The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1879-01-26
n DEVIL FISH.
CAPTURE OF ONE OF rHEeE MONSTERS AT
LA PAZ, MENICO.
san Fran cisco Chronicle.

| writes from La PaZ, Mexico, as follows
The most exciting event of our cruise &C
| far was the capture to-day of an immense
| devil fsh. Ever since our arrival in these
waters several huge fish have been observ-
| ed in the vicinity of the ship, and much
| speculation has arisen as to what they were.
One making it's appearance this afternoon D,
our gunner, George F. Cushman, decided
to establish his identity il possible; aud,
accompanied by Assistant Engineer Ed
wards, Mdsbipmen Mcdonald, Wood and
Craven, and Pay ymaster's Clerk, Spaulding,
gave chase in the dingey. The fish, swim
ming slowly and near the surface of the
water, which is very clear here, looked
like great shapeless brown MACS, fre-
quently throwing above the waves the thin
white tips of his sides like the dorsal fn OF
shark. 1t allowed the boat to approach
within a few yards of it without showing
symptoms of alarm, when it suddenly
sounded. The harpoon thrown by Mr..
Cushman struck, but not with sufficient
force to hold, for the f sh freed itself and
disappeared, after drag sing the boat with
great velocity for eeve raj seconds. An
other was seen, however, after short
search, and was approached more success
fully. AS it showed an ind ,fference to our
presence equally great to that of it's com.
panion, We pulled the boat directly over
and no more that a foot or two above it,
and Mr.. CnshmaD, standing in the bow,
plunged the harpoon firmly into its flesh.
In an instant that seemingly passive mass
was transformed into
AN INFURIATED MONSTER,
which first threw itself bodily out of the
water and then, settling down to business,
sent the harpoon line W bizziDg out at a ratt,
that would have made it decidedly un-
comfortable for US had the line become
foul. Tie strain soon came upon the dingey
and We were whisked along with the speed
train. " fGIt rhpDUh
had applied the match to some mine, or
that we had been taken III tow by the gen
tleman in black himself. 1t was a ride
that, for novelty aud speed, could hardly
be eqlalled. Imagine our situation, in a
light boat, with sucn Il monster attached
to 1t, which, as it rushed along, now on
the surface; aud aga!n diving deep, threat
enDg to upset US among the sharks, and
you can realize the intense excitement of
the mOmeut. The only available thing in
the boat, q bucket, had been made fast to
the haFpoon line 20 offer some additional
bat the fish seemed to regard it
no more than feather, aud with the |
bucket out of sight under the water, con-
tinuci to draw Us up and down the bay at |
full speed. During all this time it's efforts |
bad been confined to an attempt to escape |
but rs its load grew heavy it became |
belligereut and several times turned upon |
the boat, exhibiting the full capacity of a |
ashing the boat with it's sides. We made |
up our minds that if the fish decided to
Jump into the dingey we would quietly
sip out over enc side as he appeared at |
'he other. Bat vigorous
RESISTANCE FROM BOAT HOOKS
and oars induced him to resume his fight |
n each instance By this time all hands t
IN the ship were watching the struggle,
md the whale boat was sent to our assist |
IN fnr fnl hn bot
ashed together, were towed with no signs
# exhaustion from the fish, the thrusts of
boarding pixies seeming only to accelerate
ts speed. Finally it's immense exertions
old upon it, and it came to the surface
llrectly between the two boats, where it
vas placed hors de combat by blows from
u axe, and, dying the water crimso with
Hood, was towed ashore and dragged upon
be beech. 1t required the united exertlons
t nearly forty men to accomplish this
ndertaking. more formidable looking
lonster than this devil fish could hardly
Q imagined. l. was shaped somewhat like
q immense bat, measuring 155 feet in I
7icth by IL feet in length; it was &c inches t
lick and weighed probably 200O pounds.
had but one fin, unless the wing shaped
xtremities by which it propelled itself {
an be considered such, or that at the base +
LONG, THIN TAIL, Y
milar IN appearance to sidlng whip, and
hch is preserved as a memcnto of the
1venture. Its eyes are placed in flexible I
rojections which seem to have been used e
grasp and convey food to it's mouth. r
he mouth, large enough to engulf man d
hole, was destitute of teeth, but furnish a
with solid bones, and in the dying ago
les of the fish ground large pieces of cor o
as stone crusher would stone. The "
lin of the flesh was rough as a course file, r
Id of dark graysh hue on the back with e
hite patches towards the head, and pure 8
hite on the under side. Several Mexicans Il
esent viewed the capture with great sat o
faction, as they sffirm this creature is a
le of the most dreaded enemies of the 81
earl diver. The capture OF a devil fish II
ems to be an event of rare occurrence, 1
le was caught by the officers of the II
several years ago in this very 81
rbor, but with that exception none of al
9 old salts on board had sevet before p'
en one captured. az
10 COULD OFFER MORE THAN THIS