Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-04-10

Alfetto, the Spanish diver, who has
been at work on the wreck OF the At
lanta, near Morehead, thus speaks of
an adventure had by him a few days
ago: At the time was at the bottom
of the sea. was just about to signal
to be drawn up for 4 moments rest,
when | noticed shadowy body moving
at some distance above me gnd toward
me. In moment every fish had dis
appeared-thc very cruStaceans lay
still upon the sand and the cutte-fsh
scurried away as fast MS they could. /
was not thinking of danger, and my
first thought was that it was the shadow
of a passing boat. But suddenly feel
ing Of terror seized me. | felt impeiled
to flee from something, | knew not
what. A vague horror seem d rasp-
ing after me, such as q chld iancies
when leaving n darkened room. by
this time the shadow had come near T
and taken shape. 1t scar ely needed a
glance TO show me tnat II was man
eater, and of the largest size. Had
signalled to be drawn up then il would
have been certain DEAN. AL [ could
do was to remain sri un,il ii eft. 1t
! lay of twenty Oh twenty-five feet, just
outside the rigging of the ship, its body
motionless, It's tins barely stirring the
water about its gills.
| 1t was n monster rs it was, but to
add to the horror the pressure of water
upon my head made it appear as if
pouring flames from its eyes and mouth
and every movement of its fins and tail
seems accompanied by display of fire.
works. was sure the fish was thirty
feet long. and so near that could see
its double row of white teeth. Invol-
unfairly shrunk closer to the side of
the vessel. But my first movement be-
trayed my presence. | saw the SHIFT
ing eyes fixed upon me; its tai. quiy-
cred as it dartcd at me like q streak Of
light. l shrank closer to the side Of
the ship. saw ii turn on one side, its
mouth open, and heard the teeth snap
as it darted by me. 1t had missed me,
but onlv for q moment. The sweep Of
it's mighty tail had thrown me forward.
/ saw it turn, balance itself, and its tail
quivered as it darted at me again.
! There was no escape. 1t turned on its
back as it swooped down on me like y
hawk on q sparrow. The jaws opened
and the long, shining teeth grated as
| they closed on my metal harness. 1t
had me. / could feel its teeth grinding
| on my copper breastplate as it tired to
bite me in two, for, fortunately, il had
| caught me Just across the middle, where
! was best protected. Having seized
me il went tea ing through the water
/ | could feel it bound forward NJ each
stroke of its tail Had it not been for
my copper helmet my head would have
been torn off by the rush through the
water. was perfectly conscious, but
somehow | felt no terror at all
wondered how long it would be before
! those teeth would crunch through and
whether they would strike first into my
| back or my breast. Then | thought of
Maggie and the baby, and wondered
who would take care of them and if she
would ever know what had become of
me. All these thoughts passed through
my brain in an instant, but in that time
! the connecting air tube had been snap
ped and my head seemed ready TO
burst with pressure, while the mon
/ ster's teeth kept cruncning and grind
! ing away on my harness. Then felt
the cold water begin to pour in and
heard the bubDle, bubble, hubble, rs
the air escaped into the creatures
mouth. began to hear great guns
and see fireworks and rainbows and
sunshine and all kind of pretty things;
then / thought was floating away on
a rosy summer cloud, dreaming to the
/ sounds OF sweet music, Then all be-
came blank The shark might have
eaten me at his leisure and never
would nave been the wiser. Imagine
M, aston. shmcnt then wnen / opened
M eyes on board this boat and saw
you fellows around me. Yes, sir,
/ thought | was dead and ate up, sure.
AIfetto was found by his comrades a
few minutes after the swapping of the
line. Tie was picked up insensible,
with several holes punched in the me-
tailic part of the diving suit. Panama
Herald.
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