Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-14
OCEAN BEDS MYSTERY
STRANGE LIFE SEEN BY A DEEP
SEA DIVER.
Changes In Forms of Fish at Great
pepth-Giant Crabs and
Deviihsh.
From the Scientific American.

went to the bottom not far from Saigon has
AFFORDED the divers intrusted with examina-
hon OF the submerged ship opportunities for
making exhaustive and important expIora-
tons of the bottom Of the sea In these
fields of subaqueous exploration special dis
unction has teen won by young naval en-
gineer named De PlGry who. by the aid OF
an apparatus of his own invention. sue.
ceeded IN reaching a depth Of even moro
than $3.50 feet-a depth which had never be.
fore been attained
be FiIry mas invented kind OF metal
armor, which affords him every protection.
While by means of a special chemical com.
binati respiration Is automatically nro.
vided for. Thanks to this, he has already
mace more than lis most daring descent,
with perfect safety. He has thus been able
10 discover a most marvellous world, hith-
erto seen by no eye but his. The sea bed
is scene of marvels, combined with no
small amount of tragic horrors.
Inc firSt sensation experienced said this
intrepid diver 1t a recent interview with AN
1talian journalist, lis something like that
which is felt descending into mine hmm
you soon get accustomed to it. At depth
OF ABOUT nine feet medusae began to he
found IN large quantities. Seen through
the water, everything appears magnified..
ana they are apparently of enormous pro-
portions. All recollection of the protection
afforded by the glass front of the helmet is
forgotten, and the first impression is that
these masses. of horfid flaccid and Shiny
medusae VIII adhere TO your face.
Just little lower down and a scintsl-
lating multtudinoUs shoai of small fishes
Is encountered. shimmerng like so MANY
STRIPS OF shining COPPER. or other metal in
a state OF continuous vibration
Sea Weed.
AT depth of about l62 feet thick masses
of seaweed are traversed: some of these ara
hairlike vegetable growth. with arms from
twenty to thirty yards in length. which.
with kind of horrid vitality. wrap them
selves round every part of the body These
aigae constitute a grave danger. as they
can easily paralyze the divers movements
ana, by rising up above and around him
can weigh him down with a weight amount
ing to several NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. TO
break rope or lifeline when hauled on
Below ~ feet there are small snaielikN
ilshes or about three feet in length and also
otner denlZens Of the deep resembling dol
phlns. These latter huri themselves vio-
ientiy against the DIVER. IT. as already re-
marked, he is somewhat young at the Same
and has forgotten the protection afforded
by mis- helmet he is still filed with n mortal
dread lest they should succeed in smashing
the glass front of the helmet despite its four
inches OF thickness. OF course should ths,
occur. death would be almost instantaneous
Stii other ana worse monsters are the
poiypi or devilfish, who wrap their slirnv
tentacles round the bold explorer; but AL
though repugnant. these monsters are cow.
ardly, and Immediately renounce their at
TACK on coming in contact with the unta-
miilaf feel of the metal armor Mating oe
my diving dress There are also equally
horl1bie, and much more intrepid giant
ciabS- Some of those | have seen have
measured as much as three feet in diameter.
due TO their strong shells and formidable
claws they constitute a continual menace
TO the safety of the diver which Is by no
means to be despised
This Is about all that can be said on the
ia
ton of fish is not noticeable Mt such n
small depth; by reformation 1 mean no,
only only change of form. but also of character.
This takes place at depth of about Oa4
yards; here their nature changes entirely
and they assume the forms and constitll-
tionaI notifications necessary to enable
lieln 70 Dear the enormous pressure to
which they are subjected at the depth where
they move and have their being.
Pressure Of the Water.
Hitherto it has been quite impossible TO
obtain living specimens of these submarine
creatures. as they reached the surface with
their volume quadrupled. due to the reduc-
ton of pressure. All these creatures are
earnivorous and their capacious maws not
infrequently serve as the tombs of unfor
tunate sailors whose ships have gone to the
bottom, and their bodies gradually SIM,
deeper and deeper. while the formidable
pressure to which they are subjected in an
increasing intensity soon smashes all their
bones, and finally brushes the corpses quite
nat But enough; suffice it to say that this
depth Of thirty feet
one curious fact attending these SUBJ
marine explorations is afforded by tho
Hght, which forms strange blend of green
ana violet, the color being a little similar
TO that of the caverns which are TO be seen
III icepergs. AT depth of thirty-two yards
the light begins TO get more and more DIFF
FUSED. and the sun viewed through the
n prir
reddish Opaque globe, but-and this is
somewhat strange-when sheltered from the
rays OF the sun (behind q rock. for fnstanceJ
the stars become visible even at midday
'One day, just about noon. / saw a never
to-be-forgotten sight at depth of I29 feet
The sun was right at the zenith The bot
tom upon which l stood consisted of dne
white sand. and the reflection of the light
preston of standing upon plain of molten
gold. At depth of 226 feet the obscurity
is complete; at 327 feet the darkness is i'm
penetrable, and 1t Is necessary to have re-
course to electricity for purposes of vision
use electric lamps of 10000 candle-power.
but even these cannot diffuse their light
beyond radius of ninety feet. A most
tragic spectacle is then presented by sunken
vessels. broken boats, splintered huls, gap
ing decks and broken masts."
No scenes of horror can be surpassed by
the awful panoramas of death and disaster
which have been witnessed by Engineer de
PluIy In the course of his professional ex-
perience as diver.
I'm the vicinity of Ostend," he relates,
ST was requested once to examine the
wreck OF a vessel which had sunk not long
before. This was the occasion upon which
l was assailed by veritable horde of those
giant crabs of which have already spoken.
They were at the time busy devouring the
corpses of the dead sailors. One of these
monsters seized me by the leg, which would
have been crushed as If squeezed by a jaw
of steel. had 1t not been protected by the
powerful armoring of my diving dress. 1
had kind of sword in my hand, with
which l succeeded in killing two of these
monsters; the shells still possess.
"All objects at the bottom of the sea are
covered with kind of curious powder, and
a terrible gloom and 81 'ence prevails What
scene of melancholy! The floor OF the
ocean is strewn with bones, not a few or
them of human origin A very singular
fact which have observed is that the sea
for a certain period of time keeps bodies
in perfect state of preservation"
Whyp
r-..,, 49, Navv Work Erenipp Post