The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-08-21
HELD BY AN OCTOPI
THRILLING ADVENTURE or A CALL
FoaH.A WOMAN.

- I&M.EE4
She Mistook the Terrible Monster FOR a
Leopard Cowrie-It Held Her Fast, and
the Incoming Tide Would lave Drowned
Her Had Not Assistance Come.
There is living in San Francisco q
woman who some 10 years ago was
living with her husband on q little
coral island just below the equator. The
island was small-not two miles In the
longest line-and was nothing but D
barren spot of sand on the broad bosom
of the Pacific. Nothing grew on the is
land but a stiff species of beach grass,
and this was dingy brown instead of
green, like other grass. But lie bare of
vegetation the island was still richly
surfaced, for the whole extent of the
dot was covered with guano of the rich
est sort, and the only inhabitants were
the two white people mentioned and 90
or 60 Hawaiians to work the guano
| fields.
The superintendent had his wife and
little child with him, and % news from
the outer world could reach them but
once in three months it was rather dull
for the woman. As there was so little
amusement to be found, she made the
most of the few sources she had. Chief
among these was the gathering OF shells,
Of which many and fine varieties were
to be found ON the reef al low tide.
One day mother and SON had been
out almost the whole tide, and fairly
well laden with spoils were working
back home, when, a she stepped across
one of tbs smaller pools, the woman
saw at the bottom what appeared to be
q magnificent leopard cowrie, the lar
gest she had yet seen. The water was
pretty deep in the pool being almost
mp to her waist as she stepped down in
to Ii, but she was 80 near home she did
not care, though she got wet through.
STOPPING to pick up the shell, she
found that the water was even deeper
than she had supposed, for as her fingers
reached to the bottom of the pool her
face was almost wet by the waves which
came ripping in with the rising tide.
But the moment required to pick mp a
shell would not iniure her, even though
she had to put her face into the water,
SO she stopped lower, with closed eyes,
and grasped at the shell below.
Her fingers closed ON the richly spot
ted object, but instead of the hard,
smooth surface she expected to seize her
fingers sunk deep into some soft, Shiny
substance, and before she could drop il
and rise from her STOPPING position q
sudden splash and furry dashed the wa
ter into foam, and two snakelike OBJ
jects arose from the depths and twined
themselves around her arm, bare to the
shoulder, with numbing force.
The water, but a moment before clear
Al q crystal, was in an instant cIouded
with ink, and another snakelike form
rose and twined around her arm. in
creasing the force and pressure until she
suffered agony from the hold upon her
arm as well as from the fright caused
by the sudden attack OF the unseen 1pa.
Her face was scarcely three inches
above the surface Of the pool. and, to
her horror, she found that the strength
Of the creature was sufficient to keep
her from rising any higher, and she
knew that q few moments more Of the
pain would weaken her so that she must
be drawn down into the pool instead or
being able to escape from the horrible
creature which held her in its grasp.
In the first shock q shrek of fear had
startled the boy, who was some distance
from her, and he came running back 10
see what had caused the cry. He was
only 8 years old, u could be Of no as-
sistance. Indeed the mother feared that
the child also might be grasped and
dragged into the pool She called 10
him TO III to the house, some little dis
lance away, around a point of land
which hid it from sight, and call for
help.
The tide was rising rapidly. Wave
after wave came ripping and swishing
her form, each one breaking q
little higher, dashing a little more of
its spray in her Bonded face. Death
seemed very near, but her only fear was
of the horrible beak which she knew
would be buried in her ~quivering flesh
soon as she should lose her strength
and fall into the pool to where the devil
fish could grasp her with all its arms
She could not raise her head to see If
help was coming, but she strained her
ears, hoping to hear footsteps or voices
Not o sound met her strained hearing.
A wave bigger and higher than usual
came rolling in and broke above her
head, leaving her strangled and breath
less. Hope was gone. She must die.
But a she gave o last strangled CRY q
rush Of feet, d dash through
the water, and her arm was grasped by
hands, and she was raised above
the surface q little. Other hands reached
down beside her and grasped the unseen
form Of the monster. and with q mighty
pull from the two strong pair of arms
il was torn from it's anchoring hold mp
the rocks and thrown up into tho
open air.
The choking. strangling woman was
carried above the tide mark, the octopus
still attached to her by it's Shiny
arms. AS the attempt 20 pull it away
caused hcr excruciating pain, the arms
were ONE by one cut of, and even the
horny disks Hti1l chung with ronsidar.