The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-12-17
The Ocean RafIOin.


singular stories Of his adventures,
when making search in the deep wa
ters Of the ocean. He gives some
new sketches Of what he saw at the
&" Silver Bank" near U"y'-:, The
banks Of coral or rI.ch ~ dlvlngs
were imaae are about irty miles IN
length, and from ten to twenty IN
breadth. On these backs of coral Is
presented 10 the diver one of the
most beautiful and sublime scenes
the eve ever beheld. The water varies
from ten 10 one hundred feet IN depth,
and so clear that the diver can see
from two to three hundred feet when
submerged, with but little obstruction
20 the sigi t.
The bottom sf the ocean, in many
places, Is as smaoih as a marble floor;
IN Others it Is -tudded with coral col
umns, from ten TO one hundred feet IN
hight, and from one to eighty in di-
ameter. The tops OF those more lofty
support myriad of pyrimidal pend
giving reality to the imaginary abode
of some water nynph. In other
places the pendants form arch after
arch. and as the diver stands on the
bottom of the ocean, and gazes
through the deep winding avenues, he
finds that they 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 if
the loftier columns were towers be-
longing to those sacred temples that
are now in ruins.
There were countless varieties Of
diminutive trees, shrubs, and plants
IN every crevice Of the corals where
water has deposited the earth. They
were all of faint hue, owing to the
pale light they received, although of
every shade, and entirely different
from plants that [ am familiar with
that vegetate upon dry land. 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 inhabit
these Silver Banks " L found as
different in kind as the scenery was
varied. They were of all forms, col
ors, and sizes-frOm the symmetrical
goby to the globe like sunfish; from
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, 9TH
ers like cats and dogs, some of small
size resembled the bull terrier. Some
darted through the water like mete-
ors, while others could be seen to
move
To enumerate and explain all the
various kinds of fish | beheld while
diving on these banks would, were |
naturalist enough so to do, require
much more than my limits allow, for
| am convinced that most of the
kinds Of fish that inhabit the tropical
seas can be found there The sun
fish, star fish, white shark, and blue
or shovel nose shark were often seen
There were also fish which resem-
bie3 plants, and remained as fixed in
their position as a shrub; the only
shut when in danger. Some Of them
resembled the rose when in full
bloom, and were Of all hues. There
were the ribbon fish, from four or
five inches to three feet in length
their eyes are very large, and pro-
trude like those of a frog.
Another fish is spotted like Loop
ard, and from 3 to 10 feet in length.
They build their houses like beav-
ers, in which they spawn, ard
the male or female watches the
egg until it matches. l saw many
specimens Of the green turtle, some
five feet long, which | should think
would weigh from four to FIVE hun
dred pounds.