The DeSmet leader. (DeSmet, Kingsbury Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-01-09
DIVING AFTER CORAL
Swimming About In Stony Groves Fn
Hollow the Sea-Thc Coral business

Swimming About In Stony Groves FaI
Dciow the sea-Thc Coral business
New York sun Interview
"YeS, the coral business Is tolable AL
the schools and colleges take collections, II
they can git ON cheap enough, aud we sell 9
hohp to the seaside resorts. The country
people think they ccmc out OF the wotoi
right along shore: It's oil the same to them
The kinds doal In is brain coral, branch
p,pper, leaf and rose-,hapsi coral Floatn
pal brings big prizes. II float, after 1,
is bleached, and pepper coral ta'tos
like pepper after it's dead. Then
We fetch sea fans, sea eggs, shars'.
jaws, gulls' eggs, hawkbill turtles,
aRd little Of everything Coral, sell by
It's piece from IS cents to 81
Yes. We sec some curious sight1, but we
git Used tn it. We go to what they call the
'Marseys, about forty miles or 50 tho west'ard
OF Key West You can git coral any time
butsthe .unmer's the best; then there il liz
lie wind a-blowin', and you can 500 the bot.
tom in forty foot. In the winter we use a
boat with a glass bottom, SO we can sot and
drift along aud look down through, and
when We see anything git over for it.
There's half "a dozen kinds Of coral that
are &C mmon, and mostly they grow apart
and in certain places. What we call branch
coral is found all over tho fats, where there
is sandy bottom, growing kind of low-ike;
bat when il gi's along toward tho edge OF
the channel the branches grow longer, aud
look like regular branches of a tree, and
nu tied S thick that you can't zee the bottom
or get your e.. in between em Sometm
when we want 10 g.t tiae piece Of branch,
we dive down into tho channel, and, l tell
you, it's a fine sight. When you git down
thirty foct say, IL, as light as day when
there's q good sun right overhead, and there
you are in front of a wall OF thcse ere coral
points, q solid front, all of a browni.h or
olive color. Ifyou git way down b the
h tom you'll SEQ erawfish- whips wavin' to
and fro. They live under thu ooral, ana on
top and in between tho black spots are big
sea eggs, with spines six inches long. Tho
coral is covered with fishes Of all kinds
parrots, angels. yellow tails and granta
The fshes have DEAN or more co.ors, and
one kind that think beats 'sm all is pure
blue from head TO foot It's only about six
inches long, and / never saw them away
from tue big beadS
after practice you can stay down throe
with your eyes open you can git look at
the lot, and then try and break of a branch
with "A toet hook Of iron Sometimes We
have to go down four or five times to git u
piece; then, II IT'S big, put rope around it.
and haul it up Most Of tho small coral can
be pick,l up with hook that looks like q
pair OF oyster hooks, but IT.. apt to break It,
so generally go overheard when the coral
amt too thick. There's one place know
whero for 100 acres it's so thick that thera
amt place to put your foot-one big fell
Of branch coral. The big heads generally
grow on the edge OF fiat that's covered with
gra~s, right near the edge Of the channel,
and can take you 80 spot whore there's
coral heads that are tsn foot across and six
high Some OF the big ones weigh over
100 pounds When they get biz they Otter
die away OH top. AMI finally g,t followed
out and look liko biz vases holding angel
dshes, crawilsh, and a little Of verytainy
You never eco tie big heads here, because
vessels can't got 'Rear EN-, AMI q small boa,
wouldn't hold one. In water about twenty
to twenty five fest deep we git the best
pieces what they call rose coral. git tlcn
by dvin'. as They're 6, small yoa can't sec
'em hardly. I've gt bunches not bigger
than your hand, and got $40 for EN- Pretty
amt no namo for en-"