Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1864-05-11
Curl ositfes of the Ocean Bottom.

Curl ObHteS Oh tn6 ocean hOttOm.
Mr. Green, the famous diver, tells sim
gular stories of his adventures, when ma
king search in the deep waters. He gives
some new sketches of what be saw at the
'sSilver Banks" near Hayti:
''The banks of the 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 pre-
sented to the diver one of the most beauti-
full and sublime scenes the eye ever behela.
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 he is submerged, with but little ob-
struction to the sight. The bottom Of
the ocean, in many places, is as smooth
as marble floor in others ii is studded
with coral columns, from ten to one hun
dred feet in height, and from one to
eighty feet in diameter. The tops of
those more lofty support myriad of pyra-
midal pedants, each forming myriad
more; giving the reality to the imaginary
abode of some water nymph. In other
places the pedants form arch after arch )
and as the diver stands on the bottom of
the ocean, and gazes through these in the
deep winding avenue, he finds that they
fill him with as sacred an awe, as if he
were in some old cathedral, which had
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, belonging TO those
stately temples that are now in ruins
There were countless varieties of diminu
tive trees, shrubs, and plants, in every
crevice of the corals, where the water had
deposited the least earth They were all
of a faint hue, owing to the pale light
! they received, although of every shade,
and entirely different from plants l am
! One in particular attracted my attention
it resembled a sea fan of immense size, of
variegated colors, and the most brilliant
hue The fish which inhabited those 'Sil-
yer Banks found as different in kind as
the scenery was varied They were of all
| forms, colors and siZes-trom the symet-
rical gOby, to the globe-like sun-tish
from those of the dullest hue to the chang
able dolphin from the spots of the leop-
/ stTu 10 tuc luS vi tiic ouilOCttiii iicui tlit
harmless minnow to the voracious shark
Some had heads like squirrels, others like
cats and dogs one of small size resemblet
the bull terrier. Some darted through tn,
waters like metcors, while others coult
scarcely be seen TO move. To enumerat,
and explain all the various kinds of fish
beheld while diving ON these banks, woul'
were | enough of naturalist so to DO
require more than my limits will allow
for am convinced that most of the kind
of fish which inhabit the tropical seas
can be found there. The suntish. saw
fish, starfsh, white shark, blue or shovel
nose shark, are often seen. There wer
also fish which resembled plants, and re
main as fixed in their position as shrub
the only powers they possessed were t
open and shut when in danger. Some c
them resembled the rose in full bloom
! and were of all hues. There were th
ribon fish. from four to five inches to thre
feet in length; their eyes are very large
and protrude like those of the frog. Ar
other fish was spotted like the leopard
from three TO ten feet in length. The
build their houses like beavers, in whic
they spawn, and the male or female watch
es the egg until it matches. | saw man
specimens of the green turtle, some fiv
feet long, which | should think woul
weigh from 400 to 500 pounds"