Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1867-12-20
The Ocean Bottom.

Mr.. Green, the famous diver, tells Singh
lar stories of his adventures, when making
search liz the deep waters of the ocean.
He gives some new sketches Of what he
| saw at the "Silver Bank" 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 the eye ever beheld. The water
varies from ten to one hundred feet In
depth, and so clear that the diver can see
from two to three hundred feet when sub
merged, with but little obstruction to the
sight. t.n
The bottom of the ocean, in many places,
ia ga smooth as 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 myriad Of pyra-
midal pendants, each forming a myriad
more, giving reality to the imaginary abode
OF some water-nymph. In other places
the pendants form arch after arch, and, as
the diver stands on the bottom of the
ocean, and gazes through In the deep
winding avenues, he finds 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
the coral extends even to the surface of
the water, as if the loftier columns were
towers belongingtto those stately temples
that are now In ruins.
There were countless varieties of dimin-
utive trees, shrubs and plants In every
Crevice OF the corals where water had de-
posted the earth. They were all of q faint
hue, owing TO the pale light they received,
although of every shade, and entirely diff.
ferent from plants that am familiar with
that yegetate upon dry land, One In par
ticular attracted my attention 1t resen
bled a eea.fan of immense size, of vaTie-
gated colors and the most brilliant hue.
The fishes which inhabit these "Silver
Banks" found as different in kind as the
scenery was varied. They were of all
forms, colors and sizes, from the symmet-
rical goby TO the globe-like sun. fsh; from
the dullest hue to the changeable dolphin;
from the spots OF the leopard to the hues
Of the sunbeam; from the harmless min
now to the yoracious shark.
Some had heads like squirrels, others
like cats and dogs-some Of email size re-
sembled the bull terrier. Some darted
through the water like meteors, while
others could scarcely be seen to move.
3 10 cnumefate au0 explain I'LL INC Tdrl'
Gus kinds of fish beheld while diving on
these banks would, were / enough of
naturalist 80 odo, require more than my
limits allow, for am convinced that most
of the kinds of fish which inhabit the
tropical seas can be found there. The sun
fish, star fish, white shark and blue OF
shovel-nose shark are often seen.
There are also fab which resembled
plants, and remained as fixed In their po-
sitions as shrub !; the only power they
possessed was to open and shut when In
danger. Some Of them resembled the rose
when In full bloom, and were Of all hues.
There were the ribbon fab, from four or
FIVE inches to three feet in length; their
eyes are very large, and protrude like
those Of o frog.
Another fish is spotted like a leopard,
from three to ten feet in length. They
build thsir houses like beavers, in which
they spawn, and the male or female
watches the egg until II matches, 1 saw
many specimens OF the green turtle, some
five feet long, which should think would
weigh from 400 TO 800 pounds,