St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-01-17
A Divers Terrible Struggle
for Life With a Deep Sea
Monster.
The Creature Was Five Feet
High and Nearly Ten Feet
in Length.
He Seized the Man and
Dragged Him to His Den
to Devour Him.
Final Rescue Of the Unfort-
innate Diver by His Eel
loW-WOrkerS.

Sea monsters and their doings are oc-
casionally given mention in newspaper
| paragraphs, and most OF such accounts
are vouched for by this or that scientific
man, says the New York Herald. When
Victor Hugo wrote in 1.-The Toilers of
the Sea" about the frightful monster
which clasped its clammy arms around
the diver every one thought that the
thing was mere fabrication. But it
was not. The monster described was
almost identical with the octopus or
| giant sauid.
So, too, men relate how, living in the
deep and silent caves of the sea, is huge
lobster. resembling the smaller fish in
structure, but being very voracious. 1t
| is said that it seldom comes near the
| shore. if ever, but that enormous lob
| ster shells are sometimes thrown upon
, land after violent storm. Northern
| fishermen have heard of the monster,
| and l have seen them shiver in the cud
| dies of their fishing SmackS as some one
| described the size and appearance Of the
| fish. How far the gener: | npressioni is
| correct do not know, tn let me relate
| story told to me by u.ver:
when the Anglo-SaxOn, a ship laden
with costly merchandise, ran into
| Chance cove, on the Newfoundland
| coast, and sunk by striking a hidden
| reef. the government at once took steps
to have all the unlucky ship contained
removed. There were over hundred
| persons on board, but not so much as
| one, If my memory serves me, escaped.
When the ship was lifted by heavy
| swell upon the sharp ledge she hung
| there, as sailors say, but with the rise of
| the tide she was lifted off the ledge and
Went Down. Head First.
| into the deep water lying inside. There
was passage from the outside leading
| to this deep water, SO that fishes or sea
beasts might 90 in or out in quest of
prey. There was no beach or strand,
| but upright, naked cliffs in the form of
| semicircle rose around to a height of
| about 800 feet. Giving back little on
| the top was lighthouse.
LAS soon as possible divers were
brought to the spot, but it was difficult
| to find it smooth enough to go down.
The first day we got below we could do
| little but lay out our plan of operations.
! The ship was OH her side, the StumpS
of the masts turned toward land.
l had never gone down before
| in water so far north. and the place was
attached to our bodies and eends fast
ened to the skitf above, so that if any
diver pulled his line he was at once
| drawn to the surface. We walked
about the bottom and around the ship
with our feet weighted to keep US from
rising.
1.-The water was pale green. and 1
could notice objects quite plainly for
many yards distant. There was huge
/ Of chi
stem was stove in, so was her
stern. Already the fishes had discov-
cred that there was feasting inside. for
as was about to enter by the hole i'll
| the bow number of Spanish mackerel,
cod, sculpins and dogfish began to
| founder about inside. [ moved back,
Tor did hot know but there might be
shark there. There were, as you know,
over 100 bodies in the ship, SO was
anxious that they should be saved from
the desecration of these fishes. Worst
drowned are Spanish mackerel and cod.
l had charge. SO we all went to the top
and made arrangements for get
ting the dead. l shall not give
YOU the details, but after eX-
tremelv hard work two DAYS saw our
CHASTITY task completed. Then came
the raising of the costly merchandise.
1t was mostly silks and cashmere ShaWlS.
One afternoon while my two men re-
manned above repairing their diving
! apparatus | went down alone. We
we're now removing the bales from the
after compartment of the ship, and had
only one way to enter or leave this COM
partment, namely, by the break in the
stern. The method of
Raising the Goods
was to lower down the heavy hooks
which could be fastened into the bales
after they were pushed outside. Some
of these bales or cases would float and
some would rest lightly on the bottom.
l had selected a large case which / was
about to move when. happening to turn
my eyes, saw outside a huge creature
moving toward the vessel. i had never
seen anything like 1T before. Its body
was four to five feet high and about
twice that length, and it had on each
side an enormous arm. There seemed
to be an unlimited number of legs at
tached to the hideouS creature. Its color
| was dun brown, notified over with
dark spots. Two round, black, shining
eyes were in its forehead, and two sup
pie horns, each resembling an enormous
! whip. likewise came out of its head. All
fhis l noticed with one glance. A numb
terror seized me, and | moved for the
outlet from the ship. But, as if know
ing what / intended. this brute, looking
straight at me with its trightful eyes.
walked, or rather crawled, directly
toward me. | hurried in the hope of
being able to seize the hanging hook,
now my only means of signaling the
skiff; but it hurried, too, and | had
barely put my foot upon a gray rock
outside when the two writhing horns of
thp Pr63turP wore fwinipu
about me, and again untwning- Then
he would touch me with these and
sweep them up and down, as if feeling
what description of prey [ was. The
round, frightful eyes seemed to burn
through and through me. In my hand
held the crOwbar which | used to
loosen the cargo, in my belt carried a
heavy sheath knife. These were my
only weapons. Suddenly and without
any warning the monster threw out one
of its arms and seized me below The
shoulder. / felt as if my bones were
being crushed, and that my arm would
soon be severed from my body. No
sooner had he done this than he turned
and began to drag me into deep cor
ner of the nook. The more l resisted
the more
Terrible Was the Pain,
so l had 10 go. turning over in my mind
what | should do. ] still had the crow
bar in my right hand. but it was of no
use to me, SO let it drop.
But the horror of that time! Well, l
knew why the awful thing was drag
ging me to this quiet place. He was go
ing to devour me.
His arm terminated in claw which
opened and shut. This horrible mouth
like thing had two rows of shining
white teeth. Several of these were
piercing my arm to the bone. Some dis
lance above this mouthlike hand | OBJ
serued joint, and then | drew my
knife. But alas! the heavy shell so
overlarPcd the fleshy tissue that l could
not injure my captor. Still he dragged
HE on, on, till at last the deepest part
of the sea nook was reached There he
stopped and turned those terrifying
ewes again unOn me Tho ,yhinlike