The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1916-01-14
At the Bottom OF the Sea
The Only Film 'Of Its Kind Ever
Taken to be shown At The Comet
Monday Jan. IL


Taken to be shown At The Comet
Monday Jan. IL
Through exceptionally advantage
Gus booking facilities the manage.
ment Of the Comet Theatre have
been able to secure exhibition
rights Of the famous Williamson
sub marine motion pictures on
Monday afternoon and evening,
January II. These wonderful pic
lures were secured through an in
genious invention, perfected by
Captain Charles Williamson and his
two sons, Ernest and George, of
Norfolk, Va, and have never been
shown in city with less than 5000
population. This is the first time
where the rule Of the producing
company has been dispensed with
and Milbank people should take ad-
vantage of this opportunity to see
the latest achievement of the cine
graph.
The history of the Williamson
pictures is unique. For years
Charles Williamson had carried on
experiments under the sea in an
effort to perfect an efficient search
ing device for divers. He had en-
gagged in raising old sunken ships
through the use Of sounding appar-
abuses, but was unable to do effici-
ent work owing to the inadequate
light. He then conceived an idea
of search light tube, lighted with
powerful tungsten and Cooper
Hewett lights, arranged with huge
rejecting discs to give strength
to the penetrating light rays.
The crude experiment encouraged
him and tests were made in Nor
folk harbor, but owing to the nat
ural darkness of the bottom of the
ocean at that point their pictures
taken through the long tube, were
indistinct. They then constructed
a diving bell and added their light
tube to the new invention and set
sail for the Bahama Isles. Here
they found the ocean bed of q
yellowish color and the West In
dia waters exceptionally clear.
Tests were made and objects
were photographed at great depths
and the Williamsons secured
several thousand feet of motion
pictures OF Of tAa aD,bnai srm vege-
table life Of the sea bottom. Sun
ken treasure ships weres photo
graphed, monsters Of the deep in
their native haunts and the count
less wonders of the coral and
sponge gardens made a matter Of
film record.
The Williams crew attempted to
photograph man eating sharks at
play and at war and in order to in
tice these vicious monsters with in
focus, a horse carcass was used as q
bait and for three days the men
watched the schools Of sharks form
ing about the tube. On the third
day the operators were rewarded
by having several Of the big
fellows attack the bait. A native
diver had been engaged to dive in
to the water upon receiving sig
nails from the submarine tube and
fight some Of the ferocious man
eaters, but was unsuccessful in
killing q shark. The following
afternoon Ernest Williamson re-
peated the act and succeeded in
killing huge shark within range
of the machine.
The films have aroused interna-
tional interest as they make q new
epoch in the scientific field. The
Williamson pictures come in Five
Big Reels and will be exhibited at
the Comet onsMonday, Jan. II ct
3:45 in the afternoon and ct Z, &
and 8 O'Clock in the evening to give
all chancesto see these great films
at the regular price Of SC and 10c.
Don't miss it.