Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1861-09-28

W.T. OItbu, blo ldhlOuS OlNCl, II
tells singular stories Of his adven- a
lures, when making search in the {
deep water of the ocean. He v
gives some sketches of what he 9
saw on the SILVER Banks, near ]
Hayti:
The banks Of coral on which
my divings were made, are about
forty miles in length, and from ten
to twenty in bredth. |
On this bank of coral is present
ed to the diver one Of the most
beautiful and sublime scenes that
the eye ever beheld. The water
varies from ten to one hunS ed ]
feet in depth, and is SO clear, that
the diver can sec from two to
three hundred feet, when sub
merged, with little obstruction to
the sight.
The bottom here, in many pla-
ces on the banks, is as smooth as
a marble floor in others it is stud
ded with coral columns, from ten
to one hundred feet in height, and
from to eighty feet in diameter.
The tops of those more lofty sup
port myriad of pyramidal pend
ants, each forming a myriad more;
giving the reality to the imaginary
abode of some water nymph. in
other places the pendants form
arch after arch, and as the diver
stands on the bottom of the ocean,
and gazes through these into the
deep winding avenue, he feels that
they fill him with as sacred an awe
as if he were in some old cathe-
dral, which had long been buried
beneath old oceans wave. Here
and there, the coral extends even
to the surface Of the water, as if
those loftier columns were towers
belongingto those stately temples
now in ruins.
There were countless varieties
of diminutive trees, shrubs and
plants, in every crevice of the CO.
rails where the water had deposit
ed the least earth. They were
all of a faint hue, owing to the
pale light they received, although
of every shade, and entirely differ
ent from plants ] am familiar
with, that vegetate upon dry land.
One in particular attracted my at
tention; it resembled a sea,fan of
immsnse size, ofvariegated colors,
and of the most brilliant hue.
The fish which inhabited those
silver banks, l found as different
in kind, as the scenery was varied.
They were of all forms, coIors and
sizes-from the symmetrical goby,
to the globe.like sunfsh; from
those of the dullest hue. to the e
changeabIe dolphin; from the spots 4
of the leopard to the hues Of the
sunbeam from the harmless min
now to the yoracious shark. Some 5
had heads like squirrels, others
like cats and dogs; one of small
size resembled bull terrier. Some
darted through the water like met
eors, while others coud scarcely
be seen to move.
To enumerate and explain all
the various kinds of fish | beheld
while diving on these banks, would
were l enough of naturalist so to
do, require more space than my
limits will allow, for | am convinc-
ed that most of the kinds of fish
which inhabit the tropical seas can
be found there. The sun-fsh, saw
tsh, star-fish, white shark, ground
shark, blue or shovel-nose sharks,
were often seen. There were al
so,fsh which.resembled plants, and |
remained as fixed in their position |
as shrub. The only power they
possessed was to open and shut |
when in danger. Some of them
resembled the rose in full blooml
and were ofall hues. There were
ribbon fish, from four to five inches
to three feet in length. Their
eyes are very large, and protrude
like those Of the frog. Another
FISH was spotted like the leopard,
from three to ten feet long. They
build their houses like the beaver,
IN which they spawn, and the male
or female watches the ova till il
hatches. l saw many specimens
of the green turtle, some five feet
long, which / should think would
yveiUh from four IN five hrndrod