Ocean's Story; or, Triumphs of Thirty Centuries Maritime Adventures, Achievements, Explorations, Discoveries and Inventions; and of the Rise and Progress of Ship-Building and Ocean Navigation, from the Ark to the Iron Steamships

CHAPTER LVIII.--Our knowledge of the earth and sea--How it has

Chapter 581,381 wordsPublic domain

increased--The earth the daughter of the ocean--The opinion of science--The mean depth of the ocean--The extent of the ocean--Its volume--Specific gravity of sea-water--Constitution of salt-water--The silver in the sea--The waves of the sea--The currents of the ocean--The tides--The aquarium--The commerce of modern times--The spread of peace 696

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

No. Page

1. Gigantic Cuttle Fish _Frontispiece._

2. Asiatic Deluge 18

3. Hand of Satan 19

4. Stormy Petrel 30

5. The First Navigator 31

6. Modern Row Boat 33

7. The Deluge and the Ark 35

8. Noctulius Miliaris 45

9. Supposed form of the ship _Argo_ 54

10. The World, according to Homer 61

11. The Earth, according to Anaximander 62

12. The Great Penguin 64

13. Greek Vessel of the 6th Century 65

14. The Ptolemy Philopator 72

15. Common Penguin 74

16. The Sacred Promontory 78

17. Plan of Pythias' Voyage 79

18. Plan of the Voyage of Nearchus 83

19. Supposed form of the ships of Nearchus 91

20. Venetian Galley of the 10th Century 92

21. Wedding the Adriatic 95

22. Danish vessel of the 10th Century 99

23. The Northmen of America 104

24. Fishing for Herrings 107

25. Ancient Chinese Compass 113

26. Chinese Junk 119

27. Ship of the 14th Century 121

28. Teneriffe 122

29. Cape Bojador 124

30. Cape Verd 130

31. Sea Swallow 132

32. Christopher Columbus 137

33. Violet Asteria 145

34. The Fleet of Columbus 146

35. Head of the Merganser 147

36. The _Nina_ homeward bound 157

37. Columbus taking possession of Guanchani 158

38. Reception of Columbus by Ferdinand, etc. 162

39. Columbus in chains at Cadiz 168

40. Water Spout 170

41. The Phaeton 178

42. Vasco de Gama 179

43. Map of Africa, drawn 1497 182

44. Spectre of the Cape 187

45. Phosphorescence 188

46. The Man overboard, and the Albatross 189

47. Calicut in the 16th Century 196

48. Wreck of the _San Raphael_ 197

49. De Gama's Flag Ship 204

50. Vessels employed in the Spice Trade in the 16th Century 207

51. Ponce de Leon and the Fountain of Youth 213

52. Balboa and the Indian 217

53. Balboa discovering the Pacific Ocean 219

54. Balboa taking possession of the Pacific Ocean 221

55. Fate of De Solis and his companions 224

56. Ferdinand Magellan 225

57. Cape Virgin, east end Magellan's Strait 231

58. Laminaria 235

59. Natives of Borneo prepare to attack Magellan 236

60. Tidore 242

61. Scene on the Canadian Coast 246

62. Henry VIII. Embarking at Dover 255

63. Francis Drake 256

64. Drake and his Raft 260

65. Drake and the Patagonians 261

66. Drake condemning Doughty 262

67. Sea Anemones 266

68. Drake interrupting Justin at Acopulco 270

69. Queen Elizabeth knighting Drake 274

70. British Ship of War. 1578 276

71. Cavendish in Brazil 277

72. Port Famine 278

73. Hull of a vessel of the Armada 282

74. Procession in honor of the defeat of the Armada 284

75. Sir Walter Raleigh 285

76. Native of the Solomon Islands 291

77. Islanders before a Breeze 296

78. The Dutch at Walrus Island 297

79. The Dutch in Winter quarters 299

80. The female Otter and her young 303

81. Funeral of Mahu at Brava Island 304

82. Affray between the Dutch and Patagonians 310

83. The Two Admirals at close quarters 314

84. A Dutch Pic-Nic in the Mauritius 315

85. Turtles Head 315

86. Woman and Child of Espiritu Santu 316

87. Scene at Tahiti 318

88. Hudson's vessel, _The Half Moon_, off Sandy Hook 323

89. Dutch vessel trading at the Ladrones 326

90. Conflict between the Dutch and Spanish Fleets 330

91. The Dutch surprised by the Spaniards 331

92. Cape Horn 335

93. The _Concord_ at Fly Island 336

94. Arctic Gull 338

95. _Speedwell_ and _Mayflower_ 339

96. Cod Fish 345

97. Tasman's vessel, _The Zeehaan_ 346

98. Murderer's Bay 349

99. Natives of Murderer's Bay 349

100. A Buccaneer 351

101. Boats used in the Philippian Islands 360

102. Surf Bathing by Natives 362

103. Polynesian Canoe with its Outrigger 364

104. Dampier's Boat in a Storm 365

105. Wreck of the Pirate Ship, _Whidah_ 372

106. Home of Alexander Selkirk 373

107. Selkirk and his Family 376

108. Catching Turtles 378

109. The Hammer-headed Shark 382

110. The Eagle and the Pirate 383

111. Mirage at Behring's Straits 391

112. Lord Anson 393

113. Bombardment of Paita 397

114. Anson's Encampment at Firman 401

115. The Centurion and the Treasure Ship 407

116. Byron at King George's Island 410

117. Parting of Wallis and Oberea 418

118. Burning of the _Le Prince_ 423

119. Chain of Phosphorescent Salpas 425

120. Bougainville 426

121. A Ferry Boat at Buenos Ayres 428

122. Bougainville at Magellan's Straits 429

123. Cascade at Port Praslin 433

124. Capt. James Cook 435

125. A New Zealand Canoe 443

126. Cape Pigeon 450

127. Cook's ship beset by Water Spouts 451

128. King Otoo's sister dancing 455

129. Reception of Cook at the Friendly Islands 456

130. Canoes of the Friendly Islands 458

131. New Caledonian double Canoe 460

132. Sandwich Island King to visit Cook 461

133. Omai 465

134. Habitations in Nootka Sound 467

135. Man of the Sandwich Islands 469

136. Woman of Sandwich Islands 470

137. Fight with the Natives 472

138. Death of Capt. Cook 474

139. Lapérouse 480

140. Lapérouse's Disaster at Frenchport 485

141. Remnants of the wreck 490

142. Consecration of the Cenotaph 491

143. Scene in Terra del Fuego 492

144. Colonists of Pitcairn's Island 498

145. A Deserted Village 501

146. The _Discovery_ on a Rock 502

147. Burning of the _Philadelphia_ 506

148. The _Clermont_, the first steamboat 508

149. The _Savannah_, the first ocean steamer 517

150. Head of a White Bear 519

151. Reception of Otzebue at Otdia 520

152. Sea Lions upon the Ice 523

153. Attacked by Walruses 524

154. White Bears 526

155. Cutting In 529

156. Cutting Out 529

157. The Whale of Capt. de Blois 531

158. The Navigators frozen in 535

159. The _Victory_ in a Gale 536

160. Dr. Kane 547

161. Dr. Kane passing through Devil's Nip 548

162. The Seal 552

163. Japanese Vessel 558

164. The Leviathan 559

165. Cape Alexander, the Arctic Gibraltar 561

166. Chaos 563

167. Wild Dog Team 565

168. Open Polar Sea 566

169. Seeking Eider Down 570

170. The Telegraphic Fleet 571

171. Hauling the Cable ashore 573

172. Landing the Cable 574

173. A hollow Wave 575

174. The Cable in the bed of the Ocean 576

175. Sections of Atlantic Cable 577

176. The Telegraphic Plateau 584

177. The _Agamemnon_ in a Gale 590

178. The Seal 594

179. Diving Bell 595

180. Fixed Apparatus supplied with Compressed Air 596

181. Payerne's Submarine Hydrostat 598

182. Mushroom Drill 601

183. Ready to go down 603

184. Putting in the Charges 605

185. Grappling Machine 606

186. Divers dressed in their Apparatus 607

187. Divers finding a Box of Gold 608

188. Arming the Diver 611

189. Casting off the Diver 612

190. Diver down 613

191. Cannon, bell, and bones, brought up from the Wreck 615

192. Salvage of Russian Ships 616

193. Caulking a Vessel 617

194. The Northern Diver 625

195. Star Fish 627

196. Sponge fishing 628

197. Coral fishing off coast of Sicily 631

198. Faggots suspended to receive Oyster Spat 636

199. Dredging for Oysters 639

200. A Shell containing Chinese Pearls 640

201. Pearl Fisher in danger 642

202. Shark fishing 646

203. Cuttle fish making his Cloud 648

204. Ideal Scene 650

205. Red Coral 651

206. Dredging 652

207. Brook's Deep Sea Sounding Apparatus 657

208. Bull Dog Sounding Machine 659

209. Massey's Sounding Machine 660

210. The stern of the _Porcupine_ 668

211. Sail boat in a Gale 673

212. _Pennsylvania_ and _Ohio_ on the Stocks 675

213. Monitors 678

214. Plans of the Monitors 679

215. St. Louis 680

216. Double Ender 681

217. _Minnehaha_, or Tin Clad 683

218. The Ram Ironsides 685

219. Torpedo Explosion 687

220. Life Raft 691

221. Ocean Yacht Race, _Henrietta_, _Vesta_ and _Fleetwing_ 694

222. Fancy Sail Race 695

223. Appearance of Ice at the Poles 710

224. Light Ship 711

225. A Coral Island 712

Section I.

FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA.