The semi-weekly messenger., 1902-11-18

OF Sights Under the waves-some of
His Experiences.


seeing as a special feature. and the lee
lures he gives with the entertainment
are instructive TO the public. Captain
Sorcho IS about thirty-five years of
age, of stalwart build, black hair and
moustachs and weighs about 10
pounds. He is man of pleasant dress
and agreeable manners.
Speaking OF the experiences which he
has had, and of some Of the sights
which he has seen under the waves he
said:
What does the bottom of the sea
look like?'' is a question asked by thou
sands. 1t looks very much like the
land on which we live, with the excep-
ton of great beauty, Che land has
nothing to compare with the bottom Of
the sea- There are hills and hollows,
rocks and crags, trees and grass, level
plains of green verdure, great round
stones and jagged timbers, just the
same as we see on land. Instead of
birds fitting through the tree tops
fishes swim about them and where the
rabbit and squirrel bound through the
woods on land the great king crab and
sea turtle drag their forms on the
oceans bottom. Some of the scenes at
the bottom of the sea are like fairy
land and in southern waters are often
more beautiful and spectacular than
those We see in the theatrical pan
tomimes that delight the children at
Christmas time. Delicately shaded sea-
shells, great trees Of snow white coral,
sea foliage of every tint and shade and
the deep, dark caverns in which lurk
the devil fish and shark, like evil
spirits, awaiting their prey All these
sights the diver sees at the bottom of
the sea with grim skeleton now and
then to remind him of the world
above"
Many interesting adventures beneath
the sea are related by Captain Sorcho
who says: while 1 was working in
versity in the collection of rare sub
marine curoisities and shells / saw a
sight that would have made an artist
crazy with delight. 1t was a perfect
summer day and not a breeze was STIR
ring. The water was SO clear and
smooth that although 1 was sixty
eight feet down 1 could plainly see the
bubbles which had escaped from my
helmet floating like balls of mercury
on the surface. Every object within
thirty yards of me came out as clear
and as if seen through the lens of a
camera. And with that everything was
magnif1ed in the strangest manner. 1t
was as if 1 was standing in a great
crystal globe. Over my head dome
Of silver shaded off into a pale, then
deeper and deeper into a dark marine
blue, then the edge of the dome seemed
to gather in toward my feet and rest
on the bed of the ocean. The bottom,
though in reality perfectly level, ap
peared to round upward in all direc-
tions from me, and so completed the
globe. All about me, as if painted on
the outside of it, were the sea plants
and sponges in an emerald and saffron
background and studding and enamell-
ing it were thousands of yellow, red
and bright green flowers and berries.
Sea urchins, with their black spines
and creamy shells, lay scattered among
the thick growth of white coral, big
ugly grabs scuttled here and there or
peered at me from beneath the stones.
Fish of every shape and gorgeous color
darted in through one side of my globe
and out of the other, where they hung
staring at me through the shadow, like
great hobgoblinS and spectres. 1t was
the strangest and most beautiful sub
marine picture I ever beheld.
THE WRECK OF THE MAINE.
THE wreck of the Maine was the
worst thing 1 ever saw. Everywhere
there was terrible evidence of power
torn in two am idships. The steel for
ward deck was turned completely over,
as if they were the leaves of a book.
Part of the port side curled over like
a mighty shaving rolled from some
great carpenters plane. Side plates
were ripped through like boards. The
forward turret, with its two 10-inch
guns weighing IN all $50 tons. had been
torn from it's f Jennings, no one knows
where, for it < yer was found. In one
place a mans body waved slowly back
and forth, the feet uppermost, the head
caught under an iron rod. Parts Of
other bodies were laying everywhere. L
found them generally with the eyes
open. jaws Sc, lips parted enough to
see the teeth. When passing through
bulkhead door to get out into open
water with a body under my arm to
send it up to ne surface other bodies
would follow Re. This was caused by
the suction OF opening the door and
my walking through it. So close would
the bodies follow that they would float
up against me.
In this business our instinct becomes
so vivid that whenever anything
touches us especially from behind, we
have hand axe or a knife drawn like
a flash and turn to meet our foe. In
a number of these cases my actions
with the weapons were quicker than
my thoughts, when. upon turning
around, would find a dead man star
ing through the face plate of my hal
met. 1t was one awful charnelhouse of
death and one long to be remembered.
/ had not been working long before /
Was convinced that the explosion came
from the outside-and / got my evil
dence pretty straight. We recovered
all the gun cotton in good condition
Most of the copper tanks that contain
ed the forward supply of powder were
found crushed in by the ternal force.
a large portion of the fort side Of the
bottom was completely gone at point
far from the maip magazines
FUN UNDER THE WAVES.
"Once when 1 was engaged as an in
spector of sunkan vessels by an insur-
ance company 1 was sent to inspect
the hull OF a foundered steamer off
the coast of Florida. a number of na-
tive Indians who go down wearing
nothing but breechcloth. diving for
shells and sponge, were sporting about
the wreck getting off what they could
of value. They did not pay any atten-
ton to the approach Of the tug or my
daSaeDt in the The first they