The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1888-06-16
MONSTERS OF the DEeP.

0sns Mighty uussr NisAss q The ISa.l
Of 0auFitias.
~ never saw . se~a.serpept" SAID
,Donsl Nicholas Pike formerly Com
sui st Mauritius, ''but Z fish was seen
| while I was stationed 1t Port Louis
which answered very nearly to wha,
is generally known rs = s~easerpens
The keeper Of the lighthouse. several
miles below the port and on a ledge
some distance out at sea sent me word
that : huge fish. some ninety feet long.
had appeared there, and wanted me
to come down Immediately. l took
the first boat, but. unfortunately,
whom VI reached the desired spot we
were unable to land on account Of the
roughness Of the sea. and were obliged
to stand on and of until It Gained.
When we finally landed the huge fish
had disappeared. talked with at least
fifty persons who were entirely trust
worthy who had seer it They all
agreed as to its enormous size and un-
usual appearance. My opinion is that
it was a sea-serpent, and that it came
In shore to spawn.
The island Of Mauritius is thirty
miles long and twenty wide and con.
sists Of one huge volcanic deposit. II
contains many caverns which open
into the sea. In these l have found
fish and Enimals which were marvel.
for form and color. some being beau.
tiful and others hideous. A strange
serpent was said to inhabit one o,
the caverns, for which l made a dill
gent search. Old fishermen would moi
go near its supposed haunts. A gem
tleman owning a sugar estate near by
declared that he had seer it and an
other that he had fed it with cutie
fish and that it was the most hideeus
brute he had ever seen. l searched
for him in q whaleboa with a bomb
lance and other tackle. but never
came across him. Alter ! left the
island my friend. Hon. William Ward,
who was a great shark hunter, took my
rig and went in search of the monster.
He states that he saw his head and it
was as big as a wine pipe and was
covered with barnacles; that he put a
harpoon into it, which was twisted off
as if it had been a pipestem. He in
tended to blow it up. but could not get
the charge in the right spot and fin
ally abandoned the search.
There were so many beautiful and
interesting things in nature at my
station, however," said the Colonel,
''that it was not worth while to waste
any time searching after monstrosities.
There was a fish seventy feet long,
which seemed to be composed entirely
OF cartilage. When it was landed it
would all go to pieces. having no
bones at all. Then there was what
was called the angel-fsh, which, when
hung up. seemed to have broad. white
wings like an angel. Then there was
the wonderful cells which measured
nine feet. Once l caught . specimen
of this fish, and getting him on the
bank. he fought so desperately that ]
didn't know what to do with him.
The native who was in attendance
called out, Massa, l fix him. and
leaning down grasped the squirming
fish with both hands. bit through his
vertebrm, and the fish succumbed i'm.
m%cdiately. This specimen is also in
the museum at Cambridge. The devil
fish, alsu found in tho Indian ocean,
is not very pleasant to meet some
times. l saw a mar who had his arm
SO badly lacerated by n that it had
to be amputated. 1t has a body al
large as an ordinary dining.room
table. with tentacles extending over 4
space equal to an ordinary room and
and SO strong that they can Sc ire a
and drag him out Of a boat.
Victor Hugo speaks Of this fish in his
4'oilers Of the Sea- Barnum also had
one on exhibition here at one time.
.'tThen, again. there is the tazzard,
which has been called the tiger OF the
ocean. He Is not longer than a walk.
ing-stick. but terribly fierce. In
walking over the reefs l have fire.
quently encountered him. II he sees
you approach he will wait and then
dart at you like n flash. II there is
any portion Of your body exposed he
will tear a piece out Of it as il it had
been cut with a razor FISHING one
day off the mouth of the harbor. l
hooked two Of these fish at the same
time with two different lines. and in
to get them into my boat they
fought me with such desperation that
! was obliged to call two fishermen to
help me. and they declared that they
we're two Of the worst fish they ever
being worse than bull