A DINNER PARTY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA.

Evening Post, Volume LX, Issue 114, 10 November 1900, Page 3 (Supplement)

A DINNER PARTY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA.

To do something that no one has ever done before is in these days an exceedingly difficult feat, but it would seem that Captain Lake, of Baltimore, U.S.A., has accomplished it Captain Lake invited a number of guests on board 1 his new submarine craft, Argonaut 11., took thorn down to the bottom of Long Island Sound, and then entertained th©ro at dinner. The dinner party consisted of thirteen persons. Captain Lake is not superstitious. Argonaut 11., is, as its name would imply, tha second submarine boat Captain Lake has built. She differs in toto" from any other submarine vessel ever built, for, in the first place, she is fitted with wheels, whereby she is enabled to roll over the sea floor, and, secondly, she is designed principally with a view to peaceful, , instead of, like other underwater craft which navigate between the surface and the bottom, for warlike operations. ' The Argonaut is some forty feet long, and of about sixty tons displacement when entirely submerged. She is provided "with a thirty horse-power gasolite engine, which propels her both on the "surface and while submerged, and also runs all the auxiliary > machinery, including the air compressors. The vessel reaches the floor of the ocean by a very simple process. First of all two anchor Weights, each weighing 10001b, and kept at the bottom of the boat, are lowered to the ocean or river bed by means of a drum mechanism ; then water is allowed to enter the four water ballast compartments until the Argonau.t's buoyancy is less than the weight of the two anchors ; the cables connecting with the weights are then wound in, and the boat'j is chus hauled to the bottom, until she comes to rest on her three, wheels. The weights are then hauled into their pockets in the keel, and she is then, resting on the boutorn with sufficient weight to prevent the currents from moving her out of tie course. When it is desired to return to the surface, the water is pumped out of the ballast compartments. Should any mishap befal the machinery which does this work hand pumps would be used, and if these failed a single touch of a lever would release the iron keel, which w,eighs 40001b, and the Argonaut would at onde rise to {he surface. Apart from his noVel dinner party, Captain Lake has mswie numerous trips in his submarine vessel — once remaining under water ten hours. His experiments have convinced him that the Argonaut is as easily manageable below as on the surface.