Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-01-02
THE GIANT CRABS OF JAPAN.
An Unpleasant Companion to Have in .
Small Boat

Small Boat
From St. Nicholas.
Enoshima is an island lying some thirty miles
below Yokohama. At low tide Enoshima Is a
rocky peninsula joined to the land by long
sandy bar. At high lido the water covers this
sandy strip, and in time Of heavy storms also
the far-reaching waves make it an island and
surround it with foam. Enoshima is covered
with groves and ancient temples, and there is
even a temple in q cave far in under the
island, which one can enter only at low tide.
Tea houses and pretty summer villas peep from
the dense groves; and while pilgrims resort
there to pray, other people 60 to enjoy hsh
dinners and to buy all the curious shells,
sponges, corals, seaweeds and pretty trihea
that can be made of shells and fish scales
The only unwelcome visitor to this beautiful
beach is the giant crab, whose shell Is ABOUT al
large as that of the green turtle whose eyes
project and wink and roll horribly while each
OF his claws measures Ave to SIX feet In length.
The ordinary visitor does not meet this crab
walking up the beach in the daylight. Heavy
storms sometimes sweep them in from the deep
waters where they live, and the. fishermen hunt
them on the reefs offshore. or to their surprise
bring them up in their nets. The weight OF
the crab and the thrashing OF his claws gen.
orally ruin the fshcrmans net, and he is an
unpleasant fellow traveller in small boat.
Such a crab in the middle Of boat twelve feet
long could reach out to both ends OF 1t and nip
the men at bow and stern; and his reach, meas
ured sidewise, in the real crab fashion, is some
times over twelve feet. The fishermen used to
consider it bad luck to haul up one of these
crabs in net. They would make quick work
OF throwing the crab back into the water. and
afterward beg in the cave shrine OF Benten
Sauna that tho gods should not plague them
with any more such luck. In this modern and
l,,, ,,a~v hny 1aa
that one big crab is worth more than a whole
netful Of common fish. Every perfect crab
landed can be sold for SIS or more, and in time
each travels to foreign country and becomes
the gem in some museums collection OF she'll
fish.
The fisher folk along this far Pacific strand
tell some stories that make a bather find this
crab as dreadful the cuttlefish, which also
lnhabits these waters. They claim that the
big crab will fight fercely when attacked. and
will, without reason. nip at any moving thing
Then, too, they say that its eyes give out light
and glow like balls OF fire in the dark. Some
jewellers coming home very late from the tea
houses Of the nelghboring village Of Katase
have been frightened sober by seeing the beach
full OF these red-eyed crawling monsters, which
cracked their claws in the air and ratified thei,
bodies over the stones they gave chase
In japanese fairy stories these crabs have rur
away with bad little boys and girls, haunted
wicked persons dreams and taken other par,
in human affairs The Enoshima crabs were
brought into modern English fiction by Rider
Haggard in his story, ALLAN Quatermain.'
In that book the heroes came out from an I'M
foreground fire chamber and floated along
deep and narrow canyon. When they stopped
to rest and eat an army of crabs came up a
the smell of food, and rolled their eyes ano
cracked their claws until they frightened the
heroes away.
Mr. Haggard says in foot note that he hat
read OF these crabs in some book Of travel, ant
borrowed them for this canyon scene to max,
Allan Quatermain's adventures the more ex
citing.