The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1866-06-16
VICTOR sEsJGD's ysON>-TEEs.
XyilatEs is This HocyiI.EIsi,o

VIZ L " IL -
WHAT'S This oc,iI.EIsi,:
In his recent work, the .Toilers of the
Sea- at page l22 OF Harpers edition, Hugo
gives an exciting account Of a singular and
hideous monster. the ''pieuvre" 1t is comon-
ly supposed that this anima! Is n creature Of
Hugo's brain, but ne has fact told very IT.
tie more than the exact truth about it. The
cuttle fish is creature very well known 10
naturalIsJs aud to seamen, but less familiar
TO the general public. Here IS Hlgo's poet
sal description Of the deyIi-hsL
"If terror were the obiec. CT its creation,
nothing could be imagined more perfect than
the deyIl>hsh.
The whale has en0rmoUs bulk. the devil
fish is comparatively small: the jararaca
makes a kissing noise, the devil fish Is mute;
the rhinoccros has a hcrA, the dcyil-iish has
uone; the scorpion has a dart, the deyil~tish
has no dart: the shark has sharp fins, the
devil fish has no fins: the vrspertiilo vampire
has wings with claws, the dey.-tish has no
WINS: the p0rcUpine has his sPlneS, the
devilish has no sPlues; the sw5r4-i.sh has
lis s7yord. the dcvl-iisA has none; the tor
pedo Ia: It's electro spark, the devIlhsh has
none: the toad has It's poison, the devil hsn
has none the per has It's venom, the devil
hSu HAS no NCAOtL NAlS A'Ct ''>-' 80 ''-''t-0r
the devil-fish has NJ taoas; the griJu has
its beak. the deyi.>fish has no beak; the
crocodile has its aws, tho devi!~fish has no
teeth.
The devil fish has no muscular organi-
Zation, no menacing cry, no DreaS'pate, no
bone no dart, no claw, no tail with which TO
hold or bruise no cutting fins. or wings
with nails no pri:kies. no sword, Ho eec>
tric discharge, no poison, 10 lalons, no beak,
10 teeth. vet he Is of all creatures, the most
formidably armed.
What, them is the devil-ish? 1t Is the
sea vampire.
\ writer in HuP-rs MlJa7ine for July:
lS6g. dscribes the monster in plain Irose,
and some extracts from thus article, which
we make below. viii perhaps interest the
readers of Hugo's novel:
THE CUTIE FISH.
9Th, colossal cuttle-fsh belongs 10 the
class HJIirscd. and the order Cpt1'oppJa-
SO called because It's organs Of movement
are grouped aboutsthe head. Is comm
name is ''cuttle tah, aud the -ailoIs, who
know most about it. call il the 'sqaut, aud
have Il proverb that = tie sgaIi Is the
largest ana the smallest animal winch live,
in the sea-" which Is nearly correct as pros
verbs generally are There are, IN fact.
cutie tish but an inch long, whjch have
regularly de>eloped arms, and sscIete the
same inky fluid with whIc! Tie larger slaIi,
whose arms have been found tw=nty eight
teet long darisens the water when be Is rush
ing on his prev, or when he, IN turn, Is chased
by some hungry whale or shark, whose jaws
he escapes under cover Of his inky c.OuI.-
These minute sIuIds are found IN shoals,
near the surface Of the water, in various
parts Of the occlu, and are ravenously pur-
l. IL, LOyIfa llti1.~r a7I
fsy porpoises, whose choice food they are
There Is u variety, which measures some two
inches in length, which has the faculty Ct
dartIng out OF the water when pursued, and
is therefore called by sc4meu the flying sluId.
Il is found IL vast EHg'bers on the banks OF
Newfoundland, where our co I.Ishermsn use
ap.cuIiary constructed book to catch it
They US. the animal for bait ia catching col
fish who seem 10 be eXtravagant.y iOud Ct i,
AM will bite at a squIl bait VIXEN even the
most delicate clam does not ten pt them.
The an :ieuts knew the cutlle-fsh very
well. shsy are c"sn now found IN cOnSlaer-
able numbers in the Mediterranean, but not
IN sGCh quantities as must have grown III
the DAYS vUen the Romans and Greeks, with
a singular taste, thought a cu.tle-Esh the
finest OF fish, and paid high prices for them.
la India It Is eaten now and | have seen
the disgusting t"iugs bought IA the bazaar
of Port Louis (lsIc of Fran,e) ~ h-urc
which must have made them proud, if they
had that human kind Of pride which values
1tself on a high market price.
TEE INK BAG.
The inky fluid. which Is secreted in a
iittle bag in the upper part of the animals
BODY. and which Piiny took to be It's blood,
mas sweet and pleasant taste, and was
formerly used in cooking the body to give 1t
peculiar flavor. 1t t!Jws more freely from
the body when the animal las been dead =
day than while it IS still! alive Of which the
Chinese avai. themselves who, according to
some Dutch travellers who 'esCribe the man
uiactUre of India ink. gather the cutie fish
and throw them together IN yats, where the
lnk flows out, and is drained off into proper
vessels below. Denys Monttort, who Is the
NEST yoluminous writer on the cutie fsh
asserts that tie flesh fluid makes an ineradi-
cable stain in linen. Though ia the common
cutie fish the ink bag IS only the size of a
mans thImb, the animal can squirt The lice
out 10 a distance OF six feet, and with con
siderable force; and the small contents OF
the bag saiiice-such IS tie di.iuSiye and
penetrating power OF the luid-to color sev>
eral buckets Of water
THE TERRIBLE MOUTH AND ARMS.
"The body the cutie fish has no oren-
ing below. All the issues or vents are group
ed near the mouth. This mouth Is a weapon
ofso terrible a force that a mere glance at it,
and 2t the huge sullen ewes of the beast, at
once convince the observer that it is fierce
and ravcnous animal. Ii Is not a mouth,
properly but bill. parrot>shaped, with
strong, sharp horny edges, the lower mandi>
bic fitting into the upper. Tie muscles are
very strongly developed, and show that It's
hold is deadly, as indeed is proven bv those
who k.-e observed II ssizing and tearing to
pieces It's prey.
The eyes are quite round, very promi
nent, set at the sides Of the head, and have q
malignant, greedy, cruel expression, which
Is indescribable. but which those who have
noticed the caLd blooded stare OF The dog G.l
OF oar coast can imagine. Il IS that iutensi
fel. and with gleam of ferocioas in:elli
gence added.
- 1t remains to describe the arms Of ihc
cutie fish-three monstrous weapons, each
furnished with series of exhaus:ers, with
with which it clings with fatal tenacity to it;
prey, which Il has first seized and envcloped
III It's anaconda like hug. The larger rock
sJuil or cutie fish has eight arr,s These
Of course, vary IN leagih according % the
size Of the animal: but exam pies are com
mon on the coast Of Madagascar and Easterr
Africa whose arms measare from three Il
five feet in length. who spread over circle
therefore, whose diameter IS from seven t.
twelve feet.