, and the Rio de Janeiro been provided with some suitable device rendering audible the sound wave through the water, the strong cross current would have facilitated the passage of the sound, and a zone of audibility would have been established in the water while in the atmosphere above the fog signals, would have been inaudible. The accompanging line drawing! is submitted to show that toa certain degree the captain and the pilot were jus- tified in assuming that they might soon run into areas free from fog. Asa matter of fact on the day in question the fog soon disappeared, and adelay of perhaps two hours would have prevented the accident. It should not be for- gotten, however, that the captain was unwilling to enter the harbor during the fog Thursday night, and that the vessel remained at anchor for a period of nearly twelve hours, and was thereby exposed in a large degree to the danger of colli- sion. ' DOMINION GEOLOGICAL SURVEYS. In the province of Ontario Dr. A. E. Barlow will make lithological investigations in the Sudbury district, chiefly with regard tonickel, Prof. John Macoun will collect botan- ical specimens along the north shore of Lake Erie, and the east shore of Lake Huron to Cape Hurd. He will also ex- plore Temagami Lake Park. Dr. Ellis, with two assistants, will finish the Kingston district. Mr. Robert Chalmers will go to the St. Lawrence Valley and westward to Lake Huron, to investigate wells and bor- ings for water, gas and petroleum. It is also intended to explore the region between Lake Nepigon and LakeSt. Joe, the north shore of Lake Superior, north of Jackfish Bay, and the Muskoka district. Mr. W. J. Wilson will go to the Valley of Abittibi river, and Mr. Frank Johnston will go round Lake Abittibi and northward and eastward in conjunction with Mr. Wilson. Dr. Ami will be in the Valley of the St. Lawrence, west cf Lake St. Francis, and the Ottawa Valley, west of Mat- tawa. Mr. D. B. Dowling and Mr. James Macoun will visit the District of Keewatin, in the region southwest of Cape Hen- rietta Maria, and will make a track survey of the Opazatika river. Mr. A. P. Low will visit the east coast of Hudson Bay and the outside chain of islands in the southern part of the bay. oo or or CONSOLIDATION OF SHIPYARDS. A consolidation of the Union Iron Works, San Francisco; the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Me.; the Newport News Ship Building & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va., and the Crescent Shipyards, Elizabeth, N. J., is reported. This combination will bring together Lewis Nixon, of the Crescent shipyards ; Edward W. Hyde, president of the Bath Iron Works; Calvin B. Orcuitt, president of the New- port News Ship Building and Dry Dock Co., and Irving M. Scott, president of the Union Iron Works. To Lewis Nixon, who owns the Crescent shipyards at Elizabeth, N. J., belongs the credit of bringing about the combination which is now being matured. He has given ‘the subject careful and scientific study and he is of the firm opinion that the American shipbuilding industry will be re turned to the prosperity it knew fifty years ago, when the several yards attempted only that work for which they in- dividually are best fitted. Foreign competition is responsible for the new move of American shipbuilders, and, in fact, English methods of business are being followed. There is to be no shipbuilding trust. Community of interest of the four concerns is what is to be established. oe or or A LARGE ICE CRUSHER. The Ann Arbor Company contemplates building an ice crusher which will be the most powerful boat of the kind on the lakes, and which will be built especially for breaking the heavy ice in Green Bay. This boat may not be built for several years, as it all depends on the government and what is done in the way of deepening and improving Sturgeon Bay canal. Agent Allison, in speaking of the matter, said: ‘‘The contract for this big ice crusher was awarded last fall to the Detroit Ship Building Company, but upon the defeat of the river and harbor bill the company cancelled the contract. I have assurances it will be renewed when the canal is deep- ened, This monster ice crusher will be built of steel, having triple expansion engines, and will be capable of breaking any ice in Green Bay. She will draw 15 feet of water, and will be built on the lines of the Russian ice crusher which has been so successful in breaking ice.’’