The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-07-31
RIG FISH WITH HANDS.
AN ENCOUNTER OFF HATTERAS
WITH MARINE MONSTERS.
rant. Cbeen Tells - Thrilling Yarn About
nm Adventure Along the Coast-fi-"
r,,., ucfuscd to he Taken by Means OF
uoathooks-One i Finally Caught

Capt. Ghccn. Oh inc S'h''h'' n"",
.w strange things oil Cape IIatteras on
bis voyage To this port. He does not claim
20 have seen the sea serpent, but he did see
n number of monsters Of the deep that put
aIl well credited Sen stories in the shade.
The captain is man whose vcracity is not
doubted. The captain brought his vessei
from Rio dc Janero, and IL was wheh
twenty miles on Cape IIatteras that he ran
into a school Of sea monsters such ms he
had never before seen.
The monsters were sighted by one OF the
crew. They were nearly a hundred YARDS
ahead If the vessel and were apparently
rushing toward her. When first seen by
the sailors they thought the ship was run
ming into a floating island, some Of which
are often seen at sea. They soon changed
their minds. however, when they got closer
and saw n school OF big fish that no one on
board could recognize as having seen De
fore The school opened to let the snip
mass. and then at once closed in and iol-
lowed her They noated all around her
and greatly impeded her progress.
Although the vessel was going mt speed
of seven knots an hour, the monsters fol-
lowed along I'm its wake, and several more
daring ones seemed 20 clutch hold OF the
vessels side and let themselves he carried
along. After they had followed the boat
for several hours the crew began To grow
uneasy as to their safety, and called upon
the captain. who heretofore had not been
aware of the chase.
st-RpouNDED BY THE MONSTERS
He sent for his glass and going aft made
n survey of the school, which he describes
AZ resembling low, rocky island. lie
said they were larger than the average
sized sharks, being about ten feet IN
length and varying from the size OF a
bucket to tub in circumference. They
seemed 10 be running race and were hav-
ing a great battle among themselves.
They had four long arms, on the ends ~
which were claws that resembled the hands
of an ape. Those arm like things extended
from each side of the body Discovering
that they were a new species OF fish, he i'm
mediately communicated the fact TO the
first mate with orders to try and capture
some of the strange monsters.
The mate gave orders 10 the crew, who
were more or less frightened, but were
waiting the chance 20 "skeer" the brutes,
and when they were told of the captain
orders they nearly jumped out OF Their
shoes The boat was searched for weapons,
and soon the deck was covered with har-
poons boat hooks, fish hooks and every
other kind Of implement used in catching
fish
The boat hooks were first used in their
attempt TO catch the fish, but unsuccess-
fully. The fish seemed to know what was
needed of them, and they used their
Glands" to protect themselves from being
caught Groups Of two and three of the
monsters would grab the rod Of the boat
hook and pull it away Eight Of these
hooks were taken from the sailors. The
arms of the fish were about six feet long,
said Capt. Gheen.
FISH USE THEIR HANDS.
The sailors became alarmed, thinking
that some i'll omen had caused the serpent-
to follow the ship, and they thought they
were going to be lost. They told the cap
tain that they thought the ship would
never reach port. Some rushed to the fore
castle and others to the captains cabin IN
their endeavOrs tOescape from the supposed
"Jonahs"
BY this time the fish had become more
daring, and would swim alongside the boat
and grab the sail lemons and traces. At
last the captain became so eXasperated al
the men that he ordered them TO cast the
lines which they use in catching drum and
sturgeon. This the crew reluctantly did
The lines were baited with huge pieces Of
Goldfish and cast over the side They were
handled 10y the fish the same rs they han
died the bOatho0K. They would grab the
line with their hands. and try 10 tear
them apart, and II one was not successful
two or three would come to its aid.
"All the time we were trying to capture
one Of them, said the captain, they would
keep up yell that sounded like the bark
OF a coyote At last the men were success
full. They had, indeed, caught one OF the
fish, and they began TO haul him in. When
the remaining fish saw their capture.
brother they made great efforts TO rescue
him. They grabbed at him while the men
were hauling him up along the side of the
boat, and once or twice one of them sue.
ceeded in getting his claws over the fore
rail At lasrwe had him on deck, and
such a hilarious yell as the crew gave out
at that happy moment and the scene on
the deck is indescribable.
4 MONSTER CAPTURED.
"The captured monster houndered all
over the deck, but his maneuvers were
quickly stopped by the Use Of an ax; we
soon cut his head off. In another hour we
had caught two more of the huge monsters,
but these must have been young ones, as
they were a great deal smaller in size than
the rest. and probably did not know how
TO evade the hook.
This was strange monster said Capt.
Gheen. "The body was round and about
the size Of a small barrel, and the back
was covered with thick scales, resembling
the scales Of drumfish, while the belly re-
sembled the hide of porpoise. The head
was about as large as an ordinary sized
bucket, and was hOrrifying TO gaze upon.
The eyes were as large rs dollar and
greenish in color They made my blood
run cold when saw them.
I'VE all held a consultation and decided
TO have the fish cooked. One Of them was
carefully cleaned and cut into huge chunks,
and ordered the cook to prepare it for
supper. thought that they would not be
fit TO eat and ordered the others thrown
overheard, which was done. But they
weren't in the water ten seconds before the
others, which were still following Us, began
a battle over which should have the feast.
They grabbed them with their hands, and
in the battle number OF others were
killed, and in their wild attempt TO get "A
meal they chased after one of their dead
number, and they were lost from our view
in a short time, and we continued our voy-
age unmolested.
But 10 20 back to the eating OF the fish
Why, when the pot stew Was served up no
one could tell il from n mess Of boiled cod
fish. and when boiled by itself it tasted
like shad.'
Capt. Lehman Lake, who for "a number
of years commanded the pleasing yacht Of
w. l.. Elkins, Of the Atlantic Refining com,
pany, states that three years ago. while
cruising in South America, he had a SINH
lar experience Philadelphia Times.
THE REST CURE.
Drugs and Medical Dosing Unneoc ssary
II Enough Sleep l. Taken.
1lruOe ,nusf 90 Eveu tlp most couS,rA l.