The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-01-27

Great Mystery L. Pound % He Very Sim
pie when Explained 90 Nstiny
Among an. sailor. Of Columbia
Only a bif Of floating seaveed that
the restless surf washed upon the beach.
sud Yc' ne mere sight Of IL carried my
ihoreh.s t5ck 10 one Of the most I'M
por.snf events in the history Of the
world. for IT'S far away ancestors well
nigh prevented the discovery OF Amer
lea .t
You know the story-how the igno-
rant sailors of Columbus became alarmed
and almost mutiDied when their ships
sailed into what appeared 10 be a perfect
network Of impeneuahle weeds They
believed that the thickening sea was
warning OF Providence TO turn back
from their audacious undertaking, and
il required all the firmness and author
ity Of Columbus TO bring them back 10
duty and obedience That wonderful
mass Of seaweeds was something new
and mysterious and therefore TO be
feared
Later On. when the Spaniards became
familiar with its constant presence in
that triangular space midway in the At
lantic between the Azores, the Canaries
and the Cape de Verde islands, they
called IL a marine meadow" The sail
ors. however. christened IL the Sareasso
sea. from the Spanish word sargazo.
which means seaweed. Still. though
satisfied that IL was not Of supernatural
origin, they eonld not account for its
existecce
Science. however, long ago solved the
mystery, not only Of this. but Of other
Sarsasso ssAs For there are several
others, and they are always found. each
in almost the same spot. The diurnal
motion q the earth, the never ceasing
rush a thu tides and the steady force Of
TIE winds create. under the tropics, .
surface current IN the seas, which ad
vsoces. from east TO west, al the rate Of
about ten marine miles an hour
This current which is called the
equatorial current. or current Of rota
ton. il o1ly superficial, and extends in
ooe vast uohi Il sheet. which moves be
tween the tropics. II forms the genial
waters q the Caribbean sea and feeds
the gulf stream At Cape San Rogue IL
divides. o1e part flowing south to meet
ard h@ transformed into a submarine
eurrsnt by toe north polar current; on
THE other side II bafhes the shores Of
Griana and Brazil
And then there is the gulf stream Of
TIE s2ss. which issues from the hay Of
B<Uzsl IT. waters. like those Of our
c~E gz1 stream may be disting uished
frc= TIE bordering waters Of the great
css11 y their indigo tint The JaPa-
1sss call u Ire black river
Lszz1-z TIE lay q Bengal. this great
-E- cz-Tso; passes through the strait
q Nzazc-z- sweeps the coast OF Asia.
III i5sz. DorTh q the Philippine 10
1E-l1s -zshss o1s in'o the OCEAN. dascrib-
IL tas srrct great circle as far as the
A3sI11E- sslEois Like the gulf stream
Il the A1lEciSc- u r3oderates the rigor
4 the t-usEtsf Ezz, J; t-aEe-ses-
Tine fl1E.-lgr tEExeeE these two great
ueearit AZ e-1sf - g1o3s-fnl- but it is
enunEt tT W. Jrssaci rz-pose 20 know
s1II1 ~ -tssslr L,f-r-lacIns ez.-s1Is the S2r-
Esissc ssaE eve sl1s1- sz1sreooz
51vs Vel fh3s u easily explained
Drip s1gDs SSsuss e hight moss o. bits
Il urE n worS isfc . tcb Of water:
tDsr rSf1 T0-r hzDd Dezy its edge give
- WEisr clrczlzr motion. In mo
E3sz1 ~ VII Sc tina; all the floating
szbstzocss viii have collected in the
center. Continue the circular motion.
and a; the same time blow sharply
against the foafing objects. and they
VIII change their position. but will not
leave the vicinity az the center so long
a. the rotary motion Of the water con-
tinues Observe, too. that this center Is
comparatively calm.
This is the explanation Of the Sargas-
50 seas. In the center Of tho several cir
cults of the great oceanic arteries vast
basins Of comparatively still water are
formed. The currents by which they are
surrounded constantly throw toward the
center all floating substances, especially
marine plants, and these, owing TO the
quiet waters, multiply with great rapid.
ity, those that have lived their appoint
cd time sinking out Of sight, while new
ones take their place. Even the action
Of the winds, as intimated above, serves
only to shift this position slightly.
The marine meadow" with which
we are most familiar, that Of the mid
Atlantic, spreads over an extent Of sur
face five or six times rs large as the ter
ritory occupied by France. What won.
derful meadow on land that would be
for cattlel And yet il is scarcely less 80
where il is for the creatures Of the sea
This sargassum. or gulf weed, il
rather odd looking. Its frond is very
long and furnished with distinct.
staiked, neryine leaves and berrylike air
vessels on simple axillary stalks. Il 10
found floating or cast on tho shores. but
its true home is at the bottom Of the see.
whence, becoming detached. IL rises 70
the surface. buoyed up by it's curious lit.
tie air vessels
The sargassuIp hardly looks good
enough 10 eat. :" but that IL is both pala
table and nutritious is abundantly
proved by the many dishes that are pre-
pared from it, not only in China. but IN
other parts Of the east. Helen Harcourt
In Philadelphia Times
S-~
Two Lives savea.