Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-08-24

slender spires, two or three feet long,
I" Urchins D of various kinds and the queer
Rippocampus, or ''sea-horse," besides a
wonderfully beautiful marine growth-a
kind of ocean fern, here called divers
farms They are found growing upright IN
the bottom of the gulf-a mass of closely
woven frond, spreading out like an i'm
mense palm leaf. In colors, they are
rich yellowish-brown, or terra Gotta, and
show to best advantage when spread
against background of dead white. The
ten pounds of it that your correspondent
secured is destined to line the back and
sides of big cabinet, in which TO stick
sea-horses, star-fsh, ocean anemones, etc,
as an appropriate backing for'larger shells
and corals.
Nearly every species of edible fish to be
found in the world abounds in these waters
in greater numbers than elsewhere, and of
extraordinary size and brilliant coloring.
Sword-fsh of immense proportions fire.
quently attack vessels, and have been
known to leave their swords firmly i'm
beded in the timbers. There are sharks of
every species, among them the 'thresher"
and "harmer-headed" variety, and the
enormous ITburoneS of the upper guilt,
which often attain a length Of thirty feet
and weigh upwards of 1000 pounds.
When the United States photographic
Survey was made here few years ago, the
sailors captured one Of the sea-monsters in
La Paz bay. after a struggle of several
hours, in which the creature exhibited in
credible strength, pulling a boat, fully
manned, at great speed for long distance.
1t was the mdntd rdyG-a species of ray
fish, most dreaded fall by the pearl divers
and fishermen, because of its ferocity and
ALMOST HUMAN CUNNING.
It was seventeen feet wide, over three
feet thick at the middle, and eleven feet
long, exclusive of the tail, which was
armed with a spike. Its jaws measured
twenty-six inches across, the mouth occu-
pying the space between two singularly-
shaped flaps projecting from its head like
horns. Its estimated weight was three
thousand pounds, and doubtless it is iden-
titled with the horned ray, sometimes
called "sea deviF of the Mediterranean.
Another remarkable fish with which
these waters are swarming is the bOeps
ocRdoae, or "bulls-eye"-a Kind of sun-fish
which has only one large eye, the size of
DullOSkS, anu lldG III lliS CSllteI vi GllS up
per part of the body. Worst of all, there
is the terrible octopod or devil fsh--a
gigantic mollusk which turks in rocky
coves along the shores in places sheltered
from the surf, where it quietly waits
among the sea-weeds watching for prey.
Woe to the man or beast that comes with
in reach of Its arms-those horrible arms,
from ten to twenty feet in length, each
furnished with fiat disks or suckers, and
the strength of horse.
The most successful mining enterprise
on the Peninsula is that about forty miles
from La Paz, at Triunfo, near San Antonio.
The mines, seven in number, called Las
Casitas-''iittle houses'-are all owned and
operated by Americans. Bullion to the
amount of $4,000 per month has been
produced, with but one 36-stamp mill !;
while enough ore is said to be in sight to
quadruple that amount with proper
machinery. The ore is brought on the
backs of mules from the mines to the mill,
where ii is crushed, then mixed with
common salt, and roasted then washed
and amalgamated with mercury in large
watts; finally the mercury is driven off by
heat, and the remaining silver is run into
bars of twenty pounds each. Then it is
sent in wagons to La Paz, and there
shipped to San Francisco.
THE PROCESS OF REDUCING ORE
By means of acids has been successfully
tried, and probably will soon come into
general use, on account of the scarcity of
wood for the roasting process.
Gold has been found in small quantities
in the granite ledge of San Lazaro, and
much copper exists in the Calabazes, six
teen miles from Triunfo. The famous
Ceralbo Island, few miles from La Paz,
is believed to be exceedingly rich in cop
per and gold, though yet comparatively
unworked. Seals resort to its outlying
rocks in great numbers, and the reefs and
caves that surround it are the worst places
known to man for those terrible devil-fsh
with their far-reaching arms. The. island
itself is about 1l6 miles long by five wide,
and two sharp mountain cones-one stand
ing at the northern extremity, the other
near the southern-riSe, respectively, 200
and 1920 feet.
Nearer still to the capital is the small
island of San Juan Nepomucino, near
whose southern end the United States
Navy has a coal depot, where supply of
anthracite is kept for the use of its vessels
Of war, and temporary landing-place has
been made and the coal is transferred in
small lighters. There is salt lagoon on
the island, which yields large quantities of
salt by natural evaporation Tradition
has it that great amount of treasure was
hidden here at some early day, and many
search for it has been made by the
natives.
All about here are numberless islands,
great and small-none inhabited, and
many wholly unexplored. Their secrets,
as well as their precious metals, if they
contain any, will not be revealed to man
for many generations to come; and even
the pearl-oyster beds lying within the
shadow of their lofty cliffs are we'll
guarded by the iong-armed octapod.
FANNIE B. WARD.