The Buchanan County guardian., 1864-04-26
Curiositics OF the Ocean Bottom.

VI lattSetH bottoMs
Mr.. Green, the famous diver, tells sin
gular stories ofhis adventures, when ma
king search in tie deep waters of the
ocean. He gives some new sketches OF
what lie saw at the :" Silver Banks" nea,
Hayti;
"The banks OF coral on which my div
ings were made, are about forty miles il
length, and from ten to twenty in
breadth. On this bank Of coral Is pre-.
sented to the diver one Of the most beau
ti(ul and sublime scenes the eye ever be
held. The water varies from ten TO one
hundred feet in depth, and is so clear
that the diver can see from two 10 three
hundred feet when he is submerged, with
but l;ttle obstruction 10 he sight The
bottom OF the ocean, in many places, is
As smooth as marble floor in others i
is studded with coral columns, from ten
to one hundred feet in height, and from
one to eighty feet in diameter. The tops
of the more loly support a myriad Of
pyramidal pendants, each forming a nlyr
lad more; giving the reality TO the i'm
agina,y abode of some water nymph. In
other places the pendants form arch after
arch; and as the diver stands on the bot
tom Of the ocean, and gazes through
these in the deep winding avenue, he
finds that they ill him with as sacred an
awe as If he were in some old cathedral
which had long been buried beneath old
oceans wave. Here and there coral ex
tends even to the surface Of the water, a:
if those loltier columns were towers be
longing 10 those stately temples that are
now in ruins. There were countless
varieties OF diminutiye trees, shrubs, and
plants, in every cievice Of the corals
where the water had deposited the leas
earth 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 vegetate upon dry land. One in
particular attracted my attention it re-
sembed sea fan of immense size, o.
variegated colors, and the most brillian
hue. The fish which Inhabited thosf
Silver Banks | found as different II
kind rs the scenery was varied. They
were of all forms, colors, and sizes
from the Symmetrical goby, to the globe
ike sun.fsh from those Of the dulles
hue to the ohangeab,e dolphin from The
spots Of the leopard 10 hues Of tn,
sunbeam from the harmless min
now to The voracious shark. Some ha,
heads like squirrels, others like cats ant
dogs one Of small size resembled The
bull terrier. Some darted through the
water like meteors, while others could
scarcely be seen TO move. To enumer.
ate and explain all the various kind O
fish | beheld, while diving on these banks
would, were ! enough Of a naturalist SC
20 do, require more than my limits viii
allow; for am convinced lhat most o
he kinds OF fish which nhabit tie trop.
zeal seas, can be found there. The sun.
fish, sawfish, starfish, white shark, blue
Or shovel nose shark. we're often seen
There were also fish which resemblec
plants, and remained as fixed in theil
position as a shrub The only power:
they possessed was to open and shn
when in danger. Some Of them re
sembled the rose in full bloom, auC
were of all hues. There were the ribbon
fish, from four 10 five inches TO three fee
IN length their eyes are very large, and
proirude like those of the frog. Anolh
er fish was spotted like the leopard, from
three 10 ten feet in length. They build
their houses ike beavers, in which they
spawn, and the male or female watches
The egg until ii hatches. ! saw many
specimens of the green turtle, some five
feet long. which | should think would
weigh from 400 10 500 pounds"