Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1864-05-11


Mr.. Green, the famous diver, tells sim
gular stories of his adventures, when
making search in the deep waters of the
ocean. He gives some new sketches o.
what he saw at the "Silver 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-
ful 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 to three hun
dred feet when he is submerged, with but
little obstruction to the sight. The bot
tom of the ocean, in many places, is as
smooth as marble floor; in others 1t 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 myriad OF
pvramidal pendants, each forming 4
myriad more; giving reality to the mag
mary abode of some water nymph. In
other places the pendants form arch to
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
thew fill 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, the coral extends
even to the surface of the water, as
those loftier columns were towers bel onSf
ing to those stately temples that are now
in ruins.
There were countless varieties Of dini-
nutive trees, shrubs, and plants, in every
crevice of the corals, where the water had
deposited the least earth. They were all
of q faint hue, owing to the pale light
thew received, although of every shade,
and entirely different from plants l am
familiar with, that vegetate upon dry land.
One in particular attracted my attention
it resembled sea fan of immense size, OF
variegated colors, and the most brilliant
hue. The fish which inhabited those
Silver Banks 1 found as different in
kind as the scenery was varied. They
were of all forms, colors, and sizes-from
the symmetrical globe, to the globclike
sun-fsh; from those of the dullest hue to
the changeable dolphin; from the spots
of the leopard to the hues of sunbeam
from the harmless minnow to the vora-
cious shark. Some had heads like SPUR
rels, others like cats and dogs; one small
size resembled the bull terrier. Some
darted through the water like meteors
while others could scarcely be seen to
move. To enumerate and explain all the
various kind of fish beheld, while diving
on these banks would, were enough Of
a naturalist so to do, require more than my
limits will allow, for am convinced thai
most of the kinds of fish which inhabit
the tropical seas, can be found there. The
sunfish, sawfsh, starish, white shark
blue or shovel-nose shark, were often
seen. There were also fish which resem'
bled plants, and remained as fixed II
their position as a shrub; the only pow.
ers they possessed was to open and shu
when in danger. Some of them resem'
bled the rose in full bloom, and were o
all hues. There were the ribbon fish
from four to five inches to three feet il
length; their eyes are very large, ant
protrude like those of the frog. Another
fsh was spotted like the leopard, from
three to ten feet in length. They build
houses like beavers, in which they spawn
and the male or female watches the egg
until it matches. saw many specimen!
of the green turtle, some S feet long, which
should think would weigh from 400 tc
| 500 pounds"