The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1893-03-20
OCEANS
The Great ~SarcassO Sea That IL the Gel
ter of the Atlantic Currents.

graphic bureau at Washington has been
trying to acquire a more intimate
knowledge of the movements of the
waters of the ocean, and a great num-
Der OF bottles, containing messages and
securely cOrked, have been dropped
overheard by vessels. Many of these
have foated thousands of miles before
they were picked up and, while some
were washed upon native and foreign
shores, others have found their way
iEAo the great Sargasso sea- From the
&C lrses taken by these different bottles
it 1as been found hat the ocean cur
rents move around in a vast circle.
Those which were dropped overheard
on the American coast took a northerly
course, while those on the European
side foated toward the south. Bottles
dropped overheard in the north Allan
tic started toward the northeast, and
those from the African or Spanish coast
hOated almost directly west until they
reached the West India islands The
general directions of the currents were
thus ascertained, showing that the
waters, acted upon by winds and cur
rents, circulated round and round like
a pool
In all pools floating objects are quick
ly cast outside of the revolving cur
rents or they are carried with them in
their circular route for some time until
they are washed nearer the center or
side of the pool. The bottles that were
forced outside of the currents of the
ocean were cast upon the shores Of some
country, but those which were worked
toward the center eventually found
their way in the calm waters of the
Sargasso sea- Here they remain peace
fully until picked up by some vessel or
until some storm casts them back into
the great pool
Vessels very rarely visit the great
sea in the middle of the ocean, but oc-
casionally they are driven there by
storms or adverse winds Strange
sights meet the gaze of the sailors at
such times. Wonderful s~tories-partly
true and partly false-have been told
by sailors returning from a forced trip
to the vast SargassO sea. The surface
of the sea is covered with floating
wrecks, spars, seaweed. boxes, fruits,
and a thousand other innumerable arti-
cles. 1t is the great repository or store
house of the ocean, and all things
which do not sink to the bottom or are
not washed upon the shores are carried
to this center of the sea- When one con-
siders the vast number of wrecks on the
ocean and the quantity of floating ma
terial that is thrown overheard a faint
idea Of the wreckage in the Sargasso
sea may be conceived.
Derelicts, or abandoned vessels, fire.
quently disappear in mysterious ways,
and no accounts are given of them for
years by passing vessels Then sud
denly, years later, they appear again in
some we'll traveled route, to the aston
ishment of all. The wrecks are COW
cred with mold and green slime, show
ing the long, lonesome voyage which
they have passed through. 1t is gen.
orally supposed that such derelicts nave
been swept into the center of the pool
and remained in the Sargasso sea until
finally cast out by some unusually
violent storm
The life in this sea is interesting.
Solitary and alone the acres of waters
covered with the debris, stretch out as
the vast graveyard of the ocean, seldom
being visited by vessels or human be-
ings Far from all trading routes of
vessels, the sight of a sail or steam YES
sci is something unusual The fishes
| of the sea form the chief life of these
watery solitudes. Attracted by the vast
| quantities of wreckage floating in the
sea, and also by the gulfweed on which
many of them live, they swarm around
in great numbers The smaller fishes
live in the intricate venues formed by
the seaweed, and the more ferocious
denizens of the deep come hither to
feed upon the quantities of small fish.
| In this way the submarine life of the
Sargasso sea is made interesting and
lively.
The only life overhead is that mad
! by a few sea birds, which occasionally
reach the solitudes of this midocean
cemetery. A few of the long flyers of
the air penetrate to the very middle of
the ocean, but it is very rarely that this
occurs Some nave been known 70 fol-
low vessels across the ocean, keeping at
a respectful distance from the stern.
Other birds have been swept out to sea
by storms, and nave finally sought
refuge in the Sargasso sea- Still others,
taking refuge On some derelict, have
been gradually carried to the same mid
ocean scene. There is sufficient food
floating on the surface or to be obtained
from the fishes which live among the
forests of seaweed to support a large
colony of birds 1t is surmised that
many of those found in the sea have
inhabited those regions for years, part
~ from choice and partly from neces-
sity. Birds swept out there by storm
would not care to venture the long re-
turn trip to land, and, finding an
abundance of food and wrecks on which
to rest and rear their young, they
might easily become contented with
their strange lot Just how far the
strong-winged sea birds can fly without
resting Is all conjectural, but it is
doubtful if many of them would under
take such a long journey seaward with
no better prospects ahead than dreary
wastes of water. Detroit Free Press