Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1882-10-27
WOxDERFUL CITIES.


| WONDERFUL CITIES.
There are thousands of cities unde
the green waves, though perhaps yol
may not think they are bit like ours
There are no streets from one end +
the other, not butcher nor baker, NJ
milkman's bell. nor peddler's cart. ant
not = sound from morning to night
Everybody lives in a stone house exact
| ly like everybody els8's, and nobody
goes outside of his own door. What ht
wants to eat he helps himself to as i
goes by, and never finds fault with il
either. Strangest OF all, one OF these
marvellous cities with thousands of in
habitants would go inside of quart cup,
Small people, you thinkP Well,
didn't say they were people; others be,
sides human beings have homes and
cities OF their own. They are not peo-
ple-they are polyps. and the cities they
live in are among the prettiest things in
the sea- dare say that you who pick
up treasures on the shore have often
carefully preserved one of these little
cities, thinking it was sea-weed, which
indeed it much resembles.
Now there's one--the Sea-Thread
Coralline-as charming az any sea-weed.
When at home, in the depths of the
ocean. it stands up from stone or shell.
or dark brown stem no bigger than q
bit of sewing silk, with many branches
and twigs.
At the end of every twig is a tiny cup.
the daint est you can imagine. and in
this little home lives a polyp. He
doesn't live alone. for the twigs Of the
whole little tree are hollow, and filled
with sort OF living pith which is con.
nected with each polyp. and separated
from which he would die. So you see
the tree is really an animal all through.
When the Corallinc is only one inch
high, il often has fifty or sixty inhab-
itants. but when 1t grows to be nine or
ten inches, the residents are counted by
hundreds.
In his pretty home each little polyp
stays. never wishing TO go out. II
hungry. he has only to stand in the
door and throw out his arms-or tenta-
cles. which look like the petals of a
fower-and food is always 10 be found
in the water. When he has enough TO
eat, or when he is alarmed. he draws
in his arms. and goes back out of sight
in the house. and these are the only ex-
cursions he ever takes.
But the babies of these little stay-at-
homes are Of different mind; they
prefer to see the world little for them
selves, before they settle down in .
humdrum polypidom. As their city Is
called.
This is how they manage it. OF
course. in a city that looks like tree 1t
is TO be expected that the young will
look like fruit-and SO they do. Here
and there among the branches will be
sometimes seen vase-shapcd box or
cup, which is Of a gray color, and after
awhile becomes lively and uneasy.
There's little movement at the top OF
the gray vase. tentacles appear on the
edge like fine threads, there's a strug-
gle. wriggle. and away jerks > tiny
atom of creature, perhaps as big as q
small letter 0 on this page. 1t is shaped
like watch crystal, with twenty three
tcntacles around the edge like fringe,
and as lively and jerky as any jelly-fish
IN the sea. In fact it seems to be jel-
ly-iish or mcdusa. Isn't that q lively
baby for such steady individuals as
polyps?
The polyps don't care--thcy never
trouble themselves about the young
ster. and away hc goes. In short
time another one wrigglcs himself free,
and so they 20 ON till the cup Is empty.
and every polyp baby is swimming
about in the water. 1t Is not long. how
ever. before the little creatures get
tired. settle somewhere for life. and be-
gin to grow like plants-in fact TO start
cities of their own.
Another Coralline, the Oatcn Pipe
Coralline, Is ono Of tho most elegant
creatures in the sea Its stcm-for 1t
also Is shaped like q plants Of yell
low color. and the polyps which live At
the end Of the branches are OF bright
scarlet and when expanded look like
beautiful double flowers. Of different
sizes and shades, thus giving the whole
the appearance Of lovely
bouquet
The babies Of this Coralline do mot
grow in n cup. but in clusters like .
bunch Of grapes. When a blossom or
polyp at the end Of one Of the branches
has lived several days It fades and falls
of. like flower in the garden. But
soon new one is seen like bud COM
ing up through the hollow stem, which
Is also transparent When il reaches
the top ii bursts out into fresh scarlet
flower, as beautiful as the first one was.
Several Of them thus come on the same
branch.
The Beautiful Ten is the name Of
another Of these polyp families, and II
ls more Ike = gay, blooming shrub
few inches high. than like an animal. or
city Of snimal< The polyps Of this
family. which live in tubes At the ends
Of branches. are red and yellow mixed,
. pale carnation color. The
young arc like clusters Of yellow grapes,
md when they leave the e0g they are
no lively meduse. but white crawling
md swimming worms
Perhaps the prcftiest city under the |
'ea looks like . bit Of brown weed, in |
'hapc Of . minute feather. strung ell /
,rer with the tiniest beads you can i'm /
leine. Each of these beads IL stone /
rouse. and has its living owner. Very
ively, too. are these atoms. quick 70 /
|raE back into the bezd-shaped house.
md quick to burst out again into fairy
Ike blossoms on every thread.
The city is shaped like = fir-tree. but
o transparent from twig to root that il
ooks Ike glass The polyps Of this
live in bells, sc1tfercd thick1y /
'ver the brznches- and most bcautiful
hing il il just inside the edge q ev-
" belI is . ring Of fine hairs. called
lila. which vibrafe al the time, and
nnke little currents which whiri eround
I'd around. over the month of each
Ell. and throw Al the fine atoms Of
BOD into the stomach waiting for them
In this case the whole tree i movor
e Suddenly. when one b looking e
! with al ifs branches expanded, and |
n ils whir1pools going, jar or noise
ill c1use the wholc thing to contract
nd sink back almost to nothing II N
1sfnnf-
Tie most interesting II these little
tiles look& when yoo pick Il up O The
hore. Ike . broo1. r1fber thick sea-
|eed- Yon need TO take . nicros,ope
: - this wonderful city. which is boib