The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1879-08-07
CAPTAIN Falcons Deyil-Fish.

While talking over the incidents at
tending his cruise in the yacht Falcon, on
the Gulf of Mexico, the other day to u
party Of friends, including Tribune re.
porter, Captain Peter Falcon. the noted
submarine diver, was asked if he ever
fell in with any of those terribly ugly
looking monsters of the seattle devil
fish-whose appearance so mahy writers
have given inadequate descriptions of.
As Captain Falcon remarked the devil
fish must be seen in all his horrible NOM
strosity to be fully appreciated. He would
not attempt any description of one, but
he told thrilling narrative of the man
ner in which himself and companion
captured one. 1t was about a PM, on
the I'd of last May, when the Falcon stood
off the mouth of Tampa bay, her only
occupants being her owner and master,
Caytain Falcon and Fred Dawson, of
| South Haven, Mich, who had accom-
panied the former on the cruise. The
trim and staunch little oraa was bowl
ing along at fair rate of speed, when
the captain discovered half dozen devil
| fish going over the surface of the water
fastcr than one of our harbor tugs when
running wide-open" after tow. After
repeated efforts to get near one of the
Mephistopheles of the Gulf, they finally
succeeded in approaching within ten feet
of fellow of fair size, and Captain Fal-
con seized harpoon, and, with II we'll
directed effort, plunged it into the mon
ster so far that it penetrated its heart.
Nevertheless the big fish ran for deep
water as if satan himself was in him.
The line attached to the harpoon was
paid out gradually and the yacht was
plunging through the water with an i'm
| -, how, ,,rh, -,
the wake of the flying monster the seeth-
ing and foaming sea was discolored with
the blood from the fatal wound. The
loss of blood weakened the leviathan SO
that the captain and his companion were
ena bled to check him, and he was hauled
up alongside and raised sufficiently upon
the surface of the water TO admit of a
close observation. "Well," said the
captain, bringing down his fist so as to
express the stronger his astonishmCnt at
the sight, sit looked like the very evi
one himself. His mouth measured
thirty-two inches in width and was
opened eighteen inches. From tip tC
tip of his suckers was sixteen feet, anC
about the same length from the tip o.
the nose to the end of his TAIL which was
three feet long. We cut him adrift ant
let him go, thinking there was no life il
| lllHl, DuJ lie DODDeu Ills ne;tu up ant
down several times. Dawson said Ii,
would like to STRIKE one, and, after sew
eral attempts, we succeeded in gettin!
alongside of one of the biggest of til,
school. Fred drove the harpoon through
the rear part of the fellow, and he cam,
up on the starboard side and presented
himself in all his hideousness. l tel
you he looked like the evil one himself
as l have been led to believe his satani
majesty appears, and he ran ftlriousl,
and fast, taking the Falcon along at tn
rate of about twenty miles an hour. w
paid out the line and let him go boom
ing, and when he got to the end of tn
seventy-five fathoms-the length of tn
line-he snapped it, like II thread an,
sped on out of sight. Why, l believ
that fellow had suckers fully twenty
: four feet across, and he was awful t
look at.'-ChicGgo Tribune.