The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-09-05
why the Red Sea is called Red.
From Lippincott's Magazine.

i--SA AAGEthAClpD uApSdEIUSs
A question that has puzzled scholars
1Oun0 solution some time since in the
observation of an American submarine
diver. Smiths "BibIe Dictionarvn dis
cusses learnedly the name of tTe Red
Sea as written in the Septuagint. The
dictionary surmises that the name was
derived from the red western mountains,
red coral ~zOOphytes, ETC., and appears to
give little weight to the real and natural
reason which came under our Americans
notice. On one occasion the diver OH
served, while under sea, that the curious
waVering shadows which cross the ms
trOus, golden floor like FrauenhOfeT's
lines On the spectrum, began to change
and lose themselves. A purple glory Of
1n~termingled colors darkened the violet
curtains OF the sea chambers, reddeninr
all gllnts and tinges with an angry fire.
instead of that lustrOus golden frma-
ment, thallassphere darkened to crimson
and opal. The walls grew purple. the
floor as red as blood; the deep itself was
purpIed with the venOus hue of deOxi-
died life currents.
The view on the surface was even
more magnificent. The sea at first as
sumed the light tawny or yell0wish red
of sherry wine. Anon this wine color
grew instinct with rich radiance: AS far
as the eye could see, and flashing in the
chTystaIlne splendOr of the Arabian sun,
was a glorious sea of rose. The dusky
red sandstone hills with a border Of
white sand and green and lowered To-
mage, like an deliberately wrought cnp
OF Bohemian glass enameled with bril-
liant flowers, held the SPARKLING JiGnid
petals OF that rosy sea. The surface ON
examination proved to be covered with
q thin brickdust layer of inf1soria
slightly tinged with orange. Placed in
q white glass bottle, this changed into
violet, but the wide surface was of that
magnificent and brilliant rose color, II
was a new and pleasing example of the
Iustrous, eyer varying beauty of the
ocean world 1t was caused by diato-
maceR, minute alg9, which, under the
microscope, revealed delicate threads
gathered IN tiny bundles, and contain
ing rings, IKE blood disks of that Gu
r1ous cOloring matter in tiny tubes.
This miracle of beauty is not without
its analOgiesin other seas. Themednsm
OF the Arctic seas, an allied existence
people the Ultramarine blue of the cold,
pure seq with the vivid patches of living
green thirty miles in diameter. These
minute organisms aTe dOubly curions
from then, power Of astonishing produce
tlon ana the strange electric fire thew
display. Minute as these microscopic
creatures are, every motion and flash is
the result of vOlitioH, and not a mere
chemlc or mechanic phorphoreseence.
The Ph0t0eaTtS light a flashing cirr1s.
on being irritated, in brilliant. kindIing
sparks, increasing in intensity until the
whole organism is Illuminated, The
llYlns nre washes oyer@its back and
pencils In greenish yellow light its mi
croscople outline. Nor do these little
creatures lack q beauty of their own.
Their minute shields of pure translucent
sAex are e~laborately wrought in micro
sGopic symbols OF mimic heraldry.
IheyI are the chivalry of the deep, the
tiny knights with lance and euirass. and
oval bossy shield carved in Quaint cop-
ceits and ornamental fashion. Nor
must we despise them when we reflect
upon their power of ~aceretiOn. The
Galli0nellR, invisible to the naked eve
can, OF their heraldie shields and Hinty
armor, make too cubic feet of Bilin nof-
Ishlng slate in four days. By s%trainin0
sea water, o web of greenish cloth Of
gold, illuminated by their play of self
generated electric light, has been col
leeted. Humboldt and Ehrenberp sneak
OF their v0racity, their power Of dis
charging electricity at viii, and their
sporting about, exhibiting an intelligent
enjoyment of the life God has given to
them. Man and his works perish, but
the monuments of the i~nfusoria are the
fhlnty ribs OF the sea, the giant bones Of
huge continents, heaped into mountain
ranges over which the granite and Dor
phyry have set theis stony seal forever.
Man thrlves n his little zone; the
populous infusoria crowd every nook Of
the earth from the remote poles to the
burning equatorial belt.