Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1855-08-22
Coral Reefs.

In the great archiptla40<f1he Rad
ack and Rallek +S~Fis, (or the Marshall
Islands as they are sometimes called, J
ex ending over a space Of four or five
hundred miles, not u stone or fragment
Of a rock is to be seen other than coral
all the old lands with their hard rocks
have disappeared beneath the sea and
so valuable are even the smallest pebbles
of hard rock that whenever a drift tree
Is thrown ashore on any Of tn islands,
lis roots are instantly searched, and any
little stones entangled therein are car
ried to the chief as " droit belonging to
the crown"
The aspect OF these "atolls," as they
are called, is peculiar. The dark. clear.
blue water IF the unfathomable ocean,
rolls around them, kept in long, gentle
fluctuations by the perpetual breath and
impulse Of the trade-wind. This long,
lazy swell, meeting suddenly with the
obstruction of the steep wall of the reef,
lifts itself intov vast, wide, continuous rid =
es Of blue water that, rising higher and
higher, at last Toll over and fall on the
outer edge Of the reefin broad cataracts
OF foam. One great ring of snow-whi;e
su f thus environs the whole reef-mass
except at the leeward openings, forming
a ~well-marked boundary between the
deep-blue Of the ocean and the bright
grass-green water of the tranquil and
comparatively shallow lagoon inside
The little islets on the, ring of the reef
are margined by beaches of glitterins
white sand, covered with green bushes,
and often crowded by the plant stem
and gently waving plumes of the grace
full, iealhery cocoa-palm. The elements
of the scene are few anil simple yet it
is not only beautiful but most impressive.
The bright n ast of the color seen IN
der a tropical sun, with the clear, deep,
sky overhead, and the few piled Up,
mountainous and stationary clouds, look
ing like towers of wool packs ; which are
characteristic of the pacific horizon, pleas.
es and satisfies the eye. while the mind
cannot fail 10 be moved with the con-
templa ion Of such wonderful results
springing from the apparently antagonis-
tic, but really united, action of the great
forces of nature. The great in ernal
disturbing agencies and the destructive
action of the waves and wind are togeth-
er set at defiance and overcome by the
vital energies and powers OF such an in
significant animal as a little polyp.
The high islands of the Pacific, wheth-
er surrounded by an encircling barrier
reef or not, have likewise generally many
features in common. They rise into
lofty peaks and ridges in the interior,
grass grown but bare of trees, from which
radiate -Lany butreSs-like ridges, separa-
ted from each other by deep and precip-
itOus ~ravines that open into valleys as
they proceed To- ards the sea. Each
radiating ridge has its sides also closely
and deeply furrowed by rocky glens thai
run straight from its crest on either side
into valleys, and each ends frequently in
a craggy promontory that juts into the
sea, with dark precipices of dark rock
separating the valleys from each other.
Over all the lower part of the ridges, as
in the depth of the valleys and r~avines,
spread dark, outrageous forests, while
groves Of cocoa palms, bamboos, bread
ruits and the bread-leafed banana ex-
tend across the more open and level
tracts. Under these trees the inhabitants
build their huis, cultivate their gardens,
and lead their simple and light hearted
lives. If such an island have an encir-
cling reef, the lagoon bet Seen it and the
land forms a tranquil sealake or natural
harbor, in which the natives may disport
themselves, while as the reef often clo-
SEES in upon the land and cuts this off
where the PERCEPTIONS dividing ridges that
bound each valley strikes into the sea,
it not unlrequently happens that adjacent
valleys have no method of communica-
ton, either by land or water. and are
thus apt to form isolated districts, the in
habitants of which are of,en at enmity
with each other. e. Dublin University
Magazine.