Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1885-05-05
a urex c1aM srekY.



The following clam ssoFy IS taken
from Fr1Hk Eeslafs P@Pss3aS Sesases
Noaskiy. " Yoz talk OF shells that
bite sxid cur Jolly skipper, as one 81 |
the party wrished aad grosreo nnoer
the pinch Of hard shell clam that ne
bad endeavored TO aspeo- I've seen
clam almost drown a man. and Dag
eDon0k 90 tackle horse.
New, Captain. = pleaded Grimes, II
we are cod-hShiug, 10 don't follow tnat
we shsuld be dossd with scaiy ysrns-
" It's ss true ~ gospel, rssortsa the
skipper. land I'll jiast haal IN my iInt
and tell you all ab,yuf Is.
We were wing 81 Marbiehead IN
Swampscott fisherman, and as the SUP
wss well up and the cod bites we're get
ting few and far between, no further
obieesiou was offered, and our red faced
skipper leaned batsk against the main
boom, and With q prenonftsEy cough,
70 inszre attention. commenced nls
yarn.
sIhs voyage I made was from New
London. nigh On 10 fsFty years ago, Be
fore they had anT steam vhslers And
patent booms. We had good lock for
two years, and finally brought np AZ tbs
Tonga Islands. in the South Pacific.
II vas Only 3 green hand. bat
reckon I made more than good many
of the old hands. You see, made a
contract with Boston curiosity dealer
to ship him all the shells, coral. etc.,
could get bold of 50 almost every home
ship We struck l sent eif truck Of soRs
kiRd-somstimes q piece of whaleoone,
q whales tooth. or an albatross /; or,
best of all, swordfish that came near
cleaning me out
aye know, or re don't know, that
when whales alongside, and they are
out strippiRg the biub6er, the hands
wsFh on il, and often have been eat
ting sSay knee deep in whale while
sharks we're eating away not three feet
from me. Well. one day big sheet OF
blubber broke away from the liff and
fell overheard, and swung out TO drive
in d hook. ! lesined over Il and was
Just about TO run the hook IN when
heard yell from my mate on the whale
and the next moment saw the rush OF
something. slipped and"
" Well, when PICKED myself up there
was q twelve-foot swordfish a-slashinR
about. bis sword aammed hard into the
blubber jest where had stood, and if !
hadn't have slipped I'd been a-pinned
az neat as yen please. We got har-
poon into him In short commons, and
SO got the skin end sword.
Couldn't the fish pail bis sword outF'
interrupted one of his listeners.
Scarcely answered the skipper.
"Whale skin 10 as tough as beard. and
We had to cut il out by piece-meai.
Why, as far as force goes, I've seen ship
dry -doeked on account of swordfish =
the eoppered oak plank was cut Through
as if With spike, and had broken of
short. Ye see piece of the same ship,
sword and all. in the museum of natu-
raj sciences in Philadelphia"
"Bat how about the elam?n said one.
seeing the old man was drifting of the
track. q
"WelI," be continued, II was just
getting 10 that. You see, every chance
[ got l kept my weather eye open for
cBriosities, and SO, when we brought
up at the Tonga Islands, and found
the ship was going to provision aud lie
there fer week, got three days lib
erty and went eli on a curiosity hunt
II hired one OF the natives and his
boat, and crossed over to small island
where spent about all the time getting
coral and shells. You cannot imagine
the sight unless you've seen it. The
water is as clear as. en- be. and you
could see tbs shells on the bottom sixty
feet down.
Some of thu coral spread out in
branches like great trees. some like
fern leaves, while going in and out
among them were dishes with sach col
ors that you wouldn't believe me if
should tell you; the bottom was covered
with plants, too, and fans and plumes,
that waved to and fro in the tide, pur.
pie, red, yellow. ard all colors.
Bat the stFangtsst thing about IL was
that in the night they gave ont bright
light, 80 that, as you looked down into
the water. they looked like the lights Of
some big city. often told the time by
holding my watch before them.
some tina light would hA bine, in others
yellow, and sometimes blue-and white.
Phosphsreacence, I've heard them
call Ii.
" We made our headquarters on the
little key and blessched oar coral there,
and at low tide every day started out.
The tips Of the coral we're inst bare
then, so we could wind in and eut
among the lanes OF sand, and upset the
lunches OF branch coral, and fnd ali
kinds of shells aud crabs clinginq to
them.
"On the third day started ont be-
fore my man, dragging the canoe after
me, and when / found anything good /
put 10 aboard and moved on. The reef
was about four miles around, and
must have been a mile from shore when
| heard yell behind nee. looked
back and saw my man near three quar-
tefs OF a mile Cd, mp to his shoulders in
the water, IN leaning position. He
was waving cleth in one hand and
yelling as only q Tonga can yell.
Ar first Thought he had found a
rare shell. but soon saw something seri-
ons was the trouble.
knew there were no sharks ia such
shoal water. However, put back, and
il was SLOW work, AZ could only wade
through the lanes in the sorl,I. which
wound In and ont like one of these reg
ular maze puzzles.
"After what seemed long time got
near the poor fellow, who xas moaning.
and evidently held down by something.
and the tide rising every minute, too.
The coral cleared soon. ard jumping
into tho canoe, quickly reached him.
There be was, one leg caught between q
clam SIX feet long. that must have
weighed nearly seven hundred pounds.
fhe poor fellow resslizad tis terrible
predicament and begged me- 10 kill him,
but ! did not believe Ii that sort OF hasi-
mass. IL seems those big CLAIMS are
common there. and have q way OF half
shifting themselves in the dead coral:
and when open, With the great white
animal showing, they can scarcely be
told from the bottom. And Be had
walked right on 20 one, and the lids
had come taRethHF like > vice.
The tide was coming Ia ., fast that
IL Tapped his shoulders, and We both
knew IN an hour there would be foot
ar more Of water over bis head.
II tirst tried iAmmiHg the oar into the
small opening between the shell. hat
this only mads The creature press 20
gether eli she clesors and reddish
streams thai began TO diacolor the
water showed that the kuife like blades
we're cutting in deeply.
in desperation | iaalmed the boat
hook into The animal. hua the soint
hroke of against the ifun like shelI. n
was awtuls | can sefi ron. There shs
poor fellow vas. his head iast above
TIE wafer. hanging oA 10 the boat. Yoa
have heard af death GINNING Of, fAA ei,h