The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-02-27
CATCHING A DEVIL>FISH.
Forty Men Engaged fn Securing tn,
mOuSteF.

Forty Men EngngCd fn Securing the !
Monster.
An officer of the flagship Pensacola. of !
the Pacific squadron, writing from OffLa |
PaZ, Lower California, December 9. |
communicates to the Vallejo Chronicle |
an interesting account OF the pursuit and
capture OF an enormous sea-mOnster
Tesem bling Victor HugO's famous devils |
fish. The writer says:
The most exciting event of our cruise
thus far was the capture tOSdav of an
immense devil fish. Ever since our arTi-
val in these waters, several huge fish
have been observed IN tue vicinity of the
ship, and much speculation has arisen
as tC what they were. One making its
appearance this afternoon, our gunner.
George F. CushmaD, decided to establish
his identity If possible, and, ACCOMPANIED
by Assistant Engineer Edwards Mid
shipmen Mcdonald, Wood and Craven.
and Paymaster's Clerk Spaulding, gave
chase in the dingy. The fish, swim ming
slowly and neat the surface of the water,
which is very clear here, looked like
great shaPeless brown mass. frequently
throwing above the waves the thin white
tips OF It's sides like the dOrsal fin of a
shark. 1t allowed the boat TO approach
symptoms of alarm, when it suddenly
sounded.
The harpOoD, thrown by Mr.. Cush-
man, struck, but not with sufficient
force to hold, for the fish freed itself and
disappeared, after dragging the boat
with great velocity for several seconds
Another was seen, however, after a short
search, and was approached more sue
cessiully. As it showed an indifference
to our presence equally great 10 that of
its companion, we pulled the boat
directly over, and no more than a foot or
two above it, and Mr.. Cushman stand
ing up in the boat, plunged the harpoon
firmly into its flesh. In an instant that
seemingly passive mass was transformed
into au infuriated monster, which first
threw itself bodily out of the water, and
then, settling Gown TO business, sent the
| narUOOn-lIne WhiZZjng cut at a rate that
would have made it decidedly uncom-
| Portable for Us had il become foul. The
strain soon came upon the dingv, and
as we whisked along with the speed OF
an express train, We felt as though We
had applied match to some mine, or
! that we had been taken in tow BY the
gentleman in black himself. It was i
ride that tor novelty and speed could
I
IN a light bOaL, which, as 1t rushed along,
now on the surface, and again diving
deep threatening TO u pset US among the
-harks, and you can realize the intense
excite meut OF the moment. The only
available thing IN the b at, bucket had
/ been made fastened 10 the harDoOn line
10 OHer some additional resistance, bu-
be hsh seemed 20 regard IL no more
than a feather, and with the bucket OUT
OF sight under the water, continued to
. draw Us up and down the bay at ful
/ speed.
/ DusiDg al this time its efforts bad
! Oeen confined to an attempt to esCaue;
/ but as It's load grew heavy 1t became
/ beligerent, and several times turned
! u Jon the boat, exhibiting the fall Ca
/ paCity of q mouth some two ieet in
/ diameter, and lashing the beat with 1t
/ SIDES. We made up our minds that, If
the fish decided to jump into The dingy,
we would quietly slip out over one side
as he appeared at the other. But a Wig
! Orous resistance from bOat-hoOks and
/ oars induced him to resume his flight in
each Instance. By this time all hands
on the ship were watching the struggle,
and the whale boat was sent 10 our as
sistance; but for fully an hour, both
boats, dashed together, were tOWed with
out signs of exhaustion from the fish,
the tbrUsts OF bankruptcies seeming
| only TO accelerate its speed. Finally it's
/ immense eXertions told upon it, and it
came to the surface directly between the
two boats, where it was placed hor8 Gll
combat by blows from an ak, and, dyeing
/ the water crimson with its blood, was
tOwed ashore and dragged upon the
beach. II required the united exertiOns
of nearly forty men to accomplish this
undertaking A more formidable look
inc monster than this devil>fish could
hardly be imagined. 1t was shaped
somewhat like an immense bat, measur-
ing fl teen and a-half feet in width by
eleven feet in length it was twenty
nine iLches thick, and weighed probably
two thousand pounds 1t had but one
fin, unless the wing shaped extremities
by which it propelled itself can be con-
sidered such, or that which served as
the base Of a long thin tail, similar in
appearance to a riding-whip, and which
IS preserved as q mementO Of the adj
venture. It's eyes are placed as flexible
projections, which seem to have been
used to grasp and convey food TO It's
mouth The mouth, large enough to
snguif 4 man whole, was des titute oil
teeth, but furnished with solid bones
that in the dying agonies of the fish
ground large pieces Of coral IS & stone
crusher would stone. The skin of the
flesh was rough as 2 coarse file and of 3
dark-gravish hue on the back, with
white patches toward the head, and pure
+ white on the under side.
Several Mexicsns present viewed the
capture with great satisfaction, as they
affirm that this creature is one Of the
most dreaded enemies OF the peari-diver
The capture Of a deviI-fish seems Il
be an event Of rare occurrence. One
vas caught by the officers of the Nara
gansett. several years ago, in this very
harbor; but, with that exception, none
OF the old salts on board have ever be
tore seen ore captured.
The EYES.