tl
" S r i
Ui
!/ Il
i i l î .
at the top of the coil of the young specimen, just
below the sponge-hody.
A sad accident occurred during this dredging, which
threw a temporary gloom over our party, and brought
S I
t59. — H ya lu n e im toxeres, Wy. T. A y o u n g sp e e iiu en , x. 2. (No. 24.
liome to us very forcibly the critical nature of our
AVork. The large iron dredge which we were using
in preference to the traAA'l, the ground heing rather
rough, caught upon a rock or a mass of coral, and
hronght a sudden strain upon the dredge-rope; and
before the rope could he veered, or any other steps
taken to relieve the strain, the hook of the foremost
span carried away, and the leading hlock which was
hooked to it flew hack and struck Whlliam Stokes,
one of the sailor lads, with such violence that he Avas
driven against the ship’s side. His thigh was broken
in two places, and he was so seriously injured otherwise
that he never recovered consciousness, and died
a few hours afterwards. He Avas buried the folloAA'ing
day, and singularly enough, just before joining in the
solemn service which “ committed his body to the
deep,” we had ascertained that his grave Avas in the
very deepest spot which had ever been fathomed in
the ocean. His death is recorded on a cross in the
croAvded little burial-ground in Ireland Island, Bermudas,
Avith the fitting legend,—“ In the midst of
life Ave are in death.”
On Wednesday, the 26th of Alarcli, we sounded
(Station 25) in ffit. 19° IT N., long. 65° 7' TV., nearly
90 miles north of St. Thomas, in 3,8/5 fathoms. The
hottom brought up in the ‘ hydra ’ tube Avas reddish
mud, containing, however, a considerable quantity of
carbonate of lime. The colour and composition of
the mud Avas not uniform. The upper layer—that
Avhich had heen forced farthest into the tuhe Avas
much redder than that Avhieli Avas nearest the mouth
of the tuhe, and which had consequently come from
a greater depth.
This is a phenomenon Avith Avliich Ave are noAV very
familiar, particularly among the red clays from great
depths. It seems to he due to some deoxidiziug
process taking place slowly, and consequently visibly
affecting only those deeper layers which have been
deposited for a considerable length of time.