The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1920-08-06

| to the haNd metallic back OF the mon
/ ster. Here we were Joined by Ned
Land. AS we were resting there, eight
masked men came through hatch
and drew us down into the bowels OF
what we now saw was not n monster.
but a strange kind of sea craft. Thus
began the strange voyage with that
remarkable character who called him
self Captain Memo. and in that strange
wonderful ship which he called the
! Nautilus.
The Nautilus was cigar-shaped
steel ship of go feet in length. 26 feet
beam and 1900 tons dead weight.
There were two h,.lls. one inside the
other Joined by T-shaped irons. which
rendered them Of almost uncrushable
strength. She was driven by electric
engines Of tremendous power. Tanks
which could be filed or emptied at
will enabled her to cruise on the sur
face or under the water as she pleased.
She was fitted with all kinds OF
working and lounging quarters. In
| library were books or the sciences,
morals, literature Of almost every Ian
guage. There was drawing room
with n luminous ceiling which served
also as a museum. and into which an
intelligent hand had gathered subma-
rine treasures of the world: the rnrest
shells. pearls of all colorS and beyond
price, every variety of undersea vege-
tation; also paintings of the masters.
admirable statues in marble and
bronze. a great organ piano.
From the inside of her staircase
led to a platform or deck from which
rose two cages. partly enclosed by
thick glasses. One cage was for the
helmSman. the other contained an cleo
trio Searchlight to light the course
Of the ship in dark waters. On this
platform also was Il place wherein was
stored n long-boat.
Captain Memo was tall and rObustly-
built. with pale skin, lofty brow. and
the fine taper hands of a highly nerv-
Gus temperament. He spoke French.
English. German, Latin. all equally
well. He may have been thrty-five.
he may have been fifty years old.
1t was on November 6, 1866. with
the coast OF Japan in view. that this
strange captain told us we were pris-
oners for him to do with as he pleased
"And now," he added. "our course is
+. n. +. and our cruising depth 2G
fathoms. leave you to the resources
of these quarters and your own re-
Elections"
We remained mute. not knowing
what surprise awaited us. Suddenly a
dazzling light broke in on us. We saw
that only glass panels separated us from
sea which was illuminated far to
either side by the powerful electric
CLEANS from the ship. What spec
tacle! An army Of undersea creatures
beaIt'fc. in the clear water, many
known, but hundreds unknown to us.
We heard and saw nothing of the
captain for several days; then came
note inviting us to a hunt on the
bottom Of the sea. We donned diving
suits, then fastened on Il sort of KNAPP
sack which furnished us not only with
air to breathe, but with the light to
see our way. We carried air-guns
which fired class bullets heavily charg-
ed with electricity, which had only to
touNi tHc loSl DoNCIlul ~ NIL
him. A connecting compartment filled
with water let us into the sea. And
thus equipped, wading on the bottom
of the clear ocean, we killed our game
with ease and without danger.
That hunt was but the first of the
wonders of the cruise. Onward we
rushed, sometimes on the surface,
sometimes under the sea. There was
our fight with the immense devil-fiSh
which once in n huge school enmeshed
the Nautilus. There was the visit 10
wonderful pearl fishery, where Cap
tain Memo showed us Il mollusc with
in whose jaws was pearl weighing
perhaps 500 pounds. Some day he
would return and pluck that treasure,
but not yet-every year was adding to
its value. We visited the skeletons of
lOng-sunken ships, the corpseS OF the
drowned crew still clinging to the hulls
of some. We hunted in the Papuan
islands where the Nautilus was at
tackled by the native savages. An cleo
trio current turned them back shocked
and bowling ere they could climb
aboard.
When one Of the crew died Captain
Memo had him buried in coral glade
in the South Pacific, where was
cross Of red coral that looked like
petrified blood. 1t was wonderful.
solemn sight to see the pall-bearers
with the dead body on their shoulders,
and all treading so reverentially the
way from the ship to the coral ceme-
terry. where, at the foot of the cross
the body was inferred and covered up.
All knelt in prayer. Captain Memo
was the last to leave.
"Your dead sleep quietly out of the
! roa oh of cho rkso said when we were