Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1894-07-11
NEITHER SEA NOR LAND.
The Wonderful Region Tn the Atlantic
Which no Man Has Penetrated.


The surface of it seems, says the writer,
like a perfect meadow of seaweed. 1t Is
supposed that this enormous 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 Flori-
da and the Bermuda Islands by the force
of the Gulf Stream. 1t is then swept
round by the same agency into the Sar-
gasso Sea, where it lives and propagates,
floating freely in mid-ocean. And the
store is ever increasing, both by addition
and propagation, so that the meadow
grows more and more compact, and no
doubt at the inner parts extends to a con-
siderable depth below the surface.
Nor is this all for at least two-thirds
of all the infinite fotsam and jetsam
which the Gulf Stream carries along with
it in in its course sooner or later finds
resting place in the Sargasso Sea. Here
may be seen the trunks Of trees torn
from the forests of Brazil by the wa
ters of the Amazon and foated down far
out to sea until they are caught and
swept along by the current; logwood
from Honduras, orange trees from Florl-
da, canoes and boats from the islands,
STAYED in, broken and bottom upward
wrecks and remains of all sorts, gathered
from the rich harvest of the Atlantic
whole keels or skeletons of ruined ships,
so covered with barnacles, shells, and
weeds that the original outline is entirely
lost to view; and here and there dere-
lict ship transformed from a floating ter
ror of the deep into mystery put out OF
reach of man in museum of unexplain-
ed enigmas.
1t is ouly 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 her way into the
thick network of weed even with strong
wind behind her. Besides, if the effort
were rewarded with a first delusive sue
cess, there would be the almost certain
danger that in the calm regions OF the
Sargasso Sea the wind would suddenly
fail her altogether, leaving her locked
hopelessly amid the weed and the drift
and wreckage, without hope of succor or
escape. With regard 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 alto
gether choke up his screw and render it
useless.
The most energetic explorer of land or
sea will find himself bafled with regard
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 passage to boat. AT
the same time any one who fell into 1t
would certainly be drowned without being
able to swim for his life. OF course, it is
quite conceivable that very determined
party of pioneers might cut passage for
small boat even to the centre. The
work would take an immense time, how
ever, and the channel would certainly
close up behind them as they proceeded.
They would have to take with them pro-
visions for the whole voyage, and jour
ney over space equalling the Continent
of Europe would probably require larger
supplies than could be conveniently stow
ed away in a small boat. Besides, there
is no reason to suppose that the expedi-
ton would be worth the making, or that
the inner recesses of the SargassO Sea
would exhibit any marked differences
from the outer margin. The accumula-
ton of weed would be thicker and more
entangled, and the drift and wreckage
would lie more closely pressed together,
but that would be all. There is no posi-
bility of the existence of any but marine
life in this strange morass, unless the sea
birds have built their nests in the masts
or hull of some derelict vessel.-Cham-
bers' Journal