Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1885-09-11
BY AN OCTOPUS.
e Grip That Came Near Being q
Fatal One.
In Horrible Embrace on the Florida
COast-HeId in the Arms of Devil Fish
"A Frightened Fisherman and How
He Escaped a Dreadful Fate.
TDetro.t Free Press.l

Detroit Free Press.1
l: you can stand be ore the glass cass
In the Smithsonian Institution inc!osing
a specimen of the octopus and not feel
your flesh crawl you have more nerve than
most men. As one looks over those long,
hairy arms, each one provided with suck
ers at every joint; as one notices tho
cruel beak and looks into the W licked, star
ing eyes he instinc.ively shrinks away, as
if the dead monster still had power to
harm.
We were of the Florida coast gathering
sponges. II those days-and the practice
is still pursued by the poorer OF
gatherers-we got our sponges in
aachoring our small sloop or schooner
over the bed and then diving from her rail
to the bottom # the sea, carry ing a weight
along to sink Us the faster. A good pair
Of lungs and ycars of practice finally en-
abled me to reach bottom in thirty or
III rty- five feet of water and come up with
more or less of e haul.
On that warm coast the shark and the
octopus and osh.r horrible tn in.s belong
ing to the fish or reptile species, are pres
en-, and often lying in wait. The diver
has a horror - them at first, but the feel
ing soon wears away, and some men bs.
come perfectly reckless. During the first
year 1 never went down without a sharp
knife in my belt to give any prowling
shark thrust, but later on 1 would take
header off the rail when a sharks dorsal
I'm was cutting the water not a hunlred
yards away.
During the second season we lost two
men by sharks, but took no precautions
and had no narrow escapes In the be-
ginning 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 q profitable
catch.
There were four of Us on that trip, and
the first man over tho rail was an old
diver named Peterso1. This was about
seven O'Clock in the morning, and al.
though we had been up for two hours the
bay had been clear of sharks. We watched
Peterson go over, but we watched in vain
for hin to come up. Twenty seconds
pas.ed-;hen thirty-then forty, and the
Captain leaned over the rail and cried
out:
"Boys, the old man has got fast down
there and is a goner!"
We waited ten seconds longer, and tb en-
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 sani. 1t was hard to guess
what hal happened. He might have
bumped his heal against a rock, or had
his feet caught in a crevice-he mi ght
have burst blool vessel or been taken
with cramps. None OF US thought OF an
octopus in come ton with his sud fac.
We had seen a small one three days be-
( re. and we knew that the creatures
lurked in the still waters, but somehow
we speculated on oil other theories but
this.
As you may imagine, the loss of oil
Peterson upset us, and it was a good
half hour before any of us had rallied
our courage. 1t w..s my next turn down,
an as l finally got ready TO go the Cap
tain handed me long, keen shark knife,
on which he had just put an edge. !
arce2.ed it, more in hoHes it might be
useful in enabling me 10 send up the dead
body than through any DO lily fear. If
Peterson had been caught in a crsvice, or
was held fast by a marine plant, the knife
wou d loosen him.
Well, over 1 went at last, and 1t was
only a few seconds before touched bot
tom close to a large rock. Sponges were
growing all around me, and as l reached
out for the nearest felt somsthin, whip
across my Eare shoulders. All the dress
l had on was a pair of trunks, leaviu
legs, shoulders, arms, and most of the
tody naked. That 'something' stung
and burned and blistered, hut in two
conds the feeling b ad passed from my
shoulders to my waist, and in another
seconl it was in my le 8. 1t was not
until tried to spring away that l real
izad my situation. AT the first move l
was rked in the most violent manner
toward tho rock, AMI the burning in
creased tenfold.
An octopus had gripped mel He had
three of his terrible arms around me, and
was drawing me to the rock. How his
suckers burned and blis.erei! How the
hairy arms grippsd and twistedl
tell you was frightened man, and
for several Sc conds forgot that l had
knife in my belt When finally reached
for it the octopus had dragged me into the
shadow of tho rock and there 1 saw old
Peterson's body. Two of the creatures
arms were around it and was to make q
second victim.
My left arm was bound to my side, but
the right was free As drew the knife I
eau sht sight of tbs body of the reptile
In fact, the arms were drawing me with in
reach of his beak. did not slash at the
arms, but struck straight at the jelly like
body. had then been down so long that
my ears were roaring, and realized that
/ had only a few seconds to spare
Luck guided my blows and /
slashed at the creature until pieces of
the body hoated around me aud the arms
let up on their grip. Then / started for the
surface, and I reached it about as near
dead as a man could be and have any life
left They pulled me inboard, and with me
cams the three terrible arms which had
been cut from the body. Not a sucker
would loosen its grin, and they had to cut
them OF with kaives, one by one close to
my flesh. EfectsS Well, that was the
last dive / ever made, for was In bed for
months. l can show you thirty spots on
my body where the fl ssh looks like fire
burn, and the remembrance OF tho situa-
tion down there will start chill over me
in the hottest day. The serpent and
crocodile and shark are terrible enough,
especially when they have you at dis
advanta q, but DOM you get within reach
Of an octopus-aeveri