In addition to the patrol duties, particular attention was given to enforcing the laws and regulations regarding the protection of game, fisheries, and fur-bearing animals, and, whenever practicable during the season the mail was carried to vessels of the fishing fleet. On a number of occasions medical aid was given to the men of the fishing fleet by the surgeons attached to the cutters. On cruises to the westward the several villages on the Aleutian chain were visited as often as possible, in order that the surgeons might give medical aid to the natives and instruct them in the sanitation of their persons and dwellings. On these occasions assistance was given to the Department of Justice and Bureau of Education in investigating matters pertaining to their spheres of action in remote places. In August, at the request of the Bureau of Education, a herd of 40 reindeer was transported to Nazan Bay, Atka Island, in order to inaugurate the experiment of propagating a herd of these useful animals on that island.

At the conclusion of the patrol for the season of 1914 the commanding officer of the fleet reported that there were no evidences of marauding vessels in Bering Sea throughout the entire season and that no suspicious craft were seen. He also reported a noticeable improvement in the size of the seal herd on the Pribilof Islands, due to the prohibition of pelagic sealing, and that the rookeries gave no evidence that the seals had been hunted at sea during the season.

Owing to the shortage of cutters on the Pacific coast and the apparent cessation of pelagic sealing in the north Pacific and the Bering Sea during the past two seasons, it was decided to attempt the patrol during the season of 1915 with one cutter, and the Unalga was assigned to this duty. She sailed from Seattle April 20, 1915, and in addition to the duties incident to the seal patrol cruised actively during the month of May from the northern entrance of Unimak Pass to Sannak Island for the purpose of rendering such assistance as might be necessary to merchant vessels in that vicinity, there being a large fleet bound to the canneries during that month. During the month of June she patrolled along the Aleutian chain and in the vicinity of Pribilof Islands. The report of the operations for the season of 1915 will be given in the next annual report.

Ice patrol.

The international service of ice observation and patrol in the north Atlantic has been continued. For this purpose the Seneca was withdrawn from regular coast patrol and sailed from New York early in February, 1915. This vessel made two cruises to the regions to the north of the Grand Banks to observe and investigate ice conditions, and on April 1, 1915, when it was apparent that the bergs and ice fields had advanced to the southward so as to threaten the trans

Atlantic steamship lanes, she entered upon the duties of the ice patrol proper. The Miami was dispatched from Key West early in March to join the Seneca on the patrol, and, using Halifax, Nova Scotia, as a base for coal and supplies, these two cutters made alternate cruises and maintained a continuous patrol in the ice-danger zone during the months of April, May, and June, 1915.

Scientists were detailed to the Seneca from the Bureau of Standards, Bureau of Fisheries, and the Weather Bureau, and apparatus supplied for taking meteorological and oceanographical observations and collecting specimens of plankton. The data obtained, together with the detailed reports of the scientists and the commanding officers of the patrol vessels, will be published as soon as possible in Coast Guard Bulletin No. 4. The data in connection with the ice patrol for the seasons of 1913 and 1914 have already been published in Bulletins Nos. 1 and 3, respectively.

On the 30th of June the last berg in the vicinity of the tail of the bank broke up into several small pieces and melted rapidly, having encountered the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. On that date the patrol was discontinued for the season.

This international service was undertaken by the United States in 1914 and continued in 1915 at the request of Great Britain, acting on behalf of the various powers interested, under the conditions set forth in the international convention for the safety of life at sea, which was signed at London January 20, 1914, by the representatives of those powers. Under those conditions the several powers assumed the obligation to contribute to the expenses of the international service in certain proportions, enumerated in article 7 of the said convention. Accordingly, the several powers were informed, through the Department of State, as to the cost of the patrol for the season of 1914 and the several sums due from them, as follows:

Salaries and wages of personnel...

$47, 894. 10

Maintenance and operation, including all supplies and miscellaneous contingent expenses......

28, 955. 04

Administrative expense..

2, 441. 73

Depreciation:

Seneca, built in 1908, cost $295,000. Vessel on duty Feb. 11-Aug. 5, 1914. Depreciation, 3 per cent per annum....

4, 425.00

Miami, built in 1911, cost $250,000. Vessel on duty Mar. 7-Aug. 5, 1914. Depreciation, 2 per cent per annum......

2,083.33

85,799. 20

Proportionate amounts due from the several foreign powers as per article 7 of the con

Up to June 30, 1915, the amounts due the United States from the following countries on account of the patrol for the season of 1914, have been received: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, Italy, Norway, and Sweden.

Special services.

Algonquin.-At the request of the State Department, the Algonquin was detailed to convey the United States consul at large on a tour of inspection of the various consular offices in the West Indies. The cutter left San Juan, P. R., on February 10, 1915, and had called at most of the ports indicated in the itinerary when it became necessary to direct her return to San Juan to assist in enforcing neutrality laws at that port. During this cruise the cutter visited the following ports: Santiago and Guantanamo, Cuba; Matthewtown, Great Inagua Island; Cockburn Harbor, Caicos Island; Salt Cay and Turks Island; Puerta Plata, Santa Barbara, Sanchez, Romana, San Pedro de Macoris, San Domingo and Azua, Dominican Republic; Jacmel, Aux Cayes, Jeremie, Petit Goave, and Port au Prince, Haiti.

At the request of the War Department the Algonquin proceeded to Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic, and received on board 184 Porto Ricans. Many of the refugees were so weak and emaciated from starvation it was necessary to assist them over the gangway, and five were taken aboard in chairs. Everything was done during the trip to alleviate their distress and make them as comfortable as possible; benches were improvised and secured about the decks; swinging cots were suspended from ridge ropes for the many small children, and the weak and sick were placed on cots. The Algonquin sailed from Puerta Plata July 20 and arrived at San Juan the following day.

Thetis-At the request of the Department of Agriculture the Thetis, in March and April, 1915, made an extended cruise to Bird Island, Laysan Island, Lisiansky Island, Ocean Island, and Midway Island to make an inspection of the bird reservations and ascertain the condition of the flocks. The weather was stormy almost the entire cruise and great difficulty was encountered in making landings on some of these islands. In several instances the officers and crews were obliged to swim to reach the beach. On Laysan Island it was

found that raiders had been ashore and slaughtered the birds in great numbers, their carcasses being strewn all over the surface of the island. From various indications it was evident the raid was made about the middle of January.

Bear. This vessel arrived in San Francisco November 11, 1914, having completed a 'cruise of 11,318 miles since she left that port on April 6, 1914. On her way north she stopped at Seattle, Wash., and took on board the northern mail and supplies for various departments of the Government. Stopping en route at Unalaska and St. Paul Island she proceeded at once to Nome, arriving there at 10.40 p. m. of June 1, the first vessel to arrive at that port since the close of navigation the season before. After landing mail she returned to the southward and westward in order to develop the ice conditions and report them to the fleet of steamers due to arrive at Nome with passengers and freight. She was thus instrumental in furnishing sailing directions for a number of steamers who were waiting to get through the ice fields. Subsequently trips were made to Port Clarence, Siberia, and Point Barrow during the summer. On all these occasions various kinds of work were performed for the Bureau of Education and for the Department of Justice. On three occasions assistance was rendered to stranded vessels. At Point Barrow she took on board a number of destitute seamen from the wrecked schooners Transit and Elvira and transported them to Nome. At the request of the Canadian Government, the Bear while returning from Point Barrow made an attempt to rescue the survivors of the Canadian Polar Expedition which had been wrecked in the steamer Karluk near Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean. Stormy weather with thick fog and heavy snow squalls was experienced, and after several days of unsuccessful effort to break through the heavy ice it was deemed advisable to return to Nome to replenish the coal before making further attempt to rescue the shipwrecked men. After a delay of four days at Nome, due to bad weather, sufficient coal was received on board and the Bear started again for Wrangel Island on September 5. On September 8, in latitude 69° 55', longitude 175° 30', a schooner was sighted, which proved to be the gas schooner King and Winge. Owing to her light draft this vessel had succeeded in landing at Wrangel Island, where eight members of the expedition were found, together with one Eskimo, his wife and two children. The survivors were transferred to the cutter and being in a very exhausted condition were all placed under the care of the surgeon. When the Bear came south at the close of navigation the shipwrecked men were landed at Vancouver, British Columbia.

In the report of his northern cruise the commanding officer of the Bear calls attention to the wholesale slaughter of walrus in Arctic waters outside the territorial limits, both by American and foreign

vessels, which must sooner or later affect the food supply of the natives of the Arctic coasts on both sides of the Bering Straits.

McCulloch. Continuing the practice of former years, a cutter was placed at the disposal of the Department of Justice to transport the United States court to remote places in southwestern Alaska, in order to minimize the expense of administering the law. The McCulloch was detailed for this duty and arrived at Valdez, Alaska, July 13, 1914, where she received on board the United States judge for the third district of Alaska, together with the necessary court officials. From that point the cutter proceeded to the various places indicated in the itinerary arranged by the Department of Justice, and returned to Valdez August 27, thus completing the cruise of the floating court for 1914.

Investigations of loss of life.

In 19 instances during the year marine disasters occurring within the scope of the operations of Coast Guard stations have been attended with loss of life. As required by law each such incident was thoroughly investigated, and it is gratifying to note that in only one instance did a station crew fail to entirely fulfill the requirements of the service. The investigating officer found that the patrol and lookout had not been vigilant, and that the crew failed to make use of the available apparatus, but as the testimony showed that the loss of life on this occasion was not due to these shortcomings, disciplinary action was confined to severe reprimand.

Loss of the "Tahoma."

On September 20, 1914, the Tahoma, attached to the Bering Sea patrol fleet, struck an uncharted reef in latitude 51° 53' north, longitude 175° 53' east, 31 miles south 9° east (true) from Buldir Island, one of the western islands of the Aleutian chain, and became a total loss. Having made a cruise along the northern coasts of the Aleutian Islands as far west as Attu in connection with the patrol duties, the cutter was returning east along the southern side of the group, and the course was set to pass 28 miles outside of and to the southward of the only two outlying dangers shown on the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart No. 9102. Suddenly and without warning at 9 p. m. of the above date the Tahoma crashed upon a submerged reef. Every effort was made to save the vessel, but to no avail, and radio calls for assistance were sent out, giving the position of the vessel. Fortunately, considering the remoteness of the place where the cutter was wrecked, 670 miles west from Unalaska, the signals were heard by the radio station on St. Paul Island. The call was repeated to the fleet commander, and at his request the