Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1906-03-29

The disaster which happened to the
French vessel Sully not so very long
ago when it went to the bottom not
far from Saigon has afforded, says
the Scientific American, the divers in
trusted with examination uof the sub
merged ship opportunities for making
exhaustive and important explorations
fields q afosttAB5a aa 81 dsS the sea- In these
cial distinction has been MOI sor r Sspe ;,
young naval engineer named Deplury
who, by the aid of an apparatus. his
own invention succeeded in reaob;na
a depth of even more than 1856 feet
depth which had never ibeforabeen
attained.
De Plury has Invented al kind ) of
metal armor which affords him every
protection, while by means of special
chemical combination respiration is
automatically provided for. THANKS
to this, he has already nasie more
than 115 most daring descsnts with
perfect safety. He has thus been
able to discover most marvellous
world, hitherto seen by no eye bat
his; the sea bed is scene of sriarvels
combined with no small amount of
tragic horrors.
sThe first sensation. experienced.
said this intrepid diver at a recent in.
teryiew with an italian journalist
is something like that which is felt
on descending into mine, but YOU
soon get accustomed to it. Alta depth
OF about nine feet medusae began to
be found in large quantities. Seen
through the water, everything appears
magnffied, and they are apparently
OF enormous proportions All recoIlec-
ton OF the protection afforded by the
glass front of the helmet is forgotten,
and the first impression is that these
masses of horrid fiaccid and Shiny
medusae will adhere to your face.
Just little lower down, and a
scintillating nrultitudinous shoal OF
small fishes is encountered, simmer
ing like so many strips Of shining cop
per. gor other metal, in a state of con-
tinuouS vibration.
"At a depth of about 1872 feet thick
masses of seaweed are .traversed !;
some Of these are hairlike vegetable
growths, with arms from twenty to
thirty yards IN length, which, with a
Kind Of horrid vitality, wrap them.
selves round every part of the body
These algae constitute a grave danger
as they can easily paralyze the divers
movements and, by rising up above
and around him, can weigh him down
with weight amounting to several
'hundred-weigft- sufficient to break a
rope or lifeline when hauled on.
Below 1862 feet there are small
snakeffke fishes Of about three feet in
1engch. and also othe.. denizens of the
deep resembling dolphins These
latter hurl themselves violently
against he diver. If as already re-
marked, he is somewhat young at the
game, and has forgotten the protec-
ton afforded by his heinaet, he lis still
filed with a mortal dread lest they
should succeed in smashing the glass
front Of the helmet despite its four
inches of thickness. OF course, should
that occur. death would be almost in
stantaneous.
Still other and worse monsters
are the polypi or devilfish, VINO wrap
their shiny tentacies round the bold
explorer; but although repugnant,
these monsters are cowardly, and i'm
mediately renounce their attack on
coming in contact with the unfamiliar
feel of the metal armor plating of my
diving dress. There are also equally
horrible and much more intrepid,
giant crabs. Some of those | have
seen have measured as much as three
feet in diameter. Due to their strong
/ shells and formidable claws, they con
stitute 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 score of the deep sea fauna
The reformation of fish is not very
noticeable at such a small depth; by
reformation | mean not only change
of form, but also of character This
takes place at depth af about 1904
yards; here their nature changes en-
tirely, and they assume the forms
and constitutional notifications neces-
sary to enable them to bear the
enormous pressure to which they are
subjected at the depth where they
move and have their being.
. Hitherto it has been quite impos-
sibie to obtain living specimens oil
these submarine creatures, as they
reached the surface with their vol
ume quadrupled due to the reduction
OF pressure. All these creatures are
garnivorous, and their capacious
eneNws not infrequently serve as the
tombs of unfortunate sailors whose
ships have gone down, and their bod
les gradually sink deeper and deeper,
while the formidable pressure to