“There is every reason to believe,” says a writer, “that the sea is even richer than the earth, owing to the millions of shipwrecks which have swallowed up so many a royal fortune; the wealth lying at the bottom of the ocean transcends the fabulous riches of the Klondyke.” The recovery of sunken treasure has always exercised a great fascination over certain minds, and much money has been spent in devising means whereby it might be brought again to the surface. Hitherto the results have not been such as might have been desired, but the _Argonaut_ seems to promise success in the future. Mr. Lake believes that the majority of the great losses on the ocean occur in waters in which it will be practical to operate with submarine boats of the _Argonaut_ type. The bottom around the coast lines of the United States is principally composed of a hard white or grey sand and is very uniform. The depth increases from the shore at the average rate of about 6 feet per mile, and the bottom forms “an ideal roadway.” The _Argonaut_ can descend to 100 feet below the surface. Needless to say, there are ocean depths where the pressure would be so great that man could never live, but Mr. Lake appears to think that exploring the ocean bed, within certain limits, will become in the near future almost as common as travelling on the surface. Mr. Lake’s third under-water vessel, _Argonaut No. 3_, is built of steel, is 66 feet long and 10 feet wide, and displaces 100 tons; the motive power is gasoline, and the air chambers contain 13,000 cubic feet of air. She has four large wheels for running on the bottom and also twin screws for the surface. [Illustration: THE “ARGONAUT” ON THE SEA BOTTOM. ] The following is taken from a New York paper, and relates to an entertainment given on _Argonaut No. 3_:— “Captain Lake, the inventor of the submarine boat _Argonaut_, participated yesterday with thirteen other guests in one of the most novel summer entertainments ever devised by the brain of man. “The party embarked at Bridgeport on Long Island Sound in the boat, which was then submerged, and travelled along the bottom of the sea for several miles. While running at a depth of 35 feet a dinner prepared and cooked on board was served. “After dinner Captain Lake had the door of the diving compartment opened, and two divers went out and exhibited the patent diving suits. Captain Lake then gave an exhibition of his suction pump, which is designed to raise sunken wreckage. The _Argonaut_ stopped near a sunken coal schooner, and by means of the pump four tons of coal were sent up through the water to a coal barge above. The coal was transferred at the rate of a ton a minute. “A crew of five men navigated the _Argonaut_ under the inventor’s direction. Slight headaches were experienced by some of the guests, otherwise no inconvenience was suffered from the submarine voyage.” A SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SUBMARINE WARFARE _France._