May 21, 1915] 



SCIENCE 



745 



the ship on our first trip to the tile-Bsh 

 grounds, after underrunning the line that 

 had been set for several hours. There were 

 a considerable number of fish of various 

 kinds in the bottom of his boat which he 

 had taken from the line. Some one sung 

 out from the ship asking him if he had 

 taken any tile-fish. His reply was : ' ' Not a 

 lophilatilus, not a chamEeleontieeps ! " In 

 fact no tile-fish were taken until July, 1899. 

 They were taken again in July, 1900. The 

 hoped-for fisheries for the tile-fish have not 

 yet been realized. 



The Albatross started on her first trip 

 from Woods Hole July 16, 1883. The 

 trip lasted, as I remembered it, five days. 

 It was my good fortune to be one of the 

 number assigned to this trip. In attempt- 

 ing to review the events of this trip I find 

 that my ability to recall details is limited 

 to a not large number of incidents which 

 rise in my memory like pictures. Life on 

 ship board is somewhat monotonous at best, 

 and when one experienced an undertone of 

 discomfort, there follows the natural tend- 

 ency to dismiss all recollection of it from 

 the mind. 



One experience, however, was so unique, 

 and, fortunately, not associated with feel- 

 ings of discomfort, that I have often lived 

 it over in my memory. That was when the 

 first haul was made from the deep sea. A 

 depth, as I remember it, of 1,400 fathoms, 

 or nearly 1.6 miles, was shown by the sound- 

 ing that was made just before the trawl was 

 put overboard. As the dredging operations 

 of the Fish Hawk had been limited to 

 localities where the maximum depth was 

 less than half this depth, this was the first 

 experience of any one on board with really 

 deep-sea dredging. Of this event the pic- 

 ture which I carry in my memory is a mov- 

 ing one of perhaps a little more than a 

 quarter of an hour's duration, beginning 

 a few minutes before the trawl appeared 



and ending after we had spent a few min- 

 utes in overhauling the material. The 

 trawl had been over several hours. I have 

 not verified my impressions, but I think it 

 was possibly as much as six hours. When 

 the indicator showed that the trawl was 

 within a few fathoms of the surface every 

 one began to peer down into the transpar- 

 ent water to catch sight of the messenger 

 that had been on such a strange voyage of 

 discovery. It was long past sunset and 

 quite dark, but the scene was brilliantly 

 lighted by electricity. A strong are-light 

 suspended over the water made sufficient 

 illumination to reveal a school of flying 

 squid pumping themselves about in the 

 water. The light penetrated to sufficient 

 depth to enable one to trace the wire cable 

 far down until it was lost in the darkness 

 below. For some reason, I do not know 

 why, I glanced around. What I saw and 

 remember would, I think, make a worthy 

 theme for a great painting. In the fore- 

 ground were the naval officers in their trim 

 uniforms; near them the little band of in- 

 vestigators in their nondescript but not un- 

 picturesque attire. Grouped on the fore- 

 castle was almost the entire ship 's crew, the 

 white trappings of the sailors standing out 

 bravely under the rays of the powerful 

 electric light. Above, below and around 

 about, darkness. The picture was given the 

 needed motif by the approaching trawl 

 upon which all eyes, but my own for a 

 brief interval, were centered. I find my- 

 self still as a somewhat detached spectator 

 recalling this scene, and think of this little 

 hemisphere of light in the general gloom 

 that shrouded the great expanse as symbolic 

 of the light of science in the world, which 

 is shining not only to reveal the things that 

 may be seen, but striving to illumine the 

 depths and thus bring to the surface a 

 knowledge of things that lie deeply hidden. 

 This scene lasted but a short time. Pres- 



