SARGASSO WEEDS AND WAVES 5 



fleets of vessels held captive by the sea of weed, I 

 had nothing to abjure when I found that the only 

 wrecks were dissolute Welsh colliers wallowing 

 past on their unpainted way. 



The mere mention of the Sargasso Sea in the list 

 of my intended objectives was enough to inspire a 

 whole crop of colored Sunday supplements of 

 ancient weed-clogged vessels. As a matter of fact, 

 realizing that scores of sailing vessels and steamers 

 had traversed this sea again and again, and that 

 the fauna of the weed itself was as limited as it 

 was interesting, my object in this area was quite 

 definite and unique. On my numerous trips from 

 New York to British Guiana I had now and then 

 seen, tantalizingly near, weed of considerable ex- 

 tent, sometimes one or two acres matted together 

 — a golden-yellow undulating meadow. All that 

 I asked of the Sargasso Sea was a duplication of 

 such a meadow which I had seen more than once in 

 areas well outside the conventionally mapped area 

 of weeds. I hoped that the shallow and mid-sea 

 life beneath, ranging from 100 to 500 fathoms deep, 

 fed by the untold myriads of dead creatures falling 

 slowly from the weed through the water, would 

 yield hauls of unexcelled richness. 



In February I took the Arcturus from Bermuda 

 southeastward straight through the heart of this 

 sea, then east, almost to its furthermost limits. 

 Months later on our return I again steamed through 

 a great section, this time farther to the north. We 

 saw numberless patches of weed, but seldom any 

 which were larger than a man's head. For many 



