The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1896-04-19
WONDERS OF NASSAU.
A Phosphoresceat Lake That i Lun''
ons ~ night

Gus ~ night
Having IN remembrance the old
Sampson Stamp Of Key West, the DIS
coverer OF the sea gardens al Nassau
we took a pilot and sailboat the follow
ing morning and sailed some four miles
up the channel. says Forest and Stream.
There we embarked In rowboat
with a glass bottom. made BY insert
ing therein plates OF q glass;
through which the bottor the sea
spread out before us like'dfy land.
strange feeling erept over me and In
Imagination fancied myself with Jules
Verne on the voyage OF Twenty Thou
sand Leagues Under the Sea" We
could see all the little fishes. minno~s
one inch long and larger kinds one
foot. two feet and three feet In length,
some white and black and blue, beside
many angelnsh. all yellow like a canary
with bright b!se fms aud tail, swan by
beneath as. Like the ripe wheat helds
IN summer sway to the breeze 80 there
IN the submarine currents waved great
punches Of fan-leaf coral. purple. yell
low and white. The water was clear
as air, and. pointing TO some especially
beautiful specimens Of rock and iahs,
our little darby dove over. and IKE
the fish. we could see him swimming
down until At last. ciutching the growth
with two hands and feet hrmly braced
against the coral. he gave tug anu
away he came 10 the top, fan In hand.
Indeed. God hath wrought marvellous
. things in this world OF His. but nothing
OF greater tewltching fancy than the
sea gardens Of Nassau.
: when night came and before the
! moon was up a drive Of two miles back
o on Nex Providence island brought Us
! 10 a most interesting work OF nature.
\ A lake some 200 feet long and 800 feet
q vide lay quiet and black ~ any Other
d sheet Of water At night might do. But
r once In a rowboat and showed OF from
q shore what mighty change was
n wrought Two small out-sgimmers
d the hue Of the surrounding darkness
= accompanied our boat Of FIRE. for such
Il seemed. Like two human torches
r our darkies swan BY our side a. In
, cloud Of phosphOrescont IRE. Al The
v sllghtest disturbance the whole sur
n rounding water M up like molten ell
YER Each boys toes and fingers wer'
p as though the sun shone on them, and
m fish darted through the quiet watel
a like sky-rockeis. leaving a glltterinl
In trau behind. The light was 20 yivil
4. could see the time by my watch, an'
,r when wave was sent upward with tn
: oar the falling drops we're like blue
% tinted pearls. The movements OF on
Il boat made enough light to plainly Shot
M the bottom for the water Is from III
!, ocean and a. clear as all that whlc
nature makes 10 fow about those Lowell
!. Bahamas. Enuced by the water
\. warmth and the hot night. my frien
ri and I went IN swimming. but only "a
o few minutes From this swim come
story hard TO believe. but o. true 9
~ gospel. That night. ~ was my onstol
y, before turning In, went TO the bail
.- room. which I could easily darken.
~ change some photo plates In my holt
n ers. when about 10 pull the slides
~ noticed the phosphorescence. which
'~ had brought from the lake. shlnir
from my bare feet and giving 80 niue
IN white light had to cover them with
iot towel before dared expose the plat
lly TO what a moment before had been 4
'o- tense darkness