The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1879-01-23
4 Devil Ftsh.


, Of the Pacific squadron. writing iron
of La I'aZ. Lower California, Decen
Der Q. communicates an interesting &C
count Of the pursuit and capture OF al
= enormous sea monster resembling
! Victor HugO'S famous devil fish. 1h'
writer saws:
I. The most exciting event Of Vu
cruise thus far was the capture tO-dal
Of an immense devil fish. Ever sinci
our arrival III these waters >eyera
huge fish have been observed in the VI
entity uf the ship. and much specula
ton has ARISEN aS tu what they were
One making his appearance this after
noon, our gunner. Geo. r. CuShmaa.
decided 10 establish lis identity if p1s-
>ihle. and. accompanied by Assistant
J Engineer Edwards, Midshipman Ne
Donald. Mood. and Craven, and PAY
masters Clerk ~pdulding, gave Chase
ia the dlagy The tlSh, swimming
slowly and near the surface Of the
water. which IS very clear here. looked
like a great shap-le5s brown mass, fire.
quenIly throwing above the waves the
thin white tips vi lis sides, like The
dOrsal iin Of a shark. II allowed the
boat To approach within 4 few wards Oi
il without showing symptoms OF
alarm, when il suddenly sounded. The
harpoOn, thrown by Mr.. CushInan
struck. but not with sufficient force
10 hold, for the fish freed itself and
disappeared. after dragging the boat
( with great velocity for several sec
Onds. Another Vas seen, however, nj.
I ter a short search, and was approach
ed more successfully. As il showed an
i indifference Ia our presence equally
{ great to that OF its companion, We
pulled the boat directly over, and nc
! more than foot or Two above il, and
4 Mr.. Cushman. standing in the bow,
plunged the narpOOn firmly into its
fiesh. 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 haTpOOn line whiZZing out al rate
, that would have made il decidedly un-
comfortable for us had il not become
foul.
The strain soon came upon the din
{ gy, and, as we were whisked along
with the speed of an express train, Ne
felt as though We had applied the
match 10 some mine, or that we had
been taken in tow by the black gentle
man himself 1t was ride that for
novelty and speed could rarely be
equaled. Imagine our situation, in a
/ light boat, with such monster attach
ed 10 il, which, az il rushed along. now
on the surface, and again diving deep,
threatening to upset us among the
sharks, and you can realize the intense
excitement of the moment. The only
available thing III the boat, bucket,
had been made fast 10 the harpOOn line
to offer some additional resistance, but
the fish seemed to regard il no more
than feather, and with the bucket
out of sight under the water. cOntin-
ued 10 draw US up and down the bay
AT full speed. During all this time its
efforts had been confined to an attempt
to escape, but as its load grew heavy it
became belligerent, and several times
turned upon the boat, exhibiting full
capacity of mouth some two feet in
diameter, and lashing the boat with its
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 vigorous 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 WhalebOat was
sent to our assistance, but, for nearly
an hour, both boats, laShed together,
were tOwed without signs of eXhauS-
ton from the fish, thrusts of boarding
pixies seeming only to accelerate its
speed. Finally, its immense eXertiOns
told upon it, and it came To the sur
face directly between the two boats,
where it was placed hOrS de combat by
blows from an ay. and dyeing the
water crimson with its blood, was
tOwed ashore and dragged upon the
beach. 1t required the united eXer-
tiOns of nearly forty men TO accom-
plish this undertaking.
y more formidable looking monster
than this devil fish could hardly be
imagined. Ii Was shaped somewhat
Ike an immense bat, measuring 15If
feet in width by u feet in length: il
was 20inches thick, and weighed prob
ably 1000 pounds. IL had but one fin,
unless the wing shaped extremities by
which il propelled itself can be cOnsid-
cred such, or that at the base Of long
thin tail, similar in appearance 10 a
AAuAlib hAlP anu W MIN II PAV9C4 hcN
rs a mementO of the adventure. Its
eyes are placed in flexible projections
which seem to have been used TO grasp
and convey food to its mouth. The
mouth large enough 10 engulf a man
whole, was destitute of teeth, but fur
nished with solid bones, that, in the
dying agOnies of the fish, ground large
pieces of coral as 4 stone crusher
would stone. The skin of the fish was
rough as a coarse file, and Of a dark
gTayish hue on the back, with white
patches toward the head and pure
white on the under side.
Several MeXicanS present viewed
the capture with great satisfaction, as
they affirmed that this creature is one
Of the most dreaded enemies of the
pearl diver.-l'0Hejo (C0i) Chronicle.