Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1892-02-13

aQraDhS, IL u
most of such accounts are vouched Tor
by this or that scientific man. When
Victor Hugo wrote in '''rhe Toilcrs OF
the Sea" about the frightful monster
which clasped is clammy arms around
the diver every ono thought thai tne
thing was n mere fabrication. bu' ~
was not The monster desc4ibcd was
almost identical with the octopus or
giant squid.
So too. men relate how, living In
the deep and silent caves of the sea, IS
n huge lobster, resembling the smaller
fish in structure, but being very vora-
cious. 1t is said that he seldom comes
near the shore, if ever, but that enor
nous lobster shells are sometimes
thrown up on.land after a violent storm.
Northern fishermen have heard or the
monster, and have seen them shl'er
in the cuddes of their fishing smacks
as some one described the size and ap-
pearancc of the fish. How far the gen
eral impression is correct l do not
know. but let me relate a story told TO
me by a diver:
when the Anglo Saxon, n 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 that the unlucisy snip
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
a heavy swell upon the sharp ledge she
hung there, as sailors say. but with
the rise of the tide she was lifted or
the ledge and went down, head hrst,
into the deep water lying inside. There
was a passage from outside leading 10
this deep water, SO that fishes or sea
beasts might go in or out in quest OF
prey. There was no beach or strand,
but upright, naked cliffs in the form OF
a scmicirclc rose around to height Of
about three hundred feet Giving
back a little on the top was light
house.
s.As 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 plah of opera
tions The ship was on her side, the
stumps of the masts turned toward
land had never gone down before
in water SO far north, and the place
was so wild that l was timid. Lines
were attached to our bodies and fhn e.
ends fastened to the skiff abov nc
that if any diver pulled his line \
was at once drawn to the surface.
walked about the bottom and arolN II
the ship with our feet weighted to KEY
us from rising. \,
THE water was a pale green. and
could notice objects quite plainly fc\
many yards distant. There was hugo
break in the bottom of the ship her
stem was stove in, SO was her stern
Already the fishes had discovered that
there was feasting inside, for as was
about to enter by the hole in the bow
n number of Spanish mackerel, col,
sculpins and dogiish began to founder
about inside. ] moved back. for l did
not know but there might be \ shark
there.
..There were, as you know, over a
hundred bodies in the ship, SO l was
anxious that they should be saved
from the dcsecration of these fishes
Worst of all to get among the bodies
of the drowned are Spanish macNerei
end cod. | had charge, SO we all went
20 the top and made arrangements Tor
getting the dead. | shall not give yon
the details but after extremely nara
vorl, two days saw our ghastly TASK
completed. oos,,,,
merchandise. 1t was mostly silks ind
cashmere shawls- One afternoon Wh,le
my two men remained above repair
ing their diving apparatus l went uow
e,on% We we're now removing 'ae