The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-08-09
GULF MONSTERS.
Rapacious Sharks and Big Devil-Ffsh
Found In Galveston Bay.


Found In Galveston Bay.
The Gulf of Mexico and Galveston
Bay are both favorite resorts Of many
members of the shark family, some Of
which attain large size, there having
been for exhibition at the sherif's Of
flee for months the jaws of one of these !
monsters, armed with three rows of
savage teeth, which, when opened,
could easily be place over the shoulders
of large man. The monster to which
these sanguinary appendages pertained
measured, when in good health, seven
teen feet from tip Of nose to end of
tail. OF the one hundred different
species known perhaps half-dozen
inhabit these waters. and although both
formidable and repulsive in appear
ance there are no well authenticated
instances since the settlement of the
city of their having alta ;ked man, al
though they are both voracious and
fearless when hungry, as the following
incident will show: Last summer as
the quarantine steamer Hygeia was
coming in from outside the bar, large
school of porpoises were playing
around the vessel, when the engineer.
BILLY" Bristol, opened fire on them
with an oId-fashioned forty-ive-caliber
revolver, and by chance shot
killed one. The vessel was
stopped, and the porpoise, which would
weigh several hundred pounds, secured
by a stout moose around the tail and
left hanging over the ships side head
down in the water. Within few mo-
ments huge shark, probably eighteen
feet in length, made rush for the por-
poise, and, although fired upon, cut it
in twain, and shortly after made
another rush for the remainder, and
bit that in two just above the tail,
which was left hanging, and made off
despite the fact that two pistol shots
were fired a: his head without any APP
parent effect. On the last rush the
sharks head was well out of water,
and when fired on was not more than
three or four feet from the pistol mug
Zle.
No small degree of excitement was
caused in the city during the latter
part of July, 1885, by a visit to the
Gulf shores of school of fish known
as the cephaloptera vampyrus, or
devil-fsh, one of which was captured
and placed on exhibition. The fish capt
ured measured eight feet in length
and sixteen feet four inches in width,
and weighed several thousand pounds
A description given at the time was as
follows: Head truncated in front and
provided with pointed, wing-like
process separate from the pectoral
fins, seemingly capable of in
dependent motion. These wings
or horns. provided on either side of the
head, are two feet two inches in length,
triangular in shape, resembling wings,
making the transverse diameter of the
fish greater than the longitudinal, with
tail included. These pectorals from
tip to tip measure sixteen feet four
inches, while the body proper is only
eight feet in length and the tail about
three feet and six inches. The jaws
are at the end of the head, the lower
the more advanced, and the transverse
diameter of the mouth measures two
lCCL ICu luCACS. uO CyCc dIO Siutlli
and lateral, resembling those of an
elephant, and are situated on either
outer side of the protruding wings. or
frontal horns, and are consequently
about three feet apart The tail is
elongated with whiplash, armed near
the root with prominently serrated
! spinal protuberance. The teeth are
r small, numerous, fiat, and arranged in
many rows. The mouth when opened
! could easily accommodate flour bar
t rel. The nostrils are small, and are
! situated near the angles of the mouth,
and openings, which are probably the
ears, are situated on the dorsal aspect
of the APPENDICES Of the head behind
: the ears. Several large linear open.
ings Give on each side), are in the
stomach. The skin is rough to the
l. touch, of blackish brown, and the belly
, white and very Shiny. - Galveston
: (Ier.) Neacs.