The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-07-05
CAUGHT BY A LOBSTER.
EXPERIENCE OF A DIVER OFF THE
NEwFOUNDLAND COAST.
Working In n Sunken Ship-A Deep
Sen Monsters Attack Upon IN Diver,
Who Cut Ont It's Eyes with His
sbeathknife Before He Escaped.

The correspondent of the New York
Advertiser at St. John, N b. writes:
Sailors are said TO be supersttious.
and perhaps they are. yet who is the
land-lubber who has not read Jules
Verne or Victor Hugo's ''Toilers of the
Deep?" The monster described was
Identical with the octopus, or giant
squid. Once in a while newspapers con-
tain articles about sea monsters and
their doings. So, too, Newfoundland
men and men living on the coast of
Maine report that living in the deep
and silent caves Of the sea is huge
lobster resembling the smaller fish in
structure, but very voracious. 1t is
said that he seldom comes near the
shore. but that enormous lobster shells
are sometimes found thrown upon land
after a gale. All northern fishermen
have heard of the monster. and l have
seen them shiver in the cuddles of their
fishing smacks as some one described
the size and appearance of the hsh.
Never having seen it myself, l do not
know how far the general impression
is correct, but l have no doubt that 1t
EXISTS, and L will relate the story as 1T
was told me by a Newfoundland diver:
when the Anglo-SaxOn. a ship laden
with costly merchandise, as many VIII
remember, ran into Chance cove, on the
Newfoundland coast, stricking reef
and sinking, the government at once
took steps TO have all that the un-
fortunate vessel contained removed.
There were over a hundred persons
on board, but not a single one escaped.
las soon as possible divers were
brought to the spot. but it was difficult
to go down. The first day we got be-
low we could do little but lay out the
plan of operations. The ship was on
her side, the stumps of her 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
the ends fastened in the skiff above.
so that If any diver pulled his line he
was at once drawn TO the surface. We
walked around the bottom and around
the ship with our feet weighted to keep
US from rising. The water was pale
green, and 1 could notice objects quite
plainly for many yards distant. There
was huge break in the bottom of the
ship, while her stem was STAYED in and
so was her stern.
"One afternoon while my two men re-
NAMED above repairing their diving ap-
paratus l went down alone. We were
now removing the bales from the after
compartment by the break in the stern.
The method of raising the goods was to
lower down 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. 1
had selected a large case which | was
about to move, when, happening TO turn
my eyes, L saw outside huge creature
moving toward the vessel. l had never
seen anything like it before It's body
seemed to be several feet high and about
| eight feet long, and it had on each side
| an enormous arm.
There seemed to be an unlimited
number of legs attached to the hideous
beast. It's color was dull brown, mot
| tied over with dark spots. Two round,
| shining black horns. each resembling an
| enormous whip, likewise came out Of
its head. All sthis noticed at one
| glance. A nufnbed terror seized me,
and involuntarily 1 moved for the out
| let Of the ship. But, as if knowing
what ] intended, this brute, looking
| straight at me with it's frightful, mo-
! tionless eyes, walked or rather crawled
| directly toward me. l hurried in the
| hope of being able to seize the hanging
| hook, now my only means Of signaling
| the skiff, but l had hardly put my foot
| upon gray rock outside when the
| two writhing horns Of the detestable
| monster were twining about me and
| again untwining. Then he would touch
me with these and sweep them up and
down as if feeling what kind of prey
l was.
"In my hand l held a crowbar, which
l used to loosen the cargo. In my belt
carried a heavy sheath-knife. These
| We're the only weapons l had. Suddenly
and without any warning the monster
| threw out one of it's arms and seized me
/ below the shoulder. l felt as if my
bones were being crushed. The more
resisted the more terrible was the pain.
| L still had the crowbar in my right
hand, but it was OF no use to me. SO
! let ii drop. The monsters arm was
| terminated in a claw. which opened and
| shut convulsively. This horrible mouth
| shaped thing had two rows of shining
white teeth as seen often on the inside
| of the two fingers of a Holsters claw.
| Several of these were piercing my arm
| almost to the bone. Some distance
above the mouth-like hand l observed a
! joint, and then l drew my knife. But
alas! The heavy shell so overlapped the
f1eshy tissue that l could not injure my
| captor.
For the first time 1 saw those teTrify-
| ing eyes move and turn upon me- The
| whip-like arms again began to move
| and curl about my body His head was
now only about foot distant from my
| BODY, and, drawing my knife once more.
| / plunged ii into the eye near me, turn
| ing the blade round and round l saw
that / had destroyed the eye, for an
| inky fluid issued ont of the socket
| darkening the water about his head
This checked the aggressive movements
of the animal, but it did not seem to
hurt it. 1 waited until it turned its
| head so that he might be able to see
| his prey with his other eye.
This was what / wanted, and with a
| swift thrust / sent my knife into his
| other eye down to the hilt. The crea-
ture reeled and the grip on my arm
| slightly relaxed. but though totally
blind my captor did not release his
| hold.
THE agony of my arm soon grew un-
| bearable. Then the light went out of
my eyes and 1 remembered nothing
| more.
| When I recovered my senses I was
| in the skiff and learned how the divers
! alarmed at my long silence below, had
| come down. They saw my plight. and
| after time succeeded in severing nv
| arm from the body of the fish, which
they both declared was the awful deep
sea lobster"
Cobrns Seek Dead Mate.