, 1877-10-13
THE DEAD DEVIL.FISH.
Sprnwled in His Enormous Proportions OF
tho Aquarium Floor.

tho Aquarium Floor.
Etu 1ork Horid, Oct. 10.
Archftenthls prfnceps ,saA taken out OF his
cask Of briuo yesterday morning and spread out
at tull length on tho floor OF the
Aquarium. When tho hoad OF tho cask
WINS removed tho brtno and other prcservntivo
a4oots employed soou filled tho building With
pungont odors. The dovl-dsh itself had becn
doodorized, but Ut the cxpenso Of tho surround
ing liquid. Tho creature had mangicd It's tail
Among tho rocks whctc Il was caught, and tts
Of IT, long tentaclcs had been. chop
ped into two or more ,p!eces, but ail
tllo parts haa g., been packed In ths cask and
sockets nlone remaining, but It Is the intention
Of tho proprictoEs Of thu Aquarium to replaco
them with e!ght-tneh eyes Of glass. Tho head
s a 1se sty ss,fs s9, from tas Tho eo ot
toinod that the separation Ia not apparent.
Az tho monster lay on the door Of tho Aqua
rum lta proportions could for tho drst tlmo be
each .trctch out more than twenty -four tcet, and
tho length Of tho body from head to tall Is ntne
feet, - TINT the total len1th Of tic creature
Is rather moro. than thfrty-threo feet. Tho
t1lty iaet. Thu t,rcalth Of tha body Is about
four feet, and 1t Is nearly foot in thickness.
Tho eight short arms vary in length from seven
AuPVho14lct ANHEtG1V " lk6 NlNtGintUE
OF Measurements to convey any idea Of tho size
aud form Of tho creature. Undoubtedly,
4 does not approach In bulk or weight
iao proportions DIsa, Of ots ths lying nonster
and tho body had = collapsed appearance. Thosc
who haye framed their faIth on tho monster de-
scrtbed by Victor Huge Or who expect to 500
such a eraatuso ~ tho fisherman Of Catalinas4w
disappointed at first 1ght. lmaglnu 4 cod-dsh
tongue, swollen 10 an enormous stzo, With lopg,
trailing. snaky arms OF llyld color attaehud
10 u rons, aud this Is . rough picture of TIC
70 have been dusky rcd, but II has now boeu
hleachcd by tho bhue and other agents to
dirty white; The body looka like q bag Of
RR atR esatsa saa s,1 s r. sos s's sooa sa TIN Tn
nssy Hs ''p ps "4s ss sssassss sSa a1s VIZ S1owa
la parts, but tue prevailing color Is
ws ss ,s fosst. Ct ths syes
OF this bead through which tho water
wa expelled as 4 BY : hydraulic engine.
1ot. i i Of ! aatk boay sub.ianre, sntd Is
placed on ths under sldo OF tho head equl-dIs-
tant from the roots Of the tentacles. Tho bcak Of
tals spesimen fs broken, but II aas been 50 re-
srs M readily seen: fLa tongue Is ike that q
snail, perhaps three Inches In length, and coat-
cd With hne teeth. The stomach can BE- seen
t1rGaEh ,he m yents 10 tl:e pnlpy oag which eny-
ren.nants ot the glIls, can bs pulled out to view
by auyboly who cafca to Introduce Ls hand into
thn cavity OF the head.
Tho deytl-hsh is not a asca vampire" ~
Hugo declares; but bis. frishtfui desc1!p-
tto Of tho process by which t"the hydra ID
corporatcs itself With tho man and tho man
becomes ono With the hydra Ia scarcely moro
appalling than tho real manner Of tho vlctiln's
death. Ths prey OF tho deyil-d4h Il drawn
under water BY tho resiatless suction Of It's wiry
tentaclee. aud tho arms are wound closer and
closer about the helpless body. pressing It
tightly 70 its own ge!atinoas mag. Then the
bcak Of tbs dst Is brought In play, and the
softer portions Of the body are torn
out aud crushed between the manllbles.
There u no doubt that the squd
catches aud swallows plceemeal the creatures
within !ta reach which It considers eatable. It
is III the highest order OF tho invertebrates. It
l.as rudimentarY bratu and cleasly-dedned tn-
terual oEgans+ Whether the ash can "hatc, ~
Huge would hare u believe, can hardly ba af-
arIned, but when lrritated or nlanned for any
reason the expression OF It's huge staJin9 oyea Ii
said, OH good authority, to b peculiarly tero-
ytOu6.