Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1904-08-13

Of their Investigations have been col.
lcsted into one of the greatest of all
scientific volumes. entitled the Book
of Occino.raphy." But. after all.
though some of the oceans mysteries
have been investigated. the most of
those mysteries are as yet unravcled.
They will always remain as mysteries
until suitable apparatus has been in
vented by means of which divers can
descend and pass nj leisure through
the paths of the sea now untroddcn by
the foot of man. In all probability that
time will never come before the day
when the seas have been licked up
by the long red tongues of the flames
which shall wrap themselves about
this old earth: when the archangel
shall stand with one foot upon the land
and the other foot upon the sea and
swear that time shall be no longer.
oh. the mysteries of the sea, Who
I has ever been able TO describe them?
II was my privilege. some weeks ago.
to see some of the wonders of the
mighty deep. l took ship and went to
the famous Catalina islands. of the
southern coast of California. l went
there for the fishing. l had heard
away back in the east of the wonderful
sea sport at that place. heard ii was
no unusual sight TO see there three and
four or five Jewish brought in.
each weighing upward of 300 pounds:
that some fish had been caught there
weighing over 800 pounds. These fish
crmcn had told me that there swain
/ the tuna. the earnest fish of all the
seas. There are the yellowtails and
j the barracudas and the rock bass and
the whitciish. and scores of other fish.
But though ! SAW fish caught mt Cata
lima weighing 800 pounds. the most
marvellous sight 10y far that l ever
witnessed there was what was revealed
to me in the depths of the sea 10y the
glass botton.-- boats.
survival of Fittest.
A strong seized oarsman, who
knew every nook and corner of that
coast, rowcd us ont. The center of the
boat had no keel. hut. instead. II glass
down and down. fifty. sixty. seventy
and eighty feet. Here were the rocks,
piled up in homogeneous forms. like
unto the Bad Lands of the Dakotas.
There were walls of rocks. dismantlcd
fortrcsscs in rocks. crumbling cathe-
drals in rocks. shattered masonry in
rocks. whole fallen Jcrichos i'm rocks:
pyramids and palisades We're i'll rocks.
I Rocks in column. rocks aslant, i'm
mensities and infinities of rock. In
yOndcr cavern a fish. hcrmitlike. was
dwelling. We could see his head as he
silently kept vigil. watching the other
fish swim 10y. Now darted past hun
drcds of thousands of sar,lincs. chased
by larger fish. In those depths, as on
the land. the survival of the fittest"
is the law of life-the big fish eat the
smaller fish.
Now we seem tn be- pushing our way
into the marine farmlaHhs. Whole
gardens of vegetables seem To be plant
ell upon the rocks. Many of those
forms of vegetable life are namcl after
the table foods we grow In our country
gardens. Their" are the waving wheat
fields and silkcn bearded corn just
ready for the husking. and the meadow
lands green and red with clover tops.
Now we seem To be entering the Indian
and African jungles. The seawecds
are matted and snarlcd together. They
seem To take upon themselves all col
Orings. Here are the long, clinging
vines. there the broad leaves and the
narrow leaves. the short leaves and
the long leaves. There are leaves in
the mass and here leaves with rents in
their curtains. through which we can
see the ylistcning fin Of Il goldfish, red
MS gold rcd as blood. Fish, like
unto which in color l never saw, be-
cause these fish are never caught with
the hook: these goldfish are vcgeta-
rians. Now we seem TO be wandering
among the Calaveras groves of the sea.
These weeds lift themselves like
mighty oaks. With their outspreading
branches they seem to be Offering sure
anchorages for birds nests. only for
the fact that no fcathcrcd orchestras
can dwell i'm the depths of the seas.
Now the bare rocks appear again and
seem To be like unto mighty mountains
In their impressiveness. crying: Come.
man. come. and take my gold! Come
and take my silver. My bones are cop
per. my heart is iron: come and take
my wealth. AS we wandered on.
peering into this strange and unknown
world. l say to myself: There are the
revealed mysteries of the sea seventy
feet deep. What must be the mys-
tcries of the sea hundreds of feet deep.
miles deep. uhfathomably deep: What
must be the my stcrics of the sea when
the Jewish. weighing One-half thou
sand pounds. rubs up his side against
the whale. weighing thousands upon
thousands of pounds:" Yes. the sea is
a mystery. n great unfathomable mys-
terry.
God In a Mystery.
What the mysterious sea was to the
lonely exile looking off upon the Med
itcrranean God always has been and
always will be to us on earth. He is
n mystery. We know that he created