The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1888-10-13
Two Miles Under The Sea.

We must imagine that very little
sunlight penetrates below l 200 feet,
or two hundred fathoms-and this is
high estimate, writes Professor
Holder in the San Francisco Chroni-
Gle. The writer has noticed in divid-
ing in the very clear water ofthe Gulf
of Mexico that it darkened very rap
idly below twenty feet, and that
about thirty feet from the surface of
the water was extremely cold, and
the urroundings SO dark that small
objects were indistinguishable. It is
obvious that the farther down we de-
scend the colder it will grow and the
greater the pressure will become; and,
in imagination, let me conduct the
reader down into the deep sea, as
Stunning that we have been provided
with suits capable of protecting us
from the pressure in the greater
depths.
Walking out from the shore wefind
a sandy plateau extending gradually
out and down. For the first 1000
yards we feel the swell, and then
reaching water about fifty or sixty
feet deep we lose it and press on, only
hindered by the natural pressure of
| the water. The twenty-pound weights
fastened to each foot, which
you were unable to lift on shore,
now do not trouble you at all, and
you move slowly along. 1t is al
ready too dark to see any object,
| and the thermometer would have
indicated that a "cold wave" had
arrived. Now the shore changes, it
slopes rapidly, and walking becomes
more difficult, and the bottom is
covered with a coating of mud. tits
SO dark that you have to feel your
way. Gradually you begin to see
strange sights; they appear like
spectres drifting here and there, some
like comets with long golden tails,
others stationary like stars, while
the mud that you stir up scintillates
like fire. Every move you make now
seems to create light, the contact of
your armor with the water appears
to ignite 1t, and your companion
seems to besurrounded by an aureole
of glory.
Here a huge black mass appears, a
wreck covered with grim kelp, that
moves to and fro in the current.
Uncouth fishes dash affrighted this
way and that, leaving a glare behind
them. Deeper and deeper you go,
pushing on into the darkness until,
we will assume, you have reached a
spot $4,000 feet from the surface; in
other words, there are over two
miles of solid water over your head.
You are aware that the pressureis enor
nous as you lift your thermometer,
which was protected by a cop
per case. The latter is all
twisted out of shape, and to your
amazement the glass itself has been
crushed into a white powder, ap-
pearing like snow. A rope which
you fastened to a pike handle is all
apart, and the wood OF your weapon
is frayed and useless. Your ther-
mometer would tell you, if it could,
that the water here was in tempera-
ture just above freezing. You are
80 far below the surface that if any
one wished to send down message
and fastened it to a heavy lead
weight, it would require over half an
hour to meet you, and the lead
would be badly bent and worn when
it reaches you.
| What, then, is the pressure here?
It amounts, in round numbers, to
figures. beyond human comprehen-
sion. To a ton weight to the square
inch for every 1000 fathoms OF
depth, as we have, standing $500
/ fathoms beneath the surface, q pres
sure of two and a half tons on every
square inch of surface.
| Some idea of this may be obtained
by contrasting it with the pressure
that you have in bathing at the sur.
face, which is about fifteen pounds
| to the square inch, or imagine man
| walking about having. d train OF
/ fifty or seventy cars loaded with pig
iron upon his shoul1ersi