Evening star., 1928-05-06
BY HENRY p. PRILI.

VUST as wild animals on land who
have never seen man are easy
To approach. So the fsh down
~ on the oceans floor are not the
least bit afraid of deep-sea
diver. The slightest commotion among
A school of fish on the surface will
scatter them like hirdshot, but not SO
their brethren 100 feet beneath.
Often in the course OF an operation
on the bottom OF the sea l have
perched myself on big rock to watch
the antics OF the fiShy inhabitants l
must certainly have been a frighten-
Ing sight In my groteSque divers out
At but my appearance would cause
no more disturbance than that OF the
rock on which l was sitting With that
solemn expression which only fish
can affect. my neighborS would peer
at me inauisitively for a few minutes
and even approach closer for better
look.
You would think that the smaller
FISH would instinctiyely avoid any
animal larger than themselves, eSpec-
tally a strange one. since the big fel-
lows prey on them constantly for food
but, unlike the small animals on land.
they never do And out until they have
passed into the NAV of the enemy.
On one occasion while diving in 40
feet Of wafer | came across big FISH
about four feet long which seemed un-
usually friendly. He was lying on his
belly In the sand and he hardly moved
at sight of me. Growing bolder.
perched myself on his back and Strad-
died his body Even then he was not
in the least excited. but unhurriedly
moved his iinS and began 10 rise, He
a -. faA hat h.
darted away. dropping me of into the
sand
/ have never heard OF single case
where diver was attacked by Ash.
not even by the ferocious shark. tiger
OF the sea. OF course II shark should
ever take IL into his hammer head To
assault the intruder the diver would
b. In grave danger The big hsh could
easllv bite through the rubber suit and
might foul the lifeline or sever the air
hose A large octopus too could do
lot of damage with his powerful tenta-
cleS, but one almost never comes across
that species IN water 100 feet deep.
Exploring the oceans bottom with
its natural wonders Is one OF the few
concentrations of divers existence,
For his life Is not all a merry one, The
work is difflcult and often dangerous,
| especially at great depths or on
muddy bottom The pressure which
must he put into the suit Is ~ pounds
per square inch for each 100 feet Of
water At this rate, the greatest depth
to which man may go n shout 400
feet, which the pressure about 100
pounds binds his muscles so that he
can hardly move The strain on him
is terrifle. especially on the ears, Few
can stand more than 90 pounds,
Not the least OF the dinieulties ef the
work under water Is the divers inability
tn see more than few feet On a
muddy bottom or In wrecks the water Ii
as black as midnight The modern
divers electric lamp oVercomes this To
SOME extent, but the dirt PARTICLES In
the water keep the light from penetrat-
Ing very far ON a sandy floor with
plenty ot sunlight up above, the diver
can see about 20 feet AS long As he
stands still. When he Is walking the
sand rises and cuts OF hts vision,
Far from being Handicapped by the
weight nf his anrpnund belt and 10
pound shoes, the divers hardest Job Is
10 bend his head dnwn, which he must
do In order ~ fasten line Ia an
ohiect To do this he must get down
on his knees, PRESS his chin against the