Cañon City record., 1898-06-23
A NEW FIELD OPENED.
Prince Finds Sunken IslaEd in the
Atlantic Ocean.
WIZ Afford Fishermen frsa ths
Windward Isles Excellent
: Fishing Grounds - A
Rich Harvest

The discovery of drowned island In
the midst of the Atlantic ocean is an
event sufficiently sensational to cause
not little excitement among "thalas-
sanTaphers'-as those scientists who
make it their business to study the
bottom of the sea call themselves.
Future charts issued by the hydro
graphic Office at Washington will show
this geological freak, with soundings in
fnthoms upon and around it, 1t is a
huge volcanic mountain, which uplifts
itself from the floor of the ocean nearly
To the surface, the depths all about it
averaging about two miles
This drowned island is located just
little bit over 1000 miles due west from
the Rock of Gibraltar. 1t is As miles
southwest of Pico in the Azores. The
shape of il, as determined by sound
ings, is much like that of a huge
cooked hat, with the top of the hat
pointing to the south Happily, there
IS no danger that any vessels will run
upon it, inasmuch as its highest peak is
II fathoms beneath the surface of the
sea- If it were only little higher it
would be a real island, and people
would be living on it.
Nevertheless, this drowned island,
which has already received the name
OF princess Alice Shoal,r possesses
very practical Importance and useful
ness, as will be explained presently. II
was discovered by 10 less parsonage
than his serene highness the prince of
Monaco, who has fad for investigat-
ing the depths of the sea In fact, he
is one of the most eminent Of living
''thalassagrapbers, and a considerable
fraction of the income derived by him
from royalty in the celebrated gam
bling establishment located in his do
minions is spent in the pursuit of this
hobby. His experiments N the floating
pi bottles for the purpose of studying
ocean currents have contributed some
very important facts to scientifie knowl-
edge.
The prince came upon the drowned
island quite unexpectedly while max
ing scr fra his yacht, the
PR a e. ~ -. he named
lis Il as .cal in the
cas q ils, and the
!r-s er ali tle way from
~ iatholns in various
.r socked hat" outlined by
he peak of the subna-
-.-s s. -.-t-in was found to be quite
-laEP, and his serene highness marked
il with a couple of buoys- These buoys
hive already become a goal for fisher
men in pursuit of their industry.
\ shoai in the deep sea, be II under
stood. is always rich in the forms of
life which afford food TO fishes. Hence
il is that the Grand Banks are such
profitable fishing grounds for cod and
halibut- 1t is not surprising, therefore,
10 learn that the newly-diseovered
drowned island has already become
Mecca for the toilers of the sea, who
sail over it from the Azores. They
are making a rich harvest there, and
for all time 10 come it promises TO yield
great annual crop of marine wealth.
Princess Alice shoal is situated on
the northeastern edge of the Sargasso
sea--that wonderful collection of
Hquatic plants in the midst of the At
santic which grow and reproduce their
KIND while floating on the surface of
the water. upheld by their own air.
filed bulbs. In calm weather the vast
area covered by this strange vegetation
looks like drowned meadow. but dur
ing storms the plants are scattered
more or less The Sargasso sea is To-
Gated in an eddy of the great eirculat-
Ing stream OF the Atlantic, so that the
waters there are nearly stationary,
having no strong current. Hence the
accumulation of plant life, as in still
pond.
The aquatic vegetation of the Sar-
gasso sea teens with multitudinous
forms of life, but not least interesting
of the myriad creatures which inhabit
il are certain curious nest-building
fishes- They have arm-like fore fms
with which they cling to the weed.
making their nests by binding together
Riobular masses of it as big as Dutch
cheeses. This they accomplish by
means of long gelatinous strings,
which they form for the purpose. final
~ depositing their eggs in the center of
the sphere thus composed. There are
transparent cuttlefish, transparent
shrimps. and transparent worms in the
weed. One can see through them as II
they were made of glass.
Shrimps and crabs also abound. and
they. as well as the fishes, are spotted
yellow and white, like the weed itself
This, of course, is one of natures pro-
tective disguises.-Philadelp Press.