The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1894-07-12
NEITHER SEA NOR LAND.
fhe Wonderful Region in the Atlantic
Which No Man Has Penetrated.

w DeSloH HI IHt
Which No Man Has Penetrated.
The surface of it seems, says the
writer, like perfect meadow of sea-
weed. 1t is supposed that this enor-
nous mass of gulf weed may have been
partly grown at the bottom Of the
shallower parts of the sea and partly
torn from the shores of Florida and
the Bahama islands by the force of the
Gulf stream. 1t is then swept around
by the same agency into the Sargasso
sea, where it lives and propagates,
floating freely in mid-ocean. And the
store is ever increasing, both by addi-
ton and propagation, so that the mea-
dow grows more and more compact, and
no doubt at the inner parts extends to
a considerable depth below the surface.
Nor is this all, for at least two-thirds
of all the infinite fiotsam and jestam
which the Gulf stream carries along
with it in it's course sooner or later finds
resting place in the SargassO sea.
Here may be seen huge trunks of trees
torn from the forests of Brazil by the
waters of the Amazon and fioated down
far out to sea until they were caught
and swept along by the current: log
wood from Honduras. orange trees
from Florida, ca nOeS and boats from
the islands. STAYED in, broken and bot
tom upward; w recks and remains of all
sorts gathered from the rich harvest of
the Atlantic; whole keels or skeletons
Of ruined ships, so covered with barna-
cles shells and weeds that the original
outline is entirely lost to view; and
here and there a derelict ship trans
formed from a floating terror of the
1eep into mystery put out of reach of
nan in museum of unexplained enig-
mas.
1t is only natural that ships should
carefully avoid this marine rubbish
heap, where the Atlantic shoots its
refuse 1t seems doubtful whether a
sailing vessel would be able to cut its
way into the thick network of weed
aven with a strong wind behind it. Be
sides, if the effort were rewarded with
a first delusive success there would be
the almost certain danger that in the
calm regions of the Sargasso sea the
wind would suddenly fail it altogether,
leaving it locked helplessly amid the
weed and the drift and wreckage, with
out hope of succOr or escape. With re-
gard to a steamer, no prudent skipper
is ever likely to make the attempt, for
it would certainly not be long before
the tangling weed would altogether
choke up his screw and render it use
less.
The most energetic explorer of land
Or sea will find himself batfied with re-
gard to the Sargasso sea by the fact
that it is neither one nor the other. 1t
/ is neither solid enough to walk upon
nor liquid enough to afford "a passage
to boat. At the same time any one
who fell into it would certainly be
drowned without being able to swim
for his life. Of course. it is quite con-
ceivable that a very determined party
Of pioneers might cut a passage for a
small boat even to the center. The
work would take an immense time.
however, and the channel would GER
tainly close up behind them as they
! proceeded. They would have to take
with them provisions for the whole
voyage, and a journey over space
equaling the continent of Europe would
probably require larger supplies than
could be conveniently slowed away in
a small boat Besides there is no reason
to suppose that the expedition would
be worth the making, or that the inner
recesses of the Sargasso sea would ex-
hibit any marked differences from the
outer margin. The accumulation of
weed would be thicker and more en-
! tangled. and the drift and wreckage
would lie more closely pressed together
but that would be all There is no pos
sibility of the existence of any but ma
rine life in this strange morass, unless
the sea birds have built their nests in
the masts of the hull of some derelict
vessel. Chambers Journal