Evening star., 1894-11-03
The Imaginary Journey

The imaginary journey.
To make the ocean bed a reality 1 will
ask the reader to imagine that he is
equipped with a divers armor capable of
resisting pressure and accompany me into
the deep sea. AS we descend into the blue
depths we realize that we have entered an
other world, where to all intents and pur-
poses water is the atmosphere. If we entered
the ocean on the Pacific coast from the
beach We would gradually walk down an
easy descent for many miles; and the same
is true of the Atlantic. Almost Immediately
the light fades, so that when at d depth of
900 feet 1t is comparatively dark and in
tensely cold. Deeper we descend, the sun
light gradually fading, until at depth of a
quarter of a mile the darkness Is intense so
far as the sun is concerned.
In shallow water we have passed through
the region of abundant life. Along the shore
are schools of porpoises, immense whales
that occasionally venture far below the sur
face. and number of air-breathing fishlike
animals that are kept near the surface by
their structure and requirements. Here are
schools of fish-salmon and sardines; and
passing is a migrating herd of seals. Deeper
We pass and leave them behind, descending
to a depth of 1900 feet in darkness pro-
found An electric light would show a sin
gular change. Many of the fish are of gay
colors, and could we whisk one to the sur
face it's eyes would be popping from its
head when 1t arrived, from the sudden
change.
Strange animals inhabit this region, and
the deeper we go the mere remarkable they
appear. and finally, at mile or so, they
fairly compel our admiration. Here are
scarlet scrimps; crabs on stiltlike legs;
others that are blind; more that carry their
own lights, for long ago We saw living stars,
moons and comets in this abysmal region
that serve a variety of purposes in the
economy of nature. Everywhere there is
life. Every drop of water Is alive; and
standing in this strange region, at a depth
of q rnile or so we find ourselves in a rain
beneath the All about T.
less objects dropping upon us, Invisible to
the eye, but so result producing in the ag
gregate that the raindrops pile and heap up
in such masses that with those that die on
the bottom they round off the tops of SUBJ
marine hills and mountains, fill up the val
leys, and the thick gelatinouS ooze through
which we have walked with so much liff-
guilty is the visible result of the rain. In
brief we are in the region CT the globiger-
ina ooze-a condition found in great depths.
but not always in the greatest. 1t has been
estimated that if lime-secrCting organisms
are as numerous down to depth of 600 feet
as they are near the surface there would be
more than sixteen tons of calcareouS shells
or carbonate of lime in the uppermost 100
fathoms of every square mile OF the ocean.
A Submarine Rain storm.
The rain storm is the falling of these
countless shells to the bottom. They are
ever dying; the animal is destroyed, and
the little shell sinks. piling up at the bot
ma ooze. The increasing weight grinds up
the lower stratum into an impalpable
powder, and slowly piles up the bottom,
forming a mass, which, If elevated above
the surface, would resemble the chalk cliffs
of Dover, which were formed at the bottom
of the ocean in much the same way.
Descending into deeper depths We still
find life Many of the fishes are blind,
nearly all have phosphorescent lights, and
their shapes and forms are strange and un-
canny. Sunlight does not reach below 1000
fathoms; beyond this no plant life exists.
and the various forms of life prey upon one
another. Among the deep-sea fishes espe-
cially there is constant warfare.
Assuming that we are walking on the
ocean bottom at the depth of over a mile,
we move cautiously along in water icy cold,
ard suddenly ore confronted with blaze
of light. and find ourselves in a field of light
| givers. Imagine a cornf1eld with stalks from
| two to four feet In height, the tips gleam-
| ing with light and waving gently to and
| fro Such an appearance the fields Of UNI
| bellularia present. OF st. Vincent the
Challenger dredged in a field of light-giving
| gorgonias with stems about two feet long.
| The trawl came up choked with them from
a region q mile below the surface. each one
emitting q vivid lilac-colored light.
Above this forest of living lights strange
and weird fishes are passing, which we