The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-12-31

They Must Resist the Attacks OF
Many Submarine Monsters.

Many Submarine Monsters.
From the London Telegraph.
Unexpected perils await submarine
cables, even in the depts of the ocean.
Though the largest waves in a storm
probably do not appreciably disturb
the water beyond the first 100 fathoms.
if indeed, they go so far, currents are
sometimes strong enough to fray the
cable against some submarine crag,
and various living creatures will do it
a mischief. Among them fishes have
long been suspected and now the
charge has been proved in a cable con-
Meeting Sydney with Nelson. A defect
was detected, and on examining the
piece sharks tooth was found inn
bedded in the sheathing. AS that con-
sisted of the usual thick iron wires
and their outer covering, The agrees
sor must have given a hard bite. The
motive is not easily OWNED. Could the
shark have mistaken the cable in the
imperfect light, for a new species of
conger, or did it, which seems more
likely, blunder against it at a place
where it did not touch bottom, and re-
lieve its temper by a vicious snap?
A swordfish will express it's resent
ment against a vessel by driving the
bayonet at the end of its nose into
the planks and narwhal will use its
lance of ivory in similar fashion; each
like the shark to its own detriment,
for it illustrates the maxim, Cant
you leave it alone?" by losing the wea-
pom of offense. The conflict between
shark and cable occurred $50 fathoms
below the surface a depth which for
merly was supposed to be almost life
less. But deep-sea- dredging during the
last thirty or forty years told a diff
ferent story. In the open ocean living
creatures generally do not descend be-
low a few hundred. feet. though they
are often enormously abundant in this
upper layer-the home of countless
fishes, mollusks, Crustacea, and in ma
ny places of clouds of tiny foramini-
fera and radiolara, with a correspond
ing abundance of seaweeds.
But living creatures follow the ocean
slopes downward to very great depths.
Sponges at least certain kinds, go far
below the thousand fathom line. A
hydrozoon two yards long was dredged
UP by the Challenger from $500 fathoms
and occasionally a coral or some near
relation may be found at as great
a depth A well known species of the
former was brought up on a telegraph
cable from more than LOO fathoms,
and DR.. Carpenter obtained a mollusk
generally found in shallow water, from
not much less than $4,000 feet. Even
at depths as low as Mount Everest is
high. living creatures have been OBJ
tanned, but they are comparatively low
in organization. Still fishes have been
captured at the lowest depths, in which
cases they are often blind. Even where
they have eyes. those in that region
of eternal night would be useless, if
they were not able to turn on the light
at will by being provided with phos-
phorescent organs. 1t is. however un-
usual to find shark so deep as nearly
a couple of thousand feet from the sur
face. Their teeth have, indeed been
dredged up from profound depths. inn
bedded in noduies of manganese oxide, !
of fishes which have lived and died in
down 10 the bottom.
Sharks in general keep to the surface,
a habit which makes them such a ter
ror to bathers. Still one kind of a shark |
more nearly related to the dog fishes
than to the dreaded blue shark, is |
brought UP from depths greater than |
those mentioned. The genus, which con-
tains several species, has a wide range. |
and spearlike teeth. one of which may |
have done the mischief OFF the Por- |
tuguese coast there is a regular fishery |
for a species of this fish, which is about |
five feet long; it is caught with lines.
at depths of 400, and occasionally 500 |
fathoms. AS 1t is accustomed to live |
under a pressure of about eighty at
IL is dead-practically suf-
focated-when brought to the surface.