The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-11-29
CUT OF THE DEPrHS.
A Queer F.sh That Can Live only Under
 Miles of Water.
(From Inc Sun Frano,ioo EXamlnorD

Miles CT W aloNs
 (From the San Francsioo EXamlnorA
 Ono of the most important and inter esting cruises ever made by the United statea ship Albauoss has just been completed, The famous ship arrived here @ few days ago, and now lies in the stream at Mare Island, Since leaV- ing here in May last she Cruised in far northwestern waters engaged in deep sea fishing, and the fish she has taken are now being packed away in boxes for shipment to the Smithsonian Insti- tuition,
 | Some of the crustaceans taken are from a mile or more deep in the sea- and one fish of kind never before known to exist Is from the great depth of seventeen hundred fathoms, or al- most two miles. It resembles the ma- crurus, or the family known as grena- diers, but is yet so curious in appear anee that it is evidently a new thing. There is nothing In the books like it.
 The vessel in her cruise was in charge of N. B. Miller of the United States Fish commission. MT. Miller was very busy yesterday with a crew of men packing away jars of the sea- sons catch. He told of the trip of the Albatross In very interesting way, explaining the mysteries tof deep-sea | fishing, and the success that had at- tended the expedition
 Leaving here in May last, we went to Port Townsend, and then proceeded to the Commander Islands," he said. From there we cruised about in vari- ous waters of that region. For time we flshed in the cod and halibut banks, but most of our time we were fishing in far greater depths than those ire quented by the cod and halibut.
 Tt was at these great depths that our most interesting specimens were taken. We took them in the great dredge that went to the floor of the ocean and scraped up the denizens of those dark caverns. The dredge is Q | great rope-liBe sack, seventeen feet l long and eleven feet wide. The sack is made of thrty-thread twine, the mesh- es on the outside being three inches long, and on the inside two inches. Outside of this sack is a jacket with meshes two inches long.
 "In order to fish at any depth desired this dredge was attached to a gigantic reel containing four miles of three eighths inch steel wire When we let the dredge down and scraped the bot tom of the ocean we would bring up as much as ton in weight of mud, star fish, worms, anemones, fish, shrimps and other shells of various kinds. Of- tentimes we would have two or three dozen different kinds of fish in the dredge.
 "The queer fish that we got, the like of which has never been seen before, was twenty-six inches long and weighed between eight and nine pounds. It was taken at point about one hundred miles southwest of the Prybilof Islands, at depth of severn teen hundred fathoms. It resembled the fish known as the macrurus, but still was essentially different from any thing before discovered, Its head was peculiarly flat in appearance, its eyes very large, and its tail dwindling 10 q point and being curled in action, some thing like that of a snake.
 Ut was physically constructed so that it could only live at this great depth In the ocean, where the weight of the water was so great that 1t would kill all other animal life. When the fish was drawn up its stomach was crushed up out of It's mouth, and it's eyes were puffed out. It could not live in the upper waters. In Its native depths the darkness was so dense that no other fish could see anything. It was also as cold as in the Arctic re- gions.
 The fish has gone on to Washington, and there the scientists will proceed to study, and, If possible, classify it. It Is Ia fish perfectly contented In the dark ness and intense cold of the deep ocean depths. There in its normal state t probably had many companions, though science had not till now ever found any of them,"