The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1861-09-27
Bottom OF the Ocean.

Mr.. Green, the famous diver, tells singu-
lar stories of his adventures, when making
searches in the deep waters of the ocean. He
gives some sketches of what he saw on the
the Silver Banks, near Hayti:
The banks of coral on which my divings
were made, ere about forty miles in leugth,
and from ten to twenty in breadth.
On this bank of coral is presented to the
diver one of the most beautiful and sublime
scenes the eye ever beheld. The water
varies from ten to one hundred feet in
depth, and is so clear, that the diver can
see from two to three hundred feet, when
submerged, with little obstruction to the
sight.
The bottom of the ocean, in many places
on these banks, is as smooth as a marble
floor in others it is studded with coral
columns, from ten to one hundred feet in
height, and from one to eighty feet in di.
ameter. The tops of those more lofty sup
port myriad of pyramidal pendents, 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 avenues,he feels
that they fill him with as sacred an awe as
if he we're in some old cathedral, which had
long been buried beneath old ocean S
Wave." Here and there, the coral extends
even to the surface Of the water, as if those
loftier columns were towers belonging to
those stately temples now in ruins.
nf
tive trees, shrubs and plants, in every
crevce of the corals where the water had
deposited the least earth, They were all of
faint hue, owing to the pale light they re-
ceved. although of every shade, and entirely
different from plants | am familiar with
that vegetate upon dry land. One in par
ticular attracted my attention it resem-
bled sea-fan OF immense size, OF variegated
colors, and of the most brilliant hue.
The fish which inhabited those silver
banks, found as different in kind, as the
scenery was varied. They were of all forms,
colors and sizes-from the symmetrical goby
to the globe-lke sunfish /; from those of the
dullest hue, to the changeable dolphin
from the spots of the leopard to the hues
of the sunbeam from the harmless minnow
to the voracious shark. Some had heads
like squirrels, others like cats and dogs
one OF small size resembled a bull terrier.
Some darted through the water like me-
teors, while others could scarcely be seen to
move.
To enumerate and explain all the various
kinds of fish | beheld while diving on these
banks, would, were enough of naturalist
so to do, require more space than my limits
will allow, Tor am convinced that most OF
the kinds Of fish which inhabit the tropical
seas can be found there. The sun fish, saw
fish, star fish, white shark, ground shark
blue or shovel-nose sharks, were often seen.
There were also fish which resembed
plants, and remained as fixed in their posi-
ton as shrub. The only power they
possessed was to open and shut when in
danger. Some Of them resembled the rose
in full bloom, and were of all hues. There
were ribbon fish, from four to five inches to
three feet in length. Thir 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 it matches. l saw many specimens
of the green turtle, some five feet long, which
| should think would weigh from four to
five hundred pounds.