The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-01-10
The Bottom.

- .f y s
MIR. Green, the fatnous diver, tells
singular stories of his adyentures,
when making search in the deep
waters of the ocean. He gives some
new sketches of what he saw at the
"Silyer 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 behold. The water
varies from 10 to 100 feet in depth,
and so clear that the diver can see
from 200 to 300 feet when submerged,
with but little obstruction to the
sight. * 80
"The bottom of the ocean in many
places is as smooth as marble floor;
in others, it is studded with coral
columns, from 10 to 100 feet in
height, and from one to eighty feet
in diameter. The tops of those more
lofty support myriad of pyramidal
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 ave-
nues, he finds that they fill him with
as sacred an awe rs 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 loftiest columns were
towers belonging to those stately
tamples that are now in ruins.
"There were countless varieties of
trees. shrubs and plants in every
crevice of the corals where water had
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 par
ticular attracted my attention.; it
resembled sea-fan Of immense size,
of variegated colors and the most
brilliant hue. The fish which inhabit
these Silver Banks found as differ
ent in kind as the scenery was varied.
They were of all forms, colors and
sizes-from the symmetrical goby to
the globe-like sun-fsh; from the
dullest hue to the changeable dol
phin; from the spots of the leopard
to the hues of sunbeams; from the
harmless minnow to the voracious
shark. Some had heads like squir-
rels, others like cats and dogs; some
of small size resembled the bull ter
rier. Some darted through the water
like meteors, while others could
scarcely be seen to move.
"To cnumerate and explain all the
varions kinds of fish I beheld while
diving on these banks would, were I
enough of naturalist so to do, re-
quire more than my limits allow, or I
am convinced that most of the kinds
of fish which ;niiabit 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 re-
scmbled plants, and remained as fixed
in their position as shrub; the only
power they possessed was to open
and shut when in danger. Some of
them resemble 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 protrude like
those of frog
Another fish is spotted like q
leopard, from three to ten feet in
length. They build their house like
beavers, in which pawn, and
the male or female tches the egg
until it matches. L many speci-
mems of the green turtle, some five
feet long, which 1 should think would
weigh from 400 to 500 pounds"