Weekly Calaveras chronicle., 1868-02-15
Tho Ocean Bottom.

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 Of
what he saw at the "Silver Bank" near
Hayti:
The banks Of coral on which my div
ings 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
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 submerged,
with but little distractions to the sight.
The bottom of the ocean in many pla.
ces is as smooth as a marble floor; in
others it is studded with coral columns,
from ten to one hundred feet in hight,
and from one to eighty feet in diameter.
The tops of those more lofty support
myriad of pyramidal pendants, each
forming myriad more, giving reality to
the imaginary abode Of some water
nymph. In other places the pendants
form each after each, and, as the diver
stands on the bottom of the ocean, and
gazes through in the deep winding ave.
nues, he finds that they ill him with as
sacred an awe as if he were in some old
cathedral which had long been buried
benath old oceans wave. Here and
there the coral extends even to the sur
face of the water, as if the loftier columns
were towers belonging to those stately
temples that are now in ruins.
There are countless varieties Of dimin-
utive trees, shrubs, and plants in every
crevice of the corals where waters had
deposited the earth. They were all of
q faint hue, owing to the pale light they
received, although of every shade, and
entirely different from plants that I am
familiar with that vegetate on dry land.
One in particular attracted my attention;
it resembled sea-fan of immense size,
of variegated colors, and the most brill
liant hue. The fish which inhabit these
"Silver Banks" l found as different in
kinds as the scenery was varied They
were of all forms, colors and sizes
from the symmetrical goby to the globe
like sun fish: from the dullest hue to
the changeable dolphin; from the spots
of the leopard to the hues of the sunbeam;
from the harmless miuow to the vora-
cious shark.
Some had heads like squirrels, others
like cats and dogs, and some Of smaller
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 kinds of fish beheld while div
ing on these banks would, were I enough
of a naturalist so to do, require more
than my limits allow, for am convinced
that most of the kinds of fish which in
habit the tropical seas can be found
there. The sun fish, star fish, white
sharks and blue or shovel-nose shark
were often seen.
There were, also, fish which resembled
plants, and remained as fixed in their
positions as shrub the only power
they possessed was to open and shut
when in danger. Some of them resem-
bled the rose when in full bloom, and
were of all hues. There were the ribbon
fish, from four to five inches to three feet
in length their eyes are very large and
protrude like those of frog.
Arother fish is spotted like leopard,
from three to ten feet in length. They
build their houses like beehives, in
which they spawn aud the male or fe-
male watches the egg until it matches.
l saw many specimens ofthe green turtle,
some five feet long, which, 1 think,
would weigh from 400 to 500 pounds.
A PROMISING disciple of Josh Bill