The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-05-21

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A COMMON AIAIADY
Employer-Want to go home? Where do you
Boy-Here, sir, in the office. I guess I'll feel bet
ter when get the air on the baseball ground
From Golden Days.
appeared AS the gloom increased the searchght shot
out into the abysmal regions beyond them, forming a
luminous pathway into which the Dolphin seemek to
glide.
II expect" said Captain Blake .to make bottom
in about two thousand feet where slowly
down into greater depths and take the nv de-
grees; tho he added, may strike a deep valley
me Challenger found hole four a half miles
deep days sail from St. Thomas and admiral Bel
KNAPP dropped his lead into valley deep
three miles northwest of Yokohama"
Commander Bafour," added the Professor 'lost
his plummet over valley nearly six miles deep
nineteen hundred miles east of Brisbane, Australia"
Yes said the captain, "and the Blake made a
cast to the north Of Porto Rico and found hole
hve miles deep. Doubtless deeper valleys exist he
continued but it is generally believed that the deep
est portions of the not much in of the
height of the highest mountains land
The average depth of the ocean," said the pro-
fessor, lis supposed to be fifteen thousand feet
not?"
believe is the figure" replied Captain Blake
THE depth of the water is of the
features of the and for thousands of miles
find soundngs of from twelve thousand to twenty
thousand feet From New Zealand the Straits
Magellan after passing the Chatham Islands, the
is about thirteen thousand feet Deep and thousands
OF miles on trip from Montevideo to New York the
depth is from twelve to sixteen thousand feet"
"The greatest surprises in the ocean," said the
professor IF not mistaken, localities
tween Iceland and the Azores where there is chain
of peaks like our Rocky Mountains"
"True," replied the captain; "the sounding of the
Enterprise between Porto Praya and Capetown well
illustrates that point Six from the latter the
Enterprise found bottom in 24e2 in the
morning and at 40 p. m. the depth only 731
fathoms, or shoaling of two miles. Admiral Belknap
found drop in the Japanese coast of three miles
in less than half days rum he added looking at the
dial which indicated the depth.
Whats that?' interrupted Captain Sam, pointing
to the window.
AS the explorers left the table about which they
sitting crowded to the big port they
for the first time the bottom of the deep It had
pale creamy appearance and in the uncertain light
apparently level
The captain ordered the Dolphin to be lowered
within twenty feet of the bottom the steel rests
being thrown out in Of accident which she
settled.
The explorers now put their armor for the first
actual experiences in the deep sea The enthusiastic
the for moment to test his armor, then tele-
phoned that he experienced i'll effects from the
pressure, and down the ladder, Ralph
Captain Blake following.
The moment the professor reached the bottom,
which highly ilumined by the glare of the flash
light he sank almost knee-deep in soft clnging mud
which he the globigerina ooze,-the deposit
myriads Of rhizopoi Shells which dying fall
ing upon the bottom in a never-ending rain ping
the with their delicate FORMS obliteratng
depressions adding materially to the thickness
Of the crust of the globe.
a moments the divers stood together in the
famous ooze, and looking up their companions
watching them thru the thick glass window. Walking
extremely difficult, each arrnored foot held
closely by the treacherous mud, which and filled
the water with creamy vaporous cloud. They
all armed with pixies having perforated metal handles,
he
he captured his first specimen rich scarlet
shrimp, long attenuated feeers. the glare
the light many strange fishes seen, which the
scientific at once recognized forms which had
been dredged by the AIbatross Travaeur others.
The searchlight slowly moved about, converting
the weird region into realm of dazzling brilancy;
everywhere there the undulating surface,
no vestige rocks the faintest evidence plant
life, nothing the that resembled gray velvet
drawn the face of the earth