IN OCEAN DEPTHS.

Mataura Ensign, 13 January 1916, Page 3

IN OCEAN DEPTHS.

THRILLING SIGHTS. 1)1 VKH'S WUilt I) KX l"»"E« I KN'C'KS. Where Llit* Titanic sunk, -oil' tin-I-u 111\S of .Ncwiou iidliiiitl, it was stated that the sea was two miles deep, and ;i s no diver so far has descended more than about I.JO yards, what the ocean lied may he like at that enormous depth must ever be left to our imagination. Some years •»■ yuunj: engineer named De IMcury, usiiiji apparatus oi his own invention, (loeendi d Mfil'L, and liis wonderful experiences related to an Italian journalist were afterwards translated as follows for the 'Scientilie. American.' :- ■•The first sensation experienced l-uvs De I'leur.v) is something like that whieh is fell on descending into a mine, but you soon ji;et aceustomed to it. At a comparatively shadow depth medusae to be found in quantities. Seen through the water. KYKKYTHLYCi AIMMOAMKU iWAGXIKIKI). and they are apparently of enorinous proportions. All recollection' e,|' tlie protection afforded by the jrlass Iront <;\ ibe helmet is forgotten, and the first impression is that these masses of horrid llaceid and slimy medusat *\vi 11 adhere to your face. .Just a little lower down, and a scintillating multitudinous shoals of small fishes is ciicounlered, shimmering like r-o many strips of C'liiniiiff copper, or other metal, in a state of continuous viliration. At a depth of 1(5:2 ft thick ma»ses of seaweed are traversed; some of these ;\re hairlike vegetable growth.s, with arms from 20 to .SO yards in length, which, with a kind; or horrid, vitality, wivip themselves round' every part of the body. These algae ■constitute a grave danger, as ihey can easily paralyse the diver's movements, and by rUing up above and around him can weigh him down witli a burden amounting to several hundred, weight—suf'fieient to break a rope or lifeline when hauled on.

'.\rO.\STKKS ()K 'I'HK. DKK;J>. '"IJi-lmv Hi2ft there are small sn-ake-like fishes of about--"'.ft in length, and also other denizens of the deep r( >R|. m . bling dolphins. These latter hurl them--selves violently against the diver. If. a.s already remarked, lie is somewhat voting at the game, and has forgotten ilie protection afforded by hi.s helmet, hi' is still filled with a mortal dread lest t hey .should succeed in- smashing the gla.ss in front of the helmet. despite its .f;n of thickness. Of eonrsp. should that occur, death would bo almost instantaneous. Still other and worse monsters are the polypi or devil fish, who wrap their tentacles round Die bold explorer; but. although repugnant, these ' moii'sters are cowardly, and immediatelv renounced their attack on coming in contact with the unfamiliar feel of the metal armor-plating of my diving dress. There are also equally horrible ami much more intrepid giant crabs. Some of those I have seen have measured as much as .'Sft iir diameter. Owing to their strong shells and formidable Haws they constitute a continual menace to the safety of the diver. This is about all that can be said on the .score of the deep sea fauna. The deformation of fish is not very noticeable at .such a small depth; by deformation 1 mean' not only elm litre of form but also of character. This takes place at a depth of about 1000 vards: here their nature changes entirely, and they assume the forms of constitutional modifications necessary to enable them to hear the enormous pressure to which they are subjected at the depth where they move j and have I heir being.

ST.UiK VISIIIU-: AT MIDDAY. "Hitherto it. has been finite impo.ssib'e t<> obtain living specimens of these submarine creatures. as they readied the surface with their volume, quadrupled, dim to the reduction of pressure. All -thc.se creatures are carnivorous, and their capacious nin«> ivof in-' frequently servo as the tombs of unfortunate sailors whose shirs have gone down. liodios gradually sink deeper and deeper, and the formidable pressure to which thev are subjected in an increasing intensity .soon .smashes all their bones, and finally crushes them quite flat. One curious fact attending these submarine oxp'orations is afforded by the light, which forms a strange blend of green and violet, ihe color being a little .similar to that of the caverns which arc to lie seen in icebergs. At a deptli of -Tiyds the light begins to gel more r.ud more diffused, and the sun. viewed through the mass of superincumbent, water, anuears like a reddish opaque globe, hut— and this is .somewhat st.rangi when' sheltered from the ray.s of the sun ("behind a rock, for instance) the stars become vibible even at midday. "At a depth of 'J'JGft the obscurity is complete: at .*s'27l't, the darkness is impenetrable, ami it is necessary to have recourse to electricity "for purposes of vision. T iKse electric lamps of 10,000 candle-power, but even these cannot, dilfuse their light, beyond a .radius of i'Olr. A most tragic spectacle is then ■pu'rented by sunken ve-.seVs. broken boat-, splintered hulls, galling decks, and broken masts." No scenes of horror cair be surpassed by the awful panorama of death and disaster which have been witnessed by F.ugineer Do Pleur.v in the course of his'professional experiejice as a diver: "In the vicinity of Ostend." he relates. "'] wa.s requested once t<> examine the wreck of a vessel which had sunk not long before. This was the occasion upon which I was assailed by a veritable horde of those giant crabs of which I have already spohen. They were at the time busv devouring the corpses of the dead .sailors. One of these monsters seized me by the leg, which would have been crushed a.s if squeezed by a jaw of steel had it not. been orotcctod by ihe powoi I'ul armoring of my diving dress. I had a kind of sword in unhand, with which f succeeded in killing two of these monsters; the shells I still possess. All the objects at the bottom of th" sea are covered -witha kind of curious powder, and a tcTHblo gloom and silence prevails. What- » scene of melancholy! The Moor of the ocean is strewn' with bones, not a few of them of human origin. A verv singular fact which I 'have"observed is that the sea for a certain period of time keens bodies in a perfect stale of 'preservation.

'1 <mce visited the hull of i\ vessel which liii<l jiono down with all hands. The crow were, mostly asleep at tin; moiii'Mif wlion the disasteroccurred, ami liiul thus practically passed imstantaneoiiNlv from .sleep to death. So far thev had not been bitten or inlawed bv anv iisli. as most of the hatchways wore closed. The men still appoa-nxl as ij' ash-op. Then 1 they lay. -wrapped in a calm and mysterious clumber. 1 approached and touched one of the coioses with 111 v hand; the Hcsh seeme<l to d ; s-o!ve .-.m! vanish, leaviny; nothing hut ••. '_M'iiiiiinu' .skeleton. . HON A PA UTK/S TU KASIUVK SH 11*. "Ami the treasures of the sea! .Millions alone are engulfed not far from Yi;ro. Personally I have never been thoie, 'hut- oil'.' of my men once wmi-t down there chid in the old diving dross. Tlie unhapny man d'otl almost directly he reached 'the surface again, hut ho had had time to see several galloon*

lying i,i: the iKittoni, with the iiui-sts .still standing and the timberwork still .souml. Tlhvsc, ol* (.our.sc. won? some'ol the famous treasure (shins, hut. I <lo not I'll ink jt will bo possiblbc to recover tlii*iii. All metal* would have bee-i destroyed by rust now. as flicy have ln< u below water over .since 170<. "f have >ah'\] .probabfy the vessel which, about IHOS, was convcving Napoleon's treasures to Holland when n w.iwrecked vn route a.nd Kiinli with 100.000.000 oi iroltl on board. Of J ho«-e. 30.000.000 luiVf been reeo\ er-.-d. I i:i the remainder, as I- !::>..•• said. i s ai-dl •'it ihe bottom ol" tin: oc<'a:i. "Th-t J'rinco ol : Alommo stales nnti he has roinui near Cyprus a galley, still lull of objects of'art. at the bottom of ll'.o sea. This is where, .submarineboats will have .such a groat, l'situ'v hf> ■ lore thein. as by their aid \vt- :A v. <.',', one day be able to explore <]■<■■., ■.<:> ;-:n>l locs, rich in unknown lorm <■■: I• * <"• - vaults full of untold wraith and 11(0 tomb of many a sailor."