Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1861-10-04
BOTrOM OF THE OCEAN.

Mr.. Green the famous diver, tells singular
stories of his adventures, when making search
in the deep waters Of the ocean. He gives
some sketches of what he 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 breadth.
On this bank of coral is presented to the
diver one Of the most beautiful and sublime
scenes that 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 diameter. The tops
of those more lofty support a myriad Of pyr-
amidal pendants, 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 di-
yer stands on the bottom OF tho ocean, and
gazes through these into the deep winding
avenue, he feels that they ill him with as sa-
cred an awe as if he we're in some old cathe-
dral. which had long been buried beneath
{" old oceans wave" Here and there the CO.
raj extends even TO the surface of the water,
as if those loftier columns were towers belong
ing to those stately temples now in ruins
There were countless varieties Of dimnu-
tive trees, shrubs and plants, in every crcvico
Of the corals where the water had deposited
the least Garth. They were all Of faint hue,
owing to the pale light they received, although
of every shade, and entirely different from
plants | am familiar with, that vegctate upon
dry land. One in particular attracted my at
tcntion it rescmblcd n sea-an 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
globc-lke sunhsh; from those Of the dullest
hue, to tho changeobe dolphin from the
spots Of The leopard to the hues of the sun
beam; from the harmless minnow to the vo-
racious shark Some had heads like SPUR
rcs, others like cats and dogs; one of small
size rescmbled bull terrier. Some dartcd
through the water like meleors, while others
could scarcely be seen to move.
TO enumerate and explain all the various
kinds Of fsh beheld while diving on these
banks. would, were enough Of naturalist
so to do, require more space than my limits
will allow, for | am convinced that most of
the kinds of fish which nhabit the tropical
seas can be found there. The sun-f fish, saw
fish, star.fsh, white shark, ground skark. blue
or shovel-nose sharks, were often seen. There
were also fish which rescmbed 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 re-
semblod the rose in full bloom, and were of
all hues. There were ribbon fish, from four
10 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 20 ten feet long. They
build their houses like tho beaver, in which
thoy spawn, and the male or female watches
the ova TIL it halches | saw many specimens
Of the green turtle, some five feet long,which
| should think would weigh from four to fivo
hundred pounds.