Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1885-08-12
Gripped by an Octopus.

vlded with suckers ut every JOINT as
one notices the cruel beak and looks
into the wicked, staring eyes he in
stinctively shrinks away, as if the
dead monster still had power to harm.
We were off the Florida coast gath.
ering sponges. In those days-and
the practice is still pursued by the
poorer class of sponge-gatherers-we
got our sponges in anchoring our
small sloop or schooner over the bed
and then diving from her rail to the
bottom of the sea, carrying a weight
along to sink us the faster. A good
pair of lungs and years of practice
finally enabled me to reach bottom in
thirty or thirty-fve feet of water and
come up with more or less of haul.
On that warm coast the shark and
the octopus and other horrible things
belonging to the fish or reptile species,
are present, and often lying in wait.
The diver has a horror of them at
first, but the feeling soon wears away,
and some men become perfectly reck-
less. During the first year never
went down without a sharp knife in
my belt to give any prowling shark
thrust, but later on l would take a
header off the rail when sharks
dorsal fin was cutting the water not
hundred yards away.
During the second season we lest
two men by sharks, but took No pre-
cautions and had no narrow escapes.
In the beginning of the third season
we anchored over a splendid bed, in a
location well sheltered from storm and
swell, and we had reason to anticipate
profitable catch.
There were four Of us on that trip,
and the first man over the rail was an
old diver named Peterson. This was
about o'clock in the morning. and
although we had been up for two hours
the bay had been clear Of sharks.
We watched Peterson 60 over, but we
watched in vain for him to come up.
Twenty seconds passsd-then thirty
then forty, and the captain leaned
over the rail and cried out:
Boys, the old man has got fast
down there and is goner !"
We waited ten seconds longer and
then felt sure that we should never
see the old man alive again. We were
in twenty-eight feet of water, and the
trawl showed the bottom to be clear
of weeds and made up of rock and
sand. 1t was hard to guess what had
happened. He might have bumped
his head against rock, or had his
foot caught in a crevice-he might
have burst a blood vessel or been
taken with cramps. None of us
thought of an octopus in connection
with his sad fate. We had seen a
small one three days before, and VIC
knew that the creatures lurked in the
still waters, but somehow We speculat
ed OH all other theories but this.
As you may imagine, the loss Of
old Petersen upset us, and it was q
good half hour before any Of us had
rallied our courage. 1t was my next
turn down, and as | finally got ready
to go the captain handed me a long
keen shark-knifc on which he had
just put an edge. accepted it. more
in hopes it might be useful in enabling
me to send up the dead body than
through any bodily fear. If Peter
son had been caught in a crevice, OIL
was held fast by marine plant, the
knife would loosen him.
Well, over / went at last, and j,
was only few seconds before I struck
bottom close to large rock. Sponge'
were growing all around me, and as
reached out for the nearest l fell
something whip across my bare shoul
dcrs. All the dress l had on was q
pair of trunks, leaving legs, shoulders
arms and most Of the body naked
That something" stung and burned
bistered, but in two seconds the feel
ing had passed from my shoulders tt
my waist, and in another second il
was in my legs. 1t was not until
tried to spring away that I realized
my situation. At the first move
was jerked in the most violent manner
towards the rock, and the burning in
creased tenfold.
An octopus had gripped me! HI
had three of his terrible arms arount
me, and was drawing me to the rock
How his suckers burned and blistered
How the hairy arms gripped ant
, twisted
l tell you l was frightened man
, and for several seconds forgot that
, had a knife in my belt. When fin
ally reached for it the octopus hat
dragged me into the shadow of th'
: rock, and there / saw old Peterson
= body. Two Of the creatures arm
r we're around it and / was to make ,
I, second victim.