, 1885-01-28
A Monster and Interesting specl-
men From the Pacific.
The Dreaded Animal From Whose
Clutch no Man can Escape.
A Subject for the Student of Nat
uraI History.


A temporary platform was erected OF
the sidewalk and on this the monster WA
spread. Its body rested on a large piec,
Office and its eight long arms were spread
as fara the edges of the platform.
The body Of the fish viii about fill az
ordinary wooden bucket, and in form i.
not unlike the third stomach Of a COW.
The arms are nearly six feet long, maxine
the entire length of the animal about
twelve feet from tip to tip. On the under
side ofthe arms, or tentacles. are two
rows of cups, or suckers, about an inch in
diameter near the body and gradually be
coming smaller, they finally disappear at
the end Of the tentacle, where a long
feeler takes their place. The unweildly
sack-like body contains the head, eyes and
stomach, the latter being on the opposite
side from the eyes.
The specimen was caught in nets by
fishermen at San francisco. It was cap
tured near the Golden Gate and was sent
to Mr.. Glitch in obedience to an order
which he forwarded to San Francisco
some time ago. The freight alone cost
him IS.
The fish is not a devil fish, however.
The devil fish, or cephaloptera vampyrrs,
resembles in its form the large vampire
bat. The fms are like the wings Of bat;
the body terminates with a long tail. The
head is truncated and is surrounded with
two horns or wings. The teeth are small
and arranged in rows and the width Of
the fish is greater than its length. Devil
fish weighing as much as five tons have
been captured, although they rarely at
tain that size They are occasionally seen
on the coast Of the Southern States in the
summer and fall. and wonderful stories
are told of their strength and ferocity,
their immense size and extraordinary
shape having transformed a powerful but
innofensive animal into a terrible mon
ster.
The specimen now on exhibition by
Mr.. Glitch is the common poulpe or oc-
topls viRgarls. But little is known Of the
animal, but the late editions Of the
American Cyclopmdia give descriptions Of
several varieties Of the octopods, among
which there is little difficulty in selecting
the one under consideration. As per-
haps but few readers have any authority
at hand from which a description Of the
octopus can be obtained, hat given by the
cyclop@dia may be of interest.
The animal has a round, purse-ike
body. without fins, and eight arms united
at the base by a web, by opening and
shutting which it swims backward, after
the manner Of Jelly fishes. Each arm has
a double alternate series Of suckers by
which they seize their prey and moor
themselves to submarine objects. Swim
ming is also effected backwards, forwards
or sideways by Jets from the siphon,
which may be turned in any direction;
they can also crawl, looking like tipsy
spiders, on their long flexible arms, these
being spread out and the body standing
erect in the center. They are solitary,
active and voracious seeking their food
chiefly at night. They are the polpi Of
Homer and Aristotle. There are more
than forty species Of Octopods. found
principally in the temperate and tropical
seas, although some are met with in cold
water. They vary in size from an inch
to five feet in the length Of the body.
the arms being in proportion
The common poulpe Of the European seas
has a body about the size of a mans
clenched fist, with the arms extending
three or four feet. In the Mediterranean
they are larger and are often exposed for
sale in the markets Of Naples and
Smyrna Species ofthe same size abound
in the Pacific and are eaten in the Ha-
waiian and other islands and in the East
Indies. In tropical America they grow
very large /; one was found dead on the
beach at Nassau, Bahamas, ten feet long.
In cold waters they are small and not to
be feared by man but in the tropics, as
on the coast of Brazil, the large species
are very powerful and DANGEROUS.
The Common poulpe Of the French
coast has given rise 10 themythical devil
fish, " introduced by Victor Hugo in the
''Toilers OF the Sea" The novelist has
mixed up a polyp and a poulpe, misled
by the name given by Aristotle, and thus
manufactured an impossible creature. All
of the species have an ink bag, by the
contents Of which the surrounding water
is discolored, enabling them to escape
their enemies.
Small specimens can be seen almost
daily at San Francisco; but such large fell
lows as the one exhibited by Mr.. Fitch
are quite rare. The animal is at once a
curiosity and affords u amateur natural
lists an opportunity to read up on the life
and habits of an animal about which but
little is known.
The octopus will be on exhibition at
Eliteh's to-day and tomorrow.
Mr.. II. L. Ward. a leading grain and
stockman Of Craig, No., relates his ex-
perience as follows: Our baby has 'suf.