News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1885-07-16
DIVING AFTER CORAL.
SWIMMING ABOUT IN STONY GROVES
FAR BELOW THE SEA.
The Queer Creatures that Make their Home
In the Branches of Coral Trees-An Ex.
citing Adventure with a StinGaree-
Sharks.

n.
citing Adventure with a stinsaree-
Sharks.
''Too much ?" repeated Conch, as he
held up a big bunch of coral in the
cabin of schooner near Fulton Market,
eff you had to git it up you wouldn't
think so.
'You know" said the man, after the
would-be purchaser had crawled up the
companion-way ladder, ''some folks git
the idee that l bring this stuff on fol
fun, and give it away. 1 div a like O.
fifty foot for that piece, and that chap
wanted to take it for twenty-five cents. i
$50 you dive for these specimens 9''
asked the writer.
eyes, the best are fotched up that
way" was the reply; ''but a good many
are taken with coral hooks. Me and my
brother takes trip off and on. One
of us collects the stuff and the other
sells, and between the two, and acting
as cook for the steamer, we make it pay.
eyes, we see some curious sights, but
we git used to it. We go to what they
call the Markeys,' about forty miles or
so the west'ard of Key West. You can
git coral any time, but the summers the
best; then there is little wind a-blowin',
and you can see the bottom in forty foot.
In the winter we use boat with glass
bottom, so we can see and drift along
and look down through, and when we
see anything git over for it.
''There's half dozen kinds of coral
that are common, and .mostly,tbey grow
sfE and in ceEtaip( aces
call branch coral is found all os5e siis
flats where there is sandy bottom, grow
ing kind of low like; but when it gifts
along the edge of the channel, the
branches grow longer and look like
regular branches of tree, and matted
SO thick that you can't see bottom or
git your fist in between 'em. Some
times, when we want to get out fine
piece of branch, we dive down into the
channel, and 1 tell you it's a fine sight.
When you git down thirty foot, say, it's
as light as day when there's a good sun
right overhead, and there you are in
front of wall of these ere coral points,
a solid front, all of brownish or olive
color. If you get away down to the
bottom You'll see crawfsh whips wavin'
to and fro. They live under the coral,
and on top and in between the black
spots are big sea eggs, with spines six
inches long. The coral is covered with
fishes of all kinds-parrots, angels, yell
low tails, and grunts The fishes have
dozen or more colors, and one kind
that | think beats 'em all is pure blue
from head to foot. It's only about six
inches long, and | never saw them away
from the big heads.
''After practice you can stay down
three or four minutes, and by swimming
along with your eyes open you can git a
look at the lot, and then try and break
off a branch with boathook of iron.
Sometimes we have to go down four or
five times to get a piece; then, if it's big,
put rope around it and haul it up.
Most of the small coral can be picked up
with hook that looks like a pair of
oyster hooks, but it's apt to break it, so
l generally go overheard when the coral
amt too thick. There's one place I
know where for hundred acres it's so
thick that there amt place to put your
foot-one big field of branch coral. The
big heads generally grow on the edge of
a fiat that's covered with grass, right
near the edge of the channel, and l can
take you to spot where there's coral
heads that are ten foot across and six
high. Some of the big ones weigh over
one thousand pounds. When they get
big they often die away on top, and final
ly git followed out and look like big
vases holding angel fishes, crawfish, and
little of everything You never see
the big heads here, because vessels can't
crpt liza
hold one. In water about twenty or
twenty-five feet deep we git the best
pieces, what they call rose coral. l git
them by aivin', thes're so ,a,,,
can't see EN- hardly. rye got punches
not bigger than your hand, and got SO
for 'em. Pretty amt no name for 'em.
The last one l got came near cleanin' me
out"
''How so ?"
SWELL" replied the coral diver, 1--WE
have afish on the reef called the sting
aree; it's as fiat as your hand, with
two side wings that move up and down
as it swims along. They are about two
or three feet wide and six or eight
long. The tail is just like the lash of
whip, and right where it joins the
body there are three stings of bone,
one right above the other, five or six
inches long, with edges like saw.
They have way of sinking down to
the bottom, and with a shuttle some
thing like that of hen in the dust,
covering themselves with sand. This
day l speak of / was driftin' along in
about three fathoms layin' in the boat
lookin' through the glass, while my
mate was at the oars ready to stop her
if 1 sung out. All at once l clapped my
eyes on beauty head of rose coral,
and over / went. / reckon it was about
fifteen feet jest there, and l went down
with such rush that l went near the
bottom right over the little brown head.
grabbed at what I thought was the
bunch of weed, to hold on while 1
picked up the coral. l got it, and then
let my feet down on to the bottom to
give myself shove up, when, bliml
blimi came something around my legs,
and I'm logged if l didn't think they
were off at the knees, and big sting
aree flew up by me, takin' me on all
sides. The next I knew / was in the
dingy, but how / got there I don't
know. Bob said he looked over and
saw blood in the water and the fish,
and thought shark had me. The fish
raised such dust that for a minute he
couldn't see nothing, but he grabbed
the grains, then SEEM me on the bot
tom put EN- into my drawers, and
hauled me up. I'd tainted, clean gone,
as sure as you're alive. / looked like
that old fish market over yonder, all
streaked with gore. There was dozen
cuts across my legs, just like red-hot
iron had been put on, and if I'd been
alone it would have been a gone case"
'.Do you ever have trouble with
sharks ~
II never worry 'em, and they don't
worry me, but they're as thick as flies
in fly time on the reef.
eyes, the coral business il. tolable "A,
Al the schools ~ colle.easa~ -
lections, if they can get 'em cheap
enough, and we sell heap to the sea-
side resorts. The country people think
they come out of the water right along
shore; it's oil the same to them. The
kinds 1 deal in is brain coral, branch,
pepper, leaf, and rose-shaped coral.
Floatin' coral brings big price. It
floats after it's bleached, and pepper
coral tastes like pepper after it's dead.
Then we fetch sea fans, sea eggs, sharks
jaws, gulls' eggs, hawkbill turtles, and
II Al