News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-15
A QUEER ADVENTURE.
A Good-sized Clam or Bigger Story.
from the Youths Companion.1


As ran, t kept my eye fixed on
Brown, who was acting In singular
manner. After every few seconds his
head would disappear beneath the water
in which he stood, then it would appear
again. He seemed to be struggling v1o-
lently. AS 1 approached him he threw
I'D his hands and cried out, in accents
that haunt me still: "For heavens
sake. Lieutenant, quick, and help me"
| dashed out to him through water up
to my waist.
'What is it 2 What has hold of you 2"
I exclaimed.
otis big oyster, or a big clam" he
groaned. II was wading here, and
stepped into it, expect. Its shell
closed-gripped my ankle-and to save
my life l can't get away-and the tide
will soon be over our heads here!" he
added, with something almost like a
sob. he had been struggling here for
fifteen or twenty minutes.
l had heard of the tridaceoG gigHs, or
monster clam, of this coast, and in
stantly realized the danger of his situa-
ton. Courage, old fellowm l said.
"Ill stick by you. Here, hold this pad
die and the Ratchet"
then ducked down under water, and
with nv hands felt about his foot. The
huge mollusk had what might be well
termed a death-grip on him. The crea-
lures shell was several feet long, and of
propOrtionate breadth, and the weight
of the shell-fsh must have been at least
800 pounds. The creature was attached
to the coral rock by grisly byssus as
thick as my arm. Raising myself, got
breath, then selling the paddle, thrust
the shaft between the converging edges
of the two valves OF the shell, and using
it as lever, attempted to pry the shell
apart. But | could not open it. Brown,
too, ducking down, seized hold with his
hands and pulled with all his strength,
but eXerting all our power, we could not
release the monsters hold. Again and
again | threw my who'e weight on the
shaft of the paddle and at length broke
it. BY this time the water was up to
my shoulders when l stood up. Fully
realizing that whatever | did must be
done in few minutes more, else the
poor fellow would drown, l snatched
the Ratchet from Browns hand and,
diving, tried to cut under the shell, to
break the creatures anchorage on the
rock. With might and main | cut and
hacked-then rose an instant for breath
then down and at it again. But 1t
seemed as though / could not cut
through the tough muscle. Four times
l dived and, with frantic haste, cut at
those tough byssi.
ct stirsr' at length Brown cried,
bracing his weight upon his foot and
lifting at it.
Then with final blow the byssus was
severed, and the bouyancy of the water
aiding us, we dragged the great mol
lusk-still fast to Browns ankle-back
to higher ground on the reef. Here the
water was waist-deep, however, and
looked anxiously around for Mac, in the
lakatoi. To my inexpressible Joy, he
was close at hand, and between us, we
lifted Brown, with his now captured
captor, into the canoe. Even now we
could not, both of us together, pry the
valves of the shell apart enough to re-
lease Browns foot, till with knife we
had reached in and completely divided
the ridaCena-sawing aSSunder the
hinge-muscles, at the base of the bi-
valve. 1t was truly gigantic clam
and as poetic retribution upon it for
this attempt on the life of one of our
party, we ate a portion of its flesh for
our supper, but found it rather tough.
Browns ankle was severely bruised
and wrenChed, and he suffered for many
day from the vice-Iike grip of the
huge mollusk.