THE DEPTHS OF THE OCEAN. 203 



solved into clusters ; that, in certain directions, the abyss beyond 

 these faint objects is decked with other nebulae, which these great 

 instruments may bring to light, but can not resolve ; and that there 

 are still regions and realms beyond, wJiich the rays of the bright- 

 est sun in the sky have neither the intensity nor the force to reach, 

 much less to penetrate. 



427. So, too, with the bottom of the sea, and the know^ledge- 

 seeking mariner. Though nothing thence had been brought to 

 light, exploration had invested the subject with additional inter- 

 est, and increased the desire to know more. In this state of the 

 case, the idea of a common twine thread for a sounding-hne, and 

 a cannon ball for a sinker, was suggested. It was a beautiful con- 

 ception ; for, besides its simphcity, it had in its favor the greatest 

 of recommendations — it could be readily put into practice. 



Well-directed attempts to fathom the ocean began now to be 

 made, and the pubHc mind was astonished at the vast depths that 

 were at first reported. 



428. Lieutenant Walsh, of the United States schooner " Taney," 

 reported a cast with the deep-sea lead at thirty-four thousand feet 

 without bottom. His sounding-line was an iron wire more than 

 eleven miles in length. Lieutenant Berryman, of the United 

 States brig " Dolphin," reported another unsuccessful attempt to 

 fathom mid ocean with a line thirty-nine thousand feet in length. 

 Captain Denham, of her Britannic majesty's ship " Herald," re- 

 ported bottom in the South Atlantic at the depth of forty-six thou- 

 sand feet ; and Lieutenant J. P. Parker, of the United States frig- 

 ate " Congress," aftervrard, in attempting to sound near the same 

 region, let go his plummet, and saw a line fifty thousand feet long 

 run out after it as though the bottom had not been reached. 



The three last-named attempts were made with the sounding 

 twine of the American Navy, which has been introduced in con- 

 formity with a very simple plan for sounding out the depths of the 

 ocean. It involved for each cast only the expenditure of a cannon 

 ball, and twine enough to reach the bottom. This plan was in- 

 troduced as a part of the researches conducted at the National Ob- 

 servatory, and which have proved so fruitful and beneficial, con- 

 cerning the winds and currents, and other phenomena of the ocean. 

 These researches had already received the approbation of the Con- 

 gress of the United States ; for that body, in a spirit worthy of the 



